Reticent (h.s fanfic, punk Harry)

Chapter 16

Dedicated to Haz_the_curlyfry .... because name.

Frank sang softly behind me. His voice a musical instrument itself that brought life to my sleepy mind. I listened as he sang about love and war. I sat at the edge of the roof and looked down at the busy streets of Long Island. Her laugh floated over like a whisper. She was standing just at the edge with her hands in the air, letting the sweet breeze hug her naked top as it whipped away with a whoosh.

She laughed and she spun- the beer already going to her head- the tipsy feeling already making her dizzy. She was so close to the edge I was afraid she would fall- but I was tipsy and dizzy too- and I was sitting just at the edge with my legs dangling over the top. She took one step on the top then jumped back down with another giggle.

The beer was hitting us hard, her especially as she pranced around the roof doing small twirls with her hands above her head like a ballerina. Her mother had pressured her at some point to join, but Connie had simply ignored her and went into gymnastics. Her body was as flexible as water. She stretched, and her back bent. The tattoo was done, and there behind her two wings were drawn. I wonder why she'd wanted those so bad. I knew Connie always wanted a tattoo, it was all she could talk about at times. And now she'd gone for wings- was that not too cliche?

She hummed along to Frank Sinatra as he sang through the bass less speakers of her iPhone. The voice complemented her hum, and her hum complimented his voice.

She'd let her hair down for the night, and while some of it had hid her tattoo, the other did a very poor job of hiding her breasts. But it wasn't the first time I'd seen Connie half naked. She wasn't afraid of her body- she showed it off in privacy and in public. She tried to push me to try, but I'd be caught dead than standing in a changing room wearing nothing.  The other girls didn't mind either. They would follow suit- letting their bodies gleam in the light of the changing rooms.

"Oh, Ophelia, just live a little," a small voice spoke-it took me a moment to realize that Connie had simply just come closer to me and whispered that. I giggled, thinking it was my damn consciousness.

"We're on an apartment rooftop, with people surrounding the ground. I'm not going shirtless up here."

Connie simply twirled again. "Oh, sweet Ophelia, they aren't superman to see you from so far away. And even if they do. Who cares?"

"Connie, we wear clothes to keep warm and not get arrested, it was made for something important." I took another sip of the beer that John had lent us before we had left the house.

"Which cop comes here and checks if two drunk chics are wearing their tops?"

I stifled a giggle as she ranted on, drinking the beer silently. "You're too wild."

"Well, who knows when we'll all die. Might as well do something fun. I love my body and I think Long Island should be informed of that. Now, come on, Ophelia. Take your top off."

I rolled my eyes at her slur. she took the beer away from me. "You have got a way better body than me, take it off and show em off, babe."

"Connie, I'm not going shirtless. Someone might see."

"Like who? NASA? Just take it." I watched her drain the beer until nothing was left of it.

"Oh, this is absurd."

"You have an amazing body. Everyone says that in cheer."

"Really?" I stretched the word-surely they don't think that. I wan't that much to look at. I felt a small sparkle of confidence.