Capricorns and Devil Horns

Angel Wings

   *please see final chapter "update" before reading

   Wild parties with wild guys, drinking wildly named cocktails. That's where you'd find my appropriately-named best friend Hannah Wilde on a Saturday night. I, however, would be sitting on my bed, scrolling through tumblr, on the receiving end of drunk text messages. My old knitted cardigan would draped round me and I'd be passionately singing every song that would play through my headphones to my dog, Skip. Take on Me seemed to be his personal favourite. As soon as I would start singing, he'd jump into my lap and lick all over my face. Skip was the closest thing I had to a man to kiss me all over. The only man I had and the only man I needed.

   However, one night, I found myself huddled by the wall, desperately trying to become invisible while wearing a luminous green glow in the dark necklace. After hours of Hannah wearing me down, it would've been less exhausting to actually go to the damn party than continue to refuse. Or so I'd thought. Now I was stood as close as possible to the front door as I could without getting whacked in the face every time someone arrived. I'd lost Hannah more than twenty minutes ago. The party was being thrown by a friend of a friend or something, so I knew absolutely no one else there. My only friend was my phone. My fucking shitty phone that had 8% battery remaining. Surely there had to be an iPhone charger somewhere in this house.

   The TV that was blaring terrible music- with the occasional break for a Spotify ad because someone was too cheap to get fucking premium- was to my left. On the floor next to it was an extension lead tangled with various wires in all different colours. And next to that, was an iPhone charger on the floor. All I needed to do was unplug one of the unnecessary wires and charge my phone. I crouched beside the extension lead and looked for the most useless looking wire. The one at the end was thin and didn't really look like it was connected to anything important, so I took a leap of faith and yanked it out while no one was looking.

   The music immediately stopped. The chatting quickly died down and all eyes darted towards the TV. All eyes darted towards me. Fuck.

   And so I ran. I ran for the door, clutching my 7% charged phone and screamed at myself when I finally got to my car. Go to a party, they said. No one will notice you, they said. It'll be fun, they said. Fun, my fucking arse.

   It was almost 1am. 1am and I needed coffee more than I needed air. No Starbucks was open, of course, so I drove to the nearest petrol station and pulled up next to an old banger of a car. The thing looked as if it would fall apart at the mere thought of being driven and the model was beyond recognition.

   I did my best not to get too close to the car as I walked past and bought my coffee- black with two sugars- and a KitKat. I stumbled back outside, desperately trying not to drop my snacks, when my glasses decided to slip so far down my nose that I couldn't see through them at all. I ducked my head down to my shoulder in order to nudge them back up, and I managed walk right into what I assumed to be a wall, spilling my hot, sticky coffee, everywhere.

   "Fuck." I hissed to myself.

   "Fuck." Another, deeper voice agreed.

   I pushed my glasses back up with my now free hand, my coffee cup having been dropped at the heat of it against my skin, and looked up. The wall was not a wall at all. It was a torso and a chest. One that was covered with a white shirt, now splattered with my drink. Further up, obviously, was a head connected to the body. Eyes like crystals gleamed under the petrol station light and a mouth surrounded by ashy stubble twisted into a grin.

   A grin?

   Why was he smiling? I just spilt hot coffee over the guy. I would've punched me in the face by now. Or at least yelled at me.