5 Minutes To Midnight

Chapter One

Chapter One:

The loud noise from my alarm clock startled me from my sleep. I didn't dare pick my head up from the pillow, while my hand wandered around hitting anything that felt like the snooze button.

"Turn it off, please!" I heard Jess beg as I picked it up and threw it across the room. "What time is it?" she asked raising her head up.

"Really Jess? You ask me this after I kill the clock?"

"Sorry. Uh, I have a hangover." she said rubbing her forehead. "What about you?"

"Yeah. I'm gonna take a cold shower and drink lots of coffee." I said climbing out of my bed. "You want a Tylenol?"

"I have some in my room. I'm going back to bed, so don't wake me up unless it's some kind of natural disaster outside." she said climbing out of my bed and walking to her room. She looked like a zombie.

I laughed as I dragged myself into the bathroom. I turned the shower on, flickering little drops of water on my skin to reduce less shock. I hopped in as soon as I was naked and let the water hit my scalp. The cold always took away any headache I had. I was never sure why but it always worked. I loved having wet hair. It made me feel sexy. Kind of like last night. Something about dressing up turned me on. I loved the way the fabric felt against my skin, tight and fitting, but it also turned me off. Men were only attracted to you if you were sexy. They never really cared about the person you were on the inside. I wondered if the stranger from last night was attracted to me for how I looked or who I was. It's not like he really got the opportunity to know a lot about me, so that basically answered my question. But that's how it was in this day and age, looks were everything. As sickening as it was, it was true.

I finished my shower and got dressed in some comfortable clothing. I checked the time only to see that it was 3 in the afternoon. My stomach growled. Eating sounded perfect. I grabbed my jacket from out the closet and made my way out onto the busy city streets.

The day was dull and slow. Everyone looked like they partied too hard the night before. I sat down at a little cafe in SoHo and ordered a chicken salad and a cup of black coffee. As I ate, I watched the women who passed by the restaurant. They all looked so beautiful, so perfect, I wanted to look like that again. Jessica was right, I couldn't throw away the person I was when I was with Jason. I quickly finished my food and decided to go shopping. It was time for me to stop hiding in the past and live for today.

Monday came sooner than we had expected. It was back to work for Jessica and I.

"So what's this new look about? I must say you're looking a little better than me." she joked as we boarded the crowded subway.

"I don't know. I decided to change it up a bit." I shrugged putting my iPod on as she smirked at me. I wanted to avoid talking about it because knowing Jess, this would be something she'd bring up all day. Better to start avoiding it now.

As we arrived at our stop, I could feel the lustful looks being thrown at me and Jess, by almost every man we walked past. I smiled to myself a little bit, feeling one of my headphones being jerked out of my ear.

"You know, it's one thing to lie to me about all of this but it's another to pretend like you don't notice all the attention you're getting." Jess said as I rolled my eyes. There was nothing you could get past this girl. "Does this have anything to do with the hottie you had mouth sex with on New Years?"

"What? No." I immediately defended knowing that he was a major factor in my whole makeover. "Wait, did you just say mouth sex? Where do you get these sayings from?" I asked as she laughed as we made our way towards the building.