Snapshots | ✓

Twenty One: Micah

Friday, August 21st, 2015

There was a woman sitting on his couch and it wasn't Hayes. Micah paused with his hand still on the doorknob, regarding her warily and she typed something on her phone. She hadn't noticed him come in, or if she had she was ignoring him. After another moment he dropped his hand back to his side and cleared his throat.

"Hello," he greeted.

Her head jerked up and she flashed a brilliant smile. "Hi, you must be the roommate. Micah, right?"

"Yes. Are you a friend of Hayes?"

"Yeah, we're in the same program and we're interning at the same place," she replied, standing and taking a few steps towards him. She was pretty, with carefully curled long dark hair and copper skin. She held out a hand towards him. "Mara Waterstone, pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Micah Lauzier." He shook the offered hand. "Where is Hayes?"

"She's supposed to be quickly changing. I'm taking her to a local band tonight to show her some culture that isn't found in a museum and as a celebration for surviving the summer under Dr. Kirschenbaum. We're just stopping in for a few moments and then we'll be out of your way."

He waved her off. "Don't worry about it. Hayes takes forever to get ready, though, so if you want to get there on time you may want to go hurry her up."

"That's probably a good idea," she agreed with a laugh. She turned and walked into the small hallway, disappearing into Hayes's room.

He tossed his suit jacket over the back of one of the dining room chairs, loosened his tie, and rolled his sleeves up. He had no idea what to have for dinner, having allowed his meal planning to lapse. He wasn't even sure what he had for food. As he opened the fridge to begin his search, Hayes let out an ear-splitting shriek of horror in her room.

"You aren't allowed to call Micah 'hot!'" she screamed. Mara shushed her and they continued talking, too low for him to overhear.

He shook his head and continued searching for food, moving to the cupboard. He would have asked Hayes who was allowed to consider him attractive but he wasn't sure he actually wanted to know. Any answer she gave would leave him unsatisfied in some way. Better not to ask.

"Yo, Micah, wanna come with us?" Hayes asked, closing the cupboard door on him. "You don't have any good food left. You complained about it yesterday."

He sighed. "Where are you going?"

"Stranger Tides Brewery," Mara answered. "It's pretty good and not too pretentious for a brew pub."

Hayes leaned into his personal space. "Please? Please-please-please-plea—"

"Okay, okay. I'll go," he yielded. "But I'm not staying out late. I'm not young anymore, I need my sleep."

"Yes! And don't worry, we'll have you home at a perfectly reasonable time," Hayes assured him, looping an arm through his and dragging him out the door.

--

The night was on its way to being a great success—good food, good company, decent music—when Jude showed up. He waved from the door and waded through the crowd towards them.

"Did you invite him?" Mara demanded through clenched teeth, putting voice to the question in Micah's mind.

"No. No I did not," Hayes replied, a line appearing between her eyebrows. She excused herself and stood, meeting him halfway.

Micah watched their conversation. Hayes was tense, talking quickly in hushed tones. Jude appeared to be as relaxed as ever, brushing off whatever she was saying. When she moved away from him, he grabbed her arm and pulled her back, trapping her with an arm around her waist and talking into her ear while scanning the surrounding crowd. She looked annoyed but didn't try moving away again.