psycho | jaeden lieberher

twenty six

The next morning I'm walking into school with a high pony tail being held together by a red scrunchie, tight red knee high heel boots, and Jaeden's huge gray sweatshirt with Thrasher written across the front in big red text. So yes, despite the slouchy baggy vibe of the hoodie, I manage to create a look.  When I walked to Jaeden's car from my house this morning he said that I looked extremely hot, so I hope and pray every one else feels the same. I kiss him before we part ways and I skip off to meet the girls, who's criticism I am extremely worried for.

"Damn, Corinne, you look good!" Lilia yells as I walk across the hallway to them. Jack is there, which is a sign that him and Maddie has a great weekend, and an ever better Monday night.

"That outfit is amazing." Maddie says as she pulls me into a hug. "Even though it smells like theater boy." We all laugh. Jack fits right in, considering it isn't his first time being a part of the group. The way Jack fits in almost makes me wish Jaeden could come wait for the bell with us, and sit with us at lunch, and just be here. But I know the girls aren't the biggest fan, and I know I'm not willing enough to hang with Jaeden and his friends considering the feud between Wyatt and I. I guess our relationship just has to be an out of school thing, even though I'd give anything to at least push it to a during rehearsal and out of school thing. 

In the middle of eighth period I escape to the bathroom because my brain stops allowing me to focus. I do this like once a week, escape class that is. Sometimes my little break lets for five minutes, sometimes it lasts nearly half the period, but no one has ever not allowed me to do it. My mind just needs a break sometimes, a break to sit in the bathroom and stop thinking about school. So it's eighth period and I'm walking out of my class room to go to the closest girls bathroom, which just so happens to be my favorite one in the school. The science wing bathrooms are bigger than the ones in the rest of the school, and they have windows which means you will occasionally see people smoking and stuff in there which is pretty great. Not that I bring things to school to smoke, but if someone friendly offers I will gladly accept.

The bathroom is empty aside from someone in a closed stall, so I just go into a stall and scroll around my phone. A minute on Instagram goes by before I am surrounded by the smell of cigarette fumes. "Smoking in the bathroom stalls, how cliche." I laugh loud enough for the girl smoking to hear me from our separate stalls.

"Talking to people though stall walls, how cliche." She fires back in a still kind way. Her voice is familiar, but not enough for me to place her. I hear her stall door open, so I open mine as well, deciding we might as well waste our class time together instead of in separate stalls.

"Oh, hey Emily!" I say when I see the girl standing by the small window. Emily Skinner, a fellow theater kid, just so happens to be playing my character's enemy in Heathers. 

She turns to me while the cigarette smoke escapes her lips. "Hey, Corinne." She smiles a little. "Skipping class, too?"

"More like taking a small break." I say walking to the wall near her.

Emily raises the cigarette up and gestures it towards me, and I nod accepting her offer. I take it from between her fingers with my own and press it lightly to my lips, letting the smoke enter my mouth. I haven't smoked since I was with Finn, and it was a feeling I only kind of missed. "Skipping too cliche for you?" She asks jokingly.

"Don't get me wrong I love cliches, I've just never found the right thing to skip for." I say handing her back her cigarette, knowing we will gain a little pattern of exchanging it.

"Go make out with your boyfriend in the janitors closet, isn't that a big cliche?"

"I wish I could do that, it's the ultimate relationship cliche." I giggle.

"Why don't you do it with Jaeden? You're dating aren't you?"

Is it that obvious? "Jaeden is way too school oriented to skip. And Finn never wanted to miss for something we could do later in a better environment." I mention Finn, trying to avoid the dating Jaeden question as best I can.

"If I had a boyfriend I'd just tell him to get over the missed period." Emily laughs to herself.

"Do you like anyone?" I asked the most basic middle schooler gossip question. She hands me back the cigarette after a few drags so I can have a few.

"I did earlier this year, but not anymore." She stares out the window as I blow the smoke from my lips to the little screen preventing kids from jumping right out of the school.

"Do I know him?" I take another drag then hand it back to her while holding in the smoke for as long as I can, a little thing Finn showed me a long time ago.

Emily simply answers with, "Yeah." signaling me to drop it and that she isn't telling me who. I wonder what reason she has to not tell me. It's not like she currently likes them, and it's not like I'm going to yell it around the whole school, it's just pure curiosity. But I drop it. I check my phone to see that I've been out of class for nearly 15 minutes, so I tell Emily I should be getting back.

"Here," I take a small perfume sample out of my backpack and allow her to spray herself with some. She does, then I spray myself. We say that we will see each other later, meaning rehearsal, then I leave her with her cigarette in the bathroom and head back to class. 

______

lol sorry this seems like a filler but it isn't i promise

i just didnt want to make this a mile long chapter so i'm ending it here instead of carrying on

so ok yeahhhh