Air Brushed

Do Not Disturb

Chapter 11: Do Not Disturb

Haz stops the motorcycle in front of my apartment building, "Well now, that went better than I thought it would."

"How did you THINK it would go?" I ask, jumping off of the bike as soon as it comes to a rest, stumbling in the process.

My companion puts the kick stand down, "I could have SWORN you'd fall off at some point-"

He has to stop because he is laughing so hard.

"I'm just kidding. I think you did very well for your first time."

"Oh thanks," I roll my eyes, taking the helmet off. "Wanna come upstairs?"

"Inside?" for the first time, Haz's tone comes off as daunted.

"Yeah, you're supposed to be following me around, right?" I arch an eyebrow, tone light. He sighs, running his fingers through his thick curls.

"Right. Only I haven't really been inside of a place like this in a while," his voice gets progressively quieter, progressively deeper.

"Don't worry about it."

"But-"

"No buts!" I jab the center of his chest with my index finger humorously.

Haz bows his head, gesturing for me to lead the way. I punch the code into the keypad and the door swings open with a quiet beep. I hold it open for him and then press the up button for the elevator.

My companion looks around, eyes wide, obviously taking in the fake yet relative grandeur of the place.

It is odd, seeing him in these surroundings for two reasons.

1) Here is this grubby, badass (though still cheeky) looking kid in an upscale building.

2) Two different parts of my life just collided.

Even though you may not notice, people inherently tend to keep different parts of their lives in spheres. What masks or lack of masks we wear in these bubbles is a different topic, but no one can deny their existence. Friends at or from school are usually separate than those at work or from a religious background.

When those spheres overlap, like say, you take a long time school friend to a work party, there is an initial awkwardness where the new faction has to get used to the old one or vice versa depending on your meaning of old and new.

This initial awkwardness is what I am feeling now.

Haz merely LOOKS foreign here.

I can't imagine how he FEELS.

"This way," I sing quietly as the metal door slides open. Putting my companion and his newness aside, I am SO close to home. SO close to a SHOWER. I smile at the latter thought.

My door is RIGHT THERE-

Suddenly, I stop.

"Everything alright?" Haz inquires, slowing to a halt about a step in front of me.

"Liam can't know you're here," I whisper, eyes trained on the door opposite of mine.

"Why not?"
He can't know Liam's with the police.

I bite my lip, "He's just really over protective, alright? So be quiet and don't do anything stupid."

"I do stupid things?" he asks innocently.

Deciding not to grace that with an answer, I pull out my keys and swing open the door, letting Haz follow me inside.

He chuckles, "I'll admit, this is the first time a girl's brought me home."