Judd Birch

The Morning After

You were up all night thinking about him. His hair, his scent, his cold eyes, his strong hands wrapping around your-

Ring, buzz. Ring, buzz. Ring, buzz.

Your eyes snap open at the sound of your alarm, your heart skipping a beat at how loud the ringer is. You lazily throw your hand over your phone and silence the sound before finally managing to sit up. Your mind is hazy from the nearly sleepless night and you feel heavy atop the mattress.

Just another day at school.

You go through the formalities like brushing your hair and then your teeth, putting on clothes, heading out the door, and forcing yourself through all of your classes until you find yourself being tugged into the auditorium by Lea.

"We need plates, cups- oh! And good music! You've got the playlist covered, right?" Lea's exuberance is unmatched and when you walk beside her you can't help but feel like a corpse in the presence of the living- at least that's what you look like.

"Yea, I've got it covered." You assure her mindlessly.

You feel strange. You can't stop thinking about that encounter you had with Lea's brother, and while you know it's wrong to be thinking about him, it really is out of your control. That psychotic creep has somehow managed to sneak his way into every single one of your thoughts.

"You never told me you had a brother our age."

"What? Yea I did- you probably just weren't listening." Lea playfully rolls her eyes at your statement while she plops down in an auditorium seat. "Why'd you bring him up?"

"I saw him when I was babysitting Nick- he came out of fucking nowhere." You let out a soft, amused breath as you lower yourself into a chair beside her.

"Yeah, he's weird like that.. He didn't try to kill you, did he?"

"If he did it must've been a lousy attempt, cause I sure as hell didn't notice."

Lea laughs a bit at your comment, a short silence following soon after.

"Is he gonna be at the party?"

"He'll probably steal some alcohol.." Lea's words sound a bit wary and now her full attention is locked onto you, her eyes narrowed as if she's trying to tell a truth from a lie. "Why?"

"I don't know, I was just curious." You pause, a little perturbed by her reaction. "Is that a crime?"

She pauses as well, taking a moment to examine your demeanor before sinking back into a casual position. "Nope."

Another moment of silence passes and just before Lea is able to bombard you with more questions, she's interrupted by the sight of a certain scrawny theater boy.

"Daniel!" She calls out to him happily, standing from her place and making her way over in the most casually enticing way possible. This whole interaction makes you want to vomit. "You're coming to my party tonight, right?"

The boy takes an obvious look at the girl's body while she speaks, soon replying in his average exuberant tone. "But of course! I wouldn't miss it for the world." He offers the girl a quick wink before passing her, leaving Lea awestruck.

How the fuck could anyone fall for a guy like this? You think to yourself. He's annoying, embarrassing, and dresses like a kid who thinks he's cool because he's smoked weed once.

"Isn't he dreamy?" You hear Lea express with a sigh as she steps toward you.

"Oh yeah, definitely." You reply in a clearly sarcastic tone.

"Whatever," Lea rolls her eyes and holds out a hand, to which you take before you stand. "we have work to do."

The both of you leave the school and head to the nearest Walmart to find all the supplies you need for the party- and to burn some time. The car is silent, but it isn't necessarily awkward- the music helps make up for that. Pearl Jam, aka the work of god.

"I think Judd likes this band- they sing the one that's about that kid, right?" Lea asks cluelessly.

"Jeremy? Yeah."

"Yeah, that one. I don't know how you can get into all that dark stuff."

"I dont think you really know what the word dark means." You let out a soft chuckle as you park the coupe and begin on your way into the store.

"What do you mean? That stuff's pretty heavy."

"Yeah, but it's isn't that dark. It could be worse."

"I guess you're right." Lea says with a soft shrug before making a beeline towards the plates.

You gather everything necessary before taking a quick detour to the makeup section. You pick up different lipsticks, eyeing all the bright and strange colors like green and blue and.. orange. Who the hell wears neon orange lipstick?

"Ten dollars for lipstick? That's ridiculous." Lea says with a sneer as she begins to examine the product in her hand.

"Capitalism is a vice." You joke casually through a monotone voice. Your humor is dry and cynical, so it takes a special kind of person to understand when you're making a joke versus when you're being mean. You were genuinely surprised when Lea began to catch on so fast.

The blonde lets out an amused breath and puts the lipstick away before heading off to checkout. You watch as she turns and in a split second decision you take the lipstick she was once eyeing and slide it into the inside pocket of your coat. Lea finishes up checking out once you make your way over and you head out together.

"Cups are expensive. They're literally just cheap ass plastic- you think they wouldn't cost an arm and a leg." Lea rants as she gets into your car.

"And yet you still spend your cold hard cash on 'em." You reply casually as you shut the driver's side door and slip the lipstick out of your pocket, dropping it into her lap.

Lea looks down at the item in initial confusion, though it isn't long before she catches on. "You broke the law for me?" She looks up at you with heartfelt happiness and leans over to pull you into a tight hug. "Baaaaaabe~"

You remain stiff in her arms, but you can't help but laugh. "Yeah, I'm such a criminal."

She giggles softly and finally pulls away. "Alright, we can go now." She says with a newfound burst of happiness.

You start the ignition and shift the vehicle into drive. You can't wait for tonight.