Ever Since That Night

Chapter 7

James' POV

Right before sleeping, my mind was again wandering to places it has never been before.
I know I should probably go somewhere to take my mind off Karen for some time, but where do I go? Maybe I can go to a club? A zoo? An amusement park? Maybe I can go somewhere with Daniel and Megan? 'Whatever', I thought. 'I'll ask them tomorrow, but for now... maybe I should get some sleep'.
Then I dozed off into a world I've always wanted to live in, though I knew in the morning, I'd be back in reality.
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I woke up feeling unusually happy. I was the first one up. I then glanced at my watch, my head spinning in dizziness. It read 6:00 a.m. For the first time, I actually woke up alone - not at the same time as Daniel and Megan.
And, in case you've ever wondered... yes. I've been living with them for quite some time, now.
I quietly sneaked into Daniel's room just to see him looking as great, fabulous and handsome as ever.
He had drool dripping down his face, his hair was messy and his body was stinking up.
I held up the orange on his bedside table to my nose in order to disguise the horrid scent.
Feeling better then earlier in the morning, I gathered enough confidence to dangerously slap his rough and bearded face, arousing him.
"Wake up!" I yelled.
"What!? Who died?! Who's dying?!" Then he looked up and saw me. "What time is it? Why're you waking me up anyways?"
"I woke up really early."
"And?! Why did you wake me up so early?!" He questioned angrily.
"I got lonely."
"What the actual fuck, James! Go back to sleep or something. Just leave me alone!" He replied, beginning to look irritated and agitated.
"C'mon, let's do something."
"Don't bother me until I wake up," he grunted in frustration.
I still didn't leave.
"God, just go away!" He shouted.
"Monica's here."
"What?! Why didn't you tell me sooner?" He said, jumping out of bed. "Where is she?"
"She's at her house," I replied.
"You suck at being a friend, just so you know. Next time, you better let me peacefully and soundly go back to sleep."
Then he laid down once more, and dozed off in a matter of seconds.
Daniel's words had stung a bit, but it was all worth seeing him annoyed first thing in the morning, for once.
I decided to let him rest - again - for now.
I quietly exited his room, trying to make sure he didn't wake due to the noise I might have made.
I took a seat in the living room, and pondered upon what I could do, since I was extremely bored, as you could probably tell.
I usually spent my free time either playing with the rest of the band, writing songs, or taking Karen out on dates or 'hangout's'.
This morning, I couldn't write songs because they were all love songs, I couldn't play with the rest of the band because they were all asleep, and I also had to admit I was getting kind of sick of practicing for shows all the time.
I couldn't take Karen out because we weren't
together anymore. As a couple.
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When everyone finally woke up, Daniel, Megan and I started practicing together. The boredom got to me again, as we were rehearsing for our next show.
"Hey, so I found this girl," Meg blurted out of nowhere, causing me to roll my eyes. "Don't roll your eyes at me! She's a really nice girl, but she's one of those innocent model-looking chicks."
"And you want me to go out with her, right?" I guessed, my annoyance probably clear to everyone's eyes.
"C'mon, Just give her a chance! Move on!"
"Fine, fine. Give me her number."
"Yay! She's gonna come to the gig, though," Meg warned.
I nodded in confirmation.
"Oh, and her name's Jessica," she added.
Afterwards, she gave me Jessica's number and I left the room to call her.
"Hey, this is James. James Parker. Meg gave me your number..." I introduced myself probably sounding awkward and nervous.
"Oh, hi!" There was an awkward silence. "I'm sorry... but I wanted to ask, why did you call me?" She wondered out loud.
"I... er... called you to ask if you were going to our gig tonight."
"Yeah, I am," she answered almost immediately.
"You want me to come pick you up later?"
"Sure."
"I'll pick you up at 6:30 sharp. Don't be late!"
"Okay. See you." She tiredly replied as a sign of dismissing me from the phone call.
"See you."
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"So, Jessica..." I began, strolling casually alongside her on the way back to my car.
"Yeah?" She asked.
Before a single sound could come out of my mouth to respond, I caught a glimpse of what looked like my mum walking her way towards the pharmacy.
Oh no. This couldn't be happening.
Why did this need to be happening?
'Not now, please?' I begged the Lord.
But my pleas had no effect on what was about to happen, because soon enough, I heard a distinct but audible - and familiar -voice coming from my right. "James! Sweetheart, what are you doing here? And who is this young lady? She looks like quite the catch!"
"Mum," I warned. "We," I motioned my fingers towards myself, then Jessica, then back to myself again. "Are just about to go to the gig. Now, if you excuse--"
I was once again cut off by my mother's rude tone. "Ah! So... In a week, how many girls have you hung out with? Let's see... first was Karen, whom you just broke up with just because she didn't provide the right physical needs for you, I'm guessing? Next was Megan. The third was Amanda, and now it's... her?"
Raging with anger and my veins pulsing rapidly, I answered defensively. "Karen was my girlfriend. Don't you dare talk about her like some slut! And Megan is one of my best friends, whom I both live and play in a band with, to actually be able to earn money for a living. Amanda? That's another story. You introduced me to her and forced me to get to know her. Apparently she was Kingsley's ex the entire time, and you didn't even know!"
Mum looked shocked for a while, but shot back, "well, what about this young lady?"
"I'm just bringing her to our gig since she's watching, anyways. She's Megan's friend, for heaven's sake, mum! Stop digging for your stupid answers!"
"Oh, okay. Calm down, I was just asking. I guess I'll just leave you two to it! Bye, honey." She planted one of what seemed like her usual fake kisses - just for show - on my forehead, then continued waking down the sidewalk as if nothing had just happened.