Bits and Pieces

Henry & Stacey- Part One

Stacey tried to be the kind of person that people didn't hate. And generally, because it is a common curtsy, she tried not to hate people. Stacey also tried to be the kind of person that did not give out free passes- exceptions to the carefully laid rules.

But Henry Yorke was a prime example of two of the many things Stacey did not like.

Stacey Jacobs had always generally liked herself. She had always liked her name- Jacobs made her name seem more casual, but also sound as though she had a great ancestry. She liked her herself- physically, that is. She had never been insecure, she had always figured that it was no use to change herself, it was very likely that that was how she should be her whole life. She liked her no-nonsense personality, she was a great user of common sense, something she was quite glad to possess an abundance of.  She liked that she followed the rules. She dressed in a nice outfit every morning, scrunched her curly hair into a ponytail, put on a bit of mascara, and laced her school shoes. Stacey had always liked continuity, cycles that never complete, that continue until the end of time. And so, this was Stacey's well-liked life.

But, see, Stacey only liked.

Stacey Jacobs was quite sure that liking was fine, and loving was where you got into trouble, where your plans get ruined.

See, it was the nerds that loved things, got much to excited, and got kicked out of society.

It was the naïve lovers that loved too much, to often, to many times. And didn't they get into trouble?

And so Stacey Jacobs continued categorizing people by their mistakes. And she herself continued to make what Henry called her biggest mistake- the decision not to love.

*

Henry Yorke had always thought very highly of himself. He knew he was attractive, he knew he was rich, he knew he was likable.He held himself in high regard, as any member of society would.

Henry Yorke also knew he was popular.

He enjoyed attending parties, because he knew he was the life of the party. He didn't mind breaking the rules, he craved it, actually. He craved it like an alcoholic craves his first drink after an attempted quit. And he knew metaphors involving himself and alcohol were never far from the truth.

Henry knew he liked woman. In fact, he had a new woman every week. But Henry most certainly did not consider himself a player. Player was slang. He more considered himself educated on being a player, and quite often employed their tactics.

Henry also knew many girls wanted him.This was a fact he had often found odd, because they knew they would be on his arm for a week,before he ditched them like they were garbage.

And so when Henry Yorke found the one girl who didn't want to be on his arm, as one can imagine, the king fell into disrepair.

*

Stacey knew that this was a bad idea. So why she was here was a mystery. She had let herself get dragged into a mess, and now she was, as previously calculated, here alone. She swirled the alcohol in her red cup absently. She looked around the room. The couple nearest to her was passionately and physically declaring their feelings for each other. On her left, farther away, stood a group of kids who should have been dancing. Instead, they were taking turns throwing up. Stacey knew this had been a bad idea- she was probably the only sober person on the block. She really didn't know why she was still here. And Stacey Jacobs is a problem solver, so she set the cup down on the floor, stood up, and began to plan a route out of the room. Stacey set her foot out, beginning to walk, until a person cut in front of her.

Of all the people in the world, why should Henry Yorke have to be here? Stacey knew very well that Henry broke her rules.Mostly, that he was an exception to her first rule: that she did not hate anyone. In this way he broke two rules, by being an exception to the hating people rule; and Stacey never liked rule breakers.