The Etiquette of Smoking

Tell Me Lies

When I awoke the next morning, it was to the slamming of the dresser as Gavin growled about me not doing the laundry. My head lifted from the pillow to turn to the disruption and I watched as he paced the room, picking up clothes from the floor and throwing them into the laundry basket under his arm.

"I... I just don't get it. How hard is it to do a load of laundry when you have all day to get it done?" He fumed, picking up his dirty socks from the floor and adding them to the basket. I watched him come around to my side of the bed and stare right at me.

"Are you just going to stare or are you going to get up and do this shit?" He sneered, dropping the basket on the floor. I scoffed, which caught his attention quickly and he raised a brow at me.

"Got something to say?"

"I forgot to do it but you don't have to talk down to me like that." I snapped back, sitting up in bed and feeling a slight wobble at the sudden movement.

"You have one fucking job and it's to take care of the apartment. I asked you to do your job and suddenly I'm talking down to you?" Gavin argued, his face twisting into a glare.

"Yeah, your condescending tone while asking me how hard it is then waking me up to go do it is talking down to me." I huffed, pulling my legs over the edge of the bed and dropping down to the floor. I stepped over the laundry basket and made my way to the bathroom, a move that pissed him off further and I knew it.

"Oh sorry, were you too busy out all day and night with your friend to take care of your house?" He spit from the other side of the bathroom door. I put toothpaste on my toothbrush and popped it into my mouth before replying.

"Yeah, I was." I wasn't sure what his point was but I knew it was him just grabbing for straws in the argument. Niki had absolutely nothing to do with any of this, but he loved to bring her up anyway. I forgot to do something he asked me to, but was it worth starting a fight over? Not in my opinion, but here we were, arguing through the bathroom door.

"Ever since you started hanging out with those people you've turned into a real bitch, you know." Gavin snapped. My brushing faltered for a moment at his words before I regained my composure and continued cleaning my teeth.

"Okay." I replied, wondering why his words didn't sting as sharp as they usually did. Perhaps I was beginning to grow an immunity... was that possible?

I finished brushing my teeth and tied my hair up so that I could wash my face. I could hear him in the bedroom still, pacing around and probably looking for something else to fight about, but I gave it no mind. I took my time and as I was drying my face on a towel he came back to the door with a quiet rasp.

"So, are you going to do it?" His voice was calmer. I sighed deeply before opening the door and pushing past him with a muttered "yeah"'

══════

Niki texted me later to ask what I did yesterday. I told her about George taking me to lunch and then going to the boys' apartment to hang out with them. I even told her about how I smoked for the first time and what the experience was like. I left out the part about rubbing my face on Ian's hand and sleeping on Joji. I hoped they didn't say anything about that either because it's something I'd honestly like to just move on from.

I wasn't sure what to say at first when she asked to come over to hang out and get ready before work. After the small fight I had with Gavin, I didn't know how he'd take it if the person he was just complaining about wanted to come spend even more time with me. I gave him the heads up anyway and was rewarded with even more complaining. I tidied up and did the laundry while I waited for Niki. It was about 20 minutes after she said she'd left her house so I decided to shower quickly before her arrival and that's the state I was in when she entered my bathroom.