Pall Malls + Poetry // Judd Birch x OC/Reader

Icarus and the Sun

Late summer sunsets in Bridgeton were always repulsive to Judd. A cotton candy pink sky scattered with wispy violet clouds. They sickened him.

He climbed out onto the roof of his house and lay back against the shingles, staring up at them. It was a Tuesday and he hadn't spoken to that girl since he'd left her house on Saturday night. Judd liked to pretend that she was insignificant enough in his mind that he couldn't be bothered remembering her name. Though, if that were the case, why did the promise of color have him climbing out of his bedroom window, closer to the sky as if he were Icarus and she was the sun?

"What are you doing out there, weirdo?" Leah asked from the safety of their shared home. She stood with her head hanging out the windowsill.

"Fuck off, Leah. Get out of my room." Judd spat. There was little vigor in his tone.

She dipped her head back inside and was completely content with removing herself from his depressing bedroom, when an issue struck Judd that only she could help with.

"No, wait, Leah—" He called out, "I need your help, get out here."

Leah dipped through the window and seated herself a few feet away from him on the roof. She remembered the days when their parents would warn them about coming out here, about how it was too dangerous (the only dangerous part was when Judd dangled Nick over the edge).

"You never ask me to come out here with you anymore." She said. Believe it or not, there had been a time when she and Judd were close. He was her big brother, and she still thought of him as such.

He fiddled with his fingers, knees brought up to his chest. "You're an annoying chick, right?" He asked, and Leah laughed.

"Something like that, I guess."

"I mean, we're different, you and I." Judd continued. "We're complete opposites."

Leah wasn't an idiot, nor was she blind — especially when it came to her siblings. She'd seen him stopping for coffee every morning since the second week of school, she'd even watched as his eyes lingered on some new girl in the hallways. Leah always knew when he was coming in late because of the loud muffler on his Jeep, he parked it right outside of her window and it almost always woke her up.

"Is this about that girl with pink hair?" She asked. "She's cute. I saw you standing by her locker last week."

"She'd be cuter if she put out." He mumbled, to which Leah slapped him on the chest. "What?! I just meant that she isn't easy like a lot of the girls I take out."

Leah's eyes got wide, "Jeez, I didn't even know you 'took out' girls. Not since Rowan, anyways."

He winced at the sound of his ex's name being spoken. This, like most things, called for a cigarette. He reached just inside the window and grabbed his pack of Camels, somehow he didn't quite fancy them like he used to. They didn't tear at his throat like Pall Malls did.

"I don't take girls out." He said, exhaling heavily.

Leah waited for him to reveal more, but it was evident enough that she was going to have to pry it out of him. "Well, if I had to guess, this girl is nothing like she-who-shall-not-be-named. You're not gonna get into her pants by taking her to rob a bank. What does she like to do?"

Judd shrugged, "I don't know. Art? I have one of her drawings. There's a lot of books in her room. Coffee, anime."

"Does she like animals?" Leah asked.

"She didn't freak the fuck out when I mentioned my raccoons, so."

"Ooooh, your raccoons." She teased, cocking her eyebrow, "You really are serious about wanting to bone her." Judd moved like he was going to shove her off the roof and she started laughing. It felt nice for Leah to have a sliver of her brother back, she thought, he hadn't been the same since the big break up. "I'm joking, asshole. But don't worry, I know exactly where you should take her."