Michael Vincent Staccato Hodgins always smelt like paint.
It had always been something Christine had just known.
He always wore the same ratty Converse sneakers.
She knew he got them in their freshman year.
His hair was, unfortunately, perpetually messy.
She actually didn't know why, though.
He didn't like bugs.
Christine would just know these things. She knew his favorite color was green. She knew he was dyslexic. But, she just didn't knowwhy she knew. They hadn't spoken a word since the summer after sophomore year, when he and his little sister, Pippa, had gone on tour with their grandpa. When he came back two months later, he was no longer the awkward in between teen he had been when he had left. He had grown taller, his hair was longer, still unbelievably disheveled, and the smell of paint lingered long than it used to.
She was in her bedroom, legs on the yellow painted wall. There was only two days until her senior year began, and with Parker having come and gone this summer, Christine was bored. Her mom and dad were in West Virginia, spending the weekend with her Aunt Angela and Uncle Jack. The sun was low in the sky, but the heat still clung to her like a heavy blanket.
There was a desk pushed to one wall, tens of college applications scattered on top, hiding her laptop from view. The shelves on the walls were jammed pack with books, and pictures, and on the second shelf from the bottom, a small fading yellow rabbit was perched atop her copies of Slaughterhouse 5 and To Kill a Mockingbird. The stuffed animal had been a gift from Michael in eighth grade; he had won it at Pippa's elementary school carnival.
She could hear the click of Rocky's, the German-Shepherd puppy the family had adopted when Rascal, their old dog had died, claws on the polished wood floor. A warm gust of wind blew through her open window and she shifted slightly on the bed. In the silence, a familiar sound burst into action. Her phone. She jumped to her bare feet and raced down the stairs, snatching the small device off of the counter and answering the call.
"Hello?" She took a deep breath, sliding into one of the bar stools.
"Hi, sweetie, it's mom." The voice of Temperance Brennan echoed over the phone line.
"What's up, mom?" She picked at the bright green nail polish on her smallest finger.
She could hear voices on the other side. "Your dad thought it might be a good idea that I call and warn you that we should be home around eight tomorrow morning."
Christine just sighed into the phone. "I know that. It's not like you guys forgot to tell me fifty times before you left." She threw her feet onto the other stool. "You can tell him I'm not going to throw a party."
Brennan laughed. "I will, don't worry. Alright, there's some food in the refrigerator, you'll last until morning."
"Hey, is it okay if Abby comes over?" Abigail Raines was her best friend, and currently, the only one, with the exception of Christine herself, without plans to go to the party down at the warehouse.
"I have no problem with that, now, I have to go." Brennan paused to say something to somebody. "Your father says he loves you, and so do I." She could tell that Brennan was eager to get off of the phone.
"Love you both too. I'll see you when you get home." She waited for a reply, but the line was already dead. With a sigh, she found Abby's name in her contact list before sending a quick message to the girl.
Hey, I have a fridge full of food and Pay-Per-View. U in?
It didn't take long for her to respond.
I'll be over in ten.
Alright. See u then
Christine tucked her phone into the back pocket of her shorts before padding into the living room, she bent down and turned the TV on before moving back to the kitchen. She pulled down a glass bowl from one of the cabinets, before pouring half a bag of chips into the bowl. Retrieving two cans of cola from the garage fridge, she added some pretzels to the bowl before returning to the living room, and settling down with the snacks. Not two minutes later, a voice called out,
"I brought chocolate," Soon after, a petite blonde girl walked into the room. She was dressed in a thin tank top, covering her bikini top, and a pair of denim shorts, while her blonde hair was pulled into a tight ponytail. As she flopped down on the couch, her sandals landed on the rug with a thud. "So, guess what?"
"I don't want to." Christine started the movie. Tonight it was The Amazing Spiderman.
"Well, Michael texted me today," She waved the bedazzled phone in front of Christine's blue eyes.
She turned her focus to the screen. "What'd he say?"
"He asked if we were coming to the party tonight," Abby shrugged, tossing back a handful of M&M's. "I told him no. We had better things to do."
"I don't understand why you guys even talk." Christine mumbled through a mouthful of chips.
Abby shrugged again. "Me either."
And, it was silent for a long time after that. Several hours later, at seven A.M. to be exact, Christine was awoken to an uncomfortable kink in her neck from her highly uncomfortable sleeping position, and the morning news blaring unnecessarily loud. She rolled her neck, massaging the sore spot and letting out a yawn before shaking her best friend awake.
"W-was goin' on?" Abby blurted through a thick yawn.
Christine just shook her head. "Just wake up, I want to get some breakfast."
"Want to hit up the Diner?" Abby eased herself to her feet. "It'll waste time until your parents get home."
Christine nodded. "But, I need to shower and change."
"So do I. I'm going to borrow some clothes, okay?"
"Sure," Christine rolled her eyes with a tired smile. "Now, come on."
Twenty minutes later, Christine was in the passenger seat of Abby's Jeep as the two sped down the street. She was glaring at her phone in the sun, sunglasses sliding down her nose. "Hey, Luke wants to know why you're not texting him back."
"Because I don't want to, tell him that's why." She let out a frustrated sigh. "He's smothering me, Booth. Do you get that?"
"I'll just say you lost your phone." She replied, fingers already flying across the screen.
"That works too." She screeched to a halt in front of The Royal Diner, before pulling into a sloppy parallel parking job. "Yikes."
Christine jumped out of the vehicle. "How you ever got your license is beyond me." The two girls laughed, entering the café.
A full hour later, Christine and Abby returned to the Booth household, to find Temperance and Seeley both sitting at the breakfast bar, munching on various food items. "Hi, mom, hi, dad." Christine snatched up three grapes from her mother's pile, handing one to Abby as they leaned against the counter. "How was your weekend?"
"Uneventful." Seeley Booth said resentfully. "It was uneventful, and by that, I mean boring."
Rocky clicked into the room, curling at his feet. "I thought it was fun," Temperance answered honestly.
"Bones, it wasn't fun."
Christine looked between her parents. "Well, I'm going to go walk Abby out to her car, and I'll be right back." She pushed the slight girl out the front door and towards the Jeep.
"I'll see you tomorrow morning, bright and early with a sunny disposition." Abby winked at the girl. "Deal?"
Christine shrugged. "I can't agree with the sunny disposition."
"I know, but you can try, Booth."
"But, I probably won't."
Abby laughed, hopping into the driver's seat. "See you later, B."
"Later, Abby."
Reentering the house, Christine was pleased to see that her parents were no longer bickering, but, instead her dad had moved onto the couch, watching a football game while her mom was sitting beside him, with her nose buried in a book. With a content smile, Christine took a spot beside her father, putting her legs across his and snatching a handful of peanuts up.
Tomorrow, she would be a senior. Tomorrow marked the beginning of the end. Sure, she thought, I'm melodramatic. But, I'm also a teenager. But, for now, it was still summer, and she was going to enjoy every minute of it.