Give and Take

Courtney paced down the hallway of her apartment floor, with tears in her eyes.

She trembled with chills, as her eyes began to turn a bright blood vessel red and she finally reached her apartment. She pulled out her key, and held it to the lock on the room's door, whispering to herself, "Stay strong. Don't let him see you like this."

As she unlocked the door, she wiped away her tears, blinked several times, and opened the door to see Trent lying on the living room couch watching television.

"Hey Courtney," Trent greeted with a smile, before seeing her eyes, still slightly pink. "Wow, are you alright?" Her roommate asked."Huh? ..Oh. Yeah, I'm fine." Courtney slightly smiled in a cheesy manner. "What have you been up to all day?" Courtney asked, not really paying attention as she slowly sprinted to the kitchen. "Me? Eh, not much. How was your day?" He replied with caution.

"Uh… pretty good." She said, lying of course, as to not worry her friend. Courtney, had never been much of a good liar, lying just wasn't her forte. If she ever told a lie, it was obvious because of her tone, or gestures of being "in a rush."

"Well… alright, Court. If anything's up, you can talk to me, alright?" Trent said, hoping to give Courtney a bit more peace. "Okay, Trent… Thanks." Courtney said as she smiled brightly, feeling glad to have a friend that's by her side when she needs him. She walked to her and Trent's room, closed the door behind her, and climbed up to the top bunk of their bed. She loved having the top bunk. Staring down at Trent while he slept, or sometimes drawing on his face put her at ease sometimes. As if she had a brother figure to play around with, or talk to. A figure she could look up to, a figure she loved.

Courtney sighed as she lied back-flat on her bunk, facing up at the ceiling, staring, wondering, thinking. Duncan, her ex-boyfriend, whom is currently taken by Trent's ex-girlfriend Gwen, had the nerve to talk to her again. She knew he was a dirty cheater, that just wanted to be on friend-terms with her. She couldn't find it in herself to forgive him. One thing Trent and Courtney would conversate about, almost non-stop at certain points, was their former "other halves." They helped each other through many things concerning Duncan and Gwen. Courtney didn't want to put her and Trent's discussions aside, and forgive Duncan. Just thirty minutes before Courtney arrived home, she saw Duncan. He tried to butter her up with his compliments, and his undying charm. He even dared to kiss her. You don't kiss people you want to be on friend-terms with.

It caused her to cry, that this jerk would want to cheat on his new girlfriend, with his new one. Just like before, but reversed this time. He's the reason her eyes were scorching red, and she was the reason he had a scorching red hand mark on his face. Courtney is quite indecisive at the moment. She can't forgive him, yet she feels like she can't live without him. The stress inside of her causes her to get that hot burning sensation on her skin, the sensation your skin gets when you feel embarrassed.

She sighed heavily as she sat up, seeing Trent slightly open the door and poke his head in, smiling. She can't NOT smile, when she sees Trent smiling so brightly. She believes his smiles are contagious. She feels safe around him. "So, Court," Trent started, still barely poking his head in through a narrow crack of the door, "I hope I'm not interrupting anything, but how does pizza sound for dinner?" Courtney tilted her head slightly, thinking for a second, "Hmm… sounds lovely!" "Great, I'm buying, so, I'll be back in a bit. Unless, you'd like to go for the ride?... You look like you could use some fresh air," He said, persuasively. "Sure!" Courtney smiled sweetly.

Trent grabbed his keys from the kitchen counter, with Courtney following, and continued to leave the room, locking it tightly, getting into his car, with Courtney in the passenger seat. As Trent started up the car, he glanced at Courtney. She seemed deep in thought. All in all, he wanted to cheer her up. They drove off, passing numerous buildings, restaurants, and stores. Finally, they reached a Pizza Palace. Trent drove into the drive-thru, and up to the ordering intercom. "Hello, sir. Welcome to Pizza Palace, what would you like today?" "Ah, yes, I'd like one medium pepperoni pizza, please. That'll be all." "Yes, sir. We'll have it ready soon." Trent drove forward, waiting behind several cars.

Trent glanced at Courtney again, still seeing her spirits not too lifted. "Court… are you sure you're okay?" Trent asked, looking quite concerned. "Huh? …O-Oh…I'm okay." Courtney stuttered, eyes opened wide. "I feel like I know you're not, it's just-" Trent muttered, before being interrupted by a worker behind the drive-thru glass. "Uh, dude. That'll be $8.95. Psh, and I thought I had issues with my girlfriend." "She's not my-! … Whatever." Trent shouted, blushing lightly, handing the worker his money. Trent received the pizza, returning back to their apartment, Courtney staring at his deep green eyes the whole ride home. As they returned home, Courtney unlocked the door while Trent carried in the box of pizza. He placed it on the kitchen counter, his keys on the couch arm, and sat at the dinner table.

Courtney started serving two plates with two slices of pizza on each plate. "Here ya go, Trenty!" Courtney smiled and placed a plate in front of him. "Th-Thanks, Court." He smiled, and started to chew some pizza. After dinner, Trent decided to watch some more television before bed, while Courtney decided to get some sleep. "Goodnight, Trent. See you in the morning." Courtney said as she walked from the living room to their room. "Goodnight, Courtney! Sweet dreams!" Trent shouted, as to make sure Courtney heard him. Courtney smiled.

She changed into her pink night gown, and lied down, thinking about how Trent reacted earlier. "Why did he sound so offended when that employee called me his girlfriend?" "Why did he snap like that?" The thoughts circled her head until she fell asleep, though her rest didn't last too long. She woke up, from feeling quite chilly. She checked her PDA for the time, and she only slept for two hours. Courtney felt the need to ask Trent for an extra blanket. "Trent! …" Courtney called in a low whisper. She looked beneath her bunk, and couldn't see Trent. Maybe he was still awake? She crawled down hazily, and walked to the living room.

The television was still on, though Trent had fallen asleep on the couch. "Aww…" She whispered. Courtney figured she might as well keep both of them warm. She brought over her blanket, as well as Trent's, and lied on Trent's chest, covering themselves with their blankets. After a bit of cuddling her head under his chin, she fell asleep comfortably.

The next morning, at about 8:00am, Trent woke up first, slightly opening his eyes, feeling a soft aura on top of him. As his eyes opened, his blurry eyesight focusing, he saw brown silky hair beneath is chin. He couldn't help but smile, feeling quite warm inside, and outside, because of the two blankets over him. Courtney started to move slightly, opening her mouth to yawn quietly, and slowly opened her eyes. As her eyesight focused to see Trent's green eyes, she heard two sweet sounding words, "Good morning."

Courtney smiled, as she saw Trent's bright morning smile. She stood up, stretching, and walked to the bathroom to brush her teeth. As she brushed her teeth, Trent yelled, "What would you like for breakfast, Court?" "Uh…Some eggs and toast would be great!" She yelled back. Trent smiled and grabbed his breakfast ingredients. He felt really great that morning. He felt like his heart was gonna pound out of his chest, just because she slept quite close to him, comfortably. He really has grown close to her. He likes her, more than just a tiny crush.

When Courtney came out of the bathroom, still in her night gown, Trent placed two plates of eggs and toast on the dining table. Courtney smiled brightly.