This is for a barely breathing story. I hope your summer has been nothing but sun-filled fun. Her prompts for this story were black combat boots, coca-cola (the kind in a bottle), "I never meant for things to turn out this way", and frantic gesturing.
I have a thing for dialogue. I hope you don't mind. Also, I'm pretty sure this is the longest one-shot I've ever written. Thanks to a barely breathing story for such great prompts. I hope you guys like it.
((()))
The large bathroom smells like happiness. And hairspray. Which, according to Massie, are pretty much the same thing. Massie sprays her perfect curls one last time before switching off the curling iron and rifling through a drawer in her vanity.
"I can't decide what color to paint my nails," she says, slamming one drawer shut, and ripping open another. "We're going to see some depressing concert after dinner. Would I look too terrible with black nails and a black outfit?"
The voice coming out of her iPhone echoes off the tiled walls. "Go silver. It'll give the outfit a slightly lighter vibe. Like, you so totally love this band and black and everything, but you don't want to die. And you definitely don't want to look like you're going to die."
"God, Leesh. You're brilliant," Massie says, pulling the silver nail polish out of her drawer. "What would I do without you?"
"Look gothic?" Alicia suggests, laughing. "Okay. Now that we've sorted out that problem, let's talk about the important stuff. Tell me, Mass. When he asked you out, what did he say exactly?"
"He met me at the Campus Coffee Shop after class," Massie begins as she paints her nails, "You know how I get about my caffeine. Then he said, and this is a direct quote, 'I have a really important question to ask you at dinner tonight. Bella's at eight?'" Massie squeals.
"Ehmagawd. He's going to ask you to marry him!"
"You think?" Massie asks.
"Given," Alicia tells her.
Massie's iPhone beeps, signaling another incoming call. "I've got another call coming in. Can you hold for a second?"
"Don't keep me waiting long," Alicia warns. "I still want to advise on all things outfit."
Massie taps her phone gingerly, taking care not to mess up her nails. "Hey stranger," she says, screwing the top onto the silver nail polish. "Why didn't you call me yesterday to tell me how your Chem test went?" She pulls her fingers up to her mouth to blow on so they'll dry faster
"Actually, I came to Campus Coffee Shop to tell you, but you were with Kemp. You looked so lovey-dovey so I just—"
"Cam, you boron," Massie scolds. "We're just friends. You don't have to worry about Kemp."
"First, kudos on the Chemistry joke. Second, I know I don't have to worry about him. That is why I called to tell you that I got a hundred percent on the test. I missed the bonus, but that's no big deal. I'm the only guy in my class to get a perfect score. And I just want you to know that I hope you do as well on your date tonight," Cam tells her.
Massie laughs.
"And maybe you'll even get the bonus," he teases.
"Um, ew. That is none of your business," Massie says, smiling. "How'd you know I have an important date tonight, anyway?"
"Alicia talks really loud," he explains.
Massie lightly touches her pinkie fingernail, checking to make sure the polish is dry before taking the phone off of speaker and putting it up to her ear. "Well, thank you. I'm sure tonight will be special."
"Have fun, Mass," Cam says, hanging up before she can reply.
Massie walks back into her bedroom. She flops back onto her bed before tapping her phone again. "I'm back," she says.
"Who was it?" Alicia asks. "Was it Kemp? What did he say?"
"It wasn't Kemp," Massie says. "It was just some kid from my English class. I've got a bigger problem, though. I have no idea what shoes I'm going to wear."
Alicia lets out a sigh of relief. "That's all? When you said you had a bigger problem, I got worried."
"Shoes are a big deal, Leesh," Massie says.
"Given," Alicia says, "But I know exactly which shoes you can wear. Those black combat boots you got for your Halloween costume last year, but never used. They'll go perfectly with those skinny jeans," Alicia says.
"Perfect," Massie says, switching her iPhone back to speaker and rushing toward her closet. Massie rummages through the boxes of shoes she keeps at the back of her closet, throwing pairs of them over her shoulders in an attempt to find her black combat boots as quickly as possible. When she finds the pair of shoes she is looking for, she quickly puts them on.
She takes a deep breath and slowly walks out of the closet toward her full length mirror. She rearranges some of the curls that fell out of place as she feverishly looked for her shoes. She smooths down her off-the-shoulder band t-shirt. Smiling, she calls over her shoulder to the iPhone that still sits on her bed. "It's a 9.9, Leesh. I'm just short of that wedding day 10."
"Have fun tonight," Alicia says.
Massie struts over to the phone saying, "Oh, I will."
((()))
Massie is sprawled on the damp grass outside of Cam's dorm room, mascara streaming down her face. Her shoes—the ones she was so sure would impress Cam—sit at least three feet away. It can't be any later than 8:15.
"Kemp broke up with me," she announces loudly as Cam approaches her.
"I brought you something," he says as an apology, holding up a brown grocery sack.
"Beer?" she asks hopefully.
"Coke," he says smiling.
Lifting her head off the grass, she smiles wickedly and extends her arm to grab the bad.
"The soda coke," he amends.
"Ew," she says, disappointed. She drops her arm briefly before jabbing it into the air again. "Give it to me."
"I know it's not going to get you high, but it's the good stuff. Glass bottles and everything."
"Well, good," she says sitting up and crossing her legs.
"And there's cake."
"Now I remember why I love you."
He smiles at her as she opens the brown bag.
"The cake is chocolate, right? You're not trying to be misleading with chocolate frosting and yellow cake are you?"
"Come on," he says. "I know you better than to get you yellow cake when you're upset."
"Well, thanks," she says quietly.
Cam sits on the grass next to her, brushing a lock of brown hair out of Massie's face.
"He didn't actually break up with me," Massie confesses after a moment. "He asked me how I would feel about a threesome. A threesome! It's like he didn't even respect me at all."
"Mass, I…" Cam begins.
Massie flails her arms as she speaks, punctuating her rant with fists in the air. "Of course I had to break up with him, but it still hurt. I think what hurt the most was that, after everything we've been through, I find out that he doesn't love me and doesn't care about me. He just thought I was a hot piece of ass." She slumps down, sniffling. "He's not wrong about that; I am gorgeous. But he's the ass. I just— I never meant for things to turn out this way."
"I'm so sorry, Mass. I know it's not much help, but you'll always have me," Cam says. He uses the bottle opener on his keychain to open to cokes. He hands one to Massie.
"To us," Massie says.
They clink their bottles together and both take long swigs.
