Hey peeps. I know I haven't been posting much lately, but my education started up again, and I have a much heavier course-load this year. Yeah. So I'm sorry that's kept me so busy. I've also got another project I've been working on, that I'm hoping a lot of you can get behind, and I'm sort of kind of trying to write an original story.
Anyway, so I started this in late August as an experiment to see if I could write more college age characters in the modern world. After much editing and rewriting, I liked how it turned out, and as thus decided to post it. Let me now what you guys think, alright? As of right now, this is only a one-shot, though if you like it, I might write other stuff in a similar style.
That's about it, I think, so I hope you guys enjoy, and stay awesome!
-ROC6
When Piper woke up, she only knew two things. She was hungover, and this was not her bedroom.
She was still in her clothes from last night, she noted. So there's that. After patting down her pockets, she found that she still had her phone and her wallet, which still had fifty bucks in it. Last time she'd gotten this drunk some idiot named Dylan took all her stuff, so she was giving herself bonus points for picking a better guy this time. She hoped. Piper pulled her knees up to her chest for a few moments, allowing herself to indulge in self pity as it felt as though her brain was being microwaved by an atomic bomb over and over. Or maybe the best way to describe the pain was the sensation Leo's singing gave her, especially when he started singing songs with high melodies that he definitely couldn't reach, but wouldn't stop trying to. That was definitely an apt description, being by far the most painful thing she'd ever experienced.
Massaging her aching temples, Piper tried to remember what had happened the previous night. She'd gone to a bar. She thought it was called Bacchus' Garden, but she wasn't sure. There most substantial things she could remember were a brightly flashing purple sign and the overwhelming smell of grapes inside. She'd had a few drinks, she knew. Then a few more. Then a few more. But other than that-blank. The major things were there, if foggy. She'd gone to a bar with her friend, Leo, to hang out, (or so she told him, in actuality it was mostly to get him to shut up about his ex,) and they got a little carried away, but the fine details, such as what had happened or whose house this was-blank.
She pulled herself to her feet and out of the bed, swaying a little as she did so. Steadying herself on the nightstand, she surveyed the room. The walls were light blue, and the covers were patterned with comic book heroes. The room clearly belonged to a man, and there were loose papers and textbooks scattered all across the room, leading her to believe he was probably studying at one of the nearby colleges. The room had some pictures, mostly containing pictures of a dark haired, punk girl with a blonde man, whom she assumed lived here. Remnants of tack holes splattered the walls, as though there used to be more photographs, but they were recently removed. Judging by how the paint was faded around the outlines of missing frames, they'd been there awhile.
An unopened bottle of Advil was resting on the nightstand, which Piper gratefully took, sighing as the pounding in her skull lessened.
A cramped bathroom was attached to the bedroom, but it was nice enough, and Piper wandered into it to rinse her face, hoping she didn't look too hungover, though the bags under her eyes spoke otherwise. Then again, there were always bags under her eyes (hello, college). Then, figuring she couldn't put if off any longer, she made her way out of the bedroom, meandering to the rest of the apartment.
Moving carefully as to not aggravate her headache, she hobbled out of the room, keeping her hand on the wall to steady herself. The room led to a small hallway, if one could even call it that, since it was only a few feet deep, and it let out into what looked like a sitting area. It was cramped, she noted, but then, weren't all apartments? The furniture was well loved, and there was a large TV pressed against one of the walls. Pictures were scattered around the room, containing the same pair that had been depicted in the pictures in the other room. A small kitchenette was attached to the main living area, with the counters wrapping around in a 'u' shape, and it was so small that if you so much as turned around you'd be on the other side.
A tall blonde man was in the kitchen wearing a ratty old t-shirt. His skin was tan, making her guess that he spent a decent amount of time outside, and he was fairly muscular, without being bulky. His hair was blond and short, making her think of a tiny, golden forest. Also, did she mention he was hot? Because he most definitely was. And blond, too, which she saw as a bonus.
"Hey," she called, then winced when her hangover complained about the volume.
He jumped, dropping what looked like a box of toaster waffles. He squinted at her, blushing, and she already decided he was a bit of dork. Piper was cool with that, she liked dorks. Less likely to break her heart and all that.
"Hi," he greeted, not meeting her eyes since he was preoccupied with picking up the waffles scattered across the counter, "I'm Jason."
Raising an eyebrow as she crossed the small living room, she responded in turn, "Piper."
Having collected all of toaster waffles and created a haphazardly stacked pile, he glanced at her, "I was just making breakfast. Waffles sound good to you?"
Stifling a laugh at the sheer absurdity of her situation, Piper nodded, sitting on a stool by the counter.
"Good," he commented, grinning sheepishly, "I can't cook worth crap."
"Neither can I," Piper waved him off, watching as the blond tried to prepare breakfast. He had surprisingly blue eyes, she noticed.
"How much do you remember?" Jason asked, pulling out some plates. Just as he set them down on the counter, the toaster popped loudly, proudly displaying four neatly toasted waffles. Startled, Jason's hand jerked, knocking over the pile of recently recollected frozen toaster waffles that seemed determined to commit mutiny against him. He gave them a baleful look, and Piper laughed before she could stop herself. The blond man gave her a look of exaggerated betrayal.
Rolling her eyes, she told him what she knew, "I went to a bar with my friend. Got drunk. Woke up here."
"Nothing else?" Jason asked, loading more of the mutinous waffles into the toaster. Piper could've been wrong, but he almost seemed hopeful in asking his question.
"Nope," Piper popped the 'p', then regretted it as her headache flared again.
"I figured you wouldn't," he commented, mumbling slightly, turning around so she couldn't see his face. He poured two steaming mugs of coffee.
"So," Piper addressed the elephant in the room, "Why am I here?"
Jason was pulling stuff out of his refrigerator now, "Last night I was hanging at the BG. Bacchus' Garden, that new bar downtown. My sister's band was performing. You'd already had a few drinks when you approached me. Said I was hot, then started talking. We hung around for a few hours. It was probably around eleven when your friend, that little hyperactive Latino-"
"Leo," Piper supplied helpfully as Jason set out another plate of waffles, some butter, some powdered sugar and some syrup, admitting to herself that that did sound like something she'd do.
"Looked like he was on ten different energy drinks," Jason commented idly, "Amazingly, he was somehow even more drunk than you were, a feat I hadn't thought possible, and hooked up with this other girl, who was just as trashed as he was."
Completely unsurprised, Piper merely sighed, expertly dressing her stack of waffles.
"She had long brown hair in a French braid down her back and a white sundress. Her name was Reggae?" Piper could see Jason was fishing for her name, his brow was furrowed and he looked-nevermind, "No, Calypso. That was it. Anyway, they hooked up and within ten minutes they left the bar, leaving you without a ride. Not that your friend should've been driving anyway. You were so out of it you could barely stand, much less walk. I offered to take you home, and you agreed, but then you passed out in my car without ever telling me your address, so I brought you here to crash for the night."
Piper was somewhat mortified she'd gotten that drunk around the hot blond in front of her, but at the same time, she'd gotten to spend the night in the apartment of said hot blond. She couldn't decide which notion mattered more to her.
"I let you crash in my bed," Jason was blushing slightly, "And I slept on the couch. I would've had you sleep in Thalia's, my sister's, room-"
"You have a sister? That lives here?" Piper was surprised, since she'd seen no sign of said sister.
"Yeah," Jason had poured some cream and sugar into one of the coffee mugs, both of which said I Love Penguins with a silly cartoon of a penguin with a bowtie waving excitedly, before adding whipped cream on top, "She's insane, drinks her coffee black. I dunno how you like yours."
She helped herself to his array of coffee flavoring tools while he continued to make some sort of elaborate concoction, before walking around the counter and sitting in the stool next to hers.
"God," Piper muttered, an expression of bliss on her face as she gripped the coffee like a lifeline, "You're my hero."
"Anyway," Jason continued, his cheeks tinged slightly red as he dressed his waffles appropriately, "Yeah, you didn't notice? She's the punk girl in all of the pictures. Normally she'd be home, but she had a late gig last night and probably crashed at her boyfriend's place last night, since it's closer to the BG."
Feeling sheepish, Piper commented, "I thought she was your girlfriend."
The blond performed a classic spit take, "What?"
Shrugging, she didn't respond, instead opting to munch on her waffles. It had briefly crossed her mind that this was a strange man offering her food, but she figured he's been nice enough thus far, equating to her that the waffles probably aren't drugged, or some other creeper like thing. Probably. But even if they were… Waffles. She couldn't just not eat them.
"So do you have one? A girlfriend, that is?" She queried nonchalantly.
The result was instantaneous. Jason's expression, which had been open, carefree and friendly, shut down. His eyes hardened, darkening from their vibrant, electric blue to to a deep, dusky color vaguely reminding her of the sky just after sundown, blues so deep they almost looked purple, the light slowly leeching away. His jaw tightened, and his eyes narrowed, giving Piper an impression for the first time that this man maybe wasn't the sweet, honest man she'd thought he was. She was also pretty sure that the Superman magnet on the fridge had done nothing to earn the look he was giving it.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Piper popped another bite of waffle in her mouth, waiting to see if Jason would respond, and continuing when he didn't.
"You know, my ex is nothing to laugh at, either," she began, waving her fork around as she spoke, "Tall, blond hair, blue eyes, dazzling smile. We dated for about two months, his name was Dylan. The thing was, he didn't understand the word 'no'. I called it with him one night, we were both drunk. He didn't take it well. I woke up the next morning in an alley without my wallet or my phone."
Piper didn't meet Jason's worried gaze, instead choosing to pour herself another cup of coffee. The blond man watched her for awhile, and she was starting to get uncomfortable, but right when she was going to start fidgeting under his gaze, he spoke.
"We'd been dating since high school," Jason's voice was a little husky as he spoke, "Her name was Reyna Ramirez-Arellano-I don't know why I'm telling you this, you're just really easy to talk to."
Piper turned her gaze to Jason at his anxious laugh, ignoring the slight pitter patter in chest that this god found her easy to talk to, his bright blue eyes attracting her gaze, and she found herself unable to look away, spellbound by the strange, otherworldly energy she found within them. Then she blinked, and whatever had been passing between them vanished. Jason still looked uncertain, and she didn't want to pry.
Sighing, she took a deep breath, hardening her heart as she focused her gaze on the counter, "I don't remember what happened, but I fairly sure that Dylan took more than my valuables that night."
She heard Jason's breath hitch, but she didn't look at him, keeping her gaze trained on the counter, watching it intently as though she'd never seen anything more fascinating in her life.
Piper could feel him weighing his options, before he took a breath, shuddering a little as he did so, "Reyna and I had been dating since high school. Best friends way longer. She broke it off with me a few weeks back. Or maybe months. I… Honestly don't remember. I don't even know what month it is."
Jason let out a breath, "Reyna had to fight for everything she had tooth and claw. She was valedictorian in high school, and had a full ride for a major in politics despite her background. We were in all the same classes, and we'd study together at night. It was nice to see her let down the armor she always wore."
Coughing, suddenly, as though clearing his throat, a tinge of pink colored Jason's face, "Anyway, Reyna had a difficult family life. Her mother left shortly after she was born, a few days after her family moved here from Puerto Rico, and her father fell apart because of it. She was maybe twelve when he was sent to a mental hospital, leaving her and her sister to fend for themselves in the foster care system for two years until her older sister, Hylla, was old enough to take custody, working odd jobs with her sister for four years until Reyna could leave for college.
"Then, Hylla moved to Seattle, said she wanted a fresh start in a new city. Reyna was heartbroken, but there was some movement up there her sister had always dreamt of joining, and Reyna was never one to hold someone else back," there was a melancholy smile coloring Jason's face a paler tone than usual, making the young man seem older than he was as he described the girl he used to love, and probably still did, "To understand what happened, you need to know exactly what was happening.
"Hylla was always an outspoken person. She had opinions on everything and anything, and she made sure you knew it. The movement she joined in Seattle was a group of women who called themselves the Amazons. They were feminists, though a little more extreme than that if we're being honest, and their most recent project was LGBT rights. Of course, Hylla being Hylla, she made her opinions well known, and, being the effective speaker she is, quickly rose through the ranks of the organization.
"I can't tell you the exact details, there are some Reyna never told me. But, well, I know there was rally. Some kind of protest in the streets. Hylla had climbed on a box or something, and was addressing the crowd."
Jason shook his head, eyes downcast as he took a long swig of coffee, "Someone from the crowd shot her. There was a lot of internal bleeding, and Hylla passed out immediately, cracking her skull on the street as she landed. She never woke up, and has been in a coma ever since. Reyna, well, their family doesn't have any money to their name. She had to drop out of college and get a job. Left her scholarship with a semester to go, she was scheduled for early graduation. Health insurance only covers so much, and if Hylla doesn't wake up, Reyna won't be able to let her go. If the hospital declares her brain dead, I have no idea what's going to happen."
"You have to understand," Jason started talking quickly, desperately, his blue eyes wide and unsettling, "We'd planned our lives out. She didn't want to get married until twenty-five. We were going to buy a house right on the beach someday, go on a honeymoon to Rome. She didn't want any kids, just greyhounds, but I got her to agree to two. We were going into politics, both of us. She wanted to be the President, though I was content as long as I'd be doing something good for someone. We were going to have this villa built, designed by my friend's girlfriend, and we were going to host our friends for Christmas every year. We'd go on a trip annually, and visit places she'd always wanted to see. Niagara Falls, the New Years Ball Drop, La Tomatina. We'd planned everything.
"Then it was just… Gone."
The blond stopped talking. Took a deep breath. Collected his thoughts. Piper didn't push him, just sipped her coffee thoughtfully, her waffles long gone.
Slowly, Jason opened his eyes. Let a breath slowly out through his teeth. He ran a hand through his hair, head bowed and looking up at her, "Sorry. I didn't mean to weigh you down with all my emotional baggage. It's just…"
Waving her hands at him, Piper took a sip of her now cool coffee, "Trust me, it's fine. If I was as drunk last night as you said I was, there's probably not a thing in the world you don't know about me."
He gave her a small smirk, "You're right, you're a real mess."
"Hey," she swatted him playfully, "At least I didn't just spill my guts to an absolute stranger."
"But you're not," Jason quirked an eyebrow at her, and Piper thanked her Cherokee heritage for giving her a dark enough skin tone to hide her blush, and oh God, why is she acting like a schoolgirl, she never acts like a schoolgirl- "I even know about that time when you were six and you threw up pink because you had just learned what a germ was and thought eating soap would keep you safe."
Now Piper was really thankful for her coppery skin as she felt her blood rush to her face, and she was just realizing how close her face was to Jason's, and how moving even a fraction of an inch would close the space between them, which she'd actually quite enjoy, an she was contemplating doing just that, maybe framing it as an accident when suddenly her phone went off. The air around her felt colder, somehow, and the electric energy flowing between them dissipated into the air.
"You should probably answer that," Jason supplied helpfully, and Piper sighed.
Her eyes widened, suddenly, when she saw the alarm that was going off, "Crap-I have to go."
She dropped her phone on the counter for a moment, clearly displaying the alarm titled "Idiot, If You Aren't Ready To Leave the House in Five Minutes You're So Dead", and rummaged through her pockets. Satisfied, she grabbed her phone, apologizing profusely to a startled Jason.
"I'm so, so sorry, I forgot my father has a premier today and I told him I'd come," Piper leapt to her feet, only to grab the wall, swaying slightly as the throbbing in her head returned tenfold, and she muttered, "Bad, bad idea."
Casually, she grabbed Jason's arm, as if to steady herself, and whipped a pen out of one of her pockets, hastily scrawling her cell number on his wrist.
"Thanks," she commented quickly, before stumbling in a rush out the door of the apartment, leaving Jason bewilderedly staring at the door, which had slammed behind her.
A moment later, the door opened again, and she leaned around the frame, brown hair falling over her abashed gaze, "Actually, can I have a ride?"