11:58.
11:59.
12:00.
It is officially my birthday, Halloween. Was I lucky to have my birthday on a holiday? I wasn't sure yet despite my years.
Now that I am twenty-two I have a hard time not thinking I have life figured out. I've got school taken care of, a well paying job I don't hate, and a boyfriend. In basically every life planning book ever written I am passing with flying colors. All of the colors. Probably even colors with glitter, that's how well I am doing.
A snore interrupts from my thoughts and I grimace and turn around to look at my boyfriend who I was sharing the bed with. His bangs were slightly covering his face and in a rare moment of intimacy, I brushed them smoothly off his face. Tavros and I had been together for quite a few years and I had not been an easy girlfriend to get along with. I know he did his best though and there was always a bit of guilt gnawing away at me.
Truthfully I always enjoyed his presence, I had just always kind of been a bitch.
He mumbled a little in his sleep before wrapping his arms around me pulling me closer. I internally melted. On the outside I was melting too though, Tavros was like a heater, his skin radiated warmth and while the first few minutes were delightfully toasted eventually I felt like I was baking in an oven.
I pushed myself out of the too tiny bed, leaving my room and glancing at my too tiny apartment. I had always wanted a place of my own and eventually I had one of my own. It had taken years but it still was very low in quality. Little me had all these dreams about having a room for just blowing bubbles and eating jello, then you enter the real world. That shit sucks. Too small and ugly apartment aside though, It was mine. And my boyfriends, technically. We had grand plans when we first got it to turn it into a beautifully furnished place. Despite all that though, it still looked like I lived in a pot smokers place in the 70's, shag carpet and all.
I sat down on the heinously hideous orange couch and snuggled in. It was so ugly and I loved it so much. A lot of my firsts had taken place on this couch. First kiss, first period, first break up. Those had admittedly all happened in the same year. Thirteen was a big year for me. I flicked on the television, probably the only nice thing in the apartment, and was prepared to be on the prowl for a late night Nic Cage movie.
I wasn't feeling lucky that night though and the only thing that was on was a Seinfeld marathon that I shamelessly fell asleep to watching.
Or at least that's what I assume happened considering I woke up in the bed at nine in the morning with a mound of quilts covering me. I huff, that would be exactly the thing he would think is funny. Covering me with all of the blankets in the house. I stretched and looked at my alarm clock and then immediately jumped out of bed. I had a seriously strict beauty regiment and I had to be out of the house in fifty minutes.
I decided eating would take a backseat and I would jump right into my make up. It's true I was a narcissist. I was not happy unless my make up was impeccable and my hair was perfection on earth. I am grossly exaggerating but the point remains. Part of this is because in high school I wore nothing but hoodies, t-shirts, and jeans. Nothing wrong with it but it was time for me to move on.
After deciding to go with a natural look and low pony tail I threw my glasses on my face. Most of the time I did not wear glasses because I hate the idea that Eridan "So Hipster It Hurts" Ampora and I share the same glasses. Whether I had male glasses or he had females has yet to be determined.
I ran out the door with ten minutes to get to work, right on schedule. I was chronically late for someone with such a nice schedule. I hopped on my way too old to be street legal yellow to the point of being offensive bike and started pedaling like a mad woman.
Tavros and I lived smack in the city in the shitty, but not quite the ghetto, apartments but it was convenient for locations. I had time to enjoy the ride, there goes my brick apartment complex with the blinds messed up in half the windows. I appreciated my upstairs neighbor, an old man who was always naked. He was my favorite neighbor, I thought it was hilarious. Tavros did not share my sentiment. I passed my favorite restaurant, the building looking just as ugly as my apartment.
If the health inspector came it would probably get an F but I made sacrifices for their amazing cheeseburger. There were tacky decorations out, like a skeleton with a chefs hat hanging on the door. It was beautiful.
In the midst of appreciating the ugliness and the normalcy in my town, I heard someone shouting at me. I was used to people not appreciating my reckless biking so I kept pushing myself forward. Frankly I did not get enough credit on my biking skills, which were admittedly bad. How many of these pedestrians have pedaled to the max while wearing Jeffrey Campbell wedge shoes? I was almost in front of my job now, so close I could taste it.
Oh... Shit...
That was all I had to think before I was catapulted from my bike, I flew right over the handlebars. I smacked painfully on the asphalt thanking God that there were no cars coming. As I lay in the ground in shock, the blood was trickling down my face onto the asphalt. I picked up my head dazed and sat on the ground. "What... the fuck." I was halfway talking to myself and halfway talking to the boy and girl running up to me. The girl was tall and thin, built like a model, and scolding the dorky looking boy with shaggy black hair.
"I'm so sorry!" He apologized almost instantly at the speed of light. And then repeated it twenty more times for good measure. "I accidentally left my proton pack in the street when I set it down for a break. I tried to tell you that you were headed right for it but then you biked right into it!" He looked sadly at his vaguely science fiction looking item that was now definitely not vaguely dented.
"You're an idiot John." The girl next to him declared. She was blonde and one of those grungy looking people you see around town. I had an urge to remind her that Nirvana was over with but I was in no place to make fun of others. My nose was leaking like a faucet and showed no signs of stopping.
"It's not just my fault, Rose. She biked right into it!" He sounded accusatory, and he pushed his thick framed glasses up more. He was downtrodden and irritated over the loss of his... proton pack or something.
I was in the place to make fun of this John fellow though, he was dressed as a Ghost Hunter? Buster? I couldn't for the life of me remember the name of that dumb movie. Maybe I was just bitter because the movie used to scare me to death. At any rate, I was right, he was dorky. Why was this idiot dressed like it was Hallo... Oh. Right. My birthday. I glowered darkly. "I am late for work and this is my birthday treat. Awesome."
I stood up before ultimately deciding not to go to work anymore. I was nursing a wicked bad headache and a horrible case of the bloody face. Plus my clothes were just as messy as my face. I was normally so lucky, what happened?
"Look I am really so-" John began.
"Fuck off." I said, flipping the bird for good measure before hopping back on my back and pedaling my way back home. It was not fun to do and most people just assumed it was my costume so they honked and gave me thumbs ups. I was in no mood at all, I just wanted to cuddle up in bed and ignore the rest of the world. The only thing that was cheering me up right now was the possibility of getting Chinese food when Tavros came home. A girl could dream.
As I pushed past the main entrance door and stuck the key to my apartment, my intention was to do just that. Once I was inside I pulled out my cell phone and called my work. Then I called Tavros. He was very understand and as I expected, very worried. He promised to rush home as fast possible. Maybe I was being a pansy but at the moment, cuddling with my boyfriend sounded nice. I was excited for the two of us to be together at the moment even though right now it was 10:30 and I had just been asleep, sleeping again sounds nice.
Everything was taken care of pulled off my clothes, tired and aching crawling into the bed bloody and in my underwear. I practically moaned when I set my head on a pillow, it was bliss. I would go to the doctor soon, but not now. My roaming hands were interrupted when they ran across something under Tavros' side of the bed. Curiously my fingers wrapped around it. It was a cold circular shape, with a lump at the top. My blood ran cold. I pulled it out and cupped it gently. In my fingers nestled ever so gently was a ring. With a huge white stone nestled in the center and six other small diamonds framing it, it truly was gorgeous.
I swallowed. Too many decisions to worry about right now. I put it back where I found it and sighed. Everything was so simple and maybe now it wasn't so much. I loved Tavros with his dark brown hair trimmed neatly on one side with the other a little over grown and swooping. He looked like a teenager, but I thought he looked handsome. I didn't really ever tell him that though. He deserved better than what I gave him, I had no problem admitting that. The solution wasn't admitting I had a problem though. It was working past the problem.
Was I ready to though? I could be greatly misinterpreting the purpose of the ring but I didn't think I was ready. Before I could give the matter anymore thought I heard, "Vriska?" and the door close. Tavros was home. I was happy we had gotten to a point where he no longer stuttered. All through high school I bullied him for it and him seemingly not being exactly what I wanted. There are a lot of days I feel bad for what I've done. But if he can get passed it, so can I. He entered the threshold, his long legs clad in dark khakis. He wore a button up white shirt that was instantly sullied when he gave me a bone crushingly big hug.
He spent hours cooing over me and holding me. Eventually he ordered me Chinese food and I was happy despite the questions, migraine, and blistering bad road rash. I could almost believe everything was perfect then, as I shoved noodle after noodle of delicious food in my mouth. After I chanted the mantra in my head long enough, maybe it would become true.
I have the perfect life.
I have the perfect life.
I have the perfect life.
I didn't want anything else.
As he held me he told me how much he loved me. I had grown used to this but usually disregarded it. "I love you Vriska." He smiled. Tavros' smile was crooked and his eyes crinkled but I loved the face.
"I love you too." I meant it, I really did love my boyfriend. We lost our virginity to each other, we had met each others parents, had planned our life together. He really was all I needed. But why was I so unsure when he was going to ask me that fateful question? The question was pushed out of my head as he showered me with kisses.