Tangled Youth

Chapter 10

"Holy shit," Boone swore, bending over to pick up the pathetic looking, unconscious girl on the floor. Shannon stared, speechless. When he had her securely in his arms, he could smell the alcohol on her breath. "Tequila," he muttered.

Shannon closed her eyes, breathing in, tucking a piece of stray hair behind her ear. "I've had to take her home like this so many times before," she said. "Always getting drunk and acting like a total idiot. I have to take the responsibility, every single time."

Boone looked at Anna – her hair was mess, her mascara was smeared, she definitely had the look of a drugged up person. Anna didn't do drugs, though, she just drank – a lot, remembering their first date, when she had had about five beers without being affected by it. He had thought that she must have had a pretty high tolerance for that to happen, considering that he had gotten drunk off of one margarita at her house a few nights ago. It had taken her about six just to start giggling. Boone stared at the pathetic mess in his arms, and wondered how many it had taken her to get here. "I guess I should put her to bed," he said, more to himself than Shannon.

"I'll get a cold washcloth," Shannon offered. Boone took Anna to the couch and lay her down, and then went into the kitchen to get a glass of water, adding a few ice cubes and putting it on the lamp table, with a coaster, next to the couch, while Shannon walked towards the bathroom to get a washcloth.

When she got back, Shannon handed Boone the wet, peach-colored washcloth. "She's your girlfriend," she spat as Boone wiped Anna's face with the washcloth. After a few minutes, as Shannon started to get impatient, Anna began to stir.

"Anna?" Boone asked, concerned.

"Wha…?" she said groggily. "Oh," she opened her eyes in realization. "Shit. What happened?"

"You showed up her drunk – "

" – and you passed out on the fucking porch," Shannon finished disdainfully. "Who the hell gets drunk before they go see their boyfriends?"

"My parents are gone for another two weeks," Anna explained weakly. "They're always gone," she choked out.

"I'm sorry," he told her, "But you shouldn't drink all the time like this."

Anna took Boone's hand, and he didn't want to get in a fight, so he didn't pull back. "I don't drink that much," she said, playing with Boone's fingers.

Shannon snorted. "Says the girl who just passed out on the floor."

"You know what, Shannon? If you don't have anything nice to say, then why don't you just be quiet?" Anna responded, hurt.

"Because we all know that's the rule you abide to," Shannon scoffed.

Anna started crying, much to Boone's horror, as he had no idea how to react. "I could use some fucking support, you know! My parents don't give a shit about me, and now you're being a bitch!" She cried.

"Anna," Boone said softly, "You're right about needing support, but I think Shannon might have a point, too."

"What? That I'm just some drunk?" She coughed. Boone and Shannon exchanged looks. It seemed like that was exactly what Anna was. "Oh, quit acting like you know something about me!"

"Anna," Boone tried, but Anna turned away from him, rolling her eyes. "Baby?" He tried again, and Anna turned towards him. He tried not to look too smug.

"Shannon, can me and Boone talk for a few minutes? Alone?" Anna sat up.

It was Shannon's turn to roll her eyes, but she obeyed Anna and exited the room. When she stood up from the couch, Boone felt a void.

"Anna, I think you should stop drinking," Boone told Anna. She looked skeptical, so he decided to use a different approach. He scooted closer to her, brushing his hand over her knee when he did so, and whispered the same thing right into her ear, inserting in a couple of baby's and pleases into the mix. "Do you think you could maybe try to do that?" he murmured, pressing his lips into her ear. She smiled.

"Yeah, I could try that," she said.

"Promise?" he whispered.

"I promise," she sighed. "God, Boone." He pulled back. "I have a headache, so I'm going to go to sleep. I'll be in your room… if you need me?" She said, like she was trying to tell him something else. Boone didn't get it. "K," she sounded disappointed. "I'll be upstairs." She started up the stairs, just as Shannon was coming down. They avoided each other's gaze, and Shannon, clad in only a t-shirt and boy shorts, sat down next to Boone.

"Hey," she said. "I hope Anna's not too mad at me," Shannon finished darkly. But Boone wasn't paying attention to what she was saying. He was watching her lips moving, wondering how they would feel if they were to move against his own lips, and he wanted with everything in him to run his hands over her bare thigh.

"Yeah," he said, agreeing with whatever she had said. "Hey, thanks for helping me out with her earlier."

"You're welcome. Anna can be a handful." Shannon said, annoyed with her friend.

"Yeah, I guess she can," Boone agreed, and then, to his surprise, Shannon leaned her head against his shoulder.

"What kind of cologne are you wearing? You smell really nice," she observed.

"Uh, thanks. It's the same thing as I always wear, the Ralph Lauren stuff you got me for my birthday."

"I have such good taste," she laughed. "God, but you smell like… so good," she nuzzled her head into his neck further. Boone could barely breathe. But if he thought it was bad now, it was worse when she put her head in his lap, lying down next to him. He prayed to the gods of testosterone that he wouldn't… you know. Just in case, though, he scooted away from her.

"Thanks," he said uncomfortably.

"Hey, do you wanna make me a milkshake?" She blurted out spontaneously.

"Um," Boone answered, confused. "Sure." They went into the kitchen and he took out the blender. "What kind do you want?"

"Do we have any chocolate ice cream?" She asked, opening the refrigerator, and from his spot by the sink, he had a perfect view of her long, gorgeous legs. "Oh good, we do!" She handed Boone the pint of Godiva fudge ice cream, and got an ice cream scoop out of a drawer. He got some milk from the refrigerator and his secret ingredient for milkshakes, vanilla, out of the cupboard. After putting the contents on the counter into the blender, he mixed it up, and poured it into a large glass and handed it to Shannon, eagerly awaiting her reaction.

"Oh! Shit!" She exclaimed after taking a tentative sip.

"Is it that bad?" Boone wondered out loud. How had his recipe gone so terribly awry?

"Are you fucking kidding me? Oh my god! I'm going to have a milkshake orgasm!" She exclaimed, and Boone tried to erase a certain image he was getting out of his mind. Before he knew what was happening, Shannon was pressing her lips into his, and they remained there for a full two seconds before she pulled back. He could still taste the chocolate from her lips when she ordered, "Try some!" She got an extra spoon from a drawer. She dipped it into the drink, and fed Boone a spoonful. "It's good, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is pretty good," Boone agreed.

"Messy boy," Shannon smiled, wiping some chocolate residue from the corner of his lip. He tried not to smile back, but probably failed, as the next words out of her mouth were, "You're so cute, Boone." Oh my god. He was officially going to die. "I gotta go, um, call someone," she said awkwardly, recognizing his discomfort, taking her milkshake with her as she walked down the hall.

"Okay," he said, even though she was gone and had already left. His skin still stung from where she had touched him, his mind was still reveling regarding her "milkshake orgasm" comment, and his lips, they were the worst. They tingled, and Boone was afraid they wouldn't ever stop doing so. He really, really wanted to have sex with his sister. You're gross, he thought, but it didn't put a damper on the feeling.

He went upstairs towards his room, where Anna was in his bed, asleep. Shannon, he thought, convincing himself that it was Shannon lying in his bed, eagerly wanting to put it into good use. He closed his door and lay down next to her, Shannon, and kissed her neck, ignoring the smell of alcohol that still reeked on her skin.

"Mmm," said Shannon, waking up, rolling onto her back, and Boone slowly crawled on top of her, kissing her lips, and all at once, the tingling stopped. Shannon kissed back eagerly, sitting up and straddling him. She pressed herself against him, and he did the same, almost believing that this truly was Shannon. Shannon, he thought, remembering her bare legs and shoulders, and how she puckered her lips in concentration when she applied her mascara. He tugged on the bottom of Shannon's shirt, and she pulled back to remove it. He moved his hands up Shannon's sides, thinking of the cleavage she exposed when she leaned over, as he felt up the girl in his lap. Shannon moaned, unbuttoning the top button of his jeans and slipping her hand between them. "Do you have… do you have one?" Shannon sighed, and Boone wondered when Shannon's voice had gotten so scratchy. Right, idiot, he thought, because it's not Shannon. But he dismissed the thought from his head, and let the girl he was in bed with become Shannon. Shannon took off her incredibly short denim skirt, tossing it aside and giggling. Boone leaned away from her for a second, reaching into his dresser drawer to get a condom. After he took his pants off and put it on, he went back to kissing Anna, no, Shannon, he reminded himself, lying on top of her.

They kept going, and there was point when the line of distinction between Anna and Shannon became seamless, and the girl he was thrusting into had completely morphed into being Shannon. And he when he told her he loved her when he came, it didn't even seem like a lie. "God, you're good," Anna told him when they were done. It was over, so she wasn't Shannon anymore, and Boone felt filthy.

God, he thought, disgusted with himself. Even though Anna hadn't noticed, he still felt like he had sinned, but the more he did this, the more he slept with this virtual Shannon, and other virtual Shannon's to come, he wouldn't feel as bad about it. "I love you," Anna sighed, but all Boone could do was grunt in response, pretending to be asleep. After Boone was sure she was asleep, Boone went downstairs, and found himself in his mother's office. He was shocked when, sitting genially on her chair, was the address for Sam Carlyle.

I know, I know. I was specifically instructed not to do any "scenes" with Boone and Anna, but I really did try to make it seem like Shannon. Hopefully, it was bearable, maybe even better than bearable? Please tell me what you thought. Thanks!