Barkovitch had immense respect for this girl, and most of that was due to the fact that she'd cut McVries's face open. There was the other part, you know, the part where she was really, really pretty, but that didn't matter.
That much.
It was also nice that she was letting them stay. Barkovitch probably would've fucked this up, too, except Parker had told him to, quote, 'keep his fucking mouth shut or he'd be lucky if he had any teeth left.' Barkovitch was pretty sure Parker would keep good on this threat. So, he shut up. And now all of them were asleep – Abraham and Baker crushed together on the couch, Garraty and Scarface curled up in a corner, Parker spread out in the middle of the floor, and him.
He couldn't sleep, so instead chose to sit with his back to the wall, knees pulled to his chest. Parker's hand was a few inches away from his foot, and for a moment he had the instinct to step on it. Then he remembered that Parker would probably murder him if he did so.
The girl – Priscilla – came out of her bedroom. She was wearing a tanktop, pajama pants and, Barkovitch realized with a sort of horrific wonder, no bra. He averted his gaze. "Are you all right?" she asked.
Damn it. Barkovitch looked up at her and nodded. She sat down beside him, and he felt his face heat up.
"You don't talk much," she said. Barkovitch snorted before he could stop himself. "What?"
"I talk plenty. I just fuck things up when I do, so I don't," he paused, glancing at Parker. "I may have been threatened to keep my mouth shut."
She nodded. "Are you hungry?"
Barkovitch nodded and she stood up, grabbing his hand and pulling him up as well. He stumbled after her to the fridge, nearly tripping over Parker's arm. She handed him an apple and watched him.
He was really feeling a bit self-conscious at the moment.
He took a bite, and she chose that precise moment to talk. "Peter doesn't like you."
Barkovitch choked, swallowing as soon as he could. "Nope."
"I can't understand why."
"Because I always get off on the wrong foot," Barkovitch said, shrugging. "Nobody likes me. Nobody ever has." He took a deep breath, glancing at the others.
Priscilla nodded and kept watching him. She was a little bit taller than him – not too much, just half an inch or so, but it was still a little annoying. He wished he would grow. He was sixteen years old and barely five foot seven, rounding up – she was pretty tall for a girl, but still. He was short.
McVries took that moment to wake up, and as soon as he did, Priscilla kissed Barkovitch. Barkovitch dropped the apple and his mind went blank. Out of the corner of his eye he saw McVries getting up, and in the back of his mind he realized that this was probably not a good thing.
He definitely realized it when McVries shoved him against the fridge and started hitting him.
