***I got a lot written over spring break, sat down today to post something, and hated almost all of it. Yay. Lots of revising to do. Lots and lots. Thanks for reading and reviewing-I love seeing what you guys think! Hopefully I'll get something else up soon. Of course, I still own nothing***
Josh Harris instinctively reached for his lighter as Kjiersten plopped next to him on the couch, and she had a cigarette in her mouth just as he passed it over. She didn't bother to thank him before lighting up, and he didn't bother to tell her that she'd be dead by 45 if she wasn't careful. Some things just don't need to be said between friends. Days like this, he knew better than to give her the electronic cigarette lecture. Not on her mother's birthday. He jumped as a pair of leather boots were thrust into his lap.
"These things are killing my feet. Help?" He smirked at Kjiersten and expected her to take them off herself, but she looked at him so innocently as their friends argued over what movie to start with that he grabbed the bottom of the boot and pulled. "You're the best, Joshie."
"I know," he grunted as the first boot came off. "Would it have killed you to change?"
"Yup," she nodded her head. Kjiersten was still in the black halter dress she'd worn to the cemetery earlier, although she had thrown a pair of bicycle shorts on under the skirt and a Northwestern hoodie overtop. "Where's your girl?"
"Gina? Uh," he glanced over his shoulder as he pulled her other boot off, "bathroom, maybe? Kinda lost track."
"Joshie," she scolded, "keep track of your girlfriends!"
"Wait, back it up!" the redhead kneeling in front of the DVD player whirled to face them. "Josh has multiple girls now? Why do I always miss this shit going down? This is important, Josh! You have to tell me these things!"
"I don't," he paused to yank Kjiersten's other boot off, "I don't have multiple girls, Ani. Kier's just being retarded."
"Don't insult people with mental illnesses," the boy with the unbrushed mop of coffee-brown hair next to Ani mumbled into the DVD case he was staring at. "They don't want to be compared to her."
"Watch it, Vince. Don't make me kick your ass," she threatened, stretching her legs back out over Josh's lap. "I had a long day, and I don't need shit from you people."
"Excuse me?" Ani raised her eyebrows, leaning back against the couch. "We pick you up from your dad's house 'cuz you're too damn lazy to fix your fucking car, whisk you away to a happy land of friendship and love, buy you a goddamn cookie cake, and willingly sit through a marathon of shitty old horror movies. We're the best damn friends in the world, and you better be fucking thankful, bitch."
The room laughed at that. Ani was one of a select few that could go toe-to-toe with Kjiersten, and that's what kept them such good friends. They'd grown up together in Seattle, and she was one of the few female friends Kjiersten could claim to have. Her friends were mostly men and crabbers, with the exception of a few girls from high school that had stuck around. It didn't seem that she got along with girls well. Kjiersten was a bit abrasive, as her uncles would proudly say. Like any Hansen, she always preferred to know exactly what people thought about her and assumed everyone felt the same. If she thought it, you could guarantee that it would come out of her mouth a few seconds later. There was no filter between Kjiersten Hansen's brain and mouth.
"We even bought beer. Enough beer for a room full of alcoholi…" Vince glanced at Josh, hesitated, and tried again. "Enough beer for a room full of people that don't have drinking problems but still go through the shit at ungodly rates."
"And I shall love you until my dying day, I know, I know." Kjiersten rolled her eyes and glanced towards the doorway. "Fuckin-a, Josh, where's this Gina chick? I am dying to meet her!"
"I don't know why," Josh mumbled, holding her ankles so her legs didn't fall as he leaned forward to grab his beer. "She won't like you."
"She'll love us," Ani corrected. "Kier, did you get an ashtray before you lit up?" Kjiersten shook her head. "Vince, go find one."
"Why me?" he exclaimed, stopping his hand midway through his hair to fling it out in a "what the hell" motion that left his hair looking messier and unrulier than it already did. He always looked like he hadn't shaved in a day and a half, too, and no one could quite figure out how he managed to look that way permanently.
"Because I'm already settled," Ani nodded as if she was bestowing great knowledge upon him. She then leapt back to sit on the floor where Kjiersten's feet would be if she was sitting normally, leaned back against the couch, and grabbed a beer from the case sitting by the side of the couch. "It's your house, too. Start earning your keep or I'll find a new husband. There's probably already a line outside. You know how I have to beat the men off."
Vince flipped the curly-haired redhead off before pushing himself up and leaving the room. Kjiersten carefully aimed her smoke at Ani's head, but Ani seemed to sense this move coming and leaned forward to put her beer on the coffee table just as Kjiersten blew out. Josh laughed as Vince came back in with an ashtray, and Kjiersten stamped out her cigarette.
"Thanks, Vince," she mumbled. "What's the first movie?"
"The original Texas Chainsaw Massacre," Ani supplied. "A classic."
"With the world's dumbest ending," Josh and Kjiersten said in unison. They high-fived and turned towards the doorway when they heard the clicking of heels on the tile of the hallway.
"Hey," Josh nodded at the tall, thin brunette entering the room. "Guys, this is Gina. Gina, this is Ani," Ani waved without turning from the TV screen because she was trying to switch it over to read the DVD player, "Vince," Vince flashed a peace sign before snatching the remote from Ani, "and Kier."
"Hey," Kjiersten smiled. "Nice to meet you."
"You, too," Gina smiled. "There room for me here?" Kjiersten sat up a bit so her feet weren't covering the next cushion, and, although she hesitated, Gina sat down. "Thanks. Josh has told me a lot about you." Ani mumbled something about not hearing anything about her, but only Kjiersten heard and had to bite her bottom lip to hold in the laughter. "You know, I heard all about how I'd be meeting Sten at this party, then he'd tell me stories about growing up with Kier, then all about the trouble he used to get into with KJ, then showed me bios about Kursten Hansen, the female crabber, online. I thought I was meeting six people tonight!" She started to laugh, but it died awkwardly when no one else joined in.
"It's said Keersten, actually. Not Kursten." There was a tense pause after the correction where Gina's smile faltered and Josh shot his best friend a sideways look, so she forced a smile and continued. "Norwegians. We can never make it simple!"
"Kjiersten. Got it," Gina smiled again, leaning her head on Josh's shoulder. "What movie we watching?"
"Texas Chainsaw Massacre!" Ani grinned excitedly. "Followed by The Beyond, a hotel on a gateway to hell. We've got some good shit lined up." Gina glanced at Josh, then smiled hesitantly. She didn't quite share their love of gory old horror flicks, apparently. Kjiersten reached back and grabbed a beer, then handed a second to Gina. Josh's girlfriend took the bottle and studied the label carefully as Kjiersten used her hand to pop the cap off of hers. Vince made a face at the move, and Josh shook his head. The guys really hated when she and Ani did that.
"Budweiser?" Gina asked. Kjiersten nodded as she took a gulp. "I don't think I've ever tried the regular kind. I've only ever had Bud Light."
"You've missed out on an essential part of American life," Ani shook her head, looking around for the DVD player remote. "That's the stuff to drink."
"I'll take your word for it," Gina mumbled. "Do you have a bottle opener?"
"Use your hand," Ani shrugged, locating the remote. Gina looked to Kjiersten for help, but she and Josh were busy silently waging war over who got full use of the pillow halfway between them both.
"Um…well…I just got my nails done yesterday…and is that even safe?" Gina wrinkled her nose.
"It's not," Vince shook his head. "Here." He tossed the opener at her, but Gina missed and squeaked as it narrowly missed her face.
"Fail," Kjiersten smirked, and Ani mumbled something to herself as she found the remote and hit play. Gina shot a glare in Vince's direction and picked up the opener.
"Thank you, Vince," she said properly as she carefully tried the smallest sip she could. Kjiersten and Ani shared a look and turned their attention to the movie. This one, like all the others, wouldn't last long. They could tell.
It wasn't too long into the movie before they were all laughing. All but Gina, at least. The old effects and now-cliché plot weren't scary to the four friends, just funny. They had seen too many scary movies to be truly scared by this, although Kjiersten would always list this film as one of the best horror movies out there. She couldn't focus on it nearly as much as she wanted tonight, though, because Gina was trying to cuddle up to Josh and subtly edge her legs off of his lap. A line needed to be drawn. She casually tapped Ani's shoulder and motioned to where the couple was deeply engrossed in a whispered conversation, Gina's hand on his knee.
Ani rolled her eyes and cleared her throat. "Hey, Gina? How'd you like the beer?"
"Huh?" she pulled her head away from Josh. "Oh, it's…it's okay, I guess. It's stronger than I'm used to."
"That's because you drink shit. Fix that, Josh," Ani ordered. Josh opened his mouth to protest, but he changed his mind.
"Whatever," he finally grunted. "Let's just watch the movie, okay?" He absently rubbed Kjiersten's knee, and she suppressed the urge to look at Gina's reaction. She didn't need to look; she could feel the glare she was getting. It didn't make her feel all that smug, so she didn't have the satisfied grin on her face that Ani did. She hated it when Josh's girlfriend didn't fit with their group. She wanted to see him happy, she really did, but it needed to be the right girl. And if she had to be that filter, so be it. Maybe Gina would come around; it was possible. Not likely, but possible. She wanted one of these girls to work out. Josh deserved as much. She just wanted him to find the right girl, but he had yet to bring that girl to meet her.
Right now, this girl needed to know where she stood. She might be the girlfriend, but Kjiersten was the best friend. That's the way it was. Gina would have to deal with it or pack it in.