Heya peeps! Finally, another chapter. Hope you all are doing wonderful.
The chapter title is from Elle Varner's song of the same name. It's really great. I think it goes well with Punky & Sky. Especially the high school Punky & Sky. *hint hint* There's a flashback in this chapter! I love those, lol.
Hope you all enjoy the chapter, and don't be shy to tell me what you think.
Special thanks to, anon1, Esha, Menaji, and hyperfaerie : )
Ch. 20: Damn Good Friends
Sky's POV
Okay. I'm not gonna overreact. I'm not gonna wonder what the hell is going on. I'm not gonna want to punch Shelly in the face for opening the door. My legs are absolutely not trembling right now. I really don't want to find Phil and jump him in front of everyone in this club.
I'm not in denial.
I'm not in denial.
I'm not in denial.
Fuck it, I'm in denial. And I'm gonna fucking stay that way.
After power walking into the club, I spotted the women's bathroom, and quickly retreated in there. I feel uber privileged that no one's in here.
When I looked in the mirror, my denial shield started to crack. My face is flushed. My eyes are dazed. And my hair doesn't look like I spent twenty whole minutes on it, (yeah, that's not a long time, but whatever, it was cute). I'm starting to feel like I just made out with a hot dude in the back of a car. Dammit.
"Skylar, get a grip." I said to my red face. The shield was cracking even more so now. I turned the water on and splashed my face a few times. Still didn't work. Shield still cracking. Think, think, think. Ugh.
"So, what the hell was that?" Damn, I knew she would follow me in here. "Nothing happened, Shelly. You drove us here, we got out, and I walked into the restroom. That's all." I glared at her through the mirror.
"Denial is not a good look, Skylar." She replied with a smirk. "I know, but it's keeping me sane." I sighed. "I'll let you go back to your denial and I'll even play along if you explain to me what just happened." She's always bribing me. Dang.
"Wait, wait, wait. Don't start talking without me." That was Barbie. She hurriedly closed the door and ran to us. "We were arguing and he kissed me. That's all." There, I'm ready for my denial shield to be recharged.
"That is not all. How'd you end up on his lap, missy?" Shelly pried. I glared even harder at her through the mirror. "I don't know, okay. I got caught up in the moment. I was shocked and my body reacted before my brain." Yeah, that's a plausible explanation.
"And if I wouldn't have opened the door, would your brain have reacted at all?" She asked, a knowing smirk on her face. I groaned. "Probably not in that particular moment. But its over now, and I'd really like to get back to my denial." I gave them a fake smile.
"Damn. Just when I get my hopes up, thinking that they're back together, she shields herself with psycho crazy denial." Barbie mumbled. "I know, right? But I agreed to live in denial with her, so whatever."
"Oh, before you do, can I just say that it was clever as hell of him to cut her off in mid argument with a kiss? That was so dreamy." Ugh, Barbie is such a wuss.
"Yeah that was clever. I'm so gonna use that the next time we get into an argument." Shelly chuckled. "Uh, no. I've kissed you before. You use too much tongue." I grinned at her. "Wait a minute. You two kissed each other?" Barbie asked, intrigued.
"Long story short, drunken truth or dare got real sexy that night." I winked at her. Knowing her, she probably thinks that we're secret lovers or something like that. "It was just a kiss, bug eyes." Shelly explained to a wide-eyed Barbie with a smile.
"I kinda figured that, crazy. Now since we're all in pseudo-denial, can we please go dance? No one can see me in the bathroom." Barbie smiled at me.
"You two go ahead. I'll be out in a minute." I grinned at them. "Totally understand. See you in a bit." Shelly gave me a quick hug right before she and K2 left the bathroom.
"Alone at last." I said to myself as I stared at myself in the mirror. The denial thing worked for a little while, but after that little convo, I'm totally screwed. I can't block my thoughts anymore.
I want him. Bad. I really do. But I can't get into this with him. I have to find him tonight and let him know that we can't do this. Yep. I can't. But I want to, so bad. Fuck my life.
Staring into the mirror at my flushed cheeks, I turned on the water and splashed my face a few times more. "Skylar, come on. Chill out." Well, that didn't work. Normally talking myself down helps me when I'm having some type of meltdown. I closed my eyes and breathed a few deep breaths.
And that's when the bathroom door opened again. My eyes shot open and I cut the water off. Whoever walked in went into the first stall and I headed toward the door to leave. The stall door was open, which totally creeped me out. "So, its gonna be that kind of night, huh?" I mumbled to myself as I looked straight ahead and tried to power walk out of there.
Of course, my life wouldn't be complete without more bullshit, so naturally as I passed the open stall, the person grabbed my arm. Now, I have issues with random people touching me, so this set me off. I snatched my hand away and instantly went into a blind rant.
"You disgusting bitch! Why the fuck would you grab me? You're lucky I'm in a good mood right now, or else this six inch stiletto would be in your fucking neck."
"Now that would really hurt." The person said to me with a chuckle. When I heard that voice, I went from defense mode to just plain pissed mode.
"Motherfucker. What the hell are you doing?" I asked Phil with a frown. He grinned at me.
"I wanted to talk to you. Alone." He replied as he eased out of the stall. "Hello, dumb ass. This is a public restroom. Women walk in and out of here. And I've seen you naked, you're not a fucking woman. So why the fuck are you in here?" I closed my eyes and took a few more deep breaths.
"I told you, Sky. I wanted to talk to you. Alone. Calm down." He was standing in front of me and tried to grab my arm again. I pulled away and backed away from him. "Talk then." I sighed, glad that my anger had finally subsided.
"Well, I don't know what the hell I wanted to talk about now. You just threatened to stab me in the neck with your heel. I'm a little traumatized." He grinned that goofy grin. "Whatever." I mumbled as I made my way to the bathroom door.
He grabbed my hand, stopping me in my tracks. "Come on, Sky. Talk to me. What's going through your head right now?" He asked, giving my hand a little squeeze. I turned to face him.
"Wrenching pain. That's what's going through my head. Confusion, too. That feeling of lightheadedness, a little bit of giddiness. Lustfulness. Oh, and paranoia. But mostly, a whole lot of 'what-the-hell-am-I-doing'. That's about it." I sighed, looking away from him.
"That it, huh? Did I make you feel all of that?" He asked. I could feel the smirk on his face. And it pissed me off. "Yep. You made me feel all of that. And it's torture, alright. It's torturing me, Phil. So stop it." Great. Now my eyes are tearing up, unintentionally.
"Wow. All this because of a kiss?" His little smirk faded as he looked at me.
"Yes. Can you believe it? All of these crazy iridescently beautiful thoughts about you and I. And then, then comes the fear. And the fear engulfs my beautiful thoughts. And it's kicking my fucking ass, Phil. It's kicking my ass." And now the tears start to fall. I'm such a wimp.
"So you're saying that I scare you? That's what you're trying to say?" He scoffed, letting go of the grip he had on my hand.
"Not just you, Phil. It's not always about you, ya know. I'm scared of me, too. I'm scared of us. I'm scared of sobriety. I'm scared of relapsing. I'm scared of moving back to Chicago. I'm scared of my uncle." Now I'm bawling. He's the only one that gets this kind of reaction from me. The only one. Damn him.
"Skylar, I told you that you don't have to be worried about him anymore." He grabbed my hand again. "He called me last month. And now the dreams are back." There. It's out and in the open. It's no longer compressing my brain like a tumor.
It was a relief to tell him about that, but I couldn't even look him in the face afterward. Apparently he didn't mind that awkwardness, cause he pulled me into his chest and wrapped his arms around me.
"Sky, why didn't you tell me this when he called?" He asked, softly. I know he was using that tone with me just to stop me from panicking. His whole body language has changed now. Thank god we're not in Chicago. Cause he'd be ready to find my uncle and do damage.
"Because. I didn't want to worry you with that. You were right. I have enough dysfunction for the both of us. You don't need to deal with my shit. I'm damaged goods, Phil." I was dead serious, but apparently it was funny to him.
"So you're damaged, but I'm not?" His little chuckles turned into full blown laughter. "This isn't about you." I rolled my eyes.
"This is about me and you, Sky. Me and you. I've been dealing with your bullshit for so long that its morphed into my bullshit. And I don't mind it. I welcome your dysfunction. I embrace it. I can handle you, Sky." And for a second, I almost caved.
"Why didn't you say that shit months ago? That night when I left. Before the Jeff shit. Before the Amy shit. Before I turned into a fucking cowardice bitch. Why now?" But my fear came back like a boulder.
"Since we're reminiscing about that night, remember your little statement about you not being scared of your love for me? Yeah. I guess that's changed now. People do change their minds sometimes, Sky." He let me go and took a few steps away from me.
"Uh, no. I'm not scared of my love for you, dumb ass. I'm scared of you changing your mind about me again. But my feelings for you, yeah. That's about the only thing that I'm not scared of right now." I gave him a weak smile.
"I'm not gonna change my mind about you. Even when I stupidly tried to, it didn't work." He smiled back, taking those few steps back toward me. "Uh huh." Those eyes of his were subject to make me melt.
"So, what was that in the car?" He asked, that smile turning into a sly smirk. I frowned. "Six months, Phil. It has been six months since I've had some. But if you're still offering, I'll definitely accept." So I'm having a weak moment. I think I'm allowed a few of those.
He raised his eyebrow at me and pulled me into his chest again. Leaning down so that his lips were not even half of an inch away from mine, he spoke. "Monogamy, babe." He grinned.
"I know, I know. Still doesn't stop me from wanting to pull you into that stall, unzip your pants, and… I'm shutting up now." I sighed as he let me go.
"So, you don't want this?" He asked, eying me in that lust filled way that makes my knees tremble. "I'm damaged, PJ. Give me a little time to heal. Just be my Inky. My cool ass best friend from Chi-town who just so happens to have good taste in music." I gave him a smile. He rolled his eyes at me.
"You're complicated as hell. And if it was anybody else, Sky. I swear I'd be done with you. I swear I would be. But you're Sky. Fucking Sky. So, fine. I'll continue to ride on your emotional rollercoaster. No matter how nauseated I am." He shook his head at me.
"Thank you, Punkin. Now can we please get out of this god awful bathroom?"
Punk's POV
"So you're really helping the girl move away from you?" That's my bud Colt. He's referring to me volunteering to help Sky through her little moving phase. "Well, yeah. I thought she wasn't gonna go through with it. But I guess she is." I sighed.
"Now you know that once that crazy ass chick has her mind set on something, she's gonna follow through with it. But really, bro. You think by you being her personal doormat that she's gonna take you back?" He asked with a chuckle.
"I'm not being her doormat. She thinks that I'm gonna suddenly fall out of love with her. Helping her with the move is my way of letting her know that I'll always love her. Regardless of how stupid I think she is." I scoffed.
"Aww. You two are cute. The stupid girl and her loving doormat. Adorable, dude. Just adorable." He laughed. "Ha ha. Look man. You know if it was anyone else I'd be gone. But it's Sky. And she's going through some shit. I'm content with just being her friend, for now." I sighed. Colt laughed.
"So, who's gonna fill the bedroom void while you and Sky are being 'just friends'?" He questioned with a chuckle. "Sex isn't the only thing on my mind, Colt." I replied. "Riiiight. So we're pretending that Skylar isn't walking sex? Alrighty then." He teased.
"We're not pretending anything. I know she's walking sex. I'm just saying that I'm not a fiend, dude. I don't need sex 24/7." I explained. Although the more I think about Sky, the more I wish I'd given in to her in that club bathroom a few weeks ago. Dammit. Now thoughts of Sky's beautiful nakedness writhing beneath me are clouding my mind.
"Punk, did you hear me? I said I'm about to head out now. I'll call you later." Once I snapped out of my fantasy, I was finally able to comprehend what Colt was saying to me. "Oh, uh. Yeah. Alright. I'm supposed to be meeting Sky at three anyway." I replied, face red and body heated after that damn daydream.
I was glad to get off of the phone, cause I needed a long cold shower before I made my way downstairs to see her.
When I got to her apartment, I knocked on her door, gingerly. "It's open." She yelled. I let myself in and was greeted by the happy little Rocco Lampone. "Hey, bud." I smiled as I scooped him into my arms, then making my way into the living room.
"Hey Punky Punk." My eyes quickly snapped away from Rocco when she spoke. On the couch, sitting cross legged, she was wearing a form fitting, ratty old Batman tee and a pair of blue jean short shorts. Her yellow and black checkered thigh high socks matched the yellow and black earrings that adorned her ears. Her hair was up in two adorable pigtails, a red bow tied to the one on the left and nothing on the right. She's nearsighted, but wears her glasses whenever she reads. And today, she had on a pair of red ones. This girl is just, wow.
"What'd you do today?" She looked up at me with a smile. I was a bit stunned. I just stared at her for a few seconds. I only snapped out of my stare when her smile turned into a confused frown. "Earth to Phil." She snapped her fingers a few times. "Yeah. What? What'd you say?" I asked with a soft chuckle, amused at my recent distractedness today.
"Boob Magnet. I said, what did you do today?" She grinned at me. My mind wasn't even on her boobs until she said it. But since she did, my eyes gently landed on the topic at hand. I could only think of one word to describe the way they comfortably stretch the cottony fabric of the tight black tee. Hot.
The more I stared at the shirt, the more I racked my brain trying to remember where I knew it from. "I just chilled. What'd you do today?" I asked as I slowly made my way to her neon yellow couch to sit next to her. Eyes still locked on her Bat covered chest.
"Greystones, PJ. I found Greystones." She grinned at me. And now I remember where the shirt came from.
Flashback Punk's POV
April 1997
"Hey, Inky. Doing anything today?" Her voice brightened my day, even though she sounded a little upset through the phone. "Nothing much. What's wrong?" I asked, concern in my voice.
She sighed. "The parentals decided that they want to try to reconcile. And as a cruel punishment, I'm being forced to partake in family dinners with them. Hell is apparently my mother and father." She sounded despondent. "Damn. What do you guys talk about?" I can only imagine how awkward the dinner conversations must be.
"He studies his case files and she sketches designs for her upcoming fall line. I kill peas in my plate. But today, as soon as we got to the table, my dad's assistant waltzed in and exploded on him about their little fling, upset because he's having dinner with his wife. Apparently, he told her some bullshit about him leaving mom for her. Ugh. And so my mom blew up on both of them. She chased his assistant out of the house and then got into a shouting match with my dad. Because she's holier than thou and she's so not fucking her driver, Mario." She was ranting, and I wasn't gonna stop her. I just let her continue to release her frustration. She's done it for me plenty.
"I'm invisible, as usual, so I managed to get away before the dishes started flying. And I'm starving. You wanna go get some pizza?" She asked sweetly. "I was having the time of my life staring at the ceiling, but I'll tear myself away. At least for a little while." That garnered a soft chuckle from her.
"Aww. How sweet. Taking time away from your busy schedule to chill with little ole me. I'm flattered, dorkface." She seemed giddier the more she spoke. It made me feel good to know that I make her happier. Yeah, I'm a sappy loser.
I knocked on the door with hesitance cause I could hear the yelling all the way down the driveway when I pulled up to her house. I don't know what the hell I'm about to walk into.
Thankfully, I was greeted with the beautiful face of Skylar when the door was answered. "They're on round five. Apparently Daniel knows about Mario. Wanna go say hey?" She grinned at me. "Oh yeah. I totally want to have a plate full of peas get hurled at my head. Lets go." I smirked, grabbing her hand and pulling her out of the door. "I'm leaving and I'll be back whenever." She yelled before she closed the door behind her.
We went to a pizzeria called Enzo's. I tried my damnedest to keep her laughing and for the most part, I did. But despite her grins and sarcastic jokes, her eyes remained sad.
After our little pizza date, well not really a date but whatever, we headed back to her house. She was blaring Nirvana's Lithium and singing every word as if her life depended on it. Not a fan of them, but it's tolerable because she loves it. The things I do for Danny.
Once at her house, we quietly got out of my car and silently made our way to the front door. She was gonna sneak me up to her room so I could crash here. It seemed as if the arguing had died down, so that was a pretty good sign. "If I'm lucky, they've knocked each other unconscious." She scoffed as she unlocked the door and turned the knob.
She went in first. And I should've known by the way she squealed, that I shouldn't have walked inside. But I did it anyway. "Oh shit." She squeaked, startling her parents who were in mid-screw on the stairs. "Oh shit!" Her dad gasped, jumping off of his wife and scrambling to pull up his boxers.
"Skylar, I thought you'd be back later on." Her mother breathlessly replied as she grabbed her husband's shirt and put it on. "So, is this how you two get off? You argue, throw shit, and then you fuck on the stairs? Is that it? Cause if it is, you two are more screwed up than I thought." She was angry, nose pinched and face flushed.
"Baby, we're sorry. It just sorta happened." Her dad tried to explain, not in the least bit phased by Sky's vulgarity when talking to he and his wife. "Yeah. After you traumatized me to hell with your damn plate throwing and shit. Why didn't you just screw first? Was the argument meant to fuck with my head, or something?" She asked, getting more angrier by the second.
"We can't really explain it, Sky." Her dad tried to smile at her, but she's glaring at him and his attempt at a smile turns into a slight grimace. "Whatever. Come on, PJ. We can stay at your place tonight." She sighed, done with her parent's craziness.
As soon as she said my name, it seemed like they finally realized that I was in the room. "Oh, Phillip. Hi. Sorry you had to see that." Mrs. B. said to me with a smile. She's a creeper. "What is he doing here anyway?" Her dad asked, his embarrassed look turning into a cold scowl.
"He was gonna come up to my room, but since you two are kinda blocking the way…" She scoffed. "Don't you think it's a little too late for him to be going up to your room anyway?" Her dad asked, glaring at me now. "Dad, if I wanted to have sex, I would have done it already. I'm staying at his place tonight. You two can continue to defile the stairs now." She rolled her eyes as she led me out of the house and back to my car.
"Please don't say anything about that. Please." She asked me once we got into the car. Her green orbs bore into mine, begging. I smiled at her. "Where are we going tonight?" She seemed relieved when I said that. Her eyes went from begging to excited in seconds.
"Lincoln Park. There's this Greystone I found one day. A pool in the backyard. And the hippie couple that owns it are never there on the weekends. And no, I wasn't stalking them." She grinned at me. "Whatever you say, stalker chick." I chuckled.
She had me drive to this little neighborhood filled with spaced out early 1900's Greystone houses. She had me park in front of the first one, smiling hugely. We got out of the car and she led me through the gate and we headed to the backyard.
"Trespassing, Skylar Danielle. We are trespassing." I rolled my eyes as she gently pulled me along. "It's worth it, Phillip Jack. It's worth it." She giggled once we were in the backyard. And she was right. I thought the front of the house was pretty. With it's cool beige color and gigantic windows. But this backyard looks like paradise.
There's a huge pool, and a humungous patio circling around it. "This is cool." I grinned at her. "I know. So, are you gonna get in?" She asked, glaring longingly at the pool. "Uh, nah. Taking a dip in some random people's pool is not really my cup of tea." I shook my head at her.
She frowned at me, slipping her sandals off. "Fine. You can be my lookout. And you can hold my clothes." When she said that, her shirt was already being thrown at me. Goddamn, she looks scrumptious in her red bra. Then she unbuttoned her jeans, slowly sliding them off as if she was teasing me or something. Whoa, the panties match. And they're more delicious than the bra.
Once she tossed her jeans to me, she turned her back to me and gracefully dived into the pool. That was a great sight, seeing her in the water. She swam like a pro, wistfully gliding through the water like it was second nature to her. She seemed so joyous and free. By now I had found a comfy lawn chair to rest in as I watched the little brunette beauty swim her worries away. Every once in a while, she'd pop her head out of the water and give me a sweet smile.
After about an hour of this, we were startled by the outside lights cutting on. She quickly jumped out of the pool, dripping and glistening and delicious. And that was just her face. When I got to her chest, a little gasp escaped my lips. The bra is like mesh or some shit. It wasn't exactly see through, but what the cold did to her boobs made my mouth water.
I decided to stop there. Because if I look any lower, I'd end up in pain because of my raging boner. And you really can't run from hippie house owners with a boner, now can you?
"Here, put these on. Hurry." I grinned at her as I shoved her clothes in her hands. She had just pulled her pants up when we heard the sliding backdoor opening. "Come on, come on. Lets go." She laughed, grabbing my hand and bolting back to the front of the yard and out of the gate.
Once we were in the car and out of the neighborhood, she smiled hugely at me. "Tell me that wasn't exhilarating." She was all giddy and bubbly, kinda weird for the normally sarcastic Sky, but I like this side of her. "Yeah. It was." I couldn't even lie. That was kinda fun.
We stayed quiet until we made it to my house. My mom's not home, and my brother's not home, so we got the house to ourselves tonight. We went straight to my room, my head falling peacefully on my pillow. "Got anything I can wear? I'm soaked." She smiled as she slid out of her shirt and jeans again.
The girl of my dreams is half naked and wet in my bedroom and I don't even have the nerve to tell her that I'm crushing on her. How badass am I?
"Uh, I didn't wash clothes yet. So all I have are gym shorts and shirts that I sleep in. Feel free to wet up any of them." I grinned at her. "Uh huh. Thanks." She rolled her eyes at me, grabbing a black t-shirt and a pair of black gym shorts that were on my bed. She put the tee on and it made me smile. It was one of my Batman tees. She looks so awesome wearing that shit. The shorts fit her perfectly, too.
"I wore those last night, Sky." I smirked. Although I love the way she looks wearing my clothes. "That's cool. It still smells like you. You smell good, for a dorkface." She grinned, climbing beside me in my bed. "And you're a weirdo." I teased, even though it made me feel damn good to know that she likes the way I smell.
"Whatever." She trembled as she spoke. So I pulled the covers over us and turned on my side. Taking a chance, I pulled her back into my chest and wrapped my arm around her shivering body. She didn't reject my actions. Instead, she intertwined our hands.
After a few long minutes of silence, she spoke. "Phil?" Her voice was soft, innocent, sleepy. "Yeah." Mine was, too. "Thanks." She said. "For what?" I asked. "For being such a damn… good friend." She said right before she let the sleep overcome her.
Punk's POV
I'd been looking for that shirt for years. And she had it the whole time. "That's my shirt." I said to her with a slight grin. "Yeah. Well." She sheepishly looked away, blushing.
"That's so cute." I smiled at her. "Shut. Up." She looked back at me with a mock frown. "Do you know how hot it was to have you in my bed wearing my clothes? Teenage wet dream come true." I chuckled.
"Yeah. I was totally coming on to you that night. Too bad your scary ass didn't notice." She scoffed, taking Rocco Lampone out of my lap and letting him down to the floor. "I almost made a move when we were in the bed. But we're so gonna have to re-create that night, Sky." That brought a huge grin on my face.
"Why didn't you make a move that night?" She asked, raising her eyebrow in wonder. I sighed. "Because I'm such a damn good friend." But we could be a whole lot more. If it wasn't for her stubbornness.
"You are. You really are." She grinned at me. "Now look at this one. Three stories and a basement and attic."