Wednesday December 23rd, 2009
Two days until Christmas and Joey finally got gifts for all his friends. The apartment smelled like scented pinecones and made him want to curl up into a ball and sleep forever. Holiday seasons were always the most comforting for him. Earlier that week, everyone came over to decorate the faux tree with ribbons and glass ornaments; hang their stockings up over the wide archway and made a new one for Kaylee; and did enough baking to last them all until New Year's Eve. Everything was pretty much set, except for the fact that Joey had to wrap up a few of the gifts that he bought at last minute at ten that night.
His phone chimed on his mattress with a text from Lauren. "Don't forget, this is a formal party, guys. Dress nice! Love, your favorite bastard."
He stared at it for a few seconds with his eyebrows furrowed together before tossing it back onto his bed with a sigh. Formal attire really wasn't his thing. He just wanted all of them to wear warm comfortable sweaters and Snuggies and sit around the heater and unwrap gifts with cookies and milk.
But a formal dinner party? Wasn't his style at all.
He glared at the glowing screen while taping down the last edge of the decorative paper, contemplating whether he should argue or not. When it turned black he just shook his head and told himself to suck it up. It couldn't possibly be that bad. It's just dinner with friends, he could do this. He wrote Kaylee's name on the gift he just wrapped with a black Sharpie and then stacked all the gifts in his arms and moved out to go shove them under the tree. Darren was sprawled out on the couch, watching a repeat of a Christmas special of a sitcom. "Did you hear from Lo yet?" He asked in a nasally tone, turning his attention from the TV to Joey as he found little nooks to wedge in the presents under the tree.
"Yeah. Why formal? It's so… different." He sighed and looked back at Darren, whose hazel eyes gleamed in greens and blues and reds from the flashing lights on the tree. He replied with a shrug and a nod of understanding. "So what are you watching?" Joey sat down next to his curly haired friend on the other side of the couch and noticed for the first time how drained he looked. His eyes were halfway opened with dark bags underneath.
Before he could respond, he sneezed into his hands with a jerk of his head. "I don't even know, to be honest." Darren said with a sniff and snuggled deeper in his hoodie and fuzzy blanket.
Joey left his seat to go turn on the kettle and get a cough drop for his friend who was now wheezing pretty badly. "You okay?" He looked to the shorter man on the couch with a red face from his dry cough. Darren nodded back and mouthed a thank you when the lozenge was tossed into the crevasse of the blanket.
"Try to take it easy," Joey advised and reclined back in his spot while he waited for the kettle to start whistling. He peeked out the window on the other side of Darren and viewed the falling flakes as they began to slowly pile up on the sidewalk below. Only one man passed in a thick navy blue jacket and a black knitted hat outside while walking their Labrador, both of their breaths fogging before their faces. He wished that the heating of their apartment would work better, now realizing that he couldn't feel his bare toes and curled them into themselves. After contemplating whether or not is was worth getting sick over the winter break, he didn't take the chance and left to go get a pair of socks.
Drawing out a random pair from his drawer, he sat on the edge of his mattress and stretched them over his freezing feet. The kettle finally began to abruptly shriek and gave him his cue to rush over to the tiny kitchen to try and keep the peaceful atmosphere around him. He twisted the white knob until the flame of the stove went out and flicked the top of the spout upwards. Joey reached for a mug and a tea bag out of the jar labeled "chamomile", then dipped the bag in and around the area within the mug before padding back to the living room, deciding not to keep poor Darren waiting.
"Here, it's chamo–" His sentence was interrupted by a loud snore from his sleeping friend. Sighing, he turned off the TV with the remote that had fallen on the floor out of his hand and tossed another blanket on him just so he wouldn't be as bad in the morning. Now he was left with a cup of tea that he had no idea what to do with. He shrugged to himself and took a sip, and scowled at the scorching burn his tongue now had. Retreating back to his room, he turned on the bedside lamp and decided to reread one of his many comic books that he kept in a neat stack under his bed. This time he pulled out the 14th and last issue of the Superman Confidential series that he remembered he got from a small shop that sold all kinds of books before they ran out of business.
Sitting contently with his legs crossed, he flipped open the cover page that started getting worn at the edges and read through each box with the warm dark blue mug in his hands. Joey lost his concentration on the comic when his phone chimed in his pocket. He quickly pressed it against the fabric around it to make as minimal noise as possible and then turned the sound off before checking his new text from Kaylee.
"What if you lifted up a toilet seat and there was a face staring back at you."
A grin spread across his face at the random subject and replied with an "Are you okay?" before setting it back down to his side and picking up his book again. Less than a minute later, he got a response.
"I honestly don't think so; I've been losing my mind since I got home. Probably because of the essay I'm supposed to be writing that I've been working on for the past few hours. Who knows. How about you?"
"Well Darren's sick now, I just finished wrapping gifts, and now I'm sitting around with a cup of tea that I didn't really want. Nothing special. Did Lauren text you about the party yet?"
"Yeah, I never thought you'd guys be so fancy for Christmas. I mean like you're all so close to each other that I never thought it'd really matter what you wore. Oh well, that's just me rambling while I'm half asleep."
Joey put the comic book to the side and laid flat on his back while he typed back a reply. "Me either. And if you're tired then just sleep! You have the whole vacation to do your work."
"Oh yeah. That'd be pretty smart. I'd probably be writing down random bullshit if I didn't sleep… So I guess I'll see you tomorrow! Night."
"Night, Kay." He hit send and placed his phone on the bedside table. Speaking of sleep, he probably would need it since tomorrow would be quite a long day. Closing the comic book, he slid it under his bed and twisted the small knob under the lampshade. Now that he was in the almost complete darkness, he suddenly began to feel colder and tucked himself under the three layers of blankets. Something didn't quite feel right, but he ignored the feeling and closed his eyes.
Thursday December 24th, 2009
That's what he forgot. Joey didn't even want to open his eyes because they felt so dry. Knowing that he should still just take out his contacts and wear glasses for the day, he rolled out of bed and walked over to the bathroom to do so. He filled each side of his case with the solution that sat next to the toothbrush holder. Before he went forth to scraping at his eyeball, Joey washed his hands and shook them out. He leaned toward the mirror and ran his finger lightly over his brown eyes to pull out the little silicone bastards.
After screwing on the lids of his case, he rubbed his eyes vigorously and searched blindly around the house for his glasses. He wandered into the kitchen and squinted to read the time on the microwave. Joey then peeked around the fridge to make breakfast. Eggs, milk, and syrup were placed on the counter next to the stove and then he reached in the back of the spice cabinet for cinnamon. He remembered what his intention was originally and continued to look for his glasses.
Joey passed the living room to see Darren still snoring like last night before turning into his room, where he found his glasses on his dresser. Now seeing more clearly, he put back the paprika he had mistaken for cinnamon and exchanged it for the correct spice in the cabinet above the stove. He whisked the contents together in a bowl with a fork and buttered the skillet that was under a flame. Darren emerged from the archway and tossed the loaf of bread on top of the microwave onto the counter next to the bowl.
"Feeling any better?" Joey asked Darren as he untwined the large knot that kept the bag sealed. Darren looked over his shoulder from the coffee machine and smiled with a nod. "Well that's good," Joey did the talking for him, knowing that his throat was probably a little dry and sore. "Breakfast should be done soon."
The contents of the pan sizzled and Darren didn't do much but sit around, hoping not to spread his cold to Joey or anyone else. The coffee quenched his strained throat and also began to wake him up. "So when is everyone coming over?" the shorter man leaned against the counter with both of his hands wrapped around his mug for warmth.
"I think around like 2 or so; Lauren is coming with this chicken that goes in the oven for a few hours for dinner, so I'd just say be ready by 2ish." He flipped the pieces of French toast onto their other side and let them sit for a good minute before serving them onto a plate for Darren. He continued to make breakfast for himself – dipping another piece of bread into the mixture and letting it fizz and sizzle on the pan.
Darren sat on the living room couch with his food and watched the snow outside fall from the light grey sky. Having snow fall on Christmas was possibly the best thing ever to complete the holiday season vibe. He set his plate beside him and turned on the TV as he waited for Joey to finish up his cooking. Sniffles weren't as bad as they were yesterday, which made him have more hope of ending his cold by the end of the break. Soon enough his friend came back with his own steaming plate and the bottle of syrup.
"Are you doing what I think you're doing?" Joey asked as Darren pulled up the screensavers section of the On Demand menu.
"Yep. What else could we possibly do to spend this holiday season?" He drizzled syrup onto his French toast while his friend was busy cutting his. They reclined side-by-side with their own blankets and watched the special two-hour edition of the Christmas Yule Log burn on their screen until there was a knock on their door.
Darren got up first to answer the door while Joey collected the plates and silverware to wash. The taller man stood before the sink and twisted the knobs to get a comforting warm temperature to wash the dishes in water that wouldn't make his hands melt.
"Merry Christmas!" He heard a pair of shrill voices squeak from the front door. Lauren wore a red sweater dress with black leggings and a matching black belt and Joe simply had a tee shirt, hoodie and jeans. "Well you guys came earlier than I expected," Darren exclaimed, "but what the hell – no one can wait for the holidays. Get your frostbitten asses in here."
Lauren came through the door with Joe Walker behind her, helping carry in gifts for everyone. She placed a plastic bag with the chicken on an unoccupied counter. Joey was finishing up the last fork in the sink when she came in and gave her a bone crushing hug before he cleared out of the kitchen to give Lauren her cooking space. Joe and Darren were finding spaces where they could stuff the gifts under the tree and Joey was left with nothing much to do besides sit around and chat while he waited for more people to come.
Lauren was seasoning the raw bird with all sorts of spices and could be heard humming Journey songs under her breath from where the three of them sat. They all found themselves watching the Yule Log burn on the TV screen for the next two hours, which is when everyone really began to pile in. Now they were only waiting for Dylan, Brosenthal, and Kaylee. Brolden and Jaime were prepping their own side dishes in the kitchen now and Darren served an appetizer of crackers and canned cheese.
Someone knocked on the door and Joey went to go retrieve since he had nothing else to do at the moment. "Hey," He greeted warmly with a smile as Kaylee stood before him with a dark green sweater and skinny jeans, trying to balance eight small gift bags and some sort of side dish that she had made herself in a round glass pan with foil sealed over the top.
"Hey!" She grinned and blew her bangs out of her eyes. He took the red and white striped bags from her and ushered her into the living room to unwind with the others. "I've got this," He assured her and put the pan of food in the kitchen on a surface that wasn't occupied by mixing bowls and ingredients. Jaime pulled her dish out of the oven and Brian had just passed him to join the chatter and chuckles in the next room.
He returned with his friends and sat on the floor in between the tree and Kaylee. Darren busted out his guitar and had a jam session with different carols and songs. The artificial fireplace was still on, giving off no heat whatsoever. Kaylee stayed quiet most of the time and only responded when asked a question. Her knees were tucked up to her chest and her arms snaked around her shins. "You okay?" Joey leaned over to the timid girl next to him and whispered. She smiled and nodded back to him, but something didn't add up right. His eyes concentrated on her pale fingers fiddling with the hem of her skinny jeans where her ankles were covered.
Lauren left to check her chicken in the oven and growled in frustration loud enough for Joe Walker to hear and go check on her. "I think I left the bag of the guts in there…" She sucked her teeth and face-palmed herself. "Sorry guys." She returned and stood in the archway with Joe at her side.
A round of "It's okay's" and "Don't worry about it's" were echoed off of the walls of the apartment. Kaylee's voice was barely audible, but Joey could tell that she wasn't necessarily trying to seem so quiet. "I think it may be time to break out the actual cheeriness of the holidays," Joe revealed a bottle of Kahlua liqueur. Shrill cheers and clapping suddenly made the get-together more livelier. Lauren got red solo cups to match the Christmas-y feel and separated them for Joe to fill.
"Brian's not coming, guys. He said he got really sick." Dylan announced aloud from the recently received text message on his phone. Everyone "aww'd" in sync, passing cups of the drink down to others. Joey was handed his from Kaylee.
"Are you sure, Kaylee?" Joey overheard Brolden offering her a cup. She shook her head and smiled.
"Can't; I'm only twenty. Next May I'll try." She declined his offer and continued to sit on the floor and watch everyone else laugh and drink. Joey looked down into his cup, being greeted by his vague, coffee-colored reflection. He set his drink down on the table in front of him so that she wouldn't feel as left out. He also watched as Jaime mistook his glass for hers, so she basically already downed two. Both of their brown eyes concentrated on the tipsy crowd and how once they reached the bottom of one bottle, somehow came up with another.
Kaylee got up and walked out into the kitchen abruptly, and was soon followed by Joey. "You sure you're okay? You're really quiet." He asked as she ate a chocolate covered strawberry from the pan she brought.
She held up a slender finger for her to swallow first before speaking. "I don't like people." Joey knitted his eyebrows together and leaned on the counter beside her, picking out his own strawberry. "I mean like, it's not your fault at all. You guys are great but it's like-"
"Anxiety?"
"Exactly!" Her eyes widened as she emphasized the word. "It's just so much easier with smaller groups, you know?" Her shoulders slumped and her gaze was focused straight ahead at nothing in particular. He nodded placed a hand on her shoulder as a friendly gesture.
"It's okay, if you want I'll try to find more one-on-one time so you're not as overwhelmed." He suggested, and she turned to face him and smiled at the request.
"Thanks, Joey." She sounded like she really meant it and it makes Joey's crooked grin grow on his face. Their friendly pep-talk came to an end when their totally wasted friends found their way out of the living room and all around the house. "No no no no no, Darren!" Joey warned his curly-haired roommate as he played with the knobs on stove, which would possibly make him catch himself on fire.
In a matter of seconds, the party was transferred into the kitchen and now the only sober person over the age of twenty-one had a million more problems. Kaylee sat back and watched the drunken crowd around her. Dylan had fallen over and sat on the floor, trying to regain balance in the far left corner; Lauren and Joe were having a sudden makeout session which made her wrinkle her nose; and then there was poor Joey scrambling around like a shepherd poking his sheep into place when needed.
"You enjoying yourself?" Brian appeared at her side and nearly made her jump out of her skin. From what she and Joey had watched, he hadn't drank as much as them.
"Yeah, I'm fine." She brushed a wavy lock of hair behind her ear and nodded, hoping that he wouldn't actually start a conversation.
"So how's classes?" He asked and obliviously ruined Kaylee's intentions of not having to talk.
"They suck. It's too much work."
"Don't be so hard on yourself now," One of his arms draped around her shoulder and she tensed underneath him. "It'll be all worth it and the end right?"
She awkwardly nodded and had an odd feeling in her gut as a horribly visible blush burned her freckled cheeks. Brian practically rubbed her shoulder didn't help, either. "So," He looked at her with glassy blue eyes. Kaylee could see how the whites were now of a pinkish hue and his breath reeked of alcohol and burn her own eyes. He inched toward her face, keeping his eyes locked on hers.
"Umm, okay I'm pretty sure you had too much to drink." She turned away and flinched as his hot breath shot down at her neck, causing each hair to stand straight up. He didn't get the idea.
His soft lips rested on her and made her flinch. "Brian?" She questioned, shrinking under his touch. As soon as she felt his tongue she pushed him off. "Okay, you need to back off." She cautioned him and gave a deadly glare. Brian held his hands up in defense but she only snorted and walked down the hallway, not entirely sure of where she was even going. Solitude and comfort was found in their bathroom, sitting at the edge of the tub.
Luckily, her phone had enough battery and good enough wifi connection to catch up on her newest chapters of an addictive Romione fanfiction, and to maybe perhaps find new ones. Suddenly her screen went completely black, followed by a chime. She sighed and rubbed her eyes, wondering how late it was and how long she had been sitting in a bathroom reading fanfiction.
The clock upon the wall to her left read 10:04 and suddenly made her feel even more tired. Sleep didn't come for her easily last night. In fact she spent most of the time fluffing pillows, rolling over onto her other side, or staring into the ceiling. It's been 3 hours that she'd spent in there busying herself with her phone, and now that that was gone, she had nothing else to do.
"Kay?" Joey called through the unusual silence in the apartment. The floorboards creaked beneath him as he padded over to knock on the door.
"Yeah, I'm here." She stood up and stretched to get blood flowing in her legs again. He laughed silently to himself when she opened the door and peered down both ends of the hall. Everyone had left and poor Joey did most of the cleaning up by himself. "Where's Darren?" She asked and felt more comfortable.
"He passed out like a half hour ago." He scratched the back of his head. The silence rung in their ears louder than ever. "Do you want food? It went completely forgotten…" He led the way back to the kitchen and began to peek under the foil of another pan. "There's… I'm not even sure myself." Joey pressed the wrap back down and began poking through the entire kitchen.
"There's still this," Kaylee held up a container of sugar cookies that sat on the counter in between the trays of food.
"Great," He smiled and turned on the flame beneath the kettle, "Do you want tea or something?"
"Sure." She waited for the water to boil with him and tied her hair up in a lazy bun.
"Any specific flavor?" He questioned as he grabbed two mugs and had his hand halfway into the jar of chamomile tea.
"Any is fine with me, thanks." She said when the kettle began to whistle. Joey immediately turned the knob off and poured the boiling water at about the three-fourths point. He dipped one bag in each of the mugs and left to go to the living room. Kaylee followed with the container and set it between the mugs on the coffee table.
"So why were you camping out in the bathroom, anyway?" He took a seat on one side of the couch and invited her to join him.
She hesitated at first, letting her face get engulfed in the steam, and then answered. "I'm not a fan of people."
"Hey," He scooted over and gave a comforting hug, "I can tell something's up. Did anything happen?"
"It was an accident; he doesn't even think of me like that, I'm sure…" Kaylee went of rambling and eventually told Joey the whole story. Her glass was about halfway gone before she tried one of the cookies. "He probably didn't even mean it, though." She said before taking a bite.
"I'm sorry for that, Kay." He looked heartbroken, knowing that one of his friends actually did scare her. "Do you want to open presents?"
"Why not?" Kaylee smiled and began to feel more of the cheery holiday spirit.
