Ari: Because Liv sucks, I'm posting this without her. This took me a...long time. With the combined nagging of Liv and another friend of ours (we're going to call him King, okay?), I finally got my chapter finished.
Whether you came across this because it sounded interesting, because a friend forced you, or you were bored, I speak for both me and Liv when I say, Thank you and I hope you enjoy the first chapter of Whatsername. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: Neither Livvy or I owns Big Time Rush. Which sucks, to sum up that thought.
"Hey! Vampire Face! Time to go!" I yelled. My shout echoed around the terminal and everyone looked up from what they were doing to stare at me. I didn't care all that much though, despite the embarrassment of the situation. I could only look at Arwen as she turned around from the food stand in the middle of the terminal with a corn dog. She had this strange corn dog obsession. Corn dogs and coffee. I didn't bother to ask.
"What did I tell you about calling me that?" Wen said irritably. We had sneaked out of our houses barely three hours previously; at nine o clock. It was now somewhere around midnight and I was exhausted. But somehow, I managed to keep my eyes open and my upbeat attitude ongoing. "Vampires remind of that stupid book. I can't believe you got me Twilight for Christmas. You know I hate that book. But I suppose I should thank you anyways. I tossed it in my fireplace. It makes good fuel."
I frowned at Wen for insulting my interest in the Twilight saga. It was my favorite book. But after a minute of frowning in disappointment, I smiled brightly. Wen furrowed her eyebrows, obviously wondering how I could be so energetic at a time like this. To be honest, I didn't know either.
"We don't have time for the insults! We have to get in line or we'll be left behind!" I grabbed Wen roughly by the back of her black leather jacket and dragged her to the line that was forming in front of the entrance to the plane. Wen was so surprised by my suddenly tugging her away that she almost dropped her coffee and corn dog. No one makes her drop her corn dog. Woops.
"Be careful, darn it! I almost dropped my coffee and my corn dog! Try not to be so reckless, Milo." I shrugged my shoulders, a simple way of telling her that I'd try. Most people would take it as an 'I don't care' but Wen knew me better than my own parents did. As the line moved forward, I pulled our plane tickets out of my pocket. I handed them to the woman and me and Wen moved forward. Unfortunately, Wen was stopped by a security guard. I stopped in the middle of the entry zone and turned to see how Wen would deal with the situation.
"I'm sorry, Miss. You are not permitted to eat on the plane." He said. Wen blinked twice. I suddenly grew worried for my friend. It wasn't a good idea to tell her what to do when she was tired.
"Shut up." Wen said, pushing past the security guard to follow me onto the plane. When she finally caught up to where I stood, she turned around and took a vicious bite out of her corn dog. She shook her head like a wild dog before swallowing her food to smirk. Well then.
We continued to walk down the tunnel and onto the plane where we managed to get a seat in the back. Both Wen and I liked sitting in the window seat so we bickered for a minute before resorting to a staring contest. Wen lost and, triumphantly, I sat down next to the window.
People filed onto the plane and I watched as they took their seats and stuffed belongings into the overhead compartment. It was quite boring and I was overjoyed when everyone scheduled for the flight took their seats on the plane.
"Hello! Welcome to Southwest Airlines..." I tuned the announcers out when they started to talk; an easy feat for someone with ADHD, like me. The plane started moving down the takeoff strip and I watched from the window. When the plane finally gained speed and took off, I plugged my ears to keep form hearing the engines as they churned loudly. I hope I stuffed some Advil in my carry on bag.
Through plugged ears, I heard the flight attendant announce that we were high enough to take off our seat belts and go to the restroom if we needed to. I sighed and removed my fingers from my ears. My arms were starting to hurt from holding them up for so long. I loosened my arms and dropped them into my lap
That was when Wen took out some earplugs and a sleep mask from her carry on bag. I watched as she stuck the earplugs in her ears and put the sleep mask over her eyes. I frowned. Now I wouldn't be able to occupy myself! Since Wen was being a meanie pants and ditching me for sleep…
Miraculously, I managed to stay silent, although I was growing even more bored by the second. That was when I remembered my carry on bag and grabbed it from between my feet and hoisted it onto my lap. I shifted through it and took out my iPod Classic (which was a real pain to save for…) and my headphones while also pulling out the book I was currently reading, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Wen had been hounding me on how amazing of a book it was so there was little else I could do other than just take the book and read it before my best friend murdered me brutally. I have to admit, it's already starting to become a favorite of mine.
I continued reading where I left off while listening to Welcome to My Life by Simple Plan. I nodded my head occasionally when I snapped out of my stupor and mouthed some of the words to some of the songs before continuing to read, completely enraptured in the words in front of me.
A couple hours later, the plane touched down in Las Vegas, the first stop on the plane ride to LA. I took out my ear buds and turned off my iPod due to safety protocol. I turned to look at Wen but she was still asleep. I poked her in the face but she didn't respond. Figures. Wen sleeps like a frickin rock.
Soon enough, the plane took off into the sky again and I was free to listen to my amazing music again. I was calm, which was not something that happened often. I smiled lightly, my energy dying down a bit. I was growing tired. But I was almost done though…
I fell asleep a couple minutes later, which was probably for the best. I had an audition for some commercial later that day and I didn't want to be a zombie when I got there. Therefore, sleep was the best option.
I was later awoken by a grumpy and disgruntled Wen. I blinked groggily and looked up at my best friend. She yanked the buds out of my ears and put my stuff in my carry on before half dragging me off the plane.
I was awake by the time we got to luggage claim. It had cost a lot of money for multiple bags to be carried on the plane. But Wen and I needed to pack as much as we could and that meant that we needed more than one for each of us in order to minimize half of the stuff we had. Wen's little brother Benjamin would secretly ship some of the other things we had to us, thank God.
Wen and I had planned this escape for months. Life back home was very unpleasant for me. I was an only child with only a dad who was always drunk half the time anyways. Not like he took care of me all that much. I was practically raised by Wen's parents…
I took my three suitcases off of the baggage claim and arranged them in a way (albeit a painful way) so I could roll all three of them. Wen was having some challenges (not that she needs anymore. She's already vertically challenged, musically challenged, romantically challenged, etc…) with her duffel bags since they were so fat but finally managed to lug them all along and to the outside of the airport. It was warm outside and I smiled slightly. It was way better than the cold interior of the plane.
Wen dropped two of her duffels on the ground and set the last one carefully on top of the others. I knew then that the last one held Wen's beloved Xbox Kinect. Well, technically, it was ours. We both saved for it, which, again, was a real pain. I had to take full time at the coffee shop I worked at just to get enough pay for that stupid thing. But Wen had gotten to take it home, since I spent more time at her house then at mine.
I rolled my eyes at Wen before turning around and calling for a taxi…which was harder than I thought. Eventually, I waved one down and Wen's bags were loaded into the back with my suitcases.
"Where to?" The driver asked me.
"The Palm Woods, please." I replied. He nodded at me before we drove off. I turned towards Wen…
..who was already passed out again on the door of the taxi. Me? Having been woken up with so little sleep, I was as awake as ever. Chipper. Too chipper. Somehow, I managed to keep my lips zipped for the hour ride from the Los Angeles Airport to Hollywood, where The Palm Woods hotel was.
oOo
I dragged Wen into the hotel and put my hands on my hips. "Woo! We're finally here, Wen…Wen?" I turned around to look at my best friend…only to see her passed out on top of her bags. I deadpanned before poking her in the side with my converse-clad foot. Sighing, I turned around towards the counter and rang the bell. Several moments later, a large man wearing striped pajamas –complete with a cap and worn out teddy bear- came out of the back room.
"What do you want?" He asked rather rudely, taking out a pair of glasses and putting them on his face. I frowned. What a jerk…
"Um, I'm Milo Murray and that lump of coal over there is my best friend Arwen Payne and we rented a room in advance…" I said hesitantly to the man. My eyes flickered to the name tag on the counter. Mr. Bitters, it read.
Mr. Bitters sighed before looking through some sort of list and grabbing two keycards and handing them to me. "Here. Have a Palm Wood's day." He said bitterly before walking back into the back room and shutting the door. I scoffed. What a fitting name for the man…
I turned back around and stuffed the key cards into the back pocket of my grey skinnies. Arwen was still asleep on the floor. Damn, when that girl was tired, she was frickin tired. Sighing, I picked up Arwen and struggled to make it to the elevator. I set her next to the doors before going back for our luggage.
Eventually, I got Wen and the luggage into the elevator. I hit the "2" button before wiping the sweat off my brow and panting. What the hell did that girl put into her luggage that made it so heavy? I will never know. As the elevator door opened, I took out the key card from my back pocket and opened the door to Wen and I's brand spanking new apartment. I dragged in the unconscious Wen and lugged in the luggage (hehe…lugged luggage…hehe). I roamed around the apartment tiredly, looking for the bedrooms. There were three of them, which was perfectly convenient.
The plan was that when Arwen and I got jobs and started making a decent income, we would buy a few necessities before paying for a ticket so Benji (me and Wen's nickname for her little bro) can fly here from Tucson so he can live with us.
I decided to take advantage of the fact that I got first dibs on rooms. I snickered to myself and quickly found the largest room. It had grey walls, beige carpet, and a single full sized bed. There was an empty book case on one wall and an oak desk in the corner. It was very simple, but I immediately fell in love with it.
There was a sliding door on the left wall and in a small mini hallway beside that was a door leading off. I slid it open and immediately gaped at the large closet. I may not be a complete girly girl, but I sure loved clothes and big closets. I smiled wickedly and immediately ran to the living room to get my suitcases.
Wen was still passed out on top of everything. I sighed, picked up my best friend, and took her to the second largest room. I set her on the bed and looked at the alarm clock on the bedside table. It was one of those cheap ones you could get for five bucks. Meh. Doesn't matter. I could go get her alarm clock from her suitcase but I don't feel like it. I set the one on the table to 7:00 AM and left Wen to sleep.
Before we came here, Wen had already managed to get herself a job working as a songwriter for Gustavo Rocque at Rocque Records and was supposed to start this morning at eight. I feel sort of envious, her managing to hook up a job before I could. At least I have an audition for this TV show. It's an audition for this show called New Town High. I'm also gonna apply for some little jobs, like, maybe working in a grocery store or possibly a maid for somebody. Since my dad was always such a drunk and druggy, I was always picking up the house. Dusting, sweeping, mopping, washing dishes and laundry, vacuuming, you name it, I did it. The constant cleaning also had something to do with the fact that I am OCD. It drives Wen nuts when I start cleaning her room for her. Something about organized chaos. Bull.
I went back to get my suitcases now that there wasn't a rock on top of them. I took my three suitcases and wheeled them into my room. I opened the largest one, which held all of my clothes and assorted accessories. They were all folded neatly and stacked or organized nicely. Since I was still a bit chipper –and since my audition was in a week or so-, I unpacked all of my clothes and hung them up in the closet or set the in the small dresser. I put my jewelry box (that used to be my mother's) on top of the dresser and set my shoes in a straight line on the carpeted floor. Then I stepped back and admired my handy work.
The second suitcase was full of books. This was the heaviest of them all and was a real pain to put on the bed. And it also cost the most. Blargh.
I flipped open the suitcase and lightly clapped my hands in joy at the sight of all of my beloved books. The first books that came out were Percy Jackson and the Olympians and then Harry Potter. I jogged over to the bookshelf and happily organized them accordingly. Next were I Am Number Four and other books. Then I took out my vast selection of manga. This wasn't all of them, by any means. I had redone my room at home and spent a very small percentage of my father's vast fortune (which helped pay for some of the things I own, and the fee for my suitcases) on bookshelves, a full sized bed, carpet, and paint. My old room used to be light brown with bookshelves covering each wall. The only non-bookshelf-covered space was behind my door to get out of my room. Otherwise, my room was my own personal library with research books, medical books, mystery books, sci-fi books, manga, fiction and non-fiction alike.
And then I had two entire shelves in my room completely dedicated to movies, DVDs, CDs, and video games. Books and movies were my "babies". Kind of like how Little Arwen is Wen's "baby". I hope The Twerp (my most used nickname for Benji) makes sure to send the rest of my babies before we even pay for him to come up here.
Speaking of which, I needed to text him, let him know we were here.
I took out my phone from where it was stuffed in the front pocket of my jeans and immediately turned it on again.
oOo
To: The Twerp
From: Broken Record
Hey, Twerp! We're here. Now pack a box full of movies and books and ship it to our address. I believe I told wrote it down and gave it to you before we left…But yeah. And if I see a single crack or tear on any of my books/movies, I will murder you.
oOo
I frowned when I noticed that I didn't have enough room on the shelf for my collection of Naruto manga. This stupid shelf was so…so tiny compared to what I had before. But I guess I'll just have to make-do. That's what I had to do before without an actual father there for me. I can do it again, here.
oOo
To: Nerd
From: Benji
Geez, y do u alwys hav 2 rite evrythng crrctly? Its rly annoying. And its Benji, not "Twerp". And yes, I hav the addrs. And u bttr pay me like u promsd u wud.
oOo
To: The Twerp
From: Broken Record
You still haven't changed my name from Nerd? You suck. SUCK I TELL YOU. And no, I will call you what I want to. Twerp and Squirt just happen to fall into the category. And I will only pay you back the money you spend to ship these packages. I never said anything about paying you specifically. Just because I'm getting a teensy bit tired doesn't mean you can trick me, Squirt. And what the hell are you doing up this late! You should be in bed, getting sleep. You have that big test later, don't you? And please spell properly. My eyes are hurting just reading your texts.
oOo
To: Nerd
From: Benji
Y shud I tlk prply? Its fun pissing u off. And damn, its hard 2 trck u into stff. And im only up ths late bcuz I
wuz studying.
oOo
To: The Twerp
From: Broken Record
Damn you. Just…just damn you. And don't use that sort of language, Benji! What would Wen do if I told her…I wonder… :) And why in the HELL were you cramming? You're a smart kid. I know you are. Cramming is bad. BAD BENJI. Go to my house before school. I left a Monster in the fridge. Then, take the test, sleep through History. The lesson Mr. Stockler uses this time of year should be on pages 115 to 137. He's been teaching since there for twenty years. From what I've gotten from some of his other Middle School students, he always uses the same lessons. So just read those pages during lunch hour and you should be perfectly fine. You owe me for this, Squirt. You owe me big time…. :D
oOo
After deciding to just stick my Naruto manga on the desk, I unpacked the last suitcase that was full of CDs, DVDs, movies, and video games. I didn't know what to do with them, so I just put them all on the shelf I saw in the living room behind the TV. I stopped and actually looked around for the first time since arriving. The new apartment actually looked…really good! There was a slide and a flat screen TV and a nice kitchen and it was…whoa. It was awesome.
Anyways, I neatly set my movies and video games on the shelf and went back to my room. I yawned, finally feeling very tired. I checked my phone. Four AM.
oOo
To: The Twerp
From: Broken Record
So, yeah, I'm going to bed. I'm tired and didn't really get sleep on the plane. If you need anything, just text me later. Your sister should be up in a couple hours. And you should go to bed, too. Night, Twerp.
oOo
To: Nerd
From: Benji
Fine. Night, Nerd.
oOo
I went back into my closet and slipped off my black converse, grey skinnies, and white shirt. I got dressed in orange pajama pants and a plain yellow t-shirt before running and flopping on my bed. I snuggled into the sheets with a smile and slipped under the covers and was immediately out like a light.
oOo
I awoke to light streaming through the cracks in the grey curtains. I threw an arm over my eyes in a horrible attempt at keeping the light out so I could go back to sleep. My limbs felt like jelly and I really didn't want to get up.
I stayed in the bed for another fifteen minutes before finally throwing my legs over the side of the mattress and sitting up. I did some stretches and stood up. Rolling my shoulders, I entered my closet and decided I'd go for a run around the Palm Woods area before I showered and got dressed for the day.
I put on a pair of old jean shorts and a grey U of A t-shirt. I slipped on a pair of red converse (I would wear running shoes but I forgot them back at my dad's house) and did some more stretches before grabbing my cell phone, my iPod, and my headphones.
I checked the time and nearly had a heart attack when I saw that I had slept until noon. Wen was already gone by then, I knew. Since we had just gotten there and hadn't bought any food, Wen probably went without her morning coffee. I felt bad for the people she was going to work for. Caffeine deprived Wen shouldn't be allowed to exist.
I went back in my room and got a couple bills from my wallet. Now I was ready to go. I did some quick stretches and exited the apartment, tucking my key into my shoe so I wouldn't lose it. I put my headphones to my iPod over my ears and put on Bleed it Out by Linkin Park before setting my phone on vibrate and sticking it in my back pocket.
Once downstairs, I made a beeline for the soda machine. I stuck my bill into the machine and immediately slammed my fist over the "Dr. Pepper" button. I grabbed the can from the bottom and collected my change. Popping open the can and stuffing the rest of my money in the front pocket of my shorts, I rounded the corner and pushed open the door to the Palm Woods hotel.
It was nice outside. I smiled and took a sip of my soda. It was slightly breezy and mildly warm. It was a nice change from the blistering heat that Arizona's spring season brought. California, I decided then, was where I wanted to live for the rest of my life.
I finished my soda and threw it in the trash can. Then I took off at a jog down the sidewalk. I enjoyed the wind through my hair as I always did when I ran. It was like a comforting veil over my worries. It was amazing. I loved it.
I came up through the Palm Woods Park and almost jumped for joy when I saw that the grass was green. Southern Arizona didn't have green grass! Imagine my excitement at this little thing.
I circled the park a couple of times and jogged back to the Palm Woods just as the ending notes to Bring Me to Life echoed through my ears. I gently took my headphones off and paused my iPod upon reaching the lobby and took the elevator back up to the apartment.
The first thing I did when I got back to Wen and I's new apartment was take a shower. When I stood in my closet in nothing but my underwear, I decided I wanted to look pretty. I had to go to the store, anyways, for food or Wen would rip my arms off. I was always known for showing off and one of the things I liked to show off was my sense of fashion.
I chose a simple sleeveless grey cotton dress that I had gotten cheap at a thrift store and some black leggings. After that came a pair of grey low top converse and onto my wrist went a wiry silver bracelet I had gotten for fifty cents at a garage sale. Then, I grabbed one of my few clutch purses and re-entered my room to shove some of the cash that I had into the little grey pouch purse thing.
I did my hair as quickly as possible. After blow drying my shoulder length locks, I flattened it with my flat iron. I ran a comb through my brown hair and left the apartment for the second time that day. The clock read two and the key once again found its way into my shoe. I took the elevator.
Deciding that since I looked pretty, and that I didn't want to get raped that day, I took a taxi to the nearest grocery store. Lucky me, there was a Fry's a couple streets over. I paid the taxi driver and entered the store.
The first and most important thing I put in the cart was corn dogs. If I ever returned without any corn dogs, Wen would have me for breakfast. She was a vicious little vertically challenged girl.
Even if I was a horrible cook, I had memorized many recipes in my pursuit of becoming a good one. I knew which Wen cooked most often and what cooking utensils she always had on hand. Thus, my mission to buy food (and cooking supplies) was successful.
My shopping trip took forty five minutes. I got back to the apartment, it was three in the afternoon, and Wen still wasn't home.
Le sigh.
I put the food away, took the wrappers and tags off of the new cooking appliances and stuck them in the dishwasher. I washed everything that was left. I noticed that the counter was rather dusty. I wrinkled my nose in disgust and quickly sprayed down the counter with the cleaning spray I had bought earlier. I rubbed and wiped at the counter furiously until is shined. I smiled in satisfaction and threw the plastic bags into the garbage can.
Well, now I was quite bored. I meandered to Wen's room to see what I could do. There were already clothes on the floor. Typical Wen. I picked up the dirty clothes and put them in the laundry area to put in the wash later. I returned to Wen's room and started to clean up the stuff on the floor. I put her clothes in the closet and folded everything neatly. I made the bed and put her Soul Eater manga collection on the bookshelf. Her DVDs and CDs went on the bookshelf behind the TV in the living room beside mine.
It was five o clock when Wen finally returned home. She was followed by four boys and she looked closer and closer to the brink of anger.
One of the boys, a tall blonde with the largest eyebrows I've ever seen started to pester Wen and poke fun at her. The other three, a guy with brown hair and was making faces at himself in a pocket mirror, a boy who had a darker shade of brown hair and looked rather awkward, and a boy who was wearing a black hockey helmet over his short cut brown hair were just standing around in the entryway area not really doing anything. The one with the helmet looked like he was lost in thought, the self-centered guy looking at himself in the mirror was smiling at himself, and the last one actually looked rather intelligent but he somehow ended up stuck with the other morons that were with him.
Deciding to make them feel a bit welcome in the apartment, I approached the three boys.
"Hi." I said, crossing my arms over my chest. "You forced to follow him or did you come on your own accord?"
The smart one rose his hand slightly. "I was forced."
The other two didn't respond. Well, didn't I just feel loved.
Heh. Psych.
I glanced behind me where Wen was looking in the freezer for something. She looked about ready to explode but I saw her brighten immediately and lunge for what I knew was the corn dogs. I sighed.
"So, you guys want to stay for a corn dog dinner?" I said in exasperation with a deadpan.
The guy with the helmet smiled scarily. "Did you say…" He paused dramatically. "Corn dogs?"
Didn't this guy have ears? "Yes, yes I did. Be glad that I bought around five boxes of those corn dogs. Wen is completely obsessed with them."
"THANK YOU MILO! I LOVE YOU!" Said person screamed from the kitchen behind me. I smiled widely and turned around.
"I LOVE YOU, TOO, BOO!"
I turned around and all three of the boys were looking at me bizarrely. I rolled my eyes. "So, I'm Milo Murray. We've never met." I held out a hand to the smart one. He shook it.
"Logan Mitchell." He said. Ah, good! I have a name from the guy! I held my hand out to the guy with the helmet next. He shook it excitedly.
"Carlos Garcia." Then he sighed. "You're pretty."
"Er, ah. Thanks?" I held my hand out to the last one and he took it.
"James Diamond. Are you single?" He asked with a dazzling smile. Wow. Sure fit that name of his.
"No. I'm dating the xbox. Sorry." I was silent for several moments afterwards. "So, the corn dogs will probably be done in about fifteen minutes and I'm going to go play Halo. Bai." I turned around and headed towards the living room.
o0o
Dinner mostly consisted of the eyebrow guy, Kendall Knight, bickering with Wen. I interjected a couple of times but otherwise I just let them at it. I talked to Logan who was, indeed, as smart as he looked. Apparently he was studying to be a doctor but played hockey with James, Carlos, and Kendall back when they lived in Minnesota. He went through the whole story to me and then I went on to tell him about myself. We became fast friends, which wasn't really all that surprising considering the fact that we were two geniuses stuck with a bunch of morons.
The night ended with Wen kicking Kendall out of the apartment due to not being able to "stand your annoyingness any longer, Eyebrows!" And along with Kendall went Logan, James, and Carlos. Carlos and Wen had also had a fight on who got the last corn dog. That had been particularly bloody.
There was also the whole incident when we were going to go to bed but about thirty second after Wen's door closed she started to scream. It was almost the exact moment that I remembered that she liked her closet in color code.
Arwen was the most confusing person on the planet.
I finally managed to apologize, promising to get her ten boxes of corn dogs (which was the equivalent of an apologize in her screwed up vocabulary), before I got to bed. My head hit the pillow and I only had enough time to smile as bright as the sun before my eyes shut and dreams that I most likely would never remember danced through my head.