==Okay, so I gave up doing my pre-calculus homework and decided to do something I haven't done in months: WRITE. Yes, my dad fixed my computer and I have been unbelievably busy with soccer, musical, and school. I have been trying my best to find time to write, but today, I decided to go in the direction of the song lyrics above and do something I want to do for once in my life. Hopefully tomorrow will be another day for me to write, and if not, I'll stay up late and write a few paragraphs for this. Seeing my plans for the storyline has made me realize that I'm getting virtually nothing done and Jesus is going to come back for us all before I'll be able to get deep into the story. I desperately need to get content out! I'm really sorry for having y'all wait so long for me to write something decent. I'll do everything I can to get my schedule tweaked, but nothing significant will change until the beginning of March comes around, because that's when our musical performances will be. If I can get through this, then I'll be writing in my free time and actually enjoy life again!==
Yellow Claw & LNY TNZ - "Last Night Ever"
We don't give fuck about tomorrow. We don't really care about the day after. All we care about is tonight. Tonight is the last night ever!
Haunted: Collapse into Caliginosity
Chapter 42:
Complete Bedlam
"Breathe in, breathe out," she said.
I gritted my teeth together as the point penetrated through my skin. Only a wince came from my mouth, and then it was over.
"Damn. You made that look easy," Linus commented next to me as he let go of my hand.
I gazed down at my exposed abdomen, admiring my freshly applied bellybutton ring. The dangling rectangular crystals sparkled against the artificial light filling the grungy tattoo parlor.
"Can I ask again why you didn't do this when you turned eighteen all those months ago?"
"Because getting a piercing was the last thing I was thinking of," I casually stated. I got up from the black leather chair to pay the pink-haired woman for her work. Once Linus and I got in the car, I continued. "Plus, I have a photoshoot in a couple days, so why not provide something a little different for the public?"
He got us back on the road. "Photoshoot for what?"
"Just a magazine. It was a last minute offer. The original model got scrapped because they wanted me so bad for some reason."
"Must be an underwear advertisement."
I punched his arm, making him laugh.
"I was just joking!"
My phone began vibrating in my pocket, so I answered it. As it turned out, it was the woman who provided me the offer for the photoshoot.
"Macca, it's Kiersten!" her excited voiced greeted me.
"Oh hey, what's up?"
"Just a quick question: is there any possible way you can get any of the ninja's
weapons as props for some pictures?"
"His shurikens? I doubt he can get permission from his sensei."
"Can you at least ask him? It's fine if you can't; surely someone can recreate them artificially."
"I'll ask, but no promises."
"No problem! See you in a couple days!"
When I hung up, Linus had a suspicious grin on his face.
"What?" I asked.
"Did I hear something about a ninja in that phone call?" he goaded.
"Uh, yeah. So?"
"You planning another 'kidnapping'?"
"For the last time, I was not kidnapped," I insisted.
"Again, I'm joking! Geez, you're supposed to be more familiar with humor than anyone else I know."
"I've been around Zane too long. His lack of humor is rubbing off on me."
"What does that mean?"
I began counting off with my fingers. "Zane doesn't understand jokes…puns…sarcasm…I quit trying to make him laugh. Nothing works."
"What does he even look like? Trent's seen him."
"You'll have to see to believe. He's basically seven feet of pure muscle, and I guess he's technically albino–"
Linus slammed on the brakes suddenly. A red pick-up truck swerved around the corner, accompanied by loud yelling by men.
"What the hell?" I said.
"Found Trent!" Linus cheered, continuing to drive forward.
I looked out the window to see we were in the suburbs outside of Ninjago City. "What are we doing with Trent?"
"Well, you see, he got a new bed frame and mattress, so he wants to have some fun before he takes it all to the dump."
I thought about the truck. Trent didn't own any truck.
"Did he invite other friends?" I asked.
"Some of his old fraternity buddies. This is going to be fun, Mac. Wait and see."
Yeah, except I'm going to be surrounded by a bunch of guys trying to hit on me, I mentally complained.
Linus followed the truck to Trent's ordinary-looking home, with its blue paneled walls and brown roof. The only thing that was out of place was the naked bed out in the driveway. It had been stripped of all bedding and pillows. All that remained was the smooth wooden frame and worn out mattress on it.
Trent was standing in front of the bed with a rope as his friends backed the truck into the driveway. Linus and I parked and got out to meet him. As we approached, I noticed how one end of the rope was tied to a thick part of the frame.
"Trent, what are you doing with the bed?" I questioned.
"You'll see, Mac-Attack," he briefly explained, signaling the driver of the truck to stop backing up. He tied the loose end of the rope to the back of it.
Two guys hopped out of the vehicle and immediately laid eyes on me with lustful interest. "Who's the hottie?" one with a tattoo on his arm sarcastically asked.
I rolled my eyes as the driver appeared around the corner of the truck. He had gelled brown hair and amber eyes that could smolder like embers. His attractiveness caught me off guard, and it was hard to not stare.
"Who's first?" he asked, his voice a swirly wind.
"What are you talking about? I'm the one holding the helmet!" a blonde guy said, holding the black helmet up to the attractive guy.
The attractive guy pulled his face away and smacked the helmet out of his hand. Out of pure instinct, I caught it with an unsecure hold. "Macca's first, dumbass," the attractive guy said while pointing his finger at me. He met my startled gaze as stupid questions ran through my head.
Linus threw me onto the bed.
"Wait, what am I doing?" I asked, taking off my hat and strapping the bicycle helmet on.
"You're going on a ride," Trent answered. "Get under the strap and hold on."
They got in the trunk, giggling like little bitches. I saw the red band holding the mattress against the frame and slid my legs underneath it. The truck started driving forward at a slow pace. My eyes widened as the rope stretched until the bed started moving against the concrete.
"Oh, shit," I said to myself. Soon we were out of the driveway and onto the wide neighborhood road. The bed creaked underneath me when the speed increased. My hands gripped the strap until my knuckles turned white. Deep down, I knew this was very dangerous. A turn too sharp could turn the entire bed over and cause a serious injury, but so far, there was nothing dangerous happening.
"How are you doing back there, Macca?" Trent shouted over the engine.
"Fuck you!" I replied, making the guys laugh again.
The truck came to a dead end that let a vehicle circle around. I felt the rope somewhat loosen so that we could get back onto the road safely. A man hosing down his shrubs watched us with a confused expression.
Before I was ready, the truck sped up to a speed faster than it had gone before. The legs of the bed crackled against pebbles in the road, and I clenched my teeth together in preparation of something bad happening. We passed about every house on the road when we slowed to a stop. Internally, relief made my stress levels go down.
The blonde guy who had the helmet before me got out of the trunk and kicked me off the mattress so he could have his turn. I threw the helmet at him and retreated to the others.
"Good job, Mac," Linus said, letting me sit next to him.
"I hate you," I bluntly stated.
"Aw, don't be like that. You had fun." He pulled my head into his lap and twisted his knuckles against my scalp. I fought to be let go as the truck moved again.
We watched the bed being dragged rougher than when I was on it. The bed got pulled around another dead end pretty fast, and we died laughing when one of the legs gave out. The ride had to be stopped for a couple minutes so that Trent could go retrieve the wooden piece. When the ride resumed, I realized the goal of this misadventure was to break the bed altogether. Having someone ride along was probably thought of with alcohol in the circulatory system. So to summarize, I had gotten involved in stereotypical male stupidity.
And the stupidity lasted for over an hour. Almost everybody got to ride. The only thing that stopped everything was when the last leg broke off.
"Alright, time for Plan B," Trent proposed.
"Emergency contraceptive?" I joked, laughing at myself.
He tried saying something to correct my immediate thought, but resorted to telling me to shut up. "We need to finish the bed off. Who's up for just solo riding the mattress?"
There were a lot of agreements, but I wasn't interested in going again. When we returned to Trent's house, I went inside to get a drink.
When I poured icy water down my throat, the front door opened and closed. It turned out to be the attractive guy coming to get a drink, too.
My body froze and awkward silence settled in between us. He was more than just cute for an average guy, and I was nervous about starting a conversation. I had to remind myself that I wasn't looking for any relationship right now.
"Macca, just say hi," a blonde girl encouraged from her seat on the nearby countertop.
"Candy, I know how to talk to cute guys," I retorted.
"I know that, but you're delaying the perfect opportunity!"
"Hi," I suddenly blurted out.
He made eye contact with me. A heat wave ravaged my skin, and my face might've flushed. "Hi," he replied. "I like your sunburn."
I examined my skin to see it was still somewhat a shade of pink from my day with the Ninja. "Oh…yeah."
He came up to me. "May I get in the fridge?" he politely asked.
I looked down to see I was blocking the way. "Oh, sorry," I quickly said, stepping away.
Candy gave me a look that told me to try something else.
"Um, I never got your name," I pointed out.
Candy gave me a satisfied thumbs up.
"Rollin," he said, getting a water bottle out. "And I know who you are, Macca Soxx."
I smiled.
"I do listen to your music, but I figured you already get too many crazy fans giving you a hard time out in public."
"It's not too bad most of the time."
"Really? Okay then." He started shaking my hand really fast. "Hi, I'm Rollin! I love your music!" he whimsically played.
Both of us laughed. "It's nice to meet you," I giggled.
"If it's really nice, you'd go on one more ride."
I hesitated. "I'm not sure about that."
"I'm joking. Peer pressure is a bitch, you know."
I nodded. "The riding just made me nervous."
"I get it, I get it. But you got bigger balls than I do. I won't do something dangerous like that."
I avoided his eye contact so he couldn't see me biting my lip. That was when I realized we didn't let go of our handshake. I squeezed his hand for a second, blushing.
Are we really hitting it off this easily?
"Do you wanna…go back outside?" he prompted.
"S-Sure."
We let go of each other and went back outside to find everyone constructing a way to pull the mattress without the remaining pieces of the bed frame. Now a bunch of bungee cords were connected and wrapped around the outer edges of the mattress. The original rope was connected at the front.
"Think it'll work?" the guy with the tattoo asked.
"It'll be fine. Let's go," Linus declared.
I didn't protest, but felt guilty for not saying anything about it. The rope was either going to snap or something else was going to happen.
Linus was the first to ride the mattress, and it was entertaining to watch. He didn't stay under the red strap like he was supposed to and tried to do some dumb tricks. He secured himself when the dead end came around.
Rollin slowed to a stop for the next person to ride.
"Isn't it your turn, Macca?" the blonde guy questioned.
"Nope," I confirmed.
"Aw, why not?" Trent wondered.
"Because I don't think it's safe at this point."
"Be adventurous, Mac-Attack. Just one more ride."
Peer pressure is a bitch, you know. Yeah, but Rollin would take it easy for me.
I tapped on the back window. "Take it easy on me," I called through the glass.
I switched with Linus and got on the mattress properly with the helmet on my head. The truck started driving forward, and by hearing the rope stretch out, I cringed at my decision. But I wouldn't chicken out. I trusted Rollin.
As the truck gained speed, I had to admit that it seemed just as fast as before. I didn't do anything dumb like Linus, but I held on tight.
Going straight for a couple minutes calmed me down, but then the next dead end came, and something was wrong. Rollin wasn't as slow as he should've been, and I saw him turn. When the mattress should've followed, the rope gave way. The sudden stop was a blunt reminder that the strap wasn't a seatbelt. It resulted in a nasty chain of events after it snapped in half, but I had my eyes shut tight, so I didn't know what all happened.
My right hip was on fire when I stopped moving. I felt hot concrete against my skin. The truck screeched to a halt, and everyone ran to my side.
"Macca! Are you okay?" Trent worriedly asked me.
I rolled over to reveal blood covering my hip from road rash. "Why am I always getting hurt?" I asked back, kind of annoyed from the pain.
"Don't move, we're calling an ambulance. Just sit tight."
Rollin knelt down next to me. He seemed perturbed by the accident. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to take that turn so fast."
"It's okay, I'm fine," I assured him.
"Hey, an ambulance is on the way," the blonde guy informed us.
"Dude, are we gonna get a ticket for the mattress thing?" the tattoo guy asked.
"How the hell would I know?" Trent retorted. "It's not like we're out in a public road. We kept everything in a general vicinity."
"This is gonna affect that photoshoot, isn't it?" Linus questioned me.
Panic settled into me. "Shit! I forgot about that!"
Rollin showed extreme guilt. I wasn't mad, but I was upset. Kiersten wouldn't be happy about any of this. But at least I had no broken bones. An injury like this could be patched up and possibly photoshopped out of pictures. The only problem was that I didn't know what kind of pictures were being taken, and I didn't know if I just ruined Kiersten's big project or not.
Okay, so I got this idea from a dumb I watched of guys dragging a couch behind their truck and the couch fell apart mid-ride. Then I had to make a pun out of it XD Shoutout to Kai4Ever and The Mayor of Ninjago City for reviewing back in November. So sorry I've kept everyone waiting! I'll try to have the next chapter out within the next couple weeks :)