FicWad

I was a little scared about opening my eyes when my senses kicked in and my body told me it was time for me to wake up. The smell of the room told me immediately that it was not mine and I was terrified of where I was, not wanting to open my eyes and further my fears. Slowly, I reached out only to bang my knuckle against something hard. Finally opening my eyes I saw the nightstand that caused my injury and was instantly calmed by the sight of a door with the clear indication it was Joe’s room: a Star Wars poster. Shifting my eyes away from the door I saw Joe waking up as well from the beanbag on the ground. The moment he picked his head up he looked over and smiled.

“Hey,” he breathed. I sighed and built up the energy to push back the blankets that covered me to see I was still in my dress. Sitting up, I watched as Joe ventured over to me and plopped down next to me, a concerned expression on his face.

“What?” I asked, scratching at my hand nervously. Joe innocently pushed the hair out of my face.

“You ok?” he inquired. “I mean, last night was pretty intense,” I pursed my lips together.

“I have no idea what happened last night,” I gulped, and closed my eyes tight, my head suddenly riddled with a headache.

“Good,” Joe simply spoke before wrapping an arm around me and bringing me into a tight hug. “I’m glad you are ok though, Paul pretty much spiked your drink,”

Realization overwhelmed me but I was thankful that Joe was honest with me. Regardless, I sort of knew something along the lines of that had happened while I was still aware the previous night. Shaking the events to the back of my head, I peeled away from Joe and shifted my eyes around.

“Where’s Pete?”

Joe took a heavy breath and leaned away before standing up and crossing the room to his dresser where he began pulling out new clothes.

“Well…” he paused and tucked his bottom lip into his mouth momentarily. “The guy hunted Paul down and gave him a good lesson in the form of multiple punches,” I widened my eyes.

“Ok, and?” I leaned forward and took the t-shirt Joe offered me. “Where is he?” I requested again. Joe groaned and rolled his eyes.

“He got himself arrested, but is only being held overnight,”

My eyes grew larger and I stood up quickly, throwing the t-shirt Joe had just handed me down on the ground.

“Why the hell didn’t you go and bail him out?” I practically yelled. Joe rushed over and sat me down, his pupils large with paranoia.

“Shh!” he shifted his eyes around. “My mom doesn’t know you are here,” he smirked to himself and let the smile linger as he thought back to my question. “Pete said to make sure you were alright and to wait until morning to go and get him,”

I couldn’t help the instant grin that devoured my face and looked away bashfully.

“I didn’t realize I was that big of a deal to him,” I whispered. Joe laughed at this.

“Well you are, but enough about that,” he threw the t-shirt back at me. “Get dressed so we can go save our little jailbird,”

Shortly after dressing, Joe expertly snuck me out of his house and into the passenger side of his car. After a short stop at my apartment, we were off to the county jail, my mind racing with thoughts of what I had gotten myself into. Pulling up into an empty space, Joe looked over at me with weary eyes and I let a soft smile rest on my lips.

“He’ll explain everything,” Joe shook his head, more to himself than anything. “It’s not like I can,”

I rolled my eyes and in time found myself standing at the front desk and when I cranked my head, I saw the faint profile of one of the few friends I had in Chicago behind the bars. I nudged Joe and he resisted the urge to burst out in laughter. Soon enough, Pete noticed us and his eyebrows perked up when he saw me, a smile gracing his tired expression. While Joe talked to the clerk, I moved towards the cell, but paused as I saw another body opposite of Pete; Paul. He was looking at me with a cocky grin and immediately I felt uncomfortable. I had a faint understanding of what he had tried to do to me last night and even though I was in a safe place, I did not want to be anywhere near him. Pete noticed this right off the bat.

“Ev,” he called, and pushed his arms through the bars to beckon me over. I glanced at the officer sitting across from the holding cell and waited for him to nod before moving towards Pete. Standing in front of him, I felt a loss of words. His hands that hung in front of me were scared and bruised and when I shifted to look at Paul, I noticed the matching marks on his face. Unfortunately, Pete had his own black eye and it made my stomach churn with emotion.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, lowering my eyes. Pete’s hand moved towards my cheek and he pushed back some the hair that dangled in my face.

“Shut up, and don’t be sorry,” I looked back at him and he grinned. “I’m the one that needs to get on my knees and apologize for dragging you to the party,” he frowned instantly. “You’re not mad at me, are you?”

I couldn’t help but giggle at his pout and the pathetic way he sounded. Pete just sighed and reached his hand out further to bring me closer to the bars. I closed my eyes as his arms made the best attempt to wrap around me and wondered how I would explain this to Ashley without her jumping on the first plane out here to “protect me”.

“You guys sicken me,” I tightened my eyes more until I saw white at the sound of Paul. Pete’s arms twitched and slowly they peeled away from me. When I looked into the cell however, I found him simply standing towards Paul with a serious face.

“Its pigs like you that sicken me,” he responded. I turned to see Joe walking up to me and I shifted my footing.

“Can we leave yet?” I wondered aloud. Joe nodded and motioned his hand over to where the officer was unlocking the cell. Paul looked displeased as Pete eagerly jumped out and ran to us, immediately picking me up off the ground in a rib-crushing hug. I made a noise of discomfort and Joe chuckled as he patted Pete on the back.

“Give the girl a break dude,”

Pete then put me down and gave me a small peck, making Joe roll his eyes and walk towards the entrance.

“Last one, I promise,” Pete insisted. I nodded and let his arm link into mine before we met Joe and left, adding one more crazy adventure to our book of friendship.

*****

Insisting that they needed to become my bodyguards, at least until the weekend was up, Joe and Pete returned with me to my apartment, to work and eventually to the café that I went to after my shifts.

“Why do you not use your employee discount to buy stuff at the shop?” Joe asked me as we walked. I shrugged.

“I honestly don’t like being there longer than I need to be,” I paused in thought. “And is it just me, or is our boss like a total drug dealer or something?” I pondered, turning to Joe. He simply laughed.

Pete was busy texting on his phone and I was confused by the fact he had been practically silent since we had left the county jail this morning. I decided not to question it, but found myself dragged into it when we approached the restaurant.

“Pete,” I beckoned and was answered with a grunt. Shifting my glance to Joe, he shrugged and like a typical teenager became engrossed in the comic book store that neighbored the café.

“Yeah?” Pete finally responded and slowly looked up to lock eyes with me. I sighed and tilted my head to the side.

“What’s wrong?” I pushed. Pete let his shoulders slouch and he pocketed his phone.

“I’m just…” he shifted his eyes away. “I don’t want anything like last night ever happening again, and I’m pissed that Paul’s not getting charged with anything that could keep him away from you,”

I gulped and looked away myself, my bottom lip tucked into my mouth. His statement triggered many thoughts, many praising his motives, but at the same time questioning what he was so worried about. I let it pass me and shook my head, looking back to Pete.

“Forget about it,” his eyebrows shot up and I flashed a grin. “I’ve got you and Joe to protect me,” I thought for a moment. “Even though he’s probably not as tough as he claims,” Pete laughed and sighed, placing his hand on my shoulder momentarily.

“I’m not going to forget it happened, but I won’t bring it up anymore,” he looked towards Joe as he came back to us. “At least you know my standing now,”

I nodded and became the follower, letting Joe lead us into the shop, running into the line that was longer than usual due to the lunch rush. Pete opted to lean against me, his arm wrapped around my shoulder. I glanced up at the menu for a second before looking back at Joe who seemed confused.

“What’s the matter?” I questioned. Joe hushed me and simply tapped the guy in front of us on the shoulder. He seemed hesitant at first to turn around, but when he did he timidly smiled and waved at Joe.

“Patrick!” Joe spoke excitedly and gripped his shoulder and gave him a friendly shake. “What are you doing in the city?”

While the two conversed I took the shy boy in. He looked to be the same age as Joe, yet had a very mature expression. Though, that could have been the sideburns that overtook both sides of his face. Even though it was still warm in Chicago, he was clad in a hoodie and jeans. To top it all off, his hat was held tight over his head, shadowing his eyes. The more they conversed, I noticed him glancing at me nervously.

“Patrick,” Joe turned back to us and reached out to point to Pete. “You know Pete already but,” Joe moved his arm to me and I smiled politely. “You’ve never, and never will meet a girl like Evie,” I laughed at Joe and shook hands with Patrick. Pete just smirked.

“He looks way too innocent to be your friend, Joe,” he joked. Patrick looked up and I caught glimpse of his blue-green eyes.

“Huh?” he asked and was simply met by a hearty Pete chuckle.

“Never mind, what does everybody want? Lunch is on me!” I smiled and thanked the gods for the pickup of his mood.

“Cinnamon roll and a water bottle,” I paused as Pete looked back at me with questionable eyes. In that moment I realized I had just regurgitated the exact words Pete had ordered from me at our first meeting. I laughed as Patrick and Joe stared at us questionably. Pete just patted me on the head and looked to Patrick for his order. He shifted his feet and pointed up at the menu.

“A cookie and water, please,” he mumbled. Pete nodded and I moved to walk to the nearest open booth, Patrick and Joe on my tail. The moment we sat, I switched my vision from Pete ordering to Patrick who sat across from me. I smiled and he meekly flashed one back before grabbing a napkin and began to tear off small pieces. As Pete approached, Joe looked to me.

“Ev, hand me a sugar packet,” I smirked and complied and tossed him one and watched him tear it open and dump the contents into his hand. Pete raised a quizzical eyebrow and sat our drinks and food down. As he sat down, Joe slammed his hand to his mouth, sugar crystals spilling everywhere. A laugh escaped me and Patrick just let his eyebrows shoot up.

“What the fuck?” Pete expressed and I rolled my eyes.

“You’ve been friends with him for so long and didn’t know he did that?”

Pete shook his head and I listened as the conversation between the three boys sprung up. I didn’t feel isolated, just obligated to observe rather than provide input. Everything was looking up; I had loyal friends that had various personality traits that made them individuals and yet so similar to me. Even though drama decided to perspire so suddenly, I was alive and refused to let it put a damper on my attitude about Chicago. As I sat there in the cherry-vinyl lined booth, watching the three interact and laugh at each other’s stories, I couldn’t help but feel comfortable, for once, with everything. In that moment, I loved my life.