I feel kind of bad for Shaant.
But at the same time, I just have to laugh at him.
I was sitting in the back, listening to poor Shaant calmly answer all of the questions Jake threw at him.
I swear, he does this to every potential boyfriend he meets. It's funny, but at the same time, it's annoying.
By the time Jake was asking Shaant whether or not he had any STD's (Shaant said no), I couldn't hold in my laughter any longer. Jake had this I-swear-to-God-I'll-kill-you-if-you-answer-any-of-these-questions-wrong look on his face and Shaant was looking at me through the mirror pleadingly, as if begging for me to do something. Adorable as it was, it helped to trigger the explosion of laughter from inside of my chest.
Jake twisted around in his seat with the same serious look on his face. His dark eyebrows were knitted together, making him look like he had a unibrow.
"What's so funny?" he asked.
That only made me laugh more.
"N-Nothing," I twisted a strand of hair around my finger. I tried to control my laughter and managed to do so for a few seconds.
It wasn't long before I started to giggle again, which turned into a full-on freak-out and slowly, Shaant joined in, leaving Jake looking from Shaant to me and back, thoroughly confused as to why we were laughing so hard.
After regaining his composure (I wish I could have done the same...), Shaant managed to interrupt Jake long enough to give him directions to his house, before Jake launched into his barrage of questions again.
How he ever thought of all of them, I'd never know.
We pulled up I front of a posh-looking, three-story, terracotta house. I saw Jake's eyebrows go up, then down as he nodded in approval. He was a car buff, and it was obvious that he was impressed by the red Mercedes parked in the driveway.
Point for Shaant!
"So anyways, thanks for the ride-" Shaant started to unbuckle his seatbelt. He turned around and smiled at me, "I'll call you tomorrow-"
"Hold it!" Jake boomed, holding up one hand, palm out in a stop-in-the-name-of-love pose, as if he were auditioning to be the next Supreme. "I need to talk to you, mister," he turned to me, his eyebrows furrowed together. "Ellen, get out of the car, okay love? We'll only be a titch."
Before complying, I could see Shaant looking at me helplessly, his bottom lip jutted out and his eyes pleading for me to save him. I only shrugged and mouthed, "You're on your own, cowboy," to him before getting out of the car.
I knew better than to argue with Jake. That boy can be an absolute nightmare.
I tried to imagine what kind of horrendous thing Jake would do to him- he had done it to my last boyfriend (for some odd reason, he thought Todd was a drug dealer), and when I asked them what happened, neither said a word to me.
A few minutes later, Shaant exited the car, looking thoroughly confused, if a bit scared.
"What happened in there?" I asked him. He only shrugged.
"I-I really don't know," he said truthfully. "Couldn't understand half of the words he was saying, so I just nodded and went along with it. He kept saying 'crack' and 'slag'..." a panicked look crossed over his features. "Did he ask me if I was a drug dealer? Oh shit, I said 'yes' to everything!"
I laughed. "Calm down, I'm pretty sure those don't mean anything bad, or you'd still be in there with him, except you'd be asleep and he'd be driving to the nearest woods with a shovel so he can bury you alive."
Some of the colour returned in his face as he let out a slow, deep breath. "Okay then. Anyways," he started walking towards the front door. "How long has he lived here?"
"Since we were fifteen," I told him, following him up the concrete steps. "He flies down every Christmas to visit his family though. They treat me the exact same way he does- like family, but a wee bit overprotective."
"Ahhhh..." Shaant paused. "... Are you saying I should be regretting this?" his eyebrows furrowed together thoughtfully. "I'm kinda concerned for my well-being..."
"He'll loosen up after a while... I think," I grinned and Shaant reached into his pocket and took out his keys. "I've never actually had a boyfriend long enough to see him 'loosen up'..."
"Oh," Shaant nodded, looking deep in thought. "Well then..."
I let out a slow, deep breath. "So... I guess I'd better be going now..."
"Yeah," Shaant looked down at me and smiled. "I'll call you tomorrow, or sooner, if I can."
"I'm holding you on that," without thinking, I stood on my toes and kissed him on the lips. He let out a small sound of surprise and stood straight up. He was completely still, his eyes wide open in shock and I feared that maybe I had done something wrong.
I was about to pull away when I felt him slowly starting to kiss back. I pulled his head down lower so that I didn't have to stand on my toes anymore-e and for better access.
Well, I was going too. We were broken apart by the honking of a car horn and a shrill voice screaming:
"GET YOUR FUCKIN' LIPS OFF OF MY SISTER!"
Shaant jumped about a mile in the air from shock and fell backwards onto some bushes. It was followed by a string of muffled curses words and me bursting into laughter.
"It's not funny!" howled Shaant from the ground. "Rose thorns hurt like a bitch!"
"That's what makes it so funny!" I choked out.
I extended a hand out to Shaant and helped him up. He was still swearing under his breath as he brushed petals and leaves off of his jeans.
"Sorry about that," I apologized, trying desperately to keep a straight face. "Jake still thinks of me as the shy little girl he met when he was fifteen, too naive to know anything worth knowing about boys."
Shaant- to my surprise- laughed. "Ah well, a few thorns here and there can't stop me," he grinned childishly and winked at me. "Besides, you're worth way more than a few scratches. Good night, Ellen."
With that, he leaned down and pecked me on the cheek once before stepping inside and closing the door.
Once inside, I locked the door securely before sliding down against it, my head in my hands.
The kiss? I liked it- I liked it a lot.
The prospect of Jake running me over with his car from kissing Ellen?
Yeah, not so much.
"Shaant?"
At the sound of my voice, I looked up and found Jeff standing at the top of the staircase, toothbrush in hand, staring at me curiously.
"What happened?" He asked, gliding down the stairs quickly. "I heard a car."
"That was Jake," I grimaced slightly and pulled a stray thorn off of my jeans. Stupid buggers... "He's now going to kill me-"
"You kissed, didn't you?" Jeff's eyes got very wide. "Alright Shaant! Just, you shouldn't have done it in front of him," he added quickly. "From what I've seen, he's a tad..."
"... overprotective?" I finished for him, rolling my eyes. "Gee, I had no idea. Ellen said that he'll loosen up after a while though."
"What'd Ellen say?" Jack appeared in the doorway leading to the kitchen, holding a spoon and a cup of vanilla yogurt. He strolled over to us casually and leaned against the closet doors.
"Jake will loosen up after getting to know me better," I said firmly, as if I were willing myself to believe it.
Jack raised his eyebrows. "... Yeah. Do you believe that? He's one psycho little boy... But are you willing to risk your physical well-being for Ellen? Jake looks like he could do a number on you..." He sniggered at the thought and I punched him in the leg, glaring.
"I really don't know, it's too early to tell. I think so though," I grinned. "There's thorns sticking to my ass- which hurts like hell, by the way- and it barely bothers me."
Jack looked at me bewilderedly. "What the hell did you do?"
"I fell onto a rose bush a few minutes ago," I said, as if it were something I did every day. "No biggie."
Jeff looked impressed and bewildered at the same time. "How the hell did you do that? Wait..." he paused. "Let me guess. That car honk was Jake telling you to get the fuck away from her when you guys were kissing, right? And you- being a wimp- jumped away and fell backwards?"
"Yeah," I ducked my head so they couldn't see my cheeks, which were red with embarrassment. "That's exactly what happened."
They laughed. "Only you could pick out a girl with an insanely protective Australian scene kid for a brother," said Jeff, shaking his head. "Great choice. I applaud you."
"Whatever," I stood up and- brushing some stray thorns off of my legs- kicked off my shoes and proceeded up the winding staircase. "I'm going to sleep," I announced. "See you idiots tomorrow morning."
There was a few seconds of silence as I waited for Jeff and Jack to realize I had just called them stupid.
"You're a dickhead!" Jack yelled.
"Well at least I have a dick!"
"Oh, don't make me come up there and show you."
"But there's nothing to show him!" Jeff yelled in protest. That was followed by a loud thumping sound (presumably Jack hitting him) and a loud shriek.
"You asshole! I- unlike you- actually have something down there!"
"Oh god," said a voice from behind me. "What are they arguing about now?"
I turned around and saw Tom crossing his arms, a forest green towel wrapped loosely around his hips.
"About whether or not Jack has a dick," I said to him, shielding my eyes with my hands. "And please cover yourself- I'm your roommate, not some groupie."
rest in results
"Ha, ha," said Tom dryly. "You know you love it." He turned around and wiggled his hips in what he thought was a very alluring way.
"Whatever," I rolled my eyes and stepped past him to go into the bathroom. The mirror was still fogged up from his shower, so I took a nearby hand towel and wiped it off so I could see the damage the rosebush had inflicted on me.
It actually wasn't that bad. I had a small scratch on my hand and some leaves in my hair, but that was about it.
"You have thorns on your butt," in the mirror, I saw Tom leaning against the doorframe, staring at my butt.
"Stop looking!"
"I'm sorry, it's jus so big- when people enter a room, it's what they notice first-"
Before he could finish his sentence, I impulsively grabbed the cup of water Jeff had left behind on the sink and splashed it in his face.
Tom groaned. "I just showered! Fuck Shaant, now I have..." He shuddered. "... Jeff spiton me! I'll have to take another shower!"
"That's not my problem," I smirked and darted past him, flicking his now-wet forehead as I went.
Short chapter, yes, but wasn't it eventful?
Of course it was.
I think I pretty much failed my piano exam... I had it this morning and it was a nightmare. And my teacher thinks I have anxiety 'cause I get nosebleeds during exams... Pfft.
Banners, pour favor?
You should know the drill by now.
< !-- BEGIN CBOX - http://www.cbox.ws -->
< !-- END CBOX -->
