H a v i n g F a i t h

Chapter One:

Meet Faith

“Fuck off!” I snarled, from my curled up position beneath the covers. I was not going to get out of this bed. The bed was warm, the air would be cold. The apartment was quiet, work would be loud. I was not going to deal with the world today. I’d decided, that simple.

The obnoxiously loud beeping continued, my fingernails dug into my sheets.

I was not getting out of bed! The alarm clock would realize it soon enough and shut the hell up.

No no, no NO! Mother fucking beeping from HELL!

I sat up, and stared at the bright blue digital alarm clock across the room- and its non stop, consistent mind piercing beep. I felt soooo certain that if I gave it a hateful enough stare, and if I wanted it bad enough I could make the stupid thing explode with the power of my mind. -that’s right you cocky bastard, keep beeping you wont be able to for long… god damn it! I am not getting out of this bed!

I threw my pillow at the clock perched on top of my dresser- it was knocked onto the floor but continued beeping.

Shut up!!

NO!

Not leaving this bed!

Explode already!

There was a loud bang on the door.

“FAITH- WAKE THE FUCK UP THAT CLOCK IS ANNOYING AS SHIT!”

Damn you to hell Cooper, it’s the fiery pits for breaking my concentration.

I swear that clock was about to explode any second before you barged in. Well technically you didn’t come in- or barge.

Ugh! Screw it!

I realized the moment I’d thrown my covers off of my body that I had been right, the air was cold. That fact only enraged me further- I couldn’t take it any more, I wouldn’t, day after day- beep after beep. It was time the clock was whacked.

I hate to tell you- but I did it. I killed Mr. Royfurd Buiton. Or, eh I guess you only knew it as the clock- huh? Yea, well I killed the clock- It only took me a half a second to lunge across the room and grab it in my hand and repeatedly smash it into the floor before it shut up.

One final, strangled beep and I sent it flying across the room- it hit wall with a crack, fell down and smacked the ground.

Silence reined.

That’s right- take that! Plastic is nothing compared to the great… the great, plastic crusher Faith!

Further silence.

I stood up off of the hard cold wooden floor and shook my head. I turned and opened the door, shaking my head.

I know I’m a crazy bitch…

Stepping out of the comfort of my room and into the considerably bare loft apartment- I realized I myself was considerably bare.
Mostly because there was one man sitting in the living room- who had previously been playing some kind of video game. (I’m guessing Halo2) When I stepped out wearing nothing but a tight red pair of boy short underwear and a bright yellow bra.

The one man who actually didn’t live in this apartment

Dark hair, palish, kinda rough looking around the edges. Almost the kind of guy you’d expect to see selling drugs, well- actually not almost. Exactly. He did sell drugs… but he also showered so, at least he was hygienic?

Well, I’m not the kind of person to dwell on someone’s negatives, alright?

He stared at me.

I stared at him.

He blinked.

I blinked.

“Hey .” Louis said, his dark blue eyes twinkling slightly.

“Go fuck an alley cat.” I replied casually.

He knew this meant ‘Hey’. And- knowing that, he grinned brightly and watched me closely as I walked through the living room and into the kitchen.

“That’s right, you walk away.” He called at me and without even looking at him I gave him the finger.

I began shuffling around the cluttered and filthy kitchen. Piled pizza boxes from god knew how long ago, Twinkie wrappers, dirty dishes, tequila bottles, randomly placed unopened condoms. Trojan, ribbed for her pleasure. Nice. Such was the life living with four men.

Not to- make you think that those condoms were for me. Cause’ they weren’t. I’m not a whore- well… maybe I am just a little. But I’m a strictly female only for whore. Well actually- not strictly into females, I like men too. Lets put it this way, I have not, nor will I ever sleep with any man who lived, lives or will live in this hellhole loft…

The condoms weren’t mine, okay?!

Distractedly I smacked a cereal box out of my way and shuffled through the mail and papers on the counter- checked above the microwave and-

“Smokes.” I demanded, looking over the counter and at Louis.

“Top of the fridge.” He replied without taking his attention away from the video game. I watched him for a minute, biting his bottom lip in concentration as the television emitted the sound of a gun firing.

It was almost like he lived her, but he didn’t. Sometimes he fell asleep her.. But he didn’t pay rent. Maybe I should charge him rent? Maybe I should kick him out…

My eyes flickered to the window- and then Back to Louis.

He didn’t eat here.

But he did use our toilet. I mean damn, he has used our toilet.

Although he seemed to always know where everything was.

I turned and walked to the fridge- immediately seeing the carton of Kool’s atop it. I snatched a pack and walked out into the living room. Watching Louis once more.

He acted like he lived here.

But he had his own apartment… well at least I thought he did.

I sat next to him, packing the cigarettes.

Maybe he did live here, and he just didn’t have a room? I paid my rent to Cooper- just like anyone else who lived here did. I’d never seen Louis give Cooper a check- or cash, cept’ that time he lost that bed about me being a lesbian.

“Do you live here?” I asked him, opening the Kool’s and pulling one out.

“No.” He responded, looking sideways at me. “Don’t you think you’d know if I did-Can I have one of those?”

I shrugged, placing the cigarette between my lips. Pulling another out of the package before tossing it on the coffee table in front of us, I offered it too him.

“I didn’t notice Matt lived here until…” I thought briefly while he pulled a lighter out of the pocket of his Levi‘s. “A month, after he’d moved in.”

He nodded and lit his cigarette, then- like a gentleman, lit mine. I inhaled deeply and leaned back next to him. “Thank you.”

“No problem.” He responded, without taking his own cigarette out of his mouth. Picking up the x-box controller once more, he un-paused his game and continued shooting at small aliens. (Halo 2, I’d been right.)

“There’s a big one behind that crate.” I told him, pointing at the screen and arching forward just enough to crack my back. I felt the pleasing pop and sighed, leaning back once more. “Where’s Cooper?”

“Sleeping I think- he only came out of his room to shout about your alarm.” He responded, slightly distracted by the video game.

“Fucking alarm.” I grumbled, taking a long drag off of my cigarette and putting it out in the ashtray on top of the coffee table. “I need to get ready.”

Louis looked at me like I was daft. “For what?”

Another day as a slave to the man. “Work.”

“Since when do you work nights?”

What the hell was he going on about. “What?”

Louis paused his video game, and took the cigarette from his mouth- and tapped the excess ashes into the ash tray. Then silently gestured to the large glass pane window behind him, lifting his eyebrows.

I looked out the window and sure enough- a dark city skyline stared back at me.

Bullshit. It couldn’t be. The alarm was NOT set for--

I ground my teeth and grabbed his wrist- eyeballing the digital watch there. Checking to make sure that it wasn’t… 7:38... PM.

Fuck. Bitch. Slut. Whore. Bob Dole! A plethora of violent and frightening words could have shot out of my mouth- scratch that could and replace it with a should. Because this would be the- fourth, no fifth time I’ve missed work this month. I was going to get fired this time. I’d already used up all my excuses too, everything- the ’my grandma died’ excuse- and ’my grandpa died’ also ‘the power went out’ oh and not to mention ‘Dude, I had like ten tequila shots last night and woke up with this girl who’s name I didn’t even remember so I am soo hung over right now you do not even want to discuss this.’ Yea- Dave (my boss) just loved hearing that last one.

You know what- I didn’t even care anymore what Dave. (That middle aged balding, sexually frustrated frilly-smock) loved or didn’t love. I had enough money saved up for next months rent, maybe if I was tight I could pull off the month after that too.

Serving coffee in star bucks wasn’t that good of a job anyways. If he fired me, he fired me- so what? I didn’t need him. I didn’t need that job.

I felt a familiar ache in my stomach. But I did need food, and that meant I’d need money- eventually. Stupid stomach.

“Faith?” Louis prompted.

Okay, obviously I’ve been standing here quiet for a minute or two now.

“You alright?” He asked.

“Yea. I’m fine.” I told him simply, sitting back down next to him.

“What about work?” He asked, that damn mischievous twinkle in his eyes again. For a moment there I was grateful Louis was the only one here. While any of the bastards I actually lived with would have laughed at me. He didn’t say a word. Even though he knew I missed work- again.

Gotta love Louis for never opening his mouth when he knew he shouldn’t

“Work can eat me.” I said with all the maturity of a rebellious- pissed off fifteen year old boy.

“Alright then.” He said- snatching the second x-box controller off the coffee table. (Which I may have neglected to mention previously was in fact just a unhinged door sitting on top of two crates- we are so ghetto here.) He held it out to me, smiling in a way which clearly said ‘play with me’. I fought a smirk and the glimmer in his blue eyes notified that my interpretation of his expression was in fact- correct.

It was honestly the first time I’d ever received an innuendo with only a look.

Kind of turned me on.

So I took the controller.