Blue Boy

I ran up the steps to the apartment. The fucking elevator was still broken, and maintenance had been "fixing" it for weeks. My key slipped into the lock and I opened the door, stepping inside. I was exhausted and couldn't wait to sit down and relax.

The television was on, with Zack slumped into the couch. I collapsed next to him and put my arms behind my head. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes and silently offered without taking his eyes off the TV. I gladly pulled one out and leaned over to grab the lighter on the coffee table.

I inhaled deeply and held in the smoke, then slowly let it out. My hands held both sides of my head as my elbows rested on my knees. I stared down to the floor and noticed how dirty the carpet was. "We need to vacuum," I stated.

"Buy one then," he said back, which made me chuckle. Zack had been letting me live in his apartment for the past eight months. I pay half the rent, so he doesn't mind. I never miss it. Zack seems like an asshole, but he's really not. He's just a lazy motherfucker, whom we're all surprised actually has two jobs. He's a mechanic and bartender. Out of all our mutual friends, he's got the most money, but the shittiest apartment.

"You look like shit," he commented.

I brought the cigarette to my lips. "That's pretty much how I feel."

"I don't understand why you didn't take off of work. You're hurting, I know you are. Don't try to be a fucking man with all these problems. Get some fucking sleep while you're at it."

I slightly turned my head so I could look at him. "The girl that hit me is cool. She hates me though," I smiled.

He chuckled. "Of course she does. You're a pain in the ass. I don't know how we even live together." He then lit a cigarette of his own. "How old is she anyway?"

"Seventeen. Her name is Lila Rosen," I supplied.

He started to laugh. "Shit, man. You both have the same initials. That's fucking weird." I laughed too when I realized it. Lucas Rudder and Lila Rosen. How odd. "Is she decent looking?"

"She's really pretty, yes," I answered.

"My friend Lucas is in deep already. You called her pretty," he pointed out.

"I can't lie," I shrugged. "And she's not like girls her age. She can be childish at times, but that's because I force her to be. She's mature, and she's hiding a lot. I can see it in her eyes. She lives with her grandparents, you know. Maybe I can relate my parents to hers or something." I realized I was rambling.

"You're gonna let her know about your parents?" Naturally, Zack was shocked. My parents were not the friendliest of people, and no one really knew about them. Mainly because I say I have no parents, but they're around.

"That's what I'm saying, Zack. She makes me want to talk. It's weird," I confided.

"So, what you're saying is the only way I can find my dream girl is if she hits me with her car?" he asked.

I laughed at him. "I dunno. Maybe that's the way to do it nowadays," I said while placing my cigarette in the ashtray. "I brought her to do deliveries with me. She tried to make believe she wasn't having fun, but I knew she was."

"I guess I'm not gonna hear you shut up about this girl," he sighed.

"You'll meet her someday. I think I'll bring her here." I chuckled. "I'm making her hang out with me everyday for a month."

He stared at me, and then started laughing hysterically. "You are the biggest dick I know, but somehow, you get away with it. I wanna be you when I grow up."

I leaned back in the couch and grabbed the remote. "That's pretty hard, considering you're older than me." I changed the channel until we reached the movies. I settled on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Zack lazily turned to look at me. "You're kidding, right?" I shook my head, engrossed in the movie. I fucking love mutant turtles. "I'm gonna buy you four turtles for Christmas and paint their shells so you can tell them apart." I looked at him and we laughed together.

Later on in the day, I dialed Lila's number and waited to hear her voice. It rang a few times, and I knew she was ignoring it on purpose. She eventually answered. "Hi."

"Good afternoon. I decided to let you sleep today. You're welcome."

"You really think you can control my life? I don't think so, Blue Boy." I cringed at the name. I really did hate it.

"How about we go get some ice cream? I want Cold Stone," I said.

She sighed. "Are we ever going to do something that doesn't involve food?"

I laughed. "Get used to it, babe. I'm a hungry guy."

"I'm hanging up now. Bye." I looked at my phone to see the call was ending. I closed it shut and smiled.


Lila

"He wants to go to Cold Stone," I rolled my eyes.

Cam giggled. "Awe, he's taking you on an ice cream date." I glared at her. "Come on, Lila. He's cute. What's wrong with getting to know someone?"

"Maybe if he wasn't so arrogant, I wouldn't care, and maybe if he wasn't holding this over me, I'd be excited."

Cam smirked. "So, take that out of the equation. You think Lucas is cute and you wanna hang out with him."

I scoffed. "Blue Boy is nothing but a fly in my face right now. As soon as this month is over, I'm never speaking to him again."

She shook her head and laughed. "Fifty bucks that you start to like him. He doesn't seem like a bad kid." I glared at her once again. "You make me wanna throw up all over myself. A boy is obviously interested in you, and yet you can't stand it. What the hell?!"

"I have a boyfriend, Cam!" I yelled.

"Stop yelling!" she yelled.

"Fine!" I crossed my arms over my chest. I stared at her and we both laughed. "I'll be home later. Sleep over tonight."

She nodded. "Definitely."

Blue Boy was inside Cold Stone waiting for me. He smiled and went to hug me, which caught me off guard. I awkwardly hugged back and quickly pulled away. "I'm getting sick of you," I said.

The smile remained on his face. "What are you gonna get?"

I turned away from him and walked over to the menu hanging on the wall. I already knew what I wanted, but I didn't feel like talking to him. I felt him standing right behind me, getting awfully close. I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply, trying to calm myself down. Blue Boy just pissed me off so easily.

"You seem like an Oreo Overload type of girl," he said.

My eyes widened and I turned to him. "Are you some sick stalker or something?"

"Nah, not really," he shrugged, leaving me to stand on the line. I followed him soon after and we stood next to each other without saying a word. I didn't mind. It was finally our turn to order, and of course I wanted an Oreo Overload. Blue Boy settled on Birthday Cake Remix.

We went to pay and Blue insisted on paying everything himself. After some arguing, I sat at a table with my money still in my wallet. He sat across from me and started stuffing his face. I watched as he ate his ice cream rapidly, waiting for him to get a brain freeze.

He leaned back and pinched the bridge of his nose. I laughed to myself and ate small bites of my ice cream. He let go of his nose and found me laughing. "You think this is funny? I have a head injury you know," he smiled.

"I thought you said you were fine," I smirked.

"You don't feel bad that you hit me with your car, do you?" I looked up to see him completely serious.

I put my spoon down, feeling bad. It was the first time I've seen him express another emotion other than happiness. "Of course I do. I could've killed you. I may not enjoy your company, but it's better than you buried six feet under."

"You do shoot me death glares," he smiled.

I laughed. "You're holding me against my will." He nodded and went back to eating. I stared at him and his blue hair. "How old are you?" I asked.

His eyes met mine, probably surprised I was the one making conversation. "Nineteen," he answered. "I'll be twenty in April."

"So it's your last year as a teen."

He smiled. "It is." His phone went off. I watched Blue Boy read the text message and smile. "There's a party tomorrow night. You should come."

"A party on a Monday night?" I asked.

"When else would there be?" he laughed.

"I have school the next day. I can't."

"Yes you can."


I sat on the floor, leaning against the couch. Cam came out from the kitchen with a bag of pretzels in her hand. She fell on the couch and started changing the channels to the TV. We usually had sleepovers Sunday night at our houses. This has been going on since we were twelve.

"I really don't wanna go," I said.

"Why? It's free beer."

I turned around to look at her. "You know I don't drink."

"So then you have nothing to worry about the next day," she smiled.

I sighed and looked at the TV again. "Tomorrow is day four. We're getting closer to the end."

She chuckled. "Your optimism kills me."

"He's picking me up from school tomorrow. It's gonna be so weird."

"Because of Chad?"

"Yes!" I yelled. These past few days I've been so preoccupied that I forgot about my own boyfriend. Stupid Blue Boy.

"Lily! Are you ok?" my grandfather yelled from upstairs. He could never grasp that my name was Lila.

"I'm good!" I stood up and finally sat on the couch. "I mean he really shouldn't care if I hang out with other boys. He knows I would never cheat on him, and if I was, it would definitely not be with Blue Boy."

"I can't wait to see his face when Lucas picks you up. It'll be great," she smiled. Cam never liked Chad.

"Leave that on," I said.

Cam stopped flipping through the channels and sighed. "You've seen this movie a million times. It's not gonna be any different."

"I don't care. I love Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles."