Women And the Demons Who Love Them

We Were Young-1

Imagine Dragons- Believer

Chapter One: Running Late

This can't be happening to me. Not again! I raced around my room trying to get ready for school. I had forgotten to turn the volume up on my phone and the vibrations had no chance of waking me up. The sound of the baby on the other side of my wall had done the trick. The bus is going to be here any second and I haven't even brushed my teeth yet. 

    "You're late," my mom shouted plummeting through my bedroom door. 

    "So are you," I reminded her, sticking the toothbrush in my mouth. 

    "You're going to make yourself bleed," she warned, taking my shoes as I aggressively brushed the hell out of my teeth.

    "Mom, your scrubs are on backward," I laughed, pulling my vans on. I grabbed my bag and rushed out of our duplex and out of the front gate.

    "Have good day at school you little s**t," she laughed as she got into her car.

    "You too, Crazy," I called back as I raced to get to the bus stop. 

    My heart stopped when the bus passed in front of me without me in it. I looked down at my watch to see how long I have to make it to the next stop. If I didn't catch this bus I might as well head home because I wouldn't make it to school until after third period. If I got lucky. I pulled the straps of my backpack securing it on my back while aggressively pushing the walk signal so I could get across the street. 

    The little walking symbol of hope popped up and I took off running as fast as I could dodging through the oncoming pedestrians. I have six blocks to run and I plan on making it there before the bus does or at least at the same time.

    The glances people are giving as I barged past them are dirty. Some of them froze in front of me as I rushed towards them. Don't they know I'm in a hurry? I moved out of their way just before running them over. I apologized when I did accidentally bump into them as I sped by.

    After five blocks, I spotted the bus at a red light. My heart is hammering in my chest as I pushed myself harder. The bus stopped at its destination just as I jumped up skidding over a parked car crossing the street. A  car honked at me hitting their breaks just before it hit me. I apologized waving my hands in front of me as I rushed to the bus.

    "You woke up late?" Mrs. Keplan the morning bus driver asked looking at me as I stopped in front of the double doors trying to catch my breath. I climbed up the steps showing her my bus pass. 

    "Rough night. The neighbor's new baby wouldn't shut up," I panted breathlessly. I walked into the bus and stopped when my eyes met a woman's who had an infant in her arms glaring at me. Not my neighbor but definitely insulted by my rude comment. "Sorry," 

    She rolled her eyes at as I passed by her and took a seat as far away from her as I could. I looked down at my watch to see that I am back on schedule. I laughed feeling the aches in my legs and lungs. I reached into my bag and sighed forgetting that I hadn't had time to grab anything on the way out. A water bottle was pushed in front of me. I looked to see some guy holding it out for me to take. 

    "That was boss," he said. "It's not opened," 

    "Thank you," I said, hesitating before taking it. We both laughed after I downed half the water bottle. 

    I looked him over. He's wearing fitted black jeans, a dark blue zip-up hoodie with a genuine black leather jacket over it. A set of blue beats headphones around his neck and a black t-shirt that read "I'm Sorry I'm late. I didn't want to be here." His dark straight hair covers his ears and forehead stopping right under his thick eyebrows. His right eyebrow is pierced. Snake bites on his lower lip. Those soft brown eyes bore into me intensely. The guy just shouts trouble. He's really hot.

    "Thank you," I repeated shaking the water bottle. 

    "You're welcome, Speedy," he said with a smirk making my face flare.

    I scooted over towards the window and motioned him to sit down. I thought he was going to reject my offer but took the seat next to me. He sat down spreading his long legs making himself comfortable. He's a really big guy. Trying to fit his legs in this little area is a bit comical. I wanted to laugh but held back trying not to be disrespectful.

    The music from his headphone blared through the silence. Something electric. I stayed quiet trying to listen in on it. I looked out the window. The ride to the school is always a long one. I love it. The darkness of the morning is barely giving away to the morning sunlight. The cold feels good and everything smells amazing.

    "I'm Lawrence by the way," he glanced at me. Who looks like him and still has the most attractive voice in the history of sexy voices ever?

    "Jerry," I introduced myself before looking over at him. He smiled gazing back at me. 

    "Jerry?" he asked. I rolled my eyes. 

    "Yeah, short for Jerimiah. Please don't give me grief about how much of guys name it is. I know and I've been over it since I was like six. So save your comments,"

He laughed putting his hands up in surrender.

    "Okay. Jerry," he said my name mockingly. 

    "Okay, Lawerence," I mocked returning the gesture. He laughed shaking his head. Lawrence is a pretty sweet name. It's strong and fitting for a guy like him. 

    "You're the girl from the library," he said after a while. I looked over at him wondering how he knew that. 

    "Yeah," I nodded. I worked there after school. It pays for my obsession with Cheez-its and Arrow reruns on Netflix. "I'm sorry. Have we met?" 

    "Yeah. A few times actually," he said glancing back at me. I think I'd remember meeting someone like him. "We have a few classes together," 

    "We do?" I asked feeling like an i***t. 

    "Yeah," he confirmed. "We've had classes together since we were in sixth grade," 

    "Oh, god," I groaned covering my mouth, laughing. "So you knew my name was Jerry?" 

    "No, I didn't," he smirked. "I've just seen you around. You're always with that girl," 

    "Brandy," I said looking out the window. She is the only other person I tolerate. By other person, I mean myself. I love and hate everything about me. Most days it's had to tell which side is winning. 

    "Yeah, she's weird," he chuckled sitting back. 

    "You know her?" the majority of people who know B say she's weird. She's not. Her spirit is just a little wild. It's how she hides the real problems. 

    "Not really. She's dating one of my friends and she's kind of annoying," 

    "You're friends with Brant?" 

    "Yeah, we grew up together," he nodded. I pulled the cord over the window signaling for a stop. "We have another two stops," 

    "I like getting coffee right there," I said pointing out the window. "Want one? I'll buy," 

    He stood up letting me out. The bus stopped as I stood up. He looked at me hesitantly which made me think he was going to decline. Which is one hundred percent okay with me. I am just being nice. He had provided me with water when I needed it most.

    "Turn your ringer back on," Mrs. Keplan called from the front. 

    "Thank you, Gardenia," I called back. She waved through the rearview mirror opening the doors. 

    I didn't think he'd accept the invitation but Lawrence followed behind me. I looked both ways before crossing the street over to the coffee shop. I held the door open for him. He walked past me with both his hands in his pockets. He had pulled his hoodie over his head. 

    "Good morning, Jerry," Mr. Rodriguez greeted. 

    The old man has been one of my favorite parts of my morning routine. His wife owned this shop. He had bought the place for her when they first eloped after he came back from his first tour in the army. The two of them lived together upstairs in a three-bedroom apartment with their only daughter who is now a Harvard Med student. I had met his wife four years ago. She passed away in her sleep three years ago. This is all he has left of her. He runs the place now just as she had. I had been a sophomore when she passed away. Mrs. Rodriguez was the sweetest lady I had ever met. 

    "Hey, Mr. Rodriguez," I greeted him. 

    "The usual?" he asked. I nodded and looked over at Lawrence. 

    "I'll have an Americano. Black," Lawrence said. 

    "Two Americanos and a croissant?" 

    "Do you want a croissant?" I asked him. He nodded. 

    "I'll bring it to your table, Jer," he smiled taking my card. 

    "Thank you," 

    Mr. Rodriguez looked Lawrence over skeptically as he scanned my card and printed my receipt. I thanked him again taking the paper and card. Mr. Rodriguez is a really tall man. Despite his age, he has a firm body. Big heavily lashed hazel eyes. His dark hair is peppered with graying hair. He still gets his military-style tapper. Those eyes of his could see through anyone and I'm sure he sees that Lawrence looks like trouble. 

    "You don't like making friends with people your age but adults are just fine?" Lawrence asked when we sat down. I looked across the table at him. "Aside from Brandy of course," 

    "Brandy is my mom's best friend's daughter. I just keep her out of trouble. We're kind of like sisters," I admitted sitting back. "I don't like most girls our age. They're- I'm not like them. I don't like talking about clothes and s**t. I rather stab my tongue with a fork," 

    "You're stuck up," he laughed when Mr. Rodriguez came over to us without order. He glared at Lawrence before going back to the kitchen. I smiled shaking my head.

    "Yip," I shrugged, taking a sip of my coffee. He took the lid off of his and grabbed the sugar dispenser pouring it into the coffee. "Would you like some coffee with that sugar?" 

    "Judgemental," he smiled. He has a really nice smile. Straight white teeth. He stirred the coffee before putting the lid back on. Time management is very important to me.

    "Whatever," I rolled my eyes at him, checking my watch. I have an hour before my first class starts. 

    "What are you doing? Why are you checking your watch?" he asked. 

    "I'm on a timed schedule," I said taking the croissant out of the paper baggie. I ripped it in half and began to eat. 

    "Why? You're what, seventeen? You have all the time in the world," I looked up at him. I'm not seventeen. At least not for another three days.

    "All the time in the world for what?" I challenged. 

    "To live. You're a person, not a robot. Tell me it didn't feel good to run the way you did. That's called being alive," 

    "That's called running late. It could have been prevented had I woken up earlier," he rolled his eyes shoving half his croissant in his mouth. 

    "Don't judge, Speedy," he said with his mouth full. 

    "You're not supposed to talk with your mouth full," this guy a weird. He opened his mouth showing the blob of food he's chewing. I rolled my eyes taking another sip of my coffee. 

    "We should get going," he said when we were finished. "Thanks for this, Jerry. I haven't had breakfast with anyone in a long time," 

    "You're welcome, Lawrence," 

He smirked opening the door for me. Mr. Rodriguez hadn't come out of the kitchen so I walked out onto the sidewalk. 

    "Look at what we have here," I looked over to a group of guys walking in our direction. 

    "Keep walking," Lawrence urged, pushing me forward. He kept pushing me until we were on the other side of the street. The guys split into two groups stopping us from going anywhere. 

    "You're on the wrong side of town, Shark. I thought we had a deal," one guy said stepping forward.

    "I go to school here, ass hole. I don't know what the hell you're talking about," Lawrence shot back, pulling me to him. 

    He's not a very good liar or maybe these guys just weren't very smart. They looked us over for a moment. The guy reached for him trying to pull the hoodie off his head. I don't know what came over me but I slapped his hand away. 

    "Really?" the guy asked looking down at me. His eyebrows raised surprised. That makes two of us buddy.

    "Back off. We're just trying to get to school," I answered, standing my ground. 

    "Hey," we all looked across the street to see Mr. Rodriguez standing there. Lawrence took the opportunity to pull me away from them into an alley. 

    "Stay with me, Speedy," he said breaking into a run. 

    He held onto my hand and I followed. I can hear them running after us. The smile on Lawrence's face put a smile on mine as we rushed through the three blocks until we got to the front entrance of the school. We stopped looking back at the group of guys who stayed on the other side of the street. My heart feels like it was going to pound through my chest any second. They kept their eyes on Lawrence for longer than was necessary before they walked back the way they had come.

    "You okay?" he asked catching his breath. 

    "Yeah," I nodded looking up at him. I looked down at my watch to see it was almost time to get to class. "I have to go. I'll see you around, Lawrence," 

    "You're not going to ask what that was about?" he asked. I shrugged. 

    "That's your business. Not mine," his eyes stayed on me for an instant before he nodded. 

    I walked to my locker to get some supplies. The rush of what I had done set and I finally started to feel nervous. Those guys were clearly trying to intimidate us and I had slapped his hand out of the way when he reached for some guy who I barely even know. I sat in my seat letting out a heavy sigh. There is something very wrong with me today. The baby next door is going to be the death of me.

    "Hey," I looked up to see Brandy. "You look like you were late," 

    "What?"

    "You're flushed like you were running. Your hair is a mess. Here let me braid it," she said taking the seat behind me. 

    She pulled the band out of my hair pulling it back and began to french braid it. She tied it setting the braid on my shoulder. I turned back to look at her. 

    "Thanks," I smiled turning to face her.

    "Did you do the homework of Garrison?" I nodded turning back to take it out of my binder. "You're a lifesaver. I was up late last night with Brant. You look like you're tired too," 

    "Yeah, Kaylee had her baby. Their nursery is right next to my room and it never stopped crying. Every time it did and I started to fall asleep it just started back up again," 

    "That blows," she said coping my homework.

    "Were you hanging out with Brant at his place?" she shook her head. 

    "Nah, we were at one of his buddy's house. Lawrence Parker. That emo looking guy. His mom is out of town and he had this thing," 

    "Lawrence Parker?" I asked, of course, he had a cool last name to go with his cool name.

    "Yuuup. I would have invited you but you're not into that kind of stuff. There's a party tonight if you want to come with me? I can stop by after you close up in the library," 

    "I don't know. I'm not good at those things. Remember what happened last time?" I reminded her. She laughed much to my discomfort. 

    The last time I had gone to a party with her, some girl spilled her drink on me and we ended up fighting because she had wanted me to apologize for her drink. People say Brandy is weird but what they say about me is a lot worse. They call me a freak. Mostly, because I keep to myself. I get in enough trouble as it is without socializing with others. My mom says I get my short temper from my very not-present father. I miss him a lot and I can't wait for his return.

    The thing about growing up in the same city your entire life is that you grow up with the same people. Generation after generation. That's not restricted to small towns. The only exception here is that the schools are infested with more students who are just a bunch of ass holes like their parents before them, than students who actually want to be here to get the hell out of this city. Not that any other city or town is different it's just the change of scenery that is much needed. The opportunity to meet new people. 

    "It's been a while. Come on, southpaw. What's the worst thing that can happen?" 

    "Saying that out loud is basically jinxing the whole thing," I smiled. She laughed shaking her head. 

    "Come, Jeremiah. You work all the time. Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak are still gonna be there when you get back. I'll get the Cheez-its," her bribes are the best.

    "Alright," s

She drummed the table excitedly. "Alright, and we're going to have fun for your birthday b***h. I haven't forgotten. I am not taking no for an answer," 

    "Alright degenerates. Face me. We have a few things we have to cover today," Mr. Harriet called walking into the class before I could protest.

    "He's so hot," she whispered to me making me laugh. 

    "First things first. Pass up your homework," 

    "We had homework?" she asked with disbelief when I handed my paper to the guy in front of me. I love her.