Fresh Start

S i x

   "It was a shitty movie." I state as Kaylee glares at me, "Admit it honey, it fucking sucked." Her stare intensifies, lasting even after she's leaned her head back to pour a drink down it.

"Let's go to a bar." Kaylee says, seeming to forget the fact she's been drinking from her bejeweled flask for the past ten minutes.

Maia bumps her shoulder into mine, reminding me of her and Alex's presents, "Does she always drink this much?"

I shake my head slightly, watching as Kaylee stumbles, being caught by Alex who guides her arm around her shoulders, steading her, "Only when she's trying to be fun."

My eyes catch sight of a large glowing sign and I'm quick to steer everyone into the small twenty-four hour McDonalds, due to the time only bars and twenty-four hour stores'll be open. "Where are we going?" Kaylee asks, her voice slow and sluggish.

"To sober your ass up." I explain, sitting her down into the booth and watching as she stretches out, lying at an uncomfortable angle and closing her eyes. The rest of us file into the booth, Maia and Alexandra across from me and Kaylee, who I hold up with my body, forcing her to sit up.

"Lights are too bright." She says, her voice suddenly whiny.

I roll my eyes, "Hey do you mind getting her a large coffee?" I ask Maia, leaning across the table.

"Won't that keep her up?" She asks, concerned.

I shake my head in reply and it must be enough because seconds later she's leaving the booth. "Kris..." Kaylee whines, her hand reaching up to turn my face making me look at her wide eyes, "You need to forget about Luca, okay?"

I roll my eyes, "Shut up." I groan. It's a discussion we've had one too many times, it always goes like this; Kaylee tells me to move on, I tell her I have, she tells me I haven't, we don't talk for a day. But she's far too drunk to remember this so I don't think the period of ignoring each other will happen.

"Seriously Kristin, you're better than her." She says, nodding her head fast.

I laugh slightly, not because anythings funny but because of fucking wasted she is, "Yeah well her, used to be your friend." I point out.

It's quiet for a second before she says something that makes me wish she'd remember this tomorrow, "It's she, not her." She states, "I'm the drunk one here."

"Oh my god." I groan, leaning my head back against the red leather booth. "Just stop talking."

"Here," A voice I identify as Maia speaks and as I turn my head my assumption proves true as she falls into the booth next to Alexandra who taps away at her phone.

I look at the large cup of coffee, with an even larger arched 'M' on the front, before reaching out to push it over to Kaylee.

I make eye contact with Maia after I order my best friend to drink every drop in the cup, offering her the best smile I can muster which probably fails in comparison to the one she beams at me.

When I look over at Kaylee I catch sight of an all too familiar metal flask, covered from top to bottom with pink rhinestones. Before I can grab the drink from her she's poured the remainder into the dark liquid, lucky for me there was only about another shot left..

"Fuck Kaylee." I exclaim in a hushed whisper, taking the flask from her and putting it upside down to make she it's empty before sighing as I slide it into my pocket.

"Doesn't that defeat the purpose of drinking it?" Alex wonders aloud as I take the cup from Kaylee, peering down at the liquid sitting on top of the coffee.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Maia questions as I bring the cup to my lips.

I take it back an inch, pausing to speak, "Drinking the liquor before it mixes." I explain as I tilt my head back pouring the horrible tasting vodka down my throat. I scowl as I place the cup down, earning claps from Kaylee.

"I always thought of you more of a tequila girl." She speaks, smiling drunkenly at me as she starts to sip the black coffee.

I cough as the lingering burning feeling stays in my mouth, making me grimace, "I have no idea how you drink this shit Kaylee, it's fucking horrible."

"That was your first drink?" Alex questions, looking at me dumbfoundedly.

I feel an arm drap around me as Kaylee's head falls on my shoulder, "Our Kristin's a good girl, she doesn't do anything bad." She says in a mocking baby voice, a bit too loudly as we earn glares from the other tables, "No drugs or alcohol for our girl!"

"I've seen drunk you enough times to know drinking is bad." I challenge getting a fake sob from Kaylee who closes her eyes.

Her head lifts off my shoulder, alarming me slightly as she looks both ways frantically, behind me and behind the others across from us.

In the edge of my vision I see her point but I don't turn to look at what it might be as she says, "Look Kris, why don't you date them!"

I roll my eyes, mostly out of first hand embarrassment but also a bit of second hand for Kaylee's loud behaviour. "Think those too are dating honey." Alex points out, making Kaylee's hand drop down from where it was previously pointing to the table where Alex lays her hand over top, comfortingly.

I finally turn around meetin met with a girl and guy standing in line, hands clasped at their sides as they laugh and smile at each other. "Totally, plus I'm not meeting the love of my life in some crappy McDonalds." I sigh, turning back around to my original position.

Maia meets my eyes, smiling slightly, "I met Josh at Walmart, it doesn't matter where you meet them." She says, before continuing, "Don't worry you'll meet your guy soon enough."

Before I can correct her Kaylee's beat my too it, letting the 'i'm gay' cat out of the bag, "What about her!"

She points in front of me this time, I follow her finger towards a blue haired girl who glances at me, smiling. But I'm already looking away, shifting my gaze to Maia who looks utterly confused, having turned around to see who Kaylee had pointed at. "You-you like girls?" She asks quietly.

Again before I can state a simple 'yeah' Kaylee's taking over, saying loudly, "Oh yeah! Kristin's into girls, you didn't know that? Yeah, she was dating a girl but it ended badly," She pauses to stick her bottom lip at me as I simply glare hard back, "So I'm trying to find her a rebound!"

"Oh." She says, looking down at the red table, her cheeks reddening slightly, nothing compared to the red furniture in this branch. 'Oh'? What the fuck does that mean?