She Played Cupid

1

"Come on, Milo," Layla begs, "you know I hate going to parties by myself, and you are the perfect wingman."

"I mean, you're not wrong," I chuckle as I put the book I had been looking at back on the shelf.

"Exactly," she grabs my arm, "you are Cupid! And I need your help!"

"I'm not Cupid," I shrug her off my arm with a smile, "but fine, I'll go with you."

"Oh my God! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" She jumps with joy as I concede to go to the party with her, "by the way, I'm gonna need a ride there, my car's in the shop."

"I'll drive you there," I reply as I head out of the book store, "besides you're gonna need a DD."

"That's for sure," she laughs.

Layla and I have been best friends since high school. Though our personalities are very different, we get along great. She's the outgoing, party lover, while I'm the introverted, book worm with a nack for finding the perfect people for my friends.

My phone starts to vibrate in my pocket so I quickly grab it and check who it is.

Max.

I answer the call.

"Yellow," I greet him, "what's up?"

"I need your help," he says quickly.

"With?" I hold my phone in between my shoulder and my ear as I look for something in my bag.

"I'm looking for a ring for Hank, but I don't know which one I should get," he says worriedly, "I've narrowed it down to a black steel one or a galaxy opal tungsten one."

"Do the tungsten one," I reply as I finally find my fucking wallet and can hold the phone normally.

"Are you sure?"

"Definitely," I grin, "Hank has always loved the color blue and his birthstone is opal, he'll absolutely love it."

"Thank you so much! Bye!"

"Good luck," I chuckle a bit before hanging up.

"Is Max proposing?" Layla asks excitedly.

"Seems like it," I give her a wide smile.

"We gotta start saving for a plane ticket so we'll be able to go to their wedding!"

"I think you mean you need to start saving, girl," I head inside the gas station, "I've been saving my money."

"Haha," she rolls her eyes, still smiling, "but seriously, I'm happy for them."

"Me, too," I go to the counter, and speak to the clerk, "watermelon kiwi ice Mr. Fog, please."

He turns around and grabs the vape off the shelf and turns to hand it to me.

"ID please," he asks as he sets it on the counter.

I hand it to him to scan, then pay for my addiction.

"I'm proud of you, by the way," Layla says suddenly as we walk out of the station.

"For what?" I raise a brow at her.

"It's been three weeks since you last bought a new one, and that last one just died two days ago," she explains, "which means it's been taking you longer to finish them. Which in turn means you're using it less per day. And you even went two days without it at all. So, I'm proud of you."

"Thanks," I give her a soft smile.

I've been trying to quit, I really have. I've been spending more time writing by hand or drawing to distract myself from it, which seems to be working. As long as my hands are busy, I don't seem to even realize how long it's been since my last hit. I used to burn through one in just three days, and now, I managed to go three weeks without needing a new one.

"Do you think you'd be able to try and leave it behind during the party?" She genuinely asks.

She does this on occasion. Not to test me, or to guilt me into leaving it, but to try and help me. If I say no, she doesn't push me or try to convince me, she just says okay and doesn't bring it up again.

"I'll leave it in my car, just in case," I reply as I open the new one.

She takes it from me and takes off the topper and seal at the bottom as I open the lanyard.

"It smells nice," she says as she hands it back to me along with the trash.

While she doesn't vape, she is always curious about the smell of each new flavor I get.

I smell it a bit and nod with a small 'hm.'

"It does," I agree with her before taking a hit.

I can feel the nicotine rush to my head. The first few hits are always the strongest.

I put the lanyard on it and hang it around my neck as we continue to walk.

"Why didn't we take your car again?" Layla asks after a few moments of silence.

"Cuz the stores are right around the corner from my apartment," I reply as we head into the building, "and it would take longer to get to them by car than by foot with rush hour."

"That's fair, I guess. But it's hot as balls outside."

"Tis true," I laugh as I open my door.

"Ah," she plops down on my couch, "A/C is a beautiful thing."

I laugh at her over dramatic ass as I grab a water bottle from the fridge.

"Heads up," I toss it her way.

It hit her in the head, making us both laugh.

"Ouch," she says as she sits up, still laughing lightly.

"So when's the party?" I ask as I pull one of my books off the shelf and take a seat on the floor in front of where she's sitting.

"Nine," she answers as she starts playing with my hair, "can I braid it?"

"Go for it," I smile as I open my book and start to read.

She brushes through my hair with her fingers, getting rid of any knots before she starts to twist it into two French braids.

"Oh, how's your brother's apartment hunting going?" She asks.

"He said he found a place, but it's in a kinda shitty part of town," I reply, "I told him that he could stay with me until he found a better place."

"You're too sweet," she chuckles, "you know that?"

"He's my brother," I slightly turn my head to look at her, only for her to straighten it back out, "what am I supposed to do? Let him live in a place where he could get jumped at any given moment?"

"Well no. But I know a lot of people who would never let their siblings live with them," she finishes off the last braid, "can I do your makeup, too?"

"Why?" I turn to her with a raised brow.

"I might have forgotten to mention that it's a costume party," she gives me a sheepish grin, "but I already have the perfect costume for you."

"Let me guess-"

"Goth cupid!"

"Okay, it's a little different than what I thought you were gonna say."

"I know you aren't into the girly, sparkly cupid style so I figured 'hey why not a goth cupid instead?'" she smiles bigger, "it's mostly black with some dark red and a red and black bow and arrow. It's really cute. Plus, all I had to buy was the wings, the bow and arrow set, and a belt and it was all on sale."

"You're really trying to sell the goth cupid thing aren't you?"

"I really am cuz I think it's really cool and that you'll really like it."

"How many more times are you gonna say really?"

"I really don't know," she grins, "all I know is that I really think you'll look really good in it and that it really will really be the best costume at the party."

"Oh my God," I laugh, "fine, I'll really wear it."

"I love you," she giggles.

"I love you, too," I shake my head at her.