Fragments

3.4

              3.4

            I rub my cheeks with my fingers and tilt my head back to try and stop myself from laughing. "My face hurts from smiling."

            I don't know how much time has passed since we began laughing, but between Adam and I, we can't seem to stop. The only one who doesn't seem to pay us much mind is Lionel, who sits across from us in a Lazy-Boy taking another hit from his bong. Adam is pressed into my side, smiling so widely that I can't help but smile back.

            "Then you need to stop." He tries to hold in his amusement as he replaces my fingers with his own and pulls my cheeks down so that I'm frowning, but as soon as he does, he bursts out laughing again.

            "You're not helping!" I shout, grabbing a pillow and hiding my face from him. "It feels like my face is exploding."

            I sink deeper into the couch and close my eyes, the darkness fading away everything else completely. I'm able to push away the sounds of the rain outside, of the lighter flickering in Lionel's hand and Adam as he puts an arm around me, pulling me into him. He pulls the pillow from my face but I keep my eyes closed, feeling like something isn't right.

            When I open my eyes, I'm no longer in the same living room, but the basement back home, snuggled into Trevor who grins arrogantly down at me. I throw myself away from his grasp and blink, but what I see changes again. Adam stares at me like I'm crazy, wondering what the heck I'm doing.

            "She's tripping out," Lionel says from across the room.

            I shoot him a glare.

            "It's not laced, you're not hallucinating, are you Piper?" Adam asks, slightly more sober but his words still slow and tired.

            "I just remembered something." I avoid his eyes and force myself to get to my feet. My legs feel foreign, like they don't know how to work the way I want them to. "I should go."

            Adam places a hand on my shoulder and suddenly he's behind me. "I'll walk you back to school."

            I shake him off and throw my arms through the sleeves of my jacket. "I'm fine."

            But as I open the door and step into the mist left over from the downpour, I feel the farthest thing from it.