Messed Up Vita

Chapter Forty-Three

   "Okay, is it fair to ask you a question because you asked me the same?" Joey asks.

   I turn my head from out the dark window to look at him. "What do you mean?"

   He shrugs. "Just, is it fair?"

   "I guess."

   He glances over at me with a smile. I groan. "What did I get myself into this time, Joey?"

   "Well," he says, raising his eyebrows. "Why me?"

  "Why you. . . what?"

   "I mean, why'd you pick me?" he asks. "Why do you love me?"

   This question stumps me, even though it should be plain and simple. Why did I love him? I could name a lot of minor reasons, but major? I have no clue. 

   "I guess I just love you," I croak softly. I clear my throat. "You don't have to have any reasons to love somebody."

   "I guess so," he shrugs. He glances at me, smirking. "But you have to list some." He pulls up on my block, but not near my house. I'm about to ask him when suddenly something comes to mind.

   "Crap!"

   "Crap makes you love me?"

   "No, I mean we forgot our picture tonight!" I say, slapping his arm. My eyes are wide. "Are we going to take it or not? I'm going to have to go get my camera inside my house, which is impossible because I will have to go through my parents, and if they knew you were out here when I came back out then they'd talk and talk and it'd be-"

   He suddenly leans forward and kisses me firmly on the lips. He leans back after he thinks I'm finishing jabbering. "How about we just take a picture on my phone?" 

   I pause. " 'Aight. Let's do it." He slips his phone out of his pocket and unlocks it, holding it out in front of us. I try my best not to look like a demon sneering as I smile up at the camera. It flashes, and just as I'm about to pull away he leans forward and kisses me on the lips, while taking another picture.

   "Hey!" I protest.

   He looks at the picture, face grinning quite proudly at himself. "I like it." He lets me see, but holds it back far enough so I can't snatch it up out of his hands. I glare at him while looking at the pictures. The kiss one, my eyes are wide as Joey leans on my lips, his eyes closed and grinning. The other is a pretty good one. Joey's smile is beautiful, I notice. He also has only his white shirt on, not his coat. But then again, I was in a sweatshirt and a dress. I guess we're an odd couple, or something.

   Something freezes inside me. Couple? I guess that is what we are, but I haven't heard myself say it inside my head before. 

    "Your eyes, your face, your voice, your hair, your eyebrows, your laugh, your artist skills, your everything."

   "Feels better now you say it," he smiles at me teasingly. I roll my eyes at him. "But my eyebrows? Where'd that come from?"

   "You have perfect eyebrows," I say, melodramatically stroking his eyebrows with my finger. He pushes me off with a hand. "Eyelashes, too. Wow. You have them like a freaking girl." I try to touch them, but he snaps his teeth at my finger.

   I suck in a breath. "We left Mandy alone."

   "What?"

   "I hardly talked to her," I tell him, eyes wide with guilt. "She only gave me my guitar. Dammit."

   "Calm it," Joey says. "I'm sure she understands. Mandy doesn't look like she'd get mad over something like that very easily. Anyways, I wanted to give you something." He takes something out of his back pocket. Do tuxes even have back pockets? He holds it out in front of me, palm up. Resting inside was a black guitar pick. As I take in my hands, I feel a pin holding it on the back. In fact, the whole thing was a pin. The needle goes through the narrower part of the pick, so it's firmly fastened. A white painted-on small JE was on the front. I pop open the cover for the pin, mouth hanging open.

   "I hate jewelry," I tell him. "But you're lucky I like it."

   "It goes on your shirt like . . " he tries to take it in his hands. 

   "I know how it goes!" I say, jerking my hands away. I look back up and smile, an apology for my slight bark at him. He smiles back, watching as I fasten it to his sweatshirt. His sweatshirt, not mine, which I realize I'm still wearing. Again.

   "Keep it until Monday," he says, reading my mind. "Do you like the pin?"

   "I already said I did," I smile, amused.

   "Sorry. Nerves." He squeezes his hands together.

   "Since when are you ever nervous?" I scoff. "You're as cool as a cucumber."

   "Uh, haven't you ever noticed my sweaty hands, my fingers trembling, and me always looking at the floor? I'm not as cool as a cucumber. Every time I look at you, I seriously think about running away, so I don't get those stupid butterflies in my stomach."

   I stare at him. I don't really know what to say.

   "Sorry, being sappy again," Joey says, shaking his head and turning away.

   "Come here," I say, waving my hand in my direction. He pauses, staring at me suspiciously.

   "Why?"

   I grin. "Just come here." He does, and I grab his face in my hands, fingers firm on his cheeks and around his jaw so he can't escape. I kiss him firm on the lips, letting myself getting lost just for a moment in the touch. Then I lean backwards, shaking his head gently.

   "You think you can look over all my flaws, and I can't ignore this one stupid thing that I didn't even notice before?" I ask, unwavering, staring right into his eyes. They're as bright as ever in the growing darkness.

   "Uh. . . "

   "Then you must be an idiot," I tell him. "if you think that I won't ignore it."

   "You must be an idiot," he says back. "for thinking that you have a lot of flaws, because you don't. Loser."

   I smile. "Loser."

   He runs a hand over my cheeks. "Losers together, right?"

   "Of course," I say. I peck him softly on the lips. "Losers and idiots forever."

~ ~ ~ ~ FIN.~ ~ ~ ~