Pizza {styles}

Chapter Four

"This isn't really me." I sigh, standing from the bed. 

"What are you?" He looks up at me and takes another drink from his bottle of Smirnoff.

"I'm quiet. I don't leave my apartment that often, so I definitely don't go to random guys' apartments." 

"Maybe it's time to be somebody else. Just for the day." He suggets with a shrug.

"Just have a day to do whatever the hell I want?"

"Exactly!"

"What would your girlfriend think about this?" I ask, remembering the fact that he's taken. He probably wouldn't touch me anyway, but I don't some girl coming after me.

"This is your day, so don't worry about it." He grabs my hand and pulls me back down onto the bed.

"You're absolutely crazy."

"You're absolutely right." He chuckles and throws me a controller, "Now, let's play."

"So, tell me about yourself, Harry. I'm sitting in your apartment, but I know nothing about you." I choose my weapon and watch the clock countdown for the match to begin.

"My name is Harry, and I know nothing about the girl sitting next to me, but she's really cool, so I allowed her to stay in my home."

"I already knew that."

"Alright, you want a traumatic childhood experience or what?" He asks, and the game begins. Harry put us on opposite teams, so I start my journey of finding him.

"Nothing too heavy." I say, and I automatically think like me.

"Well, my mom ran over my cat when I was seven."

"That's awful! My dog swallowed my fish."

"We both had a murder in the family, then." He bumps his knee against mine, but I ignore it. It was probably an accident.

"What else?"

"My brother always picked on me for having big feet."

"My dad always picked on me for eating too much cookie dough." I spot him on the game and promptly fire my ammo, killing him, "Yes!"

"You were distracting me!" He shouts, frowning.

"How was I distracting you?"

"You kept talking to me!"

"I was able to talk and kill you, so that's not a valid excuse."

"I'm showing you no mercy now. Get ready to die every five seconds."

"Alright, whatever." I laugh, quickly hiding my character in a bush. A silence falls over me and Harry, and my stomach, of course, lets out a rumble.

"Do you want some cookie dough?" He asks with a laugh, and I force myself to smile.

"No, I'm not hungry."

"I literally just heard your stomach growl." He glances away from the TV to give me a suspicious look.

"That was just digestion noises."

"From eating what?"

"I had a huge breakfast with Katie. She was super pumped for the party today." I lie, refusing to look away from the game.

"Tell me your name, and I won't bug you about it."

"My name is Ellie." I sigh, finally looking away from the TV to meet his gaze.

"It's pretty."

"Thanks, but you have to say that. Let's just get back to me killing you." I say, and on cue, he runs in front of the bush I'm hiding him, and I shoot him.

"Are you kidding me?" He throws the controller to the ground.

"Nope!" 

"You can't hide! That's cheating!" He slams his fist on the bed and picks the controller back up.

"If you were good enough, it wouldn't matter." I tease, looking for another hiding spot.

"I've killed you fifteen times, and you've killed me twelve times. I win." I smile as the game goes back to the main screen.

"I went easy on you." He groans, tossing his controller to the floor.

"I should probably get home. I'll call Katie."

"Give me a cigarette, and I'll give you a ride home." He offers, and I pull the pack from my purse.

"We have a deal." 

"Thank goodness." He grabs it with his teeth and stands up. I quickly follow his lead, leaving the apartment without putting away the alcohol that we didn't drink.

"Why don't you have your own if you like them so much?" I light both of our cigarettes as we step outside.

"I finished my pack before the birthday party, and I didn't think it would be appropriate to leave just for cigarettes."

"I obviously don't mind spreading second hand smoke to young children." I sarcastically say, and we both laugh.

"You can smoke in the car." He calls as he gets in. Regardless, I roll the window down when he starts the car.

"Who knew smoking and playing video games with a stranger could be so much fun?" I blow my smoke out the window and watch it fly behind us.

"I had a feeling." 

"Maybe next year I'll see you at Charlie's birthday party again." 

"You want to wait a year before seeing me again?" He scoffs, "It must not have been that fun."

"Quit the pity party." I sigh, "Oh, turn right up here."

"This apartment complex?"

"Yep." 

"I almost bought an apartment here. I liked them a lot." 

"That's great."

"I like to visit and look at the architecture. Now I have someone to do it with." He takes a drag of his cigarette and winks at me.

"Just park, and let me out." I groan.

"Today was fun, El." He says once he pulls into a parking spot.

"My name is Ellie."

"I can't have a nickname for you?" He asks, and I think of all my nicknames in the past. None of them have ever been anything pleasurable.

"I don't do nicknames." I blow my smoke into his face and step out of the car, slamming the door behind me and leaving behind the only boy that hasn't found a way to insult me.