Deviating from the Norm (A "Freaks and Geeks" Fanfic)

Chapter 10 - Of innocence and dissonance

I woke up in my bed to the sound of my parents arguing back and forth. Everything was black, but the moon was shedding its pale light through the window, providing at least some level of illumination. I shifted slightly and realized I wasn't alone. As my eyes began to focus in the dark, the blonde hair in front of me was a dead giveaway to who it was- Kim.

We were lying in my bed, facing each other. I listened to her softly breathing as she slept, while my head had a mini-explosion of panic.

Oh shit! What the hell happened? And why don't I remember any of it?

I began summing things up, taking note of our surroundings. The bed was made and we were sleeping on top of the covers, my bedroom door was slightly ajar and I would remember if something came about (or so I kept telling myself, at least).

Of course nothing happened; don't be stupid. We're both fully clothed for crying out loud.

Again my eyes wandered to her as my brain brought me to my senses. She looked peaceful as she slept (which was not exactly a look I was accustomed to seeing on her) and beautiful, too. Unquestionably beautiful. She was one of the few girls who looked just as stunning, if not more so, without the accompaniment of makeup. Her lips moved slightly as her eyes darted back and forth under her lids. She must have been dreaming. I smiled and gently swept a clump of hair that was lying on her cheek to behind her ear, just as I had seen her do a hundred times before. Her blonde mop was in a tangled, unkempt mess, but I'd be damned if it didn't actually add to her appeal, bordering on sexy even.

I scrunched up my face for a moment upon the realization that there was something faintly slippery feeling on my lips. I touched them with my tongue slightly and was greeted by the taste of... strawberries? Fake strawberries, but strawberries nonetheless.

What the hell did I eat and why is it still on my lips?

My parents' voices spilled into the room, both raised, but neither really yelling.

"Mel, this isn't right and you know it. He's been wandering down the wrong path ever since he started hanging out with those kids. He keeps skipping classes, he won't tell us where he's going half the time and we both know he's been sneaking out at night and now this?! Assaulting kids from other schools over water balloons, and then he ended up in the ER?!"

"They were jumped!" my mother defended in a strict tone. "Sure, they did something stupid and retaliatory, but they didn't deserve what those kids did."

"And what do we do if they decide to get the police involved? This could be his second close call to getting in all kinds of legal trouble."

"The Addler family dropped the idea of a lawsuit and there is no way those kids are going to admit they beat on a girl."

"A girl who is still here! Still here and now sleeping with our son!"

"Oh, Jesus, Keith! They're not sleeping together, they fell asleep together. It's Kim, honey! Kim! She was going to call her boyfriend and have him pick her up, but the next thing I knew she was out like a light next to Donny. They were both exhausted and, with Kim's mother working the night shift, there is no way I was leaving her with that stepfather of hers. You saw what he did to her last time she was here. Honestly, you're comparing apples to oranges and you know it."

Thank god? I questioned, feeling torn about just how innocent our situation suddenly became.

Kim felt comfortable enough around me to sleep in the same bed and, as far as I could tell, there was more sexual tension between two rocks than we had. This was clearly the 'you're like a brother to me!' gray area and I was lingering on the definition of insanity if I expected anything to change. I needed to just drop this infatuation and start paying attention to other girls again.