subdued subtleties ━━ keanu reeves

IX. HOLD UP, HOT LINE!

❝ let's go have
a slumber party! ❞

CHAPTER NINE:
HOLD UP, HOT LINE!

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"I'll never forget the time when The Carpenters went here to the Courage Club to perform. You ain't seen nothing yet if you haven't seen a really big artist perform on that little stage on Courage. See, I'll never lose memory of that night. It was memorable more than anything else. It was─"

"You've told this story for the umpteenth time, geek. Tell me diff'rent stories! We've been talking here on the phone for hours, and you're still talking about The Carpenters in Courage Club?"

I could feel him shrug his shoulders and make that look he always throws at me whenever he wants to talk about something he's been talking about for days. And when I mean 'for days,' I meant it.

I roll around to face the ceiling while the telephone was beside me. I unconsciously twirl my hair like some little girl talking to her little boy cru─ frien─ either way, you get what I'm saying.

Jovi likes pissing me off, and that's what I've noticed about him that developed in the past few days. I mean, honestly, we've grown close no less than a week, and it's unbelievable. I've always been that awkward girl even in the city, and now it's like things have mellowed down.

"What do you think we should do? I mean, I'd ask you when you're going home, but that's quite unusual. You've just arrived like days ago, and I ask when you're going home? Gee whiz."

I scoffed playfully at him. "Don't me. Stop stealing my 'Gee Whiz' line." I rolled my eyes.

"Stop rolling your eyes, you sissy,"

"Heh, how'd you know that?"

"I can see through you, buck-tooth."

My mouth shaped into an 'O' and my eyebrows drew themselves together in shock. "What?! I'm not buck-toothed. You..." I knew it wasn't the right time to pause. When was it ever right to pause when you're gonna burn someone. Not burn like to set aflame. You get what I'm saying.

"I... what? Am totally handsome and undeniably drop-dead gorgeous?"

"No, you're not!"

"Well, buddy, you gotta stop lying sometimes. I know you think I'm a Michelangelo sculpture and Da Vinci painting. I am worthy to be world-renowned, and I'm supposed to be in a museum. Is that what you're supposed to say?"

"Oh, can it, Jo. You're an egotistical fool, that's all." I said, rolling my eyes while saying so.

"You only got that insult because I stated the awfully real truth right before your eyes. Admit it, I am excellent and bodacious in many ways unimaginable."

I scoffed at him. And what's worse is that I could imagine how he looked while he utterly praised himself, swiftly making an excuse while he did so. He was probably laughing the hell out of himself knowing how pissed I probably sounded.

Then I heard him chuckle. I could hear him smile through the phone, and it contagiously crept one up my face, too. After that I only listened to him chatter about this girl he met that wasn't his Markus girl for once. He was a chatterbox when it came to girls he met during Christmas or any other school break. For a split second there I was afraid I was just gonna be one of those girls. I have nothing to worry about anyway.

"You see," and then it was blah, blah, blah. It was like he was talking to one of his boy friends rather than a girl friend. Boys in the city were different from him, and I'm glad Jovi's not like them either. He talked like he was some school playboy talking about the girls he screwed to his little minions; this time, he was talking to a girl who probably has a cru─ growing platonic friendship with him.

And then, with no particular reason why I did so, I said: "Let's do a slumber party."

"A-what-now?"

"That's also my line!" I whined playfully; he only laughed.

"Jesus, Doll: just because I've said something you've said before, doesn't mean I stole it from you! That's the exact thing my mom said when we found out Dad's gonna leave us!"

I knew he said that playfully, trying to make light of his heavy emotional status; I just had nothing to say.

"Dude, I'm joking."

"I knew you we─"

"But can you tell me why we're gonna have a slumber party? Shouldn't you just... have invited Markus or whatever?"

"I will kick you in the ass if you mention your little baby girl again. I swear to God, I'll prepare wedding preps when you do that again." I taunted. He only mumbled an 'mhm' and followed:

"Gee, what's so wrong about Mark─"

"I'll volunteer maid of honor─ wait, we're not even supposed to be talking about this! Are we gonna do the slumber party or not?"

"I know! Ain't I supposed to be the one to say that? I'll go to your slumber party! It's just awkward 'cause they're gonna think we're screwing each o─"

"Perv," I called him out, inwardly laughing at what would've been his expression when I said that. "I have a brother. He could watch over us."

"You trust a little kid on that?" he said with contempt and doubt.

"It becomes harder to sin in front of a child." I said, but I didn't know why I did. It make a weird face to myself and mentally bury my face in my palm at my own embarrassment.

"Okay, Pastor Dahlia─? The heck are you saying right now? You are not Dahlia; who am I talking to?"

"Hey! Chill, you... Da Vinci scrap," I said. He replied with a chuckle that brought a smile to my face.

I paused for a bit to think carefully of what I should say; I thought of random things, instead. I decided that maybe it was best to let things flow the way they were. Halteringly but with no hesitation, I said:

"Come over here. Right now. Let's not sleep. Let's do the 'all nighter' that they say. I'd love to see you a zombie in the morning."