Flipping Coins

*Buzz*Buzz*Buzz*

I groaned, seizing one of my throw pillows and securing it over my head.

*Buzz*Buzz*Buzz*

I put more pressure into the securing of my pillow, slobbering quite unattractively into the mattress from the amount of force on the back of my head.

*Buzz*Buzz*Buzz*

Unable to take anymore, I sighed irritably and got up, leaning on my elbows. I snatched another throw pillow and threw it blindly in the direction of the buzzing noises. The ruckus immediately ended after a loud PLUNK! of something colliding with the floor. Through squinted, blurry eyes, I blinked at the window and saw that it wasn’t even light outside, so I didn’t have to get ready to go babysit just yet. I could sleep in until 10, at the least. And that’s just what I intended to do, thank you very much.

So, with a content exhale of breath, I sunk under my warm, welcoming covers and curled into my favorite sleeping position. I was out within 30 seconds.

TWENTY OR SO MINUTES LATER….

A door slammed, and it drew me halfway out of my wonderful dream. But, assuming it was coming from somewhere outside, I ignored it and focused back in on my subconscious fantasy.

The next thing I knew, my eyes were wide as I was being tossed this way and that. My body was bouncing and jolting uncontrollably, and my eyes were hazy and unfocused from the sudden charge of light blinding my eyesight. I yelled, but no real words were forming, just scared fragments of speech.

When the light finally focused, I couldn’t help but to ask aloud, “Am I still dreaming?”

Brendon was pouncing relentless on my mattress, causing me to jerk in every direction and to have to cling to my sheets just to remain upright. My stomach gave a tiny lurch forward, drizzling with baby butterflies at how handsome Brendon looked. He was wearing basketball shorts and a thin sweatshirt, both a shade of dark green. The hue seemed to bring out his big brown eyes, and the contrast of dark colors made his lush, healthy pink lips burst out from his cheerful expression.

Brendon grinned and ceased his frantic jumping on top of my bed. Plopping down next to my startled form, he seductively remarked, “Yeah, you’re still dreaming. You’re supposed to be making hot, passionate love to me right now, so hop to it, House Bunny.” His warm hand lightly swept over my exposed thigh as he said these words, and I shivered involuntarily.

Once my mind caught up with reality, I realized he was joking and slapped at his hand away, playfully shrieking, “Oh no! Not another nightmare!”

Brendon pushed me and laughed before he remarked, “So, I see you have high expectations for your Saturday morning. Sleep, sleep, and then, let me guess, sleep?”

I nodded while groaning sleepily, and fell back, faced down, into my pillow. In a muffled voice, I answered with a mouthful of cloth, “Yurf.”

Brendon softly slapped my back. “Hey! Don’t go unconscious on me again. We have an arrangement this glorious, fruitful morning.”

I made some muffled, distorted scoff in response, a negative tone clearly shown.

“Oh, what? You’re seriously suggesting that you don’t want to get sweaty with me?”

Because it wouldn’t be Brendon without the perve comments.

At these words, I got up and leaned on my side. Staring at Brendon with a stern gaze, I asked, “Can you just go ahead and flat-out tell me what crazy stunt you’re trying to pull off minus the dirtiness, so I can just reject and go back to my hibernation process already?” It was a mouthful, but I was pretty sure I got my point across.

He shot me another cocky grin. “Ooh! Frisky today, are we? I like that.” With another glare from me, Brendon laughed. “Ok! Ok! Calm down, mother. Well, it’s about time to refuel the Urie Guns, you know how it is. I was going to go for a nice stroll out near the strip. But, the thing is, I don’t want to go alone. So, would you care to be my run-bud?”

There was humor, oh was there, but there was also something soft in his tone. Something I was hearing a lot of lately, it seemed.

“Brendon,” I whined with an exasperated sigh. “It’s not even light out! I’m fucking miserable. Do I look like a happy morning jogger to you?”

Brendon surveyed my figure for a moment and shrugged his shoulders. “It doesn’t matter if you’re going to be in a bad mood the whole time, and it doesn’t even matter if you jog slug speed. I just don’t want to spend my morning alone.”

There it was again. I think he caught on that I had caught on, because he suddenly started to fidget with a loose thread on my sheets, avoiding my gaze.

“I just…well, why can’t Eveli---“

“She’s not the running type,” Brendon answered simply, eyes locked on the thread in his hands.

I could tell something was going on, but decided to save the subject for a better time. So, with another aggravated sigh, I replied, “Fine. But you better not leave me behind with the creepy old ladies who have nothing better to do on their weekends except to feed birds at 5 in the morning.”

Brendon grinned and began to clap joyfully. He squealed, “Yay! You’re the best, Em. Seriously. You own the Bad Ass, M.C. title.”

“Right,” I responded, unsure of what that meant exactly. “Well, get out because I have to at least pretend to be a normal girl and try and spend ten minutes getting ready. You know, uselessly fussing with my hair, spending five minutes picking out an outfit and getting dressed, putting on makeup that will come off anyways, same old, same old.”

Brendon gave another applause. “Getting dressed, you say? Well by all means, don’t mind my presence. I’ll just be quietly enjoying the show.”

I pointed toward the door, trying not to smile, and waited until Brendon growled and pranced indignantly out of my bedroom. Then, now allowing the smile to get through, I turned to my closet to try and find a jogging outfit I knew I didn’t own.

Only Brendon would want to jog at the break of dawn. Only Brendon could be the one to make me go with him.

X…………X

“H-h-how did--did you even get into my h-h-house?” I panted, already canals of sweat dripping down my neck.

Brendon looked at me, only a few droplets on him, and smiled. He asked as loudly and as calmly as ever, “You run out of fuel easily, huh, Ems?”

It suddenly seemed to become a huge chore to do something as simple as nod my head, and I felt half of my already-low energy flood from the simple head gesture.

Brendon’s grin doubled in size before he belatedly answered my question, “I know where you keep your spare key. You’re a bit predictable, you know that? I mean, what other purpose would a welcome rug serve?”

Normally, I would have laughed and admitted that Brendon was right in that I was predictable in every way possible, but I honestly think I would have fainted had I strung up the energy to do so. I may not have mentioned it before, but I was no sprinter. Track was something you would never see me participating in. In order for you to get an even fairly decent run out of me, the Grim Reaper would have to literally be at my heels, swinging an axe at my head.

I could feel Brendon’s intense stare watching me, but I didn’t want to, nor could I, turn my head to meet it. Every bone, joint, and muscle in my body was begging for me to stop, but I couldn’t. We had only run a mile and a half, and here I was, already more than willing to give in. I had to prove myself. Evelia could probably do this without breaking a sweat, and I had to prove to Brendon that I was better. That I could last. That I was worth something.

After a moment, a concerned Brendon asked, “Are you okay? Do you want to stop?”

I had become so focused on my prayers to survive that I had forgotten that Brendon was still staring at me. Turning my head, I winced and breathed, “No--I can--make it.”

Brendon watched me while biting his lip slightly before he nodded. “Don’t push yourself too far though, okay? I don’t want to have to carry you to the E.R. The Urie Guns are tough, but not that tough.”

He didn’t expect me to laugh, and I didn’t dare to. I was too exhausted.

I focused on the sound of my shoes pounding against the asphalt, knowing that, each time, I was one step closer to ending this train wreck. My bangs kept sweeping forward, but I had given up a mile ago on trying to keep them tucked behind my ear. My entire scalp was moist with perspiration, and I wanted nothing more than to go home right away and wash the sweat from my hair. I looked up hopefully and saw that, thankfully, the ending bridge was growing nearer and nearer.

“Almost there,” Brendon whispered, finally starting to pant slightly.

A sudden injection of adrenaline shot through me, and my legs yearned for me to go faster. A curious feeling of frisson erupted throughout my stomach, leaking into my veins and warming my entire body. I sped up, going twice my previous speed, and suddenly, Brendon was left far behind me. I could feel every muscle in my body screaming to keep it steady, but I didn’t want to. I could reach the bridge in no time.

Four more steps, three more, two, one….done.

I skidded to a halt, severely slouching my posture as I began to exhaustedly walk. Brendon was reunited with me a minute later, heaving ever so lightly.

“I totally beat you,” I panted, smiling up at Brendon.

Brendon scoffed. “Whatever. I just let you win so you could feel that independent, feminine feeling, or whatever your kind wants to call it.”

“There’s no need for discrimination, dude.”

“And there’s certainly no need for cockiness either, dudette.”

I punched Brendon in the arm as he laughed, almost falling but landing on the bridge’s railing. He bounced back and said encouragingly, “Hey! You realize you just ran two miles, right?”

At this newsflash, my posture subconsciously rose a bit higher as I beamed in consideration. “Yeah. Yeah, I guess I did, huh?”

Brendon shook his head a couple of times, smiling, but he didn’t answer. Maybe he was letting me have a private glory moment.

We walked maybe a fourth of a mile longer before I realized that I had plans for the day that I needed to attend to. I broke the silence. “Hey Bren?”

“Yeah?”

“I really have to go home now. I mean, it would be nice and all to spend my whole day losing calories, really nice particularly for my love-handled area, but I did promise Ryan….” I trailed off, not wanting to spark up the hopefully extinguished rage in Brendon from last night.

Brendon did the little head shake thing that made his bangs sweep out of his eyes before he agreed, “Yeah, you’re right. You should probably be getting home. Sorry I’m keeping you from getting ready---“

“Don’t worry about it,” I cut him off, smiling. “I just would have been pointlessly sleeping in, which accomplishes nothing, really.”

Brendon smiled back and turned toward the route that led to where his parked car was.

Out of nowhere, he suddenly began to sprint. With a cheater’s grin on his face, he shouted over his shoulder, “Look who’s winning now!”

I switched my dumbstruck expression to the same sly grin he wore and yelled, “Oh, we’ll see about that, you rock n’ roll fag!” With that being said, my legs switched to sprint mode.

And we were off again.