Ignorance is Kind

A knock on the door of my and Zacky's apartment pulled me from my thoughts. Slowly, I moved my gaze from the television to look at the door. I contemplated not getting up. Zacky was at work and neither one of us had been expecting any company.

Sighing, I stood up from the couch and dragged my pajama-clad body across the floor. I pulled open the door and saw Mr. Sanders standing in front of me. "Hello?"

"Hey." He grinned. "We're leaving."

I stared at him for a few minutes before replying oh-so-intelligently with, "What?"

"We," he pointed to himself and then to me, "are leaving." He motioned walking with his index and middle finger on the palm of his hand.

"Yeah, I got that part. My question is why are we leaving?"

He shrugged. "Because it's Saturday afternoon and I have a feeling you're just as bored as I am."

I nodded slowly. "Right." I turned and looked behind me. "Well, I can't leave. Zack's not home, which I'm sure you already knew, and I am not dressed to go anywhere."

"Then get your skinny ass dressed. I already talked to Zack."

I sighed. "Where are we going?"

"I don't know." He grinned again.

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. I'll go get dressed. You- Do whatever while you're waiting."

I turned around and walked away from him. I walked down the hallway to my room and shut the door behind me. I didn't know what he was up to, but I really didn't feel like going out. I had been perfectly fine sitting on the couch watching all of my Harry Potter DVDs and listening to my A Day To Remember playlist from my iHome in the background.

Pulling open my closet, I stared at the many shirts I'd accumulated over the years I'd lived with Zacky from shopping trips both with him and with Jessica. It was November, which meant that the normally warm California air had chilled. I looked over all of my sweaters and decided on my favorite; a blue one that Auntie and Unc had gotten me for my sixteenth birthday the previous year.

I yanked it from the hanger then turned to the dresser that stood against the wall opposite my bed. I pulled open the second drawer and struggled to decide which pair of jeans I was going to wear. On the outside, everything was fine. In my mind, I was freaking out; I'd never gone anywhere alone with Matt. Sure, I'd been alone with him before, but this was a public excursion.

Finally I picked the darker of the pants. I stripped the tank top and sweat pants from my body and threw on the clothes I'd deemed appropriate for the occasion. I fixed the bottom of the sweater over the waistband of my jeans and looked at myself in the mirror. That's when I realized how shitty I looked. I groaned at the thought that Matt had seen me like that.

I ripped the ponytail holder from my hair, releasing my hair. It stuck up at odd spots and I almost started laughing at how it looked, but stopped when I remembered that I wasn't alone in the apartment. I picked up my brush and ran it through the knots. Once my hair looked acceptable, moved on to my make up. I normally didn't wear too much make up, but I decided to add some sass and put on some eyeshadow along with my usual eyeliner and mascara.

After I was completely ready, I stared at myself for almost five minutes. My eyes strayed to the photo on the side of my dresser mirror of Jessica, Jordan, and I. I was in the middle, as I was the shortest. The picture had been taken before our freshman homecoming dance. I smiled to myself. Things were a lot simpler back then.

Just as I was going to put it in my purse and head out from my room, my phone started ringing. I looked at the name on the caller ID and sighed. I clicked the green phone icon and put the phone to my ear. "Hey, Jordy."

"Hey!" I could hear the smile in his voice. "I was wondering if you wanted to do something tonight."

I felt my heart fall a bit. "I'm so sorry, Jord. I can't. I- I'm grounded."

"Zacky grounded you?" He tone was skeptical.

I nodded, even though he wasn't there to see it. "Yeah, um, he got really mad at me yesterday because I was supposed to, uh, get my homework done before going to Auntie's house for dinner, but I didn't." I felt horrible for lying to him, but I didn't want him angry at me.

"Oh," he sighed. "Alright. I'll see you Monday, then?"

"Yeah. Sorry, Jordan. Bye."

"Bye." He hung up.

I shook my head, then dropped my phone into my purse and left the room. I walked to the living room where Matt was sitting on the couch. He seemed to be very intererested in what Moaning Myrtle was saying to Harry while he sat in the bath. I laughed quietly and tiptoed over to stand beside where he sat.

"Having fun?"

He jumped a little and looked up at me, his hazel eyes wide. "Um," his eyes shifted between me and the television, "yeah. It's a, uh, good film."

I grinned. "Are we leaving now?"

He stood up from the couch quickly, towering over me, and nodded. "Yes, we are leaving. We're leaving right now." He picked up the remote and clicked the power button, then reached over and turned the iHome off.

He grabbed my hand and pulled me behind him from the apartment.