First Impressions

"Wow, you have really bad first impressions, don't you?" Trev says from the other end of the phone. I roll my eyes at his comment. I've been on the phone for a half an hour, which is also how long I've been ranting, and have cooled off enough to not go over and kick ass again. I am currently sprawled out on my bed with my dogs littering my entire room, Dannit lying beside me on the bed and resting his head on my stomach while I pet him.

"The dick had it coming." I retort, growling. "He is such a big dick I want to just put a condom over his head."

Trev laughs on the other end of the line, snorting like a little pig at one point, before settling down again.

"Yeah, I know Brad's dad is a real jerk-off but that's why I usually stay away from the house when he's home. But that doesn't matter because the longest he's ever been home is three days, tops." Trev says, trying to give me some hope.

"I don't care, he kicked my dog. The man deserves to get run over by a freaking car." Smirking sinisterly at the thought of Brad's dad getting squished and looking like a bug on the windshield. Mean, I know. But anyone who mistreats my dog deserves such a terrible fate. Karma is a bitch.

"Do you know where Shale is? I've been trying to reach her but her mom says that she's out." Trev says, sounding oddly nervous. I sigh into the phone.

"Trev, why don't you just ask her out already? I mean, honestly." I say. But then again, I'm not Dr. Love. I suck at relationships and the only real, official crush I've had was on Bobby Delunquet and that was in sixth grade. Besides that, I've only really been friends with boys and that's as far as it usually goes.

"Autum, haven't you just ever found out one day that you really liked one of your friends? The one where you've been friends with ever since fifth grade? It would just be too weird if things didn't work out and it would screw up our friendship." Trev sighs, sounding very frustrated. "I didn't even really know that I liked her until last year and now my brain is just as fried."

I think. My plans for any kind of action are usually good. It worked out for getting the tape out of the demon baby a while ago, but this is different than dealing with a plastic baby. This actually has some emotion involved in it and if it were to go very badly, I would be the one to blame for emotional breakdowns and ruined friendships. Where is Dr. Phil and his shiny bald head when you need him?

"Do you just want me to ask if she likes you or something?" I ask, thinking that it was probably the safest idea out there. She would just think that I saw her looking at him or something, and if she did like him she would confess and if she didn't then she would recognize my poor matchmaking skills and never trust me to hook her up with someone. Either way, it would only lead to me, not Trev. So he is completely safe.

"Would you please?" He asks, almost pleading. We talk for another forty five minutes before my mom walks into my room. I tell Trev that I have to go and hang-up on him.

"Honey, could you go to the store and get me some top soil? I really need some for the new plants." Mom asks, wiping her dirty hands on her gardening pants. "I'll let you take the car as long as you don't hit anyone."

"I'll try not to." I joke, catching the keys she tosses me before she exits. I climb off of my bed and search for my shoes, seeing them by the window. I walk over and grab my combat boots and start standing up but stop when I see what's going happening on the other side of my window. "That is so sick."

Brad and Shelby are half naked on the bed, Shelby on top of him and getting ready to take off her shirt. I quickly close my curtains before I see anything else and also for the protection of my pets' brains. No one deserves to see that. I am angry at Brad though. I don't know why I am, but I know I won't be walking my dogs with him anytime soon. I finish tying my shoes hurriedly and walk out of my door, Mac following along. I had developed a habit of taking her anywhere really. She doesn't even really need a leash because she is such a good dog.

Still thinking about Brad and Shelby, I get into the driver's seat after letting Mac jump into the passenger's seat. I put the key in ignition and put the car in reverse before pulling out. What happened next is not entirely my fault. Well, it is but I didn't mean for anything to happen. I guess I pushed the gas pedal too hard and went back too fast. I would just love to blame Brad for it, but all in all it's not his fault either.

I hear a slight smack against the car, making Mac bark, and break the car. I turn around in the seat and look to see if there is anything there, but don't see anything so I just continue to back up until something horrifying happens. At first I thought it was Bloody Mary coming from the grave and screaming, but it was an actual person. I jump out of the car after putting it in park and look to see Brad's father on the ground.

"Oh my God!" I scream, rushing to his aid. Yes, to his aid. I cannot stay completely angry at someone because it's in my nature. I can't handle negative energy around me, but I didn't like him either. Just because I don't like him doesn't mean I want to hurt him like this though. I am such a terrible person for wishing this upon him!

He continues wailing loudly, making Mrs. Flitcher and my mom rush out of their houses and to the driveway. He's clutching his leg and screaming words that I don't understand. Mostly because there is a ringing in my ears, the ringing that I always get when I get worried and scared. It's not long before Brad and Shelby run out of the house, their hair and shirts still messed up.

"What happened?" Mom yells over him, looking at me. I'm sure I looked scared shitless right now.

"I hit him." I tell her. "I didn't mean, I though it was just a branch or something until I heard screaming."

I'm sure I look pretty close to tears right now. I never liked it when people get hurt, but especially not when I hurt them. Now I have to fix this. I grab his arm, Mom grabbing his other, and help him to the car where Mrs. Flitcher is holding the door open. After the door is shut, before anyone can do anything, I jump into the driver's seat, put the car in reverse, and speed out of the driveway. When I turn the car into drive everyone is still in shock that I did it so fast and Mom is running towards me while everyone else is going to Mrs. Flitcher's car. I pull away before Mom can reach me. She would want to drive and there is absolutely no time to switch drivers.

On the way to the hospital with Brad's father screaming, I'm in my own little world. I didn't mean for any of this to happen and now he'll think I did it on purpose. I will admit it, I am a terrible driver. How I got my driver's license is a mystery but right now, I guess it comes in handy. I'm speeding thirty over the speed limit. Basically, I'm going 80 right now. But now I'm starting to get paranoid.

What if he dies? What if his bone broke through and he bleeds to death in this car?

That only makes me go faster, and it's not long before I hear sirens from behind me. A police car. I start crying now because now I think Brad's father is going to die and if he dies then I'll get arrested and end up being some girl's bitch when I go to prison. When I don't pull over, more cop cars come out of nowhere.

I can see the hospital now and drive as fast as I can now. The police follow me all the way to the emergency entrance but they're not fast enough to get to me. I jump out of the car and help Brad's father out, quickly running through the doors and screaming my lungs off for a nurse.

"Help! He's going to die!" I screech like a mad woman. There's a sudden rush of nurses and before I know it Brad's father is in a wheelchair and being led down a hallway quickly. The nurse tries asking me for his name and what happened but I just continue blubbering and sniffling, even when I try to talk it comes out in sobs so she can't translate them from Moron to English.

She leaves me and goes down the hallway where they took him. I start pacing back and forth, still crying, grabbing my hair and taking glances at the hallway every two seconds. I don't know how long I did this, but I never stopped crying. Then the cops came and surrounded me, trying to talk to me before they pull out handcuffs. Then Mrs. Flitcher, Mom, Brad, and Shelby burst through the door and see my snotty, wet, disgusting face and then see the cops.

Oh my God, they're arresting me because he's dead!

I cry even harder, which is saying something. I fold my arms around myself because my stomach is starting to hurt now. Mom talks to the police men, who start giving me looks of pity, and then they go and sit down in the waiting room. Mom tries ushering me to sit down, but I don't move from the view of the hallway. Mrs. Flitcher stands beside me, clutching my hand.

Then we wait, my sobs and sniffles and blubbers are the only sound in the room.

Then a nurse comes down the hallway.

I don't wait for her to take her time to us; I run up to her and blubber through my words. It's the same nurse that tried asking me those questions. She just looks up from the chart and smiles at me sweetly. The next words from her mouth are words that sounded like they were from heaven.

"He's fine; it's just a broken ankle."

After the words 'He's fine', I scream with joy and jump up and down. He's going to be alright, I didn't kill him! The nurse then says that he can only have one visitor at a time and I wait for Mrs. Flitcher to go and see him.

"Autum, you go and see how he is. You're on the verge of hysteria." Mrs. Flitcher says, placing her hand lightly on my arm. Without hesitation, I follow the nurse into a room down the hallway. The room looked like a hospital room does: white and boring. I look at the bed and see him laying there, his leg slung up. When he sees me though, he glares.

"You planned this, didn't you?" He accuses. Even if he is an ass I'm glad he didn't die. I walk over to his bedside and sit in the chair. But when he sees my tears, his glare breaks a little.

"I honestly did not mean to hit you." I say quietly. "I thought it was a branch until you started screaming."

"We'll see what your father will say about this." He says the glare returning. I look at him, the tears had finally stopped and now they're getting ready to start again. "We'll have a little talk."

"I don't think that's possible." I say, looking down at my hands.

"Oh really? And why is that?" He asks, probably thinking that I'm disrespecting him again. I stay silent for a moment. My father is always a really touchy subject with me and my mom. We don't really talk about him, but when we do it's usually on his birthday-the same date as mine.

"He's dead." I say, looking up slowly. I was surprised at what I saw. His facial expression was completely shattered now. It didn't show any hostility or disgust. He bends his head before I can think of what emotion it is.

"I'm sorry." He says. I can't help but bark out a laugh, making his head shoot up.

"Don't be sorry, you just didn't know." I say, trying to lighten the mood even though I'm extremely sad. Like I said, I can't handle negative energy.

"No, I'm sorry for being rude and since you have your . . . stature." He says. I just look at him with a light smile on my face.

"Can I tell you something without you thinking I mean disrespect?" I question. He nods. "You shouldn't just be nice because of how people's personal lives are. You should be nice to everyone, even if you don't like them. All of the pessimism you have is a waste of life and isn't good for your health. Wouldn't it just be easier to live happy rather than being mad at everyone?"

"Yes, it would." He says, now quiet. A moment of silence passes through us, but it's not awkward. Then he speaks again. "My son, Brad, I've been too hard on him. I haven't really been much of a dad to him."

"Then I suggest you take some time from work, which you probably will be anyways," I say, pointing at his leg. "and take some time with him. He'll probably be a jerk at first, but you'll grow to like him." I say jokingly with a wink, making him laugh.

"Autum, I think I like that name." He says kindly. "You know, I'm sorry about my first impression. I was just so stressed about losing the business deal."

"Don't worry about it, trust me. Everything happens for a reason." I say. "I'm sorry about my first impression on you. Just please don't kick my dogs anymore."

"I promise, I won't." He says, holding up his hand in a Scout's Honor way. I stayed in there for a while, just talking to him about anything. It was nice because it turns out that he isn't such a bad person. He laughed at me when I told him that I thought he was going to die.

I'm glad he didn't die. I don't want Brad to go through the same thing I did.

I walk out of the hospital room and let Mrs. Flitcher go in to visit her husband. By the look on her face I could tell she is worried and still a little angry at him. I walk back into the waiting room, expecting to see my mom, but realize that neither she nor Shelby is there. Only Brad. My pace quickly slows down when I see him look up at me. I don't know what to expect what his reaction is. I am thinking somewhere along the lines of 'I Can't Believe You Ran Over My Dad!' sort of thing.

I bite my lip, another thing I do when I get nervous, and walk over to him. We are the only ones in the waiting room; even the nurse behind the desk is gone. I warily take a seat next to him and the silence envelopes us. After ten minutes, I break. I know he's going to yell at me, who wouldn't? I just want to get it over with.

"Ok, yell at me now!" I yelp, making him jump beside me. He just gives me a bewildered look, probably thinking I'm crazy. I have no objection to that thought.

"What?"

"Yell at me! I know you want to so just get it over with so then I can sleep peacefully at night and not worry about you ditching me tomorrow!" I screech, flailing my arms. He moves away a little before grabbing my left arm (the one closest to him) and holds it still.

"I'm not going to yell at you." He states calmly, just staring at me. I give him a skeptical look.

"So what? You're going to give me the cold shoulder? Oh God! Not the shoulder!" My head droops down, making my hair fall into my face. I feel the arm that Brad is holding shift a little when he moves.

"You exaggerate way too much, you know that?" He asks. I peek up at him through my hair. His mouth twitches a little bit before the corners turn up. "I'm not going to yell at you or give you the cold shoulder-"

"No, please, no sir! I promise I'll do anything you want! Just leave my family alone!" I squawk, jumping some more. Brad just yanks on my arm, making me fall towards him, and wraps his arms around my shoulders to prevent me from doing any other vigorous movement that could take out his eye.

"I'm not mad, Autum." He mutters. "I know it was an accident because I saw what happened."

"No you didn't." I say naively, struggling to look up at him but his grip on me keeps me from doing so. "You were in your room with Shelby when I went out. You guys were getting ready to-"

"Shut up, Autum." Brad murmurs. "You should get the whole story first."

"Eeeeeew! I don't want to hear about your sex life!" Insert struggling grunts here. Here. And here. I don't want to hear about sex, especially when it involves Brad and Shelby together. Gross. I've already had enough mental scarring for the rest of my life, I don't think my brain could take one more hit.

"Just listen, Autum." He grunts, holding me tighter.

"Why are you putting me in a headlock and why do you keep saying my name over and over again?" I ask, struggling more. He releases me from his death grip. I heave a little, trying to catch the breath I lost when I was getting strangled.

"Let's get things straight first. How did you know I was with Shelby in my room?" He questions, taking charge of the situation. I lean back in my chair, still looking at him.

"See, they have this thing called a window. It's made of the clear stuff so you can see things on the other side and-" He lets out a growl, getting very irritated with me. I just smile at him lightly, making my dimples show a little.

"What you saw wasn't planned."

"Most things that happen aren't planned." I say absentmindedly, examining my nails. My nose starts itching and I rub it on the right side, flicking it with my forefinger. Brad watches this antic before continuing.

"I was going to break-up with her, not fuck her." He makes a face at the last part of the sentence. I snort, making him give me a sharp look. "She thought that we were going to do that, and she just started making out with me before I could do anything else."

"I don't believe you." I say, now rubbing the left side of my nose even though the itching stopped. Brad takes this in too. "You're a guy so you were probably going to 'do' her and then break-up with her afterwards."

He blinks at this theory.

"What makes you think I'd do that?"

"Because you don't like her as a person, you just like her body." The itch returns and I rub the right side of my nose again. "Why is my nose so itchy?"

Brad just stares at me as I scratch my nose, which sort of unnerves me but I don't show it. After I'm done scratching, I look over at him.

"You know, I thought I killed your dad." I say quietly, confessing it. It felt better to tell somebody that-even if it was just to get it off my chest. I watch Brad's reaction. He blinks furiously, one, two, three times before breaking out into a grin.

"You thought you killed him?" He then chuckles. "Autum, how can you kill someone just by breaking their leg?"

"Well, I thought that a bone would break through and make him bleed to death." I sniff. Brad just leans over and puts his hand on my knee. It comforts me a little.

"You amaze me, you know that?" I look over at him and have to do a double take. He was smiling. Actually smiling. I like his smile. His eyes light up and he looks so happy.

"Yeah, you've already told me that." I say, shifting in my seat a bit to face him. "Why were you going to break up with Shelby?"

"Well, because I'm just tired of having sex-"

"Oh my god, are you gay?"

"-with her. No I'm not gay! What the hell, Autum?!" Brad asks, sending me a look. I smile at him. That kind of slipped out because, any guy who doesn't want to have sex with a girl is obviously gay. I think I just embarrassed myself a little.

"Sorry." I say, biting my lip. Brad just sighs, leaning back in his chair and making his hand slide off of my knee.

"It's alright. I should've known you'd think that."

He grins at me goofily, making me grin back at him.

I like this side of Brad.

It's nice.