I'm Amazed That I Got This Far

The next morning, my eyes fluttered open to the sound of laughter. The sun was coming through the blinds, and I squinted, until my eyes were adjusted to the light. I sat up in the bed and looked next to me, to see that John was gone. I ran my hands through my hair and sighed to myself, before looking over at the clock. 7:28. I groaned and threw the covers off of my body, so I could get out of bed. I walked out of mine and John's bedroom, and went into the family room, to see John and Eric sitting on the couch watching Jackass.

John looked over at me and smiled. "Good morning."

"Morning." I mumbled.

"How'd you sleep?" Eric asked, as John grabbed my hand and pulled me over to the couch, so I could sit down.

"Fine. You two?" I replied, as I rested my head against John's arm.

"Good." John nodded.

"Great, thanks." Eric smiled.

"You guys are really watching Jackass this early in the morning?" I sighed, looking at Eric.

"Yeah!" He chuckled. "We gotta go to work soon, so we need some laughs."

"When are we leaving?" I asked slowly.

"At, like, 7:50. So we can get there by eight." Eric replied.

"You didn't tell me this." I stated, as I stood back up. "I have to get ready!"

"You look fine!" John said, flinging his hand at me.

"Can I use the shower?" I asked Eric.

"Why are you asking me? This is your place, too." Eric shrugged. "Towels are in the hall closet. Soap and shampoo's already in the shower, if you don't have any. We can run to the store later today, so you can get girl shampoo, since the only thing I have is Axe shampoo."

"I love that shampoo!" John said.

"Me too!" Eric grinned, before giving John a high-five.

"I think we're twins separated at birth." John said, as he looked at me.

"I bet you two are." I said sarcastically, before going down the hallway.

I opened the hall closet and pulled out a towel, before going into mine and John's room to grab some clothes. I made my way into the bathroom and turned on the light. I tossed my clothes on the counter and went over to the shower. I pulled back the curtain and the shampoo bottle was laying on the floor of the shower, along with a bar of soap. A razor was laying by the drain, and I rolled my eyes. I picked up everything and set it where it should be, before turning on the water.

While I waited for the water to heat up, I brushed out my hair and stripped down. I stepped in the shower and picked up the shampoo bottle that was for men. I sighed to myself and decided to just use it this once, and then later I would buy my own shampoo. I washed my hair before rinsing it out, and grabbing the bar of soap. I wasn't really a fan of using bars of soap from other people that I didn't know, but this was a one time deal, and if I was going to be living with Eric, I might as well get over sharing things with him and John.

Once I was done in the shower, I turned off the water, and stepped out, so I could dry myself off and get dressed for work. I decided to just leave my hair go natural, because I knew for sure that I didn't have any time to dry or straighten it. I grabbed my tooth brush, that I brought into the bathroom last night, and quickly brushed my teeth. I went into my room, once I was done brushing my teeth, and went over to the small vanity in the corner of the room. I quickly applied some eyeliner and mascara, before I was done getting ready.

I walked out of the bedroom and went back into the family room, to see Eric already ready to go. He was wearing a black polo with black skinny jeans, which I was guessing was his work uniform. He looked over at me and tossed a black polo at me. I caught it and looked at him with a frown. He laughed and rolled his eyes.

"You'll get over it." He smiled. "It's just for a few hours."

"Fine." I mumbled, as I pulled it over my head.

"Oh, you smell nice." John joked, as he walked past me and into the kitchen. "You smell like a man."

"Hey, John." I said.

"Hm?" He asked, as he looked over at me.

I gave him the finger and smiled, before Eric laughed. "Oh, the finger!"

"Awe, Kalen." John said, pretending to be sad.

I rolled my eyes and looked at Eric. "Are we leaving now?"

"Yeah. Say bye to your boo, so we can get going." He smiled, as he grabbed his car keys.

"Have fun!" John smiled, before giving me a kiss. "Don't pick up strange men."

"I'm sure you won't have to worry about that. Everyone's going to think she digs chicks, since she used men shampoo and smells like...well, man." Eric chuckled.

"Then, make sure you don't bring home strange women." He chuckled, as he gave me a hug.

"Shut up." I smiled, as I hugged him back. "I'll see you later."

"Okay. Have fun, be careful, and don't let Eric rape you." He smirked, before kissing my forehead.

"That's the first thing I'm going to do when we step outside." Eric nodded. "...Rape some guy's girlfriend."

"Isn't that what everyone does?" John shrugged.

"Wow! Anyway." I said, as I grabbed Eric's arm. "We're leaving now."

"Yes ma'am." Eric laughed. "Bye, John."

"Bye guys!" John waved, as he opened the door. "See you guys later!"

Eric and I nodded before stepping out the door. John shut it behind us, and Eric and I walked down the stairs of the apartment building, so we could go out the front door.

"We're gonna grab some breakfast before we go. Is that cool?" Eric asked, as he looked at me. "Cause I didn't tell you when to wake up and we didn't have time to get something at home."

"That's fine." I nodded.

"Is Tim Horton's okay?" He suggested, as he opened the doors of his car.

"That sounds fine." I sighed, as I climbed in the passenger seat.

Eric nodded and smiled, before starting up his car. He pulled out of his parking spot and after he put his car in drive, he took off down the street. Once we got to a Tim Horton's, Eric pulled up to the drive-thru, and we ordered what we wanted. After the woman told him the total, he pulled up to the window and I pulled out some money, before holding it out to him.

"Here." I said.

"No, it's cool." Eric smiled. "Keep it. Buy John something nice."

"Take it, Eric." I sighed.

"No, I'm okay. Thanks." He nodded, as he pulled to the second window, so we could get our donuts.

"I don't even know you and you're pissing me off." I smiled. "Take it!"

"No. You take this." He said, as he handed me the box of donuts. "And be quiet, little lady."

I took the box from him and rolled my eyes, as I stuck my money back in my pocket. Eric looked over at me and smiled wide, before taking off down the street towards work.

After a few minutes, Eric pulled into the parking lot of a music store. He turned off his car and we both got out, before walking to the door. Eric opened it for me and I thanked him as I walked in. He nodded as he came in after me, and took the box of donuts from me. He led me over to the counter, where a middle-aged man was standing, looking down at some papers. He looked up at Eric and smiled.

"I brought everyone some breakfast." Eric said, as he set the box of donuts down.

"Thanks, Eric." The man smiled. "Even though you're the only one working this shift?"

"About that." He said, as he threw an arm around my shoulder. "This is Kalen. She needs a job."

"You were just buttering me up!" The man laughed, as he pointed to the box of donuts. "So I'd hire your girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend." Eric smiled. "This is my friend's girlfriend. She's my friend. She's a great worker. Her and I go way back."

"Is this true?" The man asked, as he narrowed his eyes at me.

"Uhm...yes?" I said slowly, which was obviously a lie, since I just met Eric.

"Okay." He shrugged. "Eric's a good kid and you seem like a nice girl. You're hired. You have the same hours as Eric, since our last employee, that had the same hours, quit."

"Thank you..." I said, as I looked at him.

"Allen." He smiled, as he stuck out his hand. "I'm the manager of the store."

"Thank you, Allen." I grinned. "Kalen."

"Well, Kalen. It's nice to have you here." Allen replied. "Now, I better get going. You two have a nice day."

"Thanks, Al." Eric waved.

Allen waved and smiled, before walking out of the store, leaving me and Eric there alone. Eric opened the box of donuts and held it out to me. I smiled and took out a donut, before he did the same, and set the box back down.

"So, what are we supposed to do?" I asked, as I looked over at him.

"Well, no one comes in until around 10-ish." Eric shrugged. "So, we just stand around for a little bit, stack some CDs, put the magazines away, make sure everything's in place. But first, we can eat."

"Thanks for getting me the job." I said. "You're pretty much a life-saver."

"No problem!" He smiled. "We go way back."

"No...we don't." I chuckled.

"I know. Just pretend." He nodded, as he hopped on the counter. "We get break at noon. Wanna get some lunch and get to know each other?"

"Yeah, sure." I nodded.

"Awesome." He smiled.

I nodded again and smiled at him, before taking a bite of my donut. Once Eric and I finished eating, I set the box in the back, so it would be out of the way. Eric carried two boxes out to the front and set them down on the counter. I opened them up and looked inside to see tons of CDs. Eric helped me empty the box out onto the counter, and when they were all out, he threw the box in the back, and we started to stack the CDs and talk, until customers started coming in.

"It's time for break!" Eric announced, as a guy, who was wearing a black polo and blue jeans, came in the door. "Andy's here!"

"Hey, Eric." Andy waved.

"Hi, Andy." He smiled.

"Who's this?" He asked curiously, as he looked at me.

"This is Kalen. She's new here." Eric said, as he nodded towards me. "Kalen, this is Andy. Andy, Kalen."

"Nice to meet you." Andy smiled.

"Nice to meet you, too." I said with a smile.

"Well, go take your break, guys. I'll take care of everything here." He sighed. "Unfortunately."

"Thanks." Eric chuckled. "Let's go, Kalen."

I nodded and followed Eric out the door, and down the street. We stopped at the corner and waited for the okay to cross the street, before we walked across and continued down the sidewalk, in search of somewhere to eat lunch.

After walking for what seemed like an hour, we arrived at a Panera. Eric opened the door and we walked in, and over to the counter. I ordered what I wanted and paid for myself, before Eric ordered for himself and paid for his food. We went over to a table, after grabbing our drinks, and waited for our names to be called. When they were, Eric and I went over to get our food, before going back and sitting at our table.

"So, it's time." Eric said, as he looked at me.

"It's time for?" I sighed, as I looked up at him.

"For me to ask questions!" He smiled.

"Okay." I chuckled. "Go ahead."

"What are you guys even doing in Tempe?" He wondered.

"You didn't ask John any of this?" I asked.

"Well, no." He shrugged. "We just kind of got the basics down, so I'll ask you the deeper questions."

"Thanks..." I said slowly. "But, we came here because John wanted to come to find a band."

"He couldn't find a band back in Phoenix?" Eric questioned.

"He had one but they were the biggest dicks in the world." I sighed, as I stirred my spoon around in my soup. "He didn't want to go on with them anymore, so he quit and that's when we came here."

"And your parents?" He said. "What about them?"

"John and his parents didn't really get along all the time. They didn't approve of John wanting to be in a band and tour the world. He didn't have the best grades in school, because he never thought he needed school or college; all he wanted was a band." I explained. "His parents didn't accept that, so John planned to leave. And my parents never liked John, so."

"And you just came with him." He smiled.

"Yeah." I nodded. "He's my best friend."

"And boyfriend." He said, as he pointed at me.

"And boyfriend." I chuckled. "The day he told me he had feelings for me changed pretty much everything. I wanted to come here with him, but I was still hesitant because I wanted to finish school, go to college, and make something out of myself. So did John...but he wanted to do it differently. So, I came here with him."

"You guys better get fucking married then." He laughed. "If you dropped everything for him. He better love you for that, because I wouldn't do that for anyone."

I smiled and shrugged, before letting out a small laugh. "He's just my best friend. I really don't know what I would do if he left and I stayed back in Phoenix."

"I think you two just love each other." Eric shrugged. "I don't care if you've been dating for less than six months. How long have you known him?"

"Almost forever." I sighed.

"That's definitely love, my friend." He said with confidence.

"It's called a best friend." I smiled.

"I think it's love." He said. "I know everything. I'm Eric."

"Okay, then." I chuckled.

"And you put up with all the shit he pulls?" Eric asked.

"What do you mean?" I questioned.

"Obviously you guys were homeless." He stated. "You two didn't have jobs, you quit school, you slept in his car. If my girlfriend wanted to do that, I'd say she was crazy, and I'd leave her."

"I just believe in John." I told him. "I'm one of the few people that do. I want to help him reach his goals."

"So, you're his girlfriend, best friend, and mother-figure." He said.

"I mean, I guess." I shrugged.

"How about you break up with John, and just run away with me." He joked.

"I'm sure John would appreciate that." I laughed.

"I think he would." He nodded. "You definitely win the 'Girlfriend of the Year' award, though."

I rolled my eyes and smiled. "Well, thanks."

"No problem." He chuckled. "Let's finish up here, so we can get back. We have less than 20 minutes."

I nodded and looked at the clock that was on the wall, before Eric and I finished our lunch. When we were finished, we threw our trash away and put our dishes with all the other dirty ones, by the trashcan. We walked out the door and started down the street back to work, talking and laughing the whole way, while I got to know Eric more.