Cold as Ice

Those two weeks of vacation had passed all too quickly for my liking.

To be perfectly honest, actually, time in general was passing all too quickly for my liking.

I had always thought that senior year would be the slowest of my high school years, but that wasn't the case at all. Everything from that past September and on was almost a blur. It was hard to believe that it was already April, and in a measly month or two, I would be graduating.

I really wasn't looking forward to facing the real world. Partly because I was greedy, impatient, and I'll admit, suffering from a bit of a God Complex; and partly because - all of my cocky exterior aside - I was afraid. I wasn't afraid of moving out, or getting a serious job, or going to school again, I was afraid of being out on my own and vulnerable to the whole world around me. I actually couldn't wait to finish school and live in my own house where I could make up my own rules and walk around naked if I really wanted to; however, there was that whole aspect of not having my family around me and thus having to fend for myself in what truly was a dog-eat-dog world.

I had roughly five months to prepare myself for the shock of being thrust out of high school and being a teenager, and into adult life. But I had the rest of senior year and the summertime to enjoy being a jackass before I had to nut up and be mature.

It was the sixteenth of April - Avery's sixteenth birthday. Coincidentally, it would be her champagne birthday, since she was turning sixteen on the sixteenth. I was hoping that, given the occasion, she might drink a little. Along with her birthday present, I had some booze in the trunk of my car specifically for her to try.

Bailey had been planning a huge party for a while, but said nothing about it to Avery. She had let me in on the plans a few days prior to the day of the party, but only told me that it would be at a hotel owned by her uncle in a city roughly an hour away.

I had just gotten off work and was going home to shower. I was supposed to work until eleven, but my boss had thankfully let me off early at nine so I could get ready and pick Avery up to drive her to the party.

As it were, the house was empty. It was quiet and dark when I walked in, which was strange, because there was always at least a few lights on. But the curtains were closed and all the lights were off - and there were scented candles lit and scattered about. Every time I breathed in, I could smell roses.

My first thought was that Avery had done it. After all, she would have had no clue about the party, so it was possible that she had set all this up thinking that we could stay home for her birthday.

I kicked off my vibrantly coloured Osiris Tranzors, and went downstairs. The hallway leading to my room was pitch black. I felt my way down until I found my door and opened it. I flipped the light on, expecting to find Avery sprawled on my bed, and hoping for her to be in nothing but one of my tee shirts. Or, you know... less than that would also have been perfectly fine.

But the room was empty, the Misfits blanket on my bed untouched since I'd made it that morning. Sighing, I left the room and went back upstairs. I was disappointed, but relieved, because if she had planned something romantic tonight, I would have had to make up some stupid excuse so we could leave for the party.

And suddenly, I realized. If Avery wasn't here... who was, and what were the candles for?

Letting my curiosity get the better of me, I followed a trail of candles that were burned low through the living room and halfway up the stairs - until a noise made me freeze in my tracks. Well, it wasn't exactly one noise - it was more like a clamour. There was a deep groaning and a high-pitched whining that harmonized with each other and all of a sudden a gruff voice cried out, "Oh Lucy, baby!"

You know the saying curiosity killed the cat? Well, they should just change it to curiosity traumatized the Johnny for the rest of his life.

Instead of bolting out the front door (like I probably should have) before things got messier, I went back downstairs and got into the shower. Thankfully, the sound of running water drowned out the rest of the noise. When I got out, I went into my room and cranked the volume on my stereo. My subwoofers pounded and vibrated to a Korn dubstep remix, which could very undoubtedly be heard from anywhere on my street.

I got dressed, shut the stereo off, and calmly returned to the now quiet upstairs. While I was pulling my shoes on, a movement in my peripheral vision caught my attention. I looked up and bent slowly back into a standing position.

Lucille, hair askew, was standing behind my father with a blanket wrapped around her like a strapless dress. Dad was in his briefs and had this expression on his face that told me he was thinking the exact same thing that I was.

"Busted." was all I said before throwing them a vindictive smile, and calmly leaving the house. As I got inside my car, I could see them peeking through the curtains of the living room window and watching me pull out of the driveway.

I could hardly wait to tell Avery.

When I walked into her house, I could hear her hairdryer running. I followed the sound into the downstairs bathroom and pushed the door open. She was standing in front of the mirror in a matching set of baby blue leopard print underwear and bra with black ribbon lining the tops. When we made eye contact in the mirror, her cheeks blazed red. She shut the hairdryer off.

"Hello," I said.

She grabbed a towel from its place on the floor and, to my disappointment, covered herself up. "There's this new thing called knocking," she said. "It would be nice if you'd try it."

"I don't think I will. Not after what I just saw." I gave her a smile and ran my fingers through her soft, silky hair.

Rolling her eyes at me, she reached out a hand and pushed me away by the chest. "Get out and let me get dressed."

"Why can't I stay in here with you?"

"Because, Johnny," she said, sounding a bit more like my mother than my girlfriend, "I'm not going to let you see me when I'm almost completely naked."

"Technically," I took both of her hands and filled the spaces between her fingers with mine, "I already did."

"Out, Johnathan." She took her hands back and pointed to the door. "Now,"

"Fine, I'll go." I turned and opened the door, pausing to look back over my shoulder. "But I suppose you don't want to go anywhere with me tonight, then. And I suppose you don't want any of the alcohol that I got for you. And I also suppose that you don't want your birthday present."

"Don't do this."

"Do what?" I asked innocently. "You're the one kicking me out."

"Oh my God, Johnny." She huffed. "Sit down on the side of the tub, shut up, and be good."

I smiled and plopped down on the side of the tub.

Avery shook her head as she turned her back to me and threw the towel into a laundry basket. "You know, I often wonder why I even bother trying to get my way with you." She turned on a flat iron and picked up a pair of jeans. She kept talking about something having to do with me and how I always get what I want, but I wasn't paying attention. I was focused intently on the swiveling motion her hips were making as she shimmied into the jeans. If I hadn't had control over myself, I would have been drooling like a dumb animal.

"You bought new jeans." I murmured, almost in a trance.

She flicked her hair over her shoulder as she looked at me. "Bailey bought them for me. How did you know?"

"I would definitely remember if I ever saw you wearing these jeans." I shook my head. "They're nice."

She threw a hairbrush at me. I shut my mouth.

Once Avery was dressed, I brought her out to my car and we drove off. After we had been driving on the highway for thirty minutes, she got curious.

With her feet up on the dashboard and her silver aviators on, she looked over at me. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see." I said.

"Tell me where you're taking me." She persisted.

"I just said you'll see."

"John--"

"Johnathan, it's my birthday and I demand to know where you're taking me." I mocked her voice. "Well, that's just too bad, isn't it? This is my car, and I therefore hold all authority. Be a good little girl and stop asking questions."

Avery sighed deeply. "My father is going to kill me if I'm out too late. You do realize that, don't you?"

Shit. Her father. God damn it.

I suddenly remembered what had happened back at my house. "Uh, Avery,"

"Uh, Johnny," her voice dropped an octave as she tried to make it sound like mine.

"No, I'm being serious. There's something you should probably know."

"What?"

I chewed my lower lip, and steered the car onto the exit ramp. If I told her, would it ruin her night? I didn't think so, but I really wanted the party to be fun for her. But if I knew Avery as well as I was positive I did, this would gnaw away at her until it drove her crazy. However, if I kept it from her, she would most likely get pissed off at me, and although I was very much used to her being pissed off at me, I decided it would be smarter of me to tell her. "I caught Lucille and my dad again today."

"Are you serious?" She twisted in her seat and took off her sunglasses. "Are you sure, Johnny?"

"Oh, I've never been more sure of anything in my entire life." I snorted. "Believe me. It was so vivid, I think I'll have nightmares until I die."

Her eyebrows came together. "Do I want to know what you saw?"

"Thankfully, I didn't see anything. But what I heard?" I glanced quickly at her before looking back at the highway. "Sweetheart, I wouldn't wish it on anybody."

"Were they... uh...?"

"Banging?" I said. "Or would you prefer making love?"

She screwed up her face. "Please tell me you didn't actually hear it."

I made a deep, wavering moan and clenched my fists on the steering wheel and cried, "Oh Lucy, Baby!"

Avery squealed and covered her face with her hands. "Johnny! Why would you do that to me?"

I laughed at her and ruffled her hair. "Sorry, Doll. It just wouldn't be fair if I were the only one scarred for life."

She made a face at me, while patting her hair back down. Surprisingly, she was taking the news better than I thought she would. "What are we going to do?" She asked. "Now that we know it's serious between them, do we tell my dad? And what about your mom?"

"They know that I heard them. I made sure to make my presence very known in the house. They came out of the bedroom just as I was leaving the house and all I said was busted. They know that I know, so I'll make it clear to them that either they stop and come clean, or I'll come clean for them - and if I do, it won't be pretty."

"Do we tell Ash, and the rest?"

I looked at her. "I think tonight we should just set it aside. It's your sixteenth birthday - you can't spend it worrying about my father the horndog and Lucille the cheating bitch."

She put her sunglasses back on, and with a sigh, flopped back in her seat and stared out the window. "I don't even care where we go. I'm going to get so wasted tonight."

"That's my girl." I said. "Fuck the world, it's your birthday."

Flipping a middle finger out the window but to no one in particular, she smiled over at me. "Happy birthday to me."