Untangle Me
Arizona.
I knew Arizona was hot, but I was not expecting the staggering heat wave that greeted me as I stepped out of my car. I immediately regretted my choice in attire as I began trudging my way up the gravel pathway, Disney Princess suitcase in tow.
It all came down to my mother. She shipped me off to Arizona in hopes that I could "spend quality time with my aunt, uncle, and cousins," but I knew she really just needed time away from me. I would have been hurt if I hadn't wanted to get away from her equally as much, but I would have much preferred to stay anywhere but Arizona. I had only met my aunt, uncle, and three cousins once at a family funeral and I think it's safe to say that we didn't bond much. My cousin John and I had hit it off pretty well, but it was years ago and I was expecting my stay to be thoroughly awkward.
I chewed on my lip nervously as I rang the doorbell, drumming my fingers against the handle of my suitcase as I waited for someone to answer the door. I heard a muffled voice shout "I'll get it!" and soon I was face-to-face with a young boy I recognized as my cousin Shane. He gave me a shy grin and opened the door wider allowing me to enter, "Hi, you're Jess, right?"
I nodded and gave him a small smile, graciously stepping into the air conditioned house. Shane led me to the kitchen and I was soon embraced in a Clinique-Happy-scented hug. "Jess!" my aunt greeted me, kissing my cheek. I stepped out of the endearing grasp, a combination of a smile and a grimace on my face; I wasn't the biggest fan of physical affection.
"We're so glad to have you with us! Your uncle is at work, and John and Ross are still sleeping, no surprise there. It's noon and those two are still out cold, you'd think from how much they sleep they'd be able to manage more than a few syllables during dinner. How was your drive down? Are you hungry?" Aunt Denise managed to say all of this in one breath. All I could do was shake my head and mumble, "I'm just really tired."
I was quickly ushered up the stairs and shown to my new room, which I was told was actually John's room. I raised an eyebrow, "But where is John sleeping? I don't want to impose..."
Aunt Denise laughed, "Don't be silly, dear, you're our guest! John is sharing a room with Ross for the time being. I've made up the bed for you and unfortunately, you'll have to share the bathroom down the hall with the boys, but just let me know if you need anything."
I smiled gratefully, "Thank you for everything."
Aunt Denise wrapped me in a hug once again, and this time I returned the gesture hesitantly before she left me alone to sleep. Not bothering to unpack, I kicked off my shoes and crawled under the sheets and was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
In what felt like no time at all, I was being awoken by someone slamming the door open and shouting "John! Wake the fuck up!" I sat up groggily, confused as to why there were two boys in my room. The two stared at me with wide eyes before the shorter of the pair spoke up, "Um, you're not John."
I rubbed my eyes bemusedly, "You're damn right I'm not John, who the hell are you?"
"I'm Pat," the shorter one replied cheerily. He was absurdly thin and had stringy brown hair that looked as if it were in desperate need of a cut and wash. Despite his lack of personal hygiene, he was fairly cute.
"I'm Kennedy," the taller mumbled, indiscreetly elbowing his friend in the ribs before shooting him a bewildered look. I took my time scrutinizing his mullet-like hair and lanky body, there was something oddly attractive about him as well.
"Who are you?" Pat asked, "John didn't say anything about sleeping with any new girls."
I glared at him, "I'm Jess, John's cousin. Care to explain why you woke me up?"
Kennedy spoke up, whose eyes appeared to be darting to anything but me, "We didn't know... we thought John was in here."
"Well, it's pretty obvious he's not, so would you mind shutting the door?"
Kennedy and Pat each glanced at me and then at each other before complying. I huffed and pulled the blankets over my head in attempt to fall back asleep. After 20 minutes of unsuccessful boredom, I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood, debating on going downstairs or not. I walked over to my bag and pulled out my hairbrush and makeup case, deciding to freshen up a bit before returning downstairs. Now that I had gotten a few hours of sleep, I was feeling much more talkative. I shut the door behind me and made my way quietly down the stairs, before entering the kitchen where a long-haired boy was sitting. Recognition instantly flooded his features and he smiled, "Jess!"
John stood up and grabbed me into a bone-crushing hug, which was slightly awkward seeing how my face was smushed into his chest. He released me from his tight grasp and I smiled, "You sure have changed a lot since the last time I saw you, I recall you being about an entire foot shorter."
He laughed, "Puberty happened within that two-year time frame. You seem to have grown up quite a bit yourself," he remarked, gesturing to the half sleeve tattooed on my arm. I nodded, "Y'know, teenage rebellion and whatnot. I had my friend Danny do it for me last year, even though I'm not legal. My mom freaked."
John smiled, "It's pretty rad. Hey, you wanna meet the guys? They're all playing X-Box in the basement."
"The guys?" I questioned, "Would Pat or Kennedy happen to be down there?"
John's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "You know Pat and Kenny?"
I pursed my lips, "We met briefly, they interrupted my slumber."
John chuckled and led me down the basement stairs before marching across the furnished basement and, regardless of the obvious Call Of Duty game going on, turned off the TV.
"What the hell, man?" I heard one of the players I recognized as Kennedy yell, his controller barely missing John's face as he ducked to avoid the blow. John just flipped Kennedy off and gestured towards me, "I want you douchebags to meet my cousin Jess."
Seven heads turned in my direction, and I just waved awkwardly at them, "Call Of Duty, huh?"
A boy with strawberry blonde hair smiled at me, "Wanna play?"
"Wanna lose?" I countered, grinning. I walked over and sat on the floor next to Pat, who couldn't seem to sit still, and I was soon introduced to Jared, Eric, Aaron, Loren, and Garrett, who all seemed to have the relatively same haircut. I watched the guys play for a few hours and talked to Pat, getting to know him. It soon became apparent that he had more energy than a five year old with ADHD and a two liter of Mountain Dew. Later, I was handed a controller and in no time I was kicking some serious ass. It quickly became obvious that my gaming skills were too much for anyone to handle when I was challenged by Garrett. Before that moment, I hadn't heard him utter more than a few words so I was slightly surprised when the controller was passed to him and he declared, "You're going down."
We had just gotten started when Aunt Denise appeared at the foot of the stairs and announced that John's father was home and everyone needed to leave because they were taking me out to dinner to initiate my visit. All of the guys stood to leave and Pat even gave me a quick hug before I turned to Garrett and said, "We'll finish this later," then trudged up the stairs to greet my uncle.
It all came down to my mother. She shipped me off to Arizona in hopes that I could "spend quality time with my aunt, uncle, and cousins," but I knew she really just needed time away from me. I would have been hurt if I hadn't wanted to get away from her equally as much, but I would have much preferred to stay anywhere but Arizona. I had only met my aunt, uncle, and three cousins once at a family funeral and I think it's safe to say that we didn't bond much. My cousin John and I had hit it off pretty well, but it was years ago and I was expecting my stay to be thoroughly awkward.
I chewed on my lip nervously as I rang the doorbell, drumming my fingers against the handle of my suitcase as I waited for someone to answer the door. I heard a muffled voice shout "I'll get it!" and soon I was face-to-face with a young boy I recognized as my cousin Shane. He gave me a shy grin and opened the door wider allowing me to enter, "Hi, you're Jess, right?"
I nodded and gave him a small smile, graciously stepping into the air conditioned house. Shane led me to the kitchen and I was soon embraced in a Clinique-Happy-scented hug. "Jess!" my aunt greeted me, kissing my cheek. I stepped out of the endearing grasp, a combination of a smile and a grimace on my face; I wasn't the biggest fan of physical affection.
"We're so glad to have you with us! Your uncle is at work, and John and Ross are still sleeping, no surprise there. It's noon and those two are still out cold, you'd think from how much they sleep they'd be able to manage more than a few syllables during dinner. How was your drive down? Are you hungry?" Aunt Denise managed to say all of this in one breath. All I could do was shake my head and mumble, "I'm just really tired."
I was quickly ushered up the stairs and shown to my new room, which I was told was actually John's room. I raised an eyebrow, "But where is John sleeping? I don't want to impose..."
Aunt Denise laughed, "Don't be silly, dear, you're our guest! John is sharing a room with Ross for the time being. I've made up the bed for you and unfortunately, you'll have to share the bathroom down the hall with the boys, but just let me know if you need anything."
I smiled gratefully, "Thank you for everything."
Aunt Denise wrapped me in a hug once again, and this time I returned the gesture hesitantly before she left me alone to sleep. Not bothering to unpack, I kicked off my shoes and crawled under the sheets and was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
In what felt like no time at all, I was being awoken by someone slamming the door open and shouting "John! Wake the fuck up!" I sat up groggily, confused as to why there were two boys in my room. The two stared at me with wide eyes before the shorter of the pair spoke up, "Um, you're not John."
I rubbed my eyes bemusedly, "You're damn right I'm not John, who the hell are you?"
"I'm Pat," the shorter one replied cheerily. He was absurdly thin and had stringy brown hair that looked as if it were in desperate need of a cut and wash. Despite his lack of personal hygiene, he was fairly cute.
"I'm Kennedy," the taller mumbled, indiscreetly elbowing his friend in the ribs before shooting him a bewildered look. I took my time scrutinizing his mullet-like hair and lanky body, there was something oddly attractive about him as well.
"Who are you?" Pat asked, "John didn't say anything about sleeping with any new girls."
I glared at him, "I'm Jess, John's cousin. Care to explain why you woke me up?"
Kennedy spoke up, whose eyes appeared to be darting to anything but me, "We didn't know... we thought John was in here."
"Well, it's pretty obvious he's not, so would you mind shutting the door?"
Kennedy and Pat each glanced at me and then at each other before complying. I huffed and pulled the blankets over my head in attempt to fall back asleep. After 20 minutes of unsuccessful boredom, I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood, debating on going downstairs or not. I walked over to my bag and pulled out my hairbrush and makeup case, deciding to freshen up a bit before returning downstairs. Now that I had gotten a few hours of sleep, I was feeling much more talkative. I shut the door behind me and made my way quietly down the stairs, before entering the kitchen where a long-haired boy was sitting. Recognition instantly flooded his features and he smiled, "Jess!"
John stood up and grabbed me into a bone-crushing hug, which was slightly awkward seeing how my face was smushed into his chest. He released me from his tight grasp and I smiled, "You sure have changed a lot since the last time I saw you, I recall you being about an entire foot shorter."
He laughed, "Puberty happened within that two-year time frame. You seem to have grown up quite a bit yourself," he remarked, gesturing to the half sleeve tattooed on my arm. I nodded, "Y'know, teenage rebellion and whatnot. I had my friend Danny do it for me last year, even though I'm not legal. My mom freaked."
John smiled, "It's pretty rad. Hey, you wanna meet the guys? They're all playing X-Box in the basement."
"The guys?" I questioned, "Would Pat or Kennedy happen to be down there?"
John's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "You know Pat and Kenny?"
I pursed my lips, "We met briefly, they interrupted my slumber."
John chuckled and led me down the basement stairs before marching across the furnished basement and, regardless of the obvious Call Of Duty game going on, turned off the TV.
"What the hell, man?" I heard one of the players I recognized as Kennedy yell, his controller barely missing John's face as he ducked to avoid the blow. John just flipped Kennedy off and gestured towards me, "I want you douchebags to meet my cousin Jess."
Seven heads turned in my direction, and I just waved awkwardly at them, "Call Of Duty, huh?"
A boy with strawberry blonde hair smiled at me, "Wanna play?"
"Wanna lose?" I countered, grinning. I walked over and sat on the floor next to Pat, who couldn't seem to sit still, and I was soon introduced to Jared, Eric, Aaron, Loren, and Garrett, who all seemed to have the relatively same haircut. I watched the guys play for a few hours and talked to Pat, getting to know him. It soon became apparent that he had more energy than a five year old with ADHD and a two liter of Mountain Dew. Later, I was handed a controller and in no time I was kicking some serious ass. It quickly became obvious that my gaming skills were too much for anyone to handle when I was challenged by Garrett. Before that moment, I hadn't heard him utter more than a few words so I was slightly surprised when the controller was passed to him and he declared, "You're going down."
We had just gotten started when Aunt Denise appeared at the foot of the stairs and announced that John's father was home and everyone needed to leave because they were taking me out to dinner to initiate my visit. All of the guys stood to leave and Pat even gave me a quick hug before I turned to Garrett and said, "We'll finish this later," then trudged up the stairs to greet my uncle.
♠ ♠ ♠
Jess' outfit.