Telescope Eyes

“He should be here any sec—oh go!” Addison yelled, pushing Micah into the closet. She laughed as she tumbled to the floor, moving a pair of John’s boxers that she was sure were dirty.

She tapped her fingers on the floor and waited for the boy to enter the room. As soon as he did her best friend quickly put a blind fold over his eyes, and Micah could see him smiling. “Oh, well this is nice. Kinky, I didn’t know you liked it like that,” John laughed.

“Oh shut up,” Addie laughed, shushing the boy. She did as Micah instructed her and spun the boy in a circle before handing him the pin, telling him to play pin the tail on the donkey.

“Do I get a special present if I win?” He smirked, walking around the floor dizzily.

Addison laughed before looking over at Micah who was stepping out of the closet. “Oh yeah, promise you won’t expect it at all.”

Micah frowned softly as she realized this was true. It had been a month since she and John had fought and she honestly couldn’t remember a conversation they had over it. Neither one of them was apologizing—though she genuinely felt like she didn’t need to. But, it had been a month too long and she missed her best friend. They made a deal for Sadie’s and she was keeping up to that.

He’d be very surprised to say the least.

“Hot, hot, oh…cold,” Addie laughed watching as the boy walked around his room trying to find the donkey on the wall.

“Dammit, I hate this game,” he mumbled, using his hands on the wall to make sure he didn’t fall over.

Micah became nervous as he got closer. What if he said no? What if he was still mad? If he was would she even want to go anymore?

“Hot!” Addie cheered, clapping her hands together. John pinned the tail on the donkey and took off his blind fold as he realized a picture of his face was now nailed to the donkey’s butt rather than a tail. The sign in front of him read get your head out of your ass and go to Sadies with me.

John laughed before turning around, the noise falling from his lips quieting as he looked at Micah standing there with a bag of sour patch kids; his favorite. “Could you excuse us for a second?” He asked, looking at his girlfriend.

Addison nodded her head with a small smile before speaking quickly, “Hurry so we can go ask Eric for me!”

Micah nodded her head all the while looking at John who was running a hand through his hair nervously. They stood quietly just gauging each other’s reactions for a few seconds. “I-I just,” she sighed, twirling the end of her hair nervously. “We made a plan to go together…”

John smiled softly before placing his hands in his pockets and rocking back on his heels, “We did didn’t we?”

She nodded her head nervously, “So come on, don’t be sour,” she chuckled. “Say yes.”

“Micah—

“Say yes,” she asked, more like pleading.

John sighed before closing his eyes and giving her the ghost of a grin, “Yes.”

*

Things didn’t change much. Although John and Micah agreed they would go together they still didn’t talk, and honestly she wasn’t sure if they even knew why; perhaps it was their pride still standing in the way.

After all neither one of them had apologized, and she knew that even though he was aware he should—he wouldn’t. John O’Callaghan didn’t apologize, he just didn’t. And honestly, she accepted that. He was her best friend, and he certainly had his flaws and this was definitely one of them.

She just wished it wouldn’t take him so damn long to get his mind figured out on how to just pretend things were normal.

“Hey,” Eric smiled, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and giving her temple a sweet kiss. He looked down at her shirt, laughing as he read it. “Very fitting for the dumbass you’re going with.”

“He was my inspiration,” Micah chuckled, glancing at her ‘I’m with stupid’ t-shirt she and John had picked out a few weeks prior. She looked at Eric’s baseball t-shirt and tight jeans that matched his all black Vans. “You look cute.”

Halvo grinned, “Addie let me pick out the outfits!”

The two cuddled on Micah’s couch, watching an old hockey game she had recorded about a week ago. They paid less attention to the game then to each other’s hungry mouths though.

“Eric,” Micah whispered, pushing his hand away from the button on her pants. “My mom is going to be home any minute, stop.”

He shrugged on top of her and let his lips keep moving farther down her chest until it hit her navel. She grabbed him by his hair and pulled his mouth back to hers, giving him one passionate kiss before pulling away. “Babe,” he whined, pouting his lips. “It’s been a week, I’m dying.”

“A week isn’t that long,” she mumbled, rolling her eyes and pulling her black shirt over her body. She ran her fingers through her fuzzed out curls, giving the boy next to her a dirty look as his hands found her hips.

“Can we tonight at that party?” Eric groaned into her neck, giving soft kisses.

“If you’re good,” she sighed, kissing his messy head of hair.

“What does that entail exactly?”

“Well, you have to be super sweet to me, and Addie since she’s your date. You have to dance with me at the dance and tell me I look pretty,” Micah chuckled, smiling big. “And, at the party no weed…not tonight.”

“No weed?” Eric whined.

“It’s one night Eric,” she sighed. She honestly hated having sex when Eric was high. He mumbled words that didn’t mean a thing to her—and sex was supposed to mean the world. It was supposed to show their love, but when he was drunk and high it didn’t mean a thing. At that point it was just about lust.

“But babe—

Eric was cut off by the doorbell, a relief Micah definitely needed. She was sick of the same old fight. She opened the door and smiled at her best friend, giving her a tight hug before looking at John, who was wearing an outfit identical to hers. She chuckled lightly and gave him a shy smile, “You look nice.”

He grinned, “You do too.”

They walked into the living room where Addison was nitpicking at Eric’s hair, trying to flatten it out before they took group pictures. The group drove over to their friend Marissa’s house where everyone else was waiting to take photos before the dance.

Much like homecoming, they took pictures until their jaws literally hurt, their smiles becoming more and more forced as time wore on. Eventually the adults let the kids escape to the park where the girls had planned a picnic and quick game of flag football. They went to trampoline world, where the ground, walls and roof were made of the slippery material before escaping to the dance.

All in all, they had a great time. Micah talked to Jared and Eric most of the night considering at some point John and Addison had gotten in a fight and refused to talk to anybody. The situation was actually somewhat comical.

After the dance the group had made their way to the party. It was weird how when they walked in the atmosphere changed. It was like once their friends were there—the party really began. Girls Micah didn’t even know would be giving her hugs, slurring words at her that would seem to anyone like they had been best friends. Guys whispered to her and Addison that they would hopefully be seeing them later, preferably in a bedroom. The way Micah was treated always surprised her.

She wasn’t as ‘cool’ as everyone pretended. She was just a normal girl—just like everyone else.

Micah felt a hand press onto the small of her back. “Want something to drink?” John asked, his lips pressing against her ear.

She ignored the shiver than ran up her spine and nodded her head, smiling as he handed her a Mike’s Hard Lemonade. She opened it and pressed it to her lips, scanning the room to try and find her boyfriend and where he had escaped to. “Are you having fun?” Micah asked, glancing quickly at John who was nursing a beer.

He shrugged his shoulders, “I was until Addie decided to be a fucking bitch.”

“What happened anyways?”

“Just…” John looked at her and sighed softly, “It’s not important.”

Micah chuckled and wrapped her arm around John’s waist, giving a side hug, “Try to have fun, okay kiddo?”

He scoffed ‘kiddo’ with a smile, laughing at her comment. “Eric was in the backyard if you’re looking for him.”

“I was actually, thank you,” she grinned before turning on her heel and walking into the backyard where a table was set up. There was a bonfire in the corner of the yard where a few couples were making out drunkenly, and there was another couple fighting in the other corner of the yard.

“BOOM BITCH!”

Micah laughed before following her boyfriend’s voice around the corner of the house to where he was playing basketball with some guys she knew from school. Zach Christiansen passed the ball off to one of the other guys before smirking at her, “Well hello Micah Crosby. What brings you over here? Watching my amazing ass in my jeans are you?”

She scoffed before crossing her arms and nodding her head, “Ah, you caught me Zach.”

Eric laughed before walking over and giving her a hard kiss on the lips. He pulled away with a smile on his lips as the boys around them groaned, reminded that the small blonde did have a boyfriend. “What’s up baby?” He grinned.

“I just wanted to remind you that you promised me a dance tonight,” Micah replied, her lips turned up as Eric’s fingers sat on her hip bones.

“I did, didn’t I?” He smirked. “Well, how about I finish this game and then I’ll meet you and your fine ass out on that dance floor?”

Micah nodded her head and gave him a soft kiss, “I’ll see you then. Beat these douche-bags,” she chuckled.

The boys all laughed and pretended to be offended before she walked back into the party, sipping her drink and finding Garrett and Jared in a corner looking at the girls in the room. “What are you doing creeps?” She chuckled, standing next to them.

Jared took a deep breath before wrapping his arm around her shoulder and subtly pointing to a girl who was dancing in front of them, “Jamie Hansen.”

“What about her?”

“I love her,” Garrett said sadly, covering his red cheeks.

“Problem is, Gary here has never talked to her,” Jared said, shaking his head.

Micah chuckled, “So go talk to her Nickelsen. Get out your man card, you baby.”

“How the hell do you talk to a girl that pretty?” Garrett groaned, his lips pushing out into a pout. “She seriously like, takes my breath away.”

“You sound like a cheesy eighties movie, seriously, stop being such a pussy, that’s step one,” Micah laughed. “Step two, girls like a guy they have to chase a little bit—a mystery you know? So, ask her to dance, smile and walk away, but to it to where she wants to come find you again. Give her that sexy smirk you have sometimes.”

“I have a sexy smirk?” Garrett said with a confident smile.

“Yes, now use it to your advantage. Give her the sex look, but don’t touch her anywhere inappropriate while you’re dancing, be totally respectful, that way she knows you are attracted to her and want her but you still respect her as a woman,” Micah sighed, with an accomplished smile as Garrett mumbled a quick ‘got it’ and walked over to her before he lost his nerve.

“Why are girls so complicated? Jesus Christ,” Jared groaned, shaking his head.

“Because we’re secretly really horrible people,” she laughed. “But boys aren’t any better.”

“How so?” He asked, glancing at her from the corner of his eye.

“All guys want is sex. You get it once and you’re addicted,” she said simply.

“Ah,” Jared replied knowingly, “Do I sense trouble in paradise?”

Micah shrugged her shoulders, “I don’t know, I just—I miss when Eric and I used to go one dates and stuff. Now we’re always finding deserted parking lots and sneaking out in the middle of the night. I miss feeling…

“Like a woman instead of a piece of meat,” Jared finished, nodding his head.

“Yeah,” Micah agreed, biting her lip.

“If it means anything, Eric really does love you. He may be a little—horny for a while since you guys just started having sex and all, but he does love you for you. When you and John got in that fight, whatever it is that you two are even fighting about none of us know, Eric defended you like crazy. He does love you even if he’s only thinking with his dick at the moment,” Jared said comfortingly.

As if on cue a pair of hands placed themselves on Micah’s hips and lips were at her ear, “I promised you a dance didn’t I?”

Eric moved their bodies closer to the rest of the people dancing, pulling her butt tight against his body, moving with her in rhythm. His lips were moving against her neck causing her to smile and her eyes close. After a few more songs Micah grinned and turned around in his arms, facing him for the first time. She placed a kiss to his jaw before looking up into his eyes, frowning when she noticed the glaze over his red orbs.

Eric’s smile twitched and slowly turned downwards. “Micah,” he sighed.

“Eric come on, it was one night,” She said sadly.

“You’re acting like I’ve done this horrible thing,” he said rolling his eyes. “You get high too kid.”

“Don’t talk to me like that,” Micah said dejectedly. “I don’t care that you got high because I don’t like weed I care because I asked you for one night to give something up and you couldn’t do it.”

Eric threw his hands in the air, “Micah, it’s just fucking sex! Who cares if I’m high when we do it?”

She blushed when she noticed her peers’ eyes on them. She lowered her voice, “Can we move this outside?”

He crossed his arms and rolled his eyes, “No. I’m done with you being a fucking cock-tease, you can take yourself outside.”

Micah’s cheeks turned a bright red and she focused on not letting the tears in her eyes pour over. She knew Eric was drunk, he was high, and his judgment was definitely impaired but one phrase kept running through her mind: a drunken mind speaks a sober heart.

She ignored the eyes that were on her as she grabbed a bottle of whiskey and made her way to the backyard, sitting by the fire that had been deserted by teenagers who resorted to bedrooms. She sat on a bench and pressed the large bottle to her lips, enjoying the stinging taste in her throat better than the one in her eyes.

Was she a tease? She honestly didn’t think so. She and Eric had sex on reoccurring occasions—which were definitely more important to her she was sure of now. Sex was a big deal to her, Eric said he understood that—was he lying so that she would trust him with it? She got sick to her stomach at this thought.

“Mind if I join you and Jack?”

Micah shook her head and handed the bottle over to the boy who had taken a seat next to her. “Don’t take it too hard,” John said simply. “He’ll come begging for forgiveness tomorrow morning as always. You know how he gets when he’s drunk.”

She shrugged and bit her lip, taking another sip of the whiskey, “I’m sick of the apologies.” They sat together silently for a few moments, just passing the bottle of liquor and back and forth between them. “Do you think I’m a tease?”

John laughed softly before shaking his head, “No, Crosby. I don’t think you’re a tease.”

“Eric does,” she replied looking down at her sneakers.

“Fuck Eric,” he laughed, shaking his head. “He’s an idiot, you know that.”

“Yes, he is,” Micah grumbled, feeling the alcohol taking its course in her veins as she relaxed into the boy next to her. “How’s Addison?”

John’s smile faltered as he looked at his shoes, “We-we’re on a break at the moment.”

“Damn,” Micah sighed complacently, closing her eyes and taking in the boy’s scent. “That’s too bad. What happened?”

He looked down at her where she was lying in his arm pit. “She said that I wasn’t spending enough attention on her tonight. I tried to explain to her that you were my date and not her, but just did not seem to understand that.”

Micah sighed and slurred her words, “We date dumb bitches.”

John chuckled and grabbed the bottle of whiskey from in between her thin fingers. “I think you’ve had enough.”

As soon as the words slipped from his mouth Micah’s eyes turned up to a familiar laugh that was coming from the back porch. He was stumbling down the stairs with a girl attached to his mouth. Their clothes matched as they had been each other’s dates for the night.

Micah watched as Addison ran her fingers through her boyfriend’s hair, grinding against his hips, causing him to moan in ways only she herself had done before. She took the bottle back from John’s hands as tears started falling from her eyes. She attempted to stand up and walk towards them but her knees gave out from beneath her.

John’s hands automatically gripped her waist and held her up, his lips at her ear, “Let’s go home, okay?”

But she didn’t listen. She pushed his body away softly for the alcohol was taking her strength, but somehow she made her way over to her two ‘best friends’. She tapped on Addison’s shoulder, causing the brunette to turn around with a scowl. “We’re kind of bus—oh shit…”

Micah ignored the girl and glared at the green eyed boy who was staring right back at her. She didn’t say a single word and he didn’t move an inch, even when the first tear fell from her eye. Her lip started quivering and she bit on it gently, taking deep breaths. The yard was silent, whether she was imagining it or not—all she heard was the pounding of her heart, and all she could feel was the pain of a knife being stabbed into her chest.

She licked her lips and looked at ground before looking back up at her boyfriend, “Have a good night.”

Micah turned on her heel and grabbed John’s hand, drawing him away from where Addison had pulled him to, crying and apologizing endlessly for kissing his best friend. He followed her quickly and they walked around the side of the house, not caring to turn around to face the boy who was following them, calling Micah’s name.

He caught up to them just as they had reached John’s truck. Tears were falling harder down her face and she attempted to hide behind John’s body as he unlocked her door, but Eric’s hand found her wrist and pulled her towards him.

“Micah—

“Eric get away from me,” she whimpered, pushing him away.

“Micah—

“She said get away,” John said loudly, stepping in between the two and coming face to the face with his best friend. They stared into one another’s eyes, not saying a word. John’s hands were clenched and it took everything in his power to not punch his best friend square in the jaw. “Go back to kissing my ex-girlfriend, Eric. You can have my seconds.”

“Yeah well you cannot have mine,” Eric boomed, stepping closer to the boy to where there was maybe an half a foot between them.

John smirked and stepped away, opening Micah’s door, “Oh, but we both know she was mine first. Let’s go Crosby.”

Micah tried to understand what John was saying to Eric but the whiskey was making it such a blur—all she could focus on was how she wanted more of it. She kept drinking as they drove the roads to John’s house silently, the tears that were falling down her cheeks ceasing over time. They pulled into the O’Callaghans driveway and sat there silently as John turned off the ignition.

His fingers were playing a beat against his steering wheel as he leaned back in his seat and sighed. Micah bit her lip and let her body control her actions as she unbuckled herself and climbed onto the boy’s lap.

“Crosby…what are you doing?” John whispered, his eyes widening as her hands fell to his stomach.

“Why did you really kiss me, John?” She breathed. “And not that bull-shit answer about how you needed to beat Eric. I know when you’re lying. Why?”

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, biting his bottom lip. “Come on Crosb…

“Why?” She repeated.

John opened his eyes and looked at her nervously, licking his lip, “Because uh…well, I wanted to know what it’d be like, you know?”

Micah nodded her head gently before slowly letting her hands trail farther down his body and her lips meet his neck. “Was it good for you?”

“It was amazing,” he whispered honestly. John knew what was going to happen next, he could tell by the look in her eye. He knew she was drunk—she would never do this sober, but he wanted her so badly. He gasped as her fingertips ran over his zipper and into his jeans. “Micah,” he groaned, trying to gather his thoughts…but God it was it was tough with her on top of him like this, kissing the soft spot on his neck and her hand in his boxers.

It took a moment longer than he was happy to admit but he grabbed her wrist gently and pulled it away from his lap, ignoring the frown on her lips. “Don’t do this,” he said sweetly, trying not to hurt her.

“John—

“Micah, don’t.”

A small smile ghosted her lips, “I like it when you call me that…”

He stared into her eyes that were full of hurt—mainly from Eric but partly from him he was sure. “You don’t want this,” he said, feeling his own heart pang as he realized the sincerity of his words. She would never want a guy like him.

“Maybe I do,” Micah whispered, staring into his green eyes. God, she always found herself lost in them. She lied when she said maybe, she definitely wanted this—but she could tell he didn’t. He’d never want a girl like her.

“You’d never forgive me for this, Micah,” he said gently. “You’re drunk.”

“I want you when I’m sober,” she whispered quickly, too quickly in fact for her mind to register.

John smiled swiftly, his heart feeling as if it skipped a beat. He tucked her mess of curls behind her ear and kissed her lips softly, savoring the feeling of it. She kissed him back instantly, pulling away with tears running down her cheeks.

John knew she was then reminded of Eric. He held her tightly before carrying her up to his room, comforting her broken heart while trying to secretly mend his own.