Washroom Color

hey baby, here's that song you wanted .

I slept in too late the next morning. I'm not the type to sleep the day away, and since when I looked at the clock I'd seen that the time was 11:34 I was frustrated with myself to say the least.

I hauled myself up and into the bathroom to shower. As I looked at myself in the mirror, I inspected my skin for bruises and abrasions that I may have attained unknowingly. Finding none I stepped behind the curtain to shower. By the time I got downstairs after getting back into the clothes I'd slept in, it was almost 12 and my dad was sitting at the table reading the paper.

“Morning kid, I guess you were tired.” He said, looking over his paper at me while I sat down at the table across from him.

I shrugged my shoulders and folded my hands on the table, “Yeah, I guess.” My first minimal answer of the morning.

“Did you and Anna have fun last night?”

I hesitated before speaking, trying to decide if I wanted to tell the truth or not. I decided that half truths would be the best. “Anna had a great time, I think. It was alright. Is Seth home?”

“No, he stayed out last night.” My dad's tone had a hint of disapproval, but for the most part it was mild, as though he didn't care about the path his only son had decided for his life. I mean, I couldn't blame his disappointment. To that moment I still had no idea what Seth was doing. He was partying with his friends, still living at him. I wasn't even aware if he had a job or not.

I got up from the table and fixed a bowl of cereal for myself as Anna appeared still disheveled from sleep. She was the kind of person who could sleep forever. “Good morning lovely family,” She sing songed while moving about to kiss dad on the cheek and flick me on the head with her middle finger and thumb. I got up then, and moved to the living room in front of the TV to be away from her annoying cheerfulness.

I knew that I was going to have the house mostly to myself today. Mom was already at work, and dad was going to leave soon for a business meeting a few counties away. Anna was getting ready to go a friends house, and something told me that Seth wasn't going to return home until after it was dark. I figured that since I'd only been in town for three days, I was allowed to give myself the leniency of lazing around doing nothing for the day before I made the usual reunions with the childhood friends and such.

I had my feet pulled up under me, seated at one far end of the couch. I hadn't moved in two hours. The house was dead quiet, except for the sound of the TV which was blasting “Real Housewives of Atlanta.” I was picking my bog toenail absently when I heard the front door open, and I jumped. The sound of loud boys instantly poured down the hall and to the living room, and after a short moment, Seth poked his head in. “Hey, are mom and dad home?”

I turned around on the couch to look at him, “no, what are you doing here, who's here?”

“I live here,” He said, as though I was the stupidest person in the world. And in answer to my other question another boy stuck his head around the the corner and gave me a nod. It was one of the boys from the Maine, but for the life of me I couldn't remember which. Immediately I tried to smooth my hair down, and pull up the front of my shirt to hide my cleavage and make it less obvious that I wasn't wearing a bra, just in case more boys appeared suddenly in my house to judge me and he fact that I'd done nothing to make myself even halfway presentable, besides shower.

Then with no more words, they both disappeared upstairs, and I turned back to the TV. I could hear them upstairs, talking loudly about some video game that the other boy had brought over. Real Housewives was almost over when I heard Seth scream down the stairs to get my attention.

“Hannah!”

“What?” I called back. It was what we used to do when we were growing up, just to piss mom and dad off.

“Open the front door!”

I wasn't even about to question him. Probably just another one of his dumb friends and I was annoyed that he didn't have the courtesy to go downstairs and let them in himself.

I slugged my way to the door, taking my sweet time. They hadn't rung the doorbell. Most likely the person had just called Seth and asked to be let in.

I opened the door, and felt my face start to turn red and heat up right away. Again, it was two of the boys from last night, and someone else I didn't know. All of them were cute, and all of them were staring at me, looking me up in down in my glory of wearing tiny shorts a tank top and messy ponytail. I bet I was the prettiest thing they'd ever seen. Not.

I instinctively crossed my arms across my chest self consciously and moved aside to let them in. “Seth's upstairs,” I mumbled without making eye contact. I felt like I was seventeen again, and freaking out over a boy I liked talking to me, even though none of them had actually said anything yet, and I was twenty, not seventeen.

“Cool, thanks,” One of them said as they all strolled into the house like they owned the place. They all smiled as they passed me, and the last one in I recognized as the boy who'd told me my lip was bleeding last night. Instinctively again, I sucked in my bottom lip to hide it, because I knew there was a scare there from where I'd bitten it.

“Hannah, right?” The one who'd thanked me said, and I looked over at him.

“Yeah. You're...”

“Kennedy. That's Garrett, and Dan.” He introduced, jerking his head to the other boys, neither of which were looking at me.

“Nice to meet you,” I said, and retreated back into he living room just in time for the Nate Berkus to come on. I know, I wasn't being a good hostess. But you have to remember that I'd never met these boys, and while they were nice, they hadn't left the best impression on me.

I curled up on the couch again, and as soon as I'd gotten comfortable a voice behind me made me gasp and my head jerked to see where it had come from.

“What are you watching?” The one called Garrett was standing behind the couch, staring at the screen to try and figure it out.

“Um, it's called the Nate Berkus show. Basically it's this guy talking about clothes and fat girls and... um. Clothes.” I trailed off, knowing that I sounded stupid.

Garrett came around the couch next to me, and sat close, but not too close. Not close enough, my stomach made it clear that I was a little off put by his presence. It wouldn't stop fluttering and suddenly my heart was racing at top speed, and I felt my breathing start to get out of hand. Oh god, don't let this happen in front of him. He probably already thinks i'm a freak. I cleared my throat, and he was saying nothing.

“You want to watch something else?” I finally asked after what seemed like hours, only it coul have only been a couple minutes. Even one maybe. O braved a look at him, and he was still watching to TV as he shrugged his shoulder.

“Don't have to, you were here first.” I watched the way his lips moved, and I took in the stubble on his chin and upper lip, and the way his sandy colored hair was falling all over the place. He had a ring through one nostril, as well, which suited him.

He looked at me, and caught me looking. Both of us looked away and I felt myself blushing again. I tossed the remote over to him. “You're the guest,” I emphasized dramatically, you should choose. I looked at him again and caught his eyes, which were grayish green.

He smirked at me shyly, and took it, turning it over and over in his hand. “Seth never said he had a sister. Not to mention a twin.”

That was great, Seth was the best brother ever. “I don't spend much time in Arizona anymore. He probably forgot about me or something, I wouldn't be surprised.” I said dramatically, rolling my eyes.

“Seth's a good dude.” he said.

“Sure, to anyone not it the family.” I retorted, then realized that I was getting a little too bitter, so I stopped myself.

Garrett started slipping through the channels. I guess he planned to stay down here a while.