When You Can't Sleep at Night

"Will you just stop!?" I exclaimed, practically yelling in the man's face next to me. George wouldn't let up; he kept poking and prodding me for information. "I have nothing to contribute to your nosiness." I said and he scoffed in fake irritation.
"How am I supposed to continue on with life if you don't provide sustenance for my amusements?!" he said and I sighed, moving away from him on the couch we were on. He scooted closer to me, putting his arm around me. I shrugged him off and he laughed.
"Where the fuck is your girlfriend so you can leave me alone?" I asked him as I stood up. I turned around to look down at him, his puppy dog eyes staring right back at me. He shrugged, looking to his phone that was lying beside him.
"Why do you think I'm here? To see Dylan's Mexican ass? I'm bored as fuck." He said I narrowed my eyes in his general direction.
"No, to bother me about my life." He laughed at my words.
"So Jorel is your life now?" he said and I just about yelled, holding back from punching him in the face. He laughed even harder at my reaction. I walked away from him before he could say anything else to me. "Oh come on, I'm just joking!" he yelled before I shut my door to his voice.

I lay down on my bed, thinking about the only thing that was ever on my mind anymore. Jorel. He had invaded my thoughts and my doings from the day I met him, much to my protests. I never wanted this to happen, but things never happen as you plan them.

The day that Dylan had brought Jorel over was years ago, I couldn't tell you the exact day if my life depended on it, but I remembered every moment like it was burned into my mind forever. The door banging open, Dylan rushing in like it was Christmas morning, his few friends following him in. I paid no attention, trying to do my schoolwork, considering we were both still in high school. "Hey Jess, I want you to meet my new bro." Dylan said to me, coming to stand in front of me. I looked up at him, pushing a lock of hair out of my eyes. We were best friends, my brother and I, we did everything together. The people he knew, I knew, and vice versa. "This is Jay, Jorel Decker." He said, motioning to someone just behind him. My eyes traveled to the man my brother had just introduced, taking in the oversized hoodie, loose black jeans, chucks, and oversized plugs. He was staring at me with his wonderfully brown eyes, eyebrows raised in an arch of contemplation, and a smirk on his face. I smiled as best as I could, feeling nervous because of how attractive he was.
"Hi." I said, faking nonchalance. I looked over to Dylan, raising my brows for him to introduce me.
"And this is my sister, Jessi." He said, and motioned to me. I looked back over to Jorel, who was still staring at me. He smiled wider, putting his hand up to acknowledge that he understood. I laughed to myself, going back to my books, as my brother and his friends left me.

As the day went on, and I changed from homework to reading, I noticed someone lingering in the living room with me. I turned around, to see Jorel straying from the rest of his friends and into the kitchen not far from where I was sitting. I put my book down, confused as to why this new kid was wandering around in my home, and let my paranoia get the best of me. "What are you doing?" I confronted him as I made my way into the kitchen. He jumped at the sound of my voice, turning around from staring out the window. I started to laugh and he blushed.
"I don't know." He said, his voice ringing in my ears. I tilted my head at him in confusion and he smiled at me. "I'm just around." He said and I stopped and listened to his voice. I liked it, his voice. He looked to the ground and I realized I was staring at his face. I laughed nervously, and turned around to leave the kitchen, but his hand caught my wrist before I could leave. As I turned to look up at him, to ask him why, I could hear my brothers loud yelling, accompanied by the rest of his friends as they made their way into the kitchen.
"Oh, shit! Jorel's already on it!" Jordon practically yelled as he was the first in the kitchen, followed by Dylan, George, Danny, and Matt. As I tried to wiggle my way out of the room, I realized Jorel was still holding my wrist. I looked down to his hand, and back to his face, and he let go of me like I was burning him. I smiled up at him, and he smiled back down, and I left the kitchen without another word.

I didn't know where anything started and what had even ended since I had met Jorel. Since that day when we were just kids, not knowing where anything could take us, not understanding our actions and what could become of them. Everything happens for a reason, and this was the beginning of the bullshit he had as a past, and the beginning of the bullshit I was beginning to make my future out to be.