Frostbite

I staked out across the front room, eyes glued to the door and smiling at whoever came along to make small talk with me. I only really listened to Lee when she bounced up in front of me. She smiled wide, her paint covered cheeks bunching up and feathers ruffling on the top of her head.

Her glee was overflowing, to the point where I started hoping everyone could swim. "Mini! Oh, how long are you going to stand here? Come dance, with me! Without you I'm just a half a concept. Don't make me be half a concept at my birthday party!"

No matter how many times I declined her demands to dance, she came right back five seconds later. I think she was hoping I would square dance. Which I can see why. Lee had spent a excessive amount of time with my costume, me being too busy with the party to bother myself. Authentic boots, 'butt shaping' jeans, a blue long sleeved shirt with a brown vest over it, a red bandanna around my neck, and a 'ass taping' hat made me look like I was ready to hoedown whenever the music called for it. She expected me to walk the walk, not just wear the clothes.

"Give me ten minutes, Lee." I smiled down at her, tipping my hat at Jennie as she passed by. "I promise I will."

"Oh, okay." She faked huffed at me before laughing away.

The moment her unnecessarily huge hat of feathers had left, the most shockingly surprising sight reached me. I had made a pact with myself that as soon as he steeped through those doors I would take him someplace quiet and ask him out, no hesitation. But his outfit froze me in place and made me forget all about that idea.

Micajah's costume was bound to capture eyes, that I was sure of. But..... this wasn't anticipated. I couldn't look away from his ass him as he walked through the crowd, and when I did it was only to give glares to the other people staring. They got the message and went to find another costume to ogle at.

One set of eyes seemed to conveniently miss contact with mine, but his arms sure didn't miss contact with Micajah's waist. Micajah was obviously uncomfortable, who wouldn't be when a walking carpet attaches themselves to you? But this bitch didn't seem to get the hint.

Just seeing him look at Micajah made me want to shove my fingers in his eyes and drill them through the back of his skull. When he didn't let go as Micajah attempted to squirm out of his grasp, I tightened my jaw and started over to them at a hard, controlled pace.

What the hell did this goddamn bitch thing he was fucking doing? What in fucking hell makes he think that it is okay to even blink in Micajah's direction, much less touch him. This bastard's greasy little fucking hands better be removed from Micajah's goddamn waist before I have a chance to rip them the fuck off myself. Who does this fucker think he is? I will castrate this bitch and feed his balls to-

Clary's voice rang like a fucking school bell in my ear. 'Be sweet like a bag of sugar'. Decapitating is not sweet. Not sweet at all.

I approached Micajah and a more degrading version of a guido, if that's even possible, and tightened my fists before asking the most goody two shoes thing I possibly could. "Do you need help?"

"Yes, please." The relaxation that set over Micajah settled me a little. I was helping him, he was glad I was currently there. I'd actually done something good for him for once. That calmed me somewhat. But only somewhat.

Striding the few steps over, I peeled the hand that has strayed too far down off of Micajah. He immediately spun to my side and put on a tough facade, making me laugh inwardly. The anti-alopecia patient stood up straighter, trying to look bigger, like I was some sort of bear, a fucking animal. And he had every right to, I did everything in my power to keep from growling and ripping his flesh from his bones. But I will not be treated like some rogue lion at a zoo, this fucker is just screaming for hell.

"Hey, yo." He spread his arms, leaving himself wide open for me to execute any and all of the possibilities zipping past in my head. "Water you tryna' pull? I saw 'em first, go get your own."

I clenched my fists, trying to remember to show Micajah my good side. Ultimately, I think I failed. "I would dignify that question with a direct response, but instead I'm going to tick off a few points as to why I'm not fucking going to. One, you're grammar is so fucking bad It's a goddamn wonder you're even granted the privilege of uttering words, much less giving them to someone so much better than you like Micajah. Two, He is not something that you simply 'get your own' of because there is only one person with as much ambition and flexibility as this squint and, as I believe we just proved, wouldn't go with just anyone and especially not a crab infested cum-dumpster like you. And three- well, there really isn't a three. I just don't fucking like you, so I suggest you leave before I lose control of something other than my goddamn mouth."

By this time, it was basically all a growl coming out of my throat in the form of words. A thin film of fear was on the other boy's face, but he still had the fucking balls, that I'd yet decided were worth chopping off, to speak another sentence.

"Hey, man. I have every right to be here as you."

Micajah's skin on mine stopped all momentum I had to lift my arm and punch the furry cunt in the face.

"Do you really want to cause a seen?" Micajah's used my shoulder as leverage to get to my ear, trying to reason with me. "This is Juliet's eighteenth birthday party."

I gave the disgrace to the human race another look; he got the hint and turned for the door.

To be honest, if anyone else besides Micajah had tried to reason with me right then, I wouldn't have thought twice and punched him right in the middle of his fucking face. But by trying to stop me Micajah had shown that he wouldn't like that, and I can't afford doing something that he wouldn't like.

Turning, I was surprised to see him smiling up at me. His eyes beamed in a way that shouted thanks, but also held suspicion and slight disdain.

"Thanks Benji." He said then shivered. "It was like being hugged by a wet bear."

"Can I talk to you?" Without waiting for an answer, I grabbed his hand and headed for the stairs.

Unfortunately, upstairs was just as crowded as down, if not more. I ignored Micajah's questions and headed for Lee's room, moving Micajah in front of me so his back was touching my chest as I maneuvered the both of us through the crowd as fast as possible. I had to do this before I lost my chance or lost my nerve. Which, with those brown eyes, unpredictable attitude, and promiscuous costume, was a very likely possibility.

Out on Lee's balcony you could still hear the music and noise from the people inside and in the yard, but it was more background sounds than concert speakers. A few faces looked up at us, waving and hoping we saw, like they had spotted a friend on the next buss over.

I turned to Micajah and was once again taken aback by his outfit. Now that I wasn't filled with murderous rage, I could fully take it all in. His shirt was scraps, all but the bump of his nipples were showing, and even those where define against the fabric. Though, the chilly weather probably didn't help with that. His pants were so tight I swore they were just paint o- oh, wait. Those aren't pants, those are boots and black underwear..... shorts?

I adverted my eyes and tried to erase all perverted thoughts from my mind. Needless to say, that wasn't easy. God, dose he know what he's doing to me? I'm convinced he does. By the way he posed, I was sure of it.

"How do I look?" He asked as he ran his hands from the back of his head to the bottom of his thighs. His attempted sensual movements resembled a spazing worm rather than a sexy dance, but was just too cute not to get flustered over. Because apparently that's me now, prone to flustering.

"Well, uh, it's kinda, um, it's.... if you- I think, uhh.... I....."

He smiled up at me, a look of satisfactions on his face as I fumbled for words. "You what?"

Taking a deep breath, I attempted to come up with something witty to save myself. "Well, I came here ready to hoedown. But now I kinda want to go down on a ho."

The blush that covered his face pleased me. "I'm a stripper, not a ho." He mumbled defensively, as if a stripper was any better.

"So, um.... why? Not that I don't adore this outfit on you, its very appealing. But it just seems a bit out of character. Not that your character is predictable or anything, but.... yeah. You're wearing fishnets."

"I lost a bet." He mumbled, turning a deeper shade of red. I had to shove my hands in my pockets to keep from reaching over to brush my fingers against his rosy cheeks or gripping his heated neck to pull him closer.

"Did you bring me up here to talk about my costume choice?" He spoke up, "Or were you planing on just letting my get frostbite?"

"Actually, I had a question to ask you." I smiled, hoping my nerves didn't show on my face. I normally don't get like this when asking people out. It was just Micajah. "later this week?"

He just stared up at me, a almost baffled expression on his face, and blinked once. Then twice. Three times. "Excuse me. What?"

I spoke slower this time, slightly confused myself. "This week. Are you free one of those days? Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thu-"

"I know the days of the week." He cut me off after a moment of starring. "Yes, I am free one of those days. Why do you ask?"

My smile widened, hopefully easing him up. "Do you want to go do something? Maybe see a movie or go skating or one of the other many activities I'm sure you enjoy?"

Once again, he gaped up at me before he said "You're asking me on a date? This is a joke, right? This is a joke, it's because of my costume."

"No Micajah." My smile faltered. "It's not a joke. I'm asking you out on a date. Do yo-"

"Yep, this is a joke." He nodded, assuring himself of the false truth. "Because you don't even like figure skaters, this is a joke."

"Micajah," I leaned down so he would be compelled to look me in the eye. "No, I don't like figure skaters and I still think the sport is a waste of ice. But no, I'm not joking either. I want to take you on a date."

He was quiet for another moment, but soon a devilish grin spread across his face. "Is that any way to ask?"

"No, no it's not." I let out a huff of a laugh as I hung my head and let my hands go slack in my pocket. Without a second thought, I got on one knee. I tried to ignore how close I was to him, how smooth the skin on his abdomen looked, the lines of his abs, the thin sliver of skin between his shorts and boots, the bulge in those shorts.

I caught myself as I reached up to grab his thighs and reached for his hands instead. Looking up at him, a perplexed look played on his face. I smiled; he was evaluating me, wondering if I was actually going to go this far to get a date with him. I myself was surprised that I was actually on my knees for him. Not for Lee, Clary, my mom, or Izzy, I realized. For the first time I could remember, I'd gotten on my knees for someone outside of my realm of important people.

"My dear, unbearably sweat, unbelievably handsome, indescribably talented, Micajah. Though you are too good for me, my bad mouth, and crooked smile, will you please honor me by accompanying me on a date? I would be oh so pleased to be granted with one most wonderful evening with you. More than one, if you wish."

The smug smile on his face I could overlook for the moment. "Well, since you asked so nicely, I guess I have to."

I stood back up with a grin so big it would have been embarrassing if I cared. But he had said yes, so I didn't give a fucking shit about anything else and I wouldn't for some time. I had a date with Micajah Stevens, why the fuck should anyone care about anything besides that?

I smiled down at him as we made our way back downstairs. "What are my chances at getting you to dance with me?"

He smiled up at me. "Pretty good, I'd say."

As if on cue, Big & Rich started beating Save a horse out of the speakers. The only country song that will ever be tolerable.

"So," I said as I was pulled to the middle of the crowd of dancing teenagers. "What are your feeling on horse safety?"

Before he had a chance to answer, Lee came out of nowhere and butt-bumped him out of the way.

"Back up Candy, this is my dance." She looked up at me with that fake angry mother look. "Mini here has been holding out on me."

Pushing aside my annoyance, I reminded myself it was her birthday. "One dance." I told her. "Then I'm Micajah's."