Sequel: I'm Number 7 ›
Be My Disease
Bruise
I kissed the lit cigarette gingerly as he pushed it onto my lips. I inhaled the familiar toxic gas like I had been doing it my whole life, which was not the case. He kissed down my bare body starting from my neck all the way down to my navel. Each spot burned when he left it. I would have groaned with enjoyment had I not be holding on to the cigarette with my lips. I don’t remember kisses ever feeling this good. Maybe ecstasy made everything feel this way. The person I used to be would have wondered how this happened. She would have never been caught in this position, not the old Alice. Alice before the drugs, the sex, and the alcohol would have rolled her eyes at Alice now. I didn’t bother trying to decide who was the happier person, because at this moment I felt amazing, but I couldn’t say I felt happy either. I lifted his face up to mine and kissed him full on the mouth, tongues twisting. I forgot what I was thinking about and let him feel my naked body.
Old Alice was the opposite of New Alice in more ways than were countable. She was smart, ambitious, and outgoing. All her teachers loved her. She was hardworking and had a great future ahead of her. Her friends were loyal and honest with her. She had the life everyone wanted. She had it all. Old Alice would have wondered how New Alice even came into existence. She would have been ashamed. However, It wasn’t Old Alice’s fault. In fact, it wasn’t even New Alice’s fault. The fault lay with Jeremy Adams.
Jeremy was a fluctuating human being. Meaning he was always moving, always changing, and never in one place for very long. The longest Alice new of that Jeremy had stayed in one place was when she was a kid. She used to hang out in the woods looking for animal skeletons because she loved looking at bones. It was her favorite pastime. To her they weren’t dead remains, but puzzles that she loved to figure out. Alice met Jeremy in the woods one day while she searched. They talked casually with each other about anything and everything and nothing. They were friends until Jeremy disappeared like he always does. Alice missed her friend, but over time the memory of the blue eyed, blonde boy faded.
It wasn’t until her sophomore year in high school that Alice saw Jeremy again, not that she recognized him. His hair had turned ash black. The reason she described it as ash was because it wasn’t exactly black. It was more of a gray color because his blonde hair was starting to fade through again. He looked the same, but different. His face was covered with acne scars among other scars that looked foreign to her. She greeted this new version of her childhood friend, who seemed to not recognize her very well. Alice didn’t think she had changed much. She still had dark brown hair and green eyes so light they almost looked gray. However, it didn’t take long for her to notice how badly he smelled. She knew it was weed that was filling her nostrils. Old Alice did her best not to cringe, or worse, sneeze. After they talked for a few minutes Jeremy seemed to remember her. He attempted to hug her, but Old Alice reminded herself she had a very important committee meeting to get to and so she walked away before he could do so, holding her nose as she turned, hoping he wouldn’t see.
Old Alice saw Jeremy often after that time. He had transferred mid-quarter so he didn’t have many friends. After talking with him for a while she discovered he had moved back from New York. He told her he had been living there because his mom had died in a fire and that’s why he never saw Alice after that. This also explained the scars on Jeremy’s face. Alice was surprised that Jeremy was being so open about these things. She sniffed the air around them as subtly as she could manage and found that the weed scent was less pungent than it had been, so she assumed he was clean for the moment.
Alice spent a lot of time with Jeremy after that. She was honored that he had felt comfortable enough to share something so personal with her. She ate lunch with him one day, trying to ignore the smell. She got used to it after awhile. Her friends were angry with her and so was the Jr. Rotary Club. They didn’t like her hanging out with the newest and most infamous stoners at Oakberry High School. Alice began walking with him home too. She enjoyed talking to him, but she knew everyone expected her to stop hanging out with him. But that logical Old Alice decided she could change his ways. She assumed that if he was with her he wasn’t smoking. He understood she wasn’t into that sort of thing so he didn’t try to give her any.
Alice liked Jeremy, but in all honesty she was nervous about the effect hanging out with him would have on her reputation. She didn't want teachers to think she was a stoner like him. She decided walking home was okay because it wasn't at school, but she couldn't eat lunch with him anymore unless then went off campus.
Alice was walking with Jeremy one day. She was going to tell him she couldn't eat lunch with him that day, but she chickened out. He offered to carry her books and she agreed thanking him gratefully, as there were many. They were heading off campus laughing when Jeremy was suddenly shoved into Alice. The two of them fell onto the ground in a domino effect. Jeremy landed on top of her and so did her books. Standing above them was Jordan something and one of his friends, laughing their heads off. They were stupid football players that needed to do some growing up. Alice glared profusely at them and helped herself and Jeremy up. “Don’t worry about those guys, they’re creeps,” she told him as Jeremy flipped them off. They only laughed harder as the two of them walked away. Alice rubbed her arm, as it hurt obnoxiously. Jeremy seemed concerned but she assured him she was fine. They said their goodbyes eventually when they reached Alice’s home. Alice went inside to work on her homework and she assumed Jeremy went to go smoke a bit. When she inspected her arm later that night, she discovered a bright blue bruise had formed where Jeremy and her stack of massive books had landed.
Old Alice was the opposite of New Alice in more ways than were countable. She was smart, ambitious, and outgoing. All her teachers loved her. She was hardworking and had a great future ahead of her. Her friends were loyal and honest with her. She had the life everyone wanted. She had it all. Old Alice would have wondered how New Alice even came into existence. She would have been ashamed. However, It wasn’t Old Alice’s fault. In fact, it wasn’t even New Alice’s fault. The fault lay with Jeremy Adams.
Jeremy was a fluctuating human being. Meaning he was always moving, always changing, and never in one place for very long. The longest Alice new of that Jeremy had stayed in one place was when she was a kid. She used to hang out in the woods looking for animal skeletons because she loved looking at bones. It was her favorite pastime. To her they weren’t dead remains, but puzzles that she loved to figure out. Alice met Jeremy in the woods one day while she searched. They talked casually with each other about anything and everything and nothing. They were friends until Jeremy disappeared like he always does. Alice missed her friend, but over time the memory of the blue eyed, blonde boy faded.
It wasn’t until her sophomore year in high school that Alice saw Jeremy again, not that she recognized him. His hair had turned ash black. The reason she described it as ash was because it wasn’t exactly black. It was more of a gray color because his blonde hair was starting to fade through again. He looked the same, but different. His face was covered with acne scars among other scars that looked foreign to her. She greeted this new version of her childhood friend, who seemed to not recognize her very well. Alice didn’t think she had changed much. She still had dark brown hair and green eyes so light they almost looked gray. However, it didn’t take long for her to notice how badly he smelled. She knew it was weed that was filling her nostrils. Old Alice did her best not to cringe, or worse, sneeze. After they talked for a few minutes Jeremy seemed to remember her. He attempted to hug her, but Old Alice reminded herself she had a very important committee meeting to get to and so she walked away before he could do so, holding her nose as she turned, hoping he wouldn’t see.
Old Alice saw Jeremy often after that time. He had transferred mid-quarter so he didn’t have many friends. After talking with him for a while she discovered he had moved back from New York. He told her he had been living there because his mom had died in a fire and that’s why he never saw Alice after that. This also explained the scars on Jeremy’s face. Alice was surprised that Jeremy was being so open about these things. She sniffed the air around them as subtly as she could manage and found that the weed scent was less pungent than it had been, so she assumed he was clean for the moment.
Alice spent a lot of time with Jeremy after that. She was honored that he had felt comfortable enough to share something so personal with her. She ate lunch with him one day, trying to ignore the smell. She got used to it after awhile. Her friends were angry with her and so was the Jr. Rotary Club. They didn’t like her hanging out with the newest and most infamous stoners at Oakberry High School. Alice began walking with him home too. She enjoyed talking to him, but she knew everyone expected her to stop hanging out with him. But that logical Old Alice decided she could change his ways. She assumed that if he was with her he wasn’t smoking. He understood she wasn’t into that sort of thing so he didn’t try to give her any.
Alice liked Jeremy, but in all honesty she was nervous about the effect hanging out with him would have on her reputation. She didn't want teachers to think she was a stoner like him. She decided walking home was okay because it wasn't at school, but she couldn't eat lunch with him anymore unless then went off campus.
Alice was walking with Jeremy one day. She was going to tell him she couldn't eat lunch with him that day, but she chickened out. He offered to carry her books and she agreed thanking him gratefully, as there were many. They were heading off campus laughing when Jeremy was suddenly shoved into Alice. The two of them fell onto the ground in a domino effect. Jeremy landed on top of her and so did her books. Standing above them was Jordan something and one of his friends, laughing their heads off. They were stupid football players that needed to do some growing up. Alice glared profusely at them and helped herself and Jeremy up. “Don’t worry about those guys, they’re creeps,” she told him as Jeremy flipped them off. They only laughed harder as the two of them walked away. Alice rubbed her arm, as it hurt obnoxiously. Jeremy seemed concerned but she assured him she was fine. They said their goodbyes eventually when they reached Alice’s home. Alice went inside to work on her homework and she assumed Jeremy went to go smoke a bit. When she inspected her arm later that night, she discovered a bright blue bruise had formed where Jeremy and her stack of massive books had landed.
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So...this is kind of a major stretch for me. I was trying to alter my writing style to be less detailed and more blunt, which I'm hoping will fit the overall tone of the story. I'm kind of nervous about how this will go, but reassure me? I haven't decided if this is going to be a short story, about 5-7 chapters, or a full on story. We'll see how it goes.Comments are so very appreciated!
--Mappie