Bad Habits

The next morning, I was awake, and in my bathroom, getting ready for a shower. I turned on the water, then got undressed and stepped inside. A few minutes into my shower, I heard the bathroom door open.
"What happened last night? Tell me everything, don't leave out a single detail!" Nicole demanded, and I rolled my eyes. 
"Nothing happened. I showed up at his house, we went upstairs, his mom annoyed him, we left, we came back, we worked on the project, our parents were drunk, I drove them home."
"How did his mom annoy him? Where did you go? What did you do? Oh! And most important, what did you wear?" she asked, and I gave a sheepish smile, then shut off the water. I pulled a towel into the shower and wrapped it around myself before stepping out. 
"She came up and asked us if we needed anything, and apparently she would had kept doing it, so we left."
"Where did you go?"
"Out."
"What did you do?"
"We went out to eat."
"Ooo, where?"
"Taco Bell."
"Ugh, he's cheap."
"No, he didn't have a lot of money. I told him it didn't take much to impress me, so we went to Taco Bell."
"Whatever. What did you wear?" she asked again, looking up from her nails an staring me dead in the eyes. I bit down on my bottom lip, then sighed and went over to my dirty clothes hamper, pulling out the skirt and top I wore last night.
"And I wore heels..." I mumbled, and she gasped.
"No, no, no, you did not! That's too sexy, Kat!"
"Shut up."
"No, I'm serious! He must've been drooling over you! With legs like yours in that skirt and some heels, oo girl!" she whistled, and I rolled my eyes. 
"Get out." I said, pushing her out of my bathroom so I could put on my undergarments. 

I stepped out into my room after putting my bra and panties on, and Nicole was throwing clothes out onto my bed. I grabbed a pair of black skinny jeans and a light grey button up shirt, pulling them on. I grabbed my canvas  lace up boots and put them on, then went into my bathroom to do my hair. I brushed it out, then blow dried it, and put it up in a messy bun. I curled the small pieces that hung down, then put on a little bit of liquid liner, and mascara. I brushed my teeth, then stepped out into my room.
"Alright, let's go." I mumbled, and Nicole groaned as she followed me downstairs. 

My parents were down in the kitchen, sipping on some coffee.
"Hope you had fun last night, because you're grounded." I said, and my mom scoffed.
"You are not our mother, young lady."
"Yeah, but you know you've had a little too much to drink when you responsible seventeen year old daughter has to stop her project and drive you home."
"Yeah, project. How was John last night?"
"He was fine, we're almost done with our project."
"Forget about the damn project, Kat, did you kiss the boy?" she almost yelled, and my dad rolled his eyes.
"She better not have." he mumbled, taking a sip of his coffee. My mom shot him a glare, before hitting him in the arm.
"Shut up, Ted."
"No, mother, I did not kiss him. I've known him one day, I'm not Nicole." I said, shooting her a smirk. She gasped, then stuck her middle finger up at me, and I laughed. 
"You've know him your entire life, stop it!" my mom said, and I shrugged.
"I don't know the new John yet," I said under my breath as I grabbed a tea out of my fridge. 

"Come on, Kenny's here." I said, after we heard him honk. I grabbed my backpack from the bottom of the staircase and headed out the door. 

When we got in the car, Nicole didn't shut up about my night with John.
"He's really not that bad. Nicole, shut up, you know you want him."
"You know, I'm not even gonna lie, that boy is beyond sexy, but I would never--"
"I'm sure you would if the chance came along." Kennedy scoffed, and the two of us laughed, while Nic gasped and crossed her arms.
"Kat's my best friend, I would never do that to her." she humphed, then turned her head and stared out the window.

When we got to school, the three of us walked inside and headed up to the Spanish classroom. 
"...And don't forget about the Christmas dance coming up this Friday! You don't want to miss it, it's the last day of school before we go on break." was what the announcements that morning ended with. 
"You're dancing with me, Kat." Kennedy said, and I shook my head.
"I'm not going."
"Bull shit you're not! You are so going!" Nicole gasped, pulling her lip gloss away from her face.
"I don't have a reason to go."
"So you'd rather sit at home and do nothing while Kennedy and I are left at school, dancing with each other?" she asked, running her lip gloss brush along her bottom lip. I rolled my eyes, then pulled out my notebook, laying it on my desk.
"Maybe Kennedy doesn't wanna dance with you," I mumbled under my breath, and Kennedy gave a quiet chuckle beside me. I glanced over at him, locking eyes with him, before we both start laughing. 
"What?" Nicole said, clueless.
"Nothing, go back to failing this class." I said, and she stuck her tongue out at me. 

***

When chemistry came around, I sat in my chair and eagerly watched the door for John to arrive. He sauntered into the classroom just as the bell rang, his long legs taking him quickly to his chair. 
"You might wanna wipe up that drool, honey," Nicole remarked, and I turned around with a glare.
"Shut the fuck up, whore." I retorted, and she just smirked.
"Takes one to know one, bitch."
"How are you friends? You insult each other so much." Kennedy asked, looking over at us.
"Guys insult their friends a lot. Not much of a difference between our friendship. She's a whore, I'm a bitch. Whatever," I shrugged, until I realized our chemistry teacher had stopped his lecture. I turned around to see him, and the rest of the class staring at us. 
"Ms. Johansen, would you like to take Ms. Gates, Mr. Brock and that foul language out into the hallway?" he bellowed, and I slowly turned back around in my chair.
"No, sir." I said in almost a whisper.
"You know I do not allow that kind  of language in my classroom, Ms. Johansen."
"Sorry, sir." I whispered, staring down at my desk as I bit down on my bottom lip.

When he went back to his lecture, I looked up to see John looking back at me with a sweet smile. 
"Smooth." he mouthed, and I shrugged. 

When class was over, the teacher called me over to his desk after everyone had left. Kennedy and Nicole were waiting outside the door, though. I knew they were. They wanted to hear whether or not I was gonna get in trouble.
"The first time I actually hear you speak in my class, and it's that kind of language. You're much better than that, Kat."
"What... Exactly did you hear?"
"I heard you say Bitch, then whatever. That's all I heard, and I know it's not a big deal, but come on, I don't want to have to give your parents a call over something so stupid. Work with me here, okay? Just don't let it happen again. Get to class, I know Kennedy and Nicole are waiting at the door for you."
"Okay, thank you." I said, giving a smile, before turning and hurrying out the door.

Nicole went off to her class, and I dragged Kennedy upstairs to the empty art room with me. He sat down on one of the tables close to me with his guitar and messed around on some chords, humming along. I grabbed my paint and paintbrushes from my art bag, then one of the blank canvases that the art teacher kept in her room for me, and set it up on an easel. I took a pencil and lightly sketched out a rough draft of what I was going to paint. 

"What are you gonna paint?" Kennedy asked, as he started to shift his body.
"Don't move!" I scolded, and he jumped, before sliding back into his old position.
 "You're painting me again?" he whined, and I smiled.
"This is only the second time, stop being a baby. I love painting you, you have gorgeous features." I said, he gave a warm smile. 
"Well, the bells about to ring, so pack up." he said, and I groaned, then put the canvas in the closet so none of the other kids would find it, then packed up my art supplies.

Kennedy and I made our way downstairs and to our lockers, packing our stuff up. The last bell of the day rang, and we headed outside to wait for Nicole. As Kenny and I stood under the shade of the building, John walked up, his hands in his pockets.
"Hey, Kat." he greeted, and I smiled.
"Hi, John."
"Smooth move today in Chemistry. I heard him call you to stay after class, did you get in trouble?"
"Nah, he just told me to keep it down during lectures and stuff. He's gonna let it go this time with a warning, but he said not to let it happen again."
"That's good. I'm sure if he called your parents, they'd laugh in his face and hang up on him."
"They probably would," I laughed along with him, and he brought one hand to the back of his neck.
"So, uh, you wanna come over tonight and finish up that project?" he asked, and I smiled, biting down on my bottom lip with a nod.
"Sure. Um... Does eight sound okay to you?"
"Yeah, yeah." he said, looking down into my eyes.
"I, uh... I'm gonna go. See you tonight." he said, then quickly turned on his heels and practically jogged to his truck. 

"Looks like somebody's in love," Kennedy snickered, and I rolled my eyes.
"You know, for you and Nicole being so against me being with John, you sure do joke about us being together a lot."
"It's what I do," he said with a smile and a shrug.
"Hey, hey, what's going on?" Nicole asked as she walked up to us.
"I need you to help me pick out an outfit for tonight." I pleaded quickly, and Kennedy rolled his eyes.
"Where are you going?"
"John's house," Kennedy remarked, and Nicole pursed her lips.
"You really shouldn't be going over there. When you finish your project, no more seeing John!"
"Nicole, you're being ridiculous. You act like we're actually gonna be talking after this project is done. He's gonna forget about me." I mumbled, then shifted the weight of my backpack, before turning and heading out to Kennedy's car with a sigh. I put my backpack in the back of the car, then slid in. 

***

That night, I was pacing my room, looking down at the outfits that I had pulled out of my closest that were now laying on my bed. Nicole burst through my door, shutting it behind her, and I almost jumped in her arms.
"You're here! Finally! Help me choose something to wear," I demanded, and she rolled her eyes, looking down at the assortments of jeans and tops sprawled across my bed. Nicole pulled out a floral skirt, a white tank top, and a see through white lace crop top. 

"Put this on. I'll do your hair and make up." she said, and I stared down at the outfit. 
"Just put it on." she groaned, and I shrugged, before I slipped on the skirt and tops. I went into the bathroom where she was heating up the curling iron to put waves in my hair. She put a line of liquid eyeliner on my top lash line, then put on some mascara. She grabbed my bright red lipstick and ran it along my lips, then grabbed some tissue. She blotted my lips, so the red had only stained my lips, then threw the tissue in the trash. 

"It's almost eight, you might wanna hurry." Nicole said, and I ran into my room, yanking on a pair of heels. 
"I feel like I'm gonna throw up." I mumbled, pushing my lap top into my bag and slinging it over my shoulder. I spritzer some perfume on myself, before popping a piece of gum in my mouth. 
"We're skipping school and going dress shopping tomorrow," Nicole called to me as I headed downstairs and out the door.

 I walked down to John's house and knocked on the door. He opened it, and smiled when he saw me.
"Hey," he breathed out, and I looked down, biting my lip.
"Hi. "
 He stepped aside and let me in, where I slipped my shoes off at the door and followed him upstairs to his room.
"Um, my parents aren't home... I hope that's okay."
"It's fine," I said, and he nodded, grabbing his notebook that we had been working in the night before. I pulled my lap top out of my bag and opened it up on my legs, turning it on and opening up the design we were working on for our element. 

***

When we finished our project, it was almost eleven. 
"Finished." I announced, saving everything and turning off my lap top.
"Sweet," he said, and his stomach gave a loud growl. We looked at each other, then started laughing.
"Are you hungry, too?" he asked, and I nodded.
"Okay, I think there's a pizza down in the freezer." he stated, then stood and stretched. We headed downstairs, and into the kitchen, where John pulled the pizza out from the freezer and opened it up. He pulled a pan down from the cabinet above the stove, and put the pizza on it, before putting it in the oven. He jumped up on the counter and sat down, then grabbed my hand and helped me up beside him. He turned a little so he could face me, before letting go of my hand. 

"So, are you going to the winter dance?" he asked, and I shook my head.
"Why not?" 
"I don't know. I don't really have a reason to go. I'd rather stay at home and paint. Nicole's making me skip school tomorrow and go dress shoping with her though." I sighed, and John bit down on his bottom lip. 
"Would you go if someone asked you?" he asked quietly, and I held back a smile.
"Depends on who it is."
"Would you go with me?" he asked shakily, and I finally broke into a smile.
"I would love to go to the dance with you." I said, and John let out a relieved sigh.
"I'll warn you now, I can't dance." I said, and he shrugged. 
"Neither can I. I usually don't go to these stupid dances, either," he chuckled as he ran a hand through his hair. 

When the pizza finished cooking, he took it out and cut it. He pulled down a couple plates and pulled a piece onto his plate, before throwing the plate on the counter, jumping up and waving his hand.
"That's really hot!" he said, and I giggled.
"It just came out of the oven, what do you expect?" I remarked, and he scrunched his nose and stuck his tongue out at me. He cautiously pulled another piece of pizza on the other plate and handed it to me, before we made our way to the couch. As we sat down and turned the TV on, John's parents and my parents walked through the door.
"Oh, hey kids," his mom almost sang, and he dropped his head with a sigh. He turned off the TV and stood.
"We're going upstairs." he said, and I stood and followed him back up to his room. He closed the door behind us, then turned his TV on and sat down on his bed. I hesitantly sat down next to him, and took a bite from my now cool pizza. 

A couple hours later, we were propped up on our elbows as we laid in his bed, watching a movie. His door opened, and my mother walked in.
"Kat, it's time to go." she said, and I turned and looked at her.
"Okay," I mumbled, and John looked up. 
"Donna, we're watching a movie. How about she stays and I walk her home later?" he asked, and she smiled.
"Alright. You two be good," she said, then turned and headed out of the room, closing the door behind her. I turned back to John, and looked up at his face. He stared down into my eyes with one of his cute, crooked 
smiles, and I blushed.
"Thanks."

After the movie, John and I stood and stretched. We headed downstairs, where his parents were laying together on the couch. We pulled our shoes on, and slipped out the door. As we slowly sauntered down our street, our hands brushed. After a minute, John hesitantly laced his fingers with mine, which made my heart beat uncontrollably. 

When we got to my front door, we took our hands back, and John stood in front of me with a nervous smile.
"So, you're not gonna be at school tomorrow?" he asked with a shaky breath, his hand flying to the back of his neck.
"Yeah, I have to pick a dress out with Nicole."
"Oh, yeah... Uh, do you wanna come over for dinner again? Or maybe we can go out and eat or something?"
"Um... Yeah. I'd like that." I smiled, and he gave a relieved sigh as he nodded.
"Alright, cool." he said, starting to smile.
"Well, uh... See you tomorrow."
"Goodnight, John."

I turned and walked inside, to see my parents staring at me.
"You're home late." my mother said, and I shrugged.
"It's only two-thirty." I mumbled, before hurrying upstairs. I stripped down then jumped in the shower, letting the steaming hot water run over my body. I squeezed some shampoo into my hands, then lathered my hair with it. I rinsed, then put some conditioner in my hair and washed my body and face. After rinsing my entire body off, I stepped out and dried off. I put on a pair of pajama pants and a tee shirt, then slid into my plush bed, cuddling up into my covers.