Bad Habits

It was finally Friday morning. It's the last day of school before break, and tonight was the dance. I sat up in my bed, ecstatic for tonight, and went into my bathroom to take a shower. When I finished, I wrapped a towel around my hair, and one around my body, before going into my room, where Nicole and Kennedy were now in. I jumped when I saw them, then sighed and rolled my eyes.
"You couldn't have told me you were here?" I asked, and Nicole shrugged.
"I think you're spending too much time with John."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because this entire week you've done nothing but go to school, come straight home, and go to John's house. You never come and hang out with us anymore."
"Hey, you can't blame me! I'm fucking pathetic, Nicole. I'm seventeen and I haven't kissed anyone yet. I've liked John my entire life, and found out he likes me, too, so I'm gonna be spending time with him." I yelled, snatching the clothes she had laid out on my bed for me, then turning and walking into my bathroom, slamming the door behind me. I quickly put on the pair of black leggings and oversized sweater she gave me, then headed back out into my room to slip on a pair of my Toms.

"Don't get butthurt over a little thing Nicole. It's really not a big deal." I said, throwing my arms around her neck.
"I just feel like you're replacing us." she almost whispered, tears filling her eyes.
"I miss you, and I don't want to be replaced with someone like John."
"Aww, sweetie, don't cry," I said, wiping a tear from her cheek.
"And he's really not bad at all. How about over break, the four of us go hang out and have some fun, and you'll see how great he is." I said, and she nodded after a minute.
"Good, now come on, wipe up those tears, your make up is smearing." I said, kissing her cheek and squeezing her in our hug. I let go, then went back into my bathroom and blow dried my hair, putting it in a messy bun. I put on a little bit of eyeliner and mascara, then stepped back out into my room and grabbed my back pack and art bag.
"I'm gonna try to finish that painting of you today, Kenny." I said, and he groaned.

The three of us headed downstairs and grabbed a few Arizona Tea's before leaving for school. 

****

Chemistry class. Kennedy, Nicole and I were settled in our seats, starting on the warm up, when John sauntered in, walking right past me and dropping his backpack down next to the seat that was beside Nicole, and sat down, folding his hands in front of him. Nicole stared at him, giving him a disgusted look as Kennedy and I turned to look at him.
"Hi," he said, giving a sweet smile and a wave at Nicole.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, Fucktard?" She asked coldly, and Kennedy gave a small chuckle.
"Nic, come on," I mumbled, giving her a pleading look.
"Here, you can trade me spots so the tiger doesn't maul your face off." Kenny offered, and I shot him a smile. 
"Thanks," John said, grabbing his stuff and switching with Kenny. 

"Hey," he said quietly, looking in my eyes with one of his crooked smiles. 
"Hi."
"Are you ready for tonight?"
"Ready as I'll ever be, I suppose."
"Good. I'm looking forward to be able to actually touch you without our parents going apeshit." he said with a chuckle, and I smiled, my cheeks heating up. He laced his fingers with mine and brought my hand to his lips, laying a soft kiss on hand. He laid our hands on the table, still smiling, when our teacher walked in.
"John, we're gonna get in trouble," I said, pulling my hand back from his. He sighed, then pulled his notebook from his backpack and laid it on our desk, starting on the warm up. 

After a long lecture, and some notes from a PowerPoint our teacher had set up, the class was finally over. 
"So here's the deal, asswipe," Nicole said, standing up after the bell had rang. 
"Our little innocent Kat likes you, as you know, and I'm sure, you also know, Kennedy and I don't like you, but since Kat likes you 'oh so much' she has offered the four of us hang out over break, because she believes that you're some great guy and that maybe we'll like you after hanging out. So here's the deal, the four of us are gonna go eat, then go ice skating Monday night." she said, before snatching her things up, and linking her arms with mine and Kennedy's.
"Alright then... Bye Kat, I'll pick you up tonight," John called as Nic dragged us out into the hallway. 

Kennedy and I walked Nicole to her next class, before we headed to the art room so I could finish my painting. I grabbed the canvas out of the closet, then pulled out my paints and paintbrushes. I squeezed different colors of paint onto a paper plate and dipped my brush in the tan color, starting on his face.

I finished before the bell rang, and put the painting back in the closet to dry, before washing the paint off of my hands and face.
"Alright come on, I wanna have enough time to go do something before the dance." I said, stuffing all of my brushes and paint back in my bag. Kennedy followed me to our lockers, and we packed up our stuff as Nicole took long strides down the hallway with her long legs, revealed by a short skirt.
"Alright, let's get to it!" she said happily, and I smiled.
"We're gonna go get something to eat first. We still have a few hours. It's only two-thirty, this thing starts at like eight. We have over five hours, so I don't think we should be freaking out too much about it. How about the three of us get some Chinese food, and watch a movie at my place?"
"Sounds great," Kennedy smiled, putting his backpack on and shifting the weight around a little.
"Alright. That does sound fun." Nicole agreed, her smile growing a little bigger. 

***

"So, is she your girlfriend?" Eric asked as we sat on my bed, playing the XBox before I had to get ready to go to the dance with the most beautiful girl in our school; Kat Johansen.
"Uhh... I don't know." I said, pursing my lips.
"Well, don't you think you need to know?"
"That would be helpful."
"Well, have you kissed her yet?"
"Uh... I've kissed her on the hand."
"What a gentlemen, Mr. John Cornelius O'Callaghan. Even the name speaks pure British gentlemanliness."
"Shut up," I laughed, and Eric started laughing as well.
"What exactly have you done?" he asked, and I shrugged,  raising my eyebrows with a frown.
"We've held hands a few times. I've hugged her like once."
"Seriously? A sloth would move faster in a relationship."
"Hey, come on, now. I don't want to move fast with her. She's different from the other girls in school. I don't even understand why she's best friends with Nicole Gates."
"Slut?"
"Well, I mean, calling her a slut would be considered rude, but I mean... Her legs open more often than her mouth, and that girl is always talking."
"I bet having sex with her would be like throwing hot dogs down an empty hallway." 
"Holy shit," I gasped, as the both of us burst into laughter.

"But, seriously, back to Kat. How is she different from the other girls?"
"I don't know... She's just... Pure hearted."
"I'm glad you see that about her. She's the sweetest girl I've met in my life, so you better take good care of her, man."
"I will, if anything actually happens. Her friends hate me, and her dad isn't too fond of me either. If either of her parents were to catch us making out or something, I'd be dead."
"Doesn't Donna love you, though?"
"Well, yeah. I just doubt she'll like me if--"
"When you throw her daughter down on a bed, rip her clothes off and fuck her brains out?"
"No! I don't want to..."
"You're not seriously sitting here telling me you've never thought about having sex with her."
"Well, I mean, if she keeps wearing clothes like that, then there might be a breaking point one day."
"One day? When is this "one day" gonna be?"
"I don't know! I told you I wanna take it slow with her. I want her to fall in love with me. I don't want just another fling. Not with her. She deserves more than that, for one, and two, I just... I want more than that. I want more than just to have her for a short while. I want her. And I want her bad."
"Sounds like you're the one in love, Johno, my boy."
"...I don't know. What does love feel like?"
"The hell if I know," he mumbled, and I rolled my eyes.
"I need better friends."
"Doesn't get better than me, baby!"
"Then I'm just fucked."
"Damn straight."

"So what's gonna go on during this whole dance thing? Am I staying here by myself, like I have been the last couple days while you finish up school?"
"Yup. I gotta get ready here in a little bit. I'm gonna go pick Kat up at seven-thirty."
"Don't forget to eat."
"I'm too nervous to eat, bro."
"Don't be! It's just Kat. She's so chill, dude, you don't have anything to worry about." he said, and I sighed, before standing and turning off the 360. Eric stood and stretched, and we headed downstairs to eat before I had to start getting ready for the dance.

***

"Come on, Kat! It's almost seven-thirty!" Nicole screeched at me, and I gave a loud squeal. 
"Oh, my gosh, Nic, I look disgusting, I don't want John to see me like this!" I cried, tears starting to well up in my eyes.
"Come here sweetie, let me take care of your hair." she said, grabbing the curling iron and my brush from my hands. She quickly brushed my hair, then put a little by of hairspray in, then started curling away, making perfect Taylor Swift curls throughout my hair. 
"You're amazing at this stuff." I said and she smiled.
"Thank you, darling." 

Nicole grabbed a tissue and wiped up the smeared make up from my tears, and touched it up, before standing back with a big grin.
"You look so beautiful. You're gorgeous, sweetie. Too bad it has to be wasted on John." she said, and I bit my bottom lip.
"You'll see how amazing he is one day, Nic."
"He's not good enough for you. I won't let you two be together."
"Just trust me on this one, okay?" I whispered, and she sighed, then nodded. The doorbell sounded then, and Nicole's face lit up. 
"I'll get it!" she said, running out of my room and down the stairs to the door. After a moment, I heard the deep rumble of John's voice, and I smiled.

"Miss Katherine, Fucktard is here," she called up the stairs, and I quickly put a piece of gum in my mouth, then looked at myself one last time in the mirror, before heading out of my room and down the stairs. When John saw me, his face lit up. His eyes grew wide, and his jaw dropped, and I could feel my cheeks heating up as I got to the end of the stairs. 
"Stop drooling, dog." Nicole spat sourly, and I smiled, looking down as I made my way over to John. He closed his mouth and I grabbed his hands.
"You look..." 
"Sexy as fuck." Nicole finished his sentence, with a smirk as she crossed her arms. 

A few minutes later, Kennedy arrived, and the four of us left, John helping me into his truck, while Kennedy and Nicole went in Kenny's car. We arrived at the school, and John helped me out of his truck, and I looped my arm around his as we walked inside together. He actually seemed proud of me. John O'Callaghan, the most known person in our entire school, proud to have me on his arm. The four of us stood awkwardly in the corner for a few minutes, until a song finally came on, and it was a Ryan Adams song. 
"Well, good to know whoever chose the playlist tonight has a good taste in music," I said, and John smiled, lacing his fingers with mine and pulling me out on the main floor where everyone was dancing. I linked my fingers around his neck, and he gently laid his hands on my hips, leaving quite a bit of space between us. After a moment, I glanced over at Kenny, who was being dragged out onto the dance floor by Nicole. He raised his eyebrows at me, before pulling Nic close to his body. I quickly looked back up into John's eyes, him giving a small smile as he stared back down at me. I let out a silent sigh, before jerking him closer to me. I pressed our bodies together, and his face turned to shock, as I gave a smile and laid my head on his shoulder, my nose touching his neck. I could hear his heart rate speed up, and I my smile grew bigger.

After a couple slow songs, I picked my head back up from John's shoulder and looked up into his eyes. He slowly leaned down, and right as his lips brushed mine, someone bumped into us, making me almost fall over, if John hadn't held onto me. 
"Oops, sorry 'bout that." Nicole said, giving a devilish smirk. John glared at her when she turned away, then shook his head.
"This blows, you wanna get outta here? Our parents are out of town together for a few days... That means you could spend the night." John whispered the last part in my ear, before brushing his lips along my jaw line. My eyes widened, and I buried my red face in his chest. 
"Come on, let's get outta here." he said quietly, grabbing one of my hands and lacing his fingers with mine. We were able to sneak out to his truck without Kennedy and Nicole noticing, and he helped me in. 

When we got back to his house, there were hundreds of people running in and out, loud music playing. He laced his fingers with mine, keeping me close to his side as we entered his house. 
"Eric fucking Halvorsen, what the hell is going on?!" he yelled at the top of his lungs when he spotted Eric at the end of the staircase with a red cup in his hand. 
"Just a little party, man."
"No! Get everyone out of my fucking house right now!" he yelled, and Eric shrugged. That's when I felt someone walk by and slap my ass. I jumped, with a yelp, and I turned around. 
"Hey, sexy," some guy from our high school said, and John turned and in one swift movement, punched him in the face. I gasped, jumping again.
"Don't you dare fucking touch her!" he yelled, as the guys hands shot up to his bloody nose.
"I want everyone out within half an hour, Eric!" John yelled, outraged, before putting an arm around my waist and walking up the stairs with me. We went into his room, thank God no one was in there, and he closed and locked the door behind us. 

"I'm so sorry that guy did that to you." he said, his hand floating to the back of his neck. I gave a warm smile, before grabbing his hand and sitting down on his bed, pulling him over to me. He leaned down, our faces close, and I wrapped my arms around his neck.
"I can't believe you actually punched him," I chuckled, and he gave a nervous smile, and my eyes flashed from his beautiful green eyes, to his soft lips that had just barely touched mine earlier that night. After a moment, he leaned in the rest of the way and pressed his lips to mine, my heart racing out of my chest. After a minute, I laid back, and he crawled over my body, never letting our lips part. One of my hands tangled with his hair, while the other lay on his neck, and he started to part my mouth open with his lips. He ran his tongue on my bottom lip, buy quickly pulled back looked down, squeezing his eyes shut and shaking his head.
"No... No, no... I was just telling Eric today how I wanted to take things slow with you." he said, and I dropped my hands from his neck.
"Why?"
"I don't want to loose you. I don't want this to be just another fling. I want to take it slow, and make you fall in love with me. I don't want to rush things, because I don't want to force you or pressure you into anything. I like you too much to loose you because I'm an idiot." he said, and I smiled, caressing his cheek with my thumb. 
"Okay. We'll take it slow." I said, sitting up as a loud couple bangs came at the door. 

John sighed, then stood up straight again and went to the door. There stood a guy and a girl in the doorway, both obviously drunk.
"Hey, man, stop hogging the bed!" he slurred out, and John gave a disgusted look.
"It's my fucking room, I live here! Get out of my house, the party's over." he said, pushing them down the hallway and stairs. Within the minute, the music shut off, and I heard John yelling at everyone to get out of the house. I smiled, then headed downstairs after a few minutes, where John had Eric by the shirt. 
"You, clean up this fucking mess." he said, narrowing his eyes before pushing Eric.
"Geez, man, calm down." he mumbled, and I chuckled, before grabbing John's hands and pulling him into me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and stood on my toes, planting a kiss on his lips.
"Calm down. We can have our little sleep over at my house." 

Eric's eyes widened when he saw us kiss, and he gave a huge smile.
"You guys finally kissed! Alright!" he said, chuckling, and John narrowed his eyes at him and pointed at the mess that was his living room.
"Get cleaning. This place better be spotless when I get back tomorrow."
John laced his fingers with mine, and we headed out the front door and down the street to my house. I unlocked the door, and stepped inside, pushing the door closed and locking it behind me, before pulling John upstairs to my room. He sat down on my bed as I dug through my drawer for some clothes, finally settling on a pair of pajama pants and a long sleeved shirt that clung to my waist. I went into my bathroom and changed, then came back out and went over to my TV, putting a movie in. John sat in the middle of my bed, his back against the headboard, and his legs spread apart. I crawled up to him and gave him a quick peck on the lips, before sitting in between his legs. He laced his fingers with mine, and kissed me on the cheek a few times, making me giggle. 

A few minutes into the movie, I laid my head back on John's shoulder, and he wrapped his arms around me and kissed my cheek a few more times.
"What the hell are you doing?" I jumped, and looked up to see Nicole and Kennedy standing in front of the TV. 
"Nothing..." I mumbled, quickly getting up from the bed. John looked up at Nicole innocently as she glared at him. He was so cute. He did look so innocent, too. 
"Is he spending the night?"
"What? No? Why would he do that?" I lied, and she narrowed her eyes at me. 
"Then you wouldn't mind Kennedy and I staying until he went home, would you?"
"...You would be here pretty late..." 
"That's 'cause the Fucktard is spending the night." she stated, and I bit my bottom lip. 
"Don't fucking lie to me, Kat."
"He is, but we weren't gonna do anything, I swear."

"You know what, you fucking whore? I'm a virgin. So you can get off my ass all the time about wanting to be with Kat and saying how big of a fucking douche bag and how I sleep around with girls and it never means anything, because that's not the least bit true. You wanna see someone who sleeps around and it never mean anything, go look in the damn mirror, Nicole. You need to calm the fuck down. You don't know who I am, you only hear the rumors. Stop judging people before you get to know them, bitch. Stop controlling Kat like she's your kid, because she's not. She's seventeen and she can do what she wants. It sickens me that you don't want to see your own "best friend" happy. If she wants to be with me, then let her be. I would never, ever do anything to hurt her. I'm not a bad guy at all, so, fuck off, Nicole." John said, standing  up tall next to me. 

"Well, he's a keeper." Kennedy said, putting his hand on the shocked Nicole's shoulder.
"You just got your ass told, and you, for once in your life, have nothing to say, so let's go." Kennedy said, grabbing her arm and pulling her out of my room. John closed the door, then turned to me.
"I can't believe you actually just said that to her." I said, starting to smile. I cupped his face in my hands, standing on my toes, and kissed him. 
"That was too good." I chuckled, then pulled him back on the bed. John restarted the movie, and we went back to our old spots, until I eventually drifted off on his shoulder. John smiled down at me, then kissed my head before turning the TV off. He pulled the covers over us, but slipped out from behind me, and I felt his weight lift from the bed. A couple minutes later, I felt his weight next to me again, and I wrapped an arm around him, but flinched when I touched him, feeling warm, bare skin. He smiled, then grabbed my hands and gently pulled me into his bare chest. I smiled, blushing, then drifted off to sleep once more.