My Paper Heart

It was about two thirty on a regular shift day at Wendy's. My polo was as ugly as it was when I donned it yesterday, and it will still be ugly tomorrow -- there's no changing that. Nick had greeted us today with spiked hair and bondage pants -- along with truffle bombs. I assaulted him with a hug after he gave us the delectable treat, and I would've started humping him, had Darcie not been towering over us menacingly with a spatula. I worried about her mental state sometimes.

We had taught Sasha how to work the fryer, but we mostly made him scrub fat vats and clean under the grills. Grunt work, basically.

I manned the register, since Darcie wasn't worth a damn at being social, and she was already setting up orders and handing them to me.

I collected the money from a short, round man, who promptly collected his order from Darcie after she set it on the counter on an ugly brown tray. Maybe if I was going to visit Sasha's house again I'd steal Wayne another tray. Maybe not, it wasn't like I hadn't been there in forever -- I'd been over there just last week.

I sighed, and gave the next order to Darcie. Two minutes flat and she had the order on the counter. I smiled at her, then turned to take the next order. Easy to say, my breath stopped dead in my throat. Wayne stood next to Hunter, and they both seemed not to notice me. That was until...

"Oh, hey, you're Goldie, Sasha's friend, right?" Wayne asked, suddenly all consumed in watching me look at Hunter in terror. Hunter didn't know I worked at Wendy's.

I nodded dumbly.

"You work at Wendy's? I didn't know that," Hunter said, smiling angelically. He laughed slightly, and that set my heart off beating. That laugh was why I dated him in the first place. That and he was a total heart throb. He chose me, the weird blue haired girl -- I had blue hair at the time -- out of every other girl in school.

"Yeah, I do," I snapped abruptly. "Gonna give me and order, or did you come here to gawk?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at them.

"Oh, yeah, uh. I'll have the ten piece nugget, and a pink lemonade, and Hunter'll have a--"

"Bacon cheese burger with a large fries and a mountain dew?" I finished for Wayne. Hunter raised a brow, impressed.

"Wow, you still remember that?"

I nodded. "Yes, now, could you move? Other people want food." He nodded and the duo moved to the left of the counter. Sasha brought the food up, probably because Darcie would've launched across the counter and strangled Hunter to death. She maintained that she was going to kill him if she ever saw him again. She said he had done me wrong. I said he didn't, and then I'd tell her to drop the subject.

Wayne paid, and he and Sasha exchanged a simple wave before he and Hunter left.

"Call me, you know my number," Hunter said, walking out and making a phone with his fingers and sticking it to his ear. I then saw Hunter's lips moving, saying something along the lines of: You know him?

Wayne's lips moved to: Yeah, he's my brother.

Hunter got a nasty look on his face and took a long hard pull on his drink. I didn't like that look. I turned to Sasha, who had watched the entire exchange with me. "What was that about?" I asked. He had the most pissed off look on his face. I didn't like that either.

"So that's the Hunter he was always talking about," he groaned, running his hands through his hair.

"Huh?"

"He had a friend named Hunter at school. Apparently that's him." I groaned.

"God damn, that sucks!" I barked. I cast my eyes to the side employee door. "That sucks too," I moaned, upon seeing Sadie walk in the door, with her pointy face and her blond hair. Ugh, she's so freaking pointy!

Yet again she wore her pink Chucks.

I despise her.

***

I had been feeling a nicotine craving pulling at my nerves for a while, and at five thirty it was starting to get to me. I grunted at Sadie, meaning I was taking a cigarette break.

"I'll be back soon, okay, Darce?" I said. She nodded, and went to man the register, much to her dismay. But she knew when I needed a cancer stick, I needed a cancer stick.

I grabbed my pack, and a cell phone, and started outside of the mall.

I passed Hot Topic, and saw Nick running around, folding shirts, stacking shoe boxes, feeling up bras -- anything to get away from Vanessa the cow. Seriously, she is the fattest goth chick I've ever met; being as wide as she is tall. She more than once hit on me, and she tries getting me to work there every time I see her.

Needless to say, I don’t like her. I saw Nick's desperate face, and his shiny blue contacts looking at me, begging to come with me. I saw Vanessa charge around a corner, her fat wobbling as she stampeded toward him. Poor little Nick, if she fell he'd be flattened into a pancake!

He wasn't that tall, and he was very frail and thin. He'd die if she fell!

I nodded my head at him, widening my eyes. He smiled, and whirled around to see Vanessa near him. He then turned around and sprinted out the door.

He grabbed my waist and hugged me like there was no tomorrow. I felt a little uncomfortable with his face rammed into my boobs. I bit my lip and pat his head. He then looked up at me and for a second I thought he was gonna play motorboat. He didn't, he just kissed me on the chin, and dragged me out the revolving doors.

Now I regretted coming out, it was too hot, and it was also humid. He bummed a cigarette off of me, and lit up with his dark blue Zippo.

"Cigarette kiss?" I asked. He nodded, and put the tip of his to mine. I breathed deep, making mine flare to life. I sighed, and sat on a wooden bench, tucking my legs up to my chest. I pulled at the frayed ankles of my black jeans, wondering whether or not to call. Nick shoved my legs away from me and laid down, his head in my lap.

I absentmindedly played with his hair. It was going to need a cut soon.

"What the hell was Vanessa harassing you about today?" I asked, finally breaking the silence that was invaded by the comings and goings of the mallrats. Nick laughed a little bit.

"She wanted your number," he laughed, smirking up at me. I frowned at him, and he puckered his lips. I grabbed his lip ring and pulled it around gently.

"Yeah, keep making that face at me, and I'll rip out your piercings."

He gasped. "You wouldn’t dare!"

I nodded, and gave him a look that said I would. He yelped, and covered his nose and mouth. I smirked, and took a drag on my cigarette. I tipped my head back, and blew out the stream of cloudy, toxic air. I sighed, and decided to do it.

"Hey, Nick, be a chum and get my cell phone out of my pocket."

"Front or back?"

"Back, left butt cheek," I answered.

He smiled perversely, and gave my rear a good groping before he produced my pink razr cell phone; yes I have a pink razr. It's all the store had left in razrs. I glared at him.

"You enjoyed that too much," I snapped.

"Yes, only because I was imagining you were Darcie," he said, sighing dreamily. He rolled onto his back and got comfortable. I could only imagine his chains getting stuck in the planks of wood. I was going to laugh when he got up.

"You two should honestly go out. If you don't go out soon I will throw up on both of you, like in The Exorcist," I warned. He shrugged, and sighed.

"She doesn't like me like that. She'd rather have someone like Frank Iero."

"You kind of look like him," I mumbled. I dialed the all-too-familiar number. "Now shut up, I'm making an important call." I took one last dragged on my cigarette, and tipped the ashes over the side of the bench, getting myself nasty looks from various patrons of the mall. They looked like they thought they were the mothers of the next president. I rolled my eyes at them and listened to the dial tone.

Nick made faces at me, and I threatened to stub the cigarette out in his eye. He shut up, and closed his eyes, still smoking.

More dial tone. I was worried it was going to go to voicemail. I hate leaving messages. And Hunter never checks his.

"Howdy," I heard a voice on the other end. I smiled to myself.

"Hey there."

"OH! Goldie! It's you, good I was hoping you'd call," he said, his voice excited. I could only see him ruffling his hair like he always did.

"Haha, why's that?" I asked, my eyes becoming half lidded. I took another drag.

"I wanted to ask you something," he said, being vague. I hated it when he was vague.

"And what was it you wanted to ask me?" I asked.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go out sometime. You know, like a date?" I almost choked. And nodded, speechless. I realized that he couldn't see me, and licked my lips.

"Yeah, sure, when?" I asked.

"How about seven this Friday? I'll come pick you up and we'll go out wherever. I don't really care where, you choose," he said. He was quick winded, and he sounded like he was stumbling through his words.

"Uh, yeah, sure, sounds good," I said, nodding.

"Great! I'll pick you up at seven. You still live in the same place?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Awesome. See you on Friday. I have to go. Lo-- Mm'bye," he said, hanging up. I blushed and smiled like a dope. He almost said he loved me! Okay, yeah, it was probably force of habit, but nonetheless it made me feel good. I hung up, and shoved my phone back in my pocket.

"What are you all smiley about?" Nick asked looking up at me with a curious look plastered on his face.

"Nothing," I lied.

"No, tell me. You aren't telling the truth."

I sighed, and gave in. "Hunter asked me out." I could see Nick about pee his pants.

"WHAT?!" he shouted at me, gritting his teeth. "Are you fucking crazy?!" I frowned at him.

"No."

"Do you even remember half of the stuff he did to you?!" he barked.

"Shut up, he was never anything but good to me," I fired back. Nick glared at me, sighed, and shook his head, still in my lap.

"You're stupid, Goldie Locks. Mighty stupid," he sighed. I sneered, and stood up, his head knocking against the wood. He moaned a little and went to stand up. He tripped as his chain had gotten caught on the planks, and he went down. I didn't laugh, I was more concerned that amused, because he looked like he had hit his nose.

"Are you okay?" I asked, helping him up, and untangling his pants from the bench. A few preps laughed at him as they passed. I sneered at them, and flipped them off behind their backs.

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine. My nose hurts a little though." He paused. "I want a truffle bomb."

"That can be arranged," I said, smiling warmly at him. He looked at me seriously.

"And I want you to tell Darcie about Hunter asking you out." I gulped.

"Fine, I will, but only since I love you like the brother I never got."

He smirked. "Good deal, sis," he said, linking arms with me.

And so, the five foot four sugarplum fairy walked me all the way back to Wendy's after we stubbed out cigarettes in the flowerbeds.

***

"What were you thinking?!" Darcie shouted, giving me the same lecture Nick had given me earlier, but to a nastier, lengthier extent. I grunted, taking my punishment from my best friend as she kept dishing it out, pacing the employee back room. Nick had clocked out from Hot Topic, and he was currently pigging out on all of the truffle bombs he had gotten us on the floor.

"I know, Darcie, I know! But I haven't had a boyfriend in forever, and Hunter already know everything about me!" I argued. She narrowed her eyes, and tossed a hand in the air.

"What about Sasha? The boy practically drools all over you, and you go for, for, FOR ICING! God sakes Goldie!" she snapped, calling Hunter our old nickname for him. We called him 'Icing' because his skin was the tone of some icing we had eaten once. I glared at her.

"He just wants to get some, he doesn't like me!" I snapped. Sasha was still cleaning off tables out front. Darcie grunted.

"You're blind, dumb one!" she snapped. "God, I mean, just, ugh! I give up!" She turned to Nick. "Do you mind giving me a ride home?" she asked exasperatedly. My jaw dropped.

"Darcie!" I gawked. She turned at me with a sneer on her face. She then sighed, and turned back to Nick, who was getting off the floor.

"No, not now Goldie, I can't even look at you. By the good will of god, why are you so, so... dumb?" she finally finished. I opened my mouth some, trying to argue my point with her more. She put her hand in the air, telling me to shut it. I did.

A tight knot of pain and guilt churned in my stomach. I hated fighting with her. It made me want to cry so much.

"Uh, me and Sasha were gonna go to Guitar Center and looked at drums and stuff," Nick said. I didn't want to listen to them anymore, so I grabbed my stuff, and marched out the door.

I passed Sasha, who looked at me in a concerned way.

I kept going past him, trying not to cry as I went. I tore through the revolving doors, and into the parking lot, not stopping until I reached my truck. I yanked the door open, threw my stuff across the seat, trying to cover up the fact that Darcie wasn't going to be sitting there -- unlike she had been everyday since I had gotten my driver's license.

I put the keys in the ignition, and turned the car on. I sighed, and rested my head against the steering wheel. I determined that I was just going to get the worst of the crying done here, because if I started crying at home Sarah Jane and Sheridan would get on my case, and Dad wouldn't leave me alone.

So I sat in the mall parking lot, at six thirty, crying my eyes out on my steering wheel because my best friend was pissed at me and wouldn't be driving home with me. I had reached an all time low of being pathetic. The last time we had fought was when she got pregnant for the first time. She wanted to get rid of Ant, and I wouldn't let he. She was pissed at me for what felt like forever -- it was really two weeks -- and I hadn't felt good until we made up.

I had a feeling this was either gonna be dragged on forever, or be ended quickly.