Rosie

Normal Point of View

‘’…No, Matthew, I’m not seeing you guys tonight.’’ Val paused. ‘’Because I’m having a girl’s night with Dawn and Rosie, you nincompoop.’’ She looked at us as he started complaining over the phone, rolling her eyes as if to say she’d already told him this fifty thousand times. They vaguely reminded me of a married couple. ‘’No, I’m not at my house…where else would I be?’’ She paused again. ‘’You don’t remember me telling you because when I did, you were playing Call of Duty with Brian, and we all know it’s pointless trying to converse with you men when video games are involved.’’ She sighed in frustration, quickly accepting the strawberry margarita that I handed to her. ‘’Go out to Johnny’s and get something to eat. I’ve got to go, bye.’’ She hung up without waiting for a response, tossing her phone on the rug and cozying up on the couch, sipping at her margarita.

‘’They can’t go one day without you, can they?’’ Dawn joked from the kitchen, in the process of making more margaritas.

‘’No, they really can’t. You’d think the world was splitting in half by the way they react every time I leave them,’’ she sighed, running her fingers along the glass in her hands, ‘’I guess that’s what I get for being a good ‘mom’.’’

‘’They’ll get over it once they’ve eaten and drowned their brains in alcohol,’’ I called over my shoulder, sitting on the floor and searching through the cabinet under the TV for a good movie to watch. ‘’Tonight it’s just us girls, doing girly things that do not involve the male species in any way, shape or form. Tonight, we have fun.’’

Val raised her glass and muttered ‘’cheers’’ before downing her drink, slipping away to the kitchen to grab another.

The week had flown by like a bat straight out of the gates of hell. That wasn’t to say my week had gone terribly, because it could’ve gone a lot worse. Dawn had her lunch date with Zacky on Monday and from what she told me, they’d hit it off really well once again. I made sure to remind him of my promise to dismember his body if he ever hurt her before congratulating him on finally discovering his long-lost testicles. We’d gone out drinking again with the guys a few times through the course of the week. Jimmy was still discretely trying to get me to ease up to him with much difficulty, but he wasn’t asking anymore personal questions, at least for the moment. I found myself to be very apprehensive about getting close with any of the guys, Jimmy in particular. I wasn’t one to make friends easily at all; it just wasn’t in my nature and I highly doubted it would ever be. Val was an exception to this rule, as we had clicked right off the bat and I felt comfortable enough around her to agree upon inviting her to a girl’s night.

On Wednesday I went to my interview with Barnes and Noble, which had been nerve wracking, to say the least. The woman who interviewed me seemed to like me; she said they’d call within a week to let me know if I got the job or not. At that moment I hadn’t heard anything from them, so anytime the house phone would ring I’d dash to it in a hopeful frenzy. I really needed that job, but I knew all I could do was wait and see how things panned out. Unlike Dawn, I was perhaps the most impatient person on the planet.

Jimmy had made a habit of showing up to the apartment at hours that made me want to throttle him. Thursday, for example, he knocked on our door at five in the morning, wanting breakfast before he went into the studio for the day. Wary of a cooking mishap, I nearly threw his waffles at him before trudging back to bed, reminding him to lock the door again when he left. I wasn’t sure if he found doing this to be amusing but I sure as fuck didn’t. Mind you I don’t have a problem cooking for others, but when you have someone on your doorstep at an ungodly hour when you should be sleeping, their stomachs something of an endless pit, the level of tolerance is minimal.

It was now Friday and Val was sleeping over. Dawn decided to make margaritas for the occasion, busying herself in the kitchen. Every few minutes I’d hear the buzz of a text message coming from her general direction, Val and I exchanging knowing looks. Zacky had consumed her thoughts and emotions ever since I left her at the mall with him. I’d sometimes hear her on the phone with him at night, right before going to sleep. I honestly thought they were cute, and by cute I mean fucking adorable. They weren’t together per say; they’d only gone out on two dates but I knew it was only a matter of time. But again, if he ever hurt her…there wouldn’t be a place in the world that he could hide.

Dawn’s phone went off again, although this time it was a phone call. I got up from in front of the TV, Dawn of the Dead in hand, and hurried into the kitchen.

‘’Hi Zacky…oh not much, just here with Rosie and V-‘’

I snatched the phone away and put it to my ear. ‘’She’s busy, I’m sure whatever it is you have to say can wait until later.’’

‘’Rosie? But I just wanted to talk to-‘’

‘’We’re having a girl’s night, she’ll talk to you later.’’ I hung up, looking at my best friend innocently as she glared a hole through my head, Val laughing from in front of the blender.

‘’You know, if I didn’t love you so much I’d be kicking your ass out a window right now,’’ she grumbled, stuffing her phone in her pocket. I gave her a big kiss on the cheek.

‘’But you do love me so I’m staying put. Zacky has the guys to keep him entertained and you have us. Should we watch this?’’ I asked, holding up our VCR copy of Dawn of the Dead. Val and Dawn both nodded.

‘’Put that bad boy on, I want to see some zombie action,’’ Val chimed in, handing out more margaritas. We accepted them and clinked our glasses together, tossing back the delicious beverage. I wiped my mouth and sighed happily, the alcohol burning its way down my throat.

‘’Damn, Dawn, you make a mean margarita.’’

‘’I try,’’ she grinned, walking with us out of the kitchen, ‘’want me to get the nail polish and facial stuff?’’

‘’Yes, please,’’ Val said, looking simply thrilled at the prospect of getting pampered. Dawn disappeared into her room to retrieve the necessary items while I grabbed some blankets from the storage closet next to the bathroom, throwing them in the corner for later. I made sure all the fans were on and the windows were opened before popping the tape in, settling next to Val on the couch.

‘’Can I do your hair?’’ she asked with excitement evident in her voice, her brown eyes shining at me. I nodded and left the room, coming back with my hair brush, hair ties and clips. Val set to work, brushing my hair out as we watched coming attractions for other movies, waiting for Dawn to return with her secret beauty stash.

‘’So,’’ I began, closing my eyes as the brush ran through my fiery locks, making them silky, ‘’does Matt have the hots for you or what?’’

The brush noticeably slowed down. ‘’What makes you say that?’’ she asked carefully.

I shrugged. ‘’It’s just a hunch I have, you two seem pretty close.’’

‘’Well, he is one of my best friends, so naturally we’re close,’’ she sighed, brushing out a knot.

‘’Ouch,’’ I winced.

‘’Sorry, it’s being stubborn.’’

‘’It’s okay, but I don’t know, it’s kind of common for best friends to like each other so I wouldn’t be surprised if he had a thing for you.’’ I turned my head to look at Val when she didn’t answer, her slightly tanned face turning a bit pink. ‘’He does, doesn’t he?’’

She closed her eyes briefly and exhaled, just as Dawn came into the living room, her arms laden with beauty supplies. She put everything on the coffee table before looking at Val’s face, settling on the other side of her.

‘’Are you okay, hun?’’ she asked her quietly, looking at me with a raised eyebrow. I shrugged, pausing the movie as it was just about to start. Val rubbed her face in her hands, letting out a groan of frustration.

‘’I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you upset,’’ I said quickly, fearing I’d already ruined our girl’s night, something I had actually been looking forward too.

Val shook her head, peeling her hands from her face to look at a hole in her shorts. ‘’Things with Matt and I are…complicated. We’ve been…should I tell her, Dawn?’’ she asked her quietly. Dawn nodded and looked at her as if to say ‘’go on’’. ‘’Matt and I are, for a lack of better wording, fuck buddies. I don’t think he’d ever want to be more than that.’’

‘’And you want him as more than a friend or fuck buddy, I’m assuming?’’ I asked, sensing that this was something she didn’t want many people knowing. I felt my heart swell a little at the thought; she trusted me enough to tell me something so secretive.

She nodded, her eyes no longer shining with excitement. ‘’I’m too afraid to tell him; we’ve been doing this for almost two years now and I don’t think any of the guys know. I’m not even sure how they’d react, honestly. We always just thought it’d be best if we kept it a secret and left no strings attached. He wanted to be friends with benefits and at first I agreed, but…that was awhile ago. I genuinely have feelings for him now and it scares me.’’

‘’That’s a tough situation to be in,’’ I replied, ‘’but maybe you should talk to him about it? You’ll never know unless you do.’’

‘’I want to, I really do, I just can’t bring myself to do it. I have this fear of being rejected…’’ She sighed, brushing back her black hair with her fingertips. ‘’Forget about it, I don’t want this to be all about me and my problems. Let’s just watch the movie.’’

Dawn and I exchanged glances quickly. ‘’Are you sure?’’ she asked.

Val nodded. ‘’Positive. I really needed this, to hang out with people of my own gender. It’s refreshing.’’ She smiled slightly, going back to brushing my hair.

Dawn left the room and came back a minute later, giving us more margaritas. I drank mine happily before pressing the play button on the remote, getting to work on Dawn’s nails.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

‘’When does this shit dry?’’ I mumbled a little while later, trying to light up a cigarette. My hair was in pigtails with my bangs pinned back, a blue facial mask covering my pale face. I’d never used a mask before and it felt weird as fuck.

‘’Give it about ten minutes, maybe a bit more,’’ Dawn shrugged, painting Val’s toenails a bright green color, her own hair in a French braid. Val’s was done up in a topknot. Honestly, we looked like teenagers but it didn’t matter since no one was going to see us like this, especially me with my pigtails. I looked like a damn schoolgirl.

‘’You look adorable, Rosie,’’ Val grinned, reaching over on the floor to grab her phone. She flipped it open and aimed it in my direction, about to take a picture.

I hid behind a couch pillow, turning my head to smoke my cigarette. ‘’Put the phone away and nobody gets hurt.’’

‘’Aw, but you look so cute! Please?’’

‘’Nope.’’ I blew the smoke in her direction, receiving a rude hand gesture in return.

I eventually persuaded her to put the phone away and focused on the movie for a bit, occasionally inhaling more of my cigarette. We’d finished up the margaritas and resorted to Jack Daniels instead, passing the bottle around. I really wasn’t picky when it came to alcohol; I would drink just about anything.

The facial mask was dry at this point so I put out my cigarette and grabbed a damp washcloth from the coffee table, scrubbing the gunk off my face with it. My face felt…odd, sort of refreshed. Dawn told me to rinse my face off in the bathroom, so I did. When I saw my reflection in the mirror I almost didn’t recognize myself; I really did look like a schoolgirl and it was freaking me out.

I went back to the living room and took a long pull from the bottle of JD, returning to my spot on the floor. The zombies in the movie, now running ramped all over the mall, used to give me nightmares as a kid. Now they just made me laugh, and the fact that I was a bit drunk made them seem even funnier.

‘’Rosie, what color do you want me to do your nails?’’ Val asked, pushing a box of different colored nail polishes toward me. I didn’t wear the stuff often but I decided on a deep purple color, giving it to Val and sticking out my hand.

‘’How’re you and Zacky?’’ I asked Dawn, grinning when she almost dropped the facial container.

‘’Fine, thanks for asking. Is anybody hungry?’’ She was trying to change the subject but I just wasn’t having it.

‘’Did he kiss you yet?’’ I continued, Val and I both looking at her in interest. She went silent for a moment before hiding her face in a pillow.

‘’He did,’’ was the muffled response we got. Val squealed and I let out a whoop of celebration, pulling away the pillow to reveal her blushing face.

‘’I’m actually surprised, I didn’t think he had it in him,’’ Val commented continuing to paint my nails.

I nodded in agreement. ‘’Neither did I. Is he a good kisser?’’

‘’You’re damn right he’s a good kisser,’’ she mumbled as she played with the end of her braid, her face breaking out into a smitten smile.

‘’Aw, does he make you happy so far?’’ Val asked.

‘’I’d say so, yeah. I feel like this is twenty questions or something,’’ she laughed, getting up and taking the JD with her. ‘’Seriously, does anybody want any food?’’

‘’Tortilla chips?’’ I asked hopefully, unable to remember if we had anymore.

‘’I’ll go check,’’ she replied, taking a swig from the bottle and leaving the room.

As soon as she left, a devious smile appeared on Val’s face. I raised an eyebrow. ‘’What’re you thinking about?’’

‘’Well, Dawn and Zacky are starting to have a thing, and I sort of have Matt, but what about you? Do you have your eye on anyone?’’

I should’ve known this would be brought up at some point. ‘’I don’t really do relationships,’’ I shrugged. The answer was as simple as that.

‘’Why not?’’ she asked, her brows furrowed.

‘’I just don’t,’’ I replied with a tone of finality. It wasn’t a topic that needed discussing; relationships were never my thing and I doubted they ever would be. I simply wasn’t the relationship type.

Val sensed that I didn’t feel like talking about it and just nodded, focusing intently on my nails instead.

My attention went back to the movie for a few minutes until Dawn came back with chips and salsa. I took the bottle of JD back and drank a generous gulp of it, my head starting to spin a little.

This was the general shit that went on for awhile. Once Dawn of the Dead was over we resorted to watching old episodes of Friends, continuing to pamper each other, gossip and all around act like actual females. It was weird but oddly fun, and it was something I wouldn’t mind doing again. At this point we were all half awake, lying on the floor with our pillows and blankets, occasionally drinking from the near-empty bottle or eating a tortilla chip. The apartment was silent, apart from the television and our laughter that went along with it.

One thing that I forgot to do was shut the living room window, and if I had I probably wouldn’t have heard what happened next.

I heard someone sneeze. Thinking it was one of the girls, I said, ‘’Gazuntite.’’

The two of them suddenly looked away from the TV.

‘’That wasn’t me,’’ Dawn said quietly, exchanging looks with Val.

‘’It wasn’t me either,’’ she shrugged, both of them turning to me.

‘’I didn’t sneeze,’’ I said in utter confusion. I got up and looked around the apartment for a few minutes, feeling like I was being watched. I was beginning to get frantic until my eyes landed on the open window.

Five pairs of eyes were looking back at me in alarm, and I nearly had a heart attack until I realized exactly who those eyes belonged to, their faces melting away from the dark.

They’d climbed up the fire escape to spy on us.

‘’Son of a bitch,’’ I growled.