The Cheap Bouquet

Vic's POV

I went into school the next day. Jaime was at his locker. I wrapped my arms around his waist, making sure he didn't see my wrists.

"Vic? I thought you weren't supposed to date me?" He said. He gave me a quick peck on my cheek and slammed his locker shut.

I let him go and took his books. "Who the hell cares? I've been wanting you since 9th grade. Now that I've got you, I'm not letting you go."

He smiled. "I can carry my own books Vic."

"No no, let me." We walked to 1st hour and sat down at our table with Kellin and Justin. We still had to sit here, which sucked. It was tolerable though.

"Can you come over after school?" I asked Jaime. I could tell Kellin was watching us. I ignored it though and kept my eyes focused on Jaime.

"Yeah. Your parents won't get mad for me being there?" He asked.

I shrugged. "Who cares? They'll be at work so they won't even know."

"Good morning class!" The teacher came in and started the lesson. As he was talking, I saw Kellin slip me a note. I grabbed it and read it under the desk.

"Vic,
Sorry I said those things. I was just angry that you liked Jaime and not me. You're none of those things. I'm glad you're with Jaime. I hope we can be friends again?
Kellin"

I looked at Kellin, who was watching me read it. He gave me a tiny smile.

"Friends." I said, a smile tugging at the corners of my mouth.
*
Jaime's POV

I watched Kellin slip a note to Vic. I desperately wanted to reach out and grab it to see what it said, but I fought the urge and tried to focus on the teacher.

I heard Vic say something and looked to see he was smiling at Kellin. Jealousy was starting to bubble up in me, but I ignored it.

"Jaime!" The teacher called. "What's the answer?"

Dammit, he knew I wasn't paying attention. "Uh, yes." I said. Everyone laughed and I could feel my face get red.

"Jaime, it's not even a yes or no question! Pay attention!" The teacher barked. He called on a different kid who knew the answer. I shrugged it off and put my head down.
*
I was thankful when the bell rang, signalling it was the end of the day. I went to my locker and gathered all of my things, then met up with Vic at his locker. Unfortunately, Kellin was there.

"Hey Hime Time!" Vic said, planting a kiss on my lips.

I kissed back, smiling as Vic and I kissed. I pulled away. "Is Hime Time your new nickname for me?" I asked, laughing. I knew Kellin was staring at us, which was kind of bothering me. I ignored it though.

"Ready to go?" Vic asked, shutting his locker door.

"Yeah." I followed Vic out of the school and got into my car. I followed his car to his house and got out. Vic got out of his car too and we walked inside.

"No ones home." Vic said, smiling. He took my hand and led me to his room. I sat down on his bed. Vic grabbed his guitar and sat down next to me.

"I wrote a song about you, called The Cheap Bouquet." Vic said, smiling. He started playing the chords to the song. After a few chords he started singing.

"Stay young and at the top of our lungs
Our hands are free
Our lives have just begun
It's getting dark, we should go back
But what's the use if what you love is what you have?
And I could die right now
For something beautiful to take me somewhere else
Oh, I try to calm down
As I drag myself along these severed hands
(Severed hands) Are doing the very best they can
I'm gonna buy a cheap bouquet
Before it dies on the display
(Gonna break down)
Break down the better side of me
(The better side of me)
Well I know, I know if I die young
Then we can wake up screaming in your bed
And our lungs are begging us to calm down
And I scare myself with all that talk of severing
Doing the best or so it seems
(You've been mistaken)
Your finger's on the scale
(Burn like you never have before
Stop, drop and roll don't work in hell)
So what if I forget regret?
So what if I...
So what if I forget regret?
So what if I...
So what if I...
So what if I...
So what if I...
I want you to know that I...
That I've wrote this line a thousand times
Yeah
Forget regret
This must be the way it ends
Calm down as I drag myself along
These severed hands are doing the very best they can
As I drive my car into the sea
(I taste you like a hammer through my teeth)
Will someone tell me what it means to be alive?
It feels just like the feeling when you die
Oh, all right, I'm dead and I don't care if it's cold outside anymore
So come on, let's have some fucking fun"

"That was perfect!" I said when he finished. "I loved it! Did you write it for me?"

Vic smiled and nodded. I kissed him on the lips, my tongue grazing his bottom lip. He opened his mouth and I flicked my tongue against his a few times. I smiled and pulled away.

"I'm glad you liked it." Vic said.

"I uh, I saw something while you were playing." I said. I grabbed his wrist and saw cuts. Fresh cuts. Vic tried yanking his wrist away, but I held on firmly.

"Vic what the fuck are these?! I thought you said you stopped!" I shouted. Vic didn't say anything, he stared at the ground not doing anything.

I got up and went into his sock drawer, where I found his blade. I slipped it into my pocket and dug around for anymore blades. There were none. I sat back down on the bed.

"Why'd you cut again, Vic?" I asked. "You promise you'd stop."

"I was angry. Cutting helps." He answered.

I put 2 fingers underneath Vic's chin to make sure he was looking at me eye-to-eye. "You may think that, but cutting doesn't help. Trust me."

"How the hell would you know?!" Vic shouted. He stood up and started pacing his room. "It does help, trust me!"

I sighed and stood up. I went into Vic's kitchen and threw the blade out. I turned to Vic, who was watching me. "This needs to stop." I said. "You were clean for almost 6 months!"

"It's an addiction though." Vic said. "You don't understand."

I didn't say anything. "Just... please stop. For me?"

"I'll... I'll try." Vic said.

I smiled and kissed him softly on the lips. "Thank you."

He smiled and we cuddled up on the couch and watched TV. I started humming the song, it was stuck in my head now.

Vic laughed. "I didn't think you liked the song that much."

"I loved it." I answered, kissing Vic passionately. I looked at the clock and saw it was 6:00. I stood up. "I should be leaving."

"Aw, already?" Vic said, pouting.

I laughed. "I'm sorry sweetie, but I gotta be home for dinner." Vic walked me to the door. We kissed passionately, our tongues in each others mouths. I pulled away and left, humming the song Vic wrote me as I left.
*
Vic's POV (later that night)

I was in my room, doing homework when my parents called me into the living room. I went in there and was shocked to find my mother holding the blade Jaime had thrown out in her hands.

"What the fuck is this?!" My dad exclaimed. He stormed over to me and yanked my wrist, seeing my scars. He threw it back in disgust.

"I thought you stopped!" He shouted. I didn't say anything, instead I just stared at the floor. "I am so disappointed in you! You are no son of mine!"

I turned and ran back to my room, locking the door behind me. I needed to cut, but I had nothing to cut with. I looked around, looking for something to substitute the blade with. I looked in the mirror, and had a good idea.

I punched the mirror as hard as I could. It shattered into a million pieces, tiny glass fragments flying everywhere. I found a pointy glass shard dug it into my wrist. I went to do it again but stopped myself.

'They'll notice if you have more scars.' I thought to myself.

I pulled down my pants and cut on my thigh. When I was finished I saw I had 6 fresh cuts. I sighed, so much for trying to stop.