Two Kids Stupid and Fearless

"Are you sure you don't want to turn around? It's never too late, Miko! Come to Hawaii and hula with us!" I could hear a party in the background, along with loud Hawaiian music.

"Mom, this is the tenth time you've called me so far and I'm not going to change my mind. I already made the down payment on the apartment anyways," I argued.

"Your loss, Honey. When you change your mind, we have plenty of pineapple to go around." I couldn't help but roll my eyes at her attempted bribery.

"Mom, Ihavetogoloveyoubye!" She started yelling in incomprehensible Bosnian and soon I hung up the phone, dropping it in the cup holder.

I leaned over into the passenger seat, grabbing a mix cd that my best friend, Katie, made me. The radio had been nothing but static for a few hours, and we had the same taste in music, so it couldn't be too bad. I opened the cd with my teeth, trying to keep one hand on the wheel, then shoved the disc into the player. A familiar song came on and I instantly sang along.

"MAKIN MAH WAY DOWNTOWN, WALKIN FAST FACES PASS AND IM HOMEBOUND!!! doodoododoodododo doododododododododo...."
I guess I got too into the song because my singing was abruptly cut off as I heard the screech of the rumble strip under my tires.

Okay Mia, I told myself. Control yourself. You should be nearing New York soon.

As if on cue, I saw the sign for the exit to Brooklyn coming up on my left. I switched lanes and soon I was on the Brooklyn Bridge, driving straight towards New York's impressive skyline. Straight to my new life.

*************

I managed to find my way to Soho, and further, Thomas street with minimum difficulty. Well, if you disregard all the stupid jay-walkers I almost ran over. I saw the 421 of my apartment complex, and drove around the block to find parking. Once I parked, I started to unload my stuff.

"Just moving in?" A friendly voice said from behind me. I jumped, startled, and turned around to see who it was. A short guy with a beard and a buzz cut stood before me. He had on camouflage shorts and a cut sleeve tee, which was a bit odd considering it was November and freezing outside.

"Yeah actually, I'm from Michigan," I said, sticking out my hand. He shook it and I almost fell over from the force. "I'm Mia. Mia Jenovic."

"Rian Dawson. The pleasure's all mine." He smiled, revealing perfectly white teeth. For a second I swear the whole parking garage lit up.

He dropped my hand and grabbed one of my boxes. I did too.

"You really don't have to help me, I'm fine on my own," I protested. Just then the box I was holding slipped out of my hands and spilled onto the cement ground.

"The box you just dropped proves different." Rian bent down and helped me put everything back into the box. Thankfully it wasn't anything embarrassing like my underwear or stuffed animals. "Besides, it's common courtesy," he added.

I shrugged, figuring I could use the help and make a new friend anyways. Rian grabbed a suitcase and a box and I carried the box we had repacked. Our trip up the stairs was silent until we passed the door marking the first floor.

"I never asked but what apartment are you moving into?" He questioned.

"216," I replied, opening the door to the second floor. Soon we reached my new home. I unlocked the door with the key I received in the mail about a week ago. The door swung open with an obnoxious creaking noise, revealing a short entry hallway that turned left, leading into the rest of the apartment.

"Nice place you got here," Rian said awkwardly, carefully placing the boxes on the wood-paneled floor.

"I know, it was super cheap too!" I told him. "Found it on Craigslist, two bedrooms, it's fully furnished and everything."

Rian replied with a faint huh, and stuck his calloused hands in his camouflage pockets. He looked a bit uneasy.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Fine," he said, snapping out of his trance. "Let's get your stuff."

One sweaty, painful hour or unloading later, Rian and I finally finished bringing in my stuff. We both sat down on some boxes for a quick rest. When we both had gathered our breath, Rian stood up and offered me a hug. I gladly accepted. He was warm and soft, like a teddy bear. As I relaxed into his chest, I noticed he had a tattoo on his buff shoulder. Looking closer, I saw it was a blink-182 bunny. Sweet, I loved blink.

I was interrupted by a cough. I quickly detached myself from a creeped-out looking Rian and apologised.

He smirked. "Checking out my ink, huh?"

"Yeah, it's cool. Blink-182 is my favourite," I admitted sheepishly. I noticed another tattoo on his other shoulder. This one looked more intricate.
"And that one?"

Rian looked down at his shoulder. "That's my family crest, and my band's logs," he explained.

"You're in a band? I'll have to check it out." I commented, genuinely interested. I loved finding new music.

"Yeah, we just released our fourth album. We're kind of a pop-punk thing." Rian blushes and looks at his feet. "I play drums."

"Oh cool. You'll have to play me some of your songs sometime. Do you live on this floor?"

"Oh no, I live in Chinatown. I was just here getting some stuff from a friend's place." He made his way toward the door.

"Ohhh, okay. That's cool. Well you know where I live now. Drop by whenever, you're my only friend in New York so far." I gave him another hug and bid goodbye, and then he was gone.

I slid down the wall, and let out a long sigh and rubbed my face. That was enough socialising for one day. After I composed myself, I got up and decided to explore. I walked down the entryway, then turned left. The next hallway opened into a living room, with a big L-shaped couch and a flat screen tv. Several posters hung on the wall above the couch. They were all posters of ads for the Home Alone movies. Funny, that's an interesting thing to put in an apartment. Parallel to the couch was a bar/counter thing with several modern-looking barstools. Behind the counter was the kitchen. The hallway continued past the kitchen, leading to what I guess was the bedrooms. All in all, it wasn't too bad. Especially for only four hundred dollars a month.

I walked down the hallway, looking for my room. The landlord, who told me on Craigslist that his name was J, told me that my bedroom, the only furnished one, was at the end of the hall to the right. When I reached it, I opened the door slowly.
The room had light blue walls, with a king size bed to the left on the same wall as the door. The bed frame was metal and the comforter was a neutral colour with a zigzag pattern to it. Next to the bed was a simple looking night stand, and on the wall right of the door were two more doors, which I'm guessing were for the closet and the bathroom. The wall parallel to the other doors was mostly covered by a huge window with a spectacular view of downtown Manhattan.

I jumped on the bed and sighed blissfully. This apartment was perfect. Cheap, beautiful, in New York. And oh, the bed was heavenly. I could finally live the life I wanted to.