Cracked Porcelain

December 23

You would assume that Magnolia would be hella-pissed off that the very first time she hung out with me and my friends that she get banned from multiple places, did drugs and got a tattoo all in one night. When I realized what all the commotion was about I thought she was going to sprint out my apartment and never speak to me again, I think the worst part about the her situation was once she woke everyone up by her screaming she kept scrubbing at her shoulders as if they were covered in some cheap washable marker, and I just knew for sure that I had lost my pretty little doll forever. To my surprise instead of storming out of my apartment never to be seen again she took a look around to see that none of us came out unphased and then laughed as if she found out she was on the old T.V show Punk'd. This type of thing wasn’t too unusual for the rest of us so we started to assess the damage we’ve inflicted upon ourselves.

“What the hell happened to my arms?” I questioned aloud.

“Shit I think I’ve got gum in my hair!” Valentine whined yanking at the long gooey strand in disgust.

“I can’t bend my fingers!” Misfit groaned.

“Is this fucking blonde in my hair? Why the hell would I bleach patches of my fucking hair!” Belladonna screamed holding out a very large chunk of snowy white hair near the back of her head.

Once Magnolia’s fits of giggles died down we decide to start picking up the pieces of our lives so we could begin to properly function with the rest of the world. I looked at the clock and saw that it was two o’clock in the afternoon and the twins had to be at work at five, around the same time Misfit was suppose to meet his parents for their weekly Sunday dinners so that gave us all three hours to get our shit together. Like every other morning we’ve woken up with a mystery to solve Belladonna took charge, even in a pissier mood than usual she was still the best at cleaning up our messes.

“Magnolia call whatever parent you live with and tell them you stayed at some trusted friends house and we’ll hide your tattoo later, when you’re done with that go get the peanut butter out of the cabinet and help my sister ease the gum out of her beloved hair.” She ordered at Magnolia, and so Magnolia did.

“Hey fucknugget!” Belladonna snapped getting Misfit’s attention. “I’m taking you to the hospital to see just how stupid you got last night so your parents won’t be as freaked when they see their kid.”

“What about me?” I asked like a helpless child.

“You’ll be fine it’s just bruises so don’t go running into any walls dumbass but put some ice on that eye of yours. Make sure your girl makes it home before her mom fills out a missing persons report and everyone get in the shower and take a gottdamn aspirin!” She called over her shoulder as her and Misfit walked out the front door.

As soon as the door locked behind them we all immediately went straight into action as we were told. I grabbed the aspirin off one of the medicine cabinets in the girls bathroom and we all took two. Magnolia ushered a weeping Valentine into the twins bedroom with a jar of peanut butter in one hand and a pair of scissors in the other. I dragged myself into my bathroom to wash away all of the stupidity of last night that I could barely even remember. By the time I no longer smelled like vomit and cheap perfume forty-three minutes had passed by and when I entered back into my bedroom, wearing nothing but my dark gray boxer briefs, I found my porcelain princess sprawled out on my bed practically naked in a pair of black cotton boyshorts and one of my old Eminem t-shirts. Her honey toned hair was still damp from the shower I assumed she took in my absence and the smell of Valentines cherry shampoo radiated from her. I looked down at the half naked present before me in delight, a familiar smirk slyly slid across my face. My eyes focused on nothing but her, the way her milky skin look like smooth glass, the curve of her lips, the length of her long blonde lashes and even the steady rise and fall of her chest as she calmly laid there in utter peace. I wanted her, no longed for her. I longed to caress her, breathe in her scent, taste her . . .but instead I calmed myself and took this opportunity to climb on top of her in a straddling position, careful not to put all my weight on her, and give her a sweet peck on the lips. And just like that her eyelids fluttered open allowing me to gaze into those golden orbs of hers.

“Hey.” She said simply, a small smile lingering on her porcelain face.

“You call your mom, I’m sure she’s freaking out and misses you by now?” I asked.

“There’s nothing for her to miss.” She responded shrugging to the best of her abilities, her smile only fading just long enough for me to catch its absence.

I could tell that this wasn’t exactly a conversation that Magnolia wanted to be having so I changed the subject, “How’s Valentine’s hair?”

“She’ll live. The peanut butter got most of the gum out but every time we thought we were done we just kept finding more wads! Eventually I had to use the scissors for a few pieces that were more gum than hair but it’s not that noticable.” She replied giggling.

We both took a second to laugh at the thought of Valentine having small patches of hair missing that were big enough for her to panic but small enough for anyone else to ignore. I rolled off of Magnolia afraid that I might shatter her fragile frame taking my place beside her, we both laid flat on our backs with legs dangling over the edge. Although I had removed myself from on top of her, Magnolia instantly rolled onto her side curling her body into mine, our legs tangling while her palms laid flat on my bare chest. We settled like that for a minute in silence while she drew invisible shapes into my flesh with her fingernails.

“Wanna go light something on fire?” She murmured into my shoulder.

“We could take a walk?” I suggested.

“Or egg some cop cars..”

I snorted at the realization that I’m the one who's suppose to be getting us into trouble! To think that the girl I knew about a month ago would have never suggested such a preposterous activity but yet here we were, positioned in my bed and Magnolia was the ring leader in this piece of organized crime. But then again about a month ago I wouldn’t have been content with a naked girl in my bed only wanting to cuddle.

“We could have sex instead.” I shrugged playing with the hem of my t-shirt that was on her too small frame. What can I say: bad habits die hard?

“Is that what you really want, Matty?” Magnolia purred abruptly changing our position so she was now the one straddling me. In one brisk motion she removed the shirt she was wearing revealing more Magnolia Summers than I’ve ever hoped to see. She tilted her head to the right all of her blonde locks falling in that direction, leaving nothing to my perverted teenaged imagination. She was even sporting my signature smirk, that appeared sexier on her than it would ever look on me.

“Uhm, uh . . .” I stuttered.

“What’s wrong you scared?” She teased right next to my ear, nibbling it with her teeth.

Was I? “No!” I blurted out a bit too quickly, my cheeks heating up from embarrassment. What the hell was happening to me? I was the stud, the player, the bad boy! I was the kid who made daddys across Oklahoma secure their daughters bedroom windows at night! I was the guy that made all the girls melt with the touch of my lips! Was I, Matthew Jay Steel, actually afraid to sleep with this girl? To touch her, taste her, ravish her, ruin her. . .I didn’t want to crack this piece of porcelain. “There’s no need to rush, I mean we can wait until you’re ready. . .we don’t have to do this now. . .for your sake, you know?” I stammered out.

My room was soon filled with the sound of Magnolia’s laugh of pure amusement, it was lovely and rang in the air like uplifting christmas bells. It was then within the midst of her giggles and the mischievous look in her eyes that I came to the conclusion that she wasn’t actually going to sleep with me to begin with. I could tell by the way she held my longing gaze even through her laughter and smirk, this was just a trick for her. A game to feed her growing hunger for something sinful to do. The need for the same thing within myself simply adored hers. God, I loved her, but I knew my touch would be like poison and destroy her perfection. The next thing I knew my mischievous queen was no longer straddling me but instead redressing herself even sliding on her jeans.

“Be my girlfriend?” I mumbled, watching her dress.

“Of course,” She answered now completely dressed, pulling her hair back into a bun. “Now how about that walk you mentioned earlier?”