Raven Haired

Although the sun was still technically up, the forest that they approached was quite dark due to the thickness of the forest. Lucas loved it as it meant that it was easier for them to run away if they were to get busted by the police. On a handful of occasions, Lucas managed to avoid the police merely by hiding behind a tree. It was simple, yet effective. There wasn’t this kind of advantage when the party was in a house, and there was nowhere to really run. Lucas’ method in that situation was to sit, act casual, and apologize to the officers for the disturbance. That rarely ever worked, but if he was going to get caught, he would rather be caught sitting down on a couch than pants down trying to get over an impossibly high fence.

By the time the two had reached the trail, it was quite dark, and the thick trees of the forest made the walk almost impossible. They each used their cell phones’ glares as flashlights as they stumbled their way through. After ten minutes of following an almost overgrown trail, they saw a flickering through the trees. They sped up their pace, and sure enough, it was a fire already blazing, and from the looks of it, many people were already drunk. A smile spread onto Lucas’ face. He shrugged off his backpack and took out the mickey of cheap vodka that Carter had stashed in there and handed it to him before taking out his own Sourpuss. Carter didn’t really drink much. In fact, that small mickey of Vodka had lasted him the whole summer so far. He mostly carried it around so that people wouldn’t tease him for not being drunk like everyone else. He usually just sat there with the mickey in his hand, and when someone caught his eye, he would take a small swig. People didn’t seem to understand that it was still possible to socialize without being tanked. Carter assumed that it was a difficult concept for many people at parties such as this to comprehend.
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Ava shook her head and tried to get her eyes to focus on the words on the page of the book she was reading. She realized she read the same sentence three times already, and she didn’t know why she was so distracted. Well, she did. She knew that the bush party Carter had invited her to would be currently in progress. She took off her glasses for a moment to rub the spot on her nose where they typically sat. Most of the time, Ava managed to convince herself that she didn’t want to go to such events. Today wasn’t one of them. She had all of these small, petty worries. What if she showed up and she was exposed for the outcast that she was? What if she drank too much? What if she got stranded?

She knew if she had gone, Carter would have looked out for her. He wouldn’t let anything bad happen to her. As rude as she knew her mind was being, though, she knew that Carter wouldn’t be able to protect her from everything. The boy was rather small and thin. She sighed. He would do his best, and that was more than she could say about most people.

Ava also knew that she would be subjected to all the photos of the party the next day on the Internet. Those she didn’t want to be a part of. Everyone always looked too pale, or their make-up beginning to run, or hair out of place, or eyes hooded and red. Not that she believed that she would drink. Well, she didn’t know what to believe. She had never been to a party. She didn’t want to want to go. It was already much too late for her to go, anyways, as it was the middle of the night. She had perched herself next to her open bedroom window with a book and hoped that her book would distract her. Instead, it allowed her mind to wander. They couldn’t really be that fun, right? What was fun about acting stupid and being sick the next day? What would be the fun in being sober and watching everyone act stupid and be sick? Ava never even had her first drink. Well, that was untrue. She had tasted wine last Christmas. She scowled at herself. Even in her mind she sounded square. It didn’t get much worse than that.

Ava impatiently shut her book and lay on her bed as she stared up at the ceiling. She checked her cell phone. No texts. Usually Carter texted her to tell her how bored he was or what was going on. Nothing yet. She didn’t want to worry, because he didn’t do it every time. She didn’t really have anything else to do except for worry. She didn’t have to do so for long, however, for within the hour her phone began to ring. That caught her off-guard – she never got phone calls.

“Carter?” she said, and sure enough he heard her on the other end.

“Ava, I’m coming over,” he said. His voice was different than it usually was. It wasn’t quieter, but it was just different.

“It’s two o’clock in the morning.”

He paused for a few moments and they both just sat on the phone not saying anything.

“Can I come over?” he asked. He sounded almost sad.

Ava bit her lip. “How long will it take you to get here?”

“An hour. I’m walking.”

“Didn’t Lucas say he could get you guys a ride?”

“I’ll be there in an hour.”

“Come through my window.”

His avoidance of the question told Ava everything she needed to know. She didn’t know why Carter put up with Lucas. Her assumption, which was probably correct, was that Lucas had ended up ditching Carter – again. He no doubt found someone more interesting or had disappeared for ‘just a moment’ to never return. He did it over and over again, and Carter just forgave him over and over. However, if the tables ever turned and Carter did the slightest thing to provoke or offend Lucas, Lucas would fly off the wall. It was so unfair, and Ava hated to see Carter treated in that way.

A knock caused Ava to sit straight up in bed. She hadn’t even realized that she had nodded off. She rushed to her window, embarrassed that she had fallen asleep when she was expecting Carter. She opened it and helped Carter through. He smelled strongly of alcohol, and Ava cringed. She knew the smell would linger in her room. Not only that, but Carter was soaking wet.

“What happened?” Ava asked as she helped Carter out of his jacket.

“Drank too much. Passed out at party. Woke up and couldn’t find Lucas,” he explained in short sentences. He went to go sit on Ava’s bed, but she tugged him by the arm and placed him on her computer chair instead.

“Why are you wet, then?”

“It rained when I was like … down the r-r…” he paused, looked up at Ava with wide hazel eyes and then ran back to the still-open window and vomited out of it. She frowned but didn’t say anything. He already looked like hell; she didn’t need to make things worse by scolding him. “It rained when I was down the road,” he finished like nothing had interrupted him.

Ava didn’t really know what to do for him, but first of all she didn’t want him sitting in her computer chair and making it so wet.

“Let me get you a towel or some clothes or something,” Ava stated. He nodded drunkenly, and Ava left the room.

She went to the closet in the hallway and began to rummage longer than she needed to. She couldn’t force Carter to go home, especially when he was in this condition. However, they were seventeen years old, and Ava knew her Aunt Linda would not appreciate Ava having a boy over for the night, especially in her room. Ava knew, though, that her Aunt Linda wouldn’t invade her privacy and come into the room. She would have to get Carter out early in the morning, though, as Ava was an early riser and if she wasn’t out of her room before nine in the morning, her Aunt Linda would no doubt start getting concerned that perhaps Ava was sick.

As she went into the guest bedroom and started going through some of her uncle’s old clothes, other thoughts intruded her mind that she didn’t want to. She never had a boy sleep over before. She trusted Carter completely, and besides, he was probably too drunk to actually make a move, and she doubted that he’d want to make a move anyways, but … she was overthinking it. She plucked a shirt and pair of sweats that would no doubt be too big for Carter out of the drawer, but there weren’t many other options when her uncle had been a rather hefty man and Carter was the complete opposite.

Ava returned to her room to find Carter slouched over in his chair, already sleeping.

“Carter,” she said as she shook his shoulder.

He opened his groggy eyes at her and she held out the clothes. He accepted it without a word, and then walked to the bedroom door.

“Where are you going?” she asked.

“Bathroom.”

She didn’t reply and he left without a word. She didn’t exactly want him going to the bathroom as she didn’t want her Aunt Linda to come out and see him. Unfortunately, Ava reminded herself that her aunt would no doubt smell Carter before she saw him. Ava sat on the edge of her bed and chewed her fingernails. She had never seen Carter drunk before, never mind very drunk. She had seen him after parties before, but he had never been like this.

Stop worrying, stop worrying, she tried to convince herself. She figured that if her aunt said anything that maybe Ava could say that had been worried that Carter was going to be very sick and unwell if she hadn’t let him stay over.

When Carter returned into the room, it looked like he was a little boy trying on his father’s clothes.

“I’m very tired,” he said, which only amplified his little boy image.

Ava was then aware that she didn’t have anywhere for him to sleep, other than the floor. However, Carter didn’t even ask. He walked over to Ava, sat on the bed next to her, and then laid down. She sighed and laid down next to him, but under the blankets. They had been best friends for years, it shouldn’t be weird just to sleep next to each other – and really, it wasn’t.