Bruises in Miniature Form

Jennifer had caught us a cab and got us straight back to her house, she told me her parents were out so we were allowed to be noisy and reckless if we wanted.
Her home was pretty small and felt a little unwelcoming, almost like no one had bothered to open the front door in years yet it remained clean and structured.
I followed Jennifer down the hall and into her room that was decorated with pictures of pin up girls, models, friends and family and what looked like the odd fashion show.
Her bed had been pushed to the middle of the room to be surrounded by clean desks and dressers.
Her closet door was painted a bright yellow and pink with sparkles scattered across like it had just been in a paint fight.

She laughed as she took a seat on her bed, “Weird room huh?”
“Not really I like it, it fits your personality” I gathered looking with pleased eyes around the area she had made her own.
“I guess, what about your room?”
Glancing back to her I smiled, “I moved around a lot so I never really had time to make a room mine. I mean it’s not like that’s something I regret it was just how it was”
“How come you moved a lot?”
“My dad’s jobs, it just came with the territory”
She nodded in understanding, “So your mom is marrying Rick that is great he deserves a great woman”
I nodded agreeing with her, my mother needed a great man too. Not that my father wasn’t great either though.
“Are you hungry? I haven’t eaten at all since nine this morning!”

Glancing up from where I stood I nodded eagerly and followed her back out into the dark unlit hall and towards the kitchen.
On our way down she had pointed to some old photographs of her grandparents that as she said had practically raised her.
The once unwelcoming feeling was slowly banishing away to be replaced by a pleasant glow of familiar presence and cheery voices.
Snacking down on some cookies we found stashed away we found our placements on the counter and randomly brought up subjects to talk about, unfortunately most of these subjects were about Idiot Green.

“So can we talk about something other than Max?” I tempted, picking at the chocolate pieces in my cookie.
Jennifer laughed heartily, “Sorry, I guess it’s kind of annoying to answer things about him twenty four seven huh?”
“Well it’s not like I know him like everyone else around here seems too...”
Jennifer shrugged at that and began fixing her hair into pigtails, separating it in parts as she went.
“So if you’re not dating Max who are you dating?”
“No one, it’s not like I really know anyone out here yet” I answered.
A smile spread across her face as she nodded, “Yeah, lived here all my life and I still can’t find anyone perfect for me”
“You’ll find someone. Actually I think Max likes you” I teased, poking my tongue out the corner of my mouth as she almost choked on her cookie.
“Max likes me?”
“Guess I shouldn’t have told you that huh?”
Shrugging a bit Jennifer jumped off the counter to stand beside my legs, nudging them lightly with her palm to get my attention.
“Nah, I won’t tell. It’ll be our secret, but me and Max? No way. Wouldn’t work”
“Why do you say that?”

When she stared at me I couldn’t help but watch as her eyes widened considerably, mouth dropping open as if I had just slapped her.
She spluttered a few times before coughing heavily into her hand as I patted her back helpfully hoping she wasn’t choking.
When she calmed down considerably she was sipping on some water muttering things under her breath until she decided that she would take me home, offering me a ride as quickly as her mouth allowed her.
I smiled and accepted it, she seemed a lot more uncomfortable with me now and I guess the feeling was going to become mutual.
Walking out her front door I waited for her to lock up, skipping together down to the car as we began joking about random things in our lives until we pulled up into the driveway of my home.

“Hey Newton do you want to go to the movies sometime?” She mumbled looking a bit embarrassed.
Chuckling softly I nodded and stepped out of the car, “Definitely, you’ve got my number and know where I live”
“Likewise” She giggled.

--

Of all the things a person could expect to wake up to in the middle of the night, like a spider or a dog barking, or maybe the phone ringing none have probably expected to be woken up by a sharp tap to the face and the looming face of Maxwell Green.
None.
Gasping sharply I rolled away from him to the side of the bed, clutching the blankets closer as he dropped down to my pillow to stare at me with his big blue eyes.
I didn’t have a chance to yell, scream or scold him by the time my brain registered this boy had come into my room at... four in the morning!

“What did you say to Jennifer?” He asked sharply.
“Give me time to wake up then come back later” I groaned.
“Aw where did the little ‘treat others as you would want them to treat you’ go to?”
“She went to bed and had a nice dream about a candy store” I muttered back yawning into my hand, “What do you want?”
“You can’t seriously be tired right now” he laughed causing a twitch to enter my eye.
“Listen if you want to be a jerk to me could you at least put it off till morning?”
“It is morning”
“By morning I meant after ten”
Max smiled gleefully and shifted until he could stare up at the ceiling, “I can’t believe Omar knows you”
“Knows Daryl you mean. I hadn’t known until he stopped by Max”
Max nodded with a glum look on his face, I wish I had a disposable camera right now, “Listen if you’re going to start hanging out with the people I know don’t be trying to make me look bad”
“You really just said that didn’t you?” I gaped at him.
“What?” Max turned his head to face me and handed over a puzzled expression.
“You seriously think I’m the one making you look bad?”
“Shut up” Max suddenly snapped hitting me in the face with a pillow before darting up to his feet to exit my room.

Out of a momentary loss of insanity I bolted after him, grabbing his wrist before he made it too far.
He had too many sides to him, a funny family type guy with Rick and my mother, a playful jokester with his friends, a loveable idiot with a few girls on the street and a asshole extraordinaire with me.
His head tipped back as he left a rush of air pass his lips, tongue poking lightly at the ring before he turned to face me.

“I don’t care that your mother is marrying Rick, he deserves it but he sure as hell doesn’t deserve a little spoiled brat like you”
Dropping his arm like it was red hot iron I took a few steps back, nodding silently that I understood him.
Whether I was a spoiled brat or not Max would continue to make his excuses for not liking me, he had made up his mind and it was time I realised I was on the other side of the fence about to be kicked into the garden of thorns.
I had to fight back whether it was in my nature or not and if I was going to fight back I had to be careful where I struck.
I watched as he carried on down the hallway and to the living room, humming a happy tune under his breath as he thought he won yet again.
Maxwell Green prepare to meet Newton Jasper.