Tied

I woke up with the feeling that someone was feeding me warmth, a strange tingling sensation starting in my belly and spreading out to my extremities. I felt a stinging pain on my ankle, signifying the bleak arrival of new words. I groaned as I sat up, looking over at my clock. It was Friday, and some stupid subconscious urge had woken me up nearly half an hour before my alarm. I crawled to the end of my bed and curled up next to Dingo, eliciting a response of deep, motor boat purrs.

I stayed there for several warm snuggly minutes before getting up and turning off my alarm. I might as well get ready for school. There would be no sense in going back to sleep for only a few minutes.

I sat on the floor in front of my mirror and peered at my ankle in the darkness. In small, elegant letters was the phrase “Poetry is the rhythmical creation of beauty in words…”

I smiled. At least the quotes appearing weren’t incredibly depressing. This one was actually kind of pretty. It made me think of Rhea, which was no surprise at this point.

I then frowned, thinking about the night before. I really should have taken Rhea up on her offer for dinner. Cici had eaten at Grandma’s house, and I heated up frozen pizza rolls. I stood up and opened up my closet, picking out an outfit and checking my phone at the same time. I looked at the message from last night, and my lame excuse as to why I couldn’t come. She hadn’t even texted back.

I wrote up a quick message.

<Do you need me to pick you up today, little rebel?>

I grabbed my favorite black denim skirt, v-neck, and printed tights. If I was going to pick up Rhea today, I wanted to look good. My previous doubts about her were pretty much out the window, which was one of the reasons I couldn’t go over there last night. I couldn’t let her parents detect those vibes from us. I could send out whatever signals I wanted in my car, though.

My phone buzzed.

<yeah. apparently punching a douche in the nose gets you in pretty big trouble.>

I smiled and typed out a quick response.

<I’ll see you at your door at 7:30>

I pulled on a pair of tall black boots and grabbed some gauges and other various earrings and slipped them in as I headed to the bathroom. I missed Cici skipping down the hall as I began to brush my teeth. She had decided that I was “boring” and wanted to spend the rest of the time Mom would be gone with Grandma. That was fine by me though. Maybe Rhea could come over tonight to hang out…

My choppy hair slid between the heated planes of the straightener and my fingers followed the familiar lines of my face, applying my makeup. I applied my deep red lipstick with a swipe of the tube and smirked at my reflection.

I headed back to my room to grab my chuck taylors and my bookbag, then headed to the kitchen. Looking at the clock on the wall, I figured I had about fifteen minutes left before I had to leave. Cereal and milk sloshed into a bowl as I made myself a very nutritious breakfast of frosted flakes. After I had crunched my way through a bowl of sugary goodness, I grabbed my bookbag, my wallet, and my keys and headed out the door to my car.

The engine sputtered to life and I backed out of the driveway, Hozier playing faintly through the speakers. [/]There is no sweeter innocence than our gentle sins…”

The trip to Rhea’s house passed quickly, and soon I was pulling up into her driveway and walking up to her door. I knocked gently and her brother opened it.

“Rhea!” he bellowed, in a voice much larger than he was. “Your amiga is here! Time to go!” I heard her footsteps on the stairs and suddenly she was there at the door, hugging her family goodbye and following me to my car. I turned up the music and she smiled.

“Hozier!” She pointed to the controls. “Do you mind?” I shook my head and she started the song over, singing along to it quietly. I started singing along as well, and she smiled over at me, sending warmth through my belly. I bit my lip and turned back towards the road, staring diligently out the front window. Rhea noticed me fall quiet and stared worriedly at me.
“Is everything okay Raven?” I gave her a nervous smile and nodded.

“Yeah everything’s great.” She didn’t seem convinced.

“Are you worried about…” she searched for the right words and came up empty handed. “This stuff?” I shrugged.

“A bit.” I then fell silent for a moment, contemplating. “Would you like to come over to my house tonight? To, you know, make up for yesterday? We could get takeout or something.” She smiled.

“That sounds wonderful. Chinese?”

“Whatever you want, my lady. I’ll buy.” She texted her mom quickly and smiled when the response buzzed in.
“It’s a go. I’ll come home with you, we’ll get chinese, and then stay up until the early hours of the morning watching Netflix and eating popcorn.”

We pulled up into the school parking lot and paused the music, turning off the car. A sudden thought came to my mind that I simply couldn’t push out. I grabbed my bookbag and watched Rhea do the same. We got out of the car and I locked the doors. She started to walk away and I called to her.

“Rhea!” She turned around, a questioning look in her eyes. I acted without thinking and walked up to her, leaning in. A few tense seconds passed before our lips met.

It was finally happening. The thing I had been dreaming of finally came to fruition. She stood there startled for a short second, but soon returned the kiss. Her lips were soft like rose petals, and she smelled faintly of some spicy perfume. As soon as it had started, it was over. I pulled away and gazed for a moment at her happily startled face. The bell rang to head to class and I slid my fingers between hers.

“Shall I escort you to class, my lady?” She just smiled, and we walked to history class together, my heart still thudding triumphantly against my ribcage.

“Poetry is the rhythmical creation of beauty in words…”

Poems could be written about Rhea.

Maybe I could write her a poem.