‹ Prequel: Zoned
Status: Part Two
Zoned: Waking Up
The Good Samaritan
"How many ounces?" Dylan asked me as I walked out of the Cage.
"Enough for the night, faggot." I walked down the hall and remembered that I left my jacket in the old recording booth when I went in there to get a CD. I opened the door and saw that the door to the studio was open. "The fuck?" I said to myself as I walked in. There were panels on the wall that made the room sound proof, and since the room was old and cheap, the panels were removable. One huge panel was on the ground, and there was a gap big enough for someone to hide in behind it. I walked towards it and smelled pot and saw a foot from where I stood.
"Hello....?" I asked. I looked inside and saw A-Rad sitting and leaning against the wall with an empty bottle of beer, a 6 pack, a half full bottle of vodka, and a bag of weed sitting next to her. She was smoking and started coughing when I said something.
"Wha- *cough* what are you doin in here, dude?" She asked me. Her eyes were red and wet and her hair was messy.
"Were you crying?" I asked. She started tearing up, but then she took a drink of vodka and shook her head.
"Nope."
"Well you're a bad liar, that's for sure." I stepped in and sat next to her.
"Then why ask, George?"
I shrugged. "Felt it was polite." She stared at the wall in front of us, not saying a word. I grabbed a beer from the pack and opened it. "Hope you don't mind."
She still didn't look at me. She took a hit from the blunt and slowly exhaled. "So what happened?"
Her stare was cold and dead. Even though she wasn't looking at me, I still felt scared by the way she looked and by the silence. "A, what happened?" I became genuinely worried. She sniffled and looked down at the floor.
"Not a thing." Her words were quiet and slow.
"Drugs and alcohol together? Either you're stupid, like me and the guys, or you're trying to forget about something. Jordon said something about a family emergency? Is everything okay?"
"Everything's fine with my family."
"Then why'd Jordon tell us-" "Because I didn't want him to know he hurt me!" She interrupted. She brought her knees close up to her chest and rested her arms on them with a blunt in one hand and a bottle in the other. I wasn't sure what to say. I was quiet as I looked at her sad face. I took a huge gulp of beer and then asked, "What happened?"
She sighed and took another drink then said, "It's a long story, but him and I kissed earlier. After he pulled away, he asked if it meant anything. I was too scared to answer honestly, so I asked him the same thing. He gave me this look like he was saying 'Really? You think that meant something?' and it scared me. He shook his head and said, 'It was just a kiss' and I swear I felt my heart shatter. You know how you get that feeling of a roller coaster dropping in a suspense moment? Like something someone says is leading up to this huge revelation and you feel like it's a climb on a roller coaster, and then someone says something that makes the roller coaster go and drop?"
I nodded.
"Well it felt like the roller coaster fell off the tracts..."
I raised my eyebrows. That was the saddest thing I have ever heard her say, I thought. "You liked him that much?"
She nodded and took a drink.
"A, you gotta stop drinking. It's not good to do when upset."
"You do it all the time, George." She gave me a stern look and her words were sharp. "It's none of your business anyway." She looked ahead at the wall again and took another drink. I didn't want to argue, so I just leaned my head back and closed my eyes. Every now and then, I'd take a drink and I would see her take a few sips in between hits when I'd open my eyes. After about 10 minutes of absolute silence, she said something, "Why'd you stay in here with me?" I opened my eyes to see that she was looking at me, crying. It wasn't full blown madhouse crying, but the silent tears that don't make your face red.
"I wanted to make sure you were okay, I guess."
She gave me a slight smile, "Thanks......"
I leaned my head back again and closed my eyes. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure," she replied.
"Why did it hurt so bad when he said it was just a kiss?"
She was silent for a moment, but then she said, "He means a lot to me. A lot more than I thought."
"How long have you liked him?"
"About 4 or 5 years. When we first met, I thought he was adorable and he was pretty funny. I like funny guys.." She sounded sad.
"And when you first met me, you didn't even let me talk to you," I chuckled. I heard her blow air out of her nose like I said something amusing.
"Yeah, well...I didn't like you all that much."
"Why? We didn't even talk."
"In all honesty, I based my opinion off of interviews, articles, and random videos from youtube. I always saw you make of Matt and try to be funny and I didn't find it as charming as you thought you were being."
I looked at her and she was smiling, still looking ahead at the wall.
"Really? That was it? You could've just told me that when we met! I can assure you I would have acted like an even bigger asshole just to fuck with you." She giggled at that. It was cute and a happy giggle. It relieved me to hear it. I didn't like seeing her sad. "How'd you get out of Jordon's booth without making it obvious you were upset, anyway?"
"Oh...well after he said it was 'just a kiss', I sighed and said, 'Okay good. I didn't wanna say it was just a kiss and you be all 'oh well I like you' or something.' Obviously I lied, but he smirked and said that that was a good thing. He walked around me to sit on the couch and as he did so, I acted like I got a text from my mom and was like, 'Oh shit, my mom just texted saying something happened with my step dad. I need to call her.' You know...since they live in Oklahoma. He said okay and to call or text if I needed him and then I walked out. I stood outside of his booth and just started crying. Then I came in here. I stored some weed and booze for moments like this or for when we run out."
"How thoughtful of you. So he doesn't know you like him? Or...liked?"
"Like. And no, he doesn't. Well not that I know of, that is.
"Are you still going to move in tomorrow?"
"I'd like to. It'd be fun to live with you guys. I don't want something like this to ruin these huge plans. It'd be dumb."
"Well just know that I'm here if you need me. For anything. So are the other guys. Dylan, Matt, Jorel; we're all here. We care about you and Rich. I care about you," There was silence for a moment and I filled it with, "and Rich." She smiled and looked at me. I saw her looking at my mouth, and then back up at my eyes. I knew she was drunk, baked, and emotional, so I decided to be the good Samaritan that I am and help her stand up. "Let's get you some water. You need it."
"Enough for the night, faggot." I walked down the hall and remembered that I left my jacket in the old recording booth when I went in there to get a CD. I opened the door and saw that the door to the studio was open. "The fuck?" I said to myself as I walked in. There were panels on the wall that made the room sound proof, and since the room was old and cheap, the panels were removable. One huge panel was on the ground, and there was a gap big enough for someone to hide in behind it. I walked towards it and smelled pot and saw a foot from where I stood.
"Hello....?" I asked. I looked inside and saw A-Rad sitting and leaning against the wall with an empty bottle of beer, a 6 pack, a half full bottle of vodka, and a bag of weed sitting next to her. She was smoking and started coughing when I said something.
"Wha- *cough* what are you doin in here, dude?" She asked me. Her eyes were red and wet and her hair was messy.
"Were you crying?" I asked. She started tearing up, but then she took a drink of vodka and shook her head.
"Nope."
"Well you're a bad liar, that's for sure." I stepped in and sat next to her.
"Then why ask, George?"
I shrugged. "Felt it was polite." She stared at the wall in front of us, not saying a word. I grabbed a beer from the pack and opened it. "Hope you don't mind."
She still didn't look at me. She took a hit from the blunt and slowly exhaled. "So what happened?"
Her stare was cold and dead. Even though she wasn't looking at me, I still felt scared by the way she looked and by the silence. "A, what happened?" I became genuinely worried. She sniffled and looked down at the floor.
"Not a thing." Her words were quiet and slow.
"Drugs and alcohol together? Either you're stupid, like me and the guys, or you're trying to forget about something. Jordon said something about a family emergency? Is everything okay?"
"Everything's fine with my family."
"Then why'd Jordon tell us-" "Because I didn't want him to know he hurt me!" She interrupted. She brought her knees close up to her chest and rested her arms on them with a blunt in one hand and a bottle in the other. I wasn't sure what to say. I was quiet as I looked at her sad face. I took a huge gulp of beer and then asked, "What happened?"
She sighed and took another drink then said, "It's a long story, but him and I kissed earlier. After he pulled away, he asked if it meant anything. I was too scared to answer honestly, so I asked him the same thing. He gave me this look like he was saying 'Really? You think that meant something?' and it scared me. He shook his head and said, 'It was just a kiss' and I swear I felt my heart shatter. You know how you get that feeling of a roller coaster dropping in a suspense moment? Like something someone says is leading up to this huge revelation and you feel like it's a climb on a roller coaster, and then someone says something that makes the roller coaster go and drop?"
I nodded.
"Well it felt like the roller coaster fell off the tracts..."
I raised my eyebrows. That was the saddest thing I have ever heard her say, I thought. "You liked him that much?"
She nodded and took a drink.
"A, you gotta stop drinking. It's not good to do when upset."
"You do it all the time, George." She gave me a stern look and her words were sharp. "It's none of your business anyway." She looked ahead at the wall again and took another drink. I didn't want to argue, so I just leaned my head back and closed my eyes. Every now and then, I'd take a drink and I would see her take a few sips in between hits when I'd open my eyes. After about 10 minutes of absolute silence, she said something, "Why'd you stay in here with me?" I opened my eyes to see that she was looking at me, crying. It wasn't full blown madhouse crying, but the silent tears that don't make your face red.
"I wanted to make sure you were okay, I guess."
She gave me a slight smile, "Thanks......"
I leaned my head back again and closed my eyes. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure," she replied.
"Why did it hurt so bad when he said it was just a kiss?"
She was silent for a moment, but then she said, "He means a lot to me. A lot more than I thought."
"How long have you liked him?"
"About 4 or 5 years. When we first met, I thought he was adorable and he was pretty funny. I like funny guys.." She sounded sad.
"And when you first met me, you didn't even let me talk to you," I chuckled. I heard her blow air out of her nose like I said something amusing.
"Yeah, well...I didn't like you all that much."
"Why? We didn't even talk."
"In all honesty, I based my opinion off of interviews, articles, and random videos from youtube. I always saw you make of Matt and try to be funny and I didn't find it as charming as you thought you were being."
I looked at her and she was smiling, still looking ahead at the wall.
"Really? That was it? You could've just told me that when we met! I can assure you I would have acted like an even bigger asshole just to fuck with you." She giggled at that. It was cute and a happy giggle. It relieved me to hear it. I didn't like seeing her sad. "How'd you get out of Jordon's booth without making it obvious you were upset, anyway?"
"Oh...well after he said it was 'just a kiss', I sighed and said, 'Okay good. I didn't wanna say it was just a kiss and you be all 'oh well I like you' or something.' Obviously I lied, but he smirked and said that that was a good thing. He walked around me to sit on the couch and as he did so, I acted like I got a text from my mom and was like, 'Oh shit, my mom just texted saying something happened with my step dad. I need to call her.' You know...since they live in Oklahoma. He said okay and to call or text if I needed him and then I walked out. I stood outside of his booth and just started crying. Then I came in here. I stored some weed and booze for moments like this or for when we run out."
"How thoughtful of you. So he doesn't know you like him? Or...liked?"
"Like. And no, he doesn't. Well not that I know of, that is.
"Are you still going to move in tomorrow?"
"I'd like to. It'd be fun to live with you guys. I don't want something like this to ruin these huge plans. It'd be dumb."
"Well just know that I'm here if you need me. For anything. So are the other guys. Dylan, Matt, Jorel; we're all here. We care about you and Rich. I care about you," There was silence for a moment and I filled it with, "and Rich." She smiled and looked at me. I saw her looking at my mouth, and then back up at my eyes. I knew she was drunk, baked, and emotional, so I decided to be the good Samaritan that I am and help her stand up. "Let's get you some water. You need it."
