You Had Me at "I Hate You"
16
"Violet!" Linc croaked from our bedroom. "Violeeeeet!"
Jesse stirred the Campbell's chicken noodle soup a final time, before sloshing some into a bowl, and handing it over to me.
I sighed and called over my shoulder, "Coming, Linc!"
"Hurry!" he rasped.
I walked into our room, being careful not to spill the soup. As I entered, Linc's body was racked with a horrible, hacking cough. It came from deep in his chest, and it made me worry like a nervous mother.
"Hey, hon," I greeted him. "You okay?"
"Yes, Mommy."
I rolled my eyes and set the plastic bowl on his night-stand.
"Why do you always call me in here to help you?" I asked him. "Why don't you ever yell for Jesse?"
He grinned and said hoarsely, "Because it's not fun to watch Jesse leave."
I snorted in laughter.
Even with a temperature of 101, Lincoln Fletcher was still a horn dog.
He coughed a bit more and then tried to clear his throat so that he could say something.
"Hey, I just want to say-"
He interrupted himself with a violent coughing spasm.
"I want to say that-"
More coughing.
"That I'm-"
"Lincoln!" I cried. "Shut up! You're going to kill yourself if you keep talking!"
He was too weak to protest, so he just closed his blood-shot eyes, and sighed.
"Eat," I ordered, and pointed to his soup. "Jesse made it for you, so I'm 85 percent sure that it's not poisoned."
He chuckled slightly, and then winced. Everything hurt his throat, which was red and raw from the coughing.
He slurped a bit of the soup half-heartedly. His face was pale and sweaty... He looked awful.
"Need anything else?" I asked.
"Nope."
Jesse poked his head in the room.
"Hey, Violet," he said, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder. "I've got the couch all set up, so you can take my room tonight."
"What?" I asked, confused.
"Well, you can't sleep in here with Johnny-Germs," he scoffed, pointing to Linc.
"Hey!" Linc rasped. "That's Mister Johnny-Germs to you!"
We ignored him.
"Jesse, I can't take your room!"
"Why not?"
"Because... It's your room!" I cried. "I don't want to kick you out! I'll take the couch."
He shook his head. "No way."
"Why not?" I protested.
"Because my mother would kill me if I let a girl sleep on that tiny little couch!"
I sighed. "Jesse, I just can't-"
"Violet, did you know that I grew up in Texas?" Jesse asked, picking at his fingernails.
"N-No..." I stuttered, surprised at the change of topic.
"Well, I did. I'm a Southern gentleman... And I'm also a sensitive artist," he teased. "So there's pretty much no possible way to sway me on this one."
"No!" I cried. "I can't!"
"You can, and you will," he said simply, smiling and shrugging his shoulders.
Lincoln was coughing again.
"I refuse to boot you out of your own room!"
He sighed. "You're not going to give up on this, are you?"
"No!"
"Well, you are not sleeping on that couch!"
"And neither are you!"
Jesse began working things out in his mind. "Well, Linc could take the couch... No, that wouldn't work either, he needs his rest... I could sleep in here... No, then I'd get sick too... Violet and I can both share my room-"
Linc's coughing turned into choking. "What?!"
Jesse blushed. "Yeah. Bad idea."
I laughed at how uncomfortable I could make people feel.
Then, it hit me.
"Aiden!" I cried.
"Yeah?" Linc scowled. "What about him?"
"I could call Aiden! I'm sure he wouldn't mind picking me up!" I grinned at the brilliance of my plan.
"Yeah!" Jesse shouted. "That would work!"
"No!" Linc protested. "That wouldn't work!"
"Why not?" I challenged.
"You guys have been dating for one week!" he challenged back.
"So?" I spat. "We really like each other and-"
Lincoln mimed gagging.
"Oh, shut up!" I screamed. "It's not my fault that you've got the emotional range of a rodent!"
"I've got more emotion then that douche bag, Aiden!"
"You bastard!"
"It's not fair! You're my roommate! Not his!"
"That doesn't make any sense, you caveman!"
"I don't care! You're mine!"
"You don't own me, Lincoln Fletcher!"
"HEY!" Jesse shouted above us. "Everyone needs to calm down!"
I fell silent with an angry huff.
"Linc, you should stop being an ass. And Violet, you should go call Aiden," he instructed. I turned around and stuck out my tongue at Linc on my way out.
"But I-" Linc protested, and I slammed the door. I heard the muffled sounds of angry yelling as I punched in Aiden's number.
After a few moments of explaining, he gladly agreed to come get me. He promised me a nice home-made dinner as well. By the time I hung up, I was feeling a lot better.
Aiden had told me that I could just borrow some of his clothes for P.J.'s, so I didn't have to go back into the war-zone that was my room.
A few minutes later, I buzzed Aiden up. Jesse and Linc were still fighting.
I knocked on my door, and interrupted my roommate's arguing.
Jesse opened it.
"I'm leaving," I told him. "See you whenever that thing gets better."
I'd pointed at Lincoln.
Jesse gave me a quick hug and said his goodbye.
A knock on the front door.
I turned around to leave, and Jesse called out, "Violet! Uh... Lincoln says he's sorry."
I heard a raspy, "I DO NOT!"
"Way to go, dickwad!" Jesse shouted, turning around to face Linc again. "I was trying to leave you two off on a good note! Now she's going to be pissed off!"
"She already was pissed off! Why couldn't you have just let her take the damn couch?!" Linc retorted.
"It's not my fault that you're so possessive of her! I'm not going to make her sleep on that disgusting couch just because you love her!"
"What!?" Lincoln cried, and began coughing. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!"
"That's so typical of you, dipshit!" Jesse bellowed. "We can't just shove her wherever's convenient! She's a person too!"
"Oh, boo-hoo! She wanted to sleep there-"
"Well, I don't care!"
"You hear that, Violet? Jesse doesn't care about you!"
"Nice! Real mature!"
I opened the door for Aiden, winced at the extent of the shouts coming from my bedroom, and then scurried out into the hallway.
I closed and locked the door to the apartment, and the shouting died away.
"Are Jesse and Lincoln breaking up?" Aiden teased.
I kissed him. "Ugh. They're so annoying! They're fighting over me."
He raised an eyebrow.
"No! Not like that!" I reassured him. "Linc got sick... Complications with who was sleeping where... Not fun."
"Those boys are worse than the girls on The Hills," he commented, laughing.
He held my hand, lacing my fingers in between his own.
He didn't need to say anything. I kissed him again.
Sometimes it's okay to just be silent. Sometimes it's okay to just be loved.
Jesse stirred the Campbell's chicken noodle soup a final time, before sloshing some into a bowl, and handing it over to me.
I sighed and called over my shoulder, "Coming, Linc!"
"Hurry!" he rasped.
I walked into our room, being careful not to spill the soup. As I entered, Linc's body was racked with a horrible, hacking cough. It came from deep in his chest, and it made me worry like a nervous mother.
"Hey, hon," I greeted him. "You okay?"
"Yes, Mommy."
I rolled my eyes and set the plastic bowl on his night-stand.
"Why do you always call me in here to help you?" I asked him. "Why don't you ever yell for Jesse?"
He grinned and said hoarsely, "Because it's not fun to watch Jesse leave."
I snorted in laughter.
Even with a temperature of 101, Lincoln Fletcher was still a horn dog.
He coughed a bit more and then tried to clear his throat so that he could say something.
"Hey, I just want to say-"
He interrupted himself with a violent coughing spasm.
"I want to say that-"
More coughing.
"That I'm-"
"Lincoln!" I cried. "Shut up! You're going to kill yourself if you keep talking!"
He was too weak to protest, so he just closed his blood-shot eyes, and sighed.
"Eat," I ordered, and pointed to his soup. "Jesse made it for you, so I'm 85 percent sure that it's not poisoned."
He chuckled slightly, and then winced. Everything hurt his throat, which was red and raw from the coughing.
He slurped a bit of the soup half-heartedly. His face was pale and sweaty... He looked awful.
"Need anything else?" I asked.
"Nope."
Jesse poked his head in the room.
"Hey, Violet," he said, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder. "I've got the couch all set up, so you can take my room tonight."
"What?" I asked, confused.
"Well, you can't sleep in here with Johnny-Germs," he scoffed, pointing to Linc.
"Hey!" Linc rasped. "That's Mister Johnny-Germs to you!"
We ignored him.
"Jesse, I can't take your room!"
"Why not?"
"Because... It's your room!" I cried. "I don't want to kick you out! I'll take the couch."
He shook his head. "No way."
"Why not?" I protested.
"Because my mother would kill me if I let a girl sleep on that tiny little couch!"
I sighed. "Jesse, I just can't-"
"Violet, did you know that I grew up in Texas?" Jesse asked, picking at his fingernails.
"N-No..." I stuttered, surprised at the change of topic.
"Well, I did. I'm a Southern gentleman... And I'm also a sensitive artist," he teased. "So there's pretty much no possible way to sway me on this one."
"No!" I cried. "I can't!"
"You can, and you will," he said simply, smiling and shrugging his shoulders.
Lincoln was coughing again.
"I refuse to boot you out of your own room!"
He sighed. "You're not going to give up on this, are you?"
"No!"
"Well, you are not sleeping on that couch!"
"And neither are you!"
Jesse began working things out in his mind. "Well, Linc could take the couch... No, that wouldn't work either, he needs his rest... I could sleep in here... No, then I'd get sick too... Violet and I can both share my room-"
Linc's coughing turned into choking. "What?!"
Jesse blushed. "Yeah. Bad idea."
I laughed at how uncomfortable I could make people feel.
Then, it hit me.
"Aiden!" I cried.
"Yeah?" Linc scowled. "What about him?"
"I could call Aiden! I'm sure he wouldn't mind picking me up!" I grinned at the brilliance of my plan.
"Yeah!" Jesse shouted. "That would work!"
"No!" Linc protested. "That wouldn't work!"
"Why not?" I challenged.
"You guys have been dating for one week!" he challenged back.
"So?" I spat. "We really like each other and-"
Lincoln mimed gagging.
"Oh, shut up!" I screamed. "It's not my fault that you've got the emotional range of a rodent!"
"I've got more emotion then that douche bag, Aiden!"
"You bastard!"
"It's not fair! You're my roommate! Not his!"
"That doesn't make any sense, you caveman!"
"I don't care! You're mine!"
"You don't own me, Lincoln Fletcher!"
"HEY!" Jesse shouted above us. "Everyone needs to calm down!"
I fell silent with an angry huff.
"Linc, you should stop being an ass. And Violet, you should go call Aiden," he instructed. I turned around and stuck out my tongue at Linc on my way out.
"But I-" Linc protested, and I slammed the door. I heard the muffled sounds of angry yelling as I punched in Aiden's number.
After a few moments of explaining, he gladly agreed to come get me. He promised me a nice home-made dinner as well. By the time I hung up, I was feeling a lot better.
Aiden had told me that I could just borrow some of his clothes for P.J.'s, so I didn't have to go back into the war-zone that was my room.
A few minutes later, I buzzed Aiden up. Jesse and Linc were still fighting.
I knocked on my door, and interrupted my roommate's arguing.
Jesse opened it.
"I'm leaving," I told him. "See you whenever that thing gets better."
I'd pointed at Lincoln.
Jesse gave me a quick hug and said his goodbye.
A knock on the front door.
I turned around to leave, and Jesse called out, "Violet! Uh... Lincoln says he's sorry."
I heard a raspy, "I DO NOT!"
"Way to go, dickwad!" Jesse shouted, turning around to face Linc again. "I was trying to leave you two off on a good note! Now she's going to be pissed off!"
"She already was pissed off! Why couldn't you have just let her take the damn couch?!" Linc retorted.
"It's not my fault that you're so possessive of her! I'm not going to make her sleep on that disgusting couch just because you love her!"
"What!?" Lincoln cried, and began coughing. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!"
"That's so typical of you, dipshit!" Jesse bellowed. "We can't just shove her wherever's convenient! She's a person too!"
"Oh, boo-hoo! She wanted to sleep there-"
"Well, I don't care!"
"You hear that, Violet? Jesse doesn't care about you!"
"Nice! Real mature!"
I opened the door for Aiden, winced at the extent of the shouts coming from my bedroom, and then scurried out into the hallway.
I closed and locked the door to the apartment, and the shouting died away.
"Are Jesse and Lincoln breaking up?" Aiden teased.
I kissed him. "Ugh. They're so annoying! They're fighting over me."
He raised an eyebrow.
"No! Not like that!" I reassured him. "Linc got sick... Complications with who was sleeping where... Not fun."
"Those boys are worse than the girls on The Hills," he commented, laughing.
He held my hand, lacing my fingers in between his own.
He didn't need to say anything. I kissed him again.
Sometimes it's okay to just be silent. Sometimes it's okay to just be loved.