For Us

This had gone from a fairytale to a nightmare much faster than I expected. I mean, I knew Sean and Stella. I knew what Fight Night meant. It meant that Elli wasn’t even a thought other than a free hand to grab them a beer so they didn’t have to miss the fight.

But it started far too soon. We hadn’t even left the grocery store before they were bickering about which fighter was gonna win. Not just like they had done at Sean’s house. No. I mean full out yelling, so much so that everyone either stared at us or moved past them as fast as they could. I literally had to send Stella and Norman out to the car at one point so they didn’t start actually hitting each other.

That was all pre-game talk. It was typical. Normally, the two were smart enough to either have everything they needed before the day of, or they had a list they could give to me. Not this time. This time, they had to be in public for all that bullshit.

When we got back to Stella’s, things calmed down for a time. Fight Night was out of my mind, Norm’s too, and Sean and Stella seemed to have it at least out of their first thoughts. We watched the Avengers and enjoyed being together. When Sean and Stella were at college, it had been the best time of my life. They made me a better me, and when I was better, my life was better.

Even just laying around, watching a movie . . . it was amazing. We had to constantly pause it and argue over something, or rewind it because someone missed something. Or rewind it because someone arguing made someone miss something. It was funny and, most of all, fun.

And then . . . six thirty rolled around.

Everything changed.

The moment Stella flipped the channel to the fight, even though it was just prefight talk and guesses about who was gonna win and such, neither one of them moved a muscle. Their eyes glued to the TV, and they leaned forward towards it.

Even though I was nestled between Sean and the arm of the couch, it was uncomfortable the way he was sitting. I felt squished, so I decided to move before things got violent . . . and not just on the TV.

Sean didn’t look at me, but he did at least notice I moved. “Hey, Sparks? Can you bring me a beer?”

All excitement that he did notice me faded. Sure, it was still touching he noticed me, I suppose, but . . . he just wanted a beer.

Nah. He wanted a beer from me. That made it okay because it was Sean. Fight Night was important to him, so he didn’t have to notice me.

The moment I thought that, I felt strange. It was probably from the fact I was still a little buzzed from earlier. I mean, my first time . . . and with Sean of all people . . . it was hard for me to tear myself away from him.

Don’t be clingy, Elli. He hates clingy.

Norman started laughing at me the moment I turned towards the kitchen. I had to focus on not letting Sean’s lack of attention to me bother me, which just bothered me more. This post-first time buzz was annoying, and of course, Norman wasn’t helping one bit.

Stella helped a little, though, when she snorted. “Everyone shut the fuck up. Fight’s about to start.”

Norman playfully glared over at her, which she missed completely, and he started to say something. I could tell it was gonna be to spite her. With that devious gleam in the corner of his eye and the smirk pulling across his lips, I knew things were about to get hilarious and ugly all at once.

And then, once again, he was shut up. This time, however, it was Sean cutting him off when he said, “I still need a beer.”

“Of fucking course you do,” I muttered, and Norman smirked at me as I trudged into the kitchen.

“I think I need a vodka for this one,” Stella called after me. “It’s not even main card yet, and my heart is having convulsions!”

Norman, once again, decided to make me feel better about being the drink girl by walking into the kitchen as well. He leaned against the doorway and just smirked at me, those eyes cocky and proud as I pulled out Stella’s favorite vodka and a bottle of beer for Sean.

“While you’re at it, El, grab me a bottle of Jack. And a bottle of Coke.”

Instead of taking them to Sean and Stella, however, I pushed past Norman and put them on the dining room table that was otherwise used for Stella’s shit she didn’t actually have a place for. “Fuck. You. All.”

“FIGHT’S STARTING!” Stella exclaimed at the same time Norman said,

“Or just Sean instead?”

While the idea was fresh in my mind, and it sounded like one of Norman’s better ideas of the day, it wasn’t on Sean’s mind at the moment. As a matter of fact, there was only one thing on Sean’s mind.

“Hey, Elli, I still need a beer?”

I thought Stella was gonna slap him. “SHUT THE FUCK UP. IT’S STARTING. FUCK LATER.”

Well, at least one of them heard Norm’s joke.

Norman found what Stella said to be far more entertaining than I did, and it was probably just the high fucking with my emotions. I mean, there was no reason for me to be frustrated, but I was. Extremely so.

Until Stella picked up the TV remote and threw it at Norman, who was apparently laughing too hard for her liking. That made me feel much better.

He managed to catch it before it hit him, and I had to admit, it was impressive. Norman didn’t always have the best reflexes.

“WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO THE FIGHT?!” Stella yelped.

Of course he changed the channel.

Sean’s eyes were wide when he looked over to us, particularly Norman, who was still holding the remote. “REEDUS!”

This was about it for me. Things were already violent, and it just started. While Norman threw the remote back and ran into the kitchen to get out of dodge, I turned towards the dining room table and picked up my phone and jacket. “I think I’m gonna go get those drinks now, but I may not be able to come back, so Normy? You’ll have to come pick me up.”

Norman stepped out of the kitchen carefully, his eyes on Stella and Sean. When he saw they didn’t care enough to throw it back, he calmed down a bit and grabbed his own jacket and keys.

“Fuck it,” he scoffed. “I’ll just come with you since I’m not welcome here.

To no one’s surprise, the two on the couch didn’t notice or care. Their eyes stayed set on the fight.

I sighed. “I see how important we are.”

“Hey, guys?” Norman said, raising his voice a bit as if it would make a different to those two. “What if we get kidnapped tonight?”

Like I figured, it didn’t matter. They didn’t say a word, didn’t even flinch.

“They’d probably kill us, Normy,” I muttered.

When they, once again, didn’t say a word, Norman looked mortified. His eyes widened as he looked to the two, then back to me, then back to the two who still hadn’t moved. “Really?!”

Stella showed the first sign that either of the two were still present in the real world. “Shut the fuck up!”

Well . . . it was an improvement, I suppose.

I looked to Norman and scoffed. “It’s probably because they know you can’t stop talking during Fight Night, and that you change the fucking channel right before main card starts. Watch. Tonight’s the night all my fears are gonna fucking come true, and Stella’s gonna yell at me for being raped on Fight Night.” For shits and giggles, I decided to try and talk like Stella. “‘Come on, Elli?! It’s Fight Night! Couldn’t you have been raped some other night? There are no fights tomorrow! Fuck work! I can miss that shit!’”

Sean wasn’t even fazed at how shittily I mimicked Stella. “It’s probably because you never tried to learn any kind of martial arts.”

“We wouldn’t even be having this conversation if you had,” Stella chimed in.

“Well fuck you too then,” I mumbled, and I headed for the door again. “Come on, Normy. Let’s get those drinks . . . and many more.”

“We have horrible friends.”

“Clearly,” I said, and I shot the two a useless glare. “Well, I’m off to probably be raped now while you two don’t give two fucks. Norman’s probably gonna be dead, too. So, have fun with that.”

“Have you heard anything they’re saying?” Sean asked Stella, and instead of, you know, asking me, he kept his eyes glued to the TV before letting out a cheer.

“Holy shit at that arm bar!” was Stella’s only response.

Of course.

“Normy, do you think he’d even notice if I got naked?” I asked.

Sean didn’t respond, didn’t even flinch. Stella grimaced, but she didn’t respond to what I said. Only said something slightly unrelated to Sean. “I’d let Bones Jones put me in a body triangle any day. I’m pretty sure the pleasure would overcome the pain.”

Sean heard what she said, heard every damn word that came out of her mouth. Why was Stella here during Fight Night but not me?

Norman looked just as pissed as I was, and he wrapped his fingers securely around my wrist and took two long strides for the door. “We’re leaving now.”

On our way out the door, I heard Sean ask Stella, “What got his panties in a wad?—wait. Did Elli say she was getting naked?”

So . . . I could get through to him. Huh.

The idea made me smile, but the smile quickly faded when I remembered that Stella had gotten through to him all night. It was like they were in their own little world, and I didn’t like it.

Green wasn’t a pretty color on me, but I didn’t really care. Sean had just taken the last piece of me I had to give him, and not even twenty-four hours later, it was as if I didn’t even exist.

It hurt. My heart hurt. My head spun, and I knew drinking was a bad idea in my state, but I didn’t care. I was pissed, and I felt like being spiteful.

Stella just made it worse. “Sean. Fight. Focus.”

“But . . . naked.”

So I existed . . . enough that he was willing to walk away from Fight Night?

Norman didn’t like the way I turned back to head into the living room, but I didn’t really care. Sean wasn’t even looking at the TV anymore. His eyes were on the doorway, on me, as a huge smile pulled across the corners of his lips. It was one of those smiles that brought out a big smile of my own. How could I not smile at that adorable face?

Norman didn’t smile, just rolled his eyes. “No, Sean. I’m getting naked.”

And just like that, all attention he had given to me vanished. His eyes shifted back away from me, and he refocused on the shirtless men kicking and punching the shit out of each other. “Nope. Already seen that shit. Fights.”

“Well fuck you, too!” And I grabbed Norm by the wrist this time and drug him out the door behind me. I heard it close, but I didn’t really care if it closed or not.

I was ready to do some serious drinking.