Love on the Brain

“Haner, what’s up? You sounded a little scared on the phone,” Valary said, as she tapped the end of her cigarette by using her index finger.

“Scared? I’m fucking petrified, Val!” Brian hissed, sounding as desperate as he felt.

“What’s going on? Did your dick fall off or something?” she chuckled, sucking in the scent of strong Marlboro, before she exhaled the smoke by parting her crimson red lips.

“Don’t make me regret coming to you,” he warned, picking up a cigarette for himself. “It’s about Jade, and I can’t talk to the guys about this,” he added.

“Is that so?” Val cocked her eyebrows, struggling with the fact that he wanted to talk about his girlfriend with her.

“She doesn’t want to sleep with me,” he all but blurted out, not caring about the fact that he was sounding like a whiny child.

Val nearly choked on her breath, as she had to look at Brian in order to see if she had heard right. She then pushed out a sigh from her lips and realized that she needed another smoke if this was the kind of talk they were going to have.

“What do you mean by that?” she asked, cupping her hand in front of the cigarette and bringing the lighter to it.

“I mean exactly what I said. She doesn’t wanna fuck,” Brian stated, rubbing his rigid fingertips against the temple of his skin.

“Do you know this or do you assume it?” the raven-haired girl asked, leaning against the cold barrier and tapping her cigarette.

“We’ve been together for nearly a month and she refuses to sleep with me! Of course I know,” Brian grumbled back.

“This is so bullshit,” Valary rolled her eyes. “Sometimes I can’t believe you’ve managed to get so many girls under your thumb,” she told him.

“What do you mean?” he mumbled to the raven-haired girl.

“Brian, did it ever occur to you that sex might be meaningful to people?” she asked him, her eyes resting upon his face, as she allowed him to chew on her question.

“Are you saying that the girls I’ve screwed didn’t value sex?” he asked, somewhat confused about her question.

Valary only rolled her eyes at him. “Not at all. I’m saying if you’ve ever thought about the fact that sex might mean something different to others than it does to you,”

“But I value sex?” Brian told her, sounding more like he was trying to say it out loud to himself.

“But this isn’t about you! It’s about Jade. Maybe she’s never had sex before or maybe she’s had lots of sex, with people she’s been with over a long period of time,” Valary explained. “You guys haven’t been together for that long, and perhaps she wants to wait. Did this ever occur to you?” she cocked her eyebrows at him.

“But she can’t be a virgin. I mean, have you seen her? She doesn’t move like one when I-” he was cut off by Val raising her hand.

“Irrelevant!” she said. “Why don’t you just talk to her about this? I don’t know why she hasn’t slept with you yet, even though I understand why…” she sniggered, earning herself a view of his middle finger.

“But what if she breaks up with me?” he muttered.

“Do you seriously think she’s gonna break up because you try to sort out something that’s been bugging you? You don’t seriously think that poorly of her, do you?” her eyebrows climbed high on her forehead.

“You’re right,” Brian sighed, knowing that Val had a fair point. “I should just talk to her,”

“And please don’t fuck it up for yourself, Haner,” Val muttered. “Sex can be a very difficult topic, and especially if she hasn’t slept with anyone before. Don’t make her uncomfortable and don’t push her,”

“I would never do that. I actually like her,” Brian insured her.

“Good. Jade’s a great girl, and I will seriously fuck up your face if you did anything to hurt her,” Val said with a clever smirk twisting her dark lips.

“She’s lucky to have you, Val. Thanks,” he smiled at her, feeling genuinely relieved after their conversation.

***

“I can’t believe that we’re gonna go to prom this year!” Michelle said rather dreamily, clutching the magazine of ball gowns against her chest and closing her eyes for a brief moment.

“I don’t really understand how these things are,” Jade confessed, as she was skipping through a couple of pages, looking through the different ball gowns the magazine had to offer.

“You’re lucky you don’t have to stress about finding a partner,” the blonde mocked, nudging her friend, who only rolled her eyes back.

“I don’t know if Brian’s gonna ask me to prom though,” she told her friend.

“Girl, are you crazy?” Michelle bellowed. “Of course he’ll ask you to fucking prom! He’s not a monster!”

“It’s not that, Michy. I just don’t wanna force him to go, because to be honest, I can’t imagine Brian in a suit,” Jade admitted to her friend.

“He’ll come around, I promise. Even Brian knows how important it is for a girl to have an amazing prom, and you’ll look stunning in a ball gown!” Michelle told her, placing her hand on her shoulder. “Speaking of Brian, did he mention their concert?”

“Yeah, but just briefly,” the brunette said. “I have nothing to wear,” she stated, chewing on her bottom lip.

“Why don’t you just let me fix that problem?” Michelle sniggered, getting up from her bed and paddling towards her closet. “I’ll make a rock princess out of you,” she promised.

“Oh, really now?” Jade giggled, not quite able to imagine herself in something else than cute summer dresses and flats.

“Oh, come on! It’ll be so much fun and you’re gonna blow his fucking pants off!” Michelle promised her friend. “Let me at least try to find something,” by now she was pouting her lips, giving her friend the puppy-stare, as Jade could feel her stubbornness crumble.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Jade looked away, knowing that she was soon about to give in.

“Please!” Michelle pleaded, not letting go of this. “You don’t even have to wear it!”

“Trying it on won’t hurt, I guess….” Jade said rather thoughtfully, hoping that she wouldn’t regret this later. “And if he likes it…” she trailed off again.

“Yes! I love you, pumpkin!” Michelle all but tackled Jade on top of her bed, kissing her cheek a numerous of times, before she got to her feet again and all but ran towards her closet.

“I have so many ideas!” the blonde said rather hysterically, as she opened her closet and started throwing out all kinds of mini skirts and torn stockings.

“Why do you have a stud bra?” Jade asked, her eyes looking skeptical as she picked up a black bra that was decorated with studs.

“My ex-boyfriend was into some kinky shit, one of them including me wearing studs and spikes,” Michelle confessed, before she returned to her closet and kept digging for more.

Jade shrugged back, her eyes looking at the pile of clothes that had landed on top of Michelle’s bed. “I think Val has some pretty rad accessories you could borrow,” Michelle told her, knowing that her sister was a little bit of a maniac when it came to bracelets.

“Okay, try this one on!” Michelle said, shoving a pile of articles into Jade’s hand and forcing her into the bathroom.

The brunette sighed, as she stripped out of her summer dress and instead pulled on a wide white Nirvana t-shirt and a torn grey shorts along with some vans. She looked like anything but herself as she stared at herself, shaking her head.

“Let me see!” the blonde girl demanded, as Jade unlocked the door and walked into her room, feeling like a model that was about to go down the runway.

“What do you think?” Jade asked, posing in a ridiculous pose in front of her friend.

“That looks kinda boring,” Val said from the door entrance, taking the two of them by surprise, as she plumped down on Michelle’s bed. “If you wanna look bad, you gotta at least go for something more hardcore than Nirvana,” Val announced, which gave Michelle another idea.

“I think I have it!” she said, jumping off her bed and picking out a new outfit, before she shoved the articles into Jade’s hands, including a pair of dirty Dr. Martens. “Come on!”

When Jade returned into the room this time, the twins looked more convinced by her look. She was now dressed in a black worn out Iron Maiden t-shirt and a black mini shorts that had been decorated by studs.

“Now we’re talking,” Val smacked her hands together. “But I would go for something sexier, but still hardcore looking,” she told her sister, both of them talking as though this was Top Model.

“Val, do you still have that denim skirt? The old one you bought at a vintage store?” Michelle asked, a clever smile twisting her lips, meanwhile her index finger was placed under her chin.

“Yeah, I think so. How come?” her twin asked.

“I have the perfect outfit for the evening,” Michelle smiled mischievously at Jade. “You’re gonna make him faint,” she promised.