It's the Mess That Feels So Right...

Friday. Friday gave me hope, filled me with excitement as I thought about tomorrow, and how fast the whole week seemed to have flown by. Even Caleb, the only person at school who wasn’t friends with me because I knew Gabe Saporta or Pete Wentz and so on and so forth, wasn’t at school to entertain me with one of his hilarious stories about his misadventures of the weekend. Considering this, he was probably being punished for said misadventures. I smiled at this thought. Caleb wasn’t a bad kid, in fact he was quite genuine and kind, but he just didn’t always use his head when it came to being responsible.

Last block just seemed to never end, as I tapped irritably on the chipped wooden desk that had engraved into it various dirty messages, a few noticeably being from Caleb, as the old bat at the front droned on. Whatever she was teaching us about the effects poverty had on society, didn’t stay with me long. Usually I was attentive in class but excitement got the better of me. The door swung open and the loud bang caused the entire class to snap out of their sleep and turn to the door to see Caleb sauntering into class like there wasn’t only five minutes left.

“Caleb Jared, I was wondering if you were ever going to show up,” Mrs. Hanes muttered, pursing her badly painted lips at Caleb as he slouched into his seat next to mine and flashed me a grin.

“Better late than never, as they say,” He said nonchalantly, and smiled politely up at the teacher as she muttered under her breath and continued on with lesson. Most teachers had just given up trying to deal with Caleb and his disappearing/ reappearing act.

“So where have you been, you ass. This week has totally bombed because you weren’t here!” I exclaimed and Caleb just laughed at my over exaggeration.

“Well if you really must know, it started on Saturday, when I got dared to run down the street naked with a condom on my head when…” Caleb suddenly realized that half the class was staring at him.

“I’ll tell you the rest later. Anyway, legal this weekend, are we?” He said excitedly, as I groaned and fell forward onto my desk.

“Why does everyone have that evil desire to keep reminding me?”

“Because it’s exciting! Our little Bee is growing up!” Caleb chirped and I glared at him.

“So, big party this Saturday? I’m sure Gabe’s planned it all,” Caleb said, laughing as I groaned again and nodded.

“He has probably gone so far as to invite the whole Decay Dance friggen’ army!” I said, trying to ignore the fact that several pairs of ears perked up at this.

“Well, I’m sure you can’t wait to see everybody, though, am I right?”

“Well yeah, that is true. It’s been a while since I’ve seen many of them. Oh and obviously, you are invited to this shindig, as long as you leave your crazy stoner friends at home,” I commanded with a laugh as Caleb held up his three fingers in a salute.

“Scouts honor,” He said seriously.

“Were you ever even in Scouts?”

“… Your point being?”

I just shook my head with an amused smile, as the bell rung out through the corridors, signaling the arrival of the weekend.

“It’s about time!” Caleb yelled out, obviously forgetting that he had only been on school grounds for five minutes. I rolled my eyes and packed away my books, my anticipation growing. As we walked out of class, Caleb swung his arm around my shoulder and continued his story about running down a street naked with a condom on his head when Elise, renamed She-devil, jumped up in front of us.

“So I hear it’s your birthday this weekend and you are having a huge party. Is there any extra invites?” Elise asked conversationally, her smile as fake as her personality.

“Well, even if there were, I don’t think I’d give them to the girl who sabotaged my science fair project and stole my clothes from the gym lockers not so long ago,” I said, returning her fake smile. Her eyes narrowed and she went to open her mouth to shoot back an insult, when Caleb grabbed my hand, pulling me away. Which was a good thing he did, I was known for having a serious temper as well as being slightly bi-polar.

“You can cut the bitchiness with a knife!” Caleb exclaimed, swiping the air with his arms. I smacked his arm lightly though laughing while I did, as we began our short walk home with Caleb’s voice narrating along the way. It was always so easy being around Caleb, nothing was ever awkward and I found I could just be myself around him. He didn’t worry or get mad over petty things, in fact he was very laid backed to say the least.

He was a heavy metal fan and completely straight, which eliminated the two main reasons to why he would want to be my friend, in fact he didn’t really know who Pete Wentz was, let alone who Gabe was. Caleb was the kind of guy that didn’t take very much seriously, he enjoyed partying it up, checking out undiscovered bands that he occasionally dragged me along to a concert or two, and simply watching life pass him by, like nothing in the world was wrong. Maybe that’s why I liked hanging out with him so much, when I was with him, I could see life through his eyes and I didn’t worry so much, I could actually let go and enjoy myself.

As we continued our walk, the afternoon sun beating down lazily, an over exaggerating sigh fell from my lips. Caleb looked over at me, confused, raising his eyebrows at me as to share what I was thinking.

“I’m supposed to get something nice to wear for tomorrow and it completely slipped my mind…” I sighed, imagining Gabe’s reaction if I rocked up to my own party wearing daggy old jeans and a top. Caleb’s confused look changed to an expression of joy, which scared me. I had forgotten that despite his rebel exterior, he was a complete fashionista, even though I’m certain he’s straight.

“Well what are we standing here for? Let’s go!” Caleb said excitedly, grabbing my hand again and dragging me back in the direction we had come from, toward the shopping mall.

-X-

“Caleb, you know that I respect your style and all, but you know that I have a strict no ruffles, short skirts, short dresses or high heels priority,” I said, pouting as I looked in the mirror at the horrendous outfit that Caleb had thrown together. I knew Caleb enjoyed using me as a mannequin but it was just cruel keeping me here longer than he had too.

“We are getting closer to the perfect attire, just trust me and hang in there a little longer,” Caleb promised me from the other side of the changing room door.

“Alright,” I sighed, “Next.” A pile of clothes flew over the door and landed on top of me.

“Thanks,” I muttered bitterly while Caleb just laughed, I knew he loved to torture me. Grabbing the first piece of material that my hand touched and throwing it on, I looked back at the mirror. It was a black, sequined dress that had long sleeves and a low-cut neckline, the hem of the dress brushing the midsection of my thighs. Normal Bee would have been shocked to wear something so different to the usual jeans and shirt, especially with it being shorter than I would usually accept but for some reason, it was different this time. Shyly, I stepped out of the changing room to meet Caleb’s critical eye. A second later, he punched the air in his victory.

“I was so hoping you would pick that, it looks fantastic. Here, I got a belt to go with it and I found the perfect black flats to tie it all together,” He said happily while I laughed at his reaction.

“Thanks Caleb, you’re a miracle worker, I actually look half-decent. Just one question,” I mused as Caleb straightened up and listened, “Are you sure you’re not gay?”

With a joking eyebrow wiggle, Caleb just pushed me back into the small room, so I took it as a no. Finally, after everything was paid for, Caleb let me free.

“Thanks again Caleb, I’ll see you tomorrow?” I asked as we prepared to depart.

“Most definitely, birthday girl.” He laughed at my scowl, “Give Gabe my greetings and I’ll be over bright and early.” He held out his fist with a smirk, which I tapped with my own and we walked our separate ways, with me knowing that I was only a few hours away from being with my ‘family.'