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Description
Now they're going to bed
And my stomach is sick
And it's all in my head
But she's touching his—chest
Now, he takes off her dress
Now, let me go
I just can't look it's killing me
And taking control
Jealousy, turning saints into the sea
Swimming through sick lullabies
Choking on your alibis
But it's just the price I pay
Destiny is calling me
Open up my eager eyes
'Cause I'm Mr Brightside

She said I think I'll go to Boston...
I think I'll start a new life,
I think I'll start it over, where no one knows my name,
I'll get out of California, I'm tired of the weather,
I think I need a sunrise, I'm tired of the sunset,
I hear it's nice in the Summer, some snow would be nice...

"We're not staying here for more than an hour," Avi warned his sister. He would've never gone to the stupid party himself if she hadn't read his mail and threatened to tell their parents about his scholarship.

His attempt to find a parking space was thwarted by a swerving, rambunctious Jeep.

"Fuck!" he yelled, hitting the steering wheel.

Two girls stood in the open roof, hands in the air, tan backs shining in the moonlight. The air was heavy with the last kiss of summer. That might've explained the swimsuits, but more likely they were just worn because desperate girls could find any excuse to expose more flesh.

"Calm down. I don't feel safe with you and your road rage . And an hour is not even that-"

"April. Shut. Up."

Both sides of the road were packed, so perhaps Avi would be relieved of his duty early. He finally found a spot, albeit far from the bright house teeming with his peers.

"Don't follow me."

"I'm not letting you go in there alone."

"God, this is so embarrassing…"

She reluctantly walked beside him the entire way to the packed house.

Beer cans littered the lawn. A couple made out among them, the girl underneath unrecognizable, save for a the red hair splayed underneath her head. People sat in the windowsills, their legs swinging, calling out to the couple and the arriving people tipsily.

Avi followed April as she zipped through the crowd with ease to a group of freshman girls. He worried at her efficiency. Had she been to these sort of things before? She was, after all, only fourteen. He made a mental note to watch her from a respectful distance.

He would've mingled, except that the only person he could really stand at this school, Blair, would never sink to this level of stupidity. It was not from lack of trying that Avi felt absolutely no connection to most of these people.

He opened his water bottle and took a swig, one of the only people in the room drinking something of the nonalcoholic variety.

It was then that he saw her.

The willowy body of Cala Avery was adorned by a pretty little black dress that showed her snowy shoulders. She shot past him, only to look back at him, a small, shy smile playing on her lips.

The struck boy smiled back. In that moment he wanted to hold her, gently press his lips onto hers, and then on each preciously bare shoulder, first the left, then the right, then a slow trail across her prominent collarbone, and then up her queenly neck, and then up her elegant cheekbone, and then…

But then she grabbed the hand of Tory and ran down the hall with him. Avi was reminded of when he used to play soccer. Whenever someone was hit in the stomach by the ball, the opposing teams knelt down and clapped. He wished that someone would do that for him right then, but no one seemed to notice that his churning stomach felt the impact of a soccer ball flying at 100 miles per hour.

April tugged at that sleeve of her brother's flannel.

"What?" he asked, eyes still locked on the door that Cala and Tory had entered.

"Meredith wants to drive out of town, to Dairy Queen. I'm going to go with them."

"I need to see her license."

"Aviiii! Stop being so overprotective!"

"I'm not asking out of protectiveness. I just don't want to get nabbed by mom and dad for letting you carpool illegally."

"You're a jerk," she said, bottom lip quivering.

"Just go get me the goddamn license, April."

She left and came back, redfaced, to thrust it into this waiting palm. Once her confirmed that her friend had had the license for the mandatory amount of time, he told her to have fun and come be home by 11. She nodded in compliance, still put out, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

***

He walked out to his car. There was nothing else in there for him. There never had been, really. Just a smattering of people he couldn't care less about, one he was supposed to watch over, and one who kept popping up every place she wasn't supposed to.

He froze. There she was, sitting in the grass right by his Lincoln. The corn silk of her hair fell in tangles around her shoulders. Those shoulders looked off-color, as if someone had not mixed the paint correctly the match the rest of the artist's creation that was her skin.

He made himself advance towards her.

"What are you doing here?" he asked simply.

"I- I recognized your car. Tory left without me with some…skank."

It took her far longer than a normal person to finish the sentence.

"Could you give me a ride?" she asked, gripping the car as she tried to stand, legs wobbly in her strappy heels. She turned around and stumbled towards him.

"I can make it…worth your while," she murmured.

Her lips crashed into his. He allowed himself a moment to taste her: peach schnapps, vodka, coolness, chapstick, and then something less tangible: a sort of searching, almost yearning desperation. He had to make himself push her off.

"You don't have to do that. I'm gonna take you home."

"Ha," she said, " 'home'."

With a silly smile, she opened the driver's door and sat, drumming her fingers across the wheel. Avi crouched down in the open doorway, as if speaking to a child.

"You do realize that's the driver's seat, right?"

"I can drive!" she claimed belligerently.

"Nooo you can't."

He took her hand to try to pull her out. She jerked away from him and crossed her arms in a most petulant manner.

"Fine."

He scooped her up and threw her halfway over his shoulder. She couldn't have weighed more than 100 pounds soaking wet.

After he had plopped her writhing form onto the passenger seat, he buckled her in, just in case she was still feeling defiant. She showed no resistance, so he left her and started the car.

"Are you sure you don't want to go home?"

"No. They're…gone. It's dark I'll be all alone. I don't to be like…like…that. I want to sleep though," she finished, her eyes fluttering closed.

"NO!"

Avi swerved to the side of the road and began slapping her on each side of her face.

"You can't fall asleep, Cala."

When here eyes opened, they were blurry. That, Avi reassured himself, was still much better than closed.

"Come on. We're going to get coffee. How does that sound?"

"Whatever."

He sighed and draped his flannel jacket around her. She held it tight without complaint.

***

Guilt washed over Avi for sitting in Denny's when his own family had a diner with basically the same food. He tried to brush it aside. There really weren't any other options. His parents were lenient, but even they would frown at him bringing an inebriated girl into their place of business.

Cala nursed her cup of coffee. They had been sitting in companionable silence for quite a while now. She was the first to break it.

"Do you ever want to get away?"

"From?"

"From all of it."

"Sometimes. But I know I will eventually, so that helps."

"I feel like I can hardly wait. I hate the weather here. I feel like you should get some say in where you live before you're born. I want to be where it snows. Don't you?"

"Not particularly."

"Oh, come on. Are you telling me that you never watched all those after school specials? You know, the ones where the kids would press their noses against the frozen windowpane and cheer when school was cancelled…and then they would run outside and catch snowflakes on their tongues. You're telling me you never watched that and felt like you were missing out on something?"

He admitted that he did, but that if the choice was between snow and the coast, he would take the coast any day.

"Typical answer."

The dreaded question had to be asked eventually.

"Where do you live? Your parents must be worried."

"Are yours?"

Already he noticed that she tended to turn the tables on the conversation.

"No. They have late hours, and besides, they always tell me I should get out more. They think I study too much."

"Well, aren't you a golden boy?"

"I suppose. But seriously, it's time to get you home."

"Fine," she sighed.

***

He pulled into the driveway of a ridiculous country manor. It seemed to be modeled exactly after the one on the plantation in Gone With The Wind, white columns and all. Why one would live in California if they wanted to remember the days of slavery, he had no idea. Still steeped in an acid curiosity, he couldn't help noticing that all the windows were darkened and that the driveway was empty, as was the open(must be confident) garage.

"Thank you," she said

Cala made no move to open the door. Instead, she leaned over to give him a kiss on the cheek. It was as different from the drunken one in every way possible: sweet and innocent, not questioning or nervous or wanting.

When she got out, he debated with himself on whether or not he should walk her up, but ultimately decided against it. It wasn't as if this was a date. It was more like a rescue mission.

He marveled at how such cool lips could leave his face burning.

Description
Now they're going to bed
And my stomach is sick
And it's all in my head
But she's touching his—chest
Now, he takes off her dress
Now, let me go
I just can't look it's killing me
And taking control
Jealousy, turning saints into the sea
Swimming through sick lullabies
Choking on your alibis
But it's just the price I pay
Destiny is calling me
Open up my eager eyes
'Cause I'm Mr Brightside

She said I think I'll go to Boston...
I think I'll start a new life,
I think I'll start it over, where no one knows my name,
I'll get out of California, I'm tired of the weather,
I think I need a sunrise, I'm tired of the sunset,
I hear it's nice in the Summer, some snow would be nice...

"We're not staying here for more than an hour," Avi warned his sister. He would've never gone to the stupid party himself if she hadn't read his mail and threatened to tell their parents about his scholarship.

His attempt to find a parking space was thwarted by a swerving, rambunctious Jeep.

"Fuck!" he yelled, hitting the steering wheel.

Two girls stood in the open roof, hands in the air, tan backs shining in the moonlight. The air was heavy with the last kiss of summer. That might've explained the swimsuits, but more likely they were just worn because desperate girls could find any excuse to expose more flesh.

"Calm down. I don't feel safe with you and your road rage . And an hour is not even that-"

"April. Shut. Up."

Both sides of the road were packed, so perhaps Avi would be relieved of his duty early. He finally found a spot, albeit far from the bright house teeming with his peers.

"Don't follow me."

"I'm not letting you go in there alone."

"God, this is so embarrassing…"

She reluctantly walked beside him the entire way to the packed house.

Beer cans littered the lawn. A couple made out among them, the girl underneath unrecognizable, save for a the red hair splayed underneath her head. People sat in the windowsills, their legs swinging, calling out to the couple and the arriving people tipsily.

Avi followed April as she zipped through the crowd with ease to a group of freshman girls. He worried at her efficiency. Had she been to these sort of things before? She was, after all, only fourteen. He made a mental note to watch her from a respectful distance.

He would've mingled, except that the only person he could really stand at this school, Blair, would never sink to this level of stupidity. It was not from lack of trying that Avi felt absolutely no connection to most of these people.

He opened his water bottle and took a swig, one of the only people in the room drinking something of the nonalcoholic variety.

It was then that he saw her.

The willowy body of Cala Avery was adorned by a pretty little black dress that showed her snowy shoulders. She shot past him, only to look back at him, a small, shy smile playing on her lips.

The struck boy smiled back. In that moment he wanted to hold her, gently press his lips onto hers, and then on each preciously bare shoulder, first the left, then the right, then a slow trail across her prominent collarbone, and then up her queenly neck, and then up her elegant cheekbone, and then…

But then she grabbed the hand of Tory and ran down the hall with him. Avi was reminded of when he used to play soccer. Whenever someone was hit in the stomach by the ball, the opposing teams knelt down and clapped. He wished that someone would do that for him right then, but no one seemed to notice that his churning stomach felt the impact of a soccer ball flying at 100 miles per hour.

April tugged at that sleeve of her brother's flannel.

"What?" he asked, eyes still locked on the door that Cala and Tory had entered.

"Meredith wants to drive out of town, to Dairy Queen. I'm going to go with them."

"I need to see her license."

"Aviiii! Stop being so overprotective!"

"I'm not asking out of protectiveness. I just don't want to get nabbed by mom and dad for letting you carpool illegally."

"You're a jerk," she said, bottom lip quivering.

"Just go get me the goddamn license, April."

She left and came back, redfaced, to thrust it into this waiting palm. Once her confirmed that her friend had had the license for the mandatory amount of time, he told her to have fun and come be home by 11. She nodded in compliance, still put out, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

***

He walked out to his car. There was nothing else in there for him. There never had been, really. Just a smattering of people he couldn't care less about, one he was supposed to watch over, and one who kept popping up every place she wasn't supposed to.

He froze. There she was, sitting in the grass right by his Lincoln. The corn silk of her hair fell in tangles around her shoulders. Those shoulders looked off-color, as if someone had not mixed the paint correctly the match the rest of the artist's creation that was her skin.

He made himself advance towards her.

"What are you doing here?" he asked simply.

"I- I recognized your car. Tory left without me with some…skank."

It took her far longer than a normal person to finish the sentence.

"Could you give me a ride?" she asked, gripping the car as she tried to stand, legs wobbly in her strappy heels. She turned around and stumbled towards him.

"I can make it…worth your while," she murmured.

Her lips crashed into his. He allowed himself a moment to taste her: peach schnapps, vodka, coolness, chapstick, and then something less tangible: a sort of searching, almost yearning desperation. He had to make himself push her off.

"You don't have to do that. I'm gonna take you home."

"Ha," she said, " 'home'."

With a silly smile, she opened the driver's door and sat, drumming her fingers across the wheel. Avi crouched down in the open doorway, as if speaking to a child.

"You do realize that's the driver's seat, right?"

"I can drive!" she claimed belligerently.

"Nooo you can't."

He took her hand to try to pull her out. She jerked away from him and crossed her arms in a most petulant manner.

"Fine."

He scooped her up and threw her halfway over his shoulder. She couldn't have weighed more than 100 pounds soaking wet.

After he had plopped her writhing form onto the passenger seat, he buckled her in, just in case she was still feeling defiant. She showed no resistance, so he left her and started the car.

"Are you sure you don't want to go home?"

"No. They're…gone. It's dark I'll be all alone. I don't to be like…like…that. I want to sleep though," she finished, her eyes fluttering closed.

"NO!"

Avi swerved to the side of the road and began slapping her on each side of her face.

"You can't fall asleep, Cala."

When here eyes opened, they were blurry. That, Avi reassured himself, was still much better than closed.

"Come on. We're going to get coffee. How does that sound?"

"Whatever."

He sighed and draped his flannel jacket around her. She held it tight without complaint.

***

Guilt washed over Avi for sitting in Denny's when his own family had a diner with basically the same food. He tried to brush it aside. There really weren't any other options. His parents were lenient, but even they would frown at him bringing an inebriated girl into their place of business.

Cala nursed her cup of coffee. They had been sitting in companionable silence for quite a while now. She was the first to break it.

"Do you ever want to get away?"

"From?"

"From all of it."

"Sometimes. But I know I will eventually, so that helps."

"I feel like I can hardly wait. I hate the weather here. I feel like you should get some say in where you live before you're born. I want to be where it snows. Don't you?"

"Not particularly."

"Oh, come on. Are you telling me that you never watched all those after school specials? You know, the ones where the kids would press their noses against the frozen windowpane and cheer when school was cancelled…and then they would run outside and catch snowflakes on their tongues. You're telling me you never watched that and felt like you were missing out on something?"

He admitted that he did, but that if the choice was between snow and the coast, he would take the coast any day.

"Typical answer."

The dreaded question had to be asked eventually.

"Where do you live? Your parents must be worried."

"Are yours?"

Already he noticed that she tended to turn the tables on the conversation.

"No. They have late hours, and besides, they always tell me I should get out more. They think I study too much."

"Well, aren't you a golden boy?"

"I suppose. But seriously, it's time to get you home."

"Fine," she sighed.

***

He pulled into the driveway of a ridiculous country manor. It seemed to be modeled exactly after the one on the plantation in Gone With The Wind, white columns and all. Why one would live in California if they wanted to remember the days of slavery, he had no idea. Still steeped in an acid curiosity, he couldn't help noticing that all the windows were darkened and that the driveway was empty, as was the open(must be confident) garage.

"Thank you," she said

Cala made no move to open the door. Instead, she leaned over to give him a kiss on the cheek. It was as different from the drunken one in every way possible: sweet and innocent, not questioning or nervous or wanting.

When she got out, he debated with himself on whether or not he should walk her up, but ultimately decided against it. It wasn't as if this was a date. It was more like a rescue mission.

He marveled at how such cool lips could leave his face burning.