“Wake up, wake up, wake up!” I opened my eyes, spotting a very energetic Alyssa, bouncing on the pull out bed I was sleeping in like a four year old. The bed creaked as she bounced. I smiled softly and yawned, and, as she continued to jump, I snagged her ankle. She yelped quietly when I pulled her down, and I rolled on top of her, trying to contain her ungodly amount of energy.

“Calm down,” I chuckled.

“You’re squishing me,” she whispered.

“That was the plan,” I smiled. “So, what is it? Christmas morning or something?” I laughed, rolling off of her. She sat up, her legs crossed.

“No, I have school,” she said.

“Do you always get this excited for school?” I laughed, letting another yawn out.

“No, not at all. I just wanted to annoy you,” she reached across and poked my cheek.

“Job well done,” I rolled my eyes. She smiled innocently at me. “How did you sleep?” I asked, stretching a little and sitting up.

“Pretty good,” she said. “And you?”

“Alright,” I nodded. “We have to get you clothes, don’t we?” I remembered, laughing at her still in her pajamas.

“Yes, please,” she said.

“That sucks for you,” I smirked, pretending to turn away indifferently.

“Hey! Don't you dare,” she pouted.

I chuckled, and then I yawned. “What time is it?”

“Er, six-forty five,” she said, the mention of the early time making her yawn.

“Shit, it’s so early,” I groaned, collapsing back into a pillow.

“We have to go, though. School starts at seven-thirty-five,” she frowned. “Unless I can play hooky again,” she grinned hopefully.

“No, you’re going to school. Your mom will kill us,” I said. “Let me get ready, and then I’ll take you, okay?” I said.

“Okay,” she said. I smiled at her and swung my legs over the side of the bed, stretching more when I stood up. Alyssa smiled back and then laid down, making herself comfortable. I ruffled her hair before I retreated to the bathroom back in my room. I had let Alyssa sleep in my room, and I slept in the pull out couch in the main room, deciding to be respectful to Tony. Although we weren’t planning on going that far, I didn’t want Tony to get the wrong idea. I smiled, seeing that she had already made the bed when I walked in.

When I got into the bathroom, I quickly ran a comb through my tangled hair and splashed my face with water, deciding that I had more time to take a shower later. I brushed my teeth and made sure I took my pills, and then I kind of just stood in there for a few minutes, staring at my reflection.

For the first time in a long, long time, I actually liked what I saw. I looked alive and happy—I looked a little tired because it was so damn early in the morning, but I didn’t have serious bags under my eyes.

I shook my head, though, deciding not to linger. I didn’t want to make Alyssa late. I walked back into my room, slipping on a pair of black skinny jeans—the usual—a pair of old vans, and a fresh sweatshirt. I slipped on a snap back to control my tousled hair and returned back to Alyssa. I smiled softly, seeing that she had already fallen asleep on the pull out couch.

“Hey,” I touched her face softly. When she didn’t stir, I decided to give her a taste of her own medicine. I hoped onto the bed and started jumping obnoxiously, laughing when her eyes popped out of her head as she bounced around. I didn’t say anything as I jumped off of the bed, landing on the ground next to her. Alyssa stared at me, amused, and I opened my arms for her. She smiled, leaning up into them.

“Ready?” I asked, keeping an arm around her as we walked to the door. She nodded tiredly.

“Are you sure I have to go to school today?” she grumbled.

“I’m positive,” I gave her a squeeze. She climbed into the passenger seat while I started the car. “Oh, do you want breakfast?” I asked.

“Eh,” she shrugged her shoulders. “It’s too early to eat,” she said.

“Well, I’m forcing you to have an apple or something when we get to your house,” I declared.

She laughed. “Okay, mom.”

The short drive back to her house was a short one, filled with comfortable silence. We were both tired since it was still early in the morning, and conversation wasn’t really necessary. When we got there, Alyssa darted up to her room to get ready. I got out of the car at a slower pace, leisurely walking into the house. Her mom had already left for work, so it wasn’t odd for me to stroll in.

I must have fallen asleep at the table or something, because what felt like seconds later I felt someone poke my cheek. When I opened my eyes, everything was vertical, and I realized my head was lying on the table. “Oops,” I said, sitting up.

“’Morning,” Alyssa giggled. “You alright?” she asked.

“Yes. You look ugly,” I said. “I mean lovely,” I winked. She smacked my arm.

“Last chance: are you sureI have to go to school?” she asked.

“Yes, you have to go to school,” I said, standing up. “Is everything okay there?” I asked softly.

“Yeah. I mean, I wasn’t there yesterday so I don’t know,” she shrugged her shoulders.

“Are you scared to go?” I asked, furrowing my eyebrows. She shrugged her shoulders again. “Lissy, tell me what’s going on,” I said gently, pulling her in for a hug. She shook her head and just sighed into my shoulder.

“It’s really nothing. It’s just school,” she mumbled.

“If something is really going on there that is making you afraid to go, you need to tell me, okay?” I said. She nodded.

“Alright, let’s go, then,” I said, giving her one last squeeze before pulling away and going back to the car.

“What are you doing the rest of the day?” she asked.

“Eh, probably going back to sleep,” I admitted with a yawn. I have never been a morning person, and since I was still off of work I didn’t have anywhere to be.

She laughed. “Sorry for waking you,” she said.

“Oh, I wanted to drive you. Should I pick you up after school, too?” I asked. “I can help you with your calculus homework that I know you will need,” I teased.

“I was going to say sure, but now I don’t think so,” she said stubbornly.

“Aw, come on,” I laughed.

“Don’t you have something better to do?” she asked.

“Not really,” I grinned.

“Alright, fine,” she laughed. “Only for the calculus help. Because, you’re right, I do need help,” she said.

“What time? Three?”

“Yup,” she said. Lissy had been smiling, but I watched as her smile slowly faded into a slight frown as we neared school.

“Lissy,” I said lowly, seeing that she had been zoned out.

“Hm?”

“I’m not trying to annoy you, but, seriously, what is going on?” I asked.

“I’m fine, really,” she tried to convince me, but I could see right through her. She knew it, too. “I just really hate school, Vic. I don’t know,” she said lowly. “They’re mean to me, but I’m okay, I promise. I just block them out with my music. Really, I’ll be fine,” she said.

“Don’t take their shit, Lissy,” I said seriously. I remembered back to my high school days, I only stood up for myself a few times. It was much easier to sit back and let shit happen to you, but that was also how you let things build up inside, and that was never a good thing. Starting fights weren’t necessarily good, either, but being passive if someone was treating you bad was not a good thing—I would definitely know.

She laughed lightly. “I won’t, promise,” she said.

“Let me know if there’s a problem, okay?”

“Will do, thanks, Vic,” she smiled. I reached across the console and grabbed her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze when I pulled into the school parking lot.

She turned to me and met me half way for a small kiss. I was surprised, actually—I didn’t think she would kiss me with the possibility of people in her school seeing.

“Have a good day,” I said. She reached back to me and toyed a strand of my hair in her fingers, looking distracted.

“I like that you’re keeping it curly. It’s nice,” she said softly.

“Thanks, Lis,” I smiled. “Now go and, uh, learn things.”

She sighed and smiled weakly at me, opening the door. “Thanks for the ride,” she said, swinging the bag over her shoulder.

“See ya,” I grinned. She looked back once and waved shyly and then turned away, plugging in her headphones as she walked into the building. I sighed, hoping that she was going to be okay. From what I knew, though, she seemed like a tough girl. Sure, she had her slip ups, but Alyssa didn’t seem to be the type of girl who let people walk all over her.

With this in mind, I smiled and drove off.

“Hey,” Tony was already awake when I got back.

“You’re up early,” I said.

“I’m actually going to spend the day with Drew,” he said.

“Really? Are you guys getting serious?” I asked, seeing that he has seen her several days in a row.

“Yeah, I guess,” he said with a shy smile.

“What are you guys going to do?” I asked.

“Well, she’s sick. So I’m just going over to her apartment and be a good boyfriend,” he laughed.

“Sounds like a good time,” I said. “Hey, when she’s better in a few days you should have her over. I have to meet this mysterious girlfriend of yours,” I said.

“Yeah, totally!” he said, and the way his face lit up and his smile broadened showed just how enthusiastic he was over her. “What are you doing today?” he asked.

“Honestly, I have no idea,” I sighed. “I go back to work Monday, and there’s literally nothing to do around here,” I said. “Maybe I’ll just sleep all day,” I shrugged my shoulders.

“You know that’s not a good thing for you to do,” he said seriously.

“I genuinely have no idea what to do with myself, though,” I laughed.

“Hey, maybe you should write some. I mean, you haven’t really had alone time in a while,” he suggested.

“That’s a good idea,” I said. “I am going back to sleep for a little while, though,” I said with a yawn.

Tony laughed and shook his head. “Alright. If you need anything, you can call, okay?”

“Thanks, Tone. Have fun today,” I said. He smiled and gave me a thumbs up as he left. I sighed, sinking into the unmade pull out couch. It creaked uncomfortable, and the cot-like bed was stiff and not very nice to sleep in. That was when I remembered that I had a much comfier bed

I remembered the morning I first got here to find Bree gone, the sheets didn’t linger with her scent. It was as if she was never even here—she barely left a trace. However, when I curled up into the covers, I smiled, finding a small hint of Alyssa’s scent. Maybe that sounded creepy, but if you are with someone so much, you notice small things like that.

I set the alarm on my phone for two hours, planning to sleep in a little and then do some writing. As I drifted back to sleep, all thoughts of Bree were pushed aside and Alyssa remained prominent in my head, along with several possible song lyrics that danced across my mind. I was too tired to get up and write them down, though, so I figured that if they were going to turn into anything, I would remember them when I woke up.

Notes

The rate in which I update is getting absurd.

But here's a small filler for you all (sorry, I feel like I've been posting a lot of fillers lately). I know I've updated a lot recently but I have a lot of stuff coming up for school (like usual ha) so I can't say when I will update next (it probably won't be too long, knowing me).

Buckle up, kids. We are headed towards a bumpy road, drama wise.