Crooked Young
Chemical Kids
KARINA'S POV
I woke up the following morning to see the sun beaming through the small parting in the curtains, lighting up the dust particles in the air like stars. Feeling something scratch my stomach, I dug around under the sheets before finding two empty crisp packets, evidence that I'd snacked on the food Tony bought on the way home.
Rolling over, it then occured to me, as I stared up at his roof, and it stared back at me, that Tony was not in the room. I sat up and swung my legs over the end of the bed, letting them dangle for a moment before I stood up.
Noticing a small picture on his wall, which had been engulfed by posters, I took a step closer. In the small silver frame was a photo of a young Tony, and a young Mike. They were both balancing skateboards on their heads - smiles as big as the sun. I wondered what they were like back then, before the world really got to them.
Going over to my backpack, I pulled out my makeup wipes and took off the mess from last night. When I exited Tony's room, I was going to meet his family, so I had to at least look a little presentable.
Once I was cleaned up, and had put my hair in a side plait, I decided to venture out of the four maroon walls. I opened the door to a quiet hall, but was enticed towards the stairs by the smell of bacon.
Leisurely going down the stairs, I tried to take in what I could from the sea of photographs hanging over the cream walls. Tony's house was a lot smaller than mine, but it felt far more homely. Everything seemed to radiate love and care, whereas my house was as cold as the man who paid for it.
Finding my way to the kitchen, I held on to the doorframe as I peered in. A small woman was standing with a frying pan in hand, nudging rashers of bacon. Tony, a little girl, and a boy around the age of 9 were all sitting at the table, laughing and talking away.
"Morning," I said quietly, feeling as if I was intruding. Tony's head raised, and a bright smile came on his face. He gestured for me to come over and sit next to him.
"Hi Karina," said the little boy, snapping his arm over the table with a stern look on his face. "I'm Bertie."
"Hey," I smiled, shaking his hand. Bertie shifted in his seat - putting his hand back under the table - and gave me a fishy look. I glanced down at his bowl to see it filled with Lucky Charms. "Oh, good choice," I said, pointing to his cereal.
Bertie noticeably loosened up, dropping his shoulders and nodding as he lifted his spoon. I then turned to Lucia, who was already staring at me. Her little brown eyes were like saucers, and she quickly went about fixing her hair once she noticed that I'd caught her.
"It's nice to finally meet you in person, Lucia," I said. "You are even prettier than I thought you were going to be!"
Lucia blushed, pursing her little lips and turning her head away.
"Sometimes, we like to pretend we're shy," said the woman, placing a plate full of bacon in the center of the table. "I'm Rosa, Tony's mum. I hope this bacon isn't over cooked for you, dea-"
"Oh no no no," I rushed, "it's perfect, honestly. Thank you so much."
Rosa smiled, wiping her hands down her apron. "Well, there's toast in the rack there, and there's orange juice, and if you want anything else then just ask that big lump."
"Thanks mum," Tony mumbled jokingly, rolling his eyes.
"He loves me really," she told me with a wink.
Grabbing my fork, I wasted no time in assembling myself a bacon and toast sandwich. Whilst I wolfed it all down, Tony helped Lucia butter her toasted, and then poured her and Bertie some more juice.
As I was chewing on the last of my food, I noticed Lucia staring at me again. Her eyes kept trailing up and down my plait, and then she'd look at her hair in confusion.
"Lucia, do you maybe want me to do your hair?" I asked. Her little eyes nearly popped out of her head, which was furiously shaking up and down.
"I won't be long," I told Tony, leaving my seat and following Lucia out of the kitchen. She lead me up to her room, which she shared with Bertie, and took out her accessories. It was a small box filled with a few hair bobbles, a pink brush and the odd clip, but nothing special. I thought about the massive, unused box I had lying in my closet, and how much she'd love it.
"Right," I said, kneeling down so I was her height. I pulled her dark hair over her left shoulder and brushed it gently as she began to ask me a few questions.
"Who is your favourite Disney princess?"
"Hmm, I think I'll go with Pocahontas."
"Have you ever watched Dora The Explorer?"
"I've heard of it, but not actually seen it."
"What's your favourite colour?"
"Definitely blue."
Taking a clip out of her little collection, I pinned back a piece of her fringe, securing a tiny Hello Kitty face on the side of her head. "There we go," I said, examining my work.
Lucia jumped up, delicately holding her hair. She thanked me over and over, running to the mirror to get a better look. Since she was pretty caught up with her new hairstyle, I excused myself to go and find Tony. I don't even think she heard me say goodbye over the whirling of her own thoughts.
Tony was in his bedroom, folding up my clothes from the night before. Using the fact that he didn't hear me enter to my advantage, I sneaked up on him and jumped on his back.
Me, being the clumbsy blob of a human that I was, ended up decking him on the bed instead of cutely jumping on to his back. Fortunately, Tony seemed to find the whole thing pretty funny as we bounced on to our backs.
"Oops," I said lightly, puffing my cheeks out at the ceiling.
Tony chuckled beside me, and I felt his hand slip into mine. "If that was an attempt at roughhousing, it sucked."
"You suck."
"No," Tony said as moved on to his side, letting go of my hand and propping his head up on his own. "I lick, I eat, you suck."
I paused, realising what he was talking about. My cheeks heated up at his words, as other parts also decided to make themselves known.
"I'm joking, you idiot," he chuckled lowly, letting me hear a hint of what was left of his morning voice. He lowered his face to mine, pressing a lingering kiss on my cheek. "You need to swallow too."
"Tony," I laughed, pushing his chest. "You dirty little... you dirty little poo."
"Nice save with the bad language," he said, smirking at me.
I giggled a little, shutting my eyes for a moment. I heard Tony sigh, and felt his lips against the skin of my face once again. Slowly, he kissed a line from my cheek to just under my ear, his other hand moving to brush my hair out of my face. As a result, he soon ended up being completely on top of me. I wasn't arguing.
"There's something I wanted to ask you last night," he whispered between kisses. "You were out cold almost all of the time after the concert, though."
"Sorry. W-What was it?" I chocked out, letting my fingers get tangled in his messy morning hair. He began to suck and nibble and the skin of my neck, causing my breathing to hitch over and over. His body pressed up against mine more and, almost instinctively, I bent my leg.
"Will you be my girlfriend?"
My hands froze, and my stomach stopped mid-flip, and my throat closed up. Did he just- did he ask me to be his girlfriend? Fuck, he did. I am lying underneath a sex god in lightning bolt pajamas made for people aged 14-15.
"Kat?" he questioned nervously, pulling away to look me in the eye. His dark brown orbs watched me with a great sense of urgency, and his mouth hung open like he was trying to think of something to say.
"Sorry," I said suddenly, snapping out of my daze. I bet that looked fucking cool. "Um, yeah. Yeah, uh, I'd like that. A lot."
"So you really want to be my girlfriend?"
"No, I want to be your arch enemy," I teased, finally finding my words as I let my hands break out of their stone shell and grip his hair. Tony smiled, leaning down and pressing his lips against mine.
In that moment, I swore I'd found perfection. Sure, I was anxious in case Tony thought I wasn't a good kisser, and I felt a little silly for wearing such childish pajamas, and I sort of wished that Tony's window was open because the room was roasting, but it was perfection. The little flaws made it all the better: they reminded me that it was real, that what I felt was real. I felt the heat; I felt Tony's soft lips graze against mine. I felt silly; I felt Tony's teeth sink into my bottom lip. I felt a little worried; I felt like I was in heaven.
I guess we're all a little scared of perfection, because we've lived our whole lives being lead to believe that it doesn't last and, to be brutally honest, that it barely exists at all. Flawlessness was taught as a fiction of imagination to me: right from day one I was programmed to be realistic, not a dreamer.
The thing is, perfection does exist, and I knew it then. You can't made a formula for finding it, or a map for tracking it, or a get a number to call it.
You just have to keep going and hope to heaven and hell that you're heading in the right direction.
I woke up the following morning to see the sun beaming through the small parting in the curtains, lighting up the dust particles in the air like stars. Feeling something scratch my stomach, I dug around under the sheets before finding two empty crisp packets, evidence that I'd snacked on the food Tony bought on the way home.
Rolling over, it then occured to me, as I stared up at his roof, and it stared back at me, that Tony was not in the room. I sat up and swung my legs over the end of the bed, letting them dangle for a moment before I stood up.
Noticing a small picture on his wall, which had been engulfed by posters, I took a step closer. In the small silver frame was a photo of a young Tony, and a young Mike. They were both balancing skateboards on their heads - smiles as big as the sun. I wondered what they were like back then, before the world really got to them.
Going over to my backpack, I pulled out my makeup wipes and took off the mess from last night. When I exited Tony's room, I was going to meet his family, so I had to at least look a little presentable.
Once I was cleaned up, and had put my hair in a side plait, I decided to venture out of the four maroon walls. I opened the door to a quiet hall, but was enticed towards the stairs by the smell of bacon.
Leisurely going down the stairs, I tried to take in what I could from the sea of photographs hanging over the cream walls. Tony's house was a lot smaller than mine, but it felt far more homely. Everything seemed to radiate love and care, whereas my house was as cold as the man who paid for it.
Finding my way to the kitchen, I held on to the doorframe as I peered in. A small woman was standing with a frying pan in hand, nudging rashers of bacon. Tony, a little girl, and a boy around the age of 9 were all sitting at the table, laughing and talking away.
"Morning," I said quietly, feeling as if I was intruding. Tony's head raised, and a bright smile came on his face. He gestured for me to come over and sit next to him.
"Hi Karina," said the little boy, snapping his arm over the table with a stern look on his face. "I'm Bertie."
"Hey," I smiled, shaking his hand. Bertie shifted in his seat - putting his hand back under the table - and gave me a fishy look. I glanced down at his bowl to see it filled with Lucky Charms. "Oh, good choice," I said, pointing to his cereal.
Bertie noticeably loosened up, dropping his shoulders and nodding as he lifted his spoon. I then turned to Lucia, who was already staring at me. Her little brown eyes were like saucers, and she quickly went about fixing her hair once she noticed that I'd caught her.
"It's nice to finally meet you in person, Lucia," I said. "You are even prettier than I thought you were going to be!"
Lucia blushed, pursing her little lips and turning her head away.
"Sometimes, we like to pretend we're shy," said the woman, placing a plate full of bacon in the center of the table. "I'm Rosa, Tony's mum. I hope this bacon isn't over cooked for you, dea-"
"Oh no no no," I rushed, "it's perfect, honestly. Thank you so much."
Rosa smiled, wiping her hands down her apron. "Well, there's toast in the rack there, and there's orange juice, and if you want anything else then just ask that big lump."
"Thanks mum," Tony mumbled jokingly, rolling his eyes.
"He loves me really," she told me with a wink.
Grabbing my fork, I wasted no time in assembling myself a bacon and toast sandwich. Whilst I wolfed it all down, Tony helped Lucia butter her toasted, and then poured her and Bertie some more juice.
As I was chewing on the last of my food, I noticed Lucia staring at me again. Her eyes kept trailing up and down my plait, and then she'd look at her hair in confusion.
"Lucia, do you maybe want me to do your hair?" I asked. Her little eyes nearly popped out of her head, which was furiously shaking up and down.
"I won't be long," I told Tony, leaving my seat and following Lucia out of the kitchen. She lead me up to her room, which she shared with Bertie, and took out her accessories. It was a small box filled with a few hair bobbles, a pink brush and the odd clip, but nothing special. I thought about the massive, unused box I had lying in my closet, and how much she'd love it.
"Right," I said, kneeling down so I was her height. I pulled her dark hair over her left shoulder and brushed it gently as she began to ask me a few questions.
"Who is your favourite Disney princess?"
"Hmm, I think I'll go with Pocahontas."
"Have you ever watched Dora The Explorer?"
"I've heard of it, but not actually seen it."
"What's your favourite colour?"
"Definitely blue."
Taking a clip out of her little collection, I pinned back a piece of her fringe, securing a tiny Hello Kitty face on the side of her head. "There we go," I said, examining my work.
Lucia jumped up, delicately holding her hair. She thanked me over and over, running to the mirror to get a better look. Since she was pretty caught up with her new hairstyle, I excused myself to go and find Tony. I don't even think she heard me say goodbye over the whirling of her own thoughts.
Tony was in his bedroom, folding up my clothes from the night before. Using the fact that he didn't hear me enter to my advantage, I sneaked up on him and jumped on his back.
Me, being the clumbsy blob of a human that I was, ended up decking him on the bed instead of cutely jumping on to his back. Fortunately, Tony seemed to find the whole thing pretty funny as we bounced on to our backs.
"Oops," I said lightly, puffing my cheeks out at the ceiling.
Tony chuckled beside me, and I felt his hand slip into mine. "If that was an attempt at roughhousing, it sucked."
"You suck."
"No," Tony said as moved on to his side, letting go of my hand and propping his head up on his own. "I lick, I eat, you suck."
I paused, realising what he was talking about. My cheeks heated up at his words, as other parts also decided to make themselves known.
"I'm joking, you idiot," he chuckled lowly, letting me hear a hint of what was left of his morning voice. He lowered his face to mine, pressing a lingering kiss on my cheek. "You need to swallow too."
"Tony," I laughed, pushing his chest. "You dirty little... you dirty little poo."
"Nice save with the bad language," he said, smirking at me.
I giggled a little, shutting my eyes for a moment. I heard Tony sigh, and felt his lips against the skin of my face once again. Slowly, he kissed a line from my cheek to just under my ear, his other hand moving to brush my hair out of my face. As a result, he soon ended up being completely on top of me. I wasn't arguing.
"There's something I wanted to ask you last night," he whispered between kisses. "You were out cold almost all of the time after the concert, though."
"Sorry. W-What was it?" I chocked out, letting my fingers get tangled in his messy morning hair. He began to suck and nibble and the skin of my neck, causing my breathing to hitch over and over. His body pressed up against mine more and, almost instinctively, I bent my leg.
"Will you be my girlfriend?"
My hands froze, and my stomach stopped mid-flip, and my throat closed up. Did he just- did he ask me to be his girlfriend? Fuck, he did. I am lying underneath a sex god in lightning bolt pajamas made for people aged 14-15.
"Kat?" he questioned nervously, pulling away to look me in the eye. His dark brown orbs watched me with a great sense of urgency, and his mouth hung open like he was trying to think of something to say.
"Sorry," I said suddenly, snapping out of my daze. I bet that looked fucking cool. "Um, yeah. Yeah, uh, I'd like that. A lot."
"So you really want to be my girlfriend?"
"No, I want to be your arch enemy," I teased, finally finding my words as I let my hands break out of their stone shell and grip his hair. Tony smiled, leaning down and pressing his lips against mine.
In that moment, I swore I'd found perfection. Sure, I was anxious in case Tony thought I wasn't a good kisser, and I felt a little silly for wearing such childish pajamas, and I sort of wished that Tony's window was open because the room was roasting, but it was perfection. The little flaws made it all the better: they reminded me that it was real, that what I felt was real. I felt the heat; I felt Tony's soft lips graze against mine. I felt silly; I felt Tony's teeth sink into my bottom lip. I felt a little worried; I felt like I was in heaven.
I guess we're all a little scared of perfection, because we've lived our whole lives being lead to believe that it doesn't last and, to be brutally honest, that it barely exists at all. Flawlessness was taught as a fiction of imagination to me: right from day one I was programmed to be realistic, not a dreamer.
The thing is, perfection does exist, and I knew it then. You can't made a formula for finding it, or a map for tracking it, or a get a number to call it.
You just have to keep going and hope to heaven and hell that you're heading in the right direction.
Notes
YOU GUYS ARE SO LOVELY IN THE COMMENTS WHAT THE FUCK.
OH BTW THE NEXT CHAPTER IS GONNA BE A BIT SAD SO SORRY IN ADVANCE OK.
IDK IF I LIKED THIS CHAPTER MEH.
super duper young Tony. Thank you, Google images.
OMFG <3
7/6/15