generation x

[jeremiah-hale-deactivated201410]

Here's a Chick Tract: Believe in Jesus

[jeremiah-hale-deactivated201410]

Miah shuddered involuntarily when a sweatered arm touched his neck ((unless she pulled up her sleeve, in which case it was her bear skin on his neck)).  This time he couldn’t help it; he managed not to flinch, but he shivered a little as goosebumps rose along his spine.  When Laurel pulled him in, he had to straighten his body out of it’s slightly curled up position, which had been hiding the excitement in his pants. Miah’s grip on her face remained light, but his tongue had more confidence while he slowly and carefully invaded her mouth a little, pulled away, and then did it again.

[sadgirllaurel]

Laurel felt Jeremiah shudder slightly, and moved her hands slightly. When he responded again, she waited a bit before she went back in with a little more passion. After a while, she slowly pulled away, and smiled slightly as she looked back at Jeremiah without saying a word.

[jeremiah-hale-deactivated201410]

Here's a Chick Tract: Believe in Jesus

[jeremiah-hale-deactivated201410]

As Laurel leaned in, Miah’s stomach fluttered so hard he almost gasped.  Though he actively had to stop himself, he didn’t; he was worried if he were to let out a gasp, it could be followed by a shudder or a flinch and he  didn’t want to make any sudden movements.  This meant he also had to stop himself from energetically grabbing her head, which was where his instincts generally pushed him.  Instead, he slowly moved his hands from their protective and almost child-like position in limp fists across his chest, to Laurel’s face.  With his thumbs on her chin, he could guide her mouth in a way that made it easier to return her kiss a little deeper.

[sadgirllaurel]

She kept the kiss gentle, but deepened it as she wrapped her arms around his neck. As Jeremiah returned the kiss, she was glad he wasn't too terrible at it. She adjusted her arms a bit, and opened her mouth just a little more so she could let Jeremiah in.

[jeremiah-hale-deactivated201410]

Here's a Chick Tract: Believe in Jesus

[jeremiah-hale-deactivated201410]

"It looks like he broke everything.”  Miah tried to suppress his laugh.  It didn’t work.  He started giggling and he didn’t know why, because it wasn’t funny.  Or maybe he did know why.  Maybe he was still high.  He rolled over onto his side so he’d be facing Laurel - carefully, seeing as he was still kind of hard.  "I’d feel bad, but … I’m sorry . .  Darwin.  Or something."  As he continued snickering, Miah nudged Laurel’s shin with his foot.  

[sadgirllaurel]

"That must be a high hospital bill." She said with a laugh. Jeremiah had started to giggle, and she laughed with him. When he had turned to face her, she had noticed their close proximity to each other. She reached her arm out and gently touched his shoulder. She felt a nudge on her shin, and decided that she should move on. Leaning in, she placed a gentle kiss on his lips, her hand still on his shoulder.

[jeremiah-hale-deactivated201410]

Here's a Chick Tract: Believe in Jesus

[jeremiah-hale-deactivated201410]

Miah winced as the show he’d picked jumped far enough over the line to make any normal person dry heave.  On his own he was jaded enough, but as he glanced over at Laurel, Miah felt uncomfortable on her behalf.  He realized he’d never actually sat down and watched Tosh.0 with another person before.  Her presence was making him hyper aware of how graphic the clips were. As a cringeworthy wipeout from a skateboard flashed across the screen, Miah decided to point out how disturbing it should have been to him.  "That’s … wow, I hope he’s okay." 

Fortunately, Laurel didn’t seem completely engaged with the show, and even more fortunately, she didn’t seem completely horrified.  She looked peaceful and … disheveled.  But not in a bad way; heroin chic.  And she was laying right next to him, they were practically touching.  Miah had the urge to grab Laurel’s face and shove his tongue down her throat.  He held off, but he looked at her and giggled at the show, trying to read her body language.  Maybe she wanted to do the same?  

[sadgirllaurel]

Laurel watched the show more, which was showing some kid freaking out over a video game. She noticed Jeremiah wincing, and wondered if he actually liked what was playing. Laurel looked away from the screen for a second, and looked at Jeremiah again. She wasn't sure what it was about him, but his presence seemed unlike anything she had seen before. She heard a lot crashing noise coming from the laptop speakers, and quickly looked to see that a kid had wiped out from skateboarding. "Yeah, he looks like he broke something."

She realized Jeremiah's eyes were on her, but didn't say anything. He giggled, and she smiled at him. This was probably the least shitty Laurel had felt in a long time, and she was glad. She wondered if it was appropriate to kiss him, but didn't know if he would be fine with it.

[jeremiah-hale-deactivated201410]

Here's a Chick Tract: Believe in Jesus

[jeremiah-hale-deactivated201410]

A movie - even a stupid movie - sounded exhausting.  Two hours, give or take, of concentration wasn’t something Miah was up for at the moment.  ”Let’s browse Netflix.”  Miah made the suggestion hoping they would find something that was easy to watch.  A clip show, perhaps, or a surreal Adult Swim cartoon that wouldn’t make any sense even if they were paying attention.  He got up and grabbed the mouse.  ”Or we could browse youtube?”  He knew for sure he’d be able to find Tosh.0 there, which itself was hard to watch for different reasons - namely the distasteful jokes and squeamish internet footage.  But the dark and hopeless undertones of the show made for a kind of escapism that Miah really enjoyed.  It made him feel like he wasn’t alone, and that much of humanity  was at least as fucked as he was.

After picking an episode at random, something compelled Miah to check his phone.  He’d left it in his pile of clothes, along with the Chick Tract he’d attributed to his being here, at Laurel’s house.   He pulled it out with the phone.  Either it was “lucky” or Miah was putting too much value in a meaningless thing, the way Ashley did with virtually everything.  He had begun his slow decent into non-functional Level-5 Hoarder.  

Miah smirked at the thought.  He was kidding, of course, and he never thought for a second that this was the road he was on.  Miah only saw things in the context they were in and did not understand his mom’s bizarre, psycho need to keep everything.  This Chick Tract was the exception.  

'1 New Message'   Ashley’s text came far earlier than Miah expected it to.  He figured she dropped what he’d left her immediately after he’d bolted out of the house  Why was she up already?  Was she out of pills and expecting him to give her more? … no, it didn’t matter.  She’d lost control, she threw the punches, she was at fault, so she could wait longer and think about what she’d done.  Maybe a little junk sick will help with that.

Miah put the phone back into the pocket of his hoodie, and held onto his good luck Chick Tract.  He then laid down next to Laurel.  ”Tosh.0 work for you?” He asked, turning to her.  His dick became aware of Laurel’s proximity again when he noticed she was looking directly at him, her face within arms reach.

[sadgirllaurel]

"It's up to you." She replied with a smile. Laurel hadn't really watched Tosh.0 a lot, but it seemed a bit garish. She didn't mind though, she knew she wouldn't pay much attention to it anyway. She never was able to pay attention to reality tv shows, or things that moved around fast and didn't have that much of a plot. It was a weird quirk of hers, but she'd gotten used to it.

Laurel watched Jeremiah get something out of his pocket, and quickly realized it was his phone. She saw him smirk. and wondered what it was for. She shook away the thought, and moved on. Pulling out her own phone, she checked Instagram quickly before putting it away again.

She turned her attention to the show, which was just starting. It slightly grossed her out, but she didn't mind. "Yeah, this is fine." She answered.

[jeremiah-hale-deactivated201410]

Here's a Chick Tract: Believe in Jesus

[jeremiah-hale-deactivated201410]

Miah dug around in Laurel’s closet until he found a pair of boy pj pants.  There were plenty that were for girls, but  they weren’t cut for guys and would really put his dick on display.  Then he’d be all self conscious about it.  He knew Laurel wouldn’t say anything, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t think anything and, like, laugh at him in her mind. 

"Uh huh.  What movie?"  Miah mimicked Laurel flopping down on the bed.  The cottenmouth still bothering him, he downed the rest of his juice and reached over Laurel to set the empty glass on a surface.  He could have put it somewhere else, but this way he could touch Laurel in the process.  He laid down next to her and perched himself up on his elbows.

[sadgirllaurel]

Laurel stared at the ceiling more. Jeremiah was changing, and she didn't want to make him uncomfortable by staring at him. But that didn't stop her from getting a quick peek. Jeremiah wasn't too muscular, but still had a nice build, and wasn't too scrawny. She couldn't say she was quite attracted to him, but he was fairly good looking.

She smiled. "Well, I'm not quite sure.. there's some DVDS down there, or we could just see what's on Netflix. You decide." She felt Jeremiah brush against her, and her heartbeat fluttered slightly. It turned her on, but she wouldn't admit anything. Instead, she turned over on her side to look at him.

[jeremiah-hale-deactivated201410]

Here's a Chick Tract: Believe in Jesus

[jeremiah-hale-deactivated201410]

"Excellent!"  Miah’s one track mind instantly stopped checking for dust and he quickly made his way into the bathroom.  He looked around for extra clothes that he could borrow, didn’t see any and decided to go ahead and continue wearing the grungie shit with the weird garbage smell he had on.  The dirty feeling from the unclean film that covered Miah’s body and saturated his psyche was exacerbated here, in the small bathroom room that practically shined from its cleanliness.  He stripped off his clothes as fast as he could, and he was thrilled with the water pressure; Miah liked to take a beating in the shower, and he kept the water almost too hot to stand.   He used a washcloth and the cleanest smelling shampoo to scrub his whole body and he found a heavy Dove conditioner to wash his hair with.  

Before he turned the shower off, Miah stepped out and opened all the cabinets; his mom’s massive stash was in his backpack, which he’d left in their car and he had nothing on him.  He was a tad disappointing to find plenty of drugs but none that would be worth taking, nothing that could get him enjoyably fucked up.  He sighed and closed them all.

Miah stepped out the bathroom, flushed and stinging from the heat and the beating of Laurel’s shower head.  The shower had washed away much of his bad mood, as well as the unclean feeling and the literal grime.   He was wearing the thinner of the two hoodies he’d had on before and the same sweatpants as well. He felt so good, he skipped up the stairs.  ”You’re not sleepy yet, are you?”  There was no way Miah was going to lay down right away after the recharge his shower had given him.

[sadgirllaurel]

Laurel watched Jeremiah, realizing that he probably wanted some spare clothes. "Hey, if you need anything to wear, there's some stuff in the closet.." She trailed off as he walked away. While he showered, she checked her phone and danced to the record still playing. Laurel was a fairly good dancer, especially when she was still a little tipsy. 

When Jeremiah came back up, she was still dancing. She turned around, noticing it was him and immediately stopping. She flopped back on the bed, and looked up at him. "No, I'm not sleepy. Wanna watch a movie?"

[sadgirllaurel]

moodboard ; laurel bradley (2/?)

[jeremiah-hale-deactivated201410]

Here's a Chick Tract: Believe in Jesus

[jeremiah-hale-deactivated201410]

"Ah."  Miah didn’t know a whole lot about Presbyterians.  They weren’t exactly famous for being crazy, otherwise he could have cracked some kind of joke at their expense.  He circled the perimeter of the room, dragging his fingers along the surfaces looking for dust.  The essence of his mom’s house suddenly felt like a film covering his body from head to toe.  Miah usually felt at least  a little dirty, but it never bothered him until he saw the inside of other people’s houses.  He’d showered before school in the locker room, but since then had spent 5 hours on the clock at Dairy Queen and 3 hours in the pile of garbage and bullshit at home.  "Hey, would it be okay if I I rinsed off?"  He’d use whatever bath products were in there with or without permission.

[sadgirllaurel]

Laurel watched Jeremiah do.. whatever he was doing and smiled. She took a sip of her drink. "Yeah, I don't know a whole lot about it though, I was so young." She crossed her legs on the bed. "And yeah, you can. The bathroom's downstairs by the living room."

[sadgirllaurel]

moodboard ; laurel bradley (1/?)

[jeremiah-hale-deactivated201410]

Here's a Chick Tract: Believe in Jesus

[jeremiah-hale-deactivated201410]

From the looks of it, they weren’t at Laurel’s primary residence; it was a more humble size than what he was expecting and there didn’t appear to be anyone else home.  Miah was a tad disappointed; he was sort of hoping to meet her parents so he could gauge how accurate Laurel’s description of them had been.  Also, there was an intrepid part of him that enjoyed looking a girl’s father in the eye with the mutual understanding that his moves had trumped their parenting … not that Miah was planning to fuck Laurel, but regardless of his intentions, if she were to march in and say to her folks “this is Jeremiah and he’s sleeping over”, that would likely be their assumption.

Then again, he was also a somewhat relieved that this wasn’t a mansion with massive, echoy rooms and ceilings that were too high to feel homey.  This place was cozy, but not in the ‘mole-hill-dug-into-the-packed-garbage’ kind of way that the Fairchild residence was.  It was just the right size, and with no one else home, Miah and Laurel wouldn’t be underfoot and could stay up as late as they wanted without bothering anyone.  Yes … this was better.  "I like your place!" Miah said cheerfully as Laurel directed him into the kitchen and showed him all the options she had available for them to drink.  He picked cranberry juice.

"You never told me what denomination your church was."  He was disregarding tact when he said this; if the question had been dodged before, Laurel’s experience with religion probably wasn’t the entirely positive one that Miah had had.

[sadgirllaurel]

Laurel grabbed herself a Coke and closed the refrigerator after they both had gotten their drinks. She opened the pantry and pulled out a bag of chips. It wasn't entirely healthy, but they couldn't really keep fresh foods here anyway. She took Jeremiah's hand and went up to the loft part of the house.

She put the food down on the bed, and walked over to the Crosley record player sitting on a table by the TV. She looked through her records, and decided on some Radiohead. She put the record on and turned around, facing the bed. She sat down and grabbed the chip bag, opening it up and taking out a few.

"Oh, I must've forgot to answer you. It was Presbyterian, I think."

[jeremiah-hale-deactivated201410]

Here's a Chick Tract: Believe in Jesus

[jeremiah-hale-deactivated201410]

"A drink would be great."  Even though his throat had cooled down, pot’s notorious cottonmouth was beginning to set in.  Miah was so thirsty he’d drink anything, even that watered down horse piss they call “beer”.  He probably wouldn’t have to; once they were inside he could have water out of the tap (which, frankly, sounded way more delicious than beer).

"Oh yeah?  What denomination?"  Miah didn’t ask because he was particularly knowledgeable about the nuanced denominations of Christianity, but he was really curious as to how conservative the church Laurel had attended was.  His guess was that they were pretty crazy, considering they weren’t even able to fool her as a child into thinking they knew what they were talking about.  He’d been to a Baptist church before where he’d seen people fall over, screaming nonsense phonemes, “speaking in tongues” if you will.  If he hadn’t the tact he would have burst into laughter at the time, but Miah had always been a polite child and he kept his amusement to himself.  Had that been what he’d regularly witnessed, he might have never believed either, but as it was, he respected the wisdom of his pastor.  "I loved it."

[sadgirllaurel]

"Okay, let's go get something." Laurel got up, grabbing her back and offering a hand out to Jeremiah. Once the two of them were up, they walked down the beach a bit until the reached the beach house. She went up the wooden steps, grabbing the key under the doormat. The two stepped inside the house. It wasn't too big, but was a decent size for a beach house. It had a first floor with a small living room and kitchen, and a small loft where a queen sized bed and a TV was placed. 

Laurel showed Jeremiah to the kitchen, and opened the refrigerator. Inside were various kinds of soda and juice, as well as some basic food essentials. "What would you like?" She asked, stepping out fo the way so he could see inside the fridge. 

[jeremiah-hale-deactivated201410]

Here's a Chick Tract: Believe in Jesus

[jeremiah-hale-deactivated201410]

((So, they’re sitting side by side facing opposite directions.  This way they can look at each other, but he’s not sitting in front of her.  The surf is behind him.  Also, their [either right or left] thighs are touching, unless she moves away.  Ya dig??))

After sitting back up, Miah nodded as he took another hit; he had figured as much.  The drug in the cannabis was starting to hit him now.  What was it called again?  THC?  Much like insufflation, smoking made the drug start to work very quickly.  As Laurel had said, the stuff must have been pretty good; it was a comfortable, relaxing body high without too much paranoia.  Also, it hadn’t taken very much for a noticeable effect to manifest.  He was only on his second hit.  After blowing out what he’d carefully pulled in, Miah spoke with a croak.  His throat was on fire again.  ”No, I don’t wanna cough.  That hurts.”

Without a pause to think, Miah answered.  "Neither do I.  I used to, as a child.  My best friend’s family was very devout, so they brought me with them to church when they went."  This was often up to three times a week.  There was a soup kitchen many nights, which he was free to attend whenever he needed to.  He sang in his first choir and even filled in every once in awhile for alter boys who didn’t show up.  "So, have you ever?"  ((Believed in God, that is))

[sadgirllaurel]

(Yeah, I get what you're saying. Sorry for any confusion)

"Do you need something to drink? We have some stuff in the house.. I can get you something. What's your poison?" Laurel said with a smile. Her eyes were starting to become bloodshot. She felt calm, yet exhilarated. This night made her feel so free. She was glad she didn't have to spend all night tossing and turning in the giant bedroom of her main house, staring at the ceiling until the sun came up. She could ever fall asleep there, which is why she was so grateful that the beach house had become almost like her own apartment. 

Laurel felt their thighs touching, but didn't move. Instead she turned her attention back to their discussion. "No, I don't think I have. My mother used to drag me to church every Sunday, and I remember always feeling weird. I don't understand the point in worshipping something you know nothing about, especially when there's a good chance it doesn't even exist." She started to play with the rings on her fingers while she talked. "Did you like it? Church, I mean."

[jeremiah-hale-deactivated201410]

Here's a Chick Tract: Believe in Jesus

[jeremiah-hale-deactivated201410]

As Laurel was messing with her bag,  Miah pivoted his body so they were facing each other with him still sitting at her side.  He took a hit off the blunt and held it in for as much time as he could, which didn’t end up being very long.  He blew it out slowly, trying not to cough; coughing would exacerbate the pain in his throat and lungs.  He did so successfully, but he couldn’t speak right away for fear of triggering a coughing fit that would make Laurel think he was some kind of pussy - oh, and also hurt like hell.

That was stupid thought; why would Laurel care?  He wished he had a drink though … not of the alcohol variety, just something to cool off the burning.  He thought about hitting it again, but decided against it, as his throat still felt like it was on fire.  After passing the blunt back to Laurel, Miah leaned back on his hands and looked up at the sky.  The brightest stars were visible, despite the light pollution.  His change of position made him notice the Chick Tract that was still in his pocket.  ”Do you believe in God, Laurel?”  Nothing prompted the question, other than the Chick Tract and general curiosity about other people’s theism.  Miah wasn’t experiencing any existential dread - at least not at the moment.  

[sadgirllaurel]

Laurel smiled when she watch Jeremiah, she knew he was struggling a bit, but she liked that he was trying to hide it. She took the blunt out of Jeremiah's hands when he passed it to her, and took another hit. "You know, i don't care if you cough." She said, turning to look at him. "It's not a big deal."

She looked over at the ocean, watching the waves. Passing the blunt back over to Jeremiah, she thought about the question he had just asked. "No, I don't believe in God. Do you?"

[jeremiah-hale-deactivated201410]

Here's a Chick Tract: Believe in Jesus

[jeremiah-hale-deactivated201410]

"A blunt.  I honestly usually use a onie that looks like a cigarette because it makes me feel sexy."  Miah was not a smoker, at least of cigarettes, but he was brought up on pop culture, so the “coolness” of casually smoking a cigarette was attractive to him.

[sadgirllaurel]

"Sounds good to me." She pulled out some rolling papers out of her bag, and rolled up a blunt. She pulled out her lighter, and lit up. Taking a long drag, she laughed slightly as she exhaled. "Shit, you gotta try this." She passed it to Jeremiah before putting her stuff back in her bag.

[jeremiah-hale-deactivated201410]

Here's a Chick Tract: Believe in Jesus

[jeremiah-hale-deactivated201410]

((TW: he mentions an opiate))

Miah answered flatly.   "Eons … forever, probably.  Fuckin’ loser …"  He forced a chuckle, less because anything was funny and more to lighten the somber direction of the conversation.  "That kinda thing will creep up on you gradually.  Yanno?"  The slow progression of Miah’s mom’s problems made it difficult to come up with an exact answer to Laurel’s question.  He supposed the addiction had always been there; to various chemicals, to compulsive shopping, to the excessive accumulation of shit.   Miah’s level of awareness was also becoming more astute with age.  

He looked up from the ground and at Laurel directly.  His brow was furrowed, out of habit more than out of concern.  This time what she’d said was less surprising.  "Anyone who says they have tons of friends is full of shit.  What they have is a ton of shallow relationships.  But, I mean … I guess my best friend is my mom, so … " He trailed off again.  Maybe this was something he and Laurel had in common.  That was his implication, anyway.  Unless he could count Tylenol 3 as a “friend”.  Tylenol 3 never let him down.

“Damn that’s a lot of green.”  Miah took a seat on the beach and looked up at Laurel, smiling and answering non verbally in the affirmative.  He couldn’t tell the difference between “the good stuff” and whatever the lesser “stuff” was.  But he definitely was done being totally sober for the night.  He would have smoked total shit, if that’s what she had.

[sadgirllaurel]

Laurel laughed a bit. "I like to stock up, if that makes any sense.. also I figured the more damage I can do to my parent's large bank account, the better." She walked towards the sand, sitting down and patting the ground next to her to offer Jeremiah a seat. She opened the Ziploc bag, but hesitated before doing anything else. "Quick question.. you a blunt person or a pipe?" 

[anya-m-rose]