The end of the day was nothing to remember, we sat around mostly watching movies, staying quiet and not trying to think about what happened earlier. Ian gave us girls a ride home to Jayne's place before it got too late out. We three stooges sat on the porch watching the stars laughing about everything in life. Ian wanted something in life to make him a real monster. Like a mutation or to be like Wolverine. Being indestructible and with super cool claws were his reasoning to be a monster. I kept explaining things on a scientific level about how slim a chance to have a monster like Godzilla or King Kong attack or even be alive. He thought big, wanted to become a movie director for horror or supernatural movies. He's already made a few small zombie type shorts. Jayne would do the make up and prosthetics, I helped with the realistic judging, and of course Ian who directed it. I'm pretty certain Ian is going to either follow his mother's footsteps with the directing focus. Jayne will definately be a makeup artist and or even a prosthetics master. She already does such amazing FX works. Not many people would know that they were total theatre kids, Ian the most, but he almost had no choice growing up doing all sorts of plays with his mother being the director as well.
Jayne and Ian's fathers were college buddies who both think it was the absolute best deal on Earth when their kids started to date. Jayne's father, Leonard or Leo, was a police officer, Ian's father, Patrick or Pat, works at the hospital in the lab and forensics department, dealing with Leo more often than they thought they would. Jayne lived with only her father, due to her parents' divorce about the same time we met. We bonded over our hardships in life and school together. Her mother more or less left the picture completely with her new family. Courtney fits perfectly with her new man Brian. They both left their past lovers and their old families because they were 'tired' of being with them.
My father is one of the main livestock farmers in town, with my mom being his business partner. Basically, he's the brawn to her brains of the operation. She does all of his paperwork and keeps him on task as much as possible, putting her many business degrees to use. I love my parents, they put me through a lot to become the best I can be, but there's still a small part of me that feels detached from them both. I am, at least, a mirror image of my mother, where it sometimes scares my father at home. He's more laid back compared to my mother and would rather stay on his horse and watch the sunset through the black hills every day.
That rest of the Saturday I spent the night at Jayne's house, we stayed up all night talking together about anything and honestly everything possible. We sat facing each other on her bed, her foot in my lap, mine in hers. We painted each other's toenails and fingernails to match. She and I spoke about normal teenage things; even if she was two years older than me, no one thought I was really sixteen. All my brain could think of and wanted was to have Sunday night hopefully be a better day than today. I don't think I could go on another week right now.
We fell asleep after watching some horror movies Jayne had played onto the ceiling of her room for easier watching in bed. No more leaning up to see or trying to look over the other person's shoulders. Just lay on your back for best results. This woman is pure genius to think of such a thing.
I woke up before Jayne, this left me time to shower right away and get back into the room before she was even out of bed. After getting only half dressed in a tank top and my underwear, I stared at myself in the mirror, turning side to side not wanting to stare at it anymore. I was pale and decently toned, but there wasn't much to my frame. At least from what I could see anyhow. Puberty started and I filled out into the young woman I see now, but there was nothing to ever notice too much. Welcome to a daily morning for me. Nothing different or better.
Same thing.
Every damn day.
I had no intentions to forget my daily morning practices, even if I wasn't at home, I began my barre exercises. Stretching first as usual then balancing and using her dresser as my bar I held my poses carefully as I would every day. It never hit me that the window was open a bit, but enough to fully look into her room regardless of any angle in particular, particularly from ground level. I looked down after a minute to see some kid taking photographs of me. Quickly I shut the curtains, but I had used too much force on the whole rickety set up Jayne had made into the walls that probably couldn't withstand her faulty mix of nails and screws holding up several layers of curtains. The pole fell down along with the curtains clanging loudly and trapping me in the midst of the horror. I let out a scream that had woken up Jayne and also her father who came running up the stairs carrying a shotgun shortly after.
Leo burst open the door and in a deep commanding voice he bellowed out, "Freeze!" Jayne got up rushing to my side before her father could even get up the stairs. She was holding her blanket around her body and pushed her father out of her way a bit as she tried to help free me as I was now completely tangled in the curtains while he looked out the window as the suspect voyeur was sent packing.
I sat with my back against the wall with my head in my hands trying to calm my racing heart. I tossed my head back against the wall and looked up along the ceiling tracing the patterns painted onto the ceiling that mimicked the night sky and stars. My brain raced a mile a minute and I tried to ignore everything possible…
"Lilly! What happened?" Jayne's voice was tired and groggy but her eyes were wide open with fear.
I looked over at her while she began to wipe away my tears with a tissue, "Someone was outside. I didn't know the window was open and I'm certain he was taking pictures of me doing my morning routine. I'm not even dressed! They'll start sending pictures of me around like that now along with the pictures of me crying at the cafe! This is one of the many embarrassing things in the world to keep happening to me! Just why?"
I know I was babbling on, repeating everything, because Jayne locked me into a bear hug. Jayne's father sat on the bed and shook his head with the gun across his lap, "Something needs to be done about those kids. The situation keeps getting shrugged off. It's been going on way too long. Lilith, I've honestly been trying to see about getting things taken care of."
"I don't feel like I belong anywhere anymore…"
Jayne hushed me like a child, I tucked my head down away from view. "We have less than half a year left before we graduate. It's only the beginning of February. We can make it through the rest of it."
Jayne's father, Leonard emptied out his pump action 12 gauge and set it down on the bed away from the girls, "I'll drop you girls off at school tomorrow. If you want, I can even escort you in Lilly. I won't stand for this anymore."
I took in a few deep breaths and shook my head. "I'm not sure that is necessary. I'd like it to be just a normal day. Being dropped off by a police escort will definitely escalate everything."
Jayne shook her head and helped me stand up once her father left only due to her shooing him away. She and I sat on the bed together, I had a blanket wrapped around my shoulders, the one with skulls everywhere on it that she brings with her everywhere when she goes places. To the movies, sleep overs, even my recitals. I think we sat in silence for almost an hour. I didn't want to move from the spot. I laid next to her on the bed staring off into the darkest corners of the room, wishing that the darkest corners of my mind were as light as the room's.
After a too long of awkward silence Jayne stretched in her pjs and ruffled up her hair. "You know what, we need to goth you up today! You need new clothes to say 'back off' when you wear them. Ian and I are the top people who you would ever want to find you clothes! You know that. Or let me just do some dramatic smokey eye like before when you had to do the Black Swan dance and you had no clue how to make yourself look evil and dashing at the same time. You need something to scare those kids off."
"I don't think it exactly went like that. But, I don't really want to do that. That'll give off the wrong image." I looked up to her and couldn't help to frown. "Besides, what's the use anymore, Jayne? They'll go after me regardless. Thinking I'm some Satan worshiper demon child from the pits of hell… Oh! I didn't mean any offence."
"None taken. It's a compliment honestly!" Jayne hopped off the bed with an extra pep in her step before opening her closet and frowning looking inside the dark closet. "You still need something. I want to take you to our club."
"Jayne! I'm not eighteen!" I threw up my arms then jumped up from the bed. I twirled the blanket around my body into a cocoon before leaping onto the bed again this time onto my stomach and hiding my face and voice in a pillow. "I'm not moving from this spot. Nothing can possibly make me."
Jayne nearly tackled me, she started to roll me out in a reverse sushi roll, "Oh-ho-ho! I will make you regret saying that!" I laughed as she began tickling me. After being fully unraveled, Jayne stood me up and pretended to tango with me. I tilted my head back with my eyes closed. Everything seemed to disappear from focus when she spun me around, my brain was at ease. I love dancing and when I spin doing my pirouettes everything around me is a blur. It's my one chance to ignore the outside world and focus on me and enjoy the little things. Jayne stopped and quickly moved me out of the way, she raised up the window then screamed outside, "If I catch you at school I am going to rip you to pieces, James!"
I sat on the bed bewildered at everything that happened in the last few seconds. "I told you, Jayne. It's ridiculous to try and stop any of this." I went through Jayne's clothes, looking for something to cover up in. I sorted through the black clothing trying to find something to wear. "Do you have anything but black?"
Jayne shook her head letting her hair shake around her body wildly, "Not really. You should know that. But it gives us the chance to doll you up! Let's change the day to something better. Ok? It'll be fun and something to get your mind away from school and those pesky rodents that call themselves people."
"I don't really want to do too much." I sat on her bed cross legged, letting my eyes wander around the room. Wrapping the blanket back around my top, I smiled at her, knowing she won't let me win this. "Just a bit then…"
Jayne sorted through her clothes, tossing some onto the bed, "Dress? No, you don't wear much dresses…"
"I do too!" I looked at the lace top, holding it up to peer right through it, "I can't wear this! It's… So see through."
Jayne threw more clothes towards me giving a chuckle, "You wear that under another top. I wore it with my tank top before." After a minute of sorting, Jayne brought out a strapless dress, short in the front and long in the black. It had a belt made with floral print that the bottom hem matched. The smooth black was lined with almost a corset boning inside the top half. "Try it on. It'll look perfect on you! Plus, I have tights if that's what you're worried about with your legs showing. I'm not sure what kind of shoes you would like to wear."
"I can wear any kind of shoe you know. I can walk straight on my tip toes." I watched her find clothes for herself, she sorted through the clothes as if it was the last outfit she would ever wear in her life. She nailed up the curtains over the window, this time no one would be able to peep in.