Take 2: Idiot in a Cowboy Hat.

Myles walked by her dorm every day.  He saw that door on the way to his, those numbers sitting there, as if teasing him.  He thought about messing with it in some way, but it would definitely kill his meager chances at fixing what he fucked up.  He walked by her every day at school, and every time she looked away.  He could never place how she felt when he walked past her, other than she wasn't going to be talking with him in the halls.  He sighed, he'd been drunk and hungover most of this week, he'd been using the hair of the dog most days and he finally took a day away from the alcohol mostly because he ran out and Barry was starting to get worried when he'd wake up to see Myles passed out cuddling a bottle of tequila.  

Now he had an Adderal and some aspirin in him and he just needed to get some type of closure.  She told him she wasn't done, and he decided it was better to get something even if it was a fist between the eyes...maybe he deserved it, maybe it was justified, I mean he was pretty upfront with it all.  He also knew he was always nice and powers certainly made things a whole lot more complicated...he knew this was the simplest way to learn what's going on,  no matter how you phrase it.  He didn't bother with the hat again, even with it's sentimental value it just pissed him off to wear it.  

He looked rough, hungover and tired.  Stress was etched across his features, his controlled insanity of a haircut seemed a little bit more insane than usual, his red flannel was soft, and looked somewhat clean, even if it was a day old and wrinkled to all Hell.  With a sigh, he stepped up to the door, his hand hovering over the wood before him.  Those motherfucking numbers taunting him, telling him every day how he skewered his chances, as if they were fucking alive.  His thrashed up knuckles knocked against the wood, most gashes scabbed over or healed into new pink scars.  He looked at his hand briefly after his knuckles met wood, shaking his head.  Sometimes his anger could get the best of him, that fence post could vouch for that.

She'd been sprawled across the floor with her eyes closed. At some point she'd been on the couch, and at some point she'd been sitting down watching some trashy reality show, but somehow she'd managed to flop onto the carpet within the past few hours. Not sleeping. This was just a groggy half-sleep, about the same as lying on the ground and pretending. These days, she could barely sleep without an ambien and a couple painkillers mixed in, and when those went down, she didn't know when she'd get up next. Sometimes it felt like the whole day could flash by and she'd still be knocked out cold in bed. If the whole dorm got thrashed apart by a hurricane, she'd only know once the spell wore off. At first, when she'd first started stealing bottles away from the cabinet in the infirmary, it'd felt like a necessity. Now it felt like something she depended on, relied on, couldn't get by without... and when she thought about herself in those terms, it made her sick to her stomach.

So in a few ways, she'd been going cold turkey on-and-off for awhile now. That was the key phrase. On-and-off. At least when she popped a few and laid down, she didn't dream, and she didn't ache, and she didn't wake up sweating in the middle of the night.

Someone was knocking on the door. Kayla wasn't sure if she'd just hallucinated it at first, but no, someone was definitely knocking. One eye blinked open and focused on the source of the sound. A visitor, huh...? Things had been quiet for the past few days since Keirsta had just slipped off. She'd never been the rowdiest roommate, but with her gone, the place felt that much more empty. Amelia had always been quiet and stuck to herself... Thinking about it, Kayla wasn't sure they'd even ever spoken besides the cursory nods and mutterings you'd expect when you shared a kitchen, a living room, and laundry duty.

By process of elimination, that just left Preston's... 'friends.' She felt a distasteful grimace pass over her face, wondering if she should even bother answering. With Keirsta gone, he was by far the most busy out of the three of them, and it was always this girl or that girl on his arm or hovering around their dorm, eating their food, and leaving their fucking hairpins and scrunchies all over the place. He was a pig.

Just thinking about him made her sit up, angry, and crawl to her feet. She swayed, off balance, and almost flopped back on the floor again, but managed to stay upright. What time even was it? Kayla swiped her hat off the couch cushion and set it on her head, pulling her ponytail through the back. Electricity flickered down her arm. She wasn't sure exactly what she was planning, just that some bitter feeling boiling in the pit of her gut was fueling her forward. More than anything, maybe she just wanted to see the look on some peppy dolled up bitch's face when they came face to face with her instead of their smirking Prince Charming. Odds were he was off macking on some other girl anyways on the other side of campus, considering how no one had rushed out to greet them yet.

She wasn't exactly a sight for sore eyes. A baggy black shirt with more than a few rips and holes and a worn out pair of jeans she didn't remember changing out of in the past week, and her hair was sticking up all over the place, but that was just par for the course, wasn't it? No shoes, but one of her toes were purple under the nail from some scuffle she could barely even remember. Electricity flared down her back as she marched toward the door, turning a hundred barbed words over in her mouth for whoever was on the other side of the door. Even if it wasn't for Pres, and she couldn't imagine for who else, she wasn't in the mood for guests. Fucking piece of...

Kayla flung the door open. Now who was this—...?! She craned her head to look up, her scowl dying. Oh. Oh. Her eyes widened, a flush of crimson spread across her cheeks, and without thinking, she slammed the door closed again, sparks blasting out behind her.

Agghhh... This hick, again?! No, no, no, she wasn't prepared for this, not right... now. Wait. She shook her head clear, pinching the bridge of her nose. It was just some stupid guy, and she could handle him. Things had just been a little... heated and confused last time. After all, she said she'd get him next time. Right. Right! Kayla slapped both her cheeks, sucked in her breath, and turned back to the door. In her head, she'd imagined herself flinging it back open and coming out swinging, but instead she reached out and cracked the door open, peeking through the gap. "What do you want?" she murmured lightly, sounding more sullen than furious. Fuck, this was already turning out wrong. He was the one who blew up on her back at the stable! Could she slam the door again and get a redo?

Myles stood by the door, silently waiting.  The adderal was helping him focus, but he took that a few hours ago to finish some homework that was already two days late.  His head was pounding, the Aspirin weren't doing their job very well as his hangover was starting to hit it's peak.  He half closed his eyes, then fully closed them, but his world started to spin slightly and his stomach flipped.  He sure felt like a long line of expletives.  His eyes flung open and he stumbled but held his feet just barely.  

He let out a breath as the door flew open, he thought about smiling, but Kayla was never the type for lighter moods.  What luck though, he didn't have to through the awkward talk-through with her dormma-...The door just slammed.  He rubbed his face with his right hand, looking up at the ceiling as his right hand twitched.  This was not how he expected sparks to fly and he damn near pulled those stupid taunting numbers from the wood.  He thought about who he saw when he opened the door, though.  She looked about as rough as he felt...and probably looked as well.  For any other girl back in Texas it would have been a red flag, a girl should know how to look somewhat nice.  For some reason though, he didn't care about that with Kayla, maybe he was always looking for someone like that, rough and tumble.  Someone who wasn't faking or trying so hard it made them look like a clown.  He took a step back from the door, hooking his thumbs in his pockets, his blue-gray eyes moving from the numbers to the door knob, waiting a minute.  When it passed he decided it would be better to just cut his losses and have one more drink and stop buying them before he ran out of money.   

Just as he was about to turn towards his dorm, the door clicked open slightly, she was peeking around the door, fire burning in her eyes.  She was probably mentally tearing him apart.  He was brought back to the stable...yeah he got mad, but she acted like it was a joke and when he said it wasn't she straight up tried to scare him off.  After the tackle was about as close as he got with that girl, he was able to take in the features of her face a little more, even if it was twisted with whatever emotion that had clouded her actions.  It was all he really could do, he wasn't about to fight back, he'd never hit a girl unless it was life or death and even if she didn't care much, she wouldn't kill him.  But she ran off for some reason and told him it wasn't over...he guessed it was time for him to get his fill, even if he didn't feel it was right.  His closed his eyes for a second as his headache gave a good slam to behind his eye and on his forehead.  The nausea was still there but he couldn't think of it now as he let out a slow breath, forming the exact words he wanted to say, opening his eyes and slowly shifting them to Kayla's.  He raised his scarred and gashed right hand to scratch the stubble on his as he began to speak, flinching slightly as looked at it dropping it down to his side, saying in a gravely and just about as sullen as her "Well, I-uh-I'm sorry for the whole stable thing...It was kinda uncalled for and well, you said that it wasn't over and...uhm...well I thought that the day I went cold turkey I'd just let you do wh-whatever."  God, that was not the most eloquent, but that was all the talking he wanted to do without upchucking all over the wall and floor-not the most romantic or pleasant thing in the world.  He narrowed his eyes for a second as a second wave of nausea hit him, this time prepared he just swayed slightly, although noticeably.  Maybe he wasn't ready for a knock to the head, but it was too late now and he had to accomplish whatever twisted stupid mission he set out for.  Best of luck, dumbass.

She narrowed her eyes at him, looking him up and down. An apology...? C'mon, now... After a few moments of avoiding his gaze, she sighed and looked up at him. "It's whatever." They both knew who should be apologizing here, but that was the best he was going to get out of her, just a tacit admission of guilt. Kayla opened the door further, her frown melting away. A hard, thin mouth that wasn't used to smiling. "Do you want to come in?" she finally asked. She wasn't going to pop him in the face. This whole incident had been stupid, for the both of them. If he'd come knocking to say sorry after she'd pushed him into the dirt, she couldn't exactly slam the door in his face again. Not without a guilty conscience, anyways. "Your hand looks fucked up." It was more of a muted observation than anything. Maybe all that time in the infirmary was starting to wear off on her. Kayla looked down at her own hand as if to compare, faded white and pink scars slashed across her palm and knuckles. Hers were less fresh, at least.

Without waiting for an answer, she stepped aside and opened the door wider, inviting him in with that same surly look in her eyes.

Myles' kept his haze on her face, soft features and brown eyes always clouded by something though he could never put his finger on it.  Her eyes met his and he felt a flutter in his stomach, even if it had that expression that couldn't be placed, he knew he'd find out one of these days, he might just be able to help.  She spoke, but didn't do anything, no swinging or pushing or shoving.  She could just be too tired, she looked like she went through the wringer a few too many times, even more so than she normally put off.  You and me both, girl.  He thought as his head pounded behind his eyes, straining against the heavily lit hallway, he squeezed his blue-gray eyes shut for a minute, letting out  an uneven breath as she began to speak again, wishing he could just make this hangover go away.

She offered him in, now that was...surprising.  He couldn't help but let a little smile run across his face as she pulled the door open a little more for him to walk through, the frown leaving her face, when she remarked about his hand.  As she did, Myles followed her eyes and looked at her own thrashed hand, the scars were...well scars compared to his slowly healing gashes, but they both shared that twisted zebra print, no matter how it came about.  "Well, you don't seem like no stranger, yourself."  He said as he nodded towards her own hand.

Once she opened the door for him his smile grew a little more as he stepped into the hall, passing right by those numbers with a triumphant feeling.  But as he began moving forward his stomach flipped again, his nausea reminding him of it's presence and the pounding continuing behind his eyes, he took a couple steps past Kayla and put his arm out, leaning on the wall with a good bit of his weight, letting out another uneven breath, putting his free right hand up his face, shaking his head.  How long ago did he take that aspirin?  It sure felt like he needed another, or maybe another twenty, his head felt like it was splitting.

Kayla let the door creak close behind him, the bill of her cap shadowing her expression. Agh, what the hell was she doing? She turned around to follow him into the living room, but stopped when she saw him leaning against the wall. Holy hell, he was in a bad shape. "What the hell's wrong with you?" she sighed, tilting her head. "If you throw up, don't do it on our carpet." Taking care to keep a safe distance, she gave a cautious approach, looking him up and down. "I don't have to drag you to the infirmary again, do I? I'm off-duty."

Myles let a breath escape his lips, keeping his eyes to the floor.  Really?  He thought he hit the peak of this stupid hangover hours ago, but no his head was pounding nine inch nails into his eyes and he couldn't tell what was spinning and what wasn't.  Not now, not now...he needed something, just give him a kick, a boost...all of his medicine was wearing off.  He let out a breath before he spoke, keeping his wording short and neat "Hangover...been using the hair of the dog."  He closed his eyes for a second, loosening his neck slightly as he tried adjusting to what was going on "Painkillers...do you have any-any painkillers?"  He hoped to god she did as he didn't care that it was his crush, he just needed something to stop this goddamned pounding in his head.  Maybe he shouldn't have drank that much the last couple nights...

He raised his hand up to his face, squeezing his eyes shut as he let out another uneven breath, pushing himself off of the wall and turning slowly to Kayla, a weak smile escaping his lips at her before the pounding came back and his eyes went back closed, tilting his head back slightly as his face contorted in pain and his teeth clenched.  "No m-ma'am, just need somethin' to calm my head before it decides needles work better than nails."  One more breath, one more second, it was a cycle and eventually this had to die down or he was going to completely blow it.  Just the thought of it happening is what kept him from swaying or losing his lunch, all he needed was that edge.

Of course... She should've guessed that from the start. Kayla raised an eyebrow, sparks tracing along her cheeks, and sighed, stuffing her hands into her pockets. Painkillers. Yeah, she could handle that. "Go sit down." Lowering her head, she swept past him and skulked toward her room, a lean shadow. Electricity fluxed down the length of her arms, showering down her legs and dissipating before they hit the ground. The door swung open, the brass knob turning without her touching it, and she kicked the door with the back of her heel as she walked in, closing it behind her.

Dark, barren, impersonal. It gave more of an impression of a den than a girl's bedroom, but she didn't spend too long dwelling on it. She walked into her bathroom, swinging open the medicine cabinet, and rooted through the rows and rows of bottles lining the shelves. There it was, just where she'd left it. She'd already ripped off the label, but she knew what was inside. Kayla reached into the corner and picked it up, rattling the contents around the bottle. Less than half full. Was this even a good idea?

Kayla gripped the bottle, grit her teeth, and set it back onto a shelf. No, not that. There had to be something better. She picked through the bottles until her fingers settled on a box shuffled toward the back. TYLENOL - Extra Strength. That was tame enough. She snatched it up and walked back out to the living room, flipping the box into his lap as she walked past him and into the kitchen. How did so many people in this school get their hands on alcohol anyways? Kayla flipped on the tap and filled up a glass, padding back over to Myles again and thrusting the cup towards him. "Here. Don't expect me to play nurse all the time."

Myles nodded, looking to the small room opposite him and sighing as she went past him.  He took view of the couch, making a mental objective to get there without losing any foodstuffs from the last twelve hours.  He pushed himself off of the wall, beginning his movement to the blue couch, step after step after step.  It was an even beat in his head as the journey seemed to get longer and longer rather than vice versa.  But soon his hand had gripped the couch and he pushed himself past it, standing in front of it.  He let out a groan as made it into the cushion, leaning his head back on the rest.

He heard her pad up before a small box fell into his lap.  Tylenol...Whatever works.  He quickly popped the top of the box off, dropping the bottle into his free hand, putting the box on the arm rest as he pushed down on the cap, spinning it fast enough for it to fling itself off onto the cushion next to him.  He dropped four of the pills in his hand, saying fuck it to the recommended amount, closing the bottle as she offered him the cup.  He set down the bottle, taking the cup and one by one popping the pills in his mouth, taking a little water and swallowing.  Now he had to wait, then she spoke.  Myles shook his head slighty, a small smile on his face "You're not playin' nurse here, you're bein' a friend."  He was able to force out a chuckle as he took a sip from the glass.  He set it on the coffee table in front of him, rubbing his eyes with the base of his palms, hoping to ease the pain until the Tylenol kicked in, only making it worse.  He just sat back, letting out a breath and looking up at Kayla.

She cast him a look under the brim of her hat, silent, and then turned her head away and snorted. Yeah, sure. Kayla leaned against the couch, staring down at her feet. "Whatever you say." Now what? Of course she hadn't planned this far ahead after inviting him in. It had just seemed like the appropriate thing to do. Sparks ran down her arms and danced across the tips of her nails. After how their last meeting had gone, she found herself struggling for words. Things just felt more complicate. Kayla rubbed the sleepiness from her eyes, still not looking up. Damn it...

Myles looked up at her, messing with his tongue in his cheek.  Well this was...awkward.  He tapped his boot on the ground, thinking of something to say, say something you dunce!  He ground his teeth slightly as nothing started to come to mind...blowing it, blowing it.  Something rose to his head as he tried to make it seem casual, just something to get talking, "So, about the stable thing, what...uh...what was that?"  A direct question, just curiosity he supposed, whatever he could do to keep this from getting to silent.  He just wanted to see her face again, that skulking attitude was something that he didn't understand why he stood it, but he could get that way too, it was him pretty much all week these last days.  It was a wonder he got this far, but however it happened he would work.  Just keep chipping away.

And it was right back to that. A sudden tinge of red sprang to her cheeks as she turned her head away, crossing her arms. "Y-you're still on about that...?" Damn it, damn it, damn it. It was easier to just try and pretend it never happened then to throw it back in her face, but dodging it every time wasn't ever going to put this to rest, was it? Kayla shuffled her feet and rubbed her arm, still not looking at him. Why was it so hard to try and put it in words? It wasn't something she thought through, just an impulse. "You were yelling at me and I got mad, alright?" she grumbled. That wasn't exactly it either, but fuck, she still wasn't ready for this conversation. Couldn't they just start over?

"I've had someone lie to me about that kind of thing before," she admitted after a few moments in a quiet voice. She still didn't look up. "It was a big joke."

His hands were sitting in his lap, shrugging when she blushed and stuttered away.  She couldn't seem to form the words for it and was about to dismiss the question when she said the first thing to pop in her head.  Well, it was true, he was yelling but that whole situation was morally grey and he was kicking himself for bringing it up...why was that all he could think about?  He was about to respond and when she told him about the joke...so it actually happened.  He gritted his teeth as he couldn't help but feel a bit angry at that, what would even be the point of that?  God, people could be cruel, he knew that much.  

He rubbed his face as his cheeks began to take on a tinge of red, looking up to the girl and shaking his head "That's bullshit, no one deserves that, especially you."  He could feel empathy for that type of stuff, that type of 'fun'.  Being poor and going to high school meant people were a different level of asshole at times.  He never understood how someone could get joy out of giving him lunch full of some type of putrid substance that left him puking in the bathroom for an hour.  He shook the thoughts out of his head, he was here now, his crush was actually talking to him and he had a warm bed with food and water...He just hoped his family was alright, he might start swiping food or skipping meals to send home.

Well, there it was. Remembering it made a spark flicker out over her bangs. It wasn't like she'd liked the guy, or like she'd expected anything but the worst even back then, but it still felt like a punch in the gut when she remembered how they all laughed. Kayla gave a grimace and stood up straight, stretching her arms. Especially her? What made her so special? "It's alright. It was a long time ago." She'd never been exactly popular, to put it one way. "I'm over it."

Myles narrowed his eyes for a second, before leaning back into the couch, the Tylenol was doing something, suppressing it the tiniest bit, he could just hope it would do more than just that little bit of work.  He shook his head for a second when she grimaced then she reassured him.  He ground his teeth for a second, letting out a breath.  "Yeah, well I can feel that whole big practical joke thing."  He let out a sigh as he could still feel his stomach contracting and the burning his throat sometimes, he shuddered slightly "People took advantage of my-er problems." He closed his eyes as he stuttered slightly saying 'problems' as he opened his eyes shaking his head.  That was still a bit of an insecurity and the only reason he had money for alcohol was because a lot of kids and people around had odd jobs for cash.  That 'joke' still resonated through his head, it made it a scary endeavor to tell people of his financial situation, he knew no one would probably repeat that same attack, but it was always better to be safe...Maybe she would understand though, that would give him just one more reason to want her, one of quite a few, and he just wanted her meet his eyes for once...This skulking was something that honestly irked him a bit, but maybe he just had to warm up to her.