POSITIVE OPIOIDS

I take my extra large chocolate smoothie with a blueberry muffin, carefully placed into my tray and turn around to catch a table when a force hits into me headstrong-

“Jesus, Lily! Stop ghosting around!” I brace myself and somehow manage to save my food.

“Are you hurt? God Dello, are you okay or are you not okay?”

“I am but you won’t be if you make me spill my smoothie.” I walk past her onto the nearest vacant table and she runs back to sit beside me.

“I just heard this crazy thing about Dan Evans breaking in and – is it true?”

I take a huge bite of my muffin relishing the feel of it and my voice comes out in muffles in between all the munching.

“No, of course not. It was a practice essay during English class and we though it’d be fun to leak it as a rumour to see if its good enough.”

This is just amazing. I’m gonna die of diabetes I’m sure. I pause my chewing momentarily to look at a suspicious Lily narrowing her eyes stupidly.

I crush down a tissue into a ball and throw it straight on her head!

“Remind me to set you up for therapy Lily, you’ve gone unbelievably dense! Of course, it’s all true, God!” Lily snaps out due to the hit and gets her somewhat normal mode back online.

“Stop eating it all alone, you piranha!” She pulls the tray to her side taking a huge bite of the muffin while I sip through the smoothie.

“Use the tissue, no crumbles on the tray, please. Not to mention you’re super late too.”

I shake my cup playfully to hear the crushed ice making that noise I can’t describe. And I get some weird pleasure out of it that I can’t describe either.

“Oh, I was in try-outs. And, I come back and I hear this thing, I ran as fast as my fat accumulated legs could allow.”

“Lily, your legs have no accumulated fat.”

“They do! I have this great amazing mermaid figure starting from my head all down to my waist and then I go down to have balloon thighs! Have you seen me from behind? I don’t like my legs, I want a replacement.”

I laugh out with a cracking sound of a dying pig that happens sometimes when you laugh too violently through your throat. God, I’m too descriptive.

“How was try-outs though? Did he get through?”

“What Ste-, yeah, of course, he got through! And he was so amazing I’m telling you. He was all sweaty and running an- uh how are you, by the way?”

She stops her rambling midway with a nervous guilty expression towards the end.

“Oh no, please don’t let any trespassing, violence or me getting involved in some unnecessary brawl keep you from gushing about a guy.”

“Okay, I’m going to ignore the sarcastic tone to that sentence because it sucked and yet filled me with guilt. Give me details. Shoot.”

I narrate everything to Lily up to the minutest of details and at the end of it all this is what she managed to grasp-

“Did I hear right when I heard that Zach Hayden fucking meant the kiss?” I roll my eyes.

“I didn’t exactly swear but besides that yes, that’s what I said.”

I watch as Lily’s face turned funnier by the second. Her lips get pursed, then eyes widen, then those lips stretch into a big dreamy curve and then those eyes narrow as if she would cry.

“Don’t! Please don’t squeal! Or get overexcited. Or shout. Or tease. Just don’t react at all. Forget that you exist for a minute. Please.”

“That’s rude but, oh my fuck!” She whisper yells and I hate the smile that breaks out on my face.

“You gotta admit, Hayden has swag.”

“Yeah, well right now that Hayden has low sugar.”

“I wouldn’t be too surprised. That guy’s gonna give himself a nosebleed too soon.” I chuckle.

“Did you two talk after?”

“No. He’s in the infirmary and I’ve been up with Collins. Seems he’ll give himself a nosebleed too.”

“Ha, everyone knows he wanted to be the dean, so now he’s just over passionate.”

I chuckle again and stand up holding my denim jacket in one arm and straighten my grey sweater making sure it’s tucked in properly.

“I’m gonna hit the infirmary, see if he’s doing okay. You got a hair tie? It’s troubling me too much.”

“I do but then you’re going to meet Hayden so I’m not giving it to you.”

“Seriously Lily? Aren’t you the best best-friend?”

“Come on! Open hair, that too yours is such a turn on.”

“I don’t want to know how you came to feel that. But it’s too savage. I feel like a bird in a nest. Give me something here, Lil.”

“Fine. Here. Make do.”

Lily pulls out two hair clips from her own shaking her head sexily – supposedly sexily – and hands them to me. And I do what she told me to. I make do.

At least I tame it somewhat, though the bangs are still wild free all over my temple. I walk off to the infirmary and can’t help enjoying the cool breeze walking through the sun.

You gotta love Liverpool.

I step in the infirmary and my eyes land immediately on the sleeping figure of Zach. Nurse Willa was dressing the wound of some girl and as she looked at me I entered.

“Uh, I don’t want to be interrupting, I just came to visit.”

“Not a problem, dear. But there’s only half an hour I can give you. School gives over.”

“That’s more than enough. Thank you.”

I turn towards Zach’s bed only to find him looking straight at me now. I squirm under his stare as I make over to the side of his bed.

“You’re alive.”

“I’ve got fan support.” I roll my eyes amused.

“A simple thank you would’ve been just fine.”

“We don’t do simple now, do we, Adalanna?”

My smile leaves as his eyes get serious and I just relish the sound of my name from him.

I wonder for a moment, how it would have been if it was simple. We wouldn’t have to hate or fight and we would simply be together like a happy couple.

But instead we are… this. And I wouldn’t exactly complain, because I’d take anything so long as it’s Zach, just to have something with him.

My inner pride hides in a corner and scowls at me, but right now, when he’s sick and looking at me like that, I’d rather hurt her than him.

At least he knows how complicated we’ve always been.

We never do simple, Zach.

“Zach I-“

“I’m sorry.”

I stop midway, stupefied that Zach Hayden has just apologized to me! I stare into his eyes, blankly.

“What?”

“I’m sorry.” Silence descends over the now empty room and all we do is look at each other.

“Are you under any medication? Painkillers? Opioids?”

“I shouldn’t have said all those terrible, terrible things to you, and I’m sorry for that, Alanna. Something… happened that day and I lost it.

I’m sorry I vented it all out on you and it was no fault of yours. I’m really sorr-“

“Okay stop. Stop. That’s too many sorry(s) for one day. Dying out of shock is not really an intimidating and impressive death. I intend it to be a bit more serious and realistic, maybe like a vampire bite.”

Zach’s eyes crinkle beautifully at the sides and he smiles. Not smirks, smiles.

“You’re just impossible to satisfy, you know that? Zach Hayden is apologizing to you, the least you can do and sit silent and enjoy. But okay, fine.”

Author's note:

Zach. Said. Sorry.

HOLY SHKKDHDJEBJSKNV!

Zach said sorry frikking four times in a minute.

HOLY SHKKDHDJEBJSKNV AGAIN!

Stop overreacting. Ah- I- okay.

Like, vote, comment.

Love me with some accumulated fat.