NATE
Cunt. Nate bites out again with a huff, latching onto the aside easily, immediately. She’s a borin’ prude, but her sisters’re cool. She has, had this uh, weird, he gestures with the word, trying to drag it out, thing for Bart. Well... for us. She tried t’push it once, and I laughed in her face an’ told her t’kick rocks. Even now, there’s an undercurrent of discomfort with the idea thrumming through him. An’ I guess that pissed her off? Cause she’s been fuckin’ shitty since. But, s’long as Bart’s fuckin’ her, we can still go to her sisters parties. Nodding sagely as he wraps up his aside, Nate is silent for a moment, trying to remember where they’d come from.
Shifting to extricate himself and get comfortable in a new position, Nate rolls his shoulders back and reclines on Sunjata, his head lolling to the side with an easy grin. We’re a coupla hours out. In the woods, in fuckin’ September. His minds eye is a canvas of orange and yellow, a few trees stubbornly clinging to green, but not near enough to distract from the overcast day, or the bite in the wind.
Buddy, uh, he snaps, summoning the name, Connor, he’s already there, and his cousin, but I guess his sister invited some people too, an’ they weren’t there yet, so Connor gives us the tour, says we’re somethin’ like fifteen from the lake right? It’s awesome. At least, it had been at the time. A surprising taste of early freedom. His sister is takin’ her sweet time, and Leanne is bitchin’ that my weed is shit, so I say I’m gonna walk down t’the lake t’check it out, an’ Connor says he’ll come with me, cause it’s dangerous t’be in the woods alone. The sentiment is delivered with a mocking sneer, Nate chuckling to himself.
He thumbs his nose and sniffs, taming the laughter into a more bashful grin. We uh... didn’t quite make it to the lake. We’re close enough to hear anyone leave the cabin, but, not actually close, right? Fingers real and electric both trace patterns along scales, a thoughtless motion massaged into Sunjata. We’re just about t’head back when we hear someone comin’ towards us. But not from the house, from the lake. So he grabs a branch and I pull out my knife and we get ready t’fuck up whoever it is, and we, he has to pause to giggle before continuing, we fuckin’ jump outta the woods like killers, yea, and before we can do anythin’ Connor fuckin’ screams cause it’s fuckin’ Nessie, and we didn’t hear her fuckin... drive up, or walk past us.
Theres something else too, something Nate can’t put into words, can barely communicate across the bond. A creeping unease hangs over the memory, a girl with a face he can’t quite recall, staring at him. I fuckin’, I lose my mind on her, like fuckin... jesus, right? And Connor bitches at me for yellin’ at his stupid sister, and says we should go back together and that she should know better and she just fuckin’, books shit back to the cabin, right? Outside the cocoon of leathery wings, wind creaks through the trees, spindly branches clattering together in a death rattle, and dragging dry fingers against Sunjata. We can’t keep up. But we hear her still, and we end up back at the cabin obviously, and theres fuckin’ Nessie, and her friend, and her friends fuckin’... mom, I guess? And I lose my mind all the fuck over again. An’ Bart comes out and fuckin’, shuts me up, an’ Leanne comes out and runs her mouth about keeping’ the good shit to myself and Connor in the woods, cause Nessie and them just got there.
Shifting to extricate himself and get comfortable in a new position, Nate rolls his shoulders back and reclines on Sunjata, his head lolling to the side with an easy grin. We’re a coupla hours out. In the woods, in fuckin’ September. His minds eye is a canvas of orange and yellow, a few trees stubbornly clinging to green, but not near enough to distract from the overcast day, or the bite in the wind.
Buddy, uh, he snaps, summoning the name, Connor, he’s already there, and his cousin, but I guess his sister invited some people too, an’ they weren’t there yet, so Connor gives us the tour, says we’re somethin’ like fifteen from the lake right? It’s awesome. At least, it had been at the time. A surprising taste of early freedom. His sister is takin’ her sweet time, and Leanne is bitchin’ that my weed is shit, so I say I’m gonna walk down t’the lake t’check it out, an’ Connor says he’ll come with me, cause it’s dangerous t’be in the woods alone. The sentiment is delivered with a mocking sneer, Nate chuckling to himself.
He thumbs his nose and sniffs, taming the laughter into a more bashful grin. We uh... didn’t quite make it to the lake. We’re close enough to hear anyone leave the cabin, but, not actually close, right? Fingers real and electric both trace patterns along scales, a thoughtless motion massaged into Sunjata. We’re just about t’head back when we hear someone comin’ towards us. But not from the house, from the lake. So he grabs a branch and I pull out my knife and we get ready t’fuck up whoever it is, and we, he has to pause to giggle before continuing, we fuckin’ jump outta the woods like killers, yea, and before we can do anythin’ Connor fuckin’ screams cause it’s fuckin’ Nessie, and we didn’t hear her fuckin... drive up, or walk past us.
Theres something else too, something Nate can’t put into words, can barely communicate across the bond. A creeping unease hangs over the memory, a girl with a face he can’t quite recall, staring at him. I fuckin’, I lose my mind on her, like fuckin... jesus, right? And Connor bitches at me for yellin’ at his stupid sister, and says we should go back together and that she should know better and she just fuckin’, books shit back to the cabin, right? Outside the cocoon of leathery wings, wind creaks through the trees, spindly branches clattering together in a death rattle, and dragging dry fingers against Sunjata. We can’t keep up. But we hear her still, and we end up back at the cabin obviously, and theres fuckin’ Nessie, and her friend, and her friends fuckin’... mom, I guess? And I lose my mind all the fuck over again. An’ Bart comes out and fuckin’, shuts me up, an’ Leanne comes out and runs her mouth about keeping’ the good shit to myself and Connor in the woods, cause Nessie and them just got there.
i love those quiet moments in the dark
where you can stop pretending
where you can stop pretending
