Closer Ch. 02

Hey all! This chapter is much longer and I hoped you enjoy. The new chapter will be out soon.

~Taryn

*

Kim woke up the next morning in her bed with the sunlight beaming in her face. She sat upright and rubbed her eyes, cursing herself for not closing the blinds last night. 'Wait, how did I even get home last night?' she asked herself. Shit. She couldn't remember anything that happened. This was strange considering she only had two beers or whatever that alcoholic substance was and some punch.

She glanced over at the dresser near her bed and saw the white piece of paper being held down by a glass of water. She picked it up and read the contents of the note. Apparently Justin brought her home last night and he hoped her hangover wouldn't be too bad in the morning. She didn't have a hangover. In fact she felt fine even though most of the night had been one big, gigantic blur. She groaned as she pulled back the covers and got out of bed.

She walked out of her bedroom just in time to see her landlord walking out of her mother's bedroom putting his belt back on. He quickly gave her a once over before she closed her tattered robe to veil her body from his view. She noticed him lick his lips before saying hello and walking out of the small apartment. 'Asshole,' she thought with hatred. Kim rolled her eyes and walked over to the kitchen and searched for any food source they had. Nothing.

She blew out a frustrated breath and walked over to her mom's room and knocked on the door. "Mom, we don't have anymore food," she yelled out. Her mother didn't answer so she twisted the doorknob and walked inside. She immediately smelled the sex that still remained in the air and pinched her nose to keep out the invading aroma. She saw her mom sitting on the bed painting her nails and smoking a cigarette as if the fact that she just had sex for money was unimportant.

"Oh, hey honey! I didn't know you were awake," she said in a gravelly voice. She cleared her throat and patted the side of the bed. "Have a seat." She offered before taking another drag of the cigarette.

"I don't think so. I know what you and Mr. Morrison were doing so I'll sit down after you burn these sheets," Kim replied. Her mom just giggled like some teenage school girl.

"We don't have anymore food," Kim continued. Her mom nodded her head before releasing cigarette smoke from her nostrils and reached into the pocket of her jacket.

"Here. What time do you have to be to work?" Her mom asked after throwing a wad of cash at Kim. Kim looked at the money and counted: two hundred dollars. It disgusted her that her mom was degrading herself like this. She felt even more awful knowing her mother was doing these things because she didn't want her living in a homeless shelter again.

"11:20. I agreed to take over Maria's shift tonight so I won't be home until 10:00," Kim replied. Her mother turned to look at her watch and arched one of her ebony eyebrows.

"You better go get ready. It's already 10:30," her mother exclaimed. Kim nodded her head and left the bedroom. She slowly walked down the hall and into their small bathroom. 'Hopefully Justin can take me to work," she thought with a sigh.

***********

Justin lay across his bed with his eyes glued to the ceiling and his fingers clasped behind his head. He kept replaying the events from the previous night. It had seemed so dreamlike, but he knew it really happened. He almost fucked his best friend. No, he wouldn't have fucked her; he would have made love to her.

The more he thought about her, the harder it became to deny the fact that he had feelings for Kim beyond the "Friend's Zone." He thought of her smooth skin that felt like the softest silk and the smell of her body wash that drove him crazy. He wanted to be with her so bad, to feel her body writhe underneath his as she cried out in pleasure.

"No! You have no right thinking like that. She's your best friend and for a long time she was your only friend. Don't lose her because you want to make drastic decisions with your dick. She deserves better," his logic chastised.

"Then why did last night feel so right? Last night I felt something with her that I've never felt with any other girl. That has to count for something," he countered aloud. He continued his debate with himself for several minutes before he heard a knock on his door. His stepfather stood in the doorway with the house phone pressed against his massive chest.

"Hey sport. Kim's on the phone and she wants to know if you can drop her off at work," his step dad exclaimed. Justin felt his heart flutter at the mention of her name. 'Jesus fucking Christ! Get a hold of yourself,' he told himself. He couldn't face her just yet. Not when there was a high risk of him doing or saying something that could have a huge impact on their friendship.

"Tell her I'm asleep." Justin replied. He noticed his stepfather's look of confusion before he finally brought the phone back up to his ear.

"Hey Kim! He's asleep right now but if you'd like I could take you." His stepfather stated into the phone while still eye balling his stepson carefully. "Don't be ridiculous you're never a bother," he said a moment later. His stepfather listened to the other person on the phone before saying, "I'll be there in a flash" and hanging up. He walked further into Justin's room.

"You want to explain why I just lied to Kim for you?" his step dad asked, narrowing his eyes at Justin.

"I just don't feel like taking her today. End of story," Justin replied.

"You sure that's it?" His stepfather asked unconvinced with the answer he received.

"Why do you think I have some ulterior motive?" Justin accused in an annoyed tone. He didn't want to talk about his problems with Steve. Even though he thought his stepfather was a pretty cool guy sometimes, he didn't want to spill out his guts and come off as some softy or lovesick loser.

"Well maybe it's because out of the four years that I've known you, you've never lied to Kim, but now all of a sudden you're avoiding her. That makes me question the answer you just gave me," His step dad retorted while crossing his arms over his chest. Justin scoffed loudly and rolled off the bed. He walked over to his dresser avoiding his stepfather's glare.

"I'm not avoiding her, Steve. I just don't feel like taking her to work okay. Just leave it alone." He replied as he took out a long-sleeved shirt and began putting it on. Steve exhaled loudly and shrugged his shoulders before walking out of the room. He was pulling the door closed, but before it closed all the way he spoke out.

"Don't think you're off the hook. We're talking about this later." Before Justin had time to reply the door was closed. 'Shit,' he thought.

*******

Mackenzie had barely gotten out of the shower when she heard her doorbell ring. She quickly dried some of her soaking hair until it was damp and wrapped her soft cotton towel around her naked frame. She ran downstairs and towards the front door and without looking to see who was on the other side, she opened it.

"Well isn't that a sight to see. You know I like it when my girls are all wet and ready for me," the guy said in an amused tone. Mackenzie rolled her eyes at him and let him in.

"John as much as I love your sense of humor, I'm not in the mood for it right now," Mackenzie stated while walking into the kitchen.

"I take it someone didn't get any dick last night."

"Well you guessed right." Mackenzie didn't even see him come near her, but she felt him pick her up and place her on the counter. He held onto the sides of her waist and stepped in between her legs.

"Well why didn't you say something, Mackey? You know I'd be more than willing to give you what you need," he said huskily. Mackenzie leaned down so that her lips were mere inches from his.

"I don't need you to give me pleasure. That's my vibrator's job and after I get Justin I won't even need that anymore," she exclaimed. She pushed his body away from hers. He smiled at her as she hopped off the counter as gracefully as she could.

"I don't think your vibrator is doing a good enough job. Pardon me if this sounds rude, but you still act like a bitch," he replied.

"Oh Johnny boy are you upset that a girl like me would never in her right mind go for a guy like you," she teased.

"A girl like you? Honey, you're not that sexy. Believe me, thinking of you naked gets me hard in like five minutes tops, but someone like Kim can get me hard like that," he said snapping his fingers. He knew he hit a sore spot when he saw her lips curl in anger. He had a habit on getting on people's nerves and he found it quite entertaining most of the time.

"Don't you ever compare me to that skank," she said viciously.

"If she's a skank, then what are you? I mean you try to act all high and mighty like you were unanimously voted Miss Alpha Bitch. You try to strut your shit all around town like you're fucking Marilyn Monroe or something. Newsflash sweetie, guys like curves not stick figures, but I'm sure you'll have no problem paying for your missing parts. If I were you I'd start with the obvious like your tits and the barely there ass. Then you should move on to something a little more advanced like a personality transplant. You've probably slept with over half the male population in school so correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't that make you a whore," John stated matter-of-factly. Mackenzie rolled her eyes and brought her hand over to her mouth to imitate a yawn. She walked over to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of Evian water.

"I'm not a whore. I just like sex. There's a difference."

"You wanna clue me in on what that difference is," John asked skeptical of her reasoning.

Mackenzie giggled but for some reason it sounded extremely evil coming from her. She took a swig of the bottle and set it on the counter.

"I thought you Asians were supposed to be super geniuses. The difference between me and Kim is simple. She sleeps with men for money and I don't. I do it simply for the enjoyment," she replied.

"Well she wasn't going to make me pay," John exclaimed. Mackenzie rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time that day and took another drink from the water bottle.

"That's because she wasn't feeling like herself. A side effect from those drugs," she stated before bringing the bottle back up to her lips.

"Well she didn't make Lover Boy pay either," John exclaimed before grabbing an apple and rubbing it against his shirt. Mackenzie almost choked on her water. She stared up at him and arched one of her fair-haired eyebrows.

"What are you talking about? Did that bitch sleep with my man?" she asked in a hysterical and accusatory tone. She set her bottle of water on the counter and prepared to receive an answer.

"Relax they only made out and there was a little dry humping from what I see in the tape." He laughed heartedly before taking in a mouthful full of the apple.

'The tape! How could I forget about the tape?' she yelled at herself.

"Let me see the tape," she commanded, holding out her hand. John rolled his eyes and reached into the pocket of his hoodie. He pulled out a small cassette tape and held it between his index and middle fingers. After a moment he finally decided to give it to her and continue devouring his apple.

"Here there's not much on it though so don't get your hopes up." Mackenzie looked up at him.

"Let's go watch it and I'll judge for myself," she stated, already making her way into the family room.

"Why would you want to watch the guy you like make out and grind against another girl?" John asked in confusion.

"I just want to see the part with you and her."

"Why? We made out for a whopping five minutes and then Lover Boy came in, kicked my ass out, and took over." He saw Mackenzie stop in her tracks and jerk her head in his direction.

"What the hell did you just say?"

"We made out—" was all he got out before Mackenzie interrupted him.

"You mean to tell me you were with her, alone in the room for more than ten minutes and you two did absolutely nothing! What did you do?" she asked, pissed off.

"We didn't do anything because all she did was talk. It's kinda hard to focus on your job when someone won't shut the fuck up," he answered. He was unfazed by her angry outburst.

"I didn't pay you to have chit-chat with her. The job was so simple and you fucked it all up, you worthless piece of shit. I mean how hard is it to slip someone a roofie, take them upstairs to the third guest room, and fuck them," she yelled out. She threw the tape at him and watched it break on the floor.

"It's not as simple as you think, Blondie. Different people have different reactions to Rohypnol. Some black out, some people feel like they're gonna puke, and in her case she had this whole drunk vibe going on. Besides you should just use the video of her and Justin. She even said she loved him," he retorted. He started picking up the damaged pieces of the tape.

"No. I want her to look bad, not Justin. Besides all they did was make out which is a visual image that will literally haunt my dreams. Making out is so not 'OMG' worthy," she stated. John sighed and shoved his hands back into his pockets.

"So what do we do now?"

"Plan B."

"What's Plan B?" he asked cautiously after noticing a small smile form across her thin lips. She closed her eyes and began pacing the large space between the TV and the loveseat across from it. She was mumbling something unintelligible under her breath.

"What's Plan B?" he repeated anxiously. She shot him a dirty look and narrowed her eyes into small slits.

"Shut the fuck up you dick, I'm trying to think here." She paced around again for a torturous two minutes before shooting her arms up in the air excitedly.

"I got it," she shouted, barely containing her excitement.

"So what's the plan?" he asked. Mackenzie walked over to him and gripped his shoulders.

"You. You are the secret ingredient that will make this recipe a very delicious one." She said through a toothy smile. 'Oh man, should I be scared?' he thought to himself.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Ok. Here's the new plan since you fucked up the first one," she stated before releasing her death grip. John rolled his eyes and rolled his shoulders to get all of the tenseness out of them.

"So," she continued. "Justin is super protective of that whore whose name I refuse to mention. I remember this one time they got into a huge fight because she went on a date with this guy named Tony or Tommy something. Anyway they stopped talking for almost a week after that."

"And?" John asked. Mackenzie scoffed and crossed her arms over her body.

"And. If you ask her out then we could possibly get them to argue again and get it to the point where they aren't speaking to each other. It's perfect because graduation is like a few weeks away. After graduation Justin and I will be at the University of Illinois and far away from Cali and little Miss Skanky," she said as if it were the most obvious thing on the planet.

"But if you're both going to the same college then there's no point in trying to get them to hate each other," John stated while scratching his smooth, black hair.

"If they hate each other by the time we leave for college, then he'll be all mine. I won't have to deal with them talking to each other all the time. It's perfect," she replied simply.

"Ok. So let me get all of this straight. I have to go out with her because Lover Boy obsesses over the guys she dates and she hates that. So when that happens they'll duke it out and stop talking for a while. So you think that by the time you two leave for Chi-town they'll be so pissed at each other that they'll break off all communication with each other?" John repeated to clarify the idea behind the new plan. Mackenzie vigorously nodded her head and smiled wide. John noticed that when she smiled like that she tended to look ten years older than she actually was.

"Its genius isn't it?" she asked clasping her fingers together tightly.

"No. Actually I think it sounds kinda stupid, but you're the boss and your wish is my command. As long as I still get paid, I'm cool," he replied shrugging his shoulders slightly.

"Good. This is gonna be amazing," she said in a sing-song voice.

'I just made a deal with a crazy bitch,' John thought to himself.

**********

Kim hadn't been this confused in her entire life. Over the past two weeks Justin had been avoiding her like the plague. Whenever she walked near him in school he would make a beeline in the opposite direction or pretend to be in deep conversation with the boys. When she tried to call him her call would go straight to voice mail. 'Is he blocking my calls? Why?' she asked herself countless times. She'd been overwhelmed by these questions for the past few days.

At lunchtime she decided to sit in the school yard and listen to her Mp3 player. She sat there with her back against a giant tree observing her peers interact with each other while listening to the raw power of Janis Joplin's voice. Justin's father had actually got her addicted to Janis and many other acts from the old days when she was younger. She sat there enjoying the Friday sunshine before she closed her eyes and decided to lean her head against the tree for support.

She was listening to the chorus of "Piece of My Heart" when she felt someone else's presence on the grass. She opened her eyes and turned to look at the side profile of a handsome Asian guy. He glanced over in her direction and then smiled. Kim was sure that if her skin were a lighter shade it would have turned dark red. He sort of reminded her of the Asian model, Daniel Henney, except with less muscle and more hair, but he was still a sight to see nonetheless.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" he asked. He had noticed the shy smile that had spread across her face and thought it was adorable.

"No. Go ahead it's a free country."

"I'm John." He said while extending his arm. 'John. Where have I heard that name before?' She asked herself. After a moment she accepted his hand and shook.

"Kim," she replied smiling. She thought about where she could've met this person before but she couldn't put her finger on it.

"I think we met at Mackenzie's party. I'm not sure though. That whole night is kinda sketchy," he stated.

He had noticed the confused look on her face after they had made the introductions and figured she was trying to remember where she knew him from. 'I'll just fill in that small void,' he had thought to himself before revealing that he was the John from the party.

"Yeah, I guess everyone decided to spike the punch that night and the beers we drank didn't help either," Kim joked. John chuckled softly before looking over at one of the picnic tables on the opposite side of them. He pointed to Mackenzie and the rest of the people sitting at the table.

"So why aren't you sitting with your friends?" he asked. She sighed loudly and shrugged her shoulders.

"They're not my friends. Those people hate me and I can honestly say the feeling is mutual. The only reason we tolerate each other is because of my friend, Justin. Since Justin is avoiding me as of late I thought I'd just hang out right here. Let my music and this big ass tree keep me company," she replied smiling. John could see the sadness behind the smile.

"Are you and this Justin guy really close?" he asked.

"Yeah we are. We've known each other since second grade," she said looking at Justin. He was laughing at something Rory had said to him.

"Then why aren't you speaking?" John asked. He figured it was because Justin was freaked out about Kim saying she loved him. He had to remind himself that as far as everyone was concerned he didn't know anything about them.