It’s Chickens All The Way Down

Emily took a heavy drag on the Marlboro Red she had treated herself to on the back porch of the house Derek had dragged her to. Tapping the cigarette ash loose, she leaned against the brick wall as if the beers she had sunk were weighing her down. 80's dance hits boomed through the building behind her and she dragged both fresh and nicotine-soaked air in with fervent intensity. The frat party was way too stuffy and she needed a minute for her head to stop swimming.

A shadow fell over her and a deep familiar voice rumbled near her ear. 'Those things are gonna kill you.'

Emily sucked pointedly on the cigarette and shrugged. 'Do you know how many people die from football related head-injuries, Morgan?'

Derek's eyebrows bounced up and down in response before sighing and slumping against the wall next to her - pointedly in the opposite direction of the nicotine-thick exhalation. Emily continued smoking quietly, a solemnity pulling at her shoulders where some sort of care-free early adulthood should have been growing its wings.

'So…' Derek began, a simple tee clinging his top-heavy, quarterback frame.

Emily rolled her eyes and pushed deep black hair off her face. 'No, Derek, I didn't sleep with her.'

'Why not, Prentiss? She was hot,' he teased, a ridiculous smirk on his face. 'That beautiful, long red hair, tall, long fingers…'

'She didn't like the eyeliner.' Emily pulled away her cigarette, inspecting the black rim of lipstick clinging to the filter. She tossed the spent butt into a make-shift ashtray with the same careless attentiveness her mother used to flick off a speck of dirt.

'Come on, Emily. She was in a rock band,' he lamented, pulling Emily's shoulder back as she tried to escape him.

She slumped against the wall again and smoothed out her black swing dress and fishnet tights. Grabbing a beer bottle from Derek's hand, she took a swig, pulling a face as she glared at him through her fringe.

'Seriously?' Emily scoffed.

'Seriously.' Derek palmed his soft, buzzed hair, sending a few grown out coils out of the tidy style.

'She was in a Christian rock band. There was so much to be unpacked and I'm not the person she's unpacking it with.' She shook her head slowly.

'Agh! Who needs to unpack anything? You just need to get laid. You're getting grouchy.'

'Have you considered that my grouchiness could be caused by something other than a lack of sex?' Emily teased, a coy smile playing on her lips, despite the mild scolding tone. 'I've been grouchy since I met you. And that was in high school, Derek, so -'

'You've been grouchy since Rome, Emily,' he said quietly, nudging her softly. 'Let me know when you want to talk about it.'

'That was nearly four years ago,' Emily muttered.

'And I'll say it for another four decades if I need to.'

They stood, backs against rough brick, in relative quiet for a moment. Emily tried desperately to gather her thoughts and considered getting another drink to drown them in. But Derek took her hand before she could escape back inside and pulled her into a hug.

'Don't let the frat boys see us - they'll never let you live down hugging the weird goth kid,' Emily murmured into his chest before pushing away. 'It's not as if they invited me here.'

She gestured vaguely at the house; thumping with the bass.

'Who gives a fuck?' Derek shrugged, letting Emily go. 'Those guys don't know their asses from their elbows -'

Any further discussion was slapped away by a small, blonde, baby-faced, girl stumbling out of the door. Music spilled from the opening, waves of sound lapping against the porch. The door swung shut and the sound died. Emily mouth fell open as the girl wiped her face aggressively and leaned her elbows against the porch fence. She sniffed quietly and puffed out a trapped breath before turning around and -

She jumped, blue eyes red rimmed. With one more brush of her nose, the girl crossed her arms over her light blue top.

'I'm sorry, I didn't realise anyone else was out here - I -' she muttered.

Emily caught her arm on the way back to the door. 'No, it's okay. You good?'

The girl's eyes flickered to Morgan, a vague flash of recognition in them.

'You're Will's girl, right?' Derek asked, one finger up as he searched his memory.

She nodded awkwardly. 'JJ,' she said, as way of introduction, and smoothed out her mini skirt. 'You know Will from…?'

'Just around,' Derek's shoulder nudged up and down. 'We had some classes together. He's on the baseball team, right?'

Emily seemed frozen, lips slightly parted, as she gazed at a nodding JJ.

Derek nudged Emily lightly before introducing them both: 'I'm Derek. This is Emily.'