#devils mountain

Laura felt uneasy about her best friend going out alone with a man they'd never even met. "Jess, you can't be serious! You literally don't know this man and you're going on a date with him?" 

"Isn't that how everyone starts out? You and James were strangers before you started dating." 

Laura didn't know what to say to that. "Dude, back me up here." 

"I say let her go." 

"Are you insane?"

"Cleary, I'm not the one who's insane here, L." 

"I'm assuming I am." Jess scoffed.

Amidst his girlfriend and the girl he used to call his best friend arguing, he shoots Laura a text: "Honestly, why are we even friends with her? She does whatever she wants no matter how dangerous, and has no regard for anyone's safety, not even her own."

The text struck Laura as odd. James had grown up with Jess, and he was the very reason they became friends in the first place. He's always known how reckless and impulsive she is, and it's never bothered him before. Why now? Her eyes flicked from Jess to James, her mind now flooded with scenarios, none of which she liked. She pushed the thoughts out of her mind. 

"At least tell us where you're going." Laura pleaded. 

"We're going to that new restaurant that opened up at the end of the block a few months ago. Neither of us have been there, so we decided it'd be perfect for a first date. Now, please stop with the twenty questions and help me figure out what to wear."

She held up her favorite black mini dress. It was tight around her waist and clung to her hips, making them appear slightly larger. However, her favorite part of the dress was how it accentuated her cleavage. The dress was a little too tight at the top, so her breasts would stay lifted without a bra, giving the man she wore it for the perfect view of her nipples. "What about this one?" 

James started to fidget in his seat, knowing damn well what dress she was holding up. His temperature rose, causing him to sweat. He couldn't get the images of her in that dress out of his head. "God, this is stupid." He stormed out of the room before anything else could rise, leaving them in an awkward silence. 

"What the fuck is his problem?"

"I don't know. He's been on edge lately, and all we ever do is fight." 

Jess knew why James was upset. She's always known about his attraction to her. Did she find him attractive as well? Yes, but she never gave him the satisfaction of admitting it. Jess had too much power over him, and she'd never been ready to give that up until recently.

When Jess stepped into the dress and bent over to slide it up her body, Laura caught her off guard, causing her to stumble and almost rip her dress.

"Did something happen between you and James?" 

She shot Laura a defensive look. "Of course not! How could you even ask me that?" 

Laura didn't believe that. She had been friends with Jess long enough to know the type of girl she was. She took what she wanted and rarely ever asked for permission, and that included men. James was hot. He had neck-length wavy brown hair, dark brown eyes—almost black, and a muscled body that all the girls drooled over. She was surprised that James even liked her enough to be her boyfriend, but he asked her out (which meant it was only a matter of time before Jess made her move. [She'd always found unavailable men much more attractive and the sex much hotter]).  

"I just get the feeling he's hiding something from me. We used to tell each other everything, but now he's either working a shit ton of hours or we barely talk. I never get to see him anymore." 

The door to her bedroom opened, cutting the conversation short. James reentered the room, zipping his pants, and Jess caught sight of him in her vanity mirror, giving him a smirk only he could see. She got off knowing he'd just been in the bathroom jerking off to whatever fantasies were playing in his head.

Jess started applying her make-up and met his gaze in the mirror "What took you so long?" 

"I had to take a piss." 

She swiveled around in her chair to face him, staring curiously.

"What can't a guy take a piss?" 

"That was a pretty long piss." Jess said with a wink.

"Okay, I didn't just piss." His cheeks flushed red, hoping Laura wouldn't figure out what he had actually been doing in the bathroom. 

"Oh, I bet; we had tacos for dinner." She added, lazily trying to hide her implications. Part of Jess wanted Laura to know that she and James had had sex. She knew Laura deserved better but genuinely didn't want to hurt her.

Laura let cackled as she watched James' cheeks grow redder. 

"Okay, how do I look?" 

Despite knowing she was an attractive woman she struggled with her insecurities. Jess was slim and petite, only standing at 4' 11" at twenty-eight years old. No one could understand why she was so insecure, and she was often made to feel worse if she brought it up, so she no longer did. She coped the only way she knew how: with men and validation from her friends.

"You look incredible!" Laura exclaimed. Jess could always count on Laura to hype her up. She made Jess feel beautiful and human.

"You look good." James said, standing by the door attempting to look uninterested, avoiding making eye contact with her.

They refused to acknowledge James' negativity and changed the subject to "so, when will you be home?" and "I should be home by 10." simultaneously. They laughed, as they always did when they read each other's minds.

"God, I love you, L." She said, slipping on her heels as she hugged her best friend. And she did. Laura was irreplaceable to her. She didn't think she'd ever find another person like her. She often wished there was a way she could really show Laura how much she truly meant to her, but emotion and affection weren't Jess' strong suit. 

Laura and James escorted Jess out the door, locking up behind them before heading home themselves.

"I really hope she has fun and stays safe." 

this is the closest I have ever come to being able to capture the dreamworld through a piece of art.

truthfully, living on teufelsberg is just this beautifully surreal every day.

I’m so happy to be able to share this chunk of my heart with you through this movie.

thank you, jono, for the music. thank you, hunter, for the garden. thank you, schweini, for the interspecies companionship. thank you, shalmon for the opportunity.