Life of an ex-alien

SHE KNEW THAT PEOPLE were worried about the situation she was in. It wasn’t every day in the Matlin house that a  teenager’s boyfriend killed themselves. Hell, even Katie was starting to be concerned about the blonde’s whereabouts and more specifically w h o she was hanging out with. It didn’t phase the younger girl though. If things really did get bad, she  knew that Tristan or Zig would be on the way fast. Unfortunately,  Zig seemed to be around too much for her liking. Tristan was worried, she knew but Maya felt as if there was NOTHING that she  could do to help herself. She had to let herself fall down the rabbit hole for her to find herself again. There wasn’t a lot of surprise when  she saw the brunette step into the house. Immediately, she tried to avert her gaze from his. It seemed that no one UNDERSTOOD that she had to heal on her own, that no one would be able to help her. When he walked up to her, the blonde rolled her eyes a little and shook her head, looking up at him with pleading eyes. “Ziggy, I’m having fun here. Stop trying to ruin this for me.” She said and pushed the red cup towards him, offering him some. It took a few seconds for her to distracted again by the music. Pulling Zig to the makeshift dance floor, Maya started to dance on Zig as she lifted her arms over her head.  “You’re gonna take me home tonight like having sex with me?”Maya said into his ear in a wonder filled voice. The alcohol was starting to make her body feel like jello on the dance floor and made her BELIEVE that there was only her and Zig there. 

THOSE BIG, BLUE EYES were his kryptonite. They were the same ones he had looked into the first day of grade nine when he asked her to help him with a girl that he was avoiding. With all that had happened, simple things like that day now seemed like a whole other universe away. He knew in the back of his mind that he couldn’t change what had happened ( or what he had brought upon h i m s e l f ), but that didn’t change the aching feeling in his stomach on how much both him and Maya had changed, and definitely not in a positive way for the most part. He should’ve been used to her new-found antics by now, but he knew this wasn’t who she was. Perhaps that was why he continued to fight a battle that he knew he couldn’t win, not with someone as stubborn as a drunk Maya Matlin. “I’m trying to keep you safe,” he shouted the music, though his words were probably falling on deaf ears. Immediately his hand gently pushed the cup away from him, even though the smell of the alcohol and what it could make him forget was becoming a little tempting. No – he had to make sure he was in the right state to take her home; it was the least he could do. He tried to resist her pull, but being caught off guard meant that it wasn’t long before he was in the middle of the dance floor, not feeling the emotions that it was meant to evoke in the least bit, but instead continuing to try and grab Maya somehow as to get her to stop with the dancing. As she continued to dance, he surveyed the room looking for Tristan, but he was nowhere to be found. The only people he could see were either upper years from Degrassi or sketchy looking kids he had never seen before. He could feel his cheeks start to flush a little bit at the blonde’s next words, but he quickly turned his head around for a moment, regaining his composure and his straight face he was hoping she would take seriously sooner or later. “No… not when you’re like this,” he finally replied, however the last part of his sentence coming out in a mere whisper. The impatience was getting to him, and he couldn’t stand to see her this way. Grabbing her arm lightly, he leaned down towards her ear. “Will you at least go sit down with me so we can talk? Please?” He practically begged, not wanting to force her to go anywhere but hoping she would make at least SOMEWHAT of a compromise.

IT HAD BEEN A MERE 2 weeks since Cam’s death, leaving Maya broken and deteriorating at the seams. Coping methods and therapy weren’t her scene. She preferred to find comfort in alcohol bottles and in the arms of random guys that could  make her feel anything. A normal Friday night had came upon the blonde, which only meant she would be out at the latest  party that was being thrown. All the young girl could think about was getting Cam out of her head. Walking into the home, Maya wore a black crop top with high wasted jean shorts. Quickly, she found the keg and got herself a drink. The girl hoped she wouldn’t run into the guy who had been the most concerned  about her. Zig. She didn’t want to see him and definitely didn’t want to hear what he had to tell her. Everyone was concerned but no one dare to say anything to the grieving girl. Leaning against a wall, Maya watched as people came and went into the house. Before long, she had already downed 3 drinks and was feeling the buzz  throughout her body. In the middle of the living room, she started to  dance, blocking all of the things that were bothering her out. There was no Cam, no death, no bad things in her head for a second. It  was just her. 

IT WAS NO SURPRISE when a notification for another Facerange message from Tristan popped up on Zig’s computer. The two weren’t even close to friends, but the one thing they did share was their concern for a certain blonde, which was why Tristan would message him whenever something was happening – lately it was a lot, and it wasn’t as if she was speaking to him. He could take the backlash from her, though. Get over here, were the only words on the text, with an address below. A n o t h e r party – great. He used to relish the nights where he could relax at a house party, but ever since that day he could never be bothered to show up. It was if they dealt with their grief in completely contradictory ways, but then again they also had different reasons to be sad. She had loved him. He had let him go. Every day the words he had said to Cam rang through his ears, but he chose to channel the despair from what he had done into trying to keep his best friend from ending up passed out in an alley – or w o r s e. This was why when he got to the house where the party was taking place, he didn’t even hesitate before walking in and scanning the room. It didn’t take long to find her; she was always the one doing something stupid. “Maya.” The pleading in his voice only made his worriedness even more evident, but he didn’t care. She could avoid him all she wanted; that wouldn’t make him stop caring. “Can I please take you home?” He asked loudly, trying to speak over the music but not wanting to sound angry; he definitely did not want to get into it with her again and start arguing, he just needed to make sure she got home safe.

Grace: When?

Grace: Ha, what's up?

Zig: Now.

Imogen: Heh, gladly, then. Just tell me where. You don't sound cheesy! Or maybe you do, heh, but I don't mind it. Well, I've never really thought of this as a job. It's always been fun for me, so it's really nice to hear that it's fun for you too. I'm glad. Yeah, I 'spose you did.

Eli: laughed, leaving Zig on speaker phone in his lap as he made his way to the hot-n-ready pizza place. "Yeah, yeah. Zig: more satisfying than french fries." He said in an overly sarcastic tone. "I was thinking Meat Lovers, which is a variety of 'everything'." He replied, maneuvering down the streets as the number of cars that filled them dwindled- it was getting late. He hoped the place would still be open. Buf if it wasn't, he'd just get more Chinese Takeout to make up for it. "Which movies did you rent?" Eli's eyebrows quirked- Zig had peaked his interest with the word "horror". One of his favorite things about the younger boy was how in tune they were given the commonality of their tastes. Both of them had a shared love for food, horror, music, and each other. Sometimes, at least from Eli's perspective, their friendship and co-residence felt more like an ideal relationship than a bromance- minus the kissing and copulating. "I've heard that Oculus movie's supposed to be a trip."

Imogen: And a lil' silly, too.

Imogen: If you want me to, heh. Really? Oh, I'm so glad you did! I had a lot of fun with you, too. You know I didn't think I'd like having someone with me there at night, but it was really nice, so thank you. And you're not a terrible air guitar player, either.

Zig: Maybe just a bit.