Poison

Chapter 9

"Okay, so I got-," Maya says from beside me and I jump nearly three feet into the air. Even Asa turns away from the movie to look at me. I clutch my chest tightly and exhale deeply.

"You can't do that Maya!" I snap as I hug myself. "You just popped out of nowhere and started talking like you weren't gone for a half hour."

"That's what you get for choosing this movie," she retorts with an angry pointed finger. "Anyway, I got plain chocolate ice cream and mint chocolate chip."

"Gross," I mumble at the latter and she looks at me with furrowed brows.

"You sound like Asa," she notes as she starts in the direction of the kitchen.

"I definitely don't scream like that," he remarks as he pauses the movie and goes after her. I follow close behind, feeling a little nervous at the idea of being left alone.

"Are you sleeping here tonight?" Maya asks curiously as I help myself to a bowl of chocolate ice cream.

"No, my roommate went home for the weekend so I'm going to enjoy the room to myself," I reject the offer. I'll probably call Aaliyah before bed and talk to her to calm myself down.

"All dark and alone and ominous..." Asa murmurs from across the table. I glare at him with the spoon in my mouth.

"Who said she'd be alone?" Maya asks suggestively.

"Gross," Asa notes before perking up. "Wait, does that mean I get the apartment to myself tonight?"

"No," she replies in slight confusion.

"I'll be fine alone in my own bed tonight," I clarify as I take another spoonful of ice cream into my mouth.

"I think I'm going to call Zack over," Maya trails as she glances at the paused movie. "He'll spend the night here and ensure I don't get attacked by any crazy axe wielding maniacs."

"Who's Zack?" I ask curiously.

"He's the guy she calls to cuddle at night because she doesn't want to call a girl and lead her on," Asa clarifies before taking a large bite of his ice cream. "He'd be your competition if he was a girl."

Maya points her finger at him and purses her lips. "He's not completely wrong. But Zack is also one of my closest friends," she explains before turning to me. "You should meet him. He's a very nice guy."

"Is he funny?" I ask, which is now the determining factor in whether or not I'd build a friendship with someone.

"Yeah," she confirms before turning to her friend. "Right, Asa?"

"Eh," he responds with a weak shrug.

"Don't let him fool you. He's just jealous that Zack rose as high as he did in the ranks of my friendship. They're friends, too," she elucidates with an eye roll.

"I wouldn't go as far as to say friends," he grunts as he stirs his ice cream. It slowly begins to form a thick milkshake texture.

"Well, either way, he's cool. You guys would get along great," she assures me with a nod.

"Introduce me," I suggest as I watch Asa continue to mix his weird ice cream/milkshake meal.

"I will. I plan on having a party soon if Asa will give me his blessing," she responds with a perked out lip. He stares at her with a scowl on his face before going back to his dessert.

"You had three parties during syllabus week. Give me some time to recover," he grumbles before staring in satisfaction at his creation.

"That was forever ago!" she disputes with a small gape.

"That was literally three weeks ago," he reminds her. She rolls her eyes dismissively before turning to me.

"Either way, I'll introduce you to all my friends. They'll like you," she convinces me with a smile.

"Oh they'll like her alright," Asa mumbles as if he knows something I don't. She shoots him a glare and I give him a quizzical glance.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I prompt him to explain.

"All of her friends will try to get in your pants- girls and guys," he tells me.as he scoops up a bite of his ice cream. "Unless she claims you as her girlfriend by then, it's fair game."

"That's not true," Maya retorts defensively. "My friends are flirts, that's all."

"What about that one girl? Emma, was it?" he questions as he leans in slightly.

"Amara, actually, and she just thought you were cute and had a little too much to drink," Maya corrects with a small frown.

"She tried to give me a lap dance," he clues me in with a deadpan look on his face. "No words, either. I was sitting down and she just came over and tried to grind on me."

"I know. I'm still sorry about that. I don't invite her over anymore for that same reason," Maya mutters apologetically. I stare at the two of them with slightly wide eyes. She quickly turns to me and waves two hands around as if physically clearing the air. "But none of them are like that, I promise."

I look at Asa, who slowly shakes his head at me. "They sound like fun..." I trail awkwardly as I turn my attention to my ice cream. Then again, my friend group from last year only ever used me for my car and I only got the balls to stop letting them this semester. Also, my roommate, who used to be my friend, continuously kicks me out of the room to have s*x with different guys. So who am I to judge people's friends?

"So are we going to finish the movie?" Asa wonders as he quirks a brow at Maya.

"I'm scared," she confesses as she tilts her head back and lets out a quiet groan.

"So is she," he says as he nods in my direction. "And she's going to go back to her dorm alone."

I bite my lip as I think about the drive back to my building and then sleeping in the pitch black room by myself. "I'm texting Zack now," Maya grunts as she takes her phone from her pocket.

"Can you do it in the living room? As we finish the movie?" he insists and she lifts her bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream. Asa jumps up and she trails right behind him. Again, I'm at their heels, glancing over my shoulder at each window as I do. It may be the fifth floor but who knows what can climb up here? I join them on the couch and clutch my bowl to my chest as I wait for Asa to resume the film. He stretches out into a relaxed position and presses play, meanwhile Maya's gaze is locked onto her phone.

The movie comes to a surprising end twenty minutes later with a very thought provoking plot twist. I'm left staring at the blank screen with a melted bowl of ice cream in my hands. Perhaps I shouldn't have agreed to watch the film about a mass murderer hunting people in the streets. "Eh, it wasn't that great," Asa concludes as he removes his feet from the table.

Maya looks at me from behind her pillow with wide eyes. "Why did you agree to that?" she whispers as Asa brings his bowl to the kitchen.

I give her a weak shrug. "I don't know," I confess as I think about the walk from the parking lot to my building. Then there's the dark stairwell up to my dorm. Not to mention the fact that I'm going to have to sleep all alone in my scary room. I turn my attention to Maya, who taps away on her phone urgently. "Hey, Maya?"

"Yeah?" she mumbles back while slowly tearing her eyes from her phone.

"Do you mind if I crash here tonight?" I request quietly while rubbing my elbow.

"I think that'd be better for everyone if you did. There's safety in numbers, you know?" she agrees. "What if he's out there?"

"What if who's out there?" Asa asks as he returns to the couch with another bowl of ice cream.

"The killer," Maya clues him in with a nervous glance towards the hallway.

"It's just a movie! It's fake!" he retorts dismissively.

"Actually, it's based on a true story," she reiterates as she rolls her neck. He scoffs loudly and shakes his head.

"It's dramaticized significantly to entertain us," he elucidates as if that's supposed to make a difference. When he sees that our expressions don't waver, he scoffs. "Babies." Maya ignores him and leans around his lap to talk to me.

"We can have a slumber party," she says in a hopeful tone.

"You're sleeping here now?" Asa asks as he glances at me. I nod sheepishly and he slowly shakes his head. "There goes my night of television."

"She can sleep in my bed. Zack's not coming; he has to work at seven tomorrow," Maya replies before putting on a playful grin. She nudges him lightly to get his attention. "Do you want to hang out with us and be apart of our sleepover, Asa?"

"Why the hell would I want that?" he mumbles as he takes another bite of his ice cream.

"Because it beats watching movies all alone," she replies in a serious tone this time.

"What would we even do?" he questions and Maya starts to grow excited. I watch as he slowly starts to cave when he sees the smile on her face.

"We could paint our nails and talk about boys," she insists girlishly as she wiggles her fingers a few inches from his face.

"None of us like boys, Maya," he replies matter-of-factly as he stirs his ice cream.

"What are you talking about? Ivy does," Maya says as she nods in my direction. He turns to me with furrowed eyebrows.

"You like boys?" he questions in slight disbelief and I offer him a slow nod. "Just boys?" I nod again and his eyebrows tug together in confusion. "Then why are you always here?"

"Friendship," I answer as I look to Maya. He scoffs at my response and shakes his head.

"Escape while you can or else you'll get stuck living with her," he advises quietly and she shoves his shoulder. He sways a little bit but stays solid for the most part.

"So are you going to hang out with us or do you want us to get out of your way?" she inquires as she looks at him hopefully. He stares at her before heaving a loud sigh.

"I don't care," he replies, which gets a large grin from Maya. Normally, that'd be a bad response from an average person but because this is coming from Asa the Pessimist, I'm assuming it's a good one. Maya jumps off the couch and drags the table from it's place on the rug. Asa's legs fall to the ground with a loud thud and he lets out a strand of swears. Without so much as a glance in his direction, she drops to the carpet, crosses her legs, and stares up at us.