Sonny never thought he’d ever say this but he and Kavan were actually having a nice time just kind of chilling, away from most of everyone. They weren’t
too far away. Sonny and Kavan had wandered more towards the back of Kavi’s house but they weren’t particularly
outside just yet. There was a room in the Salvador house that acted like a lounging area for those who didn’t want to really engage with the more hyperactive partygoers that were currently in the middle of hyping up some kind of beer pong game. Given those who were present around it, Sonny didn’t want to approach them just yet. Instead, he and Kavan found a nice somewhat quiet place to just chill.
And then, not even a minute after Sonny had sat down on a comfy couch and red cup of some high-quality beer in his hand, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a dress-clad Archer and that one guy named Guy. It wasn’t so much that Sonny didn’t want to see Archer. They were on far better terms than they have been since Sonny and Marisol had rekindled their turbulent friendship, but given what Sonny was dressed as and how well he knew Archer, there was bound to be some form of a comment or two thrown his way from the Goddess.
So he stood up, not paying any mind to Kavan ditching him for his girl-not-girlfriend.
“Yes, yes make the jokes.” He was only mildly annoyed while the rest of him was enjoying Archer’s own get up.
“And what are you supposed to be? Some sort of Goddess of the Earth? Wait don’t tell me!” Sonny paused, smiling at Guy, even going as far as to flip his hair for maximum effect,
“You’re making a political statement!” God if Sonny was right, he will officially give up any and all remarks about Archer being unfunny for the foreseeable future. He will even cut the fairy remarks.
Raising an eyebrow Archer let out a little laugh
"Oh wow! Look at you getting what I'm putting down. Impressive Torvie!" He shot his pseudo friend a quick wink.
As he stood opposite of Archer but his back to the door leading outside, Sonny wasn’t able to see her but as soon as he heard her speak, he just knew that Marisol was going to let something slip. And with infectious grin reaching its way to him, something else reached its way
towards him. Laughing and smiling, he felt Marisol’s hand squeezed his plump cushion, which then she followed it with one of the worst pick up lines he had ever heard that didn’t come from his mouth.
He turned around, letting out a deep sigh.
“Really?” His face went completely dead due to his surprise that she said such a line to him.
”That's the best you could come up with?” Sonny sounded almost disappointed.
“You were impersonating the cringiest person at our school. You could’ve done better, but I give an A for effort and the very impressive ass squeeze.” Joking, Sonny returned the favor by slapping
her ass.
"Screw you, asshole!" she laughed, wrapping her arms around Sonny and planting a kiss on his cheek.
"You know if I say what I'm really thinking it'll make Archer here bitch at me for being 'gross'."A tight-lipped smile spread across Archie's face as he gestured to them.
"You don't have to say a damn thing, baby girl. This will always be 100% gross," he cracked a wide smile as he rolled his eyes towards Kavan. Kavan simply returned the grin and continued to watch as his friends bantered on.
"Hater," Mari shot back, rolling her eyes at Archer but shooting him a playful smile and a wink afterward.
“Archie, you wound me!” Sonny dramatically said, hand over his forehead and a gasping noise that sounded eerily like something very inappropriate.
“Are you saying that a lady such as myself doesn’t deserve to be manhandled by Wednesday Addams?” He asked Archer, hiking up his voice a slight octave.
The tall boy scoffed
“I’m pretty sure that a lady like you has been manhandled by far worse.” he smiled sheepishly at the pair.
"Oh you know it. You should have seen how I used to whoop his ass in the yard back in the day," Mari said smugly, patting Sonny in the back.
"My mom and his dad got us these kiddie boxing gloves one summer and told us to have some fun with them. Next thing you know: Son's on the floor screaming to get me off him. He'd pissed me off so much I went in for it and didn't stop.""Any chance that your parents caught any of this on film?" Kavan suddenly piped up, his voice humorous and his grin widening.
"Watching Sonia get beat up by someone half his size? I would definitely pay good money to see some shit like that."Guy smiled and stood quietly, sipping his cup of soda. These people had obviously been friends for a good long while. They had the ease, comfort, and cadence of people who had been conversing easily for years. He had not this sort of history with them. As time passed he only felt more awkward but did laugh at the thought of Baby Mari beating up Baby Sonny.
“Perhaps not so different now,” he said quietly. His eyes widened and he tried to back peddle.
“I just mean… I think she could take you… that is… God, wonder what my other foot tastes like.” He brushed his hair back from his face and glanced at Archer as his phone rang.
A loud vibrating noise could be heard from Archer's pant pocket. He held up a finger as he fished his phone out and answered.
"What do you want Warren? What? I can't hear you, calm down… Hold on" he looked to the group
"Sorry, it's my idiot brother! I'll be right back." He said and pushed through the crowd disappearing out of sight.
And now, Guy, king of being an awkward twerp, was left with a group of people he hardly knew and had just made a fool of himself. A hot blush dusted his cheeks as he watched Archer disappear into the crowd. He turned his attention back on the group, wondering if he should make an exit. Or would that be worse? Maybe say something? But he wasn’t good at that. Finally, he said,
“I think you make a lovely woman. When Shakespeare was writing plays all of the women were played by men.”“Finally, an actual compliment!” Relieved, Sonny immediately brought Guy into a sudden embrace, his arm wrapping itself around his neck in a friendly, yet affectionate, manner.
“You guys should take notes from this guy. He knows how to compliment a fragile lady such as myself!” Even if joking,
Sonia rewarded Guy’s compliment with a light, yet equally noticeable, peck on the lips that lasted all of one second.
The arm around his neck and closeness of this person he did not know very well caused the blush across his cheeks deepen. He mumbled out a small
“You’re welcome...” and hoped he would let go of him soon. Unfortunately, quite the opposite happened. He kissed him. It was a light, innocent peck filled with fun and joy. However, Guy was absolutely shocked. His eyes widened and he opened his mouth to say something. He couldn’t find the words. He closed his mouth. Oh, wait. There were words. Mouth opened again. Aaaand there the words went. Mouth closed. A couple more times did he gawp like a fish before he finally decided to take a sip of his drink and looked elsewhere.
“I think I see someone…” he trailed off, waited for a beat, and then turned and walked toward the refreshments table.
Mari watched in shock as Sonny planted a good one on their new acquaintance, making the boy visibly flustered before ultimately scurrying away.
“Jesus, Sonny, was that really necessary?!” she scolded her friend, glaring at him and slapping his arm.
“You scared the poor boy away with your slut behavior! What a fantastic way to make a first impression!”Sonny responded with a shrug. He didn’t see what the big deal was. It was a joke kiss. Certainly nothing more and definitely nothing less.
“I’m more surprised he didn’t try and kiss me back,” Sonny admitted.
“Seriously though, who gets kissed and doesn’t want to return the favor?” He looked to either Marisol or Kavan for an answer.
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe someone you just fucking met not even five minutes ago?!” the girl replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes at how stupid Sonny was being.
“I’m surprised he didn’t fucking give you a black eye, you dumb fuck!”Sonny, again, would shrug. They obviously didn’t see it that way, so Sonny turned to Kavan.
“You have to be the tiebreaker here, bro,” he said, his entire body facing Kavan.
“Do you think it was a normal reaction for Guy to go straight to Splitsville like Wednesday here says or do you think he acted prematurely?” He tried to hide it but Sonny’s immature mind produced a semi-hidden chuckle as soon as he said premature.
"Well," Kavan said, a hint of hesitation in his voice as he took a quick glance at the boy who'd just left their group.
"Given the circumstances… and seeing how nervous he already was, I think I'm gonna have to agree with Mari on this one, Sonia. Sorry." “HA!” Marisol cried out, smirking triumphantly and poking Sonny in the chest.
“Suck on that, bitch!”“I hope the next time you go--” Sonny was grateful for being cut off because the sight of Salem, that lean bean weasel and what looked like a dirty hoebag by the name of Ximena together no more than three or four feet, but with the number of people between them, it seemed like a greater distance. At first, Sonny didn’t think much of it. Salem, despite Sonny’s own opinions about the lanky dipshit, was easy on the eyes and Ximena was the school whore. That’s why he didn’t give them a second thought and they were almost an afterthought until their lips connected.
“--what the fuck!” Sonny blurted out, a growing ire at the sight of Salem with, of all people to cheat with, Ximena.
“What is it, Son?” Marisol asked her best friend, turning in the direction he was staring at. And when her eyes found the unexpected sight, the short girl felt her heart shatter into a million different pieces before dropping all the way down to the endless pit in her stomach.
Kavan watched in silence as the scene unfolded before him, his eyebrows raised in surprise at the sight of Salem and Ximena. And while part of him was mentally commentating on how Salem must think of himself as quite the ladies man, the other part was anxious to see how Mari would react.
“He’s not worth it,” Kavan suddenly spoke up, trying to defuse the situation before it even really began.
“If he’s that stupid to cheat on you with someone who’s probably had more STD’s than she has brain cells, then they deserve each other.” Sonny was just waiting for Marisol’s green light so he could give Salem a dose of round two. This time it would be well deserved and it would at least save Marisol a second trip to the funny farm for her
overreaction
.
“Just say the word and I’ll bop him real good with my Prada bag!” Sonny held onto the handles of his bag hard, ready and willing to smack Salem a few dozen times.
“No need for that,” the girl replied in a hoarse voice, her eyes still glued to the fateful scene unfolding right in front of her. Just then, Salem chose to put an end to the madness and walk away- but the damage was done. She didn’t realize the way her hands balled up into small fists, how her knuckles whitened, or the way her black nails were digging so hard into her skin that she was sure there would be bloody crescent marks on her palms.
After what seemed like forever, Mari briefly turned to Sonny and Kavan.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll handle this myself,” she told them before squaring her shoulders and pushing her way out of the room in the direction where Salem had gone.
Sonny wasn’t sure if it was a good idea for Marisol to go off on her own. He had half a mind to follow her. If not for anything, the last time she reacted to a situation involving someone she was really close to, a pricey German sports car was terribly damaged.
“She seemed level-headed, right? I mean, how did she seem to you, Kavan?” Sonny asked him, worried about what Marisol might do to Salem.
After watching Marisol push her way back through the crowd of people, Kavan let out a deep breath before refocusing his gaze back on Sonny.
“Honestly?” the young man said uncertainly,
“I think we should start thinking about putting together some bail money."