NOVEL WEB 0000
Mel’s friend lived in a small apartment building behind a gas station. The black metal fence that separated the building’s courtyard from the alley had acted as a net, catching pieces of litter blown by the wind. Hunter watched as Mel punched a number into the keypad on the gate.
“Wait, was that just zero zero zero zero?”
Mel laughed. “Yeah, apparently the manufacturer puts that in as a safety feature for, like, evacuation during fires. But it’s way easier to remember than the actual main code so I think everyone just uses that.”
“Huh.”
“Anyway, follow me!” Mel continued into the complex and Hunter trailed behind.
They both stopped as Mel reached and knocked on a door labeled “12” in faded gold lettering. They waited for a moment before the door swung open.
“Hi, hi! Come in!” the woman inside said. She was tall and very thin and had bright red hair, and was wearing a silver necklace with a symbol of a star inside a circle.
“Hi, Jess!” Mel said and gave her a hug. “It’s really nice to see you.”
“You too! You should come down more often. Oh, is this your friend?”
“Yes, this is Hunter,” Mel said. “He’s cool.”
Hunter nodded awkwardly. Should he go for a handshake or was that weird? A moment later his uncertainty was resolved as he was enveloped in a hug. “I hope you’re a hugger,” Jess said.
“Y-yeah, I like hugs,” Hunter said. He did, but they weren’t exactly a common thing among the kinds of guys he had historically been friends with. He briefly hugged Jess back before releasing.
“Anyway, come on! Feel free to sit down on the couch. I’ll be with you in a moment, just need to finish making dinner.”
Hunter sat down on the dark purple, plush couch. Mel took her shoes off by the door and then flopped horizontally across the couch, her feet on Hunter’s lap.
Hunter immediately stiffened up, fearful that a certain body part might do the same. Mel glanced over and pulled her feet in, bending at the knees. “Oh, sorry if that was uncomfortable.”
“No, it’s fine,” Hunter said, suddenly feeling bad. “You can sit like that if you want. I didn’t mind. Sorry.”
“Eh, doesn’t matter now,” Mel said as she swung around to sit upright to make room for Jess, who was approaching the couch and carefully carrying a plate of some kind of salad in one hand and a glass of water in the other.
Jess placed her food and drink down on the coffee table and took a seat in the middle of the couch. “Uh, anything either of you wants to watch?”
“Honestly, I’d watch Triple D or HGTV,” Mel said. “Also, uh, do you have any more of those cookies?”
“HTGV sounds good!” Jess said. “And yes, but you probably shouldn’t eat one unless you’re planning to spend the night. Lilah wasn’t fucking around when she made them. Although I guess your tolerance is a lot higher than mine.”
“Yeah, fair point,” Mel said. “I was planning to stay over, though, if that’s okay.”
“Sure!” Jess said. “Will you also be staying, Hunter?”
“If that’s okay? I don’t really know what the sleeping situation is like though, so if it would make anyone uncomfortable it’s also fine if I just drive myself home later.”
“I’m fine with whatever you decide,” Jess said. “Anyway, let’s watch some TV. Oh, and let me know if you need any food or water or such.”
The three of them watched somewhat brainless television for a while. It wasn’t something Hunter usually did–he tended more towards watching brainless Twitch streams or YouTube videos–but it was a fairly pleasant way to spend time.
About an hour later, Jess’s wife Lilah got home. She was as tall as Jess but significantly fatter, and had a full sleeve of tattoos exposed by her sleeveless denim vest.
“Hey babe,” she said as she gave Jess a kiss. “Nice to see you, Mel! And nice to meet you, uh…”
“Hunter,” Hunter filled in helpfully.
“Hunter! Nice to meet you, Hunter. Cool name. Like Artemis.”
“Huh?” Hunter said.
“You know, because she’s a hunter? Anyway, Mel. You wanna get blasted with me?”
“Hell yeah, dude,” Mel said. “Oh, Hunter, you interested? I have no idea if you’re a weed person or not.”
“Uh…” Hunter said. “To be honest, I’ve never tried it.”
“Whoa, really? Well, if you wanna give it a shot, this might be a good time. Up to you, obviously,” Mel said.
“Uh… you know what? Sure.” Hunter had been trying to break out of his bubble and have new experiences, and from what he’d read cannabis was relatively harmless as far as drugs went. Some part of his brain was screaming at him about how smart kids just say no and inventing a future where he lived on the street as a junky, but he wasn’t dumb enough to think that part was right. “What’s the worst that could happen?”