༺ Talk Crazy To Me ༻

     "Red, is she playing my mixtape?"

     Megara was surprised more and more lately by Big Red and his family, and she assumed she would be more now than ever now that she took up a job at his family's pizzeria.  One of the many ways she was surprised by his mother was by how her job interview was literally five minutes long before she was handed a shirt and told to start ASAP.  But what was recently taking the cake, was the fact that Megara's mixtape (the same very one she just had Big Red hide for her) was playing throughout the pizzeria.

     She wiped her flour-coated hands on her apron as she watched Big Red try to lie to her, her eyebrow twitching as she noticed he was stalling and stuttering while answering her.  "I, uh, no... I don't think so."

     Megara patted the dough in front of her again as she stared at him from over the counter where she was working on getting the pizzas prepped to go into the oven.  "You're a horrible liar.  You said you'd hide it!"

     Big Red placed his palms on the counter, wearing a matching white shirt with the logo and colored sleeves as he leaned closer to her.  "At least it doesn't have his name on it.  Nobody knows you made it."

     Megara rolled her eyes as she grabbed the large spoon and spread sauce across the middle of the pale dough.  "Yeah, whatever."

     Big Red sighed as he started preparing boxes for when the pizzas would be done cooking.  "Do you have a dress for the wedding yet?"

     Megara shook her head, still focusing her gaze on the pizza in front of her.  "No, she's asked me to be a bridesmaid so I have to go grab this specific dress to try on but since the wedding is so close I don't think many alterations could be made.  The good news is that the wedding colors are pastel yellow and red, so there's really not many ways that can be screwed up unless the dress design is... really goddamn awful."

     Her ginger friend nodded as he listened to her talk, even though he was a little bit confused.  A lot of time spent between Big Red and Megara was like that.  "Okay... so are you guys doing the matching thing?"

     Megara shook her head again, tilting it as if pizza making was the most interesting thing on the planet.  "Um, I haven't asked him, but I don't think—"

     Big Red eagerly cut her off.  "You guys should definitely match, even if it's just the tie or the boutonniere, I think Ricky will be all about it.  There are many ways to differentiate from the wedding party's outfits, so Ricky won't look like a groomsman."

     Finally, Megara raised her gaze from the dough, reaching for more shredded cheese to dust on her sauce.  "Wow, Red.  Why do you know so much about weddings?"

     He shrugged.  "Call me a hopeless romantic."

     "I do and I will," Megara said as she felt her phone buzz from her back pocket.  She was almost so zoned out that she didn't hear the front door open, her own hopeless romantic dragging his feet in from the cold outside.  "Nawww... shit," she muttered to herself as she read a new text from her father.

     "Hey guys," Ricky shuddered as he rubbed his arms, embracing the warmth of the pizzeria and giving a quick but warm smile to his friends.

     "One moment," Megara held her index finger up to him before bringing her phone to her ear.

     "La miel, I am at work, that's why I texted you," her father's voice rang through her phone as she then groaned quietly.  "I'm sorry, but no one else is able to get it, we all have work on the weekends and you're the only one who doesn't."

     "What's going on?" Ricky whispered to Big Red, who only cluelessly shrugged before they watched Megara.

     "So you want me to drive all the way to another city over four hours away by myself to get it?" Megara asked.

     As if realizing what he was asking of his daughter, Mr. Montez said, "Is it too much of a hassle for you?"

     Megara sighed in disbelief.  "Doesn't she have bridesmaids who can do this?"

     "Mira, you're her maid of honor.  She asked you."

     "I am a child!  A baby!" Megara exclaimed.  "I can't go by myself!"

     She heard her dad sigh, and she imagined him rubbing his temples.  She knew that he worked hard and long hours for a reason — so he could enjoy the time that he did get off from work — and the last thing she wanted to do was bother him at work.  She never called unless it was an emergency.  "Can you ask one of your friends to take the drive with you?"

     Megara wanted to scoff, groan, roll her eyes, or even say the meanest thing that came to mind.  Instead, she took a shaky deep breath.  "Yeah," she said quietly before removing the phone from her ear and pressing the red button on the bottom of her screen.

     "What was that all about?" Big Red asked, leaning on the counter with a basket of freshly baked cookies that he needed to pack for the front counter.  Ricky pulled a stool up to the pizza-making counter, also curious as to what had Megara huffy.

     The dark-haired girl waved her hand.  "Uh, my dad wants me to pick up the dresses for the wedding in Colorado this weekend since everyone else is uh... preoccupied with work."

     Ricky pulled apart a cookie, steam rising into the air and filling the space between them with the smell of warm chocolate.  He absentmindedly handed Megara a piece.  "The dresses?"

     Megara nodded, taking the half from Ricky.  "Yup.  I need to get them to Charlene ASAP because they'll need to send them back ASAP if they need alterations," she huffed, sending a piece of the cookie into her mouth.  "Of course, they send me to do all their hard work," she said through a mouth full.

     "Your cousin's name is Charlene?" Big Red asked.

     "Yeah, me and my sisters are named after Disney characters and then my cousins get the luxury of having the normal names and not getting picked on in school," Megara said.

     "Hey—" Ricky cut in.  "The other girls stopped bothering you after a while."

     "Probably because you scared all of them away," Megara softly punched his shoulder.

     "Someone had to," Ricky shrugged, wolfing down his cookie.  "A rare occasion where I had the honor of playing your guard dog in this little routine of ours.  Besides, your name is just... part of you."

     "Alright, wonder boy," Megara patted his shoulder where she just landed her punch with a quick smile.  "As long as I'm still the rottweiler."

     Reaching for another cookie, Ricky said, "of course, always."

     "So what are you going to do about the dresses?" Big Red was walking back and forth, working on packaging various smaller products since Megara's pizzas were still in the oven.  Seeing him run around reminded her to work on her pizzas again.

     Megara placed a couple of pepperoni on top before sliding the pizza onto one of the racks.  "I guess I'll have to drive up tomorrow.  You guys would happen to be free, would you?" she ran over to the sink to wash her hands, missing the look that Ricky and Big Red shared.

     "I'm free after three pm," Ricky sheepishly smiled.  "I doubt you want to take that drive that late at night."

     "I'm working tomorrow, and besides, I can't without packing up my sleep apnea machine for the night, just in case," Big Red added.

     Megara felt her eyebrow twitch.  Would this trip really take that long?  She knew it was definitely far, definitely out of the way, but it wouldn't take all night, would it?  Not like she hadn't spent a night or two with Ricky anyways...

     She knew Rita and KC were busy this weekend with their family and Savannah was starting her own job working evenings at the coffee shop by their school, so it was truly this or nothing.  She never thought she would be readying to speak these words aloud, but everything this last school year had been a surprise to her already, so why not welcome it?

     "Rick, if you're allowed to, do you mind coming with me?"

     Ricky slowly nodded.  "Yeah, I'll call my dad right now.  I'm sure he'll say yes anyways," he pulled his phone out of his pocket and began to dial his dad up.  "He would never let me leave you in a time of crisis."

     Megara clasped her hands together.  "Thanks, Bowen."

     While listening to his phone ring in one ear, Ricky still managed to pick up other noises with his free side.  "Is this... Bad Liar by Selena Gomez?"

     Big Red nearly twisted his neck turning his gaze to Megara so fast, but she was quick to shake her head.  "Uh, I don't think so.  I've never heard of this song in my life.  I don't even... I don't even listen to Selena Gomez.  Just... shut up, Bowen!" 

     Smooth sailing with Ricky, trapped in a car for hours, hardly lasted long.  She didn't expect it to, and still, she was let down.  Was she really doomed to fight with this curly-haired monster for the rest of her life?  Or, at least, high school?

     "How is this my fault?" Megara tiredly asked.  The girl was in a fuzzy yellow long sleeve with black yoga pants flared over her knockoff Ugg boots, hair tied loosely on the crown of her head, long eyelashes drooping over her doe eyes as she spoke.

     "It's your car, isn't it?" Ricky bit back, rubbing his hands together.  He came more prepared than Megara, dressed in plaid pajama bottoms, a thick black sweater, and still a jacket on top, complete with a dark red scarf.  The only thing he was missing was a pair of gloves.

      Megara glanced over at him from the passenger seat.  "I'm not the one who decided to drive it off the side of the road!  This is what I get for entrusting you with my baby."

     The duo was currently sitting in Megara's white Chevy Cruze, which due to some of the icy roads and Ricky's horrible driving, was now stuck in a pit slightly off the road.  They didn't have much on themselves, but thankfully, Megara was a Montez, meaning she was prepared for anything and everything that life could throw at her.  She had an emergency bag she had prepared with everything from snacks, to jumper cables, to bandaids on top of her regular crossbody with her wallet and chapstick.  On top of this, she did have a change of clothes in her trunk (lately had been one to go on random adventures with her friends).

     "I think I hit my head on this window when we slid," Megara brought her fingers to the right side of her head, gently pressing the skin where it hurt.  "Shit."

     "I'm sorry," Ricky dropped his attitude as quickly as it had begun. 

     "It's fine," Megara said, and when Ricky started trying to refute, she cut him off again.  "It's fine, Ricky, really.  Let's just figure out what to do next."

     "What do you need me to do?" she could feel those dark eyes of his never once leaving her.  She wasn't sure if this made her uncomfortable in a good way or a bad way.

     Megara took a deep breath, trying hard to collect herself before she let herself go and started on an emotional rampage.  "First off, would you please help me out of this car?  Second, we need to find a phone signal and call a tow truck.  Third, we need to get the bag from the trunk and get somewhere safe."

     Ricky nodded.  "We passed a small hotel not too far back, we could probably make it on foot in ten minutes or so."

     Megara let a small groan escape past her lips.  This so wasn't how she saw her evening going.

     "No sir, we need a room with two beds," Megara leaned her elbows across the counter as Ricky stood behind her, pulling on his hair.

     "Are you guys even old enough to rent one out?" the guy behind the front desk of the motel sassed back, eyeing the two teenagers carefully.

     "How about you focus on one thing at a time," Megara tilted her head, slapping her crossbody onto the counter.  "Don't bite off more than you can chew."

     The guy simply tilted his head to mock her.  "What are you, twelve?"

     When Ricky stepped forward, about to open his mouth, when Megara placed her hand up to his mouth.  "Let me handle this."

     One minute Megara was squinting and staring at the guy behind the front desk, and the next she had her defense attorney on the line and was handing her cell phone to the guy at the front desk.  Did it matter that her defense attorney was her father?  Not at all to her, he would still defend her the same as he did any client.  She did smile at the fact that he was a bit more argumentative over her.

     "Cash or card?" the guy gulped, handing Megara her phone back.  Whatever her dad said must have really threatened the guy.  "I only have one room left, but I will make it half off."

     "Card," Megara beamed, pulling her Coach wallet out of her crossbody and preparing to take her debit card out as Ricky's eyes widened.  He knew Mr. Montez had very much prepared her for the real world, but this was the next level.

     Within minutes, Ricky and Megara were wheeling themselves upstairs, double glancing at the key card in between Ricky's fingers, his palms growing sweatier by the minute.  Neither wanted to be the first to break the silence looming, so they awkwardly shuffled through the door and inside.

     "Thanks," Megara finally muttered, watching Ricky carefully as he set her duffel on the floor and tossed the key card onto the countertop.  She wrapped her arms around herself, rubbing her arms in an attempt to warm her up.  "Jesus, it's cold in here."

     "Here, let me," he gently pushed her aside to walk over to the other side of the room to the air conditioner built into the wall.  Megara heard him drag his feet across the cheap carpet, she could see him glide across the room by the graces of the moonlight seeping in through the thin curtains.  He shimmied a couple of plastic knobs around and not so gently smacked a button, and then, with his back to her still, he rose his arm to flicker on the light of the lamp in the corner of the room.

     It was quiet for a moment until Megara finally found the courage to speak.  "There's only one bed."

     Ricky spun around so fast Megara thought that he would fall right over.  "What, really?"

     Megara couldn't help but groan.  She was less annoyed, more than anything.  And probably the most tired she ever felt in her life.  "You're kidding me, right?  Of course, this would happen to me."

     "Hey, hey, hey..." Ricky furrowed his eyebrows.  "It'll be okay, Meg."

     Megara placed her hands up in defense, giving up.  She officially had zero things left to say, and no room to feel surprised.  "Do you need the bathroom?"  When Ricky simply shook his head to say no, she continued on while grabbing stuff out of her large duffel.  "I'm going to go change, I'll be right back."

     The dark-haired beauty quickly closed the door behind herself and rested her head against it, allowing her eyes to flutter shut.  She sighed, finally letting her shoulders relax.  The lighting was an ounce better in the bathroom than in the main room, and it was an overall pretty bathroom.  Nothing like the one she had at home, but still pretty.  Nothing compared to the jewel-toned island sanctuary that was Megara's bathroom.

     This one would have to do for the night, or at least as long as she stood around overthinking about her day.  She suddenly wished she could go back to the day before, back to when she was hoping Ricky wasn't catching onto the pop songs blasting throughout the Red's pizzeria.  Even though it was just a day, that day dragged out onto her skin and made her feel years older.

     So much for hanging onto your teenage years.

     Megara finally pulled herself away from the door and brought her heavy bones to change into her spare clothes, and pull her hair out of its bun.  When she emerged from her temporary hiding spot, Ricky was already sprawled out in the middle of the bed.  Megara cleared her throat upon the sight as if alerting him of her arrival.  

     "Well this is awkward," Ricky motioned to their unintentionally matching plaid pajama bottoms (even if his were blue and her's were pink).  She didn't even like pink that much, but she wore a blank tank top to even it out.  "One of us is going to have to change."

     "I wear it better than you," Megara hummed.  "You're not even going to keep to your side of the bed?  What a gentleman."

     "Nope," Ricky relaxed his hands behind his head.  "Chivalry is dead, sugar."

     Megara scoffed from her bitter lips.  "You have no idea what you're getting yourself into, my dear.  I will crush you like a bug."

     "I would love to see you try," he nodded with an affirming smile.

     Slowly, Megara wandered to the right side of the bed and pulled back the covers as much as Ricky allowed while he watched her intently.  "Watch it, Bowen.  If you so much as make a move... I will rip out your jugular."

     Ricky hummed, satisfied.  He reached over to pull on the lamp's switch, allowing Megara to take up more space in the bed.  "I love it when you talk crazy to me," he said before the light went out in the room, leaving only the moonlight to cascade over their cold, lying figures in the dark.

     One thing Megara loved about her room, was despite having various objects scattered across it, she still had her personal space.  She kept stuffed animals off her bed (and out of her life, honestly) for a reason.  She wasn't a kid who was used to people being in her bubble.  And yet, when she found herself waking up with Ricky's chest pressed to her back, she didn't mind it.

     Her eyelids felt as if they weighed many pounds, and it took her a while to register the state of mind the two were in.  Now the sun was up, light seeping through the very same curtains that previously protected the two innocent souls from the unforgiving world outside.  Ricky's arms clasped around Megara, his hands wrapped around the fists she gathered in front of her chest as if subconsciously trying to tell her to calm down.  His nose was buried deep in her head of hair, locks reminiscent of jasmine and peach.

     She knew she shouldn't, but she allowed herself to close her eyes again, drifting off into a deep sleep for a while longer.

     Ricky was the next one to rise and when he did, he slowly removed his hands from the Latina's figure so as not to wake her.  Despite all the arguing they did, all the awkward moments, the back and forth with other people that were coming and going from their lives (namely their crushes, and the reasons for starting this ridiculous pact in the first place)... every single moment was worth it for the tiny drops of solitude like these that they got to experience with each other.

     So he left her and went to get ready for the day ahead of him, as best as he could with what he was wearing, and start off by taking a shower. 

     When Megara woke again, she was quick to notice the warm embrace she had come to rely on was missing from her bubble.

     She had, however, just missed the shower running as well as Ricky's clothes laid out on the chair in front of her.  She groggily wiped her eyes and reached for her charging phone, pulling it away so she could text her dad.  But she did want to brush her hair first.

     Her petite hands reached for the knob of the bathroom, and when she pulled away she was met with Ricky, curls drenched from the shower, stem piling up on the mirror, and nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist.  Megara — disheveled tank top, one pant leg rolling up higher than the other, sloppy curls — had no choice but to stare at the mess she accidentally created... all by opening the door.

     "Um..." a toothbrush (one of the couple emergency ones she kept in her bag) dangled from his lips as his wide eyes spoke a thousand words he couldn't at the moment.  "Could you grab me my clothes... please?"

     "Good morning," Ricky quipped when Megara finally joined him in the hotel's lobby.  Upon seeing how viciously Megara started attacking the pancakes laid out on the dark blue plate in front of her, he then followed up with, "I'll take it you didn't sleep so well."

     "My head is still killing me from the car yesterday," Megara scowled.  "And I couldn't seem to relax at all last night.  I think I was grinding my teeth in my sleep again.  I miss my home."

     Ricky shrugged.  "I think it was a nice break from mine."

     "Not much of a home anymore, is it?" Megara asked, throwing a bite of the breakfast cake into her mouth as she visibly watched Ricky tense up.

     She truly hadn't meant to hit such a nerve, and she realized she was doing more of that lately.  In her defense, it wasn't her fault that this was such a rough time.  It's not like she was the one who had decided to up and move him to a smaller home as if he hadn't experienced enough in the past couple of weeks.  The twisted thing was that she understood exactly what he was going through.

     Except for maybe the smaller home.  But that was just how Mr. Montez was.

     "Well, at least I'll be moving farther away from you," Ricky said, bringing a glass of orange juice to his soft lips.  It was unfair just how vibrant he stayed, even in the dead of winter.

     A part of Megara stung when he spoke to her like that, but she couldn't say she was surprised.  Matter of fact, this was part of the whole cat and mouse chase they had created for themselves.  It seemed like she had a self-defense system for instances just like this before, and she had honestly attacked him for less in the past.  With that, Megara swallowed the lump in her throat and pushed past the rasp.  "However far you go is still not far enough."

RICKY: The last time a girl got mad at me, I ended up losing her.  Idiot.  Yes, it was my fault, so I cannot let that ever happen again.  I want to do things differently this time.

MEGARA: [Crossing her arms over her chest] Farthest is still not far enough.