Leo

Winter break could not come fucking sooner. I hated having to study and doing all the stupid exams but I knew right after, I would be back in my hometown, working the bar at nights and bussing the tables during the day. After all, I needed a constant flow of cash or else I would not be able to pay off the rest of my tuition.

"Just two more years and you're out of that motherfucking place," I swore to myself as I lit up my cigarette. I shivered against the below thirty degree weather, jiggling my leg up and down as I waited for the coach bus to arrive. The calming smoke entered my lungs and I exhaled, letting the smoke trail out of my mouth. From my peripheral, I could see someone's bulging backpack moving around but I ignored it. Unsurprisingly, she disturbed my peace.

"Excuse me?" She demanded in an unnecessarily loud tone, her cloudy-gray eyes glittering in righteous anger. I looked her up and down in annoyance, wondering who the fuck she was talking to.

"Can I help you?' I drawled, amused by the way her entire face scrunched up as my smoke slithered towards her general direction.

She pointed at something above me and I rolled my eyes. Great. Just great–another do-gooder uptight bitch that can't mind her damn business. I replied nonchalantly, unbothered by her angry reaction.

We exchanged heated words but I was getting distracted. Despite her bitchiness, she was...beautiful. She was far from my usual type–I usually went for brunettes with sexy curves and pretty faces, but I grudgingly acknowledged that the bitch running her mouth before me was attractive; with expressive stormy gray eyes and a heart-shaped face and soft, naturally pink lips. Which were currently curling up at me in disapproval.

Still, she was not my type, definitely not with the "holier than thou" attitude but thankfully, her attention was diverted as the coach bus finally came. She rushed off into the line, managing to squeeze between the gathering of people to be almost the first in line and I stared after her, bemused by our interaction. Who the fuck is she?

As the line shortened, I sparked another smoke and lazily headed over, familiar with the bus driver. She grinned at me, pleased to see me. Sandy and I came from the same home town and even though she was a good twenty years older than me, she acted sisterly towards me. Oftentimes, she came to the bar for a drink and I was there, serving up her usual shot of bourbon.

"Leona! What a pleasant surprise! Come in, come in," She greeted me and waved me off as she started the bus.

"Thank you, San. I'll see you later," I replied and she nodded, chuckling in delight.

As I headed towards the middle of the bus, I caught sight of the same girl who was trying to cause issues with me. I could see her eyes widen in what looked like disbelief and terror and I couldn't help but grin evilly at her. As if she was trying to make herself look smaller, she shrank in her seat. I did spot a seat in the back but I wanted to give her a taste of her own medicine, so I decided to sit next to her instead.

Purposefully, I made sure that my elbow brushed against her but the way she recoiled startled me. I gazed at her and she stared back at me with muted anger glimmering in her almond-shaped eyes.

"Got a problem, Karen?" I finally said and she prickled like a hedgehog, her lips pursing and unpursing, her eyebrows lowering in annoyance. I couldn't help but look at her scrunched-up lips for a split second and an intrusive thought sparked in my head. I wonder what they taste like. Are they as soft and sweet as they look? Or...as bitter and hard as she acts?

"My name is not Karen," She answered sharply through gritted teeth, temporarily dislodging my strangely lascivious thoughts about her soft-looking lips. Her arms clenched across her chest and I had to lean closer to her. I wondered how much shit she could take from me. She stiffened visibly, her eyes widening as I stated, "You talk like a Karen, you even look like a Karen..."

Sensing that she was becoming increasingly uncomfortable, I decided to take it a step further. I caught a whiff of her faint vanilla perfume and inhaled dramatically. "Oh, God–You even smell like a Karen!" I exclaimed loudly, causing nearby students to glance over curiously.

My face was just a few inches away from hers, so close that I could feel her breath stuttering across the meager distance between us. One sudden brake from the bus, and our lips would meet. Closer up, I could see the unusual smoky-gray hue of her eyes, framed with long, straight dark blonde lashes. Her pupils seemed to quiver under my challenging gaze but what interested me was how red her face turned, her eyes darting around like a cornered animal. Satisfied that I had put her back in her place, I turned away from her, looking victoriously down at the cracked screen of my phone.

I could still feel her stare boring into me and while she huffed and puffed indignantly, I smiled to myself, ridiculously pleased. Oh, I despised people like her– people who think that they are better than everyone, smelling of authority or snobbiness, coming from rich families with actual parents. They can all suck my left toe, for all I care. I could tell when she decided to relinquish, pointedly scooting further away from me and placing her face close to the window, studiously staring at nothing in particular.

From her white, expensive headphones, I could hear the narrator drone on and I settled comfortably in my seat, blasting my hard metal music in response. For the next hour or so of complete silence from her, her body relaxed inch by inch, her head lolling back and forth as the bus drove on, racing across the cracked pavement, the small dainty home towns rolling into view. There, it was just a long road and grass and trees, with an occasional farm flying past. Somewhere in between the long drive, the voices of the students died down, as one by one were dropped off into their destination, their volume of excitement slowly diminishing as half of them were sleeping already, mentally exhausted from exam week and the long trip. Including the little Karen next to me.

I lowered my music and glanced over casually, acting as if I was looking out the window. Under my lashes, I watched as her head knocked repeatedly against the window, as she dozed away, her neck tilted in an awkward angle against the window. The side of her face was smushed against the window, her mouth gaping slightly as she snored softly next to me. I held back a smile as a sliver of drool pooled on the corner of her bottom lip and with a surreptitious move that surprised even myself, I wiped it gently with the ends of my sleeve.

Her nose wrinkled slightly and she mumbled unintelligibly, her head rising a few inches from the window. And bam! Her head knocked against the frosted glass with an audible thud and to my shock, she did not wake up. As the bus made a long, tight circle around the winding curve of another highway, her head shifted towards me, the side of her cheek resting against the edge of my shoulder.

I peered down at the crown of her head, watching her smudged glasses teeter down the bridge of her pert, button nose. Carefully, I used my other arm and lifted her glasses from her face, stuffing it quickly into the pocket of my hoodie. Still, she did not even stir, nestling her face comfortably between the crook of my shoulder and neck. I turned slightly and froze as she murmured into my ears, the soft curve of her lips brushing against my neck. A small shiver trembled under my skin at the scintillating sensation–her lips were really warm, slightly damp from the remnant of her drool but velvety and before I got too carried away, I nudged my shoulder upwards, letting her head drift back against the window with a soft thud.

Unsettled by the way she slept–as if she had no care of what was going on around her–I watched her head bang against the window a few more times before I got tired of it. Eventually, her head found her way back to my shoulders but this time, I let her use me as her pillow. Her right arm dropped limply on my knee as her weight increased while the bus made another tight curve. She murmured again in my ears, squirming slightly and I watched her carefully as her eyelids moved rapidly back and forth. Her body felt warm, almost too warm, and as she slept, she muttered occasionally, her face burying into the crook of my neck.

I forced myself to relax but my body was in high gear, tuned into the whispery sensation of her snores and the soft whistle of air filtering through her nose as she dozed away. Occasionally, she smacked her lips, and once again, my entire body tingled from the sensation. Against my previous annoyance against her uptight manner, she was surprisingly adorable when she was sleeping. I caught sight of her ticket fluttering out of her jacket pocket and with an imperceptible movement, I plucked it out.

She was heading to Annit Town, where all the rich, bougie people lived. My lips curled in annoyance and I placed the ticket back in her pocket. Still, I let her rest peacefully as I prepared myself for my stop. Slowly, I disentangled myself from her slumber, making sure that her head stayed upright as I gathered my belongings. I gazed down at her, wondering if I should leave her note but that wasn't my thing so with one last glance, I headed to the front of the bus.

"Hey, San, thanks for the ride," I told the bus driver.

"No worries, I got you," She answered with a smile.

"When are you getting back?" I asked her as she cruised into the familiar bus terminal of our hometown.

"Oof, I don't know. I have a few stops to make...I should get back around nine at night."

"Well, your first two shots are on me," I replied with a grin.

I paused, in the middle of stepping off the bus. I turned and looked at Sandy, who raised a brow at me curiously.

"That girl I was sitting next to...She's heading to Annit Town. Can you make sure she doesn't miss her stop? She's completely knocked out, I don't even think she can even hear your announcements," I told Sandy and her brow raised even higher.

"Is this your good deed of the day? You're usually not that nice to those people," she teased with a twinkle in her dark-brown eyes and I chuckled, subtly flipping her off. She grinned in amusement and waved at me as I stepped off the bus completely.

It was even colder now and I shivered as the wind gusted heavily, penetrating my thin hoodie. I stuffed my numb hands into the pocket of my hoodie as I made the long trek into the heart of the town and grinned to myself, pulling out the glasses I had taken away from her.

I was planning on giving them back to her but oh well–I guess I was keeping them after all.