Keeping Her Home (Aromatic & Dreamstreet)

[Dreamstreet]

Ever since they were young, Matt Stone had always been on the lookout for his best friend, a girl that was a year or two younger than he was. She was usually someone who was more social, wanting to talk with people and getting to know them better, but certainly also someone who could find trouble where nobody else could see it. It wasn't like it was ever an everlasting issue, but Matt always felt like he had to be there to pull her away, apologize for her, or in the rare cases, take a punch for her. Of course most people would think that they were a couple by how much he stood up for her, but he never saw it like that. Why would he decide to go for a troublemaker like her?

Now at the age of 22, Matt had decided to let her move in with him, since he figured it was good she went away from home. In his mind, she would start to take everything more serious, get a good job and perhaps even try to get herself a boyfriend. The apartment was big enough so they could each get their own rooms, while they shared the living room, kitchen and bathroom. Everything seemed to be in order, and for the first month or so, it was all quite fine. Until she started to show her true colors.

Every weekend she would be out partying, drinking with her friends and not letting Matt know about her plans. She even had the habit of coming home the next day, crying over having slept with some guy who just wanted her out. Of course Matt would still listen to her, comfort her and get her to become happy again, and each time hoping that she would learn her lesson this time around. Though the very next weekend, or sometimes even the very next day, she was out there, making the same mistakes all over. Something that started to get to Matt more and more with each incident. However he still hasn't reached his breaking point, but it seemed like it wouldn't take a lot to break it anymore. Now it seemed more like a matter of time than anything else, before he would give her a piece of his mind.

On this day, Matt was arriving home from his job as a waiter at around 4PM, and felt rather tired. It had been quite a long day, with some issues in the kitchen that meant they delivered their food slowly, and then took it out on Matt. Something he could resist, but it meant he was frowning as he entered through the main door, and walked into his apartment. He wasn't sure if she was home yet or not, so he just announced it as he got in. "I'm home! I hope the couch is available, because I need to lie down and relax... What a crazy day it has been." He said while walking into the living room, wondering if she would be there or not.

 

[Aromatic]

Matt and Mariana had been quite the pair for most of their lives. They had grown up together, friends in the same neighborhood and gone to the same schools together. It was one of those textbook cases where everyone expected the two of them to date, but they never really did. He was the rock that anchored the overall wild child that Mariana was. It was been this way all of their lives. If anything, it had grown worse as the two aged. She wasn't a bad person, but she was definitely a bit reckless. She lacked foresight into what she should and shouldn't do. A rebel streak described her better than a mean streak. She was great and saw the ideal in everyone, even if everything it presented was the polar opposite. She always fell for the bad boy or an overall bad crowd.

A good way to describe was that she was like the seasons. Her desires and moods shifting every few weeks. A true spirit that had a lust for life, but none of the wisdom that came from remembering what happened the season before.

Matt had offered off the opportunity to live with him and framed it as a growing experience for her and him. Honestly, it did sound like that to her. It made sense to her as that would be the next step for her. She likely didn't truly know though that Matt had hoped that the experience would help to her get that chaotic life under control. Her own father had failed to get meaningful results out of her. Only when she was a little girl and he could use the threat of corporal punishment to bring her under control. Ever since then though?

A result of that was even the simple fact that was constantly behind on doing her chores. If it was her turn to the dishes, it would be a few more days until she actually did them. She often did it for her. Cleaning? late. Laundry? late. It was always something she put on the back burner between finishing up her last year in college to partying. The perfect example of that would be shown to Matt as he got home from his shift.

Half of the couch was still covered in her clothes that she hadn't finished folding. There was enough room for him to sit on, but not enough for him to sprawl out of. Not enough for him to be able to lay out the way he wanted. When he got home, Mariana was coming out of the room. "Shit, I'll finish cleaning it up in a bit. I'm just working on my make up for tonight!" She shouted out from the room. She was in a half dressed state. Pajama bottoms paired with a beige tank top that she wore. Her hair had just finished being straightened while half her make up was on. She was just finishing her more 'natural' look. "I promise I'll have it done in a few minutes. Sounds like work sucked!" She said loudly from her room.

 

[Dreamstreet]

As Matt came into the apartment and saw the mess on the couch, he would close his eyes and let out a sigh while closing his eyes. This was quite the typical thing from Mariana, to simply leave her clothes all over the place. Even then, he did hear how she was talking loudly from her room, and how she was getting ready to leave for some kind of party or hookup, rather than doing the chores that he had told her to do.

This made something fire deep inside his head. Something that told him that it had to stop, and that it had to be now. Mariana wasn't going to do anything unless she was forced to do it, and that he always had known that. He knew that she was a good girl deep down, but there was just so much above it that took priority for her. Going out, being a rebel, hooking up with some bad guy that she would cry over in a few days. This had to change.

"Come in here this instance!" He said in a loud voice, as he kept on looking at the mess on the couch and waited for her to come out again. "Your makeup can wait until you're done with the things that you promised you would solve today... So come in here and clean up my couch!" He said in a tone that showed just how annoyed he was. It was on the verge of being angry, though he was not at that point yet. But it wasn't far away.