(minus facial piercings!)
It had been a lonely week without Nicholas there to keep her company. Sure, he had given her a call when his plane landed in Paris and then another call later on in the week, but it wasn't the same. Avery was used to seeing her boyfriend on a day-to-day basis, and if not that then millions of texts and phone calls between them to bridge the time when they weren't together. She practically lived at his house at times. His parents didn't seem to mind that she had a drawer full of clothes in his room, or that they shared his bed. The teachers never really gave them any lip for the little PDA they shared from time to time; it was like Nick and Avery were the perfect couple. The redhead was sure that there had to be some people who didn't like them, girls and guys who were jealous, and others who plain didn't like the cutesy couple. But really, their names stayed out of the majority of school gossip.
Now that Nick was gone, there was only one other person that anyone could imagine Avery hanging out with, the one person that her boyfriend could trust around his girl. Joseph was beyond making a cheap move on Avery, no one doubted that. Maybe those jealous people who saw the two friends together would flap their jaws, but everyone knew that their relationship was uncomplicated and innocent.
Avery pushed her hair from her face as a slight breeze sent some dry leaves flying; the weather had cooled but they didn't have their first frost yet. The weather was cool and crisp, perfect weather for sweaters and apple cider. Joseph promised to take her for a ride in the country, something to pass the time and take advantage of the good weather. It was nice enough to walk, and Avery took her time, worn Converse sneakers scuffing the sidewalk as she made her way down Joseph's street. The young woman unzipped her bright blue hoodie a little, the contrasting yellow tee underneath exposed to just below her breasts. No reason to dress up for Joseph, so she chose plain darkwashed skinny jeans and just a bit of mascara to finish off the outfit. Raking her pale hand through her hair again and fixing the blunt layers, Avery strolled up to his door and rapped brightly on the door, leaning on the doorjamb as she waited for him to open up.