Finding the Perfect Fit Pt. 19

Man, reading back over that dream is a fucking trip! Jesus I was out of it... But if I'm being completely, totally honest with myself, I still feel the echo of that gut wrenching disappointment when I reached down and didn't find anything sticking up. I expected it to be there, I knew a dick was there without question and suddenly, it wasn't. Typing this, there's a hollow pang of annoyance that my dream had faded too quickly, that I only got to experience that for such a short amount of time.

And speaking of that dream, who the fuck had been behind me? It couldn't have been Donna, she doesn't have the rack and Misty had been taking part and...

Why am I bothering asking? My brain was boiling in my own skull that night. I woke Donna up when upon opening my bedroom door I instantly fell over. My squawk got her up, at least that's the closest description of the sound I made, and she helped me get back to bed with a cool washcloth on my forehead. That helped and I drifted off into a dreamless sleep. I called into both class and work the next day, sleeping off the last of the fever and waking up feeling much better. Still can't breathe out of my nose though. I can't even say nose! I just tried and it comes out as 'nodth'. But I can think and work hopefully that means I'm on the mend. God I hope so.

That dream though... I can't seem to shake it but I don't want to. It lingers in a way few have.

I'm beating this damn cold! Or flu or whatever it is And I should've known it wasn't going to just be me getting it. I called up Jamie to have an actual conversation and his voice was all fucked up. Yeah, now he's sick. Right when I was starting to get better. Cool. We talked for a while but I let him go get some rest, leaving me alone in my room for a Saturday. Oh well, giving how long it's taken me to get over this crap, he's better off sleeping than trying to talk.

So I'm sitting here typing instead of doing anything else cause what else is there to do? I finished catching up on homework, off work tomorrow and it's barely eight at night now. Donna went off to a party and I'm sick of sleeping. Guess I'll watch something.

Hey, Future Gen here. I didn't end up watching anything. I was being disappointed in Netflix's selection when I got a call from Donna. I considered not answering it but figured she wouldn't call me unless it was important.

"Hey Gen! We gotta flat and ya do cars right?" Donna said before giggling, making it clear she was drunk. "Come help us! We're stranded!" I really didn't want to go out in the cold and deal with a drunk Donna along with whatever guy she was with. But if I didn't, she was liable to do something stupid and I'd have that nagging on my conscience.

"Alright, where are you?" She relayed the address as another quiet voice gave it to her, making me curious. I pictured her picking up a loud, athletic guy... So Tom basically and that voice didn't sync up. "Get off the street and then stay in ya car so you don't get run over."

"Yeah! Gen's gonna fix it" Shaking my head, I hung up and got changed, playing Battery to get ready for the cold. Even with that playing, warming my car up sucked hard with me shivering in the freezing darkness. With my earbuds in, I kept the hard and heavy music going, enjoying the night drive and its lonely roads. Maybe it was 'cause I was feeling better or hadn't been up this late for a while. The ten minute trip recaptured some of that childhood glee of staying up late, fighting the urge to give in to sleep just 'cause. Too bad Jamie wasn't there to share it.

Turning into the nearly empty parking lot of a law firm, I parked behind a running car that was either Donna or someone getting ready to commit some Breaking and Entering. For once, I was glad to see Donna as she bound free of the passenger side as I got out. She pointed like a little kid at the front tire she stood by which, sure enough, was flat.

"See? See Min, I told you!" From the driver side emerged a short Asian girl with dark hair, looking at me skeptically. "Gen's got this shit, it's all she does."

"Not quite but I can change a tire." The asphalt's cold punched right through my thin jeans but I looked over the flat, not finding any obvious punctures but that didn't mean much. "Pop the trunk please, uh... Who are you?"

"Min Seo." The stranger said, leaning in the interior and doing as I asked. She was pretty, with dark eyes and immaculate make up, bundled up in a thick coat that covered her in a very Jamie manner so I couldn't get a good look.

"Alright Min Seo, since Donna is drunk off her ass, I'mma ask you to hold the light for me, okay?" She nodded as I opened the trunk, digging around for the spare and the jack.

"Hey, I can hold a fucking light!" Pawing at her pants, Donna produced her phone and turned the flashlight on, shining it right in my face.

"Can ya point that somewhere else? Please?!" Getting the hint, Donna finally stopped blinding me and watched as I heaved the doughnut out, rolling it to the passenger door and leaning it there. Next came the jack and I got on my knees, then rolled over to my back and got under the car, using my own phone to see where it needed to be. That done, I got out and up, rolling the jack in place and started raising it.

"Told ya she's got this shit!" Min Seo looked at Donna, her face perfectly blank and I had to bite back a laugh. At best, Donna was being tolerated and I felt a measure of kinship with this woman I had just met. Getting the car almost raised, I got the 4 way and started fighting the bolts holding the tire on. Donna had wandered to the other side of the car, talking to someone on her phone while Min Seo provided light, as I had asked.

"Why are ya hanging out with her?" I asked quietly, Donna seemingly getting louder all the while.

"We had a class project together and she asked if I'd want to hang out sometime. I didn't know this is what she had in mind." Min Seo's voice was low and quiet, her accent clipping some words short but that was no obstacle to me understanding her. It was about then I realized she was damn pretty and got back to what I had been called out here for.

"Yeah, well, that's what you get with her." Grunting, I got another bolt loose and started on the next. "Not exactly exciting." Another straining effort and it gave up, all five now ready to be taken off. Twisting them off, fingers clumsy in the cold, I got the flat off and scrabbled back as the car swayed towards me. The fear of a vehicle falling off a jack had been instilled in me by all the mechanics, Dick grimly saying he'd seen a man die that way and what a waste it had been. So witnessing Min Seo's car coming towards me released years of panic at once.

Standing, I saw that Donna had leaned against the driver's side door, still yammering away on her phone and not paying any attention.

"HEY!" Donna jumped, turning to face me with wide eyes. I could feel my pulse pounding, the adrenaline dump making me shaky and want to throw the 4 way at her. "Don't fucking touch the car until I'm done!" Mumbling, Donna walked off as I caught my breath, clouds billowing out of my mouth all the while.

"You okay?" Min Seo asked and I grunted, throat raw from the shout as I sucked down another breath before speaking.

"Yeah. Heart 'bout fucking stopped." Reaching in my coat pockets, I struggled with a cough drop wrapper and finally got it free, popping it in my mouth. Biting down on it, I got back to work. Rolling the spare into place, I hoisted and slid it on the bolts after a small adjustment. I've always hated that part, the blind guesswork of threading metal thread onto the needle but I guess I lucked out that time.

"Thank you for this. I was never taught how to do it." Twisting the nuts back on with numb fingers, I lowered the jack and then began tightening them with the 4 way.

"It's easy and if it wasn't so damn cold out here, I'd walk ya through it." I had to pause to blow my nose, being sick started to catch up to me. "Okay, should be good to drive now. You're going to have to either get ya tire fixed or replaced. Got it?" I cranked the jack until it was able to be stowed away and replaced it along with all the other tools, then hefting the flat into the trunk and slamming that shut.

"There, done." I dusted my hands off and stuffed them back into my coat pockets, the novelty of being up late having worn off as sickness reasserted it's dominance over me.

"Thank you." Min Seo said while switching the flashlight app off as we both glanced over at the guttural sounds and following splatter robbing the night of it's rightful peace. We looked at each other and I could feel annoyance pouring out from behind her stoic face, strengthening the imagined bond I felt with this stranger. "Do... Should I pay you?" I chuckled, turning away from the scene Donna was making.

"How's bout this; Give me ya number and we hang out sometime? I promise not to do that." I gestured to the heaving Donna and Min Seo appeared to think it over. I'm still not sure why I made that offer. Maybe I wanted someone else who had dealt with Donna's drunken antics or just that Min Seo was pretty? She stood silent, which sucked cause my roommate was still hurling before Min Seo gave me her number. I got it punched it in and saved, fatigue slowly but surely settling over me as sleet and then snow as buried the city.

"Still getting over being sick so it might be a while. Sorry." Min Seo nodded as Donna approached us, wiping her mouth and lacking all previous cheer. I'm guessing it having been ejected all over the pavement.

"Don't yell at me like that again." Said sullenly, Donna glared at me but I wasn't in the mood for her shit. I should've been at home, sleeping, not out in the cold doing a simple tire change.

"If I was under the car and you knocked it off the jack, it would have crushed me and I'd be dead. So yeah, don't try to kill me and I won't yell at ya. Deal?" Donna muttered 'bitch' under her breath and I rolled my eyes, heading back to my car. "Take care Min Seo." Giving a wave, I was pleased when she returned it. Donna just flipped me off. Drove back home and when I got here, I fired up my computer but didn't start typing right away. Instead I had my phone out, trying to figure out what, if anything to send to Min Seo. Hell, I don't even know if I should be using her full name like that!

I settled for texting her an apology for Donna's behavior before typing this, nearly falling asleep a few times. Before I crashed Min Seo responded, saying that Donna had gotten a ride from some guy and was off her hands, which was for the best. Before I could respond, she followed up with another message.

'Thank you for helping me. Please allow me to buy you lunch tomorrow?' I didn't expect that but happy to have something happening on a Sunday, especially with Jamie still out of action. Not that I'm doing much better but hey, I might be able to taste something.

Holy shit, I think I made a friend! That's kinda rare for me, with Jamie being the sole exception during my whole time at college, at least until tonight. Anyway, time for bed and I think I've earned a good night's sleep.

This daytime cold and flu medicine tastes so fucking bad. I gag this shit down every morning and it has the consistency of motor oil. God, probably tastes worse than that shit too. I have to chase that crap with any other liquid to keep it down or the aftertaste makes me wanna puke then die. Oh fuck, there's no way this tastes any better on the way out! I just fucking gagged.

I hope this sickness finally gives up so I can write about literally anything else. I can feel that eye in my thoughts slowly opening, taking in the world and wanting to transcribe it. That said, time to give it a trial run by recounting lunch with Min Seo.

I woke up feeling a solid 'meh' out of ten, took my fucking medicine and showered. That done, I texted Min Seo at 11, not sure what to expect or if she was even up. A response came quickly, asking for my preference of what to eat. I told her I didn't really care, just needing something to shut my stomach up and some caffeine to finish waking up.

Min Seo suggested McDonalds and I agreed, driving there under a gloomy sky that threatened to drop some form of moisture over the city. I parked beside her car, a reliable mid 2000's blue Honda in good condition, still rocking the doughnut. Blowing my nose before getting out, I stretched and was able to see Min Seo without the veil of night interfering.

She still had the bulky white coat on, completely covering Min Seo from neck to mid thigh. But the cool air about her couldn't be denied. Her shorter black hair framed a heart shaped face and God Damn, her make up was on fucking point. With matching paleish red eye shadow and lipstick, I suddenly wondered what Jamie would look like with that get up and then felt too casual for this. I'd foregone even eyeliner, having given up on looking good when I felt like utter shit. Joining her between our cars, I noticed she was even shorter than Jamie as we waited for a truck to pass.

"Hey." I said, realizing I had been openly checking her out instead of, ya know, talking. Spending so much time with Jamie might have backfired on me now that I had to interact with normal people. The old shit my Mom would always tell me came back: "Gen, be on your best behavior."

"Hey." Even that one word sounded different when she said it, clipped and curt. "Ready?"

"'Course." We walked to the door, me opening it for her and the smell of grease paired with warmth was enough to make me happy. What can I say, I'm cheap and easy to please in some aspects. We got in line and I eyed the menu, mouth watering after so many bowls of soup and ramen.

"I'm getting my tire patched tomorrow." Min Seo said, taking a second for the words to get my attention away from the picture of a Big Mac trying to seduce me.

"Oh uh, good! Don't wanna drive on a spare too long." The family in front of us finished their order, the kid babbling as Min Seo stepped up and ordered McNuggets, then gestured me forward.

"We're together." Min Seo said, stopping me with my mouth open, the order for that Big Mac now stuck right there on the tip of my tongue. I figured she was talking about our order being on the same ticket but my head heard it as if we were together, like Jamie and I. Flustered, I rushed out my order and Min Seo paid as I walked to the drink fountain, trying to calm down as I filled my cup with Coke. That done, and my heart slowing somewhat after that out of nowhere and uncalled for freak out, I followed Min Seo to a small corner booth away from everyone, the window looking out over the dreary day.

I prepared to say something but realized I had no idea what to call her. "Okay, I'm just going to ask this cause I'm white as Hell: What should I call you?" She blinked, obviously not prepared for a question that dumb. "Donna was calling you Min but your name is Min Seo, right?"

"Ah, yes. I'm Park Min Seo so call me what you will." I paused in taking a drink, putting my cup down and prodding my sick brain to action.

"I wanna call ya by ya name and not be some American shitlord who can't figure out how to pronounce one friggin' word that ain't English." I'd attempted Spanish in school and bombed that class but! I can usually say the words if I find them but memorizing a whole other language isn't happening for me.

"Min Seo then." Coloring faintly, nowhere close to the extravagant shows Jamie put on, she busied herself by looking out the window. "You're not like other girls I've met."

"That's a fuckin' understatement." She looked back at me, eyebrows raised and it was my turn to flush, heat flooding into my cheeks in a natural manner that had nothing to do with fever. "Sorry, I shouldn't be cussing so much." Any more embarrassment was spared as our number was called and Min Seo stood, walking to pick up our food and I watched her go. Her legs were thicker than mine or Jamie's, jeans showing them off quite well. The coat covered up everything else and that was fine cause I had Jamie.

She returned and cracking open the cardboard shell about my burger made my mouth water. Before I told hold of it and violated all table manners, my brain activated once more.

"Thank you Min Seo." Chewing on a fry, she looked at me with surprise and swallowed but I already had the general gist of what she was about to say.

"This is my thanks to you for helping me. I..." She drug that one letter out, searching about for what to say next and only when she found it was the 'I' finished. "...I didn't like Donna's idea of a good time." I snorted, drumming my feet on the ground to keep from braying out laughter to the whole restaurant.

"Ya ain't the only one!" Munching on another fry, Min Seo looked at me with a touch more curiosity, that chill about her melting ever so slightly. "She's thrown a few parties at my dorm, ya know the house ones? Yeah, buncha basketball players all crammed in there with shitty music, fuckin' sucks."

"Donna mentioned you." Looking away, Min Seo paused and I dug in, the Big Mac everything I wanted right then and there. "Said you had a hippy boyfriend and worked on cars." Her vocalizing 'hippy' was very weird, as if she didn't fully know the word. Hell, maybe she doesn't! Not like it comes up all that much in this day and age.

"Yeah, I bet that isn't all she said." Judging from how Min Seo's dark eyes glanced at me, I wasn't wrong. "It's fine, I really don't give a shit what Donna thinks." Nodding, she ate another fry as I floundered, not sure if I should keep talking or shut up and eat.

"She said you don't drink?" Chewing, I nodded and lined up the old words.

"My Dad had problems with booze and those things tend to run in the family so I just... don't. Easier that way." It was her turn to nod, finally cracking open her nuggets and Sweet and Sour. "And when you're not drinking, going to college parties kinda sucks."

"I..." Once more she drug out that sound while looking for what else to say. "...I agree." I almost choked, hearing her honesty and expression of annoyance.

"Whatcha usually do during the weekend?" I asked, taking another bite as she bit into a nugget, thinking my question over.

"Study." I blinked, waiting for her to say something else but it didn't come.

"The Hell kinda classes are you taking?" My tone and volume were getting away from me but Min Seo had apparently been asked this before and had a ready made answer.

"I'm getting a business degree." I flinched, knowing I was in the presence of someone who knew what they wanted from the future, where as I had no idea. Feeling even more out of place, I took a drink while finding something, anything to say.

"Oh damn! Good on ya." Not a whole lot of talking happened as we both ate.

"I also help cosplayers with hair and make up but there has been no conventions this winter." Chewing, I ran that word through my brain a few times and found I'd never heard it before.

"Cos-wha?" She flushed, the red peeking past her make up, matching her eye shadow and lips.

"Cosplay. Where people dress up as game and anime characters." I must have still looked lost, 'cause I was, and Min Seo pulled out her phone. Some tapping and she showed me the screen, displaying a woman who wasn't wearing much of anything aside from a bikini top, some tight shorts and stockings. She was posing with a sword, showing off plenty of tits and ass, along with leg. "I did her make up and hair."

"Isn't that a wig?" I asked, liking the shade of pink it was, screamingly bright as it fought to draw the eye away from the hot chick wearing it.

"Yes but I styled it." A swipe and another picture, this time of a tall woman with some serious boobage holding a large, obviously fake gun. "Did her hair and make up too."