Once Upon A Push

Chapter 17: Finding Forgiveness

“You okay?” He asked, attempting to calm me down.

“Peachy.” I lied, turning towards the crowd of people gathering. The stage was occupied by the DJ and his equipment, but other than that, it was empty.

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Christy’s Point of View

“Cyrus!” I called out at the guy who was standing in the corner awkwardly.

“She’s here?” He asked, getting off of the wall.

“Yeah, but wait,” I called out, rushing over to him. He looked at me questioningly as I hunched over, breathing heavily from outrunning Warner. “She’s here with someone.” I breathed out. His eyes blackened in anger.

“With who?” He spat. I was scared now, should I have told him in a simpler way? More like ‘But yeah, I wish you good luck and she’s here with someone, but don’t forget to breath!’

“Sebastian Ronan.” I said, my breathing getting back to normal. I quickly stood up, placing a hand on my back.

“Are they dating?” He fumed, running a hand through his hair.

“Not that I know of, she told me she only wanted him here because she wanted someone to talk to.” I replied, rocking back and forth on my heels.

“Are you positive?” He asked slowly, as if I was stupid.

“Yes.” I said, annoyed. I was almost sure he wouldn’t hit me in a place as crowded as this. He gave me a side glance before walking towards the stage.

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Maverly’s Point of View

“I can’t find her!” Warner said, traveling back through the crowd to where I was.

“Hey guys!” Christy piped, cheerily. I knew she was hiding something by the way she avoided my gaze.

“Where were you?” Warner frowned.

“I went to the ladies room,” She lied. I could see right through her lies. “Let’s go.” She said, grabbing my arm.

“What about me?” Warner asked, raising his arms as she dragged me away.

“I’ll see you in 20 minutes, I promise!” She said, blowing him a kiss as she yanked me through the crowd.

“What is this all about?” I shouted, annoyed at her yanking and tugging on my fragile arm.

“You’ll see,” She replied, pulling me to about 10 feet in front of the stage. “Stand right here.” She demanded before she walked away, more like ran away. What was going on?

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Miranda’s Point of View

I saw Christy leave Maverly and I knew this was my chance.

“Hey Maverly.” I hissed, making sure that she heard me.

“Miranda.” She spat, giving me a sideways glance. This was one of the first times this rat said the right name.

“So you actually fell into his trap?” I lied, making sure to look around cautiously before stepping closer.

“What?” She said, raising an eyebrow.

“You don’t know?” I asked, feigning surprise. She gave me another curious glance.

“I heard Cyrus is going to come out here and declare how much he hates you. He’s been avoiding you, right? I’ve seen him. So if I were you, I’d move away from that spot right now beca-.” I spoke before I was interrupted by a voice entering the microphone.

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Maverly’s Point of View

My eyes darted from Miranda to the stage, where the microphone was located. I saw Cyrus standing there, eyes directed towards me, an unreadable expression painted on his face. What if Miranda was right? What if all he wanted to do was embarrass me?

“I don’t know how to start this, but I’ll just start from the beginning,” Cyrus said, never losing eye contact with me. I felt eyes burning into my back and whispers throughout the crowd. “I remember the first time I talked to you, Maverly. When you were ‘pushed’ into me, my theory is by the wind, but you say your friends did it.” He continued, putting air quotes around the word ‘pushed.’ I couldn’t help the little smile that shown on my face.

“You weren’t scared of me when you realized who I was, you actually talked back to me, something no one ever did,” He said, eyes grazing my dress. I felt embarrassed as my face turned red. He laughed at my response. “Then I remember when I watched you chasing your curly haired friend, Riley, throughout the hallways that day and when he finally got into class; I showed up.” He told me and I bit my lip.

“You actually thought I wasn’t going to ‘see you around.’ But I was, I made sure of that, because I was interested in who you were, Maverly,” He continued, breathing after that rush of words. “And then, you tried to be a basketball, and you pelted me with basketballs and then sprayed me in the mouth with mace. And I still remember your taunting remark. ‘You should see your face.’ And you ran out of the gym.” He laughed, along with a few other people.

“And then, skip some stuff that still is important but I could go on forever, turns out my parents hired your mom to redecorate my house. They made a good choice by the way. She had you talk to me about my room, because she couldn’t make it and I was too tired to care the day I was supposed to be interviewed by your mom. We talked and joked, and just had fun- something I didn’t have in a while. And then when I beat you at Call of Duty-.” He spoke, but I cut him off.

“I beat you at call of duty, Angelo.” I snorted, emphasizing his last name, too.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. When you beat me at Call of Duty, by cheating, I realized that I liked you. But I also realized I was developing feelings for you when I rescued you from the bathroom. And when I noticed that I’d hurt you at both parties, I hurt a part of myself, too. Because when you hurt, I hurt,” He continued with something in his eyes that only I understood; about my father beating me. “You’re the only person In this school that’s made an effort to talk to me, despite the rumors, and you didn’t cower away like a little punk- you responded back to me when I gave you sarcastic comments, and you may not have been just as good with them, but you’re pretty witty, Maverly.” He said, winking at me.

“And I just wanted to say, Maverly, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything I’ve put you through. I’m sorry for hurting you at the parties, I’m sorry for making mistakes that I didn’t realize would hurt you in the long run. And I know that it’s a lot to ask, but will you forgive me?” He asked, his eyes hopeful. He puckered out his bottom lip as he jumped off the stage, standing in front of me. I playfully rubbed my chin while staring off at the ceiling, although I already knew my answer.

“I forgive you.” I decided, smiling up at him.

“I have another question.” He said, holding up a finger.

“Ask away.” I encouraged. His eyes cast downward towards the floor and then back up at me.

“Maverly, would you like to be my girlfriend?” He asked, smiling. I bit my lip, pretending to think about it.

“No,” I snapped. His eyes widened and he frowned deeply. “I’m kidding, Cyrus.” I said, laughing. He wrinkled his nose.

“Don’t joke like that, Maverly.” He said, smiling too. His eyes cast towards my lips as we sat there smiling at each other. He did what I’d wanted him to do for a while now, he kissed me.