Maverick

Chapter 10

"I totally didn't see that ending coming," muttered Maverick, shaking his head sarcastically as we made our way out of the movie theatre into the lobby. "I mean, the female lead falling in love with the main zombie?" He faked shock. "distinctive stuff."

"Well you were the one who chose it," I said, laughing as I remembered the terrible movie we had just witnessed. There was a long, snaking line of people waiting to get out of the cinema so we found a bench outside the kids theatre and sat down, stretching our sore limbs.

"Truth or dare?" Maverick exclaimed suddenly, turning to face me, his eyes burning with flames of excitement.

"You what?"

Maverick sighed. "Even you, Reece, must have been to at least one sleepover in your life."

I frowned. "So what?"

"Truth or dare?"

I rubbed the back of my hand over my eyes. "God, Maverick..."

"Just pick."

"Alright." I stared into his eyes daringly. "Truth."

"Why did you move to J-bay?"

Maverick didn't pause for even a second to breathe, as if he had had this question in his mind ever since he first met me. I looked around, and realised for the first time that we were alone. The huge throng of people had all left, disappeared into the night. It was as if we were living in a ghost town, as if we ourselves were in the middle of our own zombie apocalypse.

I leant back into the bench until the metal was biting hard into my back. I looked down at my hands. "My mother's an artist," I said. "She moved to Europe when I was six. My Dad moved here when my parents divorced. I was three and a half. So I moved here."

I looked up at Maverick, horrified at the silent tears I felt slipping down my cheeks. Awkwardly, he brought a finger to my face and wiped them away. His face was stone, unreadable; as hard as I tried to read his expression, I was failing. He sat back.

"Well that's crap."

"You're telling me."

There was a silence for a moment, and both of us felt the weight of it. The sudden sound of a distant hoover as the cleaners set about their work made me jump. "So what about you?" I asked him, breaking the silence. "Why did you move here

He gave me a lopsided grin. "I was born here."

I gave a little laugh, but it was weak due to my recent tears. "You don't give much away, do you?"

"No," he said, "I don't."

All of a sudden he was close. His curls tickled my forehead, and I could feel his hot breath casing my lips in warmth. I looked up, half expecting his eyes to be closed, but they were wide open and boring straight into mine. "Maverick," I breathed, not able to make much of a sound. "I... I need to go to the bathroom."

"Always full of excuses, Reece."

My heart stopped for a moment.

It wasn't Maverick saying those words.

Moving slowly, I leant back from Maverick and looked at Oscar. He was as I always remembered him to be, but there was also something different behind those eerily blue eyes of his. There was a hint of hardness, something that had always been a part of him but that he had always managed to hide from me before.

Oscar smiled, but it wasn't a warm one. It was malicious, angry, even regretful, and I shied away from it instantly. "But then again, I don't ever remember you making excuses not to kiss me." Oscar's voice was slurred with drink.

I growled internally, even though I was shaking with fear on the outside. "Oscar," I managed, "What are you doing here?"

"Oh," he ran a hand along the bench then laid his forefinger on my cheek. I turned my face away angrily. "Just hanging around." His breath, horribly close, stank of beer.

"I can see that," said Maverick icily. I had almost forgotten he was there.

"I'm sorry," Oscar smiled, exposing his glassy teeth. He extended a hand. "I don't think we've been introduced. I'm Oscar." His voice was caked in fake friendliness, but it was also equally hard.

"Maverick," he returned with equal hardness, ignoring the skeletal hand in front of him. Oscar pushed back his ink-black hair lazily, winking at me. "Well, you don't hang about do you, Reece?"

"What?" My mouth was dry, and I swallowed in an attempt to salivate it.

"I mean, you've barely finished with me, and now you're off screwing some other guy?"

"It's not like that," I snarled.

"Oh isn't it?" Oscar reached forward and slithered his hand up the back of my shirt. "Because I always remember you being a bit desperate."

"That's enough!" Yelled Maverick, shoving Oscar back hard up against the wall. Oscar laughed, but I could tell he was feeling a little uneasy by the way he fiddled with his shirt as he pulled it back to his waist. He stumbled forward, pointing an accusing finger at Maverick.

"You looking for a fight, mate?" He jeered raucously. "Because believe me," he added, gesturing towards me, "she isn't worth fighting over."

"I'm not your mate," Maverick replied drily, "And I'm not going to fight you. You're pissed."

Oscar drew out a cigarette and lit it with a tasteless lighter decorated with a huge skull. "Whatever."

"Just leave."

Oscar let out a billow of smoke. It cased his face disgustingly and made his skin appear a sickly grey colour. "What? So you can jump into bed with my girl?"

"I'm not your girl," I hissed.

"I meant what I said." Maverick's tone was ice cold. "Fuck off."

"Fine." Oscar smiled viciously at Maverick. "But don't worry, I'll see you around. And Reece." he slurred sluggishly, "I'll tell Hanna you said hi."

I let out a choked scream of rage. "You leave Hanna alone, Oscar or I'll..."

"Why should I?" Oscar grinned, drawing on his cigarette once more. "She isn't your mate anymore. She doesn't care about you." he dropped his cigarette and stubbed it out with the toe of his boot. "You screwed up her life, Reece. She's never going to forgive you for that."

And with that he was out of the door exactly where he came from. I turned away and rubbed the back of my head with my hands, letting Oscar's words sink in. Maverick appeared silently at my side. "What a jerk," he muttered.

"Tell me about it," I mumbled, letting just a few tears fall.

"Hey," Maverick soothed, using his finger again to wipe them away. "Just forget all about Oscar. Let me take you home."