Thorns

26 - Rai

"U askin m on a date again? Hey now. Im a little busy these days, but I think I can squeeze u in my schedule. Wht about 'cariño'? Or 'mi amor'? Does 'mi vida' sound nice?"

"Its not a date! We never had a date. U ruined d 1st 1, rmbr? Besides, its just a security measure. If my car isnt good enough t drive, I could accidentally hit u 1 day. Wdnt d world cry tears of blood if tht happened? D grand almighty Raimundo Vega dead?! Cant let tht happen, can we? & u call m any of those things, Ill shove my fist so far in ur face ull b tasting my nail polish for weeks!"

"Its not ur fist I want in my mouth, & its not ur nail polish I want t taste. Try again. I give u a hint: its somethin in ur face, under ur nose & above ur chin."

I looked at her when she read my reply. To say that she got all red and embarrassed was an understatement. She actually shoved her phone back on her coat, made sure no one saw her put it away, and curled into herself for the rest of the English class. Never once she looked back at me. Good. She was now getting' the Rai treatment: I'd be so far in her face that before she knew it, she couldn't even breathe without me.

When we got out of class, I followed Whitney to her locker. She was walkin' like she had the devil followin' her steps, and maybe she did. She opened the blue metal door and shoved her books inside.

"Didn't get the hint?" I teased, and she jumped on her feet, a little shriek came out of her perfect heart-shaped lips "Hey, there! No need to get nervous."

"Shut up, you... Ugh! Just go away!" She moaned, pickin' her notebooks and pens from the floor.

I sighed and bent down to help her.

"Look, for real now. You want me to take a look at your car? How 'bout after class? I'll go to your place and check it out, ok?" I asked, tryin' to calm her down, 'cause her hands were movin' too quickly for my taste "Whitney? Are you listenin'?"

"I'm trying not to make a scene" She whispered, not lookin' up.

"What?" I asked, confused, and then looked around us.

Oh crap... Got it.

Everyone was starin' at us like we were some freaks in a carnival. They passed by and whispered to each other. What were they sayin'? I was just helpin' her pick her stuff up, it's not like I'm gonna hurt her, or anythin'! I may be a Cuervo but I'm no wife beater. I'd rather have my ass kicked by the Rice Eaters than ever hurt any woman. That included Whitney.

"Portia texted me." She whispered again when we got up, but she still didn't look at me "There's a rumor around saying we are... a thing. They say we've been going around for a while but just kept it low profile. And someone confirmed that 'cause they saw us having dinner together. Isn't that great?"

"So what?" I asked, frownin', and she stopped tidyin' her locker to look at me with a really stunned expression.

"So what?" She repeated, closin' her locker "So what, Rai?! People think we" She gestured for both of us with her forefinger "are together! As in together together! You really don't get it?!"

"What d'you care what they think?" I groaned, lowerin' my face to meet her stare, and I heard her breathin' stop "You think what any of these people think will matter someday, in your life? News flash, Whitney Gordon: these fuckers could think you're Hitler himself, it wouldn't matter. To me, it wouldn't matter. You know why? 'Cause I see you. I see the girl that could be a great woman if she just stopped givin' a fuck about what anyone else thinks. At the end of the day, Copper Girl, all you gotta do is look yourself in the mirror and make sure that what you see there is what you truly are. 'Cause I see it, but you make it really hard for me to believe if it's not just wishful thinking." I sighed when I saw the hallway was as quiet as a church, and every eye was on me and the girl at my reach, and yet as far as the next galaxy "Look, when you figure your shit out, I'm here, 'till then, don't bother getting' friendly. I've had it."

I left her there and just walked towards my next class. Whatever. If she wanted to be the popular perfect girl with the perfect group of friends, I've had it. The girl I wanted wasn't some frigid bitch that cared about what other people think – especially people that were nothin' to her.

***

"That was some show today," Nacio said, while we walked around the neighborhood, on our watch.

"Yeah" I mumbled, lightenin' another cigarette; I was so fuckin' nervous I'd smoked half a pack already.

"You're into the girl, right? Like, really into her" He asked, but this time he was serious, no shittin' me.

"Yeah." I sighed, as I leaned into a car on the dark and poorly illuminated street "I really like her."

"So... what's with the free show in the hall, this mornin'?"

I sighed again and rubbed my eyes with my palms. My head was hurtin' like I'd been kicked over and over.

"She cares about the stares. She cares about the whispers and the bad looks and the social media fuckin' gossip."

"Ouch." Nacio said, wincing "I bet she's much different from what one sees in school. Or you wouldn't give her the time of day."

"Yeah..." I whispered, rememberin' the way she cried in my arms when she was drunk "She's different. She's funny as hell, she's sweet. She's... God, she's so cute! But she's hard, don't get me wrong, she's as tough as nails."

"And you're crazy about her" Nacio assured me, and I saw him smile, but not all cocky, he was actually pleased.

"You know that feeling deep in your stomach? They say it's butterflies but it's not. For me, it's like a grenade explodin' every time I see her. I never felt like that before, and I don't even know how it's possible for me to feel anythin' remotely close to this ever again."

"Man... that's some heavy shit" Nacio whispered, and we both looked at the moon in the cold sky above our heads.

"Do you know she has a tattoo?" I chuckled, and Nacio let out a Spanish curse, skeptical "She does. It's awesome. And you know... she slapped me a few weeks ago."

"What?!" My friend roared, and I laughed "You're crazy, man. Real bottom down crazy."

"Yeah... She slapped me, fired me, and called me – if I can recall – disgusting and repulsive" I told my friend, still grinnin' like a fool.

"So, obviously, you're totally enamorado de esa chica," Nacio said.

"Obviously."