Being McKenzie Prince ✔

Chapter Five

Even though it was completely corny I somehow found comfort in it. If only I could get away from home. If I could be brave enough to try.

He took Edith's hand and they started dancing. He was horrible at it. He kept stepping on her toes. He tried to twirl her in a circle and they ended up getting tangled. I started to laugh. After a few seconds Tyler walked over to me and dragged me towards them.

"I don't dance."

"Good. Neither do I." He smiled and half dragged me closer.

"This is lame"

The song changed to "Come Together" by Echosmith. In a moment like this I wished that I could forget about everything else. That my life could be this easy. Just friends dancing on the roof without a care in the world.

"Totally lame and cliché. But who doesn't love a bit of a cliché in their lives now and again?" Strangely enough this was a side to Tyler Hawkins I had not seen before. He was usually always serious. Seeing him actually have fun brought a smile to my face. Maybe he was less of a geek than I thought, but then again his dancing alone proved his nerd status.

We awkwardly moved together. He smirked down at me.

"See. This is not so bad, is it?"

"It's awful. Horrendous. I feel like I am going to die."

"Yeah. Totally." He frowned as an alarm on his phone went off.

"My break is officially over. Don't have too much fun while I'm gone." I frowned as I watched him descending the staircase next to the roof.

There was something different about Tyler. Why was he acting so not like Tyler? Or maybe he was always like this outside of school. The two or three times we have seen each other outside of school it was usually at the park or the beach. He was not like this any of those times.

"What is up with him?" I asked Edith once he left. She smiled and sighed.

"He is going through a tough time and I think that he is trying exceptionally hard to remain positive."

"Going through a tough time?" I raised my eyebrow.

"He will have to tell you about it when he is ready." She walked towards the edge of the roof.

I bit my lip and thought about what Tyler might be going through. I wondered if he was in some kind of trouble. Tyler was a closed book when it came to his family. We have never been to his house or even met his family. I knew better than to question him. The same way I do not like to talk about my mom or Goliath.

"Did I ever tell you why I moved here?"

"Um. No. Why?"

Edith looked at the ocean and it looked like she was lost in her memories.

"Where I used to live I was bullied and the whole town treated me like an outcast. At school everyone would go out of their way to humiliate me. No one really helped me. I think I would have been able to handle the bullying if it was just me, but they involved my best friend. He was...He was bullied because he was my friend." Her voice faltered and I swallowed. I suddenly got the feeling that this story did not have a happy ending.

We are all living some kind of story waiting to be told.

"Just by associating with me they made his life horrible. I remember this one time they tied him to the flagpole in just his boxers. They refused to untie him when the bell rang. They threw him with trash and other things. The one kid...went as far as to...urinate on him. The bullying got worse and worse. One day...James got a hold of his father's gun and he brought it to school. He did not really know how to use it, but he did not really have to. Two kids were injured and one teacher. Three kids were killed including himself." She rubbed the tears away.

"I could not save him. Sorry. I did not mean to get all emotional. I...I couldn't stay there, not after what happened. The town said I planned it, that I told him to do it. I know that it is not right to run away, but if I did not leave, I would have never really found myself. I probably sound like a hypocrite for saying this, but Mac, running away from this is not an option. I want to help you. If ever you need someone, just know that I am here."

"You and Tyler as just full of support tonight."

"We care about you."

I had a witty comment in the back of my mind, but instead I surprised myself.

"Thank you." She smiled and hugged me.

My phone started to buzz. It was a text from Skye. I opened it and it felt like someone had knocked the air out of me.

"She said yes."

"Well that is just perfect. My brother asked Natasha out and she said yes."

Edith looked shocked, almost like someone had punched her in the stomach.

"I guess that is good. I guess he likes her then. Wow...I...I..."

"I know. She is trouble Edith. This is not going to end well." I wanted to scream my frustrations away. What did it matter? What difference would it make? Like a nightmare. I could scream and no sound would come out.

Natasha would only complicate our already complicated life.