Sincerely, Mysterious is a round one ONC qualifier!!!
This chapter is dedicated to crossing that milestone, all readers who support this book through votes, comments, shares and reading list adds, and SAM SMITH---you will understand why♡
For the maximum experience while reading this chapter, listen to 'Oasis' by Sam Smith after the scene change and be immersed directly in what my babies feel! I wanted to add the youtube video above, but wattpad doesn't let me for some reason :,)
Trying not to tear up while the world passed me by was harder than I thought. The bell went off, and broke the thick tension that came after Isabella's proclamation---the one where she passed me a curious look, as though she was trying to see if I was the one whose alter ego she just stole, to see if I would react in any way.
Maybe I should have, but it was already too late now that everyone was in motion.
I had the chance. I didn't grab it. Isabella did. It was that simple. It was that painful.
And that pain intensified in my chest when Parker glanced back at me before he walked away with her by his side, her hand grasped in his. His features were arranged in a small smile that seemed to say, "Better luck next time."
I had no idea whether there would be a next time, and I didn't have better luck come my way---not even in Algebra and History. I was in the former class with Isabella McCarthy, and even though I tried my best to concentrate, being asked to find the 'x' in every single equation wasn't the best thing. It hit too close to home---I never figured math would ever have me want to tear my hair out at the thought of finding an ex I never had, and wishing desperately to remove 'y' from the equation. 'Y' was in McCarthy. 'Y' was what I kept asking myself the entire period.
Why did she do it? Why didn't I speak up? Why had she lied even after I begged her with my eyes not to? Why was I beating myself up over it instead of confronting her? Why was I listening to the exchange between her and that other girl with the gap in her teeth? The one where they giggled and laughed and one planned to tell the other whatever happened?
But that class eventually passed, and weirdly, the motivation to get rid of that cursed variable had me scoring pretty high in the test we took.
My head swam through the extensive talk of dead people and how they shaped society into what it was now, and History was History pretty quickly.
Usually, I looked forward to Lunch. I sat with Micky, Anashi and Akio, a table away from where Parker usually sat with his friends. He wasn't there today. And Isabella wasn't at her table either.
I tried not to think anything of it while I bit into one of the oatmeal cupcakes I brought. Just because they both weren't there didn't mean they were together, right?
That bite was the only one I took until I got nauseated by the next thing my eyes fell on. I was wrong, very wrong. The implications of the change were exactly what I had been driving at, because they were indeed together. Alone together. Together alone. At that table which had been left abandoned in the corner because of the extensive sunlight, which flooded the area every day.
I couldn't swallow anything down, my throat drying up while my eyes watered at the sight of them talking, and giggling, and touching. Isabella's head was propped up on her hand as she stared at Parker with a smile as he said something, her other hand moving to turn his face towards her, convincing him to take a bite out of the apple she picked up. He did so eagerly.
I was going to retch. I couldn't stomach the thought that it could have been me over there with Parker, isolated and in our own company, basking in the spotlight the sun bestowed and laughing over anything and everything, holding hands and almost kissing that one time his head tilted a bit too close, running my fingers over the fading stroke of the marker---which had never looked lighter.
"Dude, you okay?" Micky asked, breaking me out of my head by poking and poking until I faced him.
"I am," I managed to blurt out.
"You kinda spaced out a little there," he observed, looking at me closely. "And you haven't touched your food. Which is very strange for you, actually."
"Because I'm not hungry." I didn't mean to snap at Micky at my folly, nor did I mean to grab the attention and gazes of students to myself. I didn't even bother to check if Parker and Isabella were included. The longer I stayed, the more likely it was that I was going to vomit. Or cry. Or both. "I'm gonna go to the quad."
"Eh alright..." Micky stared at me with worry while Anashi avoided my gaze and Akio just continued eating. "Can I have one cupcake though? And the apple?" he asked.
"Yes, Micky."
I grabbed my backpack from the bench and left the cafeteria, only to meet Laura a few feet away from the door. She gestured wildly to me and pulled me aside, a grimace on her face when the hand which lay on my shoulder got stained with a stray tear.
"I'm so sorry, Adrian. I had no idea he was texting someone the whole--- " Laura started in consolation, squeezing my shoulder. Way to remind me of the one thing I didn't want to talk about.
I interrupted her, my voice croaky from the dryness that scraped at my throat. "I did."
"You knew Parker and Isabella have a thing going on?"
Clenching my teeth, I inhaled sharply. The tears were menacingly close now, and I had to lower my gaze so Laura wouldn't see them. "I know they didn't. And that whoever he has it with is not Isabella."
"What do you mean it's not? They're both---"
I swallowed a lump which formed in my throat. "It's me, Laura. I'm the one he's been texting. I can show you if you don't believe me."
Even though her expression was sceptical and a little reluctant with taking in the information, Laura still walked to the cafeteria door and looked through the windows, taking a while before she said, "Then go ahead and tell him, Adrian! He's right there."
Right there with Isabella. "I can't."
"I will drag you there myself if I have to." She reached for my hand, which I tucked into my pocket.
"Laura, look at them. They look happy. And they fit each other, I guess. I don't even know if Parker likes guys." My shoulders fell as I dug my teeth into my bottom lip, turning away before the burning in my eyes could roll down my face.
"Before now, no one knew whether he liked girls either. Parker's never shown interest in anyone until you---or your fictional character---whatever."
Fictional. Mystery wasn't real, wasn't even me. "You think---"
"That came out wrong." She winced before regaining her posture. "Besides, he probably doesn't like girls and is only entertaining Isabella out of pity."
I get that Laura said that to make me feel better about things, but I could only think of one thing: if Parker didn't like guys, he would also have been entertaining me out of pity too. Maybe it was a good thing I hadn't been able to move or speak. The only thing worse than someone not feeling the same way about you, was them liking you out of pity.
She must have read my thoughts through my expression because the next thing she said was "Oh no, Adrian, I didn't mean it like that." Her hands went around me, and she pressed me into a hug I didn't know I needed. "You're a great person, and I'm sure Parker will think that too. Consider letting him know, okay?"
I went home with the thought nagging at the back of my mind. I couldn't tell whether it would be worth it, so I spent the evening pining in bed while the setting sun splayed an array of colours on the wall before darkness settled as Jellybean laid next to me, purring softly at every stroke of her fur.
My eyelids were halfway shut when my phone pinged, jolting me awake and scaring away any feeling of sleep. Jellybean didn't like the sound as she hopped off the bed with a startled hiss. I couldn't blame her, I didn't like the message that came with it either.
Parks: did you enjoy the movie?
Movie? Oh, right. Parker was supposed to hang out with Mystery. I guessed Isabella got to, and they went out to watch a movie. Or maybe they stayed in? Maybe she went to his house, and they had Netflix on as a background sound while they---no. I didn't need to think about that. But then why else would he ask if she enjoyed it? That sounded like code for something they did. Oh God.
Under the weight of those thoughts and the crippling fear of whatever undertone the text might have held, I took the high road and typed a reply I figured was the best response. If I would enjoy watching a movie with Parker, Isabella might too.
Me: Yeah.
Parks: cools! are you home?
That meant they went out, right? They didn't stay in and do anything aside from watching a movie. Or maybe they stayed inside---at Parker's. And maybe he was asking this because she would obviously leave after? Ugh, the longer I thought, the worse the options appeared.
Me: Just got here.
Parks: oh ok. did your dad complain or anything?
Me: No, actually. He even said to tell you thank you.
I found the last message I sent stupid. Thank him for what? And I felt Parker found it just as stupid, or even weird, because the text was marked as seen for a long time.
Waiting for a reply was agonising, because Parker didn't send another message immediately. Text bubbles popped up and disappeared after a while, only to pop up again and then melt into a blank whiteness.
Parks is typing...
More like Parks was typing and erasing and deleting and typing and erasing. More like Adrian was going to have a heart attack if Parks didn't type faster.
Even more like Adrian was going to definitely die after Park's finally finished typing.
Parks: youre not the girl i went on a date with, are you?
Cue the part where my heart raced wildly and my life---mainly memories of that morning---flashed before my eyes as I clutched my chest and succumbed to the white light, with Jellybean as the only witness.
It was a miracle I was able to text back.
Me: Um, why do you ask?
Parks: because i took her to her front door myself. and she mentioned her parents divorced so she lives with just her mom
Me: Oh...
Parks: Mystery were you even there when i searched for you this morning?
Me: I was there.
Parks: then why did you stay away?
Me: You might reject me.
Parks: i didn't reject Isabella, did i?
Me: She's Isabella, not me.
Parks: God, why do you think I'll reject you if i know who you are?
Me: Because you probably will.
Parks: that's bullshit. i won't. you think id go through all the trouble just to ignore you in the end?
He had a point. Still...
Me: Well, no. But you went on a date with her.
Parks: thats because i thought she was you! i suspected it when she didnt have a clue about my marker tattoo even though i told you about it yesterday.
Me: At least you enjoyed the date.
Parks: it was okay. Isabella's cool and all, but its not her im after. its you. and is it okay if i call you though? like right now?
Me: Call me?
Parks: you dont have to talk. i just want to know youre there. and like youre not a bot or something.
Me: I can assure you I'm real.
Parks: thats what a bot would say. besides, youd have made a move today if you were real. you had the perfect chance
Me: Yeah, but you make me nervous :(
And everyone was looking.
Parks: everyones not looking now, are they?
Me: Fine. You can call.
In a second, my phone started to vibrate in my hand, and I rushed to untangle my earphone before I picked up, immediately switching off video so it diverted to a voice call.
"Hey, Mystery," Parker said, and I could swear my ears tingled from the intensity of his voice and the smile I could hear it.
Me: Hi, Parker.
I flipped onto my stomach, holding my phone steady and trying to slow the pace of my shallow breaths, and my heart pulsed in my chest like it wanted out.
"Whoa, I can hear you breathing," he stated, his voice quickly falling as he added, "and now I can't."
His laughter was undertone with concern. "You're not gonna die on me, are you?"
Me: I'm not.
Not intentionally, anyway.
"Good," he replied.
His voice was a melody, so smooth and rich that it was as if he was right there, whispering to me like the music that pulsed from speakers on his end.
Me: What's that song in the background?
"Oh, it's eh, Fire on Fire by Sam Smith. You like it?"
Me: Very much.
"Lemme turn it up so you can hear it better. It's one of my favorite songs by Sam, they make the best music," Parker said with a heady sigh, followed by a crackle that came when I figured he fell back in his bed. "Their voice makes you feel you've fallen in love a thousand times in a thousand parallel universes. When in reality, you haven't? And the farthest you've gone is one-way voice calls for someone who you suspect is a bot."
I burst out in laughter, which wasn't just a surprise to Parker, but to me as well. My hand quickly went up to my mouth to suppress the vibrant sound when I realized I should have stayed quiet. Or even turn my mic off. Parker's compliment had me decide against it.
"Wow, you just made the cutest sound at the pitiful explanation of my love life," he said with laughter of his own. "You have a really nice laugh. And you're not a bot too."
The song ended with his words, and the flowing beat gave way to the silence of the night and Parker's even breaths.
Me: Thank you. Is this the only one you have?
"Nah, I have several playlists with songs like this. You wanna listen to them?"
Me: Why not?
"Exactly," he said just as a more subtle, mellow tune started with the strumming of a guitar after a beat of silence and fumbling. "This one is also by Sam, because they're an icon---keep that in mind, Mystery. It's called My Oasis, and it features this Nigerian, Burna Boy."
Shortly, Sam's voice flowed out in the most soothing waves, drowning out any other sounds and filling my ears and heart and lungs, rendering me light and weightless. It suspended me in the sort of heaven only music could provide.
Me: I love this one.
"Getting that thousand falls in love feeling?" he asked.
Me: Definitely.
Parker sighed, almost in tune with Sam Smith's last chorus. "I'll send you every single playlist I made. Would you like that?"
Me: I would. A lot.
"Great." A pause. "Do you know something? This song makes me realize you're my oasis, Mystery. You're playing tricks on me, and I feel like there's really nothing I can do when it comes to you." He sang the last bit with Burna boy, eliciting another short laugh from me. It stopped as he added, "You'll never tell me who you are, will you?"
Now it was Mysterious who was typing and deleting and typing, indecisive and clueless and a thousand times in love.
Me: I'm considering it.
The guitar strummed again as the song played on repeat. And I was almost not sure if Parker ever said those words as my eyelids fell closed. "Consider it faster."
Word count: 2686
In my opinion, sharing playlists is a supreme form of love😌
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