So Darren drove us to my place first. Since I took my time fidgeting about in my locker Darren felt it was necessary to drive like a maniac to get to my place. Obviously it was more out of the way than he had initially told me because he had spent almost forty minutes as we made our way out of school trying to convince me that I looked good and that Miguel wouldn't mind if I came in school uniform.
Nevertheless I disagreed and had him drive me back anyway. I knew by now he had only said it was on the way as means to convince me to go. His driving spoke loudly enough. I wouldn't have minded so much if he wasn't using his brothers new highlighter green Volvo. I really didn't want to be responsible for whatever damages he inflicted on the vehicle.
When we reached my place it occurred to me that I had forgotten entirely what my dad would think.
See I don't have many friends and the only friends of mine dad has ever met is Darren. I had to invite him round first because dad won't let me over to anyone else's house unless he's met them first.
Actually, my dad thought he was a pretty nice guy at first. Something happened with his parents though and now he wants me away from him. I also added to his hate for Darren during the time when me and Darren were super close.
See I'm super sensitive and whenever we fought even a little bit I would go home and cry and think we would never be friends again and blab to my dad about how much of a jerk he is. Course five minutes later we would make up and once we fought again the same thing would happen. I never told my dad anything good about Darren so no wonder he hates his guts.
So what was I to do? I couldn't say I was going to Darren's, I couldn't say I was going over to another friends because he would make me invite them in first and I certainly wasn't going to tell him the truth.
Like, hey dad I'm going on a double date with Darren, the guy who mauled my neck at the party I went to without your permission, and his sister... That okay?
No.
I was going to have to be creative. And you can't get any worse at lying than me.
"Why don't you just try to go in real quiet, get your shit and not tell him anything? You can just change in the car."
I flushed a little. "I'm not changing in the damn car!"
"You're a dude! Man up! Ain't no one gonna be seeing your titties."
I gaped at him and shoved my hands in my pockets. "God, you're such an idiot I don't even have my keys!"
He groaned loudly, his hand rubbing his forehead as his eyes screwed up in irritation.
"I'll have to knock which means you should probably go back to the car because he will munch on your ass if he sees you here!" I said and he nodded, backing away slowly then turning to jog towards the car.
He slowed for a second and turned around to face me a while down the street. "Try not to be suspicious." He said.
I nodded.
"No." He said sternly. "I mean in. Mylo we all know how you get."
I rolled my eyes and turned back to the door, hearing Darrens footsteps pattering away.
I hated to admit it. But he was right. Even when I hadn't told a lie people could sense that I was about to. Well. Sense... I mean I make it obvious.
Back when I was ten I stole Darrens sparkly purple kigachum card and kid it under my pillow. The next day I went over to his house a second time and thought I was going to have to lie. He hadn't noticed it had gone missing yet but when I started shaking and sweating and getting nervous every time anyone talked to me in his house he went and checked his set and asked me if I took it and I replied with 'neah'.
I can't tell the story twice so you won't here it again.
'Neah'. That was me trying to say no.
I knocked on the door a couple times and my dad popped up and opened the door as he made his way back to his office which was situated between the kitchen and the downstairs toilet.
"Hi dad!" I said.
Stupid. Idiot. I could have slapped myself.
Okay so that might not have sounded so weird to you but it sounded insanely weird to both me and my dad. I mean for starters I rarely said hi these days, and then I said dad. I don't say dad. I say daddy. And why did I shout it? And when his back was turned and he was almost half the way away from me.
God could I fail any further?
He turned around and gave me an odd look. Shit. He knows. I felt a firm blush rise to my cheeks.
"Hello." He said.
I pursed my lips. Dammit.
"What is it." He said slowly, making his way over to me.
I looked up at him.
"Darren just tell me." He sighed. "I already saw Darren drop you off."
My eyes went wide. "You did?!"
"No but I heard a car drive here pause and drive on and then you were home. Guessed it could have been him and that just confirmed it."
"Shit dad I-"
"Just what is it?" He asked firmly.
So he didn't want me to explain. That was super okay with me.
I sprung the first awful lie that came to mind."Can I go to library with Darren? We got paired for science and-"
"Sure."
I stared at him. I stared at him some more. I cocked my head slightly.
"Really?"
He nodded.
There was a little more of a silence and I watched him curiously as though he might, at any time, pounce on me cackling saying he would never let me do that and that it was all a plan to secretly murder Darren in his sleep.
No. I'm not sure what I was expecting but I just gave him a small smile and an awkward hug and ran up to my room to change.
I pulled on a pair of loose-ish dark blue travel jeans with metal heads popping up along the sides of the pockets and down bottom and a massive green save the aliens T-shirt I'd made on holiday with my grandparents who were making charity gifts.
My initial thought was. I was not going to make a big deal out of this. I was going to go there all casual and be all not interested and go home and hope dad never notices that the library would be closed in about an hour.
However when I passed the open door into my sisters room and I saw the make up bag on the table and a little array of nail polishes on the mantel piece beside the window.. I just had to fiddle with something.
So I toyed with some of the cosmetics in the golden zip up powder bag and eventually found a brown liquid eyeliner.
I looked into the mirror and then back at the eyeliner. Slowly convincing myself that it was worth a try. And as I applied the eyeliner along top top line of my eyelashes I imagined Miguel looking at me and seeing how sexy I looked and being shocked. And afterwards I smacked myself mentally for even wanting him to like me like that despite how much I knew something like that with a man like him would never work.
I studied myself.
I couldn't deny how much I loved the look on me. It made my eyes really pop out. Like my eye color was no special deal but it made the whites of my eyes look a really clean white and they made them look so piercing.
Damn. This whole fake natural casual look was something I could really get used to.
I noted the time and ran out the door, shouting a quick thanks to my dad before slamming it shut and running over to the bright green Volvo down the road.
Darren urged me in and asked me to tell him what happened and I did as we drove.
When we made it to their place, which seemed to be only twenty minutes away, they were already standing outside on the lawn waiting for us. Well. Mae seemed to be waiting for us, Miguel seemed to be more or less absent with his eyes glued to his phone.
I couldn't miss the way his form loomed over her or how his broad muscleishous shoulders hunched in relaxation.
He was wearing a plain black long sleeved shirt, that seemed to be designed so tight and elastic it made each and ever muscle on his strong well formed chest bulge. And a loose pair of fashionably ripped black jeans with a gold and silver pocket to belt chain.
I noted his thick muscle thighs that kept him standing so tall as he made his way over to us. Damn. I wanted to see him walking like that from behind.
I had to hold my breath as he opened the door.
God was he this handsome the first time I met him or was he just becoming ever less human as time went by? He was almost radiant, in a dark and dangerous way.
I was sitting in the front with Darren in the drivers seat and I was a little puzzled when he opened our door.
I found the eyeliner seemed to have the desired effect on him as he studied my face silently and seemed to gaze at me for a while. Honestly. I felt proud just being the focus of his eye for those few minutes.
He signaled to Mae as he spoke. "Don't you wanna sit next to her?" He asked.
Darren looked at me for a second and then at her. She blushed a little and I saw Ryuu move her forwards slightly and I felt the need to let them have their way.
I got out of the car and, like a gentleman, tipped my invisible hat as I held the door open for her.
She gave me a small thanks. I almost jumped out of my skin when I felt Ryuu's hand on the small of my back, guiding me towards the back of the car and opening the door for me.
Goddamn. This should have been awkward, him treating me like some helpless 80's lady, but it was just warming me to him.
I moved to the furthest seat on the left and he sat down beside me.
I watched distracted as he buckled his seat belt and the car took off. You could really admire the perfect contours of his face with the lighting we were in. He truly was a living piece of art. I briefly wondered if anything on him was fake. I just couldn't bring myself to believe it however. Everything about him just felt too real.
I turned away.
For a while I was just watching the window when I felt eyes burning holes in the back of my head. When I turned around I came face to face with Ryuu's smoldering glare and couldn't help the fear rising in the back of my throat.
"Sorry." I said. "I mean-" What on earth was I doing? I automatically assume it was my fault? That's a new for me. "I- What..." I stumbled over my words.
God I was not eager to make conversation with the man. After all, the tongue is the opening to beautiful persons ugly insides.
"Belt up." He growled.
"Sorry?" I asked.
He growled again as he lent up close to me and reached over to pull out the seat belt from one side and click it up the the seat belt from the other. I didn't try to stop him. A part of me claimed it felt natural. The other part was too busy enjoying the excuse to admire his amazing features up close and bask in his unnatural heat.
When he was done he looked me over and gave a small satisfied smile, his eyes resting on my forehead, then cheeks, then my lips, before he pulled away and looked back out the window on his side.
Eventually I came back to my senses.
"U-uh. Tha-thanks." Okay maybe not quite back to my senses. Could I have said that in a weirder way?
He said nothing and appeared to stay perfectly still however I noticed the ever so slight nod of his head at the acknowledgment of my thanks.
Darren indulged in a conversation with Mae about their favorite all around films. I don't watch that many films so I really couldn't join in but I enjoyed watching their likes and dislikes clash so strongly. Darren was trying very hard to pretend he liked the films she did and Mae seemed to be awkwardly changing the subject every time he said he hated a film that she liked.
She seemed like a nice girl, being so careful to make sure Darren didn't get offended. I mean Darren might not be that tall but he still packed some muscle and a killer glare if you pissed him off. No one would be afraid of hurting his feelings. Yet she was treating him like a delicate darling.
They eventually agreed on a band and they immediately switched the conversation over to bands they liked. And yet once again they found nothing in common.
"What about Asian pop? You like that? I know that."
Mae nodded quickly. "Yeah I prefer music in my language most of the time." She smiled.
"So not K-pop... That would be J-pop?"
She nodded again. "So what J-pop do you know?" She asked.
The me inside was chuckling evilly. There was no way Darren could name a band. Was I getting too much joy out of this? I think I'm getting too much joy out of this.
To my surprise, after nearly six minutes of deep concentration and an immediate focus on his driving as an attempt to lead her to believe he merely had to pause to make a left turn, he came up with two bands.
"I know Red Y and Han- Hanru- Hanran Boys?" He formed it more as a question after toying with the name a bit.
I saw Ryuu purse his lips as he glared out the window.
Mae giggled. "Red Y is actually Korean."
"What? No, no way! Their song was definitely in Japanese cause I remember aski-"
Mae cut him off. "Sometimes they sing their more popular singles in Japanese as well."
"They do that?" He asked, astonished.
She hummed a yes. "So what do you know about Hanran Boys?"
"Uh, well there's six of them..."
She signaled for him to continue.
He screwed up his face as he rolled the car into an empty parking lot along the River Church road near Tikken Hall. It was in between a really drag looking edge of town and a messy sea of nettles and trees. It seemed to me as though if you made it past the nettles it could be really nice and clear within the forest, but judging by the trash gathering there, no one had really tried.
"I know one guy is like a girl. The other is also like a girl but has long hair. And then the other one has purple hair. Shit... Um.."
He parked the car.
Mae smiled a small evil smile. "Okay so what about the lead singer? What about him?"
We all jumped nearly hitting the ceiling of the car in fright when Ryuu bashed his fist into the side of the handle and possibly scared me for life.
I stared at him with wide eyes as he gave me small glare before opening the door and muttering. "We're here, let's go."
Really. That man just ordered everyone around huh.
I rose a brow in a mirror movement to Darren who was leaning over his seat and giving me a confused look that said 'he's weird isn't he?'.
I didn't notice Ryuu come round the other side and open the door on my side. When I stared at him, a small bit shocked at the motion, and just watched him slowly he glared at me.
"C'mon."
I wanted to tell him to stop treating me like a princess. But if I'm honest I enjoyed the feeling. He made me feel special to him. No. Wipe. Clean. The guy was an ass to you and he slapped you on the butt several times, no looking at the guy like a prince in shining armor because boys don't love boy's in fairy tales.
When I sat there frozen, unsure whether to go or not, he took a hold of my wrist and yanked, almost gently, out the door and onto solid ground.
I gave him a smile. Unsure of what else I was supposed to do. I was just painfully aware of how his hand remained on my wrist for such a while before eventually moving free. And then I was aware of the absence of his warm large hand.
Shit. The guy was completely taking over all of my senses and taking up all of my concentration. He made me want to climb inside myself and only see the world in peeks.
We made our way over to the so called restaurant Darren lead us to, it was, as he had formerly described it, rather shabby looking with flyers and posters all covering the front door and windows. It looked pretty shady in general.
He pushed the door. It didn't budge. I pushed the door. It didn't budge. Ryuu went to push the door, stopped, ripped off about three folds of flyers and looked through the window. The place was vacant, lights off and furnishings removed.
"It's closed." He said.
"For good." Darren replied, nodding.
"Apparently so."
"What do we do now?" I asked.
Darren gave a small smile.