I woke up and rubbed my sleepy eyes. "Momma," I called, grinning as she stepped through my door.
"Yes, honey," she said. Her hair was tied up into a pony tail.
"What are we doing today?" I asked.
"Well, you have to go to school, but after that, nothing really," she said.
"Oh, okay. That's good because I want to go prince shopping," I said, throwing the blankets off of me and skipping to my mom's side. I hugged her leg.
Mom laughed. "Prince shopping?"
"Yes, mommy," I said, letting go of her and twirling around in a circle. "I had a dream that I was Cinderella last night. I was dancing with a handsome prince. I woke up just before he slid the glass slipper on my foot."
She laughed and picked me up. "Honey, come here!" she yelled into the hallway.
Daddy came to stand by her and she relayed my message to him. He gave me a look and took me from momma. "I think you're too young for a prince, Kye," he said.
I rolled my eyes at him. "Daddy, I'm almost six. I'm plenty old enough."
Momma and daddy both started laughing at that.
A loud bang awoke me. I pulled my head off of something hard and opened my eyes. I looked around. This was definitely not Max's room. "Is my class that boring?" Nick asked me.
I gave him a confused look. What was Nick doing here? Wait, the hard thing was my desk. People were staring at me. I looked beside me. Max was holding in his laughter. I shot him a glare. "Actually," I started. "It is quite boring."
Some of the guys starting laughing. The girls all gasped.
"I don't think your class is boring!" "Neither do I!" they all started shouting.
I saw Nick holding back a small laugh before he turned around and walked to the front of the classroom.
As soon as he turned around, I slapped Max on the shoulder.
"Ow!" he exclaimed, rubbing the spot. "What was that for?"
"For not keeping me awake. You know I hate Romeo and Juliet!" I said.
Max laughed. "I couldn't. You were just so tired, and you're cute when you sleep."
I glared at him.
"Kyler, come here please," Nick said. I approached his desk.
"Yes, sir!" I said, saluting the teacher. The guys laughed again. The girls glared.
"Please turn around and tell the class why you were sleeping," Nick said.
I gave him a confused look. "Why?" I asked.
Nick shrugged. I turned to the class. "I was tired," I said.
Nick cleared his throat. "Why were you so tired?" I turned around and gave him another confused look.
"Why?" I asked again. Nick shrugged.
I looked back at the class. They were looking just as confused as I was. I looked back at Nick again. An idea came to my head and I smirked. "Fine!" I said in an over dramatic voice. "I'll tell you why I was so tired." I looked at all the students. They looked at me like I was crazy. "Max and I had a prettyt wild night," I said as casually as possible. I kept my face straight and walked to my seat. I faced Nick and he looked like he had seen a ghost. Max was smirking at him. The guys were whooping and the girls were staring wide eyed at me. I kept my face serious.
"Um, ok," Nick said. His voice cracked and he cleared it. "Hey, guys!" he tried again. This time he got our attention. As soon as everyone's eyes were taken off us, Max and I burst out into fits of silent laughter. We high fived under the desks.
I pulled a piece of paper out of my binder and scribbled down a message for Max.
That was weird.
He grabbed the paper from me and wrote his reply. Very. I bet he wanted you to say something like, "I had a hot date with a total hottie!"
I snorted and closed my binder.
"Is there something funny about Romeo and Juliet, Miss Cast?" Nick said. He was kind of glaring at me. I was a bit taken aback.
"Yes," I said. I narrowed my eyes. "I find it funny that Romeo was just in love with another girl two seconds before he met Juliet. He's a player. The friar even tells him he thinks he's crazy. Not to mention that he creeps on her. I mean, really, sneaking into her castle and for a ball or whatever, and then watching her from her balcony. Kind of weird, wouldn't you agree?" I asked him. He had no right to be so snippy.
"Calm down," Max said in my ear. I nodded my head and took a few deep breaths. Why was I getting so worked up?
"Going to the ball was Benvolio's idea," Nick said. He wasn't glaring any more, but I could tell he was still upset.
"Well, Bevolio didn't 'fall in love' with a much younger girl," I replied. "Jail bait, if you would," I added after a seconds paused.
Max squeezed my hand. "That's enough," he whispered into my ear. I'd told him about the little nickname Nick had given me.
Nick stared at me for a second. His face was blank. "Thanks for sharing," he said after a second. "If you will excuse me, I have to go borrow a movie from a teacher upstairs. Kayla, you're in charge." Nick excited the classroom and my heart sank. An unwanted feeling settled into my stomach. I felt sick.
"What is up with you?" Max asked.
I shrugged. "He was," I paused, searching for the right words. I turned to face Max and put my lips to his ear. "He has no right to pick on me like that," I whispered fiercely into his ear. "He knows that I wouldn't tell him all that and then go and sleep with you."
Max pulled away from me. He stared into my eyes. "Does he? I mean, I am your boyfriend."
My jaw dropped. He didn't know. I felt so close to him, but I still hadn't told him. "Crap!" I muttered. I stood up and ran to the door.
"Where are you going?" Kayla asked.
I tried to think of an excuse. I glanced at her purse. "I- purse- cramps- period!" I concluded, running the rest of the way out.
"Sorry, guys. She's weird when it's her time of the month," Max shouted out loud.
I stood outside the door. I was going to find Nick, but I didn't have to go far. He was standing there as well.
"What the heck?" I said, running into him.
His arms shot out to steady me. His face was empty. He looked kind of... depressed.
"A-a-are you o-okay?" I asked him.
"Kyler, please go take a seat," he said. His voice was hollow.
"No," I said. My eyebrows pulled together and I placed a hand on his arm. "What is wrong with you?"
Nick turned around and motioned for me to follow. He was in teacher mode, so it just looked like he needed me to go with him somewhere.
He opened the door to the supply closet and motioned for me to go in. I did. He closed the door behind him, and took a few steps toward me. He got so close that I backed up. My back hit a shelf. He kept walking in my direction. Soon, his body was pressed up against mine. "Do you think it's okay to play with someone's feelings?" he asked me.
I looked up at him. "What are you-" I stopped myself. The Max thing. "Nic- Mr. Gosling, it's not what you think. I was joking. I would never hurt you like that."
"What about the jail bait thing? Kyler, I told you how I felt, well, pretty much did, and-"
"Why did you make me stand in front of the class today?" I asked him, changing the subject.
He shrugged. I waited for him to reply. He sighed after a moment. "You're cute when you're nervous," he said in a small voice.
He looked down at me. His eyes burned into mine. I tried to remember why I was mad at him, but I couldn't. Was it even that important?
"I'm sorry," I said. "Max and I didn't do anything last night. Or any other night. I was out of line." I placed my eyes on the floor.
Nick's hand appeared under my chin. He lifted my head up and looked into my eyes again. His face moved towards mine. I could feel his hot breath on my face. His body pushed into mine. His lips grazed mine. I thought he would stop there, but he pressed them harder against mine.
White hot flames erupted on my skin. They started on my lips then slid down my throat. They moved through my blood and eventually got to my heart. It started beating faster. I pulled on the front of his shirt, trying to bring him closer, but that was impossible. He wrapped his arm around my waist, and lifted my feet of the ground a bit. His tongue traced the outline of my lips and I held in a gasp. I opened my mouth a little. He pulled away from me as soon as I did.
He stood there, breathing heavily. His messy hair fell into his face and I pushed it back. He closed his eyes and kissed my cheek, slowly pulling away. This thumb traced the spot. "Meet me," he said. I nodded. "3:45 at the park. Wear something warm." He touched his lips to mine once for. It only lasted a second, but the feeling of his lips took my breath away.
I decided not to go back to class after that. I had said some pretty embarrassing things, and it would be weird seeing Nick again after that.
I opened the door to the closet and stuck my head out. I didn't see anyone in sight so I walked to the bathroom. I sat in there until I heard the bell ring. How many classes until school ended?
*
I rushed into the house as soon as Max pulled into the driveway. I ran up the stairs and into his room. I pulled out a black t-shirt and a pair of purple skinny jeans from his closet. I pulled on the clothes and then slid into my Mayday Parade hoodie. I threw my new coat over my arm and ran back outside. I jumped into the car and Max started down the road.
"This was in the mail," he said, handing me a package. I grinned at my new phone. "Set it up and then put my number in it. Text or call when you're ready to come home."
I laughed at him. "Thanks, dad," I said.
Max laughed. He pulled over. We were still a few yards from the park. "Thanks," I said, kissing him quickly on the cheek. It was already 3:40.
"I invited Luke over," Max said. I stopped getting out of the car. "He's coming at four."
I smiled. "Aw, Max. I'm so proud of you." I gave him a big hug and he laughed.
"I'm going to rent movies and stuff. Gosh, I'm so nervous," he said, tightening his hands on the steering wheel.
"You'll be fine. Luke likes you. A lot," I said. Max smiled. "Good luck. I know you'll sweep him off his feet." I opened the door and stepped out. I blew Max a kiss and he drove in the direction of the movie rental place. I shoved my hands in my pockets and walked towards the park.
When I got there, Nick was nowhere in site. I sat down on a bench and pulled my hood up to sheild my ears from the wind. I opened my new phone box and pulled it out. It was glorious in my hands. It only took about a minute to set it up and put Max's number in. I shoved it in my back pocket and waited for Nick.
Suddenly, my hood was plucked from my head. I turned my head around to glare at the person, but there was no one there. I leaned back against the bench. I was about to pull my phone out of my pocket when two hands touch either side of my waist. I jumped off the bench with a yelp. Behind me, Nick was smirking. "Did I find your spot?" he asked.
"My spot?"
He walked toward me. His hands outstretched and grabbed my sides. He started tickling me. I died laughing immediately, trying to run away at the same time.
Finally, I broke free and ran behind the slide. "I found your spot!" Nick declared.
I laughed. "Stay over there," I said when he tried to come back to me.
"No way! I just found your tickle spot." He looked around. He pointed to a random guy walking down the street. "Hey!" he yelled at the man. "I just found her spot!"
The man looked disgusted and walked away abruptly.
I laughed at Nick. He was like a little kid. He tried to walk over to me again, but I dashed to the swings. "Come on, let me try it out again," he said.
I gave him a look. "No way!"
He chased after me. I yelped and ran. I ran all around the playground equipment until a mother brought her son to play, then I made a mad dash up the hill. Nick caught up with me and tackled me to the ground.
"Please don't!" I said, out of breath from all the running. He smirked down at me. He was sitting on top of me. I watched his chest move up and down while he caught his breath.
"Now, I have something to use against you," he said, staring down at me.
I smiled up at him, narrowing my eyes. "You wouldn't dare," I said.
"Oh, I would." He brought his hands down to my side. I gasped and got ready for the tickles but they never came. Instead, he leaned down and kissed my lips softly. His hands moved from my sides to either side of my head. He pressed against my lips with a force. I smiled against his lips. It had to be illegal to be as happy as I was in that moment.
I turned my head to the side and he trailed his lips from my ear to my neck. "Hey," I said. "Look."
I pointed to the sky and he sat up. In the tree that we had met under a dew days ago, there was a nest. Nick laid down beside me and grabbed my hand. We stared up at the nest for a moment, then a bird flew in and settled down.
"Do you think it has eggs in there?" I asked Nick.
"I don't know. I don't know much about birds," he responded, looking thoughtfully at the bird.
I let out a content sigh and looked at the clouds. Nick let out a laugh. "I never thought I'd be the other man," he said.
I smiled up at the clouds. I let out a laugh of my own. He wasn't the other man. There was no other man.
I turned my head back to him. "When did you have time to change?" I asked, after realizing he wasn't in slacks and a button up. He was wearing a graphic tee and black skinny jeans with a hoodie over top. He looked my age when he wore normal clothes.
"It's why I was late. I could have sworn it only took me five minutes to get here," he said.
"How long did it take you?"
"Twenty."
I laughed at him. "You were a bit off," I said, tapping my shoe against his. He tapped back.
"My mom told me I was never good with time. She told my a story once about a time that I was helping her bake a cake. The box said twenty minutes. Well, being the independent kid that I was, I decided to estimate. An hour later, the firemen were at out apartment and I swore it had only been ten minutes."
I smiled. "You haven't told me about your mom," I said. "That was the first time."
He nodded. "She moved out when I was seven," he said. After a slight pause, he continued. "Dad was so upset. I wouldn't call her and tell her that though. He just confided in me. She came back when I was twelve though." He smiled. "Dad was so happy."
I smiled. "That's great," I said, sliding my head closer to his.
"Not really," he began again. "She cheated on him a couple times. That's why they moved. They needed a fresh start."
"That's why you got so upset today," I said in a small voice. Guilt flooded me. I rolled over and threw my arm around his waist. He pulled my head into his chest.
"That's also why I can't believe I'm the other man," he said into my hair.
I grabbed a fist full of his shirt. Poor Nick. I'm so selfish.
"Let's go for a walk," he said suddenly, sitting up. He pulled me up after he was on his feet.
"Oh, wait," I said, looking around. "I left my coat somewhere."
He pointed down to the bench. It was sitting where I had been. "We can put it in my car. I don't think you need it yet."
I nodded and bounded down the hill, hand in hand.
*
"When I was five," I said, throwing a rock into the pond. Nick's idea of a walk was going to the other side of the hill where there was a small pond. We were sitting in the grass, throwing in rocks. "I told my mom that I wanted to go prince shopping because I had a dream that I was Cinderella."
He smiled at me. "That's cute."
I smiled, looking down at the grass. "It was what I was dreaming about when I was asleep today," I said.
Nick laughed. "I still can't believe you fell asleep. I debated on waking you up or not because you looked so peaceful."
"So why did you?" I asked.
"Ray was plotting something. He kept looking at you then back me. I tried to pretend I didn't notice him. Then, I saw him grab something from his bag. It was a pen."
I nodded. "Thanks, then," I said. "I shouldn't have gone to sleep anyway. I just really hate Romeo and Juliet."
He laughed. "I've heard."
I blushed. I was so out of line today. How could I have acted like that? "Why do I do things?" I asked, slamming my forehead into my palm.
Nick grabbed my hand away from my face. He replaced it with his lips. "I finished that book," he stated. I was thankful for the change of subject.
"How'd you like it?" I asked.
He laughed again. I loved the look he got when he laughed. His mouth opened and his eyes and nose scrunched up. "It was different," he started. "I wouldn't normally read mushy romance stuff, but it was good."
"It was a romance?" I asked.
He pulled my head to his face and kissed my hair.
"How's Ms. Anderson?" I said suddenly. I'd forgotten all about her in the past few weeks.
Nick's face fell. "She's better."
I laughed. "Then why are you frowning?"
"I don't mean to be. I'm glad that she's okay, but she'll be coming back in November."
That was less than a month away. "That's sooner than she expected," I said, remembering the first day of school.
"Yeah, it wasn't half as bad as the doctors expected."
I thought about Ms. Anderson. She really looked bad. I was surprised she was going to be back so soon. After a moment, something dawned on me. "Wait, if she comes back, then you-"
"Yeah," he said. He sighed. That's why his face fell.
"What happens then?" I asked.
"Well, I have to go back to school and finish up. I dropped all my courses to help her out. The university said that they would cut down my classes this summer so I could graduate ealier though, because I have experience now."
That wasn't so bad. "Where do you go to college?" I asked him. There was still a lot that I didn't know.
"Florida," he responded. Crap. "That's another reason why mom and dad moved down there."
Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap. "Crap."
Nick laughed. "We've got a whole month left. I probably won't even have to start classes until summer anyway. Maybe you can come see me," he said. He put his arm around my shoulders. I leaned into him.
"Kyler," Nick said after a moment. "If you weren't with Max... I would ask you something right now."
I pulled my head away from him and looked at him. "What?"
Nick shrugged. "Well, I've never really asked before. Girls always just assume things." I pulled my eyebrows together, not quite understanding him. "I've asked girls on dates plenty of times, but I've never really had...a real... girlfriend," he said, staring out over the pond.
I pulled my phone out of my back pocket. I tapped the 'Create Message' button. Yes or No. I sent to Max.
"What are you doing?" Nick asked me. I didn't reply.
My phone buzzed. What?
Yes or No. I sent again.
Yes.
I tucked the phone away in my pocket.
"Ready?" I asked Nick.
He looked at me. His eyebrows pulled together. He made an 'O' shape with his mouth. I laughed and kissed him lightly on the cheek.
I turned to face him. He did the same. "Only four people know about this. Two of them being Max's parents. Please, do not flip out," I said, looking down at my hands.
"What ar-"
"When my mom died," I started. "Things got a little rocky for me. My dad, he, uh, he began drinking. Heavily. I didn't know why. I mean, I'd never even seen alcohol before then. Well, other than on TV."
Nick nodded. His brows pulled together slightly. I cupped his cheek for a second, then let my hand fall back into my lap. "A year or two after that, he would get really mad at me. I tried to be the best daughter I could, but he would get so mad.
He would leave me alone for most of the night while he was at bars. One day, he came home, and," my voice broke. I coughed and continued on. "He slapped me. He said that I didn't do all the things he said. He said that I didn't do them right."
I looked away from my lap and back at Nick. He was slowly moving his head from side to side. I smiled at him. "I didn't tell anyone for a long time. I took it upon myself to punish myself for what I had done wrong and what I let happen to me. Finally, I told Max." Nick sat there for a minute. He didn't even blink.
"Where- what- why-" he started.
"I live with Max now. I mean, I go back to my dad's occasionally, but it doesn't end well," I said.
"Why hasn't Max done something?" Nick said. His voice shook. His eyes were full of anger.
"I told him not to," I said simply.
Nick shook his head back and forth. "What? Why?" He stopped for a second. "The love thing, you guys were talking about your dad." I nodded. My eyes weren't focusing on anything, they were just open. "Kyler, that's not love."
I blinked a few times, looking into his eyes. "No, it wouldn't be love if he ignored me all the time. He loves me. He just, he's changed."
Nick turned away from me. "Gosh!" he shouted. He threw a handful of rocks at the water. He paused for a second. "What did you mean when you said you took it upon yourself to punish yourself?"
I looked at my lap. Maybe now wasn't the best time to tell him. I should have thought it over a bit more. I shrugged. What if he got mad? What if he left? Max got mad. He almost left. My eyes filled up with tears.
"Kyler, what did you do?" Nick asked again. He lifted my head up with his hands.
I adverted my eyes. "Nothing," I said. A few tears spilled over.
"Kyler," he said again.
I tried to keep the tears in. "Please don't get mad at me," I said. I held them in as long as I could. They just kept seeping out. I blinked to try to get rid of them, but they started flwoing uncontrollably. "Please don't get mad and leave."
Nick looked at me. His face looked surprised. He scooped me up. I was sitting in his lap begging him to stay. Tears were steadily falling. I had no hope of stopping them.
"Kyler," Nick whispered. "I'm not going anywhere. I don't care if you stop wanting me, or move ten thousand miles away. I'll always be there."
I shook my head. "No," I said, choking on a sob. I tried to stop them, but it was impossible. "Even Max got mad. He threatened to leave, but I begged him."
"Kyler, he stayed didn't he? I know he stayed. He's still with you. Just like I'll be here with you. I'm not going anywhere, I swear."
I still shook my head.
"I swear, Kyler. I'll be here. I won't get mad. I'll stay right here," Nick kept whispering.
After he said it a few times, the tears stopped coming. I tried to get my breathing back to normal. I didn't regret telling Nick, but I wish I would have planned it.
His arms were wrapped around me and he was rocking back and forth. Max did the same thing for me. I settled my head against his chest.
My arms were laying in my lap. My palms were facing up. Slowly, I took my right hand and grapsed the sleeve of my left. I pulled up the jacket, revealing five scars on my pale skin. My arms were so white from not seeing sunlight in such a long time.
Nick stopped rocking me. I didn't even want to look up into his eyes.
His fingers slowly grazed the ruined skin. He lifted up the other sleeve. He ran his index finger along each cute.
Finally, I lifted my eyes to his face. He was looking at my arms. He lifted my left one up. Slowly, he pressed the skin to his lips. His kissed them so softly that I barely felt it at all. A single little tear slid down his cheek with he placed my arm back in my lap.
I kissed it away before it fell off of his jaw. He wrapped his arms around me, pulling my body into his. He just held me for a long time.
"I'm not going anywhere," he finally said. "Ever."
______________
Ok, so I asked if you thought it should end here, and forgot to post it. -_- Well, I have news. I've decided it's not going to end here. I'm going to continue on with the school year and see how it goes. I already told you guys that something was going to happen. Well, it will, but not soon, so a lot of little light chapters will be placed here and there. Think of this as Part One of the story.
I found my Nick by the way. I found the guy that I picture as him down to the... well everything. I've never heard of him before, but apparently he's an actor. Yeah, so... yeah.
Also, do you think these chapters between Kye and Nick are slow? I don't know if it's because it takes me so long to write them, or if they're just uninteresting. Oh well... Wait, speaking of oh well. Mayday Parade has a song coming out tomorrow called Oh Well, Oh Well. :D Or is it today? I have weird sleeping patterns. :/ (btw, I just posted this then took it down. my italics are messed up. sorry if it gets confusing. i tried to fix it D:)
Back on track. Sorry for writing such a long author's note. VOTE and COMMENT? Because you love me? Because you want more? Eh, eh. ;D