"-Anne,"
She slowly opened her eyes, the light making it hard to get up. Her body felt so heavy, her neck stiff. She groaned as she felt the hard floor underneath her hand.
"Roxanne, oh my gosh, you had me worried!" She made out Stacey's voice and felt someone help her up from the floor.
"Are you okay?" She heard Max's voice behind her. That snapped her eyes wide open. She turned to face him, he was holding her.
"Wha-What's going on? Where am I?" She asked confused. She looked around, making out her backpack on the floor, the pile of books right next to it. The Halloween decorations were still in the box, some of the orange confetti all over the floor.
"We were worried sick! You never came home last night." Bobby said, hands on his hip.
"I called them. I didn't know what to do. Max found you here sleeping." Stacey said, hugging her. "I'm so glad you're okay!"
"How did you end up sleeping here?" PJ asked. "Even I haven't slept at the library."
"I'm sorry guys," Roxanne said embarrassed. "I don't remember what happened. There was a girl I was helping out but my memory is so blurry as to how I ended up falling asleep."
Roxanne felt dizzy. How did she let this happen? She remembered feeling tired, and Mona telling her to take a seat. She probably passed out from over working herself, but why didn't Mona wake her up?
"Come on, let's get you home." Max said. Roxanne nodded, and let him lead her out of the library.
"You're not hurt are you?" Max asked her as they rode back to her house. He noticed the dark circles under her eyes.
She shook her head. "No, again, I'm sorry for the scare I might have caused you guys."
She had no idea how crazy he had been last night when Bobby told him Roxanne was missing. His heart dropped, he couldn't think straight. He hated being handicapped or he would have ran out into the night looking for her.
But she was safe now, laying in the back of their van. She seemed unsteady, probably exhausted from the lack of sleep. He didn't want to let her out of his sight.
"Can I stay with you?" He asked her. He felt everyone else in the van go quiet, waiting for her response. She nodded, closing her eyes and dozing off to sleep. He looked up at Stacey who winked, and PJ who nodded. They all knew what he felt for her. Even if he couldn't be romantically in her life again, he wanted to be there for her.
They had reached her house. Stacey helped her out the van. To his surprise, Bradley was waiting outside with some of his guys.
"Roxanne!" He exclaimed, running up to her. They hugged, making Max feel uncomfortable. "You had me worried!"
"She was at the library," Stacey said taking the keys out of her purse. "Thanks for the help."
"I'm sorry, again, everyone." Roxanne apologized. She didn't pull awat from Bradley but let him lead her into the house.
"Maybe we should just let her rest," Max told PJ and Bobby.
"We are, but aren't you going to stay with her?" PJ asked.
"Yeah, man that was the plan." Bobby said confused.
"I think Brad's got this one." Max said, feeling defeated. Bradley was more Roxanne's friend than he was.
"Speaking of the devil-" Bobby groaned. Tony's car pulled up behind their van.
"Ugh, yeah I'm leaving." Max decided. Why did Stacey have to call everyone?
He knew he was being selfish, but he couldn't help it. He hopped past the car, ignoring Tony's questions.
"Yo, man why aren't you responding? Is she okay?"
Max turned to look at him. He hadn't spoken to him since the games. Tony had resigned, and Max hadn't thought much of him since. It didn't help that he was still dating Roxanne.
"She's good." Max said, bitter. He hated how crippled he felt at that moment. How long was his leg going to be bad for?
"What's with you huh?" Tony asked him. Max didn't dare turn around. This was not something he was going to talk with Tony about.
"I'm going to bed boys, I'm kinda tired." Max replied, ignoring Tony all together. He was about to cross the street when Tony stepped in front him, frowning.
"What's up, Max?" He said. Max looked down at him by an inch, being taller than most. Tony was glaring. Max smirked, trying not to imagine this guy with Roxanne.
"Get out my way, Tony." Max said.
"Yo, hold up, hold up!" PJ said, putting a hand on Max's shoulder. "Max, what's going on?"
Max took a deep breath. Why did Roxanne like this guy?
"Look, man, I'm sorry if I screwed up your team for you. But I couldn't let you disrespect my girl that way." Tony said. Max hated how calm Tony had gotten. "This is all in the past. Let's move on. I'll come back on the team if you want it."
"I don't need you back on the team Tony. That's right, Roxanne's your girl. She's up there," Max pointed at her window. He felt his anger getting the best of him. Roxanne was probably waiting for Tony, always Tony. He didn't want to say more. He walked past him, struggling to get to his lawn. His leg was throbbing again. He hadn't noticed that he had put some pressure on it, more to stand above Tony than anything else.
"Ugh, these guys man." Stacey said, arms crossed. They were looking out they window, watching everything happen. Roxanne was asleep in her bed, unaware of everything. Bradley couldn't help but enjoy it. He liked seeing Max roused up. Some things never change.
"Just friendly fire." Bradley said.
"More like ex against current boyfriend." Stacey said.
"You think Roxanne's over Goof?" Bradley asked, curious. Stacey shook her head.
"I can't understand her. She won't talk to me. But no, I think she's stayed in love with him since high school." Stacey said. "C'mon, let's let her sleep. Besides, Tony's probably on his way up." Stacey said, leading him out. Bradley looked around the room. Nothing that gave away her love for the Goof kid. No pictures from high school, no letters, nothing. What he did see by the door was Powerline and his face covered with a bunch of heart stickers. Odd, why would she cover his face?
"Hey, Stacey, Brad." Tony said as they bumped into him at the foot of the stairs. "Where was she? I looked everywhere I could think of."
"She was at the library." Stacey said. "She's sleeping now, so I don't think she'd want anyone in there."
Bradley looked at her, feeling her lie. Tony looked surprised as well. "Should I wait then?'
"No, I think it's best if you come back later. She's really out of it."
Tony nodded. Bradley felt bad for the guy. Why was Stacey being so, rude?
"Tell her to call me when she wakes up. I'll be home all day." Tony said and made his way down the stairs. Bradley waited until he heard the door shut to turn to Stacey.
"So, going to tell me what was that?"
"What do you mean?" She said, her
auburn hair bouncing behind her as she made her way down.
"You know what."
He heard Stacey sigh. "If you tell anyone I'll kill you."
Bradley rose his eyebrows. "Okay, got the warning."
"C'mon. I'll show you."
They walked past the living room and into the basement, which was full of boxes, old desks, and a TV in the corner. A very dusty VCR sat on top of it. He watched as Stacey fumbled through a large wooden crate. He walked up to her and noticed Roxanne's name on a bunch of things.
"It feels weird showing you this, because honestly it's not mine to share. But I think it'll explain a lot about Roxanne's and Max's relationship. It wasn't a normal teenage romance, believe me. It was the same with Bobby and I."
"Bobby, though, really?" Bradley asked, amused. He felt her hit his arm.
"Bobby's a fine man. If you must know." Stacey said, moving a bunch of books aside. "I'm only telling you this because I need your help. And because you're our friend."
Bradley felt his heart skip a beat. She had just said they were friends. Why did this feel weird? He took a deep breath, feeling heavy all of a sudden. No one had ever considered him a friend. Someone always had some purpose to be around him. Now, he didn't feel like being in the basement anymore.
"Here!" She said, taking out an old yearbook. "Let me show you some pictures."
She turned the page, going back in time. Bradley looked down at an old photograph of Stacey, buck-tooth and grinning, standing under the Class President Banner. She was wearing a sunflower hat, Roxanne by her side. Roxanne had always been beautiful.
She showed him another picture, a sports picture of Roxanne in a white uniform, a soccer ball under her foot. She was smiling, her cheeks flushed. "That was after they had won the state championship. Roxanne was a great captain. Max was there, at every single game. See?" She pointed at the next picture that said "Love on the Soccer Field!" . It showed a very young Max, wearing a long red shirt and jeans, picking up Roxanne in his arms and planting a kiss on her cheek. He had never seen Roxanne so happy. Granted, Bradley only knew her for about two months now, but he had never seen her smile like this.
"They won cutest couple every year. Look, she's here with him when he started the Skaters Club. She was in the club too, but she didn't do more than ride a bike. Haha, she was just there for him." Bradley looked down at the young Roxanne, holding hands with Max. Max would always be looking at her in every frame he saw. You couldn't deny Max loved her.
"Wow," Bradley said, feeling a little more respect for Max. Roxanne was a good woman, and for her to have been so happy with him said something about Max'x character.
"And this, this is how it all started." Stacey said softly, holding up an old VHS tape. Bradley watched her as she went over to the TV and turned it on. "From what Bobby told me, Max had been having a crush on Roxanne since he first laid eyes on her. He gave me this copy, and Roxanne doesn't know I have it. I was going to show it to her our senior year, after Prom, but things went bad. So, I never did."
Bradley was curious now. He went up and waited as she played the tape, lowering the volume. He crossed his arms, feeling excited.
"How about, Science Slumber Party?" Bradley heard a voice say. There was an image of a shoe on the screen, as if waiting for a cue to start filming. He heard a crowd begin to cheer and then the image changed, and Powerline's "Stand Out" starting playing.
"Oh, man is that Goof?!" Bradley exclaimed, seeing the image on the projection.
"Haha, yes, he was great that day." Stacey said pointing at the screen. "Look it's us!"
Bradley saw Stacey and Roxanne on the screen, both looking surprised. But Roxanne's face changed when Goof came on the stage and started dancing.
"Oh, man this is gold!" Bradly said, loving the video. "Goof got moves!"
He watched as Max approached Roxanne and how their faces were so close together, he could see the moment they both had fallen in love with each other. It was clear as day! Roxanne's eyes gave everything away.
"If I could make you stop and take a look at me-" Max sang, and Bradley felt goosebumps rise up his arms. Where was this Max Goof? He had never seen Max with this much energy, this much life. Once the video was over, Stacey turned it off and looked at him.
"Those two people you just showed me now, and the two people I know are not the same." Bradley said, the Powerline song stuck in his head.
"Yeah," Stacey said sadly. "I guess the breakup affected both of them. Roxanne has never been the same since Prom."
"What happened after Prom?" Bradley asked.
Stacey hesitated. "Max won prom king, but Roxanne didn't win prom queen. The girl that ended up winning kissed Max in front of everyone!"
"That wasn't Max's fault though," Bradley said, knowing all too well how women can throw themselves at guys.
"Yeah, but Max didn't pull away. He fed the crowds' ego." Stacey said, frowning. "Ugh, it still makes me angry. I can only imagine what Roxanne feels."
"So why do you want to help them get back together. She's with Tony right?" He asked.
"She doesn't love Tony. I think she just feels sorry for him." Stacey said. "And trust me, I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't feel like it was the right thing. Max isn't with Jasmine anymore, so I think it's time. Plus, Bobby told me how they tried to sabotage Roxanne's first date with Tony. He said Max was still in love with her."
"But we can't make decisions for Roxanne. What if she doesn't want to get back with Max?" Bradley asked. This sounded so complicated. Max as Powerline was still engraved in his brain. He chuckled.
"She does. I've heard her cry over him, and we were there when he got ran over. She was the one that helped him out of the street." Stacey said. Bradley felt like he wanted to throw up.
"She found him?" He asked, his voice shaking. He felt the blood drain from his face. That incident still haunted him.
"We saw it happen." She said softly, closing her eyes. "I don't know who would do something so cruel."
Bradley couldn't hear anymore of this.
"Hahaha, she got you."
He turned, afraid.
Brad was standing there, but instead of looking polished and poised as he always did, this Bradley was wearing a liquor stained red sweater, a bottle in his hand. He had large under eye circles, his face unshaven. He was the spitting image of that night. Bradley shook his head.
"Brad? Bradley?'
He didn't know who to listen to. He heard evil Brad laughing, while Stacey called his name over and over, echoing against his ears. He felt the floor under him move, and he lost his balance. This was not going to happen right now.
"I'm fine, just a little tired. I got no sleep last night." He managed to say, his temple beginning to throb. "I need sleep."
"Do you want to crash here? On the sofa?" Stacey offered. It sounded like a good idea. He couldn't trust himself being out right now.
"Thanks, yeah, that sounds good." He said, the floor beneath him still feeling uneven. He felt her grab his arm and they both made their way back upstairs.