I decided I will update every Wednesday. Hopefully. Haha!
--
Chapter Six
There's a reason why Tim was so well off in academics and extracurriculars: his parents had the money. Ever since he was younger he was always more fortunate than most kids our age, being able to afford the best things money can buy. He got a hard time because of it, and even I'll admit I've felt resentful of him and everything he was able to afford: private tutors, instructors, and everything else I couldn't.
But when you took a closer look, his parents never let that get to his head. Tim was well mannered, never capable of hurting a fly. Even as my competition, he had never thrown me a dirty look or deliberately attacked me in any way, shape, or form. It was actually a pleasure to compete against him. If he got Valedictorian or salutatorian instead of me, I'd be heart broken, yes, but I could think of no one better to receive those titles.
The money in his pockets was also why he gladly accepted accompanying me to the reception. His parents were big time contributors to the community, so he was relieved to know he wouldn't be alone.
"So, what's he like?" A self-absorbed Angelica examining herself in my mirror interrupted my train of thought.
I couldn't help the abrupt and awkward 'huh' that came out of my mouth. "Who's who like?"
"Your date. Duh."
"Oh," I laughed. "It's not much of a date, but...he's a really nice guy..."
"Nice?" She repeated the word like it was gum on the bottom of her shoe. "Do I know him?"
"I doubt it. His name's Tim. He's in most of my classes, so I doubt you've ever seen him. I've known him for while, though."
"Oh, asian right? Wants to end you, academically speaking." She said, right before swearing under her breath at her smeared eyeliner.
I smiled to myself. "Yeah. He's a good guy, though."
"Right, I was thinking we could all sneak off and go to the park. Maybe go get some Mickie D's, since it's so close by. " With a dreamy sigh, Angelica seemed to be caught up one of her own fantasies. "We could get some alone time..." I never personally met Brad myself, though I certainly hoped my fruity friend wasn't treading naively in dangerous territory.
"Angelica, I'm not up for that. I doubt Tim would be up for it either."
"Well," she whirled around to give me a sly stare. "While you and Timmy are busy being uptight losers, Tony and I will have little fun on the playground." She winked seductively. I flung a pencil at her.
"Children actually play on playgrounds, did you know that?"
By the time we were leaving Angelica's driveway, the both of us had dressed up to the best of our abilities. I'll admit, Angelica did have quite a taste in fashion, she would settle for nothing less. Her makeup only accentuated her deep, vividly colored eyes. Her red pencil dress clung to her body and hugged her curves like no other. It was a bit scandalous, if you ask me, but she wasn't any less appealing.
As for me, well--I was a little more modest; I wore a type of fit and flare dress that ended just above the knees. It was navy blue, one of my favorite colors. I wasn't a fan of makeup, so all I really went for was a bit of highlight on my cheeks and some glossy pink lip stick. Angelica protested, but hey, I was the one doing her a favor.
We reached the community center sooner than I expected. Tony, Angelica's knight in shining armor, was already waiting for us by a large, brightly lit fountain. Tony had his fair share of attractive qualities. He was one of those cheesy football players you'd see in movies and read about in books. But as for his personality, it was equally as self absorbed.
With a big-toothed smile, he held out his beefy arms as Angelica ran over to him and wrapped them tightly around her waist. His huge, bulky frame looked as if it could snap the poor girl in two. As for me, he greeted me with a rather uninterested nod, and as I searched around us Tim wasn't anywhere in sight.
"We ready to go?" Brad asked, looking from me to Angelica. The mischievous glint in his eyes concerned me.
"Oh, no. We still have to wait for Angie's date. I'm sure he'll be here in no time." Angelica said, glancing around.
Tony scoffed. "So much for punctuality." I didn't know whether to freak out that I was thinking the exact same thing or that the beefcake even had the vocabulary for the word punctuality.
"It's fine. We could meet him inside. It's getting cold out here, anyways." I ushered them towards the entrance.
--
In the end, Tim never bothered to show up. Neither did he bother to have any remote shred of decency to send me a text explaining his sudden absence. As I sat alone at a table, and adults chattered around, the music soft and light, I could barely contain my frustration. I wasn't that important to him after all, or at least that's what I concluded. I was sad at the thought, but would you blame me? Who likes being stood up?
Angelica and Tony came back from the buffet, Tony's plate pilled high with stringy carbohydrates and Angelica's piled high with a salad.
"You sure Tom's coming? Hey--is that any good?" Angelica pointed at Tony's plate with her fork.
"It's Tim, and I'm not so sure at this point." I stared at the entrance in hopes of seeing him rushing in, making his way down to me to apologize, but no such luck.
"He's not coming. Take it from one of the guys." Tony mumbled as he stuff his mouth with spaghetti. The bits of pasta flying out his mouth were charming as ever. I was finding it rather difficult to see what exactly was so attractive about this boy to Angelica.
"You know, If he cared, he would be here." She placed her hand on my shoulder, looking at me with her deepest sympathy. I sighed.
"You're right. Whatever."
"Hey! Sorry I'm late!"
A heavy, warm arm fell around my shoulders. Immediately my nose was greeted by thick and heavy cologne, cologne that invaded both my nose and my taste buds. It was undeniably familiar. Enchanting, yet overwhelming. Why do boys put on so much?
But the cologne wasn't the only thing that was ridiculously familiar. How could I forget it? It was permantently seared onto my memory.
"What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost." I heard mockery in his voice, a voice drenched in satisfaction. Two slender fingers tilted my chin towards a pair of crap colored eyes: Not chocolate, not almonds, but crap. I didn't mind the idea of taking the forks in front of me and gauging them out of their sockets. I smacked his hand away.
"And this is?" Angelica asked, confused.
"Not Tim." I muttered.
"Hi, I'm Luke. Not Tim, Luke. I had the guts to actually show up this evening." He said, while stretching over the table to shake hands with both Angelica and Tony. I looked at the guy beside me; I could not believe he was the same dim-witted red haired delinquent I knew back at school.
Dark red hair gelled back, he wore a dark blue suit that seemed to give the impression that he just came out of a business meeting. His boyish features disappeared. Now he looked like a full fledged adult. It was almost hysterical, but not without its fair share of attractiveness, I'll give you that. Though, I refused to give him any indicator that I found him the least bit easy on the eye.
"You certainly clean up well." He said. He could not stop staring at me. Almost as if he was in awe.
"Take a picture. I'm sure it'll last longer" I said.
He laughed. "Ahh, well played. Sorry, i'm just not used to seeing you like this. You're usually so..." he trailed off.
I narrowed my eyes at him. "Don't be shy."
"So not like this," he poked at my arm. "Don't get me wrong, you look great."
"I wouldn't say the same for you." I said. Who was I kidding? He was probably one of the most attractive guy in the room. I would never admit it, though. Not out loud.
"Yikes. That's not a way to treat your date."
"We are not on a date."
"Already breaking my heart? I expected better from you."
I snorted. This spawn of the devil didn't have one. "Don't think you have one."
"Anatomically, yes. Psychologically, no. Can we just talk about how you lost our bet, though?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Where's Tim?" He smirked, perfectly knowing the answer to that question. "Probably studying the shit outta his notes for our calc test on Monday, eh?"
I wasn't angry at Tim. Disappointed, yes, but not angry. It's not like this was anything serious, I just wanted a friend tonight. What I didn't want was some snot nosed, easy on the eyes jerk right next to me the whole party. And the bastard didn't even offer me a drink. Instead, he had the audacity to flirt with some other girl the whole night. So much for my date.
This was evidently the reason I avoided going to these types of things. Unless you have a decent partner they're designed to make you feel bad about yourself. I don't believe any girl wants to sit around all night doing nothing.
But the only interaction I got was with Tim's mother. She greeted me politely, with the utmost sophistication, and at once I could tell Tim was definitely her son. She obviously recognized me as the girl he's trying to trample to get the top slots of the class.
"Good Evening, Angel. How's the night treating you so far?" She asked, eyeing me closely.
Smiling politely, I chuckled. "Well, it could be a lot better. The party itself is pretty remarkable."
"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself." She said, before sipping her drink.
I paused. "If I may ask, where is Tim? He told me he would meet up with me and..."
Her lips pressed into a tight line. "Home."
Before I could press on anymore, she turned her back on me and joined her husband.
Angelica and Tony had snuck off who knows where, and by 10 at night I decided to go home. So, putting on my trench coat, I walked towards the exit, but not without being stopped by a spiteful red head.
"Is the night over so soon for you?" He asked.
"Uh, yeah. It's getting kind of late."
"Do you have a ride?" Actually, Angelica was my ride, but I had no idea where she went.
"I'll call a taxi in a moment." I smiled weakly. "See ya, Luke. Have fun."
The coat I brought with me seemed utterly useless as I stepped outside. Pulling out my phone, I began dialing Angelica.
No answer. "Angelica..." I sighed.
"I can give you a ride, Grey."
"I wouldn't want to inconvenience you." I said, not bothering to look at the guy.
"No, I was actually thinking of heading on out, too."
"Luke..."
"It's no problem, Angel, honestly."
I hesitated. "Fine."
Was I a horrible friend for leaving Angelica out on a night like this? What if something happened to her? By the time I was in Luke's car I felt extremely guilty.
What was it about other people's homes and belongings that made me feel so weird? Was it the different smells? As I sat in his car, and the heater turned on, I was so dizzy I felt faint. His car smelled of a mixture of his cologne, cherry, and subtle hint of mint. A deadly combination, if you ask me.
"She'll be fine." Luke said, as we left the community center.
"Huh?"
He chuckled, shaking his head. "You're such a worrier, Grey."
"Just drop me off by the 7 Eleven by Lincoln Avenue."
"Alrighty. Mind if we make a pit stop first?"
"I do, actually."
--
"This game is fucking bullshit." Luke growled. We both sat in his car right outside my house, playing piano tiles on our phones. I couldn't seem to put the game down, and I figured I could break the ice a little bit between Luke and I this one time.
"People only say that because they suck at it." I said, meanwhile my fingers were as fast as lightening.
He flung his phone somewhere along the back seats. "I'm done. Fuck this." Not a moment later did he reach back and turn on the app again.
"So tell me about yourself." I casually said, as my fingers danced wildly along the screen.
"There's not much to say." Luke said.
"I highly doubt that."
"Moved here to Cali a couple years ago from Arizon-ah fuck, son of a bitch!"
He continued. "My father's a cop. My mother's a nurse."
"Oh, money." I cursed under my breath as my fingers fumbled.
"Not for me, really. I mean, they have this whole work ethic thing going on." He said.
"Oh. Best friend?"
"How could you ask that? I thought we were besties."
I rolled my eyes. "I'm serious."
"Ah, Tyler. Tyler Baxter."
"Tyler Baxter." I rolled the name off my tongue. "Edgy name."
"Yeah, well, he's always been there. Even in bad times."
I lost the game. "Does he live near here?"
"Yeah, in fact he does. Not too far. Lives in Lakewood."
"But, enough about me. Tell me about yourself."
I had a hard time telling him about myself. Hell, I didn't even spend time analyzing my life, but for the most part, I think I managed to dent the surface of what is Angel Grey.
I told him about me being a native Californian girl who had a passion for its sun soaked beaches, about how important my academics were to me, and how critically I needed to attend college in order to be somebody. I wanted to get as far away as possible, where no one would have any idea of my past, and my fresh start would allow me to transform into something new.
Luke didn't really say anything, or do anything, but when I told him about my mother, his usual persona dissolved into what I considered a new person.
My mother suffered a tragic accident on the freeway when I was younger. I was barley old enough to remember, and I guess that's why I didn't become the wreck they expected me to be. It's not like it didn't affect me, though. It's kind of weird when your dad is expected to play both the motherly and fatherly role, but that only made my father stronger. It made me stronger as well.
Luke hesitated before speaking. "I'm sorry that happened...really. You persevered. That's what matters." I nodded, staring down at my phone. I set it down.
"For the most part, I think it's good that despite your circumstances, you have your future planned ahead. You're driven." He said.
"On the contrary, I have no idea what I'm doing or where I'm going,"
"I'm lost."
I gazed up at him. His face was illuminated by the soft lights in his car, and the absence of his normal, spiky red hair softened his features. His eyes stood out more than usual from his dark clothing; warm, milky, and chocolatey at best.
He wasn't t as bad as I thought. Sure, we started off on the wrong foot, but It would now be behind us. We were both troubled teens trying to find our place in the world.
Placing a hand on his, I smiled softly. "You won't be for long."
And just like that, we sat there for the remainder of night, absorbing each other's presence.