Not only was exhaustion setting in as the day went on, but thoughts of Sean kept popping up in my mind like an annoying pop-up add. I had kept replaying this morning in my head over and over trying to remember it as a terrible experience but instead every time I thought of it I found myself smiling randomly in class. History was slowly nearing and I hadn't done anything to ready myself for that dazzling personality and beautiful smile of his. Lucky for me I didn't have to sit through lunch with him. I had tutoring during my lunch every Wednesday. I got my lunch and went to the library to tackle any assignment I needed help on with my tutor Miss. Hazel. Today she was having particular trouble keeping my mind in the books and out of the clouds. Around the end of the session she threw up her hands, looking to the sky, and said I should take care of whatever was bothering me and shooed me out of the library five minutes early. I slowly walked my way up to history, almost trudged. All I wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep until next week.
I dragged myself to my seat in the very back happy to be the first in the classroom. I put my head down on the slick wooden table surrounding my head with my arms to keep the light out. I let my eyes slide closed ignoring the pang in the back of my head. A moment later I felt a tap on my shoulder. I bolted up right, the classroom was full.
"Are we going to be making a habit of this headache or-deal?" Sean asked sliding into the seat next to me.
"Today I was sleeping, actually." I said smiling hoping that I wasn't dreaming. If I was dreaming it was a good so I might as well enjoy it. He grinned at me and pulled out his notes. My eyes widened, he had taken notes? He looked over and smiled at my reaction.
"What, haters don't take notes?" he asked.
"Um, actually, not usually." I said honestly. He handed to them to me. They were flawless, following every point of the lecture I had missed.
"I took some notes in algebra too if you want to gawk at those too." He said offering me his algebra notes. I looked over curious to see if he was offering me real notes. I looked at him, my mouth still opened stupidly in surprise. He chuckled as if he got this every day of his life.
"So you're smart and stuff?" I asked and he just nodded and looked toward the front of the room as Mr. Larson took his place in front of the board. I watched as he took notes trying to make sure it was really him that was taking the notes. He looked completely focused as he watched every movement of Mr. Larson. He even asked and answered questions: he participated. That was something none of the teachers at our school had seen in years. He looked over at me to find me staring at him yet again and grinned, but quickly focused his attention back to Mr. Larson's lecture.
I walked out of history with him only to find that I have Theater with him as well. I laughed my head off when he told me he had transferred into the class this morning via recommendation of Sophia, he didn't look like a theater guy to me. I also laughed all the way through theater as Mrs. Parkinson tried to explain the concept of 'cheating out' to him. When we took a break from rehearsal I walked up to him.
"So, theater isn't what you'd thought it'd be?" I guessed. He smiled at me ignoring my question and pointed to the music room.
"Are we allowed in there?" I watched his eyes light up.
"Yeah but most of us don't really..." he started walking toward the door. I ran to catch up falling into step with him. "Why are you going in there?" I asked looking over my shoulder making sure no one was watching me as I followed him. The music room was old, outdated, and rarely used anymore. Most everyone used the "fine arts center" at the other end of the school because the instruments weren't outdated and the technology was more updated.
"Because I'm stressed" he said simply. He didn't look stressed to me. "And when I'm stressed I like to listen to music but, because there is no music here for me to listen to, I'll make my own." All that was left in this music room was an old, slightly out of tune piano. He ran down the steps to the center of the room where the piano was placed and slid onto the bench. "Do you sing?" he asked.
"Yeah everyone in theater does, but..." I said as he interrupted me.
"Great, you're going to sing harmony." He said pulling sheet music out of his pocket and laying it on the piano.
"But, I don't know this song, and I don't usually sing much other than..." he interrupted again.
"Less thinking, more singing." He said moving his hands over the keys skillfully. I watched in amazement almost missing my que. I sang best I could hitting the notes singing lyrics unknown to me. It was a love song about unexpected love being found everywhere. He joined in with me at the chorus our harmony echoing through the empty room. I smiled at him and walked around the piano so I could look at him as I sang. He stood up at the piano, dancing as he played, his face inches from mine, our voices completely in synch. He slowed the piano and I walked back around to read the lyrics one last time. The song slowed to a stop and he just stared at the sheet music. "So?" he asked.
"I didn't know you played the piano." I said still beaming at him. That was the most fun I had had in weeks. He shook his head.
"Yeah I play guitar, drums, and a few other things too, but that's not what I meant." I just stared at him in confusion "The song?" he asked
Realization came over me "That was yours?" I half screamed. He nodded his eyes glowing; he clearly liked the attention. "That was amazing! I can't believe you wrote that! I mean not that you wouldn't write something amazing or anything but still. That was so great." I babbled trying to think of a real adjective that might actually be worthy of my amazement. He smiled that million watt smile of his and my heart picked up speed. I looked down at the piano and tapped at the C key.
"Do you play anything?" he asked still grinning.
"Yupp." I said smiling.
"What?" He asked.
"Guess." I said. He opened his mouth to speak but the door opened and Jenny, the teachers' pet, came running in, wheezing as if she had just run a marathon.
"You guys have to get out there, Miss. Parkinson is freaking out." She wheezed at us. Sean closed the piano lid and grabbed my hand, pulling me up the stairs and out the door. Finally after class had ended I walked around to find my brother for my ride home. Finally I found him wrapped around an always smiling Sandra.
"Hey, there you are." Lyle said as I walked up "Hey sis do you think you can find a ride home? Me and Sandra wanted to go out today." He said looking at her and smiling.
"Yeah, sure." I said smiling.
"Great, don't wait up. I'll be home late." He chuckled still looking at Sandra like she was his whole world. I made a gagging nose as they walked away. I sighed deciding I should just accept the fact that I would never find a ride home, when Sean walked up behind me.
"Sounds like you need a way to get home." He said grinning at me. I ignored the feeling pulsed through every inch of my body the second I saw him.
"It seems that way." I said.
"Great, common." He said grabbing my hand like he did earlier. I blushed and looked at the floor and pulled my hand away gently. He led me to a cute silver Prius. I sighed and shook my head at his car. The car would be the thing to push my parents over the edge. If I brought him home they would love him no matter what. They were both such echo freaks that anyone with a hybrid car was a friend of theirs. I was going to have to think up more creative excuses not to like him. "Do you have something against my car?" he asked catching my reaction. I shook my head and he opened the door for me. He was a gentleman... I was going to have to be *really* creative. I watched him as he walked around the front of the car and got in on his side. "So do you have any plans today?" he asked as he started the car.
"Just to sit at home and you're going left by the way." I said pointing him in the direction he would go to my house.
"Okay" he said turning left "would you consider going somewhere with me?" he said staring straight ahead.
"Um, like where." I said eyeing him suspiciously.
"No where too crazy it's just where I go to think." He said shrugging like it was nothing. Something in the back of my mind was screaming that it was a bad idea to go with him but I was tired of fighting with the voice for now so I said sure.
"Great" he said trying to keep his voice even, although I saw the corners of his mouth twitch "you're going to need a swim suit." Where could he go that needed a swimsuit? I wracked my brain for every possibility. I directed him back to my house while we talked about senseless things. When we got to my house he followed me up the walk and whistled at my house. "That's a pretty big house ya got there." He said staring up at our two story house; three if you count the attic, which had a fully stocked bedroom. I nodded and unlocked the door and ran up the stairs to my room, he follow not exactly sure where he was going. I ran to my closet and got a drawstring bag and threw in a suit. "Um, you're gonna want to change here." He said grinning "helpless strangers don't like to be mooned." His smile widened. Where were we going that didn't have a place to change? I sighed and carried the bag to the bathroom where I changed into a black bikini and threw back on my t-shirt and shorts. I walked back to my room where I found him examining the pictures on my wall.
"That's my parents Lyle and I in Florida." I said referring to the picture he was looking at. In the picture we were all standing around the giant sand castle we had all just built. "is that all I need?" I asked watching him look at the picture more closely.
"I would have never believed that was you." He pointed to me in the picture. I had braces wired ear to ear, I had dyed my hair blonde that summer, and had It chemically straightened. When I was younger I was never happy with the way I looked. I looked completely different back then. "Yeah that's all you needed." He gave the picture one last glance and looked at me. "So you ready?" he asked. I nodded and we both filed out of my room and back into his Prius. All the way there I jittered up and down, asking if we were almost there. Finally we pulled up to a shady tree covered area. "We're here." He said putting the car in park.
"But where is here?" I asked him almost disappointed his thinking spot wasn't a beach or a private island. It was just a spot in the middle of nowhere.
"I told you earlier that it's my thinking spot, now relax and get out of the car." He commanded. He went around back and pulled out a guitar case and then walked up to me. "Do I have permission to hold your hand, just for the purpose of you not getting lost." He asked me probably remembering me pulling my hand away earlier. My heart thudded and I nodded listening closely to what my heart was telling me, so far it hadn't led me wrong. He grabbed my hand and led me through the tree lines edge swinging our hands as we went. After about two minutes of walking I saw and heard water lapping against a shore. Maybe his thinking spot was a beach after all. We reached the opening and a lake was standing in front of us. It was like it came out of nowhere, why hadn't I seen this lake before? I felt my jaw literally drop as I stared at the sparkling dingy green water in front of me. "Keep coming." He pulled me along. I thought we were already there where were we going now? He pulled me onto a path that went to the right and after about another minute of walking he stopped and spun me around. "This is the family boat." He said stopping in front of a pontoon. It was painted a glossy white and green with a green roof that hung over the back half of the boat.
"Can you drive this thing? Legally?" I asked. He held up his boaters license and I examined it closely not exactly sure what I was looking for. It looked official enough to me so I shrugged my shoulders. He motioned for me to follow him and allowed me to get on the boat first to make sure I didn't fall in. I jumped on the boat and him and his guitar followed closely. He sat down at the seat I assumed was the drivers seat because it was in front of the wheel. He started the boat and I just stood there watching him. He was really as cute as most of the girls at school were saying. Thin muscles wrapped up his skinny arms as he lifted the heavy ropes holding the boat in place. He looked up at me and his eyes caught mine. I knew I was free to look or else he wouldn't have invited me here, I could stare at his blue eyes all I wanted. My heart fluttered and my knees begged to give in but I refused to let them.
"Why don't you come sit next to me." He said wrapping his arms around my waist pulling me into the seat which was just big enough for the two of us to sit. He backed the boat up and sped out into the green waters. He kept one hand on the wheel on the boat and his other arm wrapped around my waist which I really didn't mind because I was scared to death but I repressed the urge to wrap my arms around him and never let go. Instead I focused on his touch and his hair that occasionally brushed my cheek and his all around closeness; I knew nothing was going to happen to me. We drove around in circle for about 20 minutes and we chatted about a few things. Then he parked the boat next to a little area that looked secluded. I was really surprised another boater hadn't snagged it already.
"Is this what you had in mind when I told you I had a thinking spot?" he sounded more like he wanted to know if I liked it.
"No, it's beautiful and wonderful, you always seem to know how to turn something simple into something special." He raised his eyebrows and I wondered if I'd said too much. He stood up and so did I.
"Shall we go for a swim?" he asked motioning toward the water.
"We shall." I said linking arms with him walking towards the back of the boat. I started undressing and he did the same and he was thankfully wearing swim trunks underneath his skinny jeans. "Do I just jump in?" I ask cautiously eyeing the water.
"Yeah but if you can I would avoid touching the bottom. It's really gross. You can swim right?"
"Duh of course I can swim. Why would I bother having a swim suit if I couldn't swim?" I said motioning toward my swimsuit. He looked me up and down and I made a well wasted attempt to cover myself with my arms, suddenly embarrassed. He flashed his million watt smile and came and put his arms around me. I gently pushed on his bare chest trying to get him off me but he wouldn't budge. He put his forehead on mine and the tips of our noses touched. I stopped trying to push away from him and started pulling myself closer. He laughed and picked me up. It wasn't before I was in the water that I realized what was going on. My eyes widened with horror as he threw me over board and then jumped in after.
The water was freezing; it may have been almost summer but I felt like I had just jumped into Antarctica waters in the middle of winter. My teeth instantly chattered as I broke the surface of the water. I could almost feel my lips turning blue and I started shivering violently. I looked at Sean enviously as he swam around like there was nothing to it. I tried moving but decided I was better off staying in one place because as I moved so did the water I had just wasted precious body heat on. Sean finally swam over to me.
"Why aren't you swimming?" he asked. He honestly didn't know? I chattered my teeth extra loud since communication through words didn't even seem like an option at the moment. He smirked at me and wrapped his arms around me pulling himself as close as possible. I wrapped my arms and legs around his skinny body desperate for the heat. After a few minutes I let go of him adapting to the temperature, it almost felt nice now. "Better?" he asked I nodded still not trusting myself with words. "Good because now I'm freezing" he said pulling me back to him smirking. He laid his chin on top of my head and my heart was beating out of my chest my body burning everywhere he touched I closed my eyes and leaned my face into his chest feeling my body naturally relax into his.
He only pulled me away for a second to lean in and then everything was happening so fast my mind couldn't process it all. I thought he was going to kiss me but I opened my eyes to find him and the boat gone. I panicked confusion swirling around my mind. I spun around, my eyes darted wherever something moved. How did I get here if he wasn't really here? Where was I? I had no idea how to get home. If felt the, now familiar, annoying pang of pain arouse in the back of my head. My heart hammered in my chest as I hyperventilated. I stared at the water hoping maybe the answer lied somewhere in it but all that was there was murky green water. My mind was coming up short of oxygen as I was now in full panic attack mode. I scraped and slashed my arms through the water nervously as I slowly began to move forward. It was going to be okay I was going to make it back to shore and someone could help me there. I coached myself feeling like I was making progress trying to calm myself. After only a moment I felt a hand wrap around my ankle and started to drag me back. Panic flourished inside my chest as my heart picked up now beating painfully fast. I thrashed violently trying to throw it off I kicked and screamed squirming. I flipped on my back and came face to face with Sean.
"I thought you were..." I couldn't finish the sentence. He clearly wouldn't have know what I was talking about he looked just as confused as I felt.
"Moe, what just happened?" he asked cupping his hand around my cheek keeping his other arm firmly around my waist. His face was tight with worry. I just gazed at him in awe my heart still beating so fast it was a wonder it didn't come right out of my chest. "I didn't mean to offend you, I'm sorry if I did something wrong." What did he mean something wrong and why was he looking at me like I was about to take off?
"You left me. Where'd you go?" I asked. He looked even more confused than before.
"No, we were having a moment and you started freaking out. You kept trying to swim away." He was talking slowly as if I was mentally ill. I started to swim away? I tried to connect the events in my head. He was gone I clearly remembered it. "Moe?" his voice was still worried. My mind was getting tired I could almost feel the click of the light switch going off inside my head as darkness surrounded me.
I woke up sitting on the boat next to Sean. His face looked panicked and it only took about two second for me to realize he was driving like a maniac. I held onto the seat and bolted upright as another boat passed about two inches away from ours. Sean looked over and I pointed to the water signaling for him to keep his eyes on the water as I gripped the seat tighter. His face was panicked and he looked insane. I felt the wind trying to blow its way through my hair, sticky with lake water. I reached up and smoothed it back and went looking for my clothes. Confusion slowly crept its way back into my mind as memories of what happened a moment ago eased their way back into my head one at a time. One second Sean was there the next he wasn't and in a moment he was back again. How does that happen? Sean pulled the boat into the dock and turned around and just stared at me. He was ghostly pale and his eyes were wide, his eye brows furrowed in confusion. He slowly got up and walked over to me looking at me like I was about to collapse. "I think you hallucinated." He whispered and wrapped his hand around the back of my neck. I frowned, it did sort of make sense. I saw the colour slowly working its way back to his cheeks and his breathing started to even out. "Then you passed out and... all I could think about was keeping you with me." He sighed and put his forehead to mine again I saw the corners of his mouth turn up as he put on his brave face. "Common crazy I think it's time to take you home." He kissed my forehead leaving a burning empty sensation in place of his lips. He grabbed his guitar and led me off the boat. I was glad Lyle wasn't there he would have been freaking out about now, insisting that I go to the doctor. I looked up at Sean and smiled at him a sense of order arranging itself in my mind. What *was* I going to tell Lyle?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is part three ;) its kind of crazy and confusing sorry! I promise I'll explain it eventually. Please please PLeAsE comment and possibly give me a vote? I really want to know what you think of my story I just naturally assume you hate it if you don't have anything to say. Constructive criticism would be nice :) Thank you so much!!