After the light switch episode, Parker was completely out of it and I was practically smirking that I could make the 'player' of the school flustered.
After I figured out he was lying, I started thinking about what he could say. What was he trying to say??
"I-I..."
He what?
I'm such an idiot. I shouldn't have butted in. Now the curiosity was gnawing at me and ripping me apart from the inside.
After the lights and all were sorted, we started creating some space. Parker's basement was filled with instruments, speakers, amplifiers and a lot of boards with tons of buttons.
We moved all the stuff around to create a big enough space to dance. He seemed kind of dazed the entire time and wasn't really helping, though I couldn't blame him. I'm sure it took some time to recover after the fascination that is me.
I was kind of shocked he was musically talented. When I asked him about it he said it was because of his father who loved music.
When I noticed the past tense I shut up, knowing I could screw everything up if I said a word.
That was something I hated about myself. I could completely ruin a moment with a single word.
I remember this one time when I walked into my sister and her boyfriend close to kissing. The atmosphere was pretty intense and I could almost hear her eyeballs frantically signalling for me to get out but I stayed put like the dodo I am. Time ticked by and no one said a word. Then I had to open my big fat mouth, "So, who do you think would win in a fight? Superman or Batman?"
I wondered what happened to his dad but I wasn't planning on asking him anytime soon. With my uncontrollable mouth it could easily turn into a messy situation that none of us would opt to be in.
His mum was so cool, I was jealous. I hoped my mother was like that but nooo 'there has to be a set of rules every human being should live by'.
Well, boo-frickin-hoo.
We danced for a few hours till we took a break, considering we both were sweating like pigs, and I went to the loo to freshen up and he went to get some snacks. I was severely hoping they'd be biscuits or fruit.
I splashed some cold water on my face willing myself to not think about Mr. Cliff and the surprise quiz that could be happening right now.
He said it could be any day during the week and with my luck, it probably happened today.
Taking a few deep breaths and fixing my hair into a tight ponytail so that it wouldn't bother me during dance, I made my way back to the dance studio-slash-weirdly built basement.
As I walked down the stairs that led to where Parker was, I went back to thinking about what snacks he could possibly be eating and I prayed.
I prayed to every god possible. I prayed and prayed and prayed that he would be eating fruits.
But when I reached the basement, he was sitting on the floor with a plate of cupcakes in front of him. Fuck.
Yeah, I'll throw around the F-word. I don't care. It's not like God responded.
I gulped, crossing my arms over my chest hoping it would reduce the erratic beating of my heart.
My mind raced as I wondered what to do and what to say.
"Hey Mads," he said with a smile that could brighten up a whole room. I had gotten quite accustomed to his new nickname for me. I liked it and it sounded perfect coming from him.
"Hiya Park!", I said happily, ignoring the mountain of calories in front of him.
"Mom baked these for us. Try one. They're epic!"
Damn.
To put it simply, I'm screwed.
"That's really nice of her. But I'm not really hungry. I'll try them next time," I say with a big smile, hoping he'd change the topic.
Yeah. Sure, I will.
In my dreams.
Literally.
He frowned, "Maddy, we've been practicing for over two hours. You're bound to be hungry. If you don't eat, you'll be tired when we start dancing again."
It was sweet how he seemed to care for me. But I couldn't. I wouldn't. Smiling I walked over to him and said, "Just not hungry! Look at me I have energy."
I waved my hands from side to side with a weird grin on my face.
He frowned again giving me an are-you-serious look, "Come on. It's s not like you have an eating disorder. Just have a bite. I promise they'll live up to their expectations."
At that I froze. I had been burning a hole into the ground, too ashamed to look at him as I lied to his face. Suddenly the wooden flooring looked so much more interesting.
I gulped once. Twice. Then looked up at him. He seemed to realize what I was silently thinking and his eyes widened a fraction as his mouth opened a bit, on the verge of saying something. I couldn't handle the look on his face and I didn't want to hear what he would say to me.
"I need to go to the bathroom," I quickly darted out of the basement, not wasting a second look at Parker's face.
As I ran to the bathroom, up the stairs and down the corridor, I couldn't stop the endless stream of tears.
Reaching the bathroom, I got in and locked myself inside.
What do I do?
I don't have my car so I can't go anywhere.
Oh why? Why did I have to like this boy and why did he have to find out?
_______
(Parkers POV)
My world had stopped.
Suddenly that tiny waist wasn't gorgeous; it was terrible and her collarbones didn't seem beautiful, they were horrid.
I was sure I could hear her crying on the way to the bathroom.
My world came tumbling down.
Because she was my world and she was broken.
Tears ran down my cheeks as I made my way to the bathroom.
My mum had gone out for groceries when I got the cupcakes and said she'll only be back by 1 and it was a quarter past 12.
Knocking on the door, I heard a muffled 'what'.
It came from lower down so I guessed she was sitting on the floor leaning against the door. I sat down too except I was sitting cross-legged towards the door with my hand on it as if I could fix everything with a single touch.
"Mads? It's me."
"What do you want?"
You.
"To talk to you."
"Why?"
Because I love you.
"Because I'm your friend and I care about you, Maddy"
"Why should I trust you"
Because you own me. I have given my heart to you and you can do whatever you wish to do with it.
"Because I'm the clumsy bastard who doesn't know how to dance. Because I'm the guy who ran through the school with you. I'm the guy who owns a DarthVader bobble-head," I chuckled, "but mostly because it's me. You know you can trust me. I'm your friend."
But oh god, I want to be so much more than that.
There was silence for the following few minutes and then something weird happened.
I heard the door unlock and time seemed to stop as I stared up at the girl in front of me who looked broken.
But I would fix her. I'll make everything better. She doesn't deserve this. She deserves the world and I'm going to make her see that.
Whatever it takes me, an arm, a leg or even my dignity, it didn't matter. I didn't care.
She was perfectly imperfect.
And it was time to make her open her eyes and see what she does to the world.
It's like the flowers bloom when she walks by as if it's some corny Disney movie. It's like her smile is contagious and could probably solve world peace. Her dancing could make a person forget about everything and get lost in the never ending fairytale that is her. Each move and each step tells a story and I want her to continue being the happy girl she was before, whose voice always had that sarcastic edge to it. Who could go on and on dancing if left alone with some music. Who would jump at any chance to make fun of me and would never cease to roll her eyes at every second comment of mine.
I want my Maddy back.
And I will get her.
No matter the cost.