AN: Hi everyone! This is the first fanfic I've written for the Fairy Tail fandom, as well as the first fanfic I've written in at least seven years (I usually stick with writing my own original stuff). That being said, if the characters seem like they're not themselves, I apologize! I've only seen the anime (and it is an AU fic, but still), but I'm kind of obsessed with RoWen at the moment. Please feel free to leave me CONSTRUCTIVE criticism and your thoughts! All flames will be fed to Natsu.
Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail…yet.
"Romeo save me, I've been feeling so alone."-Love Story, The Scene Aesthetic (Taylor Swift cover)
"Wendy! Wend, c'mon, we're gonna be late if you don't hurry up!" A yelp left her lips as she dropped the lunchbox she'd been holding, silently thanking whatever higher power had possessed her to seal the object before it fell to the ground and ruined her food. Glancing over at the tall, black-haired boy that had let himself in to her house for the umpteenth time that week, she chucked an apple at him in retaliation. He caught it easily, laughing when she stuck her tongue out at him.
"What was that for?"
"For breaking in to my house and for making me toss my lunch—literally. Ready for school?" Eighteen-year-old Wendy Marvell grinned at her best friend of over a decade, Romeo Conbolt. The pair met when the Marvell family—Grandeeney, her older sister Carla, and herself—decided to move from a big city to a more suburban area that was closer to her mom's school. Romeo and his father, Macao, came over to introduce themselves as their next-door neighbors and within five minutes the young boy and girl were flitting about the backyard playing wizards. They'd been close ever since.
"Not really, I kind of forgot to do my history homework." Romeo explained as the pair began their trek to Magnolia High School, easily falling in to step beside one another. Despite the fact that they ran in completely different social circles, had since middle school when Romeo had started playing football and got serious about wrestling, he still made it a point to walk with her to and from school. It was a good way to spend more time with her, even if he did live next door to her and spent the majority of his free time with her anyway. In his mind, no amount of time with Wendy would ever be enough.
"Well that was stupid of you." Wendy chided, adjusting the straps on her backpack to prevent them from digging in to her shoulders. "And I'm pretty sure Mr. Fullbuster isn't going to let you turn it in late." Romeo shrugged, knowing full well how his history teacher felt about students turning work in late. They didn't call him 'The Ice King' for nothing; the only situations he made exceptions for were family emergencies, personal injury, or death.
"Yeah, yeah, anyway, how'd the paper for your creative writing class turn out? I know the topic was a little…"
"It was fine, Romeo." Wendy cut in before he could finish his statement. She knew he was going to say that writing a story about someone who inspired you was a sensitive subject for her, and she didn't feel like reliving any painful memories. Not today, at least. Raising his hands in a defensive gesture, he wondered if she realized that he could read her like a book. She'd always worn her heart on her sleeve and it was pretty clear to him that the assignment had bothered her. But he wouldn't press the issue because the last thing he wanted was make her unhappy. The rest of their walk was spent mindlessly talking about random subjects, everything from music to the pep rally that was going to occur tomorrow so the students would be amped up for the big homecoming game on Friday. When they finally reached the school his attention was stolen by his football buddies, and before they parted ways he enveloped her in a tight hug. Wendy had always wondered how he could manage to make her feel safe just by hugging her, but after years of being on the receiving end of his hugs she stopped questioning it. Not that she ever had, the boy was really warm and always smelled good.
"Bye Wendy, can I still come over after school? I'll probably need your help with the next assignment I have for history." His breath tickled the top of her head, as he had yet to let go of her. Skinny as she was, she was incredibly soft, warm, and smelled like cookies, and holding her brought out the possessive and protective side of him.
"Sure! You can keep me company until Carla comes home from work. Maybe if we're lucky, she'll even let you stay for dinner." She smiled at him and he finally released her, shoving his hands in his pockets.
"Awesome, see you then." He winked at her, causing her to blush and dart off to her first class. As soon as she was out of his line of sight he let out a loud sigh. Ignoring the wolf-whistles and hollering from his buddies he decided he'd get to class a little bit earlier than usual, just to see if anyone could help him with his history assignment before he attempted to bargain with Mr. Fullbuster. With a wave to his friends, he was off to class, but his thoughts kept straying to a certain blue-haired girl that had captured and held his heart from the minute she set her large, honey brown eyes on him all those years ago. I wonder when Wendy's going to figure out I've been in love with her for over thirteen years…fucking hell, I'm an eighteen-year-old dude and this one girl has me completely wrapped around her finger…Sighing, he took his seat and attempted to push all thoughts of Wendy out of his head until after class.
"…And long story short, my fiancé ended up setting the pan on fire." Wendy chuckled as she listened to her teacher talk about her weekend, feeling a bit more at ease than she had that morning. Romeo was right in saying that her creative writing assignment had been difficult for her, but Ms. Heartfilia had always been kind and understanding, hence the reason she didn't want to let her down and disappoint her by not doing the assignment to the best of her ability.
"Wow Ms. Heartfilia, isn't it a fireman's job to put out fires? Not start them?" It was lunchtime at Magnolia High, which gave students the opportunity to eat in the classrooms of their favorite teachers—and Wendy was no exception. She'd been eating lunch with her creative writing teacher, accomplished author Lucy Heartfilia, since the beginning of the semester. The blonde teacher was known on campus as someone who was firm but incredibly kind and lenient. She was the kind of teacher who genuinely cared for her students and created an environment that made them want to learn. A lot of students who were fans of her work ate in her classroom, and she was also the supervisor of the creative writing club on campus, but most students liked visiting her because she had an arsenal of hilarious stories about her fiancé, Natsu Dragneel.
"It is, but that's my Natsu for you. He's an idiot, but he's my idiot." The blonde woman chuckled, twisting the rather large diamond ring on her left hand. "So anyway, enough about me, how are you doing, Wendy? Things at home okay?" The classroom wasn't as packed as it normally was, allowing the younger woman to speak with her teacher one-on-one.
"Things are alright…Carla's been working late most nights, so I do all the housework and cook dinner just to help her out. She still checks up on me about five to ten times a day just to make sure I'm not being 'corrupted' or anything like that." Taking a bite of the sandwich she'd made, the blue-haired girl felt a twinge of guilt when she thought about her sister. Ever since their mother had passed away eight years ago after an extensive battle with breast cancer, Carla had been running herself ragged trying to maintain some normality in their lives. Before their mother's passing, she'd gotten an undergraduate degree in social work and went on to law school, where she specialized in criminal law. She was now one of the top social workers at Magnolia Hospital, head of the department in fact, and worked long hours in order to pay the bills. Wendy wished Carla would allow her to get a job, just so they had a little extra money—but the older woman had told her that school should be her main focus. Even if that was true, it still made the younger Marvell sister feel terrible.
"Well that's…something." Lucy spoke, frowning. "I mean, you're a teenage girl, you're bound to get corrupted somehow, it's kind of a normal thing..."
"Not if Carla can help it." Wendy chuckled, throwing out the container of yogurt she'd finished. She knew that at the end of the day her sister was just afraid of losing her—they'd already lost their mom and they couldn't afford to lose each other as well. So, for the most part, the younger Marvell did what she could to avoid burdening her sister any further.
"Hm, so how does your sister feel about you and Romeo?" Lucy tried to be subtle in her phrasing, gauging the young girl's feelings for her best friend. One thing was certain—Wendy definitely reminded her of herself when she was in high school. And that was one of the reasons she always made it a point to ask her student how things were, because she knew firsthand how it felt to feel alienated and lonely.
"She's gotten used to him over the years, he's one of the only real friends I have and he comes over pretty much every day to keep me company, so…hey, wait a second, Ms. Heartfilia, do you think Romeo and I are…dating?" Wendy's heart started pounding in her chest and she was positive her face was bright red. For the past four years she'd dealt with a lot of rumors about the closeness of her and Romeo's friendship—most people saw them walking together and assumed they were dating—and usually it wouldn't bother her. However, this was coming from her favorite teacher. It was a little embarrassing.
"Well, I…I hear things from your classmates! You guys gossip about everything and everyone's business, it's hard for me not to. But anyway, I was actually going to say you remind me of Natsu and I when we were your age…you're so clearly in love with each other, but you're scared of ruining what you guys have already." Blinking at Ms. Heartfilia's statement, Wendy wondered if she practiced the dark arts—because what she said was one hundred percent accurate. At least on her end. Thankfully the five-minute bell signaling the end of lunch rang, so Wendy didn't have to respond to her statement. She did, however, say goodbye to her teacher and told her to have a good weekend, darting out of her classroom in order to make it to her math class on time. Great, now I feel upset again. Mentally cursing the fact that she'd fallen for Romeo a long, long time ago, she took a seat and attempted to focus on the new concepts they were learning, but found she was failing miserably. With a sigh, she attempted to hunker down and take notes, but then she'd remember Romeo was coming over after school and her face would turn bright red. Why can't I just let him know how I feel? Oh, that's right, if he rejects me it'll be like losing my mom all over again.
The Following Day
"Wendy, it's me, I'm just calling to remind you that I'll be working late again tonight, but I wanted to tell you that if you need anything today—anything—please call me. I know how hard it's going to be for you and I need to know you're going to be safe and at least try and smile, alright? I love you, see you later." Hearing Carla's voicemail just made her even more depressed. Nine years. It had been nine years since her mom had passed away, and even though she'd tried her best to move on, it was incredibly difficult. She'd never forget the day they found out that their mom was sick. She and Carla had noticed that their mother was more exhausted than usual—the woman had worked two jobs as a psychology professor and a waitress at a popular local diner, so it was natural for her to be tired—and insisted they take her to see a doctor. Grandeeney refused, stating that there was work to be done with a massive smile on her face. It wasn't until their mother was bedridden, unable to breathe or move, that the Marvell sisters managed to coax her in to going to the hospital. Which was where they got the news that their mother had found a lump in her breast months prior to being admitted, but didn't think anything of it because there had always been multiple lumps in both of her breasts. The doctor informed them that the lump had not only gotten larger, but had broken off and spread to different parts of her body, saying the cancer had progressed to its most aggressive stage. At that point the only option for treatment was chemotherapy, and even if their mother lost her beautiful white-blonde hair in the process and had to take time off of work, she was ready to fight her illness tooth and nail. Initially Grandeeney responded well to the treatment, but little did they know that within the span of three months, their mother would be gone. The cancer had won the battle. Nine years later and Wendy could still picture her mother's weak smile as she squeezed her hand and made the young woman promise to be good for her older sister. Nine years later and Wendy could still remember tears coursing down her cheeks as she begged her mom not to go, to stay, to watch her grow up. Nine years later and the pain of losing her mother still affected her. This is going to be an incredibly trying day, I can feel it. Wendy had gone back-and-forth with Carla the previous night, telling her older sister that she didn't want to go to school because she knew she wouldn't be able to focus. While the older Marvell had understood why she wanted to stay home, she couldn't allow it. You can't miss school, what if you end up missing something important and subsequently fail one of your classes, huh? You're not going to get in to medical school if your grades slip, Wendy. Carla's voice rang out in her head, causing the blue haired girl to sigh. She really hated it when her older sister was right.
"Wendy, c'mon, it's time to go to school!" Romeo's voice called from outside her house. "If you don't open the door, I'm going to break it down." In order to save her door from certain destruction, she ran over and thrust it open—revealing her best friend holding her favorite drink from Starbucks and a small bouquet of sunflowers with a grin on his face. Unable to help it, she launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his midsection. He always knew how to cheer her up. But more importantly he was the only person, other than Carla, who understood that the anniversary of her mom passing away was beyond difficult for her. He and his dad had witnessed the effect Grandeeney's passing had on both girls, and the Conbolt men always came to their aide when they needed help with anything.
"Thanks." She murmured, tightening her grip on him slightly. At that moment she really wished she could convince her best friend to ditch school with her, stay home, and watch movies. Yet even if he was irresponsible and forgot to do his homework most of the time, Romeo would probably say the same thing as Carla.
"Don't mention it." He responded, wrapping an arm around her waist. It was hard to believe it had been nine years since Wendy's mom died. Sometimes he wondered what it would be like if Mrs. Marvell was still around—he'd always thought she was nice, even if she poked fun at the fact that his dad owned and operated a bar just so he could drink. Though if he were being completely honest with himself the real reason he wished Grandeeney was still around was because Wendy wouldn't have had to suffer the pain of losing her. Once it dawned on Romeo that he was in love with the petite blue-haired girl, he realized that he really didn't like seeing her sad, in pain, or unhappy. It was as if he could feel everything she was feeling and that creeped him out a little bit. That's love, I guess. After what felt like an eternity Wendy released him, a sad smile on her face.
"Um…listen, I know you've been looking forward to the pep rally all week—especially because it's your last one—so…I think you should walk to school by yourself today. I probably won't be very good company and I really don't want to dampen your spirits." It pained her to say it, but it was true. Romeo was one of the best players on the football team and always loved anything school spirit related—he'd even forced Wendy to participate by loaning her his jersey for the occasion. And even if she'd paired said item with her favorite black skirt and a belt for the rally today, she still wasn't feeling very peppy or spirited. It would be selfish of her to take that away from him.
"Wend, you're not gonna 'dampen my spirits', and as far as pep rallies go you know I only like them because I get to run through a banner and destroy it. So c'mon, grab your stuff and let's go, otherwise we'll be late for real this time." Romeo grinned at her, shoving his hands in his pockets. Wendy felt her heart tug once more, it was comforting knowing that he wasn't going anywhere and that he was going to be there for her regardless of the situation. She dashed inside to place the flowers he'd brought over in a vase and grab her school supplies, feeling a little bit blue once the tasks were accomplished. When she was younger, before the cancer had stolen her mother from her, Grandeeney would always watch as Wendy and Romeo walked to their shared elementary school—a smile would take over her entire face and she'd tell the pair to stay out of trouble before heading inside to get ready to teach her first class of the day. Mom…I wish you could see us now. She thought, feeling tears well up in her eyes. Ordinarily the memory wouldn't cross her mind, but today she knew everything and anything would remind her of her mom. When she joined Romeo back outside, the black-haired boy instantly noticed a change in her demeanor.
"You thinking about your mom?" He questioned, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as they began their walk to school. Over the years he'd come to realize that physical contact was something Wendy needed on the anniversary of her mom dying—it was as if she needed to be reassured that there were still people out there who would be there for her. And as her best friend, who was head over heels in love with her, he was more than happy to oblige. She simply nodded, leaning in to him slightly.
"I…I just miss her so much, Romeo. And I know it's been a long time since she died, but I'm always thinking about her, wishing there was something I could have done to keep her here with me." She frowned, feeling a few tears leak from her eyes. "Is that weird?" He mulled over her words carefully, really thinking about what he wanted to say.
"Nah, it's not weird at all." He spoke after a few minutes, removing his arm from her shoulders in favor of holding her hand. "Your mom was a huge part of your life and it's hard to get over losing someone who meant that much to you, even if it's been a while." It was true. While Romeo didn't know what having one of your parents pass away felt like, his mom had skipped out on him and his dad when he was a kid. He might not have lost her completely, but he'd never forget the anger and pain he felt, and continued to feel, because she left them. Wendy instantly sensed the change in her best friend, squeezing his hand to show her support. She knew he didn't like talking or thinking about his mom because when he did it usually resulted in him punching something or becoming withdrawn. Though she could recall once instance where he had actually cried over his mom—it was third grade and one of their classmates had taken to calling him a motherless idiot, saying that his mom obviously didn't like him enough to hang around. Due to the fact that the former Mrs. Conbolt had left town earlier that year, the taunting hit Romeo hard and he broke down, sobbing in the middle of the classroom. Needless to say, the kid was lucky their teacher sent him to the principal's office before Wendy could get her hands on him. She would've torn him to shreds for hurting Romeo. But, the incident had made the then eight-year-olds realize that there was a bond between them that would never be broken—and from that day on, they had each other's backs no matter what.
When they reached the school the ten-minute bell was already ringing, forcing the pair to run to their classrooms without their usual hug goodbye. It'll be okay, I'll probably see him later anyway. Wendy kept reminding herself as she entered her economics class with a minute to spare. As soon as she was in her seat, the final bell rang and her teacher began his lecture. Throughout the lesson her mind kept drifting to her mom—she couldn't help wondering what would have happened if Grandeeney had won her battle with cancer. Would she have pushed her to become a teacher instead of an oncologist? Would she have encouraged her to tell Romeo how she felt? And most importantly, would her mom be proud of the person she'd become? Wendy had always been a bit quiet and shy, but once you got her talking she was incredibly warm and funny. She was also incredibly loyal to the people she considered to be close to her and did everything in her power to make them happy, even if it meant putting their needs before her own. In her heart she knew that Grandeeney would take one look at her and smile—maybe she'd even admit that she'd lucked out because both of her children were responsible, driven young women. That thought made Wendy tear up and she almost didn't hear the bell ringing.
Quickly and quietly, she made her way to her English class, numbness starting to set in. Remember to take deep breaths and attempt to block the memories from your mind, that way you'll be able to focus on class. She reminded herself, settling in to her seat. Despite the fact that there was a ten minute break between first period and second period, and ordinarily she'd go and hang out with Romeo and his friends from the football and cheerleading teams, she wasn't feeling particularly social. In fact, she'd venture so far as to say that she didn't want to see anyone who wasn't Romeo or Carla today. Which meant she needed to come up with a plan to get out of seeing her classmates and acquaintances. Maybe I can eat lunch in the libr—oh wait, Mrs. McGarden-Redfox will probably want to know how I'm fairing today. Darn it, why did I have to become friends with two of the most well-meaning but nosy employees at this school!? Making the executive decision to simply grin and bear whatever questions the librarian had for her after her class was over, she tried to focus on Mr. Justine's lesson on Frankenstein, but her thoughts kept drifting all over the map. They flitted from her mom to college applications to Romeo to Carla to the housework that needed to be done and she was so wrapped up in her head that she didn't even hear the bell ring. Again. Once she realized that all of her classmates had darted out of the classroom she gathered her belongings and made her way to the library. That way she could get some of her homework done and distract herself from the gnawing feeling that had developed in her stomach. It was as if she could sense that something bad was going to happen, but couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. Oh well, here we go.
Eating lunch in the library turned out to be much quieter and peaceful than Wendy anticipated, and as soon as she left her final class of the day it dawned on her that she'd missed Romeo's last pep rally because she'd been fixated on finishing her assignment for Ms. Heartfilia's class. No wonder there weren't many people in the library…oh well, Romeo won't be mad at me for missing a rally. Plus, I'm going to the game on Friday so that should make up for it. For the first time that day she allowed herself to smile, really smile. Today wasn't nearly as bad as she thought it would be. Now all she needed to do was wait for Romeo and they could be on their merry way. Maybe she could even convince him to help her with the housework she had to do.
"Hey Wendy." A male voice that definitely did not belong to her best friend spoke from beside her. Shutting her locker, she turned to face one of the football players whose name always escaped her. She did know that he hung out with Romeo a lot and she also knew that he gave her the creeps every time she saw him. Mostly because he stared at her like she was a piece of meat and he hadn't eaten in months. The blonde haired boy smirked at her, leering at her as he casually leaned against the lockers. Wendy was incredibly thankful there were other students because the gnawing feel that had been present in her stomach had returned in full force. Something bad was going to happen and she didn't know how to stop it.
"Oh, um…hello?" She muttered, wondering where the hell Romeo was. Whenever one of his friends would make her feel uncomfortable, he'd immediately tell them to back off and he'd lead her away from the situation. Now that he wasn't here to act as a buffer, dread was making her feel queasy.
"Y'know, Wendy, there's a dance coming up…how about you ditch that boyfriend of yours and go out with a real man?" Suddenly the tall boy had her backed against the lockers and the feeling of dread amplified by ten. "I mean, even if you are kind of frigid, you could always be warmed up." Her eyes widened as he moved closer to her and she knew she should either move away or slap him, but her body didn't seem to be responding. The numbness she'd been experiencing all day prevented her from reacting. She felt his hand in her hair and she squeezed her eyes shut, shock coursing through her system. Tears were starting to form in her eyes as she felt his hand move down her arm, towards her left breast. Suddenly she felt herself being pulled away from the blonde boy in to a pair of familiar arms, and when she glanced up at her best friend's face she saw just how angry he was. What the hell took you so long? She wondered as Romeo stepped in front of her, shielding her.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing, Stout?" Pure venom laced his tone as he glared at his teammate. He had been running a little late because he had to stay behind and ask Mr. Strauss a few questions about the football game that would take place tomorrow, but once that was over with he'd made his way to Wendy's locker, completely shocked by what he saw. Granville Stout was one of his acquaintances from the football team, a junior who constantly talked about the girls he'd been with and how they just seemed to throw themselves at him. Romeo had never liked the guy, and even if he'd heard him talking about wanting to get with Wendy, he didn't think his teammate would act on it. If any guy wanted to get with Wendy, they'd have to go through Romeo first—not that they'd ever have the chance in the first place, he always made it clear that Wendy was his. Or would be his, eventually. Granville narrowed his eyes at the black-haired boy, unhappy that he'd been interrupted.
"Just askin' her if she wanted to go to the dance with me, you got a problem with that, Conbolt?"
"Yeah, I do. Listen Stout, here's how this is gonna go: you're gonna walk away and forget you even looked in her direction before I knock you the fuck out, are we clear?"
"And if I don't?"
"Well, then you're gonna have a tough time explaining to coach why you can't play tomorrow." The smile on his face scared Wendy a little; it wasn't warm like the smiles he gave her, but cold and villainous. "Cause I'll break all the bones in your body for hurting her." Her eyes widened at that statement and she noted that Granville looked like he was about to throw up. Without another word to either of them the blonde boy left, muttering something about 'motherless idiots' as he did so. A beat of silence followed before Romeo turned to her, dark brown eyes running over her face and body to check for damage. She wanted to scream at him, tell him she was fine and that he didn't have to fight someone to protect her, but instead the weight of the day finally took its toll on her. Her backpack dropped to the cement as she crumbled against the lockers, burying her face in her hands to sob. Salty tears ran down her cheeks, smearing her make-up, but she didn't care. At least she finally felt something.
"Whoa, Wendy, Wend." Romeo panicked, taking a seat next to her. He carefully wrapped an arm around her, feeling her head fall against his shoulder even as she continued to cry. His heart felt like it was being torn to shreds and he tried his best to murmur soothing words to her, to keep her calm.
"Romeo, what happened here?" Ms. Heartfilia appeared out of nowhere, startling the black-haired boy. With her were the school librarian, Levy McGarden-Redfox, and Ezra Fernandes—the principal of Magnolia High. At this point Wendy had buried her face in Romeo's shoulder and was ignorant to the three women looking at her with concern written on their features. All she wanted was to feel her best friend next to her, comforting her.
"Uh…one of my teammates was trying to get her to go to the dance with him and she refused, but he wouldn't listen or leave her alone and scared her a bit." Running his fingers up and down her arm in a soothing manner, he instinctively drew her closer to him. "It's also the nine year anniversary of her mom passing away, so…" The three women gasped, immediately slipping in to 'mom' mode.
"That kind of behavior will not be tolerated at my school, Romeo, can you tell me who did this to Wendy?" Ms. Fernandes demanded, her eyes flashing with unspoken rage. She was an incredibly eccentric woman, but she cared deeply for every student that attended the high school and strove to make it a safe and happy place for all. However, if someone crossed her, she could be downright scary. Romeo informed the principal about the event that occurred, causing the red-haired woman to storm off in search of his teammate. I hope she wrings your fucking neck, man. He was pulled from his thoughts when Ms. Heartfilia and the blue-haired librarian started comforting Wendy by telling her everything was going to be alright and that they would make sure that whoever caused this was properly punished. Eventually they helped her up and told Romeo to get her off campus immediately—and he was more than happy to oblige. Waving goodbye to the two older women, he grabbed Wendy's hand and nearly dragged her away from the school. Once they were halfway to their houses, he glanced at her, realizing she'd stopped crying and was now staring straight ahead with a glazed look on her face.
"…Wendy, are you okay?" He whispered, silently cursing himself for asking such a stupid question. Of course she isn't okay, you idiot. Who asks something like that? Wendy stopped abruptly, causing him to stop as well because of their linked hands. She gazed up at him with those wide, honey colored eyes that always betrayed what she was feeling. New tears were starting to form even as she grinned at him.
"No, not really." She let out a sigh, her grip on his hand tightening. "Even if today wasn't as bad as I expected it to be, it was really draining."
"How so?" Once again Romeo cursed his ability to ask the stupidest questions at the wrong times. Though the slight smile on her face made him feel slightly better. They resumed walking and Wendy started pouring out all of the thoughts and feelings she'd had during the day, trying to articulate them in to words.
"Thinking about my mom is something I do constantly, you know that, but all throughout school today I caught myself wondering what she'd say if she saw me now—if she saw us now—would she be proud of me? Would she push me to be better? I'll never know, because she's gone, Romeo. And even if I know that, it's…it's still hard. It's hard because the minute she left the world, it was as if everything came crumbling down." Thumbing away at the liquid running down her cheeks, she refused to look at him as she continued. "The day she died was the day I lost Carla—who had to step in and take care of me—and I feel guilty because she works so hard to provide for us and won't let me help her. And even if I know she's there for me, and even if you and I hang out every day, there are days where I feel…lonely. Sometimes I'll be sitting in my room and it'll hit me, or I'll be making dinner, or waiting for you to stop by and I'll feel this crushing weight in my chest. Like the loneliness is weighing down on me. Loosing my mom took a bigger toll on me than anyone expected, I guess." Wendy felt a little bit better now that she had told him about her feelings. Romeo had always been there for her no matter what and she trusted him completely. "Plus, all thoughts and feeling about my mom aside, having one of your teammates come up to me and demand I go to the dance with him completely caught me off guard. If I was in the right state of mind, I probably would've yelled at him." That made Romeo chuckle. Even if he protected Wendy from being hit on by his teammates the majority of the time, he knew she was completely capable of taking care of herself. Squeezing her hand, he didn't necessarily know how to process the entire speech she'd just given him. On one hand, he completely understood why she was lonely—he felt the same way when his dad was out at the bar working. However, she did have him and Carla supporting her no matter what. With that in mind, an idea began to form in his head—after the day Wendy had, maybe getting out of Magnolia would be exactly what she needed to distract her from everything that happened.
"Romeo, why do you look like you've just come up with an evil plan?" She laughed, feeling some of her anxiety melt away as he grinned at her.
"How do you feel about going for a drive?" They had reached their respective houses, but Romeo hadn't let go of her hand. At that moment she realized just how close they were standing together and it made her want to blush.
"You didn't…well, I mean, where would we go? It's a school night and you have a game tomorrow…" Looking up at his handsome face, her heart started pounding when he smiled at her.
"I have no idea, maybe we could go to the beach? The mountains? Anywhere is fine as long as we're together, right?" His hands were on her waist before he could process the action, and he leaned his forehead against hers. "So, what do you say—wanna run away for a little while?" Maybe it was the look in his eyes, maybe it was the fact that she was completely in love with him, but for whatever reason Wendy found herself smiling—really smiling—and wrapping her arms around his midsection.
"Okay, let's go."