It was late again, practically 2 in the morning when I decided that listening to my parents yelling at each other was overrated. I dialed some numbers, but everyone was either sleeping, partying or they just didn't want to talk. So, I fell back on the trusty lets-sneak-out-of-the-house routine.
I headed for the abandoned playground, about 3 miles down the road. Pink Floyd was blasting through my Ipod earphones and there were no cars out, especially at this time of night, in this part of town. Not that Tree Hill has a bad section of town; it's just a little more rundown. Ever since the big developers kicked us…well, that's a totally different story.
It was around 3ish when I found myself sitting on top of the old rusted slide. I had switched the tunes to Van Morrison when I saw headlights.
What in the world…I decided this was the time to use my perfection of my MASTER OF DARKNESS skill. My mom laughed when I first told I was the master of darkness, but she had no idea what it was like. Sneaking around, hearing things people didn't want you to hear, seeing things people didn't want you to see. She didn't believe me until I caught her cheating on my dad. Then she hated it.
But I sat in total silence, turned down my music and watched.
The car pulled in and I could hear people laughing. I thought they must have been drunk, or on drugs, something. No one, and I mean no one goes out at 3 in the morning and giggles like that.
Two people stumbled out of the Volkswagen beetle. A taller girl, and a slightly shorter one. They were hanging on each other. Definitely drunk. But I kept silent and watched.
"What are we doing here?" The shorter one, obviously the less drunk of the two, asked in a stage whisper.
"Chill out. This is the playground my dad used to take me to." There was a regretful tone in her voice. From where I was, the shorter visibly flinched and then reached out to put a hand on the taller girls shoulder.
"I'm…" But the taller girl brushed it off.
"Not your problem." I nicknamed her Dimples, because in the right angle under the streetlights, she had these incredible dimples. They were the cutest I'd ever seen. And I don't use the word cute lightly.
But Dimples walked out of the streetlight and away from the other girl. I dubbed her Tiny. Totally unoriginal, but fitting. Tiny looked hurt.
"Hey. Listen. Just don't think about it, okay?" Tiny put her hands on Dimples' shoulders and made the taller girl at her. They stared at each other intensely until Dimples smiled and ducked her head.
"Okay." They both smiled. Tiny slung an arm around Dimples and faked giving her a nookie. "You're too cute." Tiny just laughed.
I laughed silently too. These girls had no idea what they were being watched. That was pretty funny in my book.
I watched them walk hand in hand to the swing set. Tiny got on one of them and Dimples went behind her and started to push. The rusty metal made a few ear splitting noises, but after a minute and extreme laughing on their part, it quieted down. It was content silence.
Dimples caught the swing the next time it went back and leaned forward, her ponytail slipping over her shoulder. Tiny leaned her head back and the stared at each other, obviously happy. Then Dimples pushed Tiny back into the swing motion again.
"Are we going to get caught here?" Tiny was definitely a worrier.
Dimples laughed. "Relax baby. It's just past 3 in the morning. Who's going to catch us?" Even in the dark, Tiny's face still looked worried.
"I know, it's just…" Dimples cut her off. She seemed to do a lot of that. But it wasn't rude. It was like she knew what Tiny was going to say.
"You've never done anything illegal and you're worried that the cops will find us and think we're trespassing. I know baby, but you're too much of a goody-goody to get caught. You'd probably cry or something." I wasn't aware if Dimples knew how rude that sounded. But I could hear it, and Tiny didn't look pleased.
"Excuse me?" Tiny got off the swing and turned around to look at Dimples. The taller girl wasn't expecting that and got knocked backward by the force of the swing. Dimples fell on her butt, but Tiny made no move to help her up.
"I would what? Is that what you think?" Tiny looked, and sounded, angry. Dimples figured that out on her won though.
"Baby I just…" This time, Tiny cut Dimples off.
"Don't 'baby' me." He voice was thick with venom. "And stop finishing my goddamn sentences for me."
"You're drunk." Dimples was blunt, to the point. I liked her.
"No I'm not." Tiny was defiant.
"Yes. You are. That's why you're being weird right now." Dimples took a step forward, but Tiny stepped backwards.
"Me? Being weird? You're the one that got all depressive when I asked where we were?" Tiny shot back. Catfight.
"I did not get depressive." Dimples response was weak. She knew it. Tiny knew it. I knew it.
"Just because your daddy left you and doesn't love you, doesn't mean you can be all…I can't think of the word, but you know what I mean." Tiny had been really good at hiding her drunkenness, but now…it was full blown.
Dimples face fell. Even though it was dark out, it had begun to get a little lighter, with the sun rising and all. And from where I was, I could see the shining orbs of Dimples eyes. They ere filling with tears. But suddenly, her eyes got hard, angry.
"At least my parents come around once and a while."
"Doesn't mean they love you." Tiny shot back.
"You're a lousy drunk." Dimples took a step forward, but Tiny stood her ground.
"You're a lousy girlfriend." Tiny mumbled, loud enough for everyone to hear.
"I'm not the one that slept with Nathan!" Dimples was yelling now, and wondered who Nathan was.
"You slept with Lucas!" Tiny shot back. There's another guy?
"You're a pushover." Dimples stepped closer, but Tiny stepped back, once again.
"You're a slut who can't mind her own business." Dimples eyes flashed again.
"And you're the queen of innocence?"
Tiny visibly flinched. "At least I don't act like the world should fall at my feet."
"Well, it does." Dimples said.
"Only because people are scared of you." Tiny yelled back.
"I'd rather have people scared of me, than walk all over me." Tiny's face fell. Then it hardened.
"The only person who walks all over me is you." Dimples sneered.
"Because it's easy." Tiny's face fell again, but this time it didn't put it's defenses back up. After a minute though, it still didn't harden. It got angry. Her nostrils flared and her eyes narrowed.
"I hate you." Tiny said slowly and calmly.
"Good. I hate you too." Dimples said, a little more rushed and louder.
"Goody Two Shoes."
"Slut."
"Bitch."
Without warning, Tiny threw herself at Dimples, knocking them both to the ground. It took a minute, but as they rolled around, I could see they weren't exactly kissing. It looked like Tiny could really throw a right hook. I heard a sickening crack and realized that Tiny's tiny hand must have connected with Dimples' dimples.
"Oh my God." Tiny said out loud as she got off the ground and backed up. Yep, Dimples was bleeding. Tiny realized it as the same time I did.
But when Tiny approached Dimples, the girl on the ground held up her hand to stop her.
"No. Go." She was already having trouble talking, but that was expected when someone knocked you in the mouth. Hard.
But Tiny ignored her and knelt down to the other girl. "I'm so sorry. I'm so so sorry." Tiny was saying it more to herself than to Dimples.
"Tuto…" But Dimples was cut off when Tiny pulled her into her arms. Dimples shrugged and moved until she was comfortable. Tiny reached over hesitantly and wiped away the blood, trying not to cause Dimples discomfort. Probably shouldn't have punched her in the first place. But not my call.
"Baby I didn't mean it." Tiny said as she rocked the taller girl on her lap. Dimple smiled and turned to face Tiny. They leaned in and I looked away. Not my business. Sure, I could watch them cat fight, but watching them kiss. I felt rude.
But the master of darkness failed when I slipped down the slide. The looked over at me and I knew I had been spotted. Tiny looked afraid, but Dimples looked angry.
"You might want to put ice on that. It'll swell like crazy and you won't be able to talk fro a couple of days." I directed at Dimples.
"Nice hook." I told Tiny. Then, before they could do anything, I left. I was running so fast, I think my shoes might have been on fire. I looked back once. They made a pretty picture, sitting in each other's arms with the sunset background.
When I got home, my parents were waiting up for me. They looked tired and angry. I've been seeing that look a lot lately. But I brushed it off and began to tell them what I had done this morning. My mom told me to stop lying.
I went upstairs and lay down in my bed. Coincidentally, Tough Love by Squeeze starts playing.
They talk it over but it's not easy - Sorting it out
I thought about what my mom said. Sure, I didn't know their real names. I didn't know where they lived, what their hobbies were, how old they were, or the names of their friends.
But I knew one thing: They were in love.
