Be Mine
Phil let out an audible sigh as he wearily dragged himself up the stairs and into the halls of H.G. Wells Junior/Senior High School. He knew in the back of his mind that it was his most dreaded day of the year, and it looked like he would have to suffer through this terrible day again. His glance fell toward the ground as he could not stand to watch the numerous couples exchanging gifts and hugs in the hallway. Others walked by with smiles on their faces, hand in hand, the other hand holding gifts of beautiful red roses and heart-shaped boxes filled with delicious chocolates.
Phil opened up his locker and sighed again as he sorted through his books for school. He had never experienced a Valentine's Day that he enjoyed before. Even though he was 16 already, the wonderful feeling of having the girl of his dreams in his arms had never come over him. All of his friends slowly drifted away from him as they become occupied in romantic relationships. All except for Phil. He had never known true love and was left lonely and miserable.
"Hey Phil!"
The sound of a familiar voice brought a slight quirky grin to his face. Maybe she would be able to brighten up this miserable day.
"Happy Valentine's Day!"
"What's so happy about it?" Phil mumbled grumpily.
"Love is in the air, Phil. Can't you feel it?" Keely sighed dreamily as she gazed into nothingness. She, like Phil, never had a boy to cherish and hold tightly, but she eagerly wished for that day to come. Many had approached her because of her stunning looks and great personality, but she never felt that they had what she desired in a boy. Via and Owen strolled by, her arm in his, as they had recently become a couple. They were preoccupied in a flirtatious conversation at the moment and noticed neither Keely nor Phil.
"Look at those two! I wish I had a special someone for this special day." Keely opened her adjacent locker and gasped in surprise. "What's this?" She pulled out a beautiful pink and red valentine's card shaped like a heart with Keely written ornately on it. She then flipped the card open and read the inscribed poem quietly:
The birds are singing sweetly
They sing my love-struck tune
My heart it flutters freely
It skips a beat for you.
When our eyes meet it's bliss
Mine's on yours and your's on me
I'll seal our love with a kiss
To last all eternity.
My affection is unknown to you
I have kept it in the dark
I'd like to show you that it's true
At Pickford Roller Park.
In the lovely evening weather,
We'll spend St. Valentine's Day
And there we'll be together,
To skate the night away.
The affectionate sincerity of the poem touched Keely heart profoundly as she clasped the valentine to her chest and tears came to her eyes as she was speechless for a moment.
"Th-that's the most beautiful thing anyone has ever written for me," she whispered and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Thanks Phil, I'd love to go with you tonight." Keely leaned over a gaves Phil the most warming heart-felt hug ever.
Phil stared at her awkwardly as she released him from her grasp. For a second he felt a tingling sensation within his heart, but slowly shook it off. "Keel, that valentine wasn't from me. After all we're only best friend's right? I wouldn't write anything that corny anyways."
Phil's rude comment snapped Keely out of her romantic trance, and brought about an overwhelming burst of anger.
"For your information, Phil Diffy, that was the most touching poem anyone has ever written for me! I should have suspected that it didn't come from a jerk like you!" With that said, Keely slammed her locker, turned away, and stomped off, leaving Phil with his mouth open, shocked and regretful of what he had said.
"Umm, I didn't mean it Keel. I was joking," Phil shouted hopelessly down the hall to Keely who was no longer in sight. Why did Keely assume that he had given her the valentine? Did she think of him as more than just a friend? Phil wondered if his comment about Keely's secret admirer was truthful or just something that he said because he was jealous and afraid to lose someone so close to him. After all, they had stuck together through thick and thin ever since Phil moved here from the future almost two years ago. Dancing in his garage after the Ladies' Choice Dance and skyaking to see the amazing Northern Lights were two recent occurrences that had brought them closer that ever before. He should have felt happy for Keely though. Her admirer could possibly be the perfect boy; someone who she could give her heart and soul to and spend her days with. But did Phil want her heart for himself?
Phil got through the rest of the lovey-dovey school day without seeing Keely again. She had avoided him in the hallways and rushed out after each class so that he didn't have a chance to apologize or speak to her about his feelings or hers. Once again, Valentine's Day had been a failure for him and lived up to its notoriety. He dragged himself home and into his room to hit the books, even though it was a Friday night. Everyone he knew would be going to the roller park that evening to boogie down to the beat at the old school skating rink, while he got to live it up with Emerson and Thoreau. He began to think about Keely again and how sorry he was for his remarks. Phil wished that he could accompany her to the skating rink and not some stranger. At that moment, he realized that he could no longer just sit around at home but had to find out who Keely's admirer was and if he was suitable for such a great girl like her.
Dressed in tight white bell-bottoms and a vintage long-sleeved shirt, Phil snuck out of his house and walked the couple miles to the roller park, a pair of old roller-skates that he had obtained with the Wizard in hand.
It was dark when he arrived at the rink, but inside the disco lights were gleaming brightly and people and were skating to the sounds of Chic's "Le Freak." Phil entered and sat on the side to put his skates on. He had never skated or been here before but it seemed similar to the hover-skating rinks that they had in the future. How hard could it be he thought. Phil glanced out onto the dance floor and spotted the most beautiful girl he had ever seen wearing a short white skirt and cute pink top, blond hair shimmering under the lights. She spun around and Phil realized that it was Keely, the girl that he had known so well for ages. Although tonight she looked better than he had ever seen her look, with her dazzling eyes and bright smile…skating with Nick!
He should have known. Nick was in most of Keely's classes and it always seemed to Phil that he had a thing for her. However, he had much more to offer than Phil. He was smart, tall with wavy brown hair, and star pitcher of the H.G. Wells varsity baseball team. The couple seemed to be having a splendid time and this made Phil to feel somewhat jealous. He casually skated out onto the roller rink to get a closer look of them as the familiar beat of Earth, Wind, and Fire's "Let's Groove" emanated out of the rink's speakers. Phil skated over to the rhythm of the music but tripped and landed with a loud thud when he neared Keely and Nick.
"Phil Diffy! What are you doing here?" Keely shouted accusingly. "Did you come here to laugh at me even more? Well, its not going to work because Nick and I are having the best night of our lives." She grabbed Nick's hand and skated off the rink to sit down with him at a table. There she fluttered her eyes lovingly and giggled as Nick whispered sweets nothings into her ear. Phil remained on the floor and hung his head, hopelessly lost and dejected.
He skated aimlessly in circles for another hour or so, thinking about his own relationship with Keely and all they had been through together. How would it be now with Nick in her life? He would probably have to spend more time alone, without his best friend and possibly something more. He glanced occasionally to where the young couple sat and continued on in their conversation.
However, this time when he looked, he saw Nick eagerly flirting with some other brunette while Keely watched on the side, astonished and helpless. The DJ announced over the funky music that there would be a couples skate-off in half an hour, and Phil observed as Nick pointed to the DJ and asked the brunette if she wanted to compete. He then said something to Keely which made her cringe, and walked away with the girl, laughing with his arm around her shoulder. Keely remained at the table and tears poured down her face. Phil, at first, felt that she deserved the punishment and hardship, but a wave of sympathy came over him. After all, she was his best friend and he felt guilty for causing her even more pain.
Phil slowly rolled over to the table and stood next to Keely for a moment.
"Can I take a seat?"
Keely looked up at his caring face through red teary eyes and sniffled. "Sure, whatever." She slowly slid over in the booth and Phil sat next to her.
"So what happened?"
"Ni-Nick left me for some other girl that he used to be in a relationship with…They're going to compete in the skate-off as a couple." She paused and sighed deeply. "You were right Phil. Nick didn't mean anything by that valentine. All he liked me for was for my looks and nothing else."
"Well its not something I wanted to be right about Keel." Phil stopped to scratch the back of his head ponderingly. "Look, I'm sorry for what I said to you this morning, and I'll be happy for you no matter who you choose to be your boyfriend. You were just unfortunate to meet such an uncaring guy like Nick. There are lots of great guys out there in the world Keely and one of them is meant for you. It's just that this morning when you received that valentine….well, the truth is that I might have been a little…jealous."
"Jealous?"
"Yeah, Keel. I mean, we've been best friends for so long and… I didn't want to lose you, and I wish I could have written something for you that would touch your heart like that. Keel, look it's hard to explain….How about we talk later and kick Nick's butt now?"
"Alright, let's show that loser how to boogie down!"
The skate-off was just about to begin when Phil and Keely skated out onto the floor and signed-up just in time. The other couples routines were decently good and the crowd was wowed. Second to last was Nick and the brunette, who skated out onto the floor and performed well to A Taste of Honey's "Boogie Oogie Oogie." Last but definitely not least, it was finally Phil and Keely's turn to skate.
"Phil I'm nervous. What are we going to do out there?"
"Just relax Keel and follow your heart. Listen and let the rhythm guide you."
He lent his hand to her and she grasped it, lacing her fingers in his and a warm tingling sensation went up her spine. The beat began to the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back."
When
I had you to myself Oh baby give me one
more chance Oh darlin' I was blind to let you
go Trying to live without your love Every street you walk on
I didn't want you around
Those pretty
faces always made you
Stand out in a crowd
Then someone picked
you from the bunch
One glance was all it took
Now it's much
too late for me
To take second look
To show you that I love you
Won't you please send
me back in your heart
But now since I see you in his arms
I want you back
Yes I
do now
I want you back
Is
one long sleepless night
Let me show you girl
That I know wrong
from right
I leave tear stains on
the ground
Following the girl
I didn't even want around
Oh
darlin' I was blind to let you go
But now since I see you in his
arms
I want you back
Yes I do now
I want you back
The music sent Phil and Keely into a trance as they danced like never before. The sound of the crowd cheered them on and nothing could go wrong. They flowed to the rhythm perfectly, almost molded together as one that could never be separated. This, was happiness. The crowd roared as the songs came to an end and Phil and Keely hugged each other triumphantly. They held up their arms and shouted for joy.
The couple sat quietly outside of the Pickford Roller Park on a bench as the brisk night breeze chilled their faces. The full moon illuminated the night sky because the party is long over and the bright disco lights were now dim. They snuggled closely together, hands intertwined, to breathe in each other's warmth, a gold, first-place medallion hung around each of their necks. All they desired was to be together, forever, enjoying each other's company.
Phil leaned over and whispered gently into her ear.
"Keely, will you be my valentine?"
She nodded, gazed into his brown eyes, and caressed his cheek with her hand. They slowly rose up and embraced each other. She wrapped her arms around his neck, he carefully placed his around her waist.
Her lips touched his gently.
They danced the night away.
Sweet bliss.