I'll wait
In Flawless, Maya tells Emily "I'll wait for you. However long it takes". (Flawless, p 224) Her perspective on it all. Flashback quotes pp 222/223 Flawless. Set a year later, after A is gone and its senior year. Oneshot.
Flashback
I watched as Emily walked into the tent, dressed in a pink strapless dress and looking self-conscious, like she wasn't used to wearing girly clothes. A guy I didn't recognise-must be Toby, the guy she told me she would be asking to Foxy, accompanied her. Lucky him.
I wonder if she really does like him or if she just wanted me to believe that, wanted to believe it herself. Maybe she thought she could erase what had happened just by going to a dance with a guy.
Truthfully, I didn't believe her when she said she liked him. I thought that maybe she would want to go with me. My brother had tickets that we could both use and she'd said she wasn't going in the first place-which was why it was a surprise to me to find out that she would be going. With a guy.
I saw her as she walked through the hallway and was accosted by the tarot reader, before she walked away. She returned shortly and bumped into a guy. Her ex-boyfriend. He confronted her, then pinned her against the wall. She had no way of trying to escape, and he seemed to be harassing her.
After a few minutes, she kneed him where it hurts the most, before turning and walking quickly away.
I hurried over to her and grabbed her arm.
'Hey.'
It seemed to take a minute for her eyes to focus on me-she looked about to cry.
'I just saw the whole thing' I said softly, indicating where he sat in the corner. 'Are you okay?'
She said she was fine and stood up straight. A minute later, she said she should probably go back to her date.
Right. The guy she came with.
'I have a secret for you before you go' I told her. I leaned close to her ear. 'I'll wait for you' I said, quietly enough that only she could hear. 'However long it takes.'
End Flashback
A year later
Maya POV
Foxy was coming up again. I remembered what had happened last year. Emily had gone with a guy, and been harassed by her ex-boyfriend. Then there was the secret I'd told her.
I thought about that often after we broke up. Despite everything, I understood why she'd done it. She'd been stalked by someone, first pretending to be her best friend and then by someone thought to be dead. Then she'd been shipped off to Iowa and run away to come back to Philadelphia. After everything that she'd been through, I could understand her decision-she seemed to need some time on her own.
Then she started going out with a guy.
I meant it though. I would still wait. It was the beginning of senior year and there was the chance she would still be interested. And if her parents had managed to accept me before, they might be able to again. Of course, I wasn't going to wait around forever. We would graduate in June. If I wanted to know how she felt about me now, I'd have to make the first move.
I wondered what I should do. Talking in person was a big risk-one I wasn't ready to face if she rejected me. Emails were too impersonal. Maybe a letter would work. I found some paper and a pen, and started drafting my letter.
Dear Emily
Foxy is coming up again, and I was just remembering what happened last year.
Do you remember the little secret I told you? That I'd wait for you, no matter how long it took? I meant it. I still do. But I'm not going to wait around forever. This is senior year-next year we're going to college.
I admit I was pretty pissed off when you broke up with me. But in the big picture, it was only small compared to what you went through for basically the entire junior year. I mean, you were being stalked-well; I don't need to recount what happened. You know what happened.
For a while, I blamed you, but that wasn't fair. I'm not trying to act as if I know everything, but I think it's safe to say that you didn't act that way deliberately. In hindsight, you were acting the way you did because of the stalker. I wish you'd told me about that.
Anyway, back to what I said before. I still love you. I'm going to Foxy this year and I wanted to know if you'd go with me. As a date, not as friends.
If you want to go with me, meet me at the start of the Marwyn trail at 6:00p.m the Saturday after next.
Love,
Maya.
Before I could hesitate, I folded the letter and stuck it in an envelope.
The time dragged slowly. Eventually the two weeks were up and it was the day of Foxy.
I got ready anxiously, dressing in something I knew the rest of the Rosewood Day girls wouldn't be wearing. I hurried to do my makeup keeping it simple like always-and fixed my hair.
Finally, I fastened a thin watch around my wrist and headed to the Marwyn trail.
I got there early and waited, checking my watch every few minutes. I decided I would wait until 6:10, before I left.
My watch now read 5:59.
I kept checking the time, frustrated that the minute hand was moving so slowly.
6:03. So far, no sign of Emily.
6:07. She still wasn't there. I would wait another three minutes.
6:10. She wasn't there. I wondered if she'd even received my letter. As it was, I would get going.
At 6:11, I heard faint footsteps.
A minute later, Emily appeared dressed in a long, deep red dress. She smiled tentatively at me and looked me up and down.
'I got your letter' she said.
I stepped forward and looked at her, thinking. She'd received my letter and shown up. Okay, she'd been late, but she was here. The way she was dressed, she seemed to be planning to go to Foxy as well. Still, I had to ask. I needed confirmation.
'Can we start again? I meant everything in my letter.'
She nodded, seeming shy.
I closed the gap between us and wrapped my arms around her.
How'd you like it? I often wondered how Maya had felt about Emily after they broke up. So this was just my take on things, a year later when A was gone and life had returned to normal.
Please review, I love constructive criticism.