I honestly don't know what to say... Just read...

Ch. 2
Strange Car

(Sunday)

"I'm your biggest fan, I'll follow you until you love me! Papa- Paparazzi! Baby, there's no other superstar! You know that I'll be, your Papa- Paparazzi!"

Knock, knock…

"Promise I'll be kind, but I won't stop until that boy is mine!"

Knock, knock, knock…

"Baby, you'll be famous! Chase yah down until you love me! Your Papa- Papar-"

BAMB, BAMB, BAMB!

"ALRIGHT!"

I raised my foot up and stepped off the surface of my bed, where I had currently been jumping up and down on. After pausing my radio I walked over to my front door and yanked it open. My dad was standing there, his fist raised to knock on the door again.

"Can I help you, daddy?" I asked sweetly, trying to cover up my outburst.

"Yeah, you can," he said. "Your brother's busy doing his chores around the house, so I need you to go ahead and clean the car."

"Now? By myself?" I asked, and my dad nodded. "But, you said Sam and I could-"

"If you go clean the car, and do a good job, I won't make you do your chores for three days. And I'll still give you your allowance on Sunday."

A short pause…

"Where's the sponge?"

My dad chuckled. "In the garage. Now, change into something to work in and get to cleaning."

"Yes, sir!"

I then quickly shut the door and ran over to my dresser. I changed into a pair of jean-shorts and a purple tank top, slipping off my shoes and socks. After that I ran out of my door and quickly went down the stairs, nearly tripping on the last few steps.

"Emma, be careful!" my mom snapped when she saw me.

"My bad!"

Ignoring her irritated look, I continued to run throughout the house until I reached the front door. After that I ran over to the outside of the garage. The car sat there on the carport, still in the same spot it had been when we brought it home Friday. I spared it a smile before I ran into the garage to retrieve the sponge and the soap. Once I had both I went back outside and to the side of the garage building, where the hose was connected to the water pipe. I grabbed the nozzle and dragged it out to the car.

"Hey, bae," I said cheerfully, setting down the soap and the sponge. "Dad says you're getting dirty, so I gotta clean you up now."

I reached in through the open window and opened the glove compartment, taking the keys out of it. I walked around the car to the drivers side and leaned back through the window, putting the key in and turning it.

"My Ipod's charging, at the moment," I reached over to the radio dial. "So, we'll just have to see what you got on your radio…"

I turned the dial all the way until it was on the right side before I finally got a good enough signal, not to mention a good song. 'Don't Stop The Music,' by Rihanna.

Please don't stop the- Please don't stop the- Please don't stop the music!

"Nice…" I said slyly.

With that, I set the hose to spray mode and turned it on. Careful not to get it inside the windows, I lifted it up and sprayed the water on the hood of the car first. As I walked around the car, soaking it all up, I started to focus a little more on the music. When that happens, I start to sing along. And when I sing along, I start to dance a little.

"I wanna take you away! Let's escape into the music, DJ let it play! I just can't refuse it! Like the way you do this! Keep on rockin' to it! Please don't stop the- Please don't stop the music!"

Holding the hose in the air, I started jumping up and down, moving my hips and waving arms. Now, I don't know if I imagined it, but I thought I had heard a static-like chuckle coming from the radio.

"Baby, are you ready? Cause it's getting cold. Don't you feel the passion ready to explode? What goes on between us, no one has to know. This is a private show. Oh!"

As I continued to sing and dance around, I turned off the hose and set it on the ground. I picked up the sponge and soap. I opened the bottle and squirted a large amount of the blue liquid onto the sponge. I dropped the bottle and walked over to the car, starting on the hood first.

"Do you know what you started? I just came here to party. And now we're rockin' on the dance floor, acting naughty. Your hands around my waist. Just let the music play. We're hand in hand, chest to chest, and now were face to face…"

I started to kick up my feet and wiggle my hips as I scrubbed along the drivers side.

"I wanna take you away! Let's escape into the music, DJ let it play! I just can't refuse it! Like the way you do this! Keep on rockin' to it! Please don't stop the- Please don't stop the- Please don't stop the music!"

Two more minutes of this and I had scrubbed the entire car in soapy suds. By the time I did the song had ended. When it did, I jumped into the air and landing into a pose, holding rocker hands up above my head.

"Rock on, bros!"

From behind me, the radio went to static for a split second before it stopped, and there were people clapping and cheering in the background. I just assumed it was just some kind of kink, so I just laughed it off. Tossing the sponge to the ground, I picked the hose back up and turned it on again.

It took a couple moments to rinse off all the suds, but when I did, the car looked ten times cleaner than it did when we bought it. I gave a loud whistle as the water dripped off the sides of the car, admiring the way it seemed to gleam in the sunlight.

"Damn, bae! You clean up nice," I jeered, grinning at the car.

A happy wine sounded from the radio, and I grinned, feeling only a little confused. Those wines, whether they sounded happy, sad, or neutral, had been happening a lot lately. It was strange, but I didn't think about it too much.

I walked over to the drivers side and reached inside to pull out the key. I spun the object around my finger and grabbed it.

"Well, you've just had your first bath," I stated. "Your officially part of the family, now."

(Wednesday)

"Hey, guys," I said as I walked into the guard room.

I was greeted by several 'hello's,' and 'hey girl's' by the rest of the squad. I walked over to my spot in the cubbies, tossing my book bag inside before taking off my shirt.

"Anyone know what the plan is for today?" I asked as I took out my blue T-shirt.

"Andy's gonna help rifles learn more routines," answered my fellow senior, Cathy. "Flags are just suppose to work on what he gave us last week."

Andy is our amazing color guard instructor. And when I say he's amazing, he is amazing! He's been doing guard for over thirty years since he was in high school. He's a great teacher, he's super fun, and to top it all off, he's patient with us. He doesn't expect us to get everything right the first time, and he helps us get everything right and helps us progress. He doesn't believe that getting mad or yelling solves anything, so we almost never hear him yell. Almost. There was this one time when a new girl talked back to him my sophomore year, and he yelled at her to get off the field. It was scary…

After we had stripped and changed, we all grabbed our flags and rifles from the equipment room, and we all headed outside. We continued chattering for a bit as we headed to the stadium. The football team wasn't practicing today, so we didn't have to worry about kicking them off our field.

"Hey, Emma," my friend Amy called from behind me- another senior. "Isn't that your car?"

I looked back at her for a moment before looking over at the parking lot. My car was sitting almost at the very front of the lot, facing the football stadium. That's funny, I thought to myself. I thought I parked it near the exit…

"Yeah, that's my car," I said as we continued.

"Damn," Amy jeered. "Best-looking used car I've ever seen."

I couldn't help the proud smile that grew on my face.

"Shame that's it's not your own, though," said Cathy. "How are you and Sam even suppose to share that thing?"

"Simple," I said. "I get it on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and Sam gets it Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays."

"What about Sundays?"

I shrugged. "Depends on who gets the keys first."

"How did Sam get home today, then?" asked Alex- a junior.

"I told him that I needed the car here so I could drive home from practice. So, I said he either had to get on the bus or walk his ass home."

At this, the girls all chuckled. I grinned. They actually think I'm joking.

After that, Andy had us get in a block to stretch out our bodies. We took care of our arms, hands, and backs. When we sat down on the ground to stretch our legs, I whistled for Cathy.

"Hey Cathy, look!"

She turned to look at me. I put on a serious face as I crisscrossed my legs.

"Freshmen year…"

I put my feet together and pushed them out, my legs forming a diamond shape.

"Sophomore year…"

Cathy starting grinning, and so did I. I struck my legs out so they were slightly parted.

"Junior year…"

In one swift movement, I flung my legs open as wide as they could go and tossed my hands in the air, sticking my chest out slightly.

"Senior year!"

The instant laughter that went on told me that everyone had been watching, not just Cathy. Keeping my hands up, I turned my head to look at the others. The three freshmen we had this year all had their legs crossed and were blushing furiously. The sophomores were chuckling loudly, still looking unsure of what to do. The juniors and seniors, however, were rolling on the ground laughing their asses off. Still smiling, I turned back around. Andy was sitting on a bench a few feet away, looking at his drill binder. But he had his hand over his mouth and his shoulders were shaking. He was clearly laughing, too.

"I am victorious!" I hollered, waving my hands in the air.

Through all the laughter, could hear a faint beeping sound. Not to mention, I thought I could see a cars' headlights blinking out the corner of my eye. Feeling curious, I turned my head until I was facing the parking lot. My car was still there, except now it looked like it had moved so it was closer to the stadium. I stared at it in confusion. I don't know why, but I had the strangest feeling that it was…watching me.

Before I could think any further I heard Andy tell us to get our equipment. I shook my head as I stood up, and I went to get my flag.

(Friday)

Seven minutes. That's how long our whole show is. You might not think it's much, but I promise you, it's a lot. And it was just how long we had just performed. It was Friday night; game night; half time. Me and my bad had just performed our entire show for our adoring audience(note my sarcasm). I stood in the very center of the field, having just caught a 'High Mama' toss, ending my solo. Yes, I have a solo. Be proud of me.

I heard one of the drummers give a few taps against his drum, signaling us to move out. At once, I lowered my arms and started running. I sprinted across the field, gathering my other flags and my swing flag. Once all was collected, I followed everyone else off to the side of the field. I jogged for a moment before having to speed-walk instead. My legs were throbbing and I was breathing heavily, but I was beaming. No matter how exhausted I was, I was always happy with a good performance like that.

Our band director brought us over into a huddle once we were off the field. He talked to us for a few minutes, telling us we did a great job and that we were ready for when competition season started. I knew we were ready for when those weeks came. He finally released us to put up our stuff and take our bread during the 3rd quarter, which usually consisted of us drinking water and eating peanut butter crackers and talking to each other while we had the chance.

I quickly wrapped up my flags and stuffed them into their flag bag, setting it against the fence. The band set their own stuff down around the fence before going over to the band moms, who all had crackers and water bottles. My legs were so tired I almost didn't have the strength to go get my own water. Once I did, I walked over to the fence, away from the others. I didn't necessarily feel like talking to anybody at the moment, so I just decided to be left with my thoughts.

I reached up for the cap of my bottle to open it, but for some reason it wouldn't budge. I'm not weak by any means, so I knew it wasn't that. Whether it was because of my sweaty palms or the water on the outside of the bottle, my hand kept slipping on the stupid little thing.

"Open, damn it!" I demanded, trying my best to open the bottle.

"Need a hand?"

My brows furrowed as I turned around. Standing right beside me was clearly, a normal looking young man. He appeared to be just about my age, if not, older. He was tall, probably a couple inches taller than me. And I could tell he had some muscles. His skin was so tanned that his skin looked almost golden. He had short hair that came out in bright, caramel waves, which ended just above his stunningly bright baby-blue eyes. He was wearing a solid black T-shirt with two yellow lines going down his chest. He had a pair of baggy, dark blue jeans that ended until they touched the ground, and I noticed his solid black sneakers.

I stared at him for a moment, not sure what to say or do. Then I cleared my throat, and slowly lifted my water bottle towards him.

"Sure…"

The guy smiled as he took the bottle in his hand. It took him about half a second to get the cap off, and I felt a little deflated when he did. He handed me both the bottle and its cap, and I took them.

"Thanks," I said before finally taking a swig of my cold water.

The young man stood there, watching me drink my water. From the corner of my eye I could see a curious- almost fascinated expression on his face. I gave him a look before finally lowering the bottle. We both stood there awkwardly for a moment.

"Pretty impressive, what you did out there."

I turned to look at him. "Oh, you mean our marching show?"

"Yes," he nodded. "I've never seen anything like it before. It's fascinating."

I smiled. "Thank you."

The man smiled, looking out towards the field. "I can only imagine the kind of effort you go through to make something like that."

"Oh, we go through a lot of effort," I said matter-of-factly. "But, no matter how hard it gets, it's always worth it in the end."

The man gave a small nod of understanding. I grinned a little.

"So, what's your name, stranger?"

The buy blinked, and his head snapped back to me. "M-my name?"

"Yeah, your name," I said. "I mean, you came over here to talk to me, you might as well tell me your name. Here, I'll go first. Ahem… Hi, I'm Emma."

I extended my hand out towards the guy and waited. He loked at my hand for a second when he smiled, taking my hand and giving it a gentle shake.

"Nice to meet you Emma," he said. "I'm…Benny."

"Benny," I repeated, lowering my hand when he let go of it. "Well, it's nice to meet you, too. Yah know, now that I think about it, I've never seen you around here before. Did you just here or something?"

Benny gave a small shrug. "You could say that. Just got into town about a week ago."

I nodded, taking a swig of my water before continuing, "Well, we don't' normally get new people around here, but it's nice of you to be here. This place could need some getting used to, but I'm sure you'll like it. You know, there was this one girl, who moved in five years ago…"

The whole time I was talking Benny continued to listen closely, leaning against the fence with me. He kept his eyes fixed on me, a grin painted on his cute face… Wait, did I just call him cute?

Uhh…

Oh, hell! Fine, you got me! I think he's cute. Real cute. And that's why I think this situation is a little strange. I mean, I'm sweating like a pig in my uniform, my hair's probably super frizzy and flying in the air, and my face makeup had to be running down my sweaty face by now. And yet, this surprisingly attractive guy was standing there, grinning at me like non of those things were even happening.

"…and now everyone likes peanut butter with their breakfast," I finished.

Benny grinned more. "That's pretty interesting, and a little crazy."

"I know!" I said a little excitedly. "I wish something crazy like that would happen to me. Crazy is fun!"

Benny chuckled, and the soft, warm sound of it made me smile. Suddenly, I heard a loud whistle blow in the distance. I whipped my head around to look at the field, and a my eyes glanced up at the score board. The timer showed me that I had less than two minutes to get back to the stands before 4th quarter.

"Crap! Sorry, I have to go," I said to Benny. "It was nice talking to you, though."

"I liked talking with you, too," he said. "Maybe we'll see each other around town?"

"Yah know, I'd actually liked that."

I smiled at Benny, and he smiled back. For some reason, that kind smile of his made me feel safe and comfortable. I don't know why I felt this, but I didn't mind. I liked it.

"Well…I'll see yah later."

I gave a small wave as I started to walk backwards. Benny waved at me before turning around and walking away. I watching him for a moment before turning around and running back to the stands.

40 minutes later found me gathering all my stuff from the guard room. I said my lazy goodbye's to the others before shuffling out the door and down the hall. People called out to me as I walked by and I mumbled back to them, but otherwise, I said nothing.

It seemed like only seconds later that I walk back outside, looking around for Sam and our car. I found the car, and it was parked right in the center of the lot. I didn't see Sam at all, though. He was probably out looking for his crush, Mikaela. The only reason she was here was so she could be with her steroid-pumped boyfriend who was on the football team.

Looking to make sure that no care were coming, I shuffled my way over to the car. I was so tired I kept opening and closing my eyes unwillingly due to exhaustion. When I was almost at the car I closed my eyes as I let out a loud, long yawn, rubbing my eyes. A second later I reopened my eyes, and I blinked. The drivers door was now wide open. I stared at the car, feeling confused. That wasn't open before, was it? I slowly walked over to the drivers side, staring inside. I reached up and ran my hands along the door. I was very tempted to drive my bae home, but I knew I shouldn't. Even if I wasn't tired, Same has the car on Fridays, so it wouldn't be fair if I drove.

Giving a low sigh, I slowly started to close the door.

"Very tempting," I said. "But, I can't tonight. I'm too tired."

The car seemed to deflate a little, but I ignored it. I shuffled back over to the passengers side and opened the door. After tossing my junk in the back I slumped into the passengers seat. I shut the door before I leaned my head back and yawned again.

"And now…we wait…"

Not wanting to wait until Sam came back, I closed my eyes.

What felt like a couple of seconds might have been several minutes, for all I knew. When that time passed I just heard the click of the keys turning and then the low rumble of the engine starting. Sam must have finally come. And yet, I don't remember hearing the door open or close. Ugh…Whatever…

A moment later I felt a pair of hands pull my seat-belt over my waist and torso. There was a loud click as the buckle was secure. A large hand came up and pulled my loose hair out from under the seat-belt, then it moved the strap so it wasn't cutting into my neck. I sighed, rubbing my cheek against the strap as I shifted around in my seat.

"Wake me up when we get home…"

Sam chuckled, and I was surprised at how much deeper his voice sounded. When did that happen…? But, I honestly didn't care. I was just able to hear the door open and Sam's voice say something before I finally fell asleep.

You know how this goes. You tell me if you liked it or not. If you did, good for you. If not...too bad. I'm still gonna write more. I'll see you in the next chapter.