Chapter 2: The Date

Drew pulled up to the address that May had given him. He checked his hair in his rearview mirror one last time before climbing out of his car. Looking at his phone, he realized that he was about twenty minutes early. He studied the house in front of him. It was a small house in a decent neighborhood. For a second, he felt slightly jealous, but he pushed it away as he approached the door and knocked.

He knocked two times and before he could get the third knock out, it opened to reveal a boy with navy blue hair. He looked about thirteen and he had big-rimmed glasses. He looked Drew up and down, assessing him. Finally, he glared at Drew before saying, "So you're here to take my sister out, huh?"

"Uhh..."

"Well, you just listen to me! My dad had to work late tonight, otherwise he would be here right now, showing you his gun collection. Since he couldn't be here, he told me that I had to be the man of the house and that I had to give you this message for him. If you try anything funny with my sister tonight, Dad and I will make sure you don't live to see the next day. I watch a lot of crime shows. I know exactly how to erase all evidence from a crime scene and make your death look like an accident. And another thing-"

"Max!" A beautiful woman had come up behind the boy who Drew now knew as Max and gave him a scolding look. Max spun around and immediately feigned innocence.

"Yes, Mom?" He held his arms behind his back and looked up at her with bright eyes.

"That will be all, Max," the woman said testily. She was obviously Max and May's mother. Drew, still wide-eyed from Max's threats, turned towards Mrs. Maple as Max stalked off. Her firm look had disappeared with Max and she now had a kind smile on her face that gave Drew an unexplainable feeling of happiness, comfort, and security.

It was no wonder where May got her looks. Her mother's hair was just a few shades lighter than May's and they both had the same blue eyes. She looked as though she had been working in the kitchen because she was wearing an apron with splotches of food on it and her hands were covered with flour. She wiped her dirty hands on a clean spot on her apron.

"I'm really sorry if Max has caused you any trouble. He looks up to his father a little more than he should, in my opinion. Especially, since my husband just loves to fill his head with crazy, over-the-top ideas. I'm afraid that includes killing our daughter's date," she said the last part with an apologetic shrug. "Oh, where are my manners! I'm Caroline, May's mother, but I guess you already knew that," she said while sticking out her hand to shake.

With Caroline present, Drew recovered from his experience with Max quickly and he smiled back at her. A genuine smile, which was something Drew wouldn't give to just anybody.

"Drew Hayden. It's nice to meet you," Drew said fluidly.

"May's not quite ready yet. Why don't you come in and make yourself comfortable? Would you like anything?" she said leading him through the living room and into the kitchen. "I just made a pitcher of kool-aid. Max's favorite." She whispered the last part as if Max might be listening, and sure enough...

"I AM NOT SHARING MY KOOL-AID WITH HIM!" Max yelled from some unknown place in the house. Caroline giggled.

"Uh, no thanks, Mrs. Maple. That won't be necessary," Drew laughed as well. Once Caroline was sure that he didn't want anything to eat either, she went about with her cooking while Drew sat at the kitchen table. Drew had to admit that whatever she was fixing, it smelled awfully delicious. He almost wished that they were staying here to eat, but quickly thought against it when he remembered that Max would be at the meal too.

In all honesty, Drew was now jealous of May. He was jealous that she had such a wonderful family. Caroline was everything that a caring and kind mother should be. Sure, Max wasn't exactly what you would call "wonderful" when you first met him, but at least he cared about his sister enough to try to protect her. And Drew and yet to meet her father, but Caroline had said that Max looked up to him, so he had a good impression.

Mrs. Maple asked him questions like what he liked to do for fun. She seemed to be very interested in the fact that he played basketball, and mentioned that Drew must know May's friend Brendan. Drew admitted that he did, but quickly changed the subject because of the anger that suddenly rose in him.

Drew enjoyed Caroline's company, but he was growing impatient. What was taking May so long? He hadn't been that early. Finally, May came downstairs.

"How do I loo- Oh, Drew. You're already here," she said looking over at the clock as if she had lost track of time. "Well, we better get going," she said as she entered the living room. He had to admit she looked rather nice.

Drew followed her there. He noticed that Max was now sitting on the couch, holding a glass of kool-aid and sipping it through a crazy straw. He was watching NCIS and the light of the TV caused an ominous glare on his glasses that turned the lenses white. As Drew and May passed to walk out the door, Max raised his index and middle fingers to his eyes and then pointed them at Drew, giving the universal sign for, 'I'm watching you, punk.' Drew took this final warning into consideration as they climbed into his car.

"So, where are we going?" Drew asked.

"We are meeting Brendan at Pedro's, May answered, "but we better hurry. We are already going to be a bit late."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Nobody said anything about Birch being there!" Drew exclaimed outraged as he glanced angrily at May. He had to keep his eyes on the road. May, however, remained calm, staring out the window.

"Well, it's not exactly a secret that Brendan and I are friends. I thought that, since you like me so much, you would both be able to overcome your differences." There was a moment when panic rose in Drew because she has sounded quite sarcastic when she mentioned how much he liked her. Did she know that something was up? But this feeling of dread was soon drowned by his rage. Drew's grip on the steering wheel tightened. 'Oh, I so should have taken the fifty when I had the chance...'

"Fine," Drew emphasized through clenched teeth. "Why is Birch coming anyways? Assurance that Daddy won't have to use his gun collection on me?" May finally stopped staring out of the window and looked at him suspiciously.

"How do you kno- You've been talking to Max, haven't you? Oh, I'm going to kill the little rat when I get home!"

'Why bother with him? You can take out your anger and just kill me now. It would be better than going on this date...'Drew thought. But, of course, he didn't say this to May. It wouldn't help his case if she dumped him before they even got to the restaurant.

"You didn't answer my question. Why is Birch going to be there?" Drew said in a calmer and notably less sarcastic tone. He felt that the direct approach might be more effective with her than the snarky approach.

"Well, it's not because of my dad. I have to meet his stupid girlfriend," she snapped, pouting slightly. Drew was about to respond, but at the moment they had just arrived at Pedro's Mexican Restaurant. May looked over at Drew as he pulled into a parking spot. She felt a twinge of guilt. Should she have really brought Drew? She knew that Brendan and Drew hated each other. Had she gone too far? 'Oh, well. It's too late now,' she thought.

And just as soon as she had climbed out of the car, any glimmer of guilt that May had felt was swallowed by violent fury. In fact, May now felt that bringing Drew was the right choice after all. Brendan deserved a taste of his own medicine, because standing at the entrance of the restaurant, waiting rather impatiently, were Brendan and his new girlfriend, Brianna Roberts.

May was seething with resentment. She was thinking about marching right up to Brendan and slapping him across the face when she heard a small choking sound beside her. She expected to see Drew glaring at Brendan but he was gaping at Brianna instead. Oh, that's right. They had gone out for a short time.

'Well, this night is going to be a calamity. Somebody call MTV,' May thought bitterly. They walked up to the couple waiting for them. Brendan's mouth was scrunched up as if he was trying to keep himself from yelling and his eyes were wide, darting back and forth between May and Drew. Seeing this, May felt a great wave of satisfaction.

"May, you know Brianna," Brendan said though his teeth. Oh, did she ever. She glanced at Brianna, who waved feebly and looked away quickly, appearing quite uncomfortable.

"Drew, you know Brendan," May said back to Brendan. "And I believe that Drew and Brianna are already acquainted." There was an awful silence between the four. "Well, we all seem to know each other now." Still nobody moved or said anything. May was becoming even more frustrated. "Let's go eat now," she ordered, since all of them seemed to have turned into statues.

They entered and a waitress brought them to a table. She gave them drinks and took their order and left them to talk amongst themselves, which was something that all of them were dreading. After another dose of awkward silence, May noticed Brendan nudge Brianna. She had been staring intently at the ice cubes in her water, and seemed a bit startled when he did this. Looking at him questioningly he nodded his head at May. Brianna's eyes grew wide, as if pleading, but Brendan's expression hardened and Brianna's shoulder's heaved with an inaudible sigh.

"So, May, what kind of... TV shows are you interested in?" May mentally rolled her eyes. Of course Brendan would have rehearsed some stupid small-talk starter.

"Actually, I'm not really into anything of TV," May explained ever though she knew that Brendan knew she was crazy about "Modern Family" and always watched the new episodes. "What about you? Jersey Shore? Real Housewives of wherever?"

"Well, there is this one show I have gotten into lately. It's called "Unforgettable." It's about this woman who has this condition called hypothermia or something-" At this moment May muttered something under her breath. "Huh?" Brianna asked.

"I said that it's called hyperthymesia," May explained, trying to keep the irritation out of her voice.

"Whatever. Anyways-"

"No, no. Not whatever. You were talking about hyperthymesia, but you said hypothermia. If the women in the show had hypothermia, she would be stuck in a freezer," May explained with unmistakable irritation. "I wouldn't mind being stuck in a freezer myself, right now," she added quietly.

Drew was the only one who heard the last comment properly and had to take a drink to cover his smirk. Brendan, knowing that May had said something insulting even though he didn't hear it, stamped on her foot underneath the table. May shot a glare at him, but returned her attention to Brianna as she continued.

"Oh. Well, anyways, it means that she has a photogenic memory and-" Again May interrupted.

"It's photographic. You said photogenic, which means you look good in pictures," May explained, with unmistakable irritation. "Which seems to be the only thing going for you," May added quietly, so that only Drew heard again.

He had actually started to laugh out loud this time, but managed to hide it with a fake cough. Brendan had narrowed his eyes threateningly at May.

"May, can I speak to you for a moment?"

"Oh, but Brendan, Brianna and I are in the middle of such a lovely conversation. Do you really have to interrupt the fun now?" May asked with a fake smile.

"Gee, afraid so, May. Don't worry, it will only take a minute," he said in an overly sweet tone that matched May's. They both strode away from the table and began to argue animatedly with each other. Drew chuckled.

This wasn't turning out as bad as he had thought. In fact, he found it extremely amusing that he got to watch his most-hated rival squirm while his ex said idiotic things and his annoying date said hilarious sarcastic comments. And all he had to do was sit back and watch. Plus, he was getting paid.

Suddenly, May started speed walking toward the door, leaving Brendan looking exasperated and the slightest bit guilty and apologetic. Not wanting to miss the action, Drew followed.

"Come on, May," Brendan pleaded the moment they were out of earshot.

"What? I was only correcting a few honest mistakes," asked May innocently. Brendan gave her a look that said, 'Cut the crap.'

"Please, May, please. Couldn't you just cooperate for once?" Brendan resorted to begging but it didn't cause May to soften this time. People were starting to look, but neither May nor Brendan cared about them at the moment.

"Why should I? This is the worst one yet! I mean, really, Brendan? Brianna flipping Roberts? That's pretty low, even for you. After what she did to me? Do you even know her? Or did you take one look at her and think, 'Man, I'd tap that,' like every other stereotypical, testosterone-crazed, jerk-faced guy out there?" May said in a strained voice. 'You want me to cut the crap? Consider the crap cut!' May thought angrily. She also made a mental note to never say that out loud, as she had the feeling that was one of those things that sounded better in her head. Brendan had never looked more furious. Perhaps those comments had hit a little too close to home.

"Tell me, May, are you incapable of restraining yourself, or do you take pride in being an insufferable know-it-all?"

May wanted to yell. She wanted to scream at him and make him understand that she liked him and she couldn't take meeting all of these trivial girls. She wanted to slap him in the face and wrap her hands around his throat and kick him in a place the sun didn't shine. Instead she gave him a fake smile, that got the message of anger across but hid the pain.

"I'm done," and with that, May made for the exit. Brendan, who had only seemed to realize what he had said, tried to call her back.

"Ah, May! I didn't mean it! You know that!" he said as he followed her.

May stepped out of the door, only to find rain pouring from the starless night sky. There was a flash of lightning and an explosion of thunder rolled past seconds later. Had there even been clouds earlier?! Hearing Brendan's voice close behind her, she quickly decided that the rain was the better choice and walked over to Drew's car. She tugged on the door handle and cursed under her breath. Locked. Of course, it was locked.

May spun around to find all three of her 'double date buddies' walking toward her, Brendan being the closest. Ignoring him, she looked directly at Drew.

"Take me home," she ordered. She walked around to the other side of the car, hugging herself from the cold rain.

"Oh, no. He's not taking you home!" Brendan yelled. "We're not finished here!" Again, May ignored Brendan and looked expectantly at Drew. He shrugged, not knowing what to do.

"Fine. I'll walk home," May said. She crossed the parking lot and the street and started walking through the Montague Ciry Park with three other teenagers in tow. Just as she started to past the statue of Bartholomew P. Montague III, the founder of the town, Brendan caught up to her, grabbed her arm and spun her around.

"May! Look, I'm sorry I said that to you! But you have to admit that you never even gave her a chance!" Brendan shouted over the deafening rain. By now, they were all soaked to the bone.

"I didn't give a chance? Brendan, have you looked in the mirror lately? You're the one that has trouble giving chances!" she yelled over a particularly loud rumble of thunder.

"What are you even talking about?" May rolled her eyes and tried to escape his grip, but to no avail. Then, a voice off to the side sounded above the rain.

"Man, you two are messed up," Drew commented. May finally broke free from Brendan and marched up to Drew.

"Don't you get into this! This is none of your business! Oh! And by the way, I want half of your bet money on Monday morning. This instantly shut Drew up. He had been more surprised that she requested half the money than the fact that she knew. Yet, when he regained his voice, he asked the more obvious question.

"You knew?" he croaked.

"Of course I knew! You think you and your buddies were the first ones to make a bet over a date with me?! I'm not stupid!" Suddenly, Drew's face fell dark.

"You're not getting half the money," he stated firmly. No, he needed it. May was about to start arguing again, but a worried-looking Brianna butted in.

"Come on, guys! Can't we work something out or maybe-"

"Oh, shut up, Brianna," May snapped.

"Don't say that to her!" Brendan cut in. "May, just calm down!" May turned toward him once again.

"Calm down? Oh, I'll calm down. Once I'm home and away from you people," she spat. All three of the other people yelled back at May, each having their own reason for telling her off, but there was a great flash of lightning.

Everything seemed to stop. The shouting, the rain. There wasn't even a clap of thunder afterwards. The teens were frozen to the spot, yet they still had full consciousness. They couldn't move, but they were all aware of the supernatural situation that was occurring. Instead of disappearing, the lightning stayed exactly as it was, illuminating the entire sky. Everything was silent. You could feel the energy and heat in the air, despite the cold rain. It was as if they could feel each individual atom bouncing around at unimaginable speeds. The silence was now broken by an unbearable buzzing sound that grew much louder than the storm had been.

They couldn't take it. It was too much. The feeling of the atoms hitting them, the buzzing sound, and the bright light. It gave them all an immense headache. They knew that they would soon pass out from the pain.

Then, just as quickly as it all started, everything moved again. The rain continued to fall and the flash of lightning disappeared. There was even a clap of thunder that rolled over the empty Montague City Park.

Whew! So, this is probably the longest thing I have ever written! Help! My fingers are cramping!
Haha.

Challenge: In this chapter, Brendan says, "Tell me, May, are you incapable of restraining yourself, or do you take pride in being an insufferable know-it-all?" If you can tell me who said that line and what book they are from, the next chapter will be dedicated to you! That's right! The next chapter can be all yours!

Anyways, how was Chapter 2? Review and tell me what you think! Also, thank you so much to the people who reviewed, favorited, or followed! You guys rock! Until next time! - GGU