Somewhere on the edge of town, a kid pulled his car into the driveway of a small house, coming to a halt on the gravel path a short way from the door.
Opening the door of his red Fiesta, he stopped for a second looking down longingly at the pink scrunchie in his hand. He had taken it earlier in the day. It might not be much, but it was hers. It belonged to her, it had touched her, and right now it was the closest thing he had to her. He shoved it into the pocket of his letterman jacket and made his way into his house. He always thought of it as a house, never his home. It hadn't been a home to him since his mom left.
He unlocked the door quietly, he made his way inside. He was way past curfew, and he didn't want to risk his father finding out. He needn't have worried; as usual his father had fallen asleep on the couch with a beer in his hand. Since his wife walked out, he had taken to spending longer and longer sitting in front of the television watching football or hockey and drinking beer. He had simply stopped caring about things since his wife left. He was only really able to function because he stopped drinking long enough to go to work at the building site each day.
The kid made his way over, putting a jacket over him. His father had once been a strong, confident man, but a year ago, that had all changed. He didn't care about much now; he sure as hell didn't care about his son. All he cared about now was this miserable existence of getting up each morning, managing his way through a shift without killing himself, and then coming home to a microwaveable tray of what was apparently food and a couple of dozen beers.
He made his way up to his bedroom and sat on his bed, holding his head in his hands and clutched his hair in anger. He hated the way things were now. He almost wished his dad had found him coming home at this time. If he screamed at him, then that would at least make it feel like he cared. There was only one thing that got him out of bed each day now.
He opened the drawer of his dresser, sorting through the large collection of newspaper cuttings and pictures he had collected, pulling out his favourite. It was a picture of Gabby on the podium the day of the first dance competition she had won. He had taken it himself with his dad's Polaroid, he knew he wouldn't miss it, he was too busy with ESPN to realise his camera was gone.
Even here she was beautiful. Her face shone as light reflected off her sweat, but this was the moment he knew he was in love with her. Her smile split her face and lit up the room. She looked amazing in her pale pink leotard. The red sash running from her right shoulder to her left hip declared her to be the winner, as did the large, gauche trophy she cradled in her left arm. The gigantic, tinplated monstrosity looked totally out of place next to her small, delicate features. He dragged his fingers across the picture, imagining what it would be like on the day he could touch her for real, when she would realise who he was and return his love for her. He knew she got hassle from a lot of the girls at the school, he had seen the way they behaved towards her, and he had heard their hurtful words. None of them seemed to see what he did, she didn't deserve their treatment, she was so much better than all of them.
He pulled her scrunchie out of his pocket and lifted it to his nose, breathing in her scent. The sweet smell of her lotus flower shampoo filled his nostrils and thrilled him. His heart beat faster as he realised he now had something of hers as his own. Turning onto the bed, he lay down with it wrapped around his fingers, clutching it to him as he longed to do with her and drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, Gabby woke up in her parent's house, stretching awake as she greeted another new day. She wiped her eyes clear and made her way into the shower, pondering the day ahead. She didn't have to work today, but Dom had asked her to go to the cinema for the opening of the latest blockbuster with him. She looked forward to seeing him. When he found out her afternoon consisted entirely of study periods, he had pounced on the chance to enjoy an afternoon with her. She only had four classes before she would be going to see him, and it excited her to think about it. He had told her what they were going to see, but in truth she stopped listening after saying that they were going out together. It was going to be essentially their first date.
After showering, she began getting dressed, looking out her favourite jumper. She had always been told she looked good in it, and she was hoping to get close to him. She still hadn't told her uncle about him, up until now they were only really hanging out together, but she was really enjoying herself with him. He made her feel amazing about herself; she was beginning to get the feeling that there might be something there.
As she gathered her jeans, she stopped as the letters fell out of her pocket. She had almost forgotten about them. She looked at them again. It was a little weird; she thought most guys stopped leaving notes for girls in grade school. She read over them again, feeling herself flushing a little. It was most likely only a kid with a crush or something, and it was kind of sweet. Until Dom, no one had ever shown that kind of interest in her. The words were kind of sweet and she couldn't help feeling good that someone thought she was attractive. No one had given her much thought; she definitely hadn't been called beautiful, or considered appealing, guys tended to avoid her. She tossed them into her waste paper basket without another thought. While it was nice to have someone consider her that way, never mind two, felt quite good, her thoughts were with Dom. She was sure that whoever had left her those notes would get bored and move on soon.
Dom had the day off from the restaurant, just one of the reasons he was keen to spend time with Gabby, but he figured he should spend the time until then productively. He pushed his way through the woods, eventually finding himself in the clearing outside Master Phant's house. The old master was busy tending to his garden as Dom arrived. Seeing him, he placed his hoe against the wall and smiled.
"Dominic!" He yelled loudly in greeting, extending a hand towards him. "How are you?"
Dominic smiled nervously and made his way over to the Elephant Master, shaking his hand. He seemed to be in a good mood; that stood in Dom's favour since he was planning on bringing up the subject of him and Gabby. The last thing he wanted was to find out what the business end of the Jungle Mace felt like.
"I'm good thanks." He began, struggling to think of how to bring up the subject. He looked around the garden and gestured to the beds. "What are you growing?"
"A few shrubs, some flowers. This year I thought I'd experiment with some peas and some carrots." He told him. "Did you want to talk to me about my garden?"
"Not exactly." Dom said, feeling his throat tightening a little. He stroked his neck as he looked at Master Phant. "It's about Gabby..."
"Is she alright?" Phant asked him. "Has she said anything? I know she isn't the happiest at school..."
"She's fine." Dominic interrupted him. "She isn't keen on school, but she managed to keep her head down and study."
"Oh good, I was a little worried." He responded. "She started training under me a few weeks ago and I was worried in case my training was getting in the way. She's at such an important time in her life."
"Yeah, I know." Dominic mumbled. He knew that Gabby's senior year was important to her, and as much as they were having fun, he wouldn't want to do anything to jeopardise her future. She was so smart; he wanted her to do well. He looked back to Master Phant. "She...ummm...she just seemed to be...distracted."
Dom kicked himself as he realised he had chickened out of just telling him.
"Distracted how?" Phant asked him.
"I...You know...I'm probably worried about nothing." Dominic stammered, beginning to walk away. He stumbled over his own feet as he retreated. "It was just an impression I got. I...gotta go!"
As Dom left as quickly as dignity would allow, he had a small laugh to himself. The door to his house opened and Swoop came out to join him.
"Why didn't you put the poor boy out his misery and tell him you know about him and Gabby?" He asked in a snigger at the usually fearless Dom's nerves.
"Oh let an old man have some fun Swoop." Phant answered, looking down the path. "I saw how they were at the wedding, and even you can see that something has been happening since then."
"But you know Dominic's a good person." Swoop confirmed, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You know he'd never do anything to hurt her, and even you can admit she's come out of her shell a lot since they started dating."
"I know he's really good for her." Phant chuckled cheekily. "Of course that doesn't mean I can't be flattered to know I still have it. It's kind of an ego boost to know he's so scared of me."
"Just promise you'll let the poor boy off the hook soon." Swoop laughed as he left.
"I can't promise that Swoop." He called after him. He turned his attention back to his garden and laughed to himself. "Oh to be young again."
Gabby arrived at her locker following her last class of the day. Opening it, she threw her bag carelessly inside, she stopped as she realised there was another letter inside.
She looked around for some sign of anyone watching her. There were students all around, it would be impossible to tell in this crowd if anyone was watching. She opened the letter a little nervously this time and began reading.
"You look even more beautiful today than normal." It began. She pulled her hair over her face and the locker door closed a little for privacy. She had already figured that it had to be someone at the school. "I saw you after gym yesterday; you should wear your hair down more often. I love you in that sweater. It looks so warm and comfortable. I'd just love to hold you."
She held in a gasp at this. OK, she figured that this guy liked her, but this was getting a little close for comfort. She didn't even know who he was, and now he was talking about touching her. More than that, he had mentioned the fact she had worn her hair down the day before, after she had lost her scrunchie, she was sure she could remember him saying something about her uniform in the letter she found on her car, and now he mentioned what she was wearing today. She'd only had four classes; he must have been in at least one of them, and he knew where she worked.
"I long to hold you, to smell your hair, to feel your soft lips on mine..."
She almost collapsed there and then. She felt her chest tighten as she read the rest of the letter. She was feeling more than a little creeped out by the fact that this guy seemed to be watching her, and that she still had no idea who it could be. She looked around again, drawing into herself as she felt a shiver up her spine. For all she knew he could have been watching her right now.
She turned to close her locker, but stopped as she noticed something curious. Reaching in, she pulled out a single red rose. She then remembered that this letter had been sitting inside the locker, not hanging in the grill like the last one. There was only one way that was possible. Whoever was watching her must have somehow broken into her locker!
She shoved the rose and the letter back inside and closed the locker over, beginning to panic a little as she looked around frantically. No one was obviously watching her, but again it was impossible to tell. Pulling on her denim jacket, she made her way quickly from the school and into the parking lot, making her way to her car. There, she found something on her windshield. Picking it up, she realised it was a photograph of her. More worryingly, it was a recent photo. It had been taken earlier that morning, showing her at a desk in first period science, resting her chin on her hand as she gazed dreamily out of the window, thinking about her date with Dom. She screwed the picture up in her hand and threw it on the ground before getting in her car and driving away.
As she left the school grounds, a kid came over, kneeling down and picking up the picture, straightening it out and smoothing it against his thigh. He stroked it thoughtfully. He didn't know why she had thrown the picture away; perhaps she just wanted him to have it. He knew she had to return his feelings. It wouldn't have been fair if she didn't, not since he loved her so much. Remembering that she kept the letters and the rose, he knew she had to love him too.
Gabby pulled into the parking lot at the mall, throwing her car carelessly into the parking space. Her mind was racing around at an incredible rate trying to figure out what was going on. When she got the first of the letters, she was sure the guy was just a nervous teenager, but now things seemed to be getting a little intense. He had already broken into her locker and been following her. She had taken nearly three times as long as she should getting to the mall because she got the feeling she was being followed, only to see the car she was sure was tailing her take another turn. She got out of her car, jumping as she felt a hand on her shoulder and bumping her head on the roof of her car.
"Whoa, I'm sorry about that gorgeous." Dom said apologetically as she got out of the car, rubbing the back of her head. "I didn't mean to startle you."
"Sorry, I have a lot on my mind." She replied, smiling at him, despite the pain in her head. "So, where's my hug?"
Dom smiled and held her closely, taking her mind away from the events of the day. She felt completely safe with him, and she knew that he wouldn't let anything happen to her while she was with him. Whoever was doing this was probably just messing with her. Thinking about it, it could have been anyone that was doing this. So far, all that had happened was someone had broken into her locker and left her a couple of notes. It wouldn't be the first time some of the seniors greeted the new freshmen by breaking into their locker and leaving a stink bomb, so there was no shortage of people who could have gotten into her locker.
She almost felt a bit silly for being afraid as she and Dom parted. She looked into his eyes, forgetting to say anything for a while, she finally cleared her throat.
"So...um...what did you get up to today?" She asked him. Dom's smile slipped into a slightly pained expression.
"I tried to talk to your uncle." He admitted.
"Tried to?" She asked him, looking at him down her nose. Dom shrugged.
"I chickened out alright?" He answered. "Your uncle can be pretty scary when he wants to be."
"He's sweet." She replied, giggling as she put his arm around his waist. Dom put his arm around her shoulders and led her towards the cinema. Dom loved the way he felt around her. He was still too scared of what Master Phant would say to tell him, but right now, this was enough for him.
A lot of kids left the restaurant, leaving Lily and Fran to clear up. Lily slumped into a booth and rested for a second.
"You alright?" Fran asked her.
"How do those kids have so much energy?" Lily grumbled. "I mean the entire hockey team was in. Most of them have been practicing for four hours, walked here, created this..."
She gestured to the scene of destruction that was the restaurant. Somewhere among the merriment, someone had thrown a meatball, which triggered a massive food fight. They'd ended up having to throw everyone out and shut the restaurant as almost every surface was covered in pasta, sauce and pizza toppings. "And still end up running out of here like my cheetah spirit."
"Most of them don't have a baby growing inside them." Fran reminded her. "You're only 20 Lily, you're talking like you're 70."
"I feel like I'm 70." She groaned. "Where are the guys when you need them?"
"RJ'll be back soon, you know Jarrod wanted his help at the temple." Fran reminded her. "I can stay back for a little while, and Theo's coming to pick me up soon, I'm sure they'll help."
"I hate hockey season." Lily groaned, getting up from her seat and beginning to gather plates.
"If it makes you feel any better, most of them won't be back in a couple of years." Fran told her. "You need teeth to eat pizza."
"Lily laughed and continued gathering plated. She stopped as she noticed an envelope addressed to Gabby on one of the tables. Shrugging, she pinned it to the notice board, Gabby was back on shift tomorrow, her friend's note would have to wait until then.
Meanwhile, Gabby and Dom came back to her car after the movie, laughing and joking. She turned to face him as she got to his car.
"I had a really great time today." She told him, shifting a little nervously from one foot to another, looking into his eyes.
"So did I." He replied, holding her hand. "Crappy movie and all."
"Well I for one enjoyed it." She stated, looking to her feet. "The movie wasn't great but I lov...I liked the company."
Dom smiled as he heard her verbal slip. She pulled out her car keys putting them into the lock when she felt his hand on hers.
"Gabby."
"Yes Dom?" She asked. He brushed some hair back from her face, before placing his hand softly on the back of her neck and pulling her into a long, gentle kiss. She couldn't believe he'd done that, her heart sped up considerably as she pulled away looking at him.
"I loved the company too." He told her. "I'll see you at the restaurant tomorrow night."
Gabby watched him go with a renewed sense of excitement as she got into her car. She opened her glove box to get her cell phone to see if she had her messages. She groaned as she saw there wasn't much power left, she had left it on. Normally she was so careful to switch it off and preserve power. She didn't have any missed calls or messages.
Back at his house, the admirer got back to his room, putting the picture he'd taken of Gabby into his dresser. He pulled out his cell phone and scrolled through the address book, before finding the one number he wanted. Gabby's.