I do not own Lemonade Mouth. The awesomeness that are Mark Peter Hughes and Disney do.
Chapter 10
Startled, Stella exclaimed, "Oh no!" and she jumped back.
She could not read the expression in his eyes. Surprise? Shock? Fear? Oh no, was he having one of his "episodes"? Scott didn't tell her how to handle one, just that he would only have one if he were alone. She thought and spoke as quickly as she could.
"First, don't shout. You'll harm your voice. Next, your parents are fine. That I know of, they're playing…shuffleboard…somewhere…probably with mai tais. Your sister is still in this hospital, but she is recovering perfectly fine. There's no need to be frightened. Everyone is fine."
Ray's expression shifted to one of confusion. What in the world is she babbling about? Then he remembered Scott from earlier that evening. Oh great, now she knows. Which means the rest of the world will soon know. It's not enough that I've lost everything that made me great, I will get to be publicly humiliated on top of it. Well, it's probably no less than I would do to someone else if I needed to…
His expression shifted from confusion to the dark sulk that had become his default.
Stella understood. She replied, "Yes, Scott told me. And unlike what you would do in my position, I will not tell anyone. And I will never use it against you. As far as I'm concerned, as soon as this…" she made a hand motion that indicated the two of them being in the same room together. "…situation is over, I will be perfectly happy to go back to you and me staying far away from one another."
Ray sighed relief. However, a tiny part of him somehow did not relish going back to exactly as things had been between them…
Suddenly, everything that Scott had told Stella about Ray's family hit her at once. And because she was, well, Stella, words started flying out of her mouth before she could stop them.
"But just so you know, your father is wrong. And you can't exactly hate me more than you already do, so I've got nothing to lose by telling you this. He shouldn't have made you responsible for your mother's well-being. That's his job. Even better, that's her job. Your sister is a grown woman, and it's about time she starts acting like one. You shouldn't have to be her DD whenever she goes out. She knows how to call a cab. God forbid she just stay sober and not worry anyone. But her life is hers, not yours. And you know what else? I'm willing to bet that your mother is not as fragile as everyone thinks she is. She is a mom; they're built strong. She raised the 2 of you, didn't she? And you're both well. At least, you're generally physically healthy, and as much as I hate to admit it, incredibly talented. She clearly did something right." She allowed Ray to have his moment of basking in a compliment from Stella Yamada before she landed her last point, since this one was going to hurt. "I think that people generally raise – or lower – themselves to the expectations that others have of them. And I think that maybe your mom has gotten used to everyone treating her like she's made of glass. If you just let her experience life as she ought to, she'll probably remember how to inhale and exhale, and eat breakfast, all on her own."
Ray's face was the darkest Stella had ever seen it. That was a pretty severe blow. She just insulted every member of his family and then told him that all of his care-taking was probably exactly what was keeping anyone in his family from bettering themselves. He lifted his left hand (the one that was not in a cast) and motioned for her to get a pen and paper. She fished them out of her backpack and she wheeled a little table to give him a desktop. He wrote, and shoved the paper back at her.
"GET OUT."
"I won't," she said. "I made a promise to Scott, and a promise is a promise."
Ray wrote again and shoved the paper at her. "I RELEASE YOU OF IT."
"That's not for you to do," said Stella. "But I'll tell you what. I'll go back to my chair and attempt to study my horrid math. And you can continue to glare at me." She added, "I promise that I will not talk to you anymore."
True to her word, Stella went to her chair and studied. At least, she made a valiant effort to do so. She stared at the problems, trying to make sense of them, and Ray glared. After about a half hour of this, Ray let out an exasperated sigh.
"That's not good for your voice, you know," said Stella.
Ray motioned for her to come closer and to bring her book to him. He opened to a clean page of her notebook, and wrote out a step-by-step guide as to how to solve the problems of that lesson. Using his lesson, she was able to complete the assignment with ease.
"I guess in exchange for babysitting the school bully, I get to have free tutoring from an honors student who is two years ahead of me. Thank-you, whoever you are."
He wrote, "WATCHING STUPIDITY BORES ME."
"And there's the Ray Beech we all love to hate!" she said in her best condescending voice.
Then, awkward silence.
Ray wrote again. "YOU'RE NOT STUPID, YOU KNOW."
"I am, but since you brought it up, what makes you say so?"
"A STUPID PERSON CAN'T FORM A SUCCESSFUL BAND AND ALSO STAND UP TO 'THE SCHOOL BULLY'."
"That only means I'm fearless, which many people consider to be a form of stupidity."
"I'M NOT GOING TO KEEP TRYING TO CONVINCE YOU OF THIS, SO TAKE THE COMPLIMENT AND SHUT UP."
"Be polite."
"SHUT UP PLEASE."
"Be polite."
"YOU'RE NOT STUPID, AND I'M AN HONORS STUDENT SO I KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT."
"I'll take that. Thank-you." she said. Ray gave a small half-nod in response.
"And you are a pretty good lyricist." He raised the one visible eyebrow. "Ugh, all right, I have to admit it, you are a brilliant lyricist. But if you quote me, I'll deny it."
Ray motioned to his throat and mouth, as if to say, "How am I going to tell anyone anything?"
"Did you write 'Don't You Wish You Were Us?" Ray nodded.
"Yeah, that song is hilarious! Well, that is, if you don't know that it's you behind the lyrics, and say, someone a tad less arrogant, it sounds ironic, and it's funny. But then the music is great, too."
What in the world am I doing? Stella thought. But she felt guilty for delivering such harsh blows about his family. She felt the need to make up for it. And she wasn't lying. Ray's lyrics were incredibly clever.
Ray showed what was the closest to a smile that Stella had seen the whole time that he'd been in the hospital.
"So, there you have it," said Stella. "In answer to the question, 'What would Stella Yamada and Ray Beech do if stuck on a desert island together?', we would apparently mildly complement one another." Ray nodded.
"In summary, I am 'not stupid', and you are a 'pretty ok lyricist.'"
Ray wrote and shoved. "YOU DID NOT SAY 'PRETTY OK'. YOU SAID 'BRILLIANT.'"
"I also said that if you quoted me I'd deny it. So, I said no such thing." But there was some mirth in her voice.
Awkward silence.
To break the silence, Stella said, "All right, you to sleep and me to homework." She turned toward her chair. Then, she felt a hand on her arm. Ray gently tugged at her to go back to him. She complied. His left hand reached behind her head and pulled her close to him.
"This is not a good idea, you know," said Stella, but quietly. Maybe it was pity over his injuries, or understanding of his home life, or a light heart over his weird little half-complement. But Stella felt drawn to Ray Beech. He was attractive, and he did have a magnetism that drew all eyes to him, on stage and off. Love him or hate him, you always knew when Ray was in the room. If he were only a kinder person, she could find herself on the edge of a very dangerous cliff for this guy.
Ray had no idea why he was doing this. Was he still frustrated that she'd never had any interest in him? Was it some sort of need for this conquest? Or was it something else? Except for Scott, Stella was the only person on the planet who knew about his family. Though they were enemies, he knew that Stella would keep her word and not tell anyone.
And she was beautiful. Good God, she was beautiful. Ray had no idea what would come of it, but he just had to be close to her.
Their faces were inches apart, and they stopped there. For the first time in all the time they knew each other, Ray and Stella looked at one another calmly.
I am covered in bandages, bruises, and stitches, and she is calm. Ray recalled Patty, his supposed girlfriend, that morning. She looked sickened by his appearance. She and many of the others who came to visit looked as if they wanted to jump out of their own skin for all the discomfort they felt at being there. Ray suspected that none of them would be back to see him. They had put in their time, and they had left behind balloons, flowers, and cards as tokens, public displays of loving friendship, at least the appearance of it. Patty did not touch Ray once when she was there that morning. She held stilted conversation and then quickly got to work at setting up the gifts that everyone brought. When she did talk to him, she did not make eye contact, and her voice was forced, high-pitched and shaky. The second someone mentioned that it was time to go, she had jumped at the chance to escape.
Before all of this, he was content with Patty. She was in all of his classes, she was pretty, she belonged to their crowd, and she tended to him nicely. But they had always lacked in chemistry. Yeah, it was fun to make out with her, just like any other girl, but it wasn't exciting.
Right now, just looking at Stella Yamada up close, and Stella looking back at him, Ray felt more electricity than he ever did with any amount of full-throttle kissing with Patty.
His stomach actually ached with wanting to kiss Stella. He wanted to, and yet, something stopped him. So, he just kept looking in her eyes, his fingers entwined in her hair.
Stella sat down on his bed to end the awkward semi-squat stance she had been in before. She found any exposure of skin on his head, neck, shoulders, arms, and she touched it. All that had gone on before disappeared, even if just for this moment. She felt connected to him, and she was…happy…to be this close to him.
They did not kiss. They simply were near one another. And they were content.
The sound of the door opening made Stella nearly jump out of her skin. Thankfully, she regained her composure before the nurse entered the room.
"Stell's bells!" It was Rob, one of her favorites.
"Rob, my favorite murse!" Stella exclaimed.
"Oh sure, because I'm the only murse you know."
"Mayyyyybeeee….." Stella said, in mock sheepishness.
Ray looked annoyed, and rightfully so. Rob was a total knock-out. He was what anyone would call tall, dark, and handsome, and he was somewhere in his 20's.
"What the heck are you doing here?" Rob asked Stella.
"Um, hanging out? Cuz the hospital is the latest teen craze? Pretend to visit people and flirt with the staff?"
"Of course! I think I read an article about that somewhere. I think it was entitled, 'Beware of Cute Jail Bait Lurking in the Hallways'."
Stella laughed. Ray glowered.
Stella pointed to Ray, "Your charge here goes to my high school, and I'm his night watchman."
"Well, kid," said Rob to Ray, "You couldn't ask for a better pitbull." Then, he leaned in closer and said in a mock conspiring tone, "or a cuter one."
"And now, I blush," said Stella, smiling.
"You? Blushing?" said Rob, "When pigs fly!"
Then he said, "I need to check his vitals and other stuff that a lady ought not see, so I'm kicking you out. Go get a soda, and by the time you come back, I'll be done."
"Lady. Cute." said Stella. And she left.
When she came back, Ray still had that foul facial expression.
"Oh, look at you. Why the frowny face? Did he hurt you."
Ray rolled his good eye.
On instinct, Stella leaned forward and kissed the tip of Ray's nose.
"Ray, I don't know what's going on here. I guess you probably don't, either." She thought a second. "It's kinda like summer camp…uh, with injuries… At summer camp, the social order of the world around you disappears, and everyone gets along. But then you leave camp, and it all comes back."
Ray had to admit to himself that Yamada knew what she was talking about. Frankly speaking, even when she was raking his family over the coals, she was right. She said everything out loud that he had been thinking for years.
He reached up and touched her cheek. He had no idea what was going on, either. But something inside of him was starting to dislike the person he had been, and that maybe the kindness of a certain beautiful tiny spitfire might point him in the direction of being…better.
He picked up the pen, wrote, and pushed the paper toward Stella: "I'VE ALWAYS THOUGHT YOU WERE HOT."
Another weird compliment. But Stella wasn't going to argue this time. "Thank-you and shut up," she said. Then, "I'm just following your instructions."
He wrote another note. "NOW I'M BEGINNING TO SEE THAT YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL, INSIDE AND OUT."
"Wow," Stella whispered. She couldn't say anything else. This was beyond uncharacteristic of him, and she didn't want to break him out of his spell.
She went back to her chair, buying time to compose herself. Then she said, in her best Commanding Nurse voice. "And now, to sleep!"