And here we are...I think I might have tweaked the games a little to make
this the homecoming game, but a little artistic license taken here and
there isn't too bad, right? There's a little bit of language in this
chappie, mostly because the guys are high-strung about the game, but
nothing too horrible.
And, yes, I have decided to keep this story going as long as my tiny brain lets me! I've got ideas for events for up to chapter SIXTEEN!! See how efficient I can be when I'm inspired? now all I need to do is actually write them down...I might need the occasional nudge, but I'm doing what I can! I mean, with an endless amount of possible pairings, I need you guys to keep me on track! Which pairings go as far as they can, and which go straight to the plot bunny graveyard? These are high-school kids! Hormones run free! As said on an episode of 'That 70s Show', they switch partners as much as square dancers!
Enough of my rambling, because you must be bored. On with the show!
* * * * *
"This is the most totally impossible thing that could ever happen! They're losing!" Marissa said, eyes wide. "That's just totally wrong! This is homecoming—home-coming! You don't lose homecoming! Why are they losing? They can't—they won't—They are NOT going to lose!"
"They're not losing," Joanna said, trying to calm their captain down. "They're just not winning. It's still tied, and they have a whole other half after this quarter,"
"I don't care about the other half, I care about what's going on right now! A tie isn't winning!" Marissa said, "And if you're not winning, you're losing! It's that simple."
"Are you related to Coach Boone?" Joanna asked. "Because you sure sound like it right now. Are we going to have to take you outside?"
"No," she said simply, inhaling. "But they're losing—I mean, not winning. How can they not win this game?" She shook her head. "Look at them! For God's sake, look at Ray! He ain't playing for beans! I mean, he's left their quarterback hanging every time! What does he think he's doing?"
"Why are you watching Ray?" Joanna asked mischievously. "Are your eyes just so attracted to him that you can't look away?"
"It's because he's lame!" Marissa said suddenly, mentally hitting herself for the outburst. "He can't get over himself! I mean, come on! What the heck does he call that? I hope he doesn't consider it blocking, because he needs to rethink his game,"
"Now you're starting to sound like Gerry," Joanna said, "Pull yourself together. You can't actually be taking this seriously! It's football!"
"Well, someone has to," Marissa said.
* * * * *
"Ray—Where the hell is that son of a gun?" Gerry said. He wasn't in great mood, since Julius had just told him off. "He'd better not be trying to rest, because that's what he's been doing on the field. He's asking for it. Where the hell did he go hiding?"
"He hit the showers," Ronnie said, "I don't get why. He ain't doin' shit out here,"
Then, the speakers clicked to life.
"And now, a soul-powered moment of prayer, brought to you by your own T.C. Williams Titans, here's our cheerleading captain, Marissa Donovan!" the announcer said. Marissa took a look at the rest of the squad, crossed her fingers, and ran out to face the crowd. Then, it was the moment everyone had been waiting for. They finally got to hear Marissa singing. She broke out singing 'Amazing Grace', and by the time she was finished with the first verse, the crowd wasn't quite moved to tears, but there were a few watery eyes nonetheless.
"She's good," Petey said in complete awe. "Ain't no way around it. Look, even Rev's impressed,"
"Too bad for Ray," Ronnie laughed, "He went and threw one of his hissy fits, and he missed his number one girl's big show," They looked up and saw Marissa running over.
"Ah, just the girl we were looking for," Ronnie laughed, "Missy, I'd like to introduce you to Rev Harris," She shook hands with their quarterback and smiled.
"It's great to finally meet you," she laughed, "You can really play—which is phenomenally more than I can say for that blocker of yours," she added in an undertone.
"Okay, come on," Gerry said, "Ray hasn't been playin' his best, but—"
"But nothing," she snapped. "And this is nothing personal, because I admit it's not just him. I mean, I can't put it all on him, because I know he's good if he tries. You all have to put more heart into the game." She took a deep breath. "The game's about to start again. I need to get back to squad and keep that crowd cheering—keep their eyes off of the scoreboard until you catch up," she added with a giggle, "Great to meet you, Rev," Then she ran off, ten seconds before Ray came back out.
"You just missed the biggest show T.C. has ever seen," Alan laughed.
"Whatever," Ray muttered carelessly.
Marissa must have brought the team back to earth, because they finally pulled it off. They won the game, regardless of a few more squabbles amongst the boys. Marissa ran out and met Ronnie at his car and grabbed her dress, changing into it in the school bathroom. She changed in a hurry, then ran out. When she finally got in, there were already people onstage.
"Now, it's my pleasure to announce our homecoming king," said one girl, fumbling with the white envelope onstage, "Ronnie Bass!"
Marissa, standing in the back, cheered as loud as anyone did and Ronnie walked onstage and took the other envelope. He made fun of the girl who had announced his name by just pretending to nearly drop the envelope.
"And this year's homecoming queen," he said, pulling out the slip of paper, "Missy—I mean, Marissa— Donovan!" Marissa raised an eyebrow, and didn't start walking towards the stage until people started pushing her forward. Then, she felt the crowd was a wave of conveyor belts, sliding her closer and closer to the front of the room. When he got on stage, she had to hold her breath to keep from laughing as they put the tiara on top of her head.
Ronnie pulled her offstage, and they both were laughing hopelessly as they had their official dance to "My Girl," He sang along, sounding completely tone-deaf totally on purpose. Soon, Marissa lifted her hand and clapped it over his mouth—it was time for him to shut up. She did the singing between the two of them, and it was her or no one. They both started cracking up again.
"Maybe you should dye your hair blonde," he said, "Then we'd match. Plus, it completes the whole Barbie doll package,"
"Barbie doll?" she repeated, raising an eyebrow at him, "And what's that supposed to mean? Don't go giving me a reason to hurt you, " she smirked.
"Cheerleading captain, West Coast import, now homecoming queen," he laughed, "Come on, now. Are you for real?"
"Well, I thought you'd notice," Marissa said, "But I guess you haven't, so I'll state the facts. I'm not a foot high, I don't have abnormally large assets, my waist is wider than my arm, and I'm not made of plastic. You come to your own conclusions,"
"Now," said the student onstage, "We'd like to ask members of the homecoming court to offer a dance to our new homecoming king and queen,"
A girl who Marissa didn't recognize asked Ronnie to dance. Alan got up to ask Marissa, but Gerry grabbed him by the shoulder. "Let Ray have this one," Ray looked suspiciously towards Gerry. Things had been different between them lately. Still, he took the only chance he might get, and walked over to Marissa. He held out his hand, and Marissa accepted, without expression.
"Having a good time?" he asked, trying to get her to talk. Having her ignore him from afar wasn't as bad is having her barely two inches away and still refusing to speak to him.
"Yeah," she said unenthusiastically. "Great,"
Suddenly, he started singing along, not shyly at all. He was practically screaming the words into her ear. "Come, give me your softness, comfort me through all this madness. Woman, don't you know with you, I'm born again," Marissa couldn't help but break out laughing, and she just wanted to make him shut his mouth. "What, can't I sing?" Ray laughed.
"Stick with football," she laughed. "Please, I'm begging you, just stick with football. My ears will thank you for it. I swear to God!"
"We've never danced before. I guess that makes this our song," he whispered, leaning over and speaking into her ear so no one else could hear what he had said. She pulled back and stared at him like he had just said something perverted. She shook her head and walked away.
"Blew it again," Ronnie thought as he watched from the other side of the room.
* * * * *
About an hour later, Marissa was walking around the room, and bumped into Ronnie. "You're not having a great time, are you?" he asked.
"Of course I am," Marissa said, all too quickly.
"No you're not," Ronnie insisted, "I mean, you're a cheerleader. You're supposed to be bouncing off the walls, not sticking to them. You've turned down about twenty dances in less than an hour, and you expect me to believe that you're enjoying yourself?"
"I'm just kind of tired," she said, "I'm probably claustrophobic or something, too. I think I'm going to go for a walk," she shrugged and left the dance.
Marissa immediately regretted the fact that she hadn't brought extra shoes. Wherever she was headed, it had to be at least a mile away. She found herself walking down the streets until she reached Hal's. She walked through the door, and some people turned to look at the girl in a rose- colored tulle and silk dress. She sat down at the bar.
"You okay, little lady?" said Hal, the owner. He always seemed to like her more than he liked the guys on the team. "From what I remember, Missy, homecoming was supposed to be fun,"
"Can I get a drink?" She asked.
"Aren't you a bit young?" he said. Missy shrugged.
"I guess it don't matter anyway," she said. "I was just asking,"
"Tell you what. I'll give you a drink, but that's all. You aren't getting more than one," He mixed a screwdriver and put it on the bar.
"Thanks," she said quietly. She swirled the liquid in her glass, staring at it for a good ten seconds before actually drinking any of it.
"You know, I've had some kids walk in here during homecoming before," he said, "But I never heard from a homecoming queen walking out on her own party. What's your story?"
"How do you know I'm homecoming queen?" she asked. He gestured at the tiara on her head. "Oh," she muttered, laughing softly. She had half the mind to take the tiara off of her head and throw it out the nearest window just so people would shut their eyes and stop staring. "Is anyone else from T.C. here? Half of them left the dance already, so I was expecting to see a few familiar faces,"
"I'm here," someone said, sitting on the barstool behind her. She turned around, and saw the one person she had least hoped to see: Ray.
"I'll leave you two to your business," Hal said, walking off.
"You shouldn't be drinking that," he said, pointing at the glass. "It's bad for your health,"
Marissa rolled her eyes. "You shouldn't be minding my business," she said icily, "It's bad for your health," she took another sip of her drink. "It's just one drink, anyway. It's not like I've had the whole bar or anything,"
"How'd you get here?" he asked.
"I walked." Marissa replied. "About two miles in heels. Fun, don't you think?"
"You walked? You walked? From T.C.?" he said incredulously. Marissa just nodded simply, like she was a little child being chided for not holding someone's hand when she crossed the street. "You could've gotten hit or run over by some drunk. You could've gotten picked up by some stranger,"
"And why does that concern you?" she asked.
"You could've gotten killed or something," he said, almost hysterically. "What did you think you were doing? I mean, there's a million psychopaths out there," He gestured wildly toward the door, almost knocking her drink over in the process.
"And, from where I'm sitting, it looks like there's a psycho in here too," she muttered. He looked at her, "Just joking," she said, rolling her eyes. "Gosh, can't you take a joke?"
"You left the homecoming," he said.
"Big gold star! How observant of you! And here, I thought I was still back at school," she said. "I suppose you need a reason from me now. The party was getting boring, so I left. There's no story behind it, okay?" she took another sip of her drink.
"You need a ride home?" he asked. Marissa shook her head.
"I don't wanna go home," she muttered, "I mean, what the hell is there to do at home? I'm not tired. I'll walk home when I get bored,"
"I told you, I don't like you walking around alone," Ray said, "I mean, if you bumped into some thug from Herndon, they'd probably try to kill you because you're from T.C. Why don't we go for a drive or something?" He had his fingers crossed behind his back.
Marissa narrowed her eyes at him. She knew what she was dealing with. He had to have something up his sleeve. But he seemed sincere enough, so she made a decision that anyone else would have called stupid. "Sure," She shrugged. They went out to his car, and she slouched back into the chair, closing her eyes. In about ten minutes, after a short nap, she looked around. "Okay, this isn't funny," she said, "I'm not stupid. I know where we are. A guy only takes a girl up to the hill for one reason,"
"I know it looks bad," Ray said, "But I just brought you up here because we can be alone up here,"
"Do you think I want to be alone anywhere with you?" she snapped, crossing her arms. "Never mind. Don't answer that question."
"Look, I was meaning to give you something for homecoming," he said, "But, you know, all that stuff happened," Marissa looked at him, looking impatient. "If I asked you something, you gotta swear not to get mad,"
"I can't promise anything," she said flatly.
"Well," he said, "I know it's kind of stupid to be asking this right now, because of all the shit that's going on between us, but will you wear my ring?" Marissa stared at him wide-eyed for a minute, then nodded slowly, slightly apprehensive. He smiled at her, not looking cocky or anything, but possibly a real, genuine smile. She just melted.
"Damn it!" she laughed, "Why the hell do you have to make it so hard to stay mad at you?"
"It's a gift," he laughed, pulling the ring off of his finger. Then—he dropped it. "Shit," he muttered. Marissa heard it rolling around somewhere on the ground. She laughed softly. "I'll get it," he muttered, leaning over to find it. After about two minutes, he still hadn't found it.
"Here, let me help," she said, leaning over her seat. For a cheerleader who spent half of her time doing handstands, she had really bad balance, because once she had leaned over, she toppled over into the back, grabbing Ray to try to keep herself up.
He had landed on top of her, holding up the ring. "I—er—I found it,"
She pushed herself up slightly and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around her, and kept kissing her back like his life depended on it. Marissa suddenly froze when she heard the tiny click of her dress's zipper moving down, pushing Ray up and away from her.
"Okay," Ray muttered, "I get it. A little self-control, right?" He leaned downward and tried to kiss her again, but she turned her head. He pulled himself off of her, so it seemed like he was sort of hovering.
"Look, can we just go home?" she asked, looking away.
"Sure," Ray said, getting back into the front seat. Marissa got back to the front, too. They didn't say anything the whole time, and he walked her to her door.
"Bye," Marissa said quietly.
"Are we okay?" Ray asked her. She shrugged weakly and reached over to turn the doorknob, but he reached out and grabbed her hand. "Look at me," he said. Reluctantly, she followed his directions. "Marissa, are we okay?"
She looked up at him. "Yeah, we're okay," she said quietly, smiling. She leaned over and kissed him, lacing her fingers behind his neck. He reached to one of her hands and slid his ring onto her finger. "I'll see you tomorrow," she laughed, going inside.
* * * * *
The next day, Marissa found herself looking a small rumble in the hallway among the blacks and whites. Luckily, Gerry and Julius happened to be there to break everyone up. Marissa hung around a bit after everyone had cleared off to see Gerry and Julius finally get back on speaking terms. Marissa had been there with Julius when Gerry had stood the guys up at the Berg, and it seemed that she was only one who knew better than to blame it all on Gerry.
Right when the crowds parted into their separate homeroom, everyone was herded into the auditorium first thing in the morning. The principal got up onto the stage and tested the microphone, which responded with a deafening squeal. He cleared his throat and continued as if nothing had happened. "Seeing as none of you are in much of a mood to be holed up in a classroom after that spectacular game last night, we've decided to get you all in here for about an hour, then you're all dismissed," Everyone in the room cheered. "Now, in an encore of last night's homecoming game, let's welcome Missy Donovan,"
The curtains opened to show Marissa—Missy—standing there. "I thought y'all would've had enough of me by now," she laughed. "Well, I ain't singing Amazing Grace anymore, so let's try something different," That was the cue for the music to start—half of the students recognized the introduction right away and started cheering before she had even started.
"Remember the day I set you free I told you, you could always Count on me, darling. From that day on, I made a vow I'll be there when you want me, Some way somehow Cuz baby there ain't no mountain high enough Ain't no valley low enough Ain't no river wide enough To keep me from gettin to you, babe. My love is alive, way down in my heart Although we are miles apart If you ever need a helping hand I'll be there on the double, Just as fast as I can,"
Most of the white students didn't appreciate her choice of songs, but the cheers coming from the Titans more than compensated for it. She hopped off of the stage to talk to all of them.
"Girl, where is that voice coming from?" Blue asked, knocking her jokingly on the arm. "I'm 'bout a foot taller than you, and I can't sing like that,"
"Well, that's just one of the greatest mysteries of the day," Marissa laughed.
"Gotta admit," Petey laughed, "You can't diss the girl's choice of music,"
"Now that one," she laughed, "That was really dedicated to the Titans—the only soul-powered team in the division."
"You make the rest of them cheerleaders look bad," Gerry laughed. "Now people are gonna expect them all to be able to sing,"
"Well, that's too bad for them, isn't it?" Marissa said. "Now, one of you boys better be able to sing, because I ain't gonna be a solo singer forever,"
"You looking for a singer, then the answer's clear. That'd be Rev," Lastik said, "You two should corroborate," he said.
"You mean collaborate," Rev said.
"I wouldn't mind," Marissa laughed. "What do you say?"
"I don't think so," Ray said, coming over.
"Aw, quit ruining my fun," Marissa said, rolling her eyes. "I don't see you volunteering to get up on stage with me. Wait, I forgot!" she laughed, "You don't sing,"
"For your sake, I'll sing a whole damn opera," he said, wrapping an arm around her waist.
"For my sake, just don't," Marissa said, pushing him away playfully.
"A bunch of the boys and me are heading over to Hal's, since we can leave already," Ray said, grabbing her hand. "Are you coming?"
"I like hanging at Hal's as much as the next girl," she shrugged, "But I'm already planning to go somewhere after school. But you think you'd be free at around five o'clock?"
"Sure," he said unenthusiastically. He narrowed his eyes at Rev and the rest of his colored teammates and leaned over, kissing Marissa full on the mouth. Then, he turned around and left, leaving Marissa with a perplexed look on her face.
"Missy's gotten herself a bunch of Ray germs," Petey muttered once Ray was far enough away. "You still up for lunch?"
"Unless your little boyfriend doesn't want you hanging around us," Julius said.
"Aw, come on," she laughed, "He couldn't stop me if he tried,"
"Well, we wouldn't want you ruining those pretty nails," Petey said, smirking at her.
"Oh, just wipe that smile off of your face," she said, socking him on the shoulder. "Are we heading to the Berg or not?"
"If you're ready," Blue said, grabbing her by the scruff of her collar, "We're going. Who are you riding with?"
"Well, who's got room?" she asked.
* * * * *
"Who's this?" asked one of Julius' friends, Omar.
"That over there's Missy," he said. She raised an eyebrow at him. "I mean, Marissa,"
"She white?" Omar asked.
"Not sure," Blue said, stepping up. "I think she is—or she's not. She's something,"
"Hold on," Julius said, "Marissa, get your tiny as over here," Marissa rolled her eyes and came running over.
"What do you want?" she asked.
"What are you?" Julius asked.
"A person—"
"You know what I mean," Julius asked, "Are you white?"
"I guess," she shrugged. "I'm part other stuff too."
"Other stuff?" Petey said, overhearing their conversation. "What do you mean, other stuff?"
"I'm a mutt, okay?" she said lowly, "I've been called it enough times back home to know it."
"All right," Petey said, cutting her off before she could get herself into an any more uncomfortable position than she already had. "All right, are we playing or what?"
"Of course we're playing," Julius said.
"I'm in too," Marissa said.
"Yeah, right," Julius laughed, "You think you can play? This ain't no girls' league no more,"
"Then why am I playing you?" she laughed, "Just play,"
* * * * *
So we shed a lil bit of light on Marissa's background. Sorry if any terms in this chappie offended anyone! Also, our Missy has gotten herself back in queue with Ray...How's this gonna end up? Stay tuned!
And, yes, I have decided to keep this story going as long as my tiny brain lets me! I've got ideas for events for up to chapter SIXTEEN!! See how efficient I can be when I'm inspired? now all I need to do is actually write them down...I might need the occasional nudge, but I'm doing what I can! I mean, with an endless amount of possible pairings, I need you guys to keep me on track! Which pairings go as far as they can, and which go straight to the plot bunny graveyard? These are high-school kids! Hormones run free! As said on an episode of 'That 70s Show', they switch partners as much as square dancers!
Enough of my rambling, because you must be bored. On with the show!
* * * * *
"This is the most totally impossible thing that could ever happen! They're losing!" Marissa said, eyes wide. "That's just totally wrong! This is homecoming—home-coming! You don't lose homecoming! Why are they losing? They can't—they won't—They are NOT going to lose!"
"They're not losing," Joanna said, trying to calm their captain down. "They're just not winning. It's still tied, and they have a whole other half after this quarter,"
"I don't care about the other half, I care about what's going on right now! A tie isn't winning!" Marissa said, "And if you're not winning, you're losing! It's that simple."
"Are you related to Coach Boone?" Joanna asked. "Because you sure sound like it right now. Are we going to have to take you outside?"
"No," she said simply, inhaling. "But they're losing—I mean, not winning. How can they not win this game?" She shook her head. "Look at them! For God's sake, look at Ray! He ain't playing for beans! I mean, he's left their quarterback hanging every time! What does he think he's doing?"
"Why are you watching Ray?" Joanna asked mischievously. "Are your eyes just so attracted to him that you can't look away?"
"It's because he's lame!" Marissa said suddenly, mentally hitting herself for the outburst. "He can't get over himself! I mean, come on! What the heck does he call that? I hope he doesn't consider it blocking, because he needs to rethink his game,"
"Now you're starting to sound like Gerry," Joanna said, "Pull yourself together. You can't actually be taking this seriously! It's football!"
"Well, someone has to," Marissa said.
* * * * *
"Ray—Where the hell is that son of a gun?" Gerry said. He wasn't in great mood, since Julius had just told him off. "He'd better not be trying to rest, because that's what he's been doing on the field. He's asking for it. Where the hell did he go hiding?"
"He hit the showers," Ronnie said, "I don't get why. He ain't doin' shit out here,"
Then, the speakers clicked to life.
"And now, a soul-powered moment of prayer, brought to you by your own T.C. Williams Titans, here's our cheerleading captain, Marissa Donovan!" the announcer said. Marissa took a look at the rest of the squad, crossed her fingers, and ran out to face the crowd. Then, it was the moment everyone had been waiting for. They finally got to hear Marissa singing. She broke out singing 'Amazing Grace', and by the time she was finished with the first verse, the crowd wasn't quite moved to tears, but there were a few watery eyes nonetheless.
"She's good," Petey said in complete awe. "Ain't no way around it. Look, even Rev's impressed,"
"Too bad for Ray," Ronnie laughed, "He went and threw one of his hissy fits, and he missed his number one girl's big show," They looked up and saw Marissa running over.
"Ah, just the girl we were looking for," Ronnie laughed, "Missy, I'd like to introduce you to Rev Harris," She shook hands with their quarterback and smiled.
"It's great to finally meet you," she laughed, "You can really play—which is phenomenally more than I can say for that blocker of yours," she added in an undertone.
"Okay, come on," Gerry said, "Ray hasn't been playin' his best, but—"
"But nothing," she snapped. "And this is nothing personal, because I admit it's not just him. I mean, I can't put it all on him, because I know he's good if he tries. You all have to put more heart into the game." She took a deep breath. "The game's about to start again. I need to get back to squad and keep that crowd cheering—keep their eyes off of the scoreboard until you catch up," she added with a giggle, "Great to meet you, Rev," Then she ran off, ten seconds before Ray came back out.
"You just missed the biggest show T.C. has ever seen," Alan laughed.
"Whatever," Ray muttered carelessly.
Marissa must have brought the team back to earth, because they finally pulled it off. They won the game, regardless of a few more squabbles amongst the boys. Marissa ran out and met Ronnie at his car and grabbed her dress, changing into it in the school bathroom. She changed in a hurry, then ran out. When she finally got in, there were already people onstage.
"Now, it's my pleasure to announce our homecoming king," said one girl, fumbling with the white envelope onstage, "Ronnie Bass!"
Marissa, standing in the back, cheered as loud as anyone did and Ronnie walked onstage and took the other envelope. He made fun of the girl who had announced his name by just pretending to nearly drop the envelope.
"And this year's homecoming queen," he said, pulling out the slip of paper, "Missy—I mean, Marissa— Donovan!" Marissa raised an eyebrow, and didn't start walking towards the stage until people started pushing her forward. Then, she felt the crowd was a wave of conveyor belts, sliding her closer and closer to the front of the room. When he got on stage, she had to hold her breath to keep from laughing as they put the tiara on top of her head.
Ronnie pulled her offstage, and they both were laughing hopelessly as they had their official dance to "My Girl," He sang along, sounding completely tone-deaf totally on purpose. Soon, Marissa lifted her hand and clapped it over his mouth—it was time for him to shut up. She did the singing between the two of them, and it was her or no one. They both started cracking up again.
"Maybe you should dye your hair blonde," he said, "Then we'd match. Plus, it completes the whole Barbie doll package,"
"Barbie doll?" she repeated, raising an eyebrow at him, "And what's that supposed to mean? Don't go giving me a reason to hurt you, " she smirked.
"Cheerleading captain, West Coast import, now homecoming queen," he laughed, "Come on, now. Are you for real?"
"Well, I thought you'd notice," Marissa said, "But I guess you haven't, so I'll state the facts. I'm not a foot high, I don't have abnormally large assets, my waist is wider than my arm, and I'm not made of plastic. You come to your own conclusions,"
"Now," said the student onstage, "We'd like to ask members of the homecoming court to offer a dance to our new homecoming king and queen,"
A girl who Marissa didn't recognize asked Ronnie to dance. Alan got up to ask Marissa, but Gerry grabbed him by the shoulder. "Let Ray have this one," Ray looked suspiciously towards Gerry. Things had been different between them lately. Still, he took the only chance he might get, and walked over to Marissa. He held out his hand, and Marissa accepted, without expression.
"Having a good time?" he asked, trying to get her to talk. Having her ignore him from afar wasn't as bad is having her barely two inches away and still refusing to speak to him.
"Yeah," she said unenthusiastically. "Great,"
Suddenly, he started singing along, not shyly at all. He was practically screaming the words into her ear. "Come, give me your softness, comfort me through all this madness. Woman, don't you know with you, I'm born again," Marissa couldn't help but break out laughing, and she just wanted to make him shut his mouth. "What, can't I sing?" Ray laughed.
"Stick with football," she laughed. "Please, I'm begging you, just stick with football. My ears will thank you for it. I swear to God!"
"We've never danced before. I guess that makes this our song," he whispered, leaning over and speaking into her ear so no one else could hear what he had said. She pulled back and stared at him like he had just said something perverted. She shook her head and walked away.
"Blew it again," Ronnie thought as he watched from the other side of the room.
* * * * *
About an hour later, Marissa was walking around the room, and bumped into Ronnie. "You're not having a great time, are you?" he asked.
"Of course I am," Marissa said, all too quickly.
"No you're not," Ronnie insisted, "I mean, you're a cheerleader. You're supposed to be bouncing off the walls, not sticking to them. You've turned down about twenty dances in less than an hour, and you expect me to believe that you're enjoying yourself?"
"I'm just kind of tired," she said, "I'm probably claustrophobic or something, too. I think I'm going to go for a walk," she shrugged and left the dance.
Marissa immediately regretted the fact that she hadn't brought extra shoes. Wherever she was headed, it had to be at least a mile away. She found herself walking down the streets until she reached Hal's. She walked through the door, and some people turned to look at the girl in a rose- colored tulle and silk dress. She sat down at the bar.
"You okay, little lady?" said Hal, the owner. He always seemed to like her more than he liked the guys on the team. "From what I remember, Missy, homecoming was supposed to be fun,"
"Can I get a drink?" She asked.
"Aren't you a bit young?" he said. Missy shrugged.
"I guess it don't matter anyway," she said. "I was just asking,"
"Tell you what. I'll give you a drink, but that's all. You aren't getting more than one," He mixed a screwdriver and put it on the bar.
"Thanks," she said quietly. She swirled the liquid in her glass, staring at it for a good ten seconds before actually drinking any of it.
"You know, I've had some kids walk in here during homecoming before," he said, "But I never heard from a homecoming queen walking out on her own party. What's your story?"
"How do you know I'm homecoming queen?" she asked. He gestured at the tiara on her head. "Oh," she muttered, laughing softly. She had half the mind to take the tiara off of her head and throw it out the nearest window just so people would shut their eyes and stop staring. "Is anyone else from T.C. here? Half of them left the dance already, so I was expecting to see a few familiar faces,"
"I'm here," someone said, sitting on the barstool behind her. She turned around, and saw the one person she had least hoped to see: Ray.
"I'll leave you two to your business," Hal said, walking off.
"You shouldn't be drinking that," he said, pointing at the glass. "It's bad for your health,"
Marissa rolled her eyes. "You shouldn't be minding my business," she said icily, "It's bad for your health," she took another sip of her drink. "It's just one drink, anyway. It's not like I've had the whole bar or anything,"
"How'd you get here?" he asked.
"I walked." Marissa replied. "About two miles in heels. Fun, don't you think?"
"You walked? You walked? From T.C.?" he said incredulously. Marissa just nodded simply, like she was a little child being chided for not holding someone's hand when she crossed the street. "You could've gotten hit or run over by some drunk. You could've gotten picked up by some stranger,"
"And why does that concern you?" she asked.
"You could've gotten killed or something," he said, almost hysterically. "What did you think you were doing? I mean, there's a million psychopaths out there," He gestured wildly toward the door, almost knocking her drink over in the process.
"And, from where I'm sitting, it looks like there's a psycho in here too," she muttered. He looked at her, "Just joking," she said, rolling her eyes. "Gosh, can't you take a joke?"
"You left the homecoming," he said.
"Big gold star! How observant of you! And here, I thought I was still back at school," she said. "I suppose you need a reason from me now. The party was getting boring, so I left. There's no story behind it, okay?" she took another sip of her drink.
"You need a ride home?" he asked. Marissa shook her head.
"I don't wanna go home," she muttered, "I mean, what the hell is there to do at home? I'm not tired. I'll walk home when I get bored,"
"I told you, I don't like you walking around alone," Ray said, "I mean, if you bumped into some thug from Herndon, they'd probably try to kill you because you're from T.C. Why don't we go for a drive or something?" He had his fingers crossed behind his back.
Marissa narrowed her eyes at him. She knew what she was dealing with. He had to have something up his sleeve. But he seemed sincere enough, so she made a decision that anyone else would have called stupid. "Sure," She shrugged. They went out to his car, and she slouched back into the chair, closing her eyes. In about ten minutes, after a short nap, she looked around. "Okay, this isn't funny," she said, "I'm not stupid. I know where we are. A guy only takes a girl up to the hill for one reason,"
"I know it looks bad," Ray said, "But I just brought you up here because we can be alone up here,"
"Do you think I want to be alone anywhere with you?" she snapped, crossing her arms. "Never mind. Don't answer that question."
"Look, I was meaning to give you something for homecoming," he said, "But, you know, all that stuff happened," Marissa looked at him, looking impatient. "If I asked you something, you gotta swear not to get mad,"
"I can't promise anything," she said flatly.
"Well," he said, "I know it's kind of stupid to be asking this right now, because of all the shit that's going on between us, but will you wear my ring?" Marissa stared at him wide-eyed for a minute, then nodded slowly, slightly apprehensive. He smiled at her, not looking cocky or anything, but possibly a real, genuine smile. She just melted.
"Damn it!" she laughed, "Why the hell do you have to make it so hard to stay mad at you?"
"It's a gift," he laughed, pulling the ring off of his finger. Then—he dropped it. "Shit," he muttered. Marissa heard it rolling around somewhere on the ground. She laughed softly. "I'll get it," he muttered, leaning over to find it. After about two minutes, he still hadn't found it.
"Here, let me help," she said, leaning over her seat. For a cheerleader who spent half of her time doing handstands, she had really bad balance, because once she had leaned over, she toppled over into the back, grabbing Ray to try to keep herself up.
He had landed on top of her, holding up the ring. "I—er—I found it,"
She pushed herself up slightly and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around her, and kept kissing her back like his life depended on it. Marissa suddenly froze when she heard the tiny click of her dress's zipper moving down, pushing Ray up and away from her.
"Okay," Ray muttered, "I get it. A little self-control, right?" He leaned downward and tried to kiss her again, but she turned her head. He pulled himself off of her, so it seemed like he was sort of hovering.
"Look, can we just go home?" she asked, looking away.
"Sure," Ray said, getting back into the front seat. Marissa got back to the front, too. They didn't say anything the whole time, and he walked her to her door.
"Bye," Marissa said quietly.
"Are we okay?" Ray asked her. She shrugged weakly and reached over to turn the doorknob, but he reached out and grabbed her hand. "Look at me," he said. Reluctantly, she followed his directions. "Marissa, are we okay?"
She looked up at him. "Yeah, we're okay," she said quietly, smiling. She leaned over and kissed him, lacing her fingers behind his neck. He reached to one of her hands and slid his ring onto her finger. "I'll see you tomorrow," she laughed, going inside.
* * * * *
The next day, Marissa found herself looking a small rumble in the hallway among the blacks and whites. Luckily, Gerry and Julius happened to be there to break everyone up. Marissa hung around a bit after everyone had cleared off to see Gerry and Julius finally get back on speaking terms. Marissa had been there with Julius when Gerry had stood the guys up at the Berg, and it seemed that she was only one who knew better than to blame it all on Gerry.
Right when the crowds parted into their separate homeroom, everyone was herded into the auditorium first thing in the morning. The principal got up onto the stage and tested the microphone, which responded with a deafening squeal. He cleared his throat and continued as if nothing had happened. "Seeing as none of you are in much of a mood to be holed up in a classroom after that spectacular game last night, we've decided to get you all in here for about an hour, then you're all dismissed," Everyone in the room cheered. "Now, in an encore of last night's homecoming game, let's welcome Missy Donovan,"
The curtains opened to show Marissa—Missy—standing there. "I thought y'all would've had enough of me by now," she laughed. "Well, I ain't singing Amazing Grace anymore, so let's try something different," That was the cue for the music to start—half of the students recognized the introduction right away and started cheering before she had even started.
"Remember the day I set you free I told you, you could always Count on me, darling. From that day on, I made a vow I'll be there when you want me, Some way somehow Cuz baby there ain't no mountain high enough Ain't no valley low enough Ain't no river wide enough To keep me from gettin to you, babe. My love is alive, way down in my heart Although we are miles apart If you ever need a helping hand I'll be there on the double, Just as fast as I can,"
Most of the white students didn't appreciate her choice of songs, but the cheers coming from the Titans more than compensated for it. She hopped off of the stage to talk to all of them.
"Girl, where is that voice coming from?" Blue asked, knocking her jokingly on the arm. "I'm 'bout a foot taller than you, and I can't sing like that,"
"Well, that's just one of the greatest mysteries of the day," Marissa laughed.
"Gotta admit," Petey laughed, "You can't diss the girl's choice of music,"
"Now that one," she laughed, "That was really dedicated to the Titans—the only soul-powered team in the division."
"You make the rest of them cheerleaders look bad," Gerry laughed. "Now people are gonna expect them all to be able to sing,"
"Well, that's too bad for them, isn't it?" Marissa said. "Now, one of you boys better be able to sing, because I ain't gonna be a solo singer forever,"
"You looking for a singer, then the answer's clear. That'd be Rev," Lastik said, "You two should corroborate," he said.
"You mean collaborate," Rev said.
"I wouldn't mind," Marissa laughed. "What do you say?"
"I don't think so," Ray said, coming over.
"Aw, quit ruining my fun," Marissa said, rolling her eyes. "I don't see you volunteering to get up on stage with me. Wait, I forgot!" she laughed, "You don't sing,"
"For your sake, I'll sing a whole damn opera," he said, wrapping an arm around her waist.
"For my sake, just don't," Marissa said, pushing him away playfully.
"A bunch of the boys and me are heading over to Hal's, since we can leave already," Ray said, grabbing her hand. "Are you coming?"
"I like hanging at Hal's as much as the next girl," she shrugged, "But I'm already planning to go somewhere after school. But you think you'd be free at around five o'clock?"
"Sure," he said unenthusiastically. He narrowed his eyes at Rev and the rest of his colored teammates and leaned over, kissing Marissa full on the mouth. Then, he turned around and left, leaving Marissa with a perplexed look on her face.
"Missy's gotten herself a bunch of Ray germs," Petey muttered once Ray was far enough away. "You still up for lunch?"
"Unless your little boyfriend doesn't want you hanging around us," Julius said.
"Aw, come on," she laughed, "He couldn't stop me if he tried,"
"Well, we wouldn't want you ruining those pretty nails," Petey said, smirking at her.
"Oh, just wipe that smile off of your face," she said, socking him on the shoulder. "Are we heading to the Berg or not?"
"If you're ready," Blue said, grabbing her by the scruff of her collar, "We're going. Who are you riding with?"
"Well, who's got room?" she asked.
* * * * *
"Who's this?" asked one of Julius' friends, Omar.
"That over there's Missy," he said. She raised an eyebrow at him. "I mean, Marissa,"
"She white?" Omar asked.
"Not sure," Blue said, stepping up. "I think she is—or she's not. She's something,"
"Hold on," Julius said, "Marissa, get your tiny as over here," Marissa rolled her eyes and came running over.
"What do you want?" she asked.
"What are you?" Julius asked.
"A person—"
"You know what I mean," Julius asked, "Are you white?"
"I guess," she shrugged. "I'm part other stuff too."
"Other stuff?" Petey said, overhearing their conversation. "What do you mean, other stuff?"
"I'm a mutt, okay?" she said lowly, "I've been called it enough times back home to know it."
"All right," Petey said, cutting her off before she could get herself into an any more uncomfortable position than she already had. "All right, are we playing or what?"
"Of course we're playing," Julius said.
"I'm in too," Marissa said.
"Yeah, right," Julius laughed, "You think you can play? This ain't no girls' league no more,"
"Then why am I playing you?" she laughed, "Just play,"
* * * * *
So we shed a lil bit of light on Marissa's background. Sorry if any terms in this chappie offended anyone! Also, our Missy has gotten herself back in queue with Ray...How's this gonna end up? Stay tuned!