CHAPTER 12

TIME WON'T MAKE THINGS BETTER

I came downstairs the next morning to find Mom in her interview suit, chatting with an unexpected visitor. "Kevin?", I asked.

Kevin was chipper. "Morning, Ronnie! Come on, we gotta get going."

I gave him a confused look. "Isn't it a bit early?" I asked.

"I'll explain on the way. Let's go, I got breakfast in the car," he said.

"Okay, uh... just let me get lunch," I said.

I rushed into the kitchen, Mom trailing along behind me. Diane sat at the table, dressed for the office, papers laying in front of her. Interview prep, I imagined.

"What's going on?", Mom asked.

"No idea," I said with a shrug. "I'll find out soon enough, I guess. Kevin's not the kind to drag me into a fistfight or anything." I grabbed my lunch from the counter and gave mom a hug and a kiss. "Thanks for lunch. And good luck on the interview today."

"You have fun at school," she replied.

I rushed out to the car. Inside I found a paper bag on the center console with an egg sandwich and hash browns inside. Nice. I grabbed the sandwich and took a bite.

Kevin started the car. "Your mom's looking pretty good today!", he said.

I swallowed before answering. "Yeah, she's got a job interview!", I said.

"Awesome! Where?" he asked.

"Aunt Diane's company," I replied, continuing to eat as I talked. "They normally aren't big on nepotism, but Diane explained the situation, and the boss was sympathetic, so… yeah, so long as HR clears her, it looks good!"

"Glad to see her up and about again," Kevin said.

"One day at a time, like they always say," I said. "Did Eve get home alright last night?"

I wasn't expecting him to answer no, so the answer I did get surprised me. "Well, I assume so, but I didn't actually take her there."

"What?", I asked.

"She had other plans. After we drove off, she asked me to take her to the mall instead. She had arrangements with a friend of hers, and needed my help as well." he said.

"What friend?", I asked. Not to throw shade on Eve or anything, but she didn't really have a lot.

"Goth girl with watermelons under her shirt. Probably implants," he said. "She was kind of… strange, honestly. Came at me all smiles, then Eve introduced me as 'Kevin from school, he's gay,' and… I wouldn't say Elvira objected, but she dropped from a hundred watts to forty."

I laughed. "Yeah, that would be Odette. Why did they need your help?"

"Well," Kevin said, "Eve wanted to pick you out a present. Since I know you so well and happened to be there, she thought I might be able to provide some input."

I raised an eyebrow. "What kind of present? It's not my birthday or anything..." I sincerely hoped we weren't going to start doing anniversaries of randomized lengths.

"Well, I get the idea it's more like a present from the goth girl to both of you. She's the one who paid. Promises of repayment were made, refused, argued about…" he trailed off.

"Umm…," I said nervously, "What exactly is this present?"

Kevin smiled. "Come on, Ronnie, you know I can't ruin the surprise."

That was fair, but Odette's involvement had visions of terrifying latex abominations dancing in my head.

"You'll see at school," Kevin added.

I left it at that and focused on breakfast. At school, we parked in the lot in back, then walked around to the front. The bell hadn't rung yet. Students milled around the front entrance, and a few meandered in. I looked around for Eve, but didn't see her.

"Where is she?", I asked.

Kevin also looked around. "Looks like she's running late," he said. "Let's hang out a bit, she'll be here."

We stood around waiting and made small talk. One minute after another ticked by, until it was almost time for the bell. Eve still hadn't arrived. I was a little miffed at Kevin for rushing me out just to wait around.

"I don't see her," I said.

"She'll be here," Kevin replied, also slightly annoyed.

"Maybe she went in already?", I offered.

"She wouldn't, trust me," Kevin replied.

"Maybe she's in trouble, then?", I said. "I mean, if she's not..."

"I'm here!" Eve's voice came from behind me. She sounded a little winded. I turned around and saw her, frazzled but smiling broadly. I blinked, not sure if my eyes were working right.

Eve was wearing a dress.

It was a stylish dress, too. Sleeveless blue-on-blue plaid with a short skirt, secured around the waist with a wide black belt. Over it she wore a black leather jacket, matching the belt and giving the look an element of toughness. Her backpack was slung over her shoulder. She also wore a choker necklace, and blue short heels over black thigh-high stockings. Just a peek of bare flesh was visible between the skirt and the top of the thigh-highs. Like anime girls, I thought. She walked towards me carefully and deliberately, heels clicking against the sidewalk. As she did, I saw she was also wearing a shiny gray hairband and dangling lapis earrings. And makeup. Really good makeup, too; I didn't notice it for almost a full minute.

This was definitely Eve, but a new kind of Eve. Less aloof, less hidden. An Eve that wanted to be seen. And she was.

"Do you like it?", she asked.

I couldn't talk. I just stared in a trance. Kevin put two fingers under my chin and politely pushed my jaw back into place, which snapped me out of it. "You look amazing!", I told her.

Eve laughed melodiously. "I spent all night picking it out. Everything except the jacket, Grace lent that to me this morning. She thought it completed the look."

"She was right!", I said, fawning shamelessly. "You look awesome! How do you feel in it?"

"I feel good!", she said. "I mean, really good! I never thought I'd be able to pull off a dress, but wow!"

She spun around to give me the 360 degree view, her skirt whirling like an umbrella. Then she stumbled and put her arms out to steady herself. "Uh… well, except for maybe the heels," she said, brushing her hair aside with a slight laugh. "That's why I was late. They weren't so hard to walk in at the mall, but…" she trailed off.

"It's beautiful," I said. "This is a lovely present."

"Well, um… this actually isn't it," she said. "This is kind of… umm...", she threw a look at Kevin, who took the hint.

"Ah!", Kevin said. "You know, I should get to work, don't wanna be late. You two have fun in class!" We said bye and he excused himself, walking off to the school door.

Now it was just the two of us, and Eve was suddenly flustered. "So, like I said, this isn't really the present. It's more of… a preview, I guess. See, umm..." she hesitated. "Well, I know this is kind of a backwards way to do it, but… ummm… Aaron, would you go to the prom with me?"

With all the drama lately, I had completely forgotten about senior prom. "Shit! When is that, again?"

"You don't know?", Eve said.

"I've been busy lately, it slipped my mind. It's not this weekend, is it?", I asked.

Eve snickered. "No, silly, it's weekend after next. You've got plenty of time to prepare."

"Good," I said, nodding. "Good, okay then..."

"So…," Eve said coyly, "will you?"

"Yes" would probably have been a fine answer, but I dropped to one knee and took Eve's hands in my own. "My dear, it would be an honor and a pleasure to escort you to the senior prom. Provided you don't hold it against me for not asking you sooner."

Eve giggled. "You're forgiven, my handsome paramour."

"In fact," I added, getting to my feet, "maybe I can make it up to you between now and then. How'd you like to go out this Friday? There's this movie playing that I'd like to see." After I got home, I'd figure out what it was.

Eve smiled. "You mean, like a date?"

"Yeah, an actual date. I'll buy you dinner and everything. I know a little Italian place around the corner..."

She cut me off by pulling me into a hug, all giggles. I'd later find out she'd never had a guy ask her out before. "You're the best, Aaron," she said.

We kissed- just a peck on the lips, and then I held her steady as she stumbled in her heels again. I snickered.

"Yeah," she said. "These are going to take some getting used to."

Behind me, the bell rang. Among the students in the courtyard, there was a general movement towards the doors.

"Sorry," Eve said, "but I'd better get to class."

"See you in French," I said. "Have fun!"

She walked to the doors, waving back at me as she did. "Love you!", she said.

"Love you too!", I answered.

I watched her go. So did a lot of people, boys especially. Eve was definitely being seen. One guy I didn't even know looked straight at me after she passed by, nodded approvingly and gave me a thumbs-up. Apparently, I was now the boyfriend of the hottest girl in school.

"My god, Kevin, she's incredible!", I replied. ""

Kevin shrugged. "Don't look at me, I'm a t-shirt and jeans dude. Hey, I gotta get to the kitchen. Can you get to class yourself, or are you too disoriented?"

I realized I was still gawping. I shook my had to clear it. "Go to hell, Kev. I'm not that stunned."

He laughed. "Sure thing. Have a great day!"

"You too," I replied.

I made my way into the school building. The image of Eve in a dress stuck in my mind. It had been a breathtaking sight. How the hell did Eve manage to make plaid awesome? I pondered this along the way to first period, getting so involved in this point that I almost didn't notice two familiar voices talking:

"-thick pads are not against the rules."

"Pad my ass, she..."

I looked up to see Annie and Roxy talking to each other. The second I did, Roxy noticed me. Immediately, she beckoned to Annie and the two of them ducked into the girls' bathroom together. I took note of this- Roxy and Annie conspiring together seemed somehow ominous- but I was too caught up in my ruminations right now to worry about it. I wouldn't realize the significance of that exchange until it was too late.

After first period, on the way to second, my path took me past the lunchroom. There I noted a large crowd gathering, and raised voices that I couldn't quite make out. I rolled my eyes. Always drama. Wanting no part of whatever it was, I turned down the hallway to take a different route. I got a few steps before somebody tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around and was surprised to see Tyrone. Surprised moreso since, for once, he was without his crew.

"Since we ain't talking to each other," he said, nodding his head to the cafeteria, "I can't tell you that the ruckus over there is Annie getting into it with your girl."

I cursed, thanked Tyrone, and rushed off in the direction of the cafeteria. As I got close, the voices indeed became familiar.

"I am a representative of the school," Annie said, "and you will accompany me to the ladies' room..."

"Fuck you!" Eve yelled.

The yelling came from inside the cafeteria, but the crowd was packed tight around the door, and I couldn't push my way through. There was a second doorway down the hall. Growling in frustration, I ran down the hall and through this doorway. Inside the cafeteria, the crowd formed a circle. Annie and Eve were only just visible through the forest of bodies. I rushed over, but again I failed to muscle my way through the crowd.

"Do not add obscenity to your…," Annie said warningly.

"Fuck you twice!", Eve interrupted. "A hall monitor cannot strip-search students! You're off your rocker! I'm leaving!"

Eve turned for the door, but Annie grabbed her by the arm. "You will..."

Eve forced her way out of Annie's grip. "Go to hell, you pint-sized psycho!"

At the insult, Annie's face went instantly red with anger. "YOU WILL NOT ADDRESS ME AS..." she grabbed at Eve's jacket, but the larger girl shoved her away. By her face.

"That's it!", Annie bellowed. "We'll just do this right here!"

She lunged for Eve and grappled her. Eve furiously tried to disentangle herself from the smaller girl's grip. The crowd cheered the fight- to them, this was nothing more than a show. They jostled each other for a better look, meanwhile I struggled to find a gap through the scrum. Off to one side, I saw Kevin running in from the kitchen. He also tried to push through the crowd, with more success on account of his larger stature.

Through the sea of shifting bodies, I saw Annie grabbing at Eve's… panties? What?! The crowd roared harder, as Eve's eyes reddened with anger at the violation.

"GET! OFF!", Eve bellowed at the top of her lungs. There was a hard shove, and the sound of ripping cloth. Annie was thrown back almost a foot, falling on her back. Eve stumbled in her heels, tried to regain her balance, and fell to the ground on herself.

The crowd gasped. I saw shocked faces and the cheering stopped immediately. Even Annie seemed surprised. In a blind rage, Eve rose to her feet, ran the few steps towards Annie and jumped on top of her. She drove a clenched fist into Annie's face once, twice… then Kevin, who had finally broken through, grabbed Eve by the shoulders and yanked her off Annie and to her feet. Eve lunged and strained against Kevin's grip as he tried to calm her. "You little shit!", Eve yelled. "You worthless little piece of shit!"

"Eve!", I called.

Her gaze immediately snapped towards me. For a second, her rage was interrupted. Then she saw the other students around her, mouths agape and eyes staring. There was no doubt what they'd seen. A look of fear crossed Eve's face, which soon hardened to cold hatred and disgust. She shrugged out of Kevin's grip, and he let her go. She stood in the center of the ring of people, all eyes on her. With a sneer, she grabbed her skirt and lifted it up as far as it would go.

"Yeah, that's it!", she berated the crowd. "Take a good look! Get yourself an eyeful! I'm packing more than your boyfriends!" People recoiled and backed away, some covering their eyes. Eve shoved her skirt back into place. Her eyes brimmed with tears, anger and sadness mixing together as she continued. "What's the matter?! Can't figure out a way to hate me more! All of you, you petty little shits, with your petty little problems! You all love to push me around, don't you? Ignore me? Insult me behind my back, you think I can't hear? You think I can't hear?! I am not your capering fool, you fucks! I am not your punching bag! I am a HUMAN BEING!" Tears streamed from her eyes, carrying trails of makeup with them. She stomped her foot, only to lose her balance and fall again. Frustrated, she ripped off her heels and threw them at the crowd. "I hate you! I hate you all! This whole fucking school can get blown sky-high for all I care! I hope you all burn in hell!"

Eve got to her feet and marched purposefully towards the door. The crowd parted before her like the Red Sea. I called to her, but she ignored me. Cursing under my breath, I dashed back to the far doors, and looped around. By the time I got to the hallway she was nowhere in sight. I ran through the halls, calling her name, and finally spotted her.

"Eve! Eve!", I called while running up behind her. She didn't respond. I slowed my pace and put my hand on her shoulder, only for her to immediately whirl and shove my arm away.

"Eve...", I began, but she didn't even let me start.

"Shut up!", Eve yelled, cheeks black from smudged eyeliner. "Just shut up, Aaron! I hate you most of all! This is all your fault!"

I stammered, off-guard. "Eve… what are you saying? I..."

"Shut up!", she yelled. "You did this to me, Aaron! You! All of this...", she pointed to her girly clothes, "all of this was because you convinced me that I could do it! That I could be it! I thought I could! I thought I could! And look what happened! It's all your fault! You did this, you fucking chaser!" She ripped her hairband off and threw it at me, so fast I instinctively raised my hands to protect myself.

"Eve, calm down," I pleaded. "You're not making any..."

"Shut up! Shut up!", Eve screamed. "When do you ever shut up?! All you ever do is talk! Whenever anything goes wrong, you just talk and talk, but it never helps! It never makes anything better!"

"Eve… you're...", I started.

"Shut! Up!", she yelled. "Just go away, Aaron! Just leave me alone! I hate you! I hate you!"

She wheeled on her feet and ran down the hall. I chased after her, calling her name, but barely got six steps before someone grabbed my arm from behind. I turned to see Kevin.

"Let her go, Aaron," he said softly.

"What the hell, Kevin?!", I said, struggling. "You let me go!"

"Just let her go," he repeated. "This is something she needs to deal with herself."

"I'm not going to abandon her!", I yelled. "Let me..."

"Are you gay, Aaron?", Kevin asked.

The question caught me off-guard. "What?", I replied.

"Are you gay?", Kevin repeated.

What kind of a question was that? "I love Eve," I said. "Everything else is details."

"But are you gay?", he repeated yet again.

I didn't have time for this, especially from a friend so close I considered him a brother. But at Kevin's insistence, I gave it a moment's thought. "If I were gay, that would make Eve a man, and she's not, so I'm not," I said impatiently. "Now let me…"

"Exactly," Kevin said.

"What do you mean, exactly?!", I said.

"You don't know what she's going through!", Kevin said. "If you wanted, you could turn around right now and walk away and never look back. But Eve can't walk away from herself. She has to learn to face this alone, because there will be days that she'll have to."

I yanked my hand out of Kevin's grip. "Nobody has to face anything alone!" I turned and stomped off after Eve.

"Dammit Aaron, you can't fail the same way your father did!"

Kevin's words stopped me in my tracks. I had to go after Eve, but… I couldn't just let that stand. I turned around and marched right back to Kevin. "My dad was not a failure," I said, "Everything he did, he did for our family, for me and Mom, and..."

"And what?", Kevin said. "What did he do to your Mom? He took care of her. He made sure she had everything she needed, kept her comfortable, gave her the good life. And because of that, she never learned how to stand on her own two feet. He took such good care of her that now he's gone, she can't take care of herself! She can't even function without him around. And that's exactly what'll happen to Eve if you keep trying to protect her! You'll turn her into..."

Kevin had more to say, but I wasn't interested. I balled up my fist and swung, catching him right in the chin. It was a hard punch, so hard he stumbled back against the lockers. I closed on him, grabbed him by the shirt, and pulled back to swing again.

But I didn't. Kevin and I had gotten into fights before, and he usually came out the better. But today he wasn't fighting back. He just stared at me with a grim face, ready to take his lumps. Because of course. We may be brothers, but he was still school staff, and hitting a student could get him fired.

This wasn't a fair fight. It wasn't a just fight either. What it was, was a distraction. I let go of Kevin and stepped back. "Fuck you, Kevin!", I said. "I know what I am, and what I have to do."

I left Kevin behind and ran down the hall. It led to the front door of the school, which I barged through. I saw Eve on the sidewalk some way down, and called her name. She didn't stop, so I ran after her. But as she turned a corner and vanished from sight, a thought occurred that stopped me dead in my tracks, cutting off all thought of further pursuit.

Kevin was right.

I sat in French class. The seat next to me was empty. Miss Bisette droned on and on about who-knows-what, but I wasn't paying attention. My mind was on other things.

Life doesn't always have clear-cut beginnings and endings, but high school does. It starts on a September morning and ends a mere three years and nine months later at a graduation ceremony. And after it's done, everybody moves on. To adult life. To someplace else; a college, a job, a boot camp, a city far away with a thriving arts scene where you can chase dreams, but in all cases, to somewhere other than where you've spent the first eighteen years of your life. And whatever that new place is, it changes you. Without parental authority and the protections that come with it, you have to make your own decisions, and live with the consequences. Without the role society sets for you, you have to find a new one, and reevaluate if the old one ever made to happy. One year, three years, five years, and you look back on the kid you once were and barely remember him. You meet your old friends, and they've changed too. They might as well be total strangers.

High school is triumphant, high school is tragic, but most of all high school is temporary. A shockingly short stretch of your life's journey, a strange and mysterious land that you're ultimately just passing through. And when you leave, you take nothing with you but your memories. Everything that seems so important at the time, all too soon becomes the past.

Right now, my mom was sitting down at a desk somewhere across from an HR person, hoping they'd deign to give her a new purpose in life. Something to do other than lie on a couch all day and pine for lost happiness. She'd much rather go back to the days when she was a happy housewife living with a caring husband and a loving- if occasionally troublesome- son. But that wasn't happening. It was all in the past. She'd finally realized that. She'd broken free of the misery chaining her to the couch. I couldn't let those same chains bind me. Less than two months before graduation, and a short summer to linger nostalgically, and then life would send Eve and I in different directions. Who knew who we'd be when and if we next met? You must always, always, move on with your life. You must always bury the past. Which meant Eve and I had no future.

Still…

The fact that everything inevitably becomes the past only makes the present that much more precious. And the fact that nobody knows what the future may bring makes it all the more important to hold on, futile as it may be, to what's most important to you. So when the alarm on my phone went off in the middle of class, I shut it off, pocketed the phone, grabbed my books and backpack and walked straight out the door. Miss Bisette said something, probably objecting to my just leaving in the middle of class, but I wasn't listening.

Kevin had been right when he said that Eve had to learn how to face this alone. But I had also been right to say that she shouldn't have to. Sixty minutes to herself, in my mind, was a reasonable compromise. I knew that was probably false logic, but fuck it. I was Eve's boyfriend, and I was going to act like it. Maybe it wouldn't help. Maybe it would all be useless. But god damn it, I was going to try. If it all proved futile, at least I'd be able to say I didn't give up. Eve and I would have a last day together, but that day was not today.

Marching purposefully down the hallway, I was interrupted by a familiar voice. "Hey! Get back to class!" Glancing back over my shoulder to see Annie- sporting a black eye from earlier- pursuing me down the hall. I rolled my eyes and walked on, but she was a regular Javert. "Back to class, now!", she said. I ignored her and walked faster. "Truancy will not be tolerated!", she said. "Disobedience will not be tolerated! If you do not turn back right this minute, I will have you in detention toda-"

I whirled on her. "I don't care if you EXPEL me!"

Annie jumped. I closed on her, and she inched backwards.

"I don't care if you throw me straight out of this school!", I continued, bellowing with the burning rage of a hundred demons. "I don't give a FUCKING SHIT what you come up with to punish me! Because, sorry to disappoint you, but there are things in life more important than high school! More important than dramas, more important than classes, and CERTAINLY more important than your precious rules! Rules that, by the way, exist to keep the student body safe, not to empower a nasty, selfish, petty, indignant, power-tripping little CUNT with the body of a middle schooler and the attitude of a preschooler!"

Annie cowered, her lips stammering but making no sound. She was shaking. With a scoff of disgust I turned back around and stalked off.

"You… you can't do this!", Annie yelled, her voice shaking. "This is… unacceptable!"

She kept talking, but I tuned her out, flipped the bird over my shoulder and kept on walking. Annie didn't try to follow. She could fuck off for all I cared. This whole school could fuck off. My only concern right now was Eve, and I knew exactly where to catch up with her.

Sugar Tats was closed when I got there. A sign on the door said they'd be back tomorrow, but offered no further explanation. I supposed it had to do with their friend with the spare tattoo gun. I found Eve up on the roof, standing on the edge, looking out over the town. Her stockings had been torn. Her skirt swayed in a small breeze, as did her hair, which was a bit of a mess. I was sure that she had heard me clambering up the ladder, but she didn't look at me. I approached slowly, stepping heavily so she knew where I was. I waited until I was within arms reach to speak.

"I hope you're not thinking of jumping," I said.

"Why shouldn't I?", she asked with a far-away voice.

"Well," I said, "for one, it won't work. You're two floors up, which means you'll get some broken bones, a trip to the hospital, and a lot of drama from Grace over the medical bills, but you'll still be alive. Especially since, from this position, the awning will break your fall." Eve said nothing. "Of course," I continued, "since you're standing in that specific spot, you probably know this already, meaning you're really just taking in the view- which is nice, I'll grant you- and this talk of jumping is just a lame attempt to fuck with me." That was supposed to be a joke, but Eve gave me no response.

I reached up and took Eve's hand. She squeezed it, and I squeezed back. "Besides," I added, "even if you did succeed in ending it, all you'd accomplish is giving me, and Grace, and everybody else who loves you another person to mourn. Come down."

I helped her down of the ledge. Now I could see her face, it was in quite a state. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her makeup was thoroughly ruined. As soon as her feet were on the roof, she fell into my arms. We held each other tight, as if we would vanish if released.

"I'm sorry for the things I said, Aaron," she said.

"It's okay," I replied, running my hand through her hair. "I know you didn't mean them. Fucking Annie. She makes everybody crazy."

She disengaged from my arms. "Yeah, fucking Annie. Fucking high school. Fucking assholes. Fucking world." With a heavy sigh, she sat down on the roof, leaning back against an air conditioning unit, knees pulled to her chest. I took a seat across from her, reclining against the waist-high wall around the edge of the roof. "I can't go back there," she said with a sob.

"Eve, don't be like…", I began.

"I can't! Everybody knows! What are they going to do to me now?", she said.

"The exact same things they did before," I said. "The people who love you will still love you, and the people who hate you were never going to love you, and the people who don't care can't care less. Nothing has changed. You're no worse off than you ever were."

Eve continued to sob. No tears came- she must have cried them all out before I got here. I leaned my head back and looked at the sky. It was nearly midday. The sun shined down and the clouds ambled easily through the blue void. It should be too beautiful a day for sadness.

"Eve," I said, "the thing is, it never had anything to do with you. It was about them. They're cruel to you because they like it. Not because you're a girl who was born a boy. Not because you've got a flat chest, or you never talk to anyone, or you sit on the bleachers and draw at lunch, or anything else. They do it because, for god knows what reason, they have to make other people awful so that they can feel good themselves. All the rest is just excuses. If one excuse didn't exist, they'd just find another, and go on doing the same shit. It's never about the victim. It's always the asshole's fault."

Eve sniffled. "I just wanted… I wanted so much to be accepted. As a woman."

I turned to her and waited for her to meet my gaze before replying. "I accept you, Eve."

She looked away. "Aaron, you're just one person."

"Yeah," I said. "So I'll have to accept you really hard to make up for it."

She didn't laugh. We sat there in silence for what felt like a long time.

"Do you think it'll ever get better?", she asked.

I sighed. "No. I'd like to tell you it will. But there will always be assholes in the world. People who like to make others feel awful."

Eve gave me a serious look.

"But that goes two ways, you know," I continued. "Just as there will always be assholes, there will also always be people who love you. People who will be there to watch your back, to make you smile, to let you cry on their shoulder…"

"People like you," she said.

I shrugged. "Like me, yeah. But also like Grace, like Odette. And there'll be others, too. You'll always have drama, and you'll always be plagued by assholes who want you to feel miserable. But you'll never have to face them alone."

She laughed, but it was a hollow laugh. "The assholes have us outnumbered, Aaron."

"Probably," I said. "But we have an advantage. The assholes want to send you running away. Your friends will want to stay with you."

"Why, Aaron?", she asked. "If you do that, you'll just wind up getting caught up in my drama."

"Because you were there for me," I said. "You didn't know it, and I didn't understand it, but the whole time my Dad was dying and everybody abandoned me because I was so dead-set on dealing with it alone, you were there. Treating me like I meant something. Like I was somebody, not just some playmate that can be discarded when I started getting moody."

"Is that what all this has been about?", she asked, suddenly indignant. "Because you think you owe me?!"

"It's because I love you!", I yelled. "Because making you smile makes me smile. And because you're worth it, Eve. Whether I'm getting arrested with drugs or being terrorized by a hall monitor with delusions of grandeur, you're worth it all and then some!" I left my seat, crouched beside her, and took her hands in mine. "I love you, Eve. You're the most important thing in the world to me. And even if life tears us apart someday, I'll never stop loving you. I want to see you smile every day, because you're beautiful when you smile."

"Aaron," she said, "You can't make me smile. There's just…"

"No," I interrupted. "no, I can't. But I can be here. And I can hold you when you can't smile. Before, when I said I didn't care, that was a lie, Eve. I care about you more than I've ever cared about anything." I put my hand on her cheek, feeling the small warmth there. "So please, just… just don't give up. Just never stop trying to be happy. Because when you give up, when you're miserable, I feel that pain, too."

"Aaron...", she began.

But words failed utterly. Eventually, she just half-leaned, half-fell into me. We held each other, eyes closed, foreheads touching, breathing the same breaths. For an eternal moment, there was nothing else in the world except for the warmth of the sun shining and the distant sound of the songbirds.

When at last we separated, I looked at her. Her face was somber, but neutral. She looked at me, and something about the sight seemed to amuse her.

"Aaron," Eve said, "you are so fucking sappy." She broke down laughing halfway through saying it. I realized belatedly that tears were in my eyes. I wiped them away, a little embarrassed.

"Yeah, I guess I am," I said. "But so is maple syrup, and everybody loves that."

Again she laughed, and this time it was true laughter. Joyful. The foul bewitching spell on her heart had been broken. For now, at least.

She rose to her feet. I did likewise, aching a bit from the awkward squatting position. Eve brushed a stray lock of hair out of her eyes. "God, my face is a mess, isn't it?", she said.

I grimaced. "I wasn't going to bring it up but… yeah, kinda. Your makeup is all over everywhere."

She scoffed. "Figures. I spent all morning getting it just right, then fucking Annie happens. Ugh… I better wash it off."

She walked over to the ladder, and I followed her. "You okay?", I asked, to be sure.

She shrugged. "Getting there. Thanks for being here, Aaron. After what I said earlier, I thought..."

"You knew I was coming," I said. "Don't pretend otherwise."

Eve looked at me quizzically. I smirked back at her.

"I've come here half a dozen times," I told her. "but this is the first time the garage door was left open."