A.N: Well, the tallies are in, and I will not be putting out the next fic out yet...yet. I will once this slows down a bit, or at least release the first chapter, considering that I will need to explain a lot about it, as it is an experimental fic. Anyways, enough about that, some major bombs are about to be dropped in this chapter, so buckle up and hold on because this is going to go fast and crazy! Glad to see that you all enjoy the story so far, and I always love to get reviews. As of now, December 14th, I still have until the 18th to get through finals, and then my time will free up. Not sure when this chapter will get up, but my time will free up. Alright, put on your bullet proof helmets, because we're taking a trip through the warzone!
As I said before, I was wanting this week to go by smoothly and uneventfully. As I woke up on Friday, however, I realized just how much fate decided to throw at me. What with practically all the cul-de-sac kids surprising me and talking to me, and Marie and I getting into an argument. I also knew that the information I had told the cheerleaders was bound to get out at some point and I would get into deep trouble with Marie, and that she would probably try to beat the shit out of me. I kind of wish she did instead of what actually ended up happening.
. . . .
My Friday seemed uneventful at first, as every other day had been. Breakfast, first, second, and even third period with Kevin seemed normal. Nothing remarkable in them at all. When I go to to calculus, though, I noticed that when Marie walked in, she was giving me angry glances every now and then. Well, I don't really know if I should have expected anything different, I thought. I was just glad we were separated in this class, otherwise we would probably be in a huge argument by now. Little did I know what kind of intent she had behind those eyes.
Class ended and I was happy to get out of the same room with Marie because it seemed that even when she wasn't even facing me, I could feel her eyes burning holes into me. I decided that I would finally eat with the "popular kids" for lunch today. I went to where I assumed their table was, and sure enough, I found Kenny sitting at the table with a couple other people. I sat down and Kenny greeted me.
"Alright, I'll wait until everyone else gets here before I actually introduce you." Kenny was someone who seemed to always be friendly, no matter who he was talking to. I was wondering if anyone else at this table would be like him, but a bigger surprise was going to be waiting for me. A few seconds later, three people walk over to the table, with people looking over from other tables at them. There was a tall guy with a dark blue hoodie, light blue beanie, and had blue eyes and dark brown hair. Opposite of him was a girl with an hourglass figure with light brown hair that went down to the middle of her back, and she had skinny jeans and a striped zip-up hoodie. In the middle was a short blonde girl with wide hips that really complimented her body. She seemed very athletic, but something seemed...strange about her. Almost familiar… As I looked at her for another second, I realized who I was looking at. Oh Jesus, this is May. I felt like slamming my head down on the table because yet again, I find my past coming up to jump in my face yet again.
"Oh, who is this, Kenny?" The girl with light brown hair spoke. Their group of three sat down at the table, just across from me.
"Don't worry, I'll introduce him when the other two get here."
"Well, my name is Sandra," the girl with brown hair said.
"My name is James," the guy who had been silent up until now had said.
"And I'm May," she said. I was shocked to hear her voice, as it had changed from the annoying shrill voice it once was, to something a little more feminine and sweeter. I noticed that her teeth had also been straightened, and were no longer jutting out. I was shocked, but was brought out of it by a nudge to my foot from Kenny. I looked at him and he looked at me.
"Sorry, but I really zoned out there. Can you say your names again?" I asked with a slight chuckle. They laughed and repeated their names. That was a pretty good save there. "Well, my name is Daniel, nice to meet you guys." I replied.
"Well, welcome to the group Daniel. So, where are you from?" May asked me. I felt slightly worried because she asked me, but at this point I was kind of used to it. I trusted May slightly to keep my secret if she actually did know, but I hoped she didn't.
"New York" I replied just as two other people came up to the table. They were quite obviously a couple, holding each other with their free hands as they walked over to the table. The guy was short, with short black hair and a red long sleeve shirt. His girlfriend was also short with very beautiful green eyes, and with a pink jacket, they almost looked like they were a perfect match. Kenny leaned up to me and whispered in my ear.
"That's David and Jackie. They're known for being the cutest couple here." I just looked at him and smiled with a little chuckle. Somehow, I was spot on. I looked back to see that they had noticed me.
"Woah, do we got a new guy?" David smiled, and I could tell he was also friendly, but maybe not quite as friendly as Kenny. I guess I'll give him time.
"Yup, this is Daniel, and he moved in from New York." Kenny said as he put a hand on my shoulder. I nodded and said "Hey."
"Hey Daniel, my name's David," he stuck his hand out for a handshake, and I gladly took it.
"And I'm Jackie," she offered with a small wave. I looked at her and gave her a smile.
"So, what do you like to do?" James asked me from his seat.
"Ah, I like to do lots of things, actually. I can play guitar, make music on my computer, I can dance, and I'm really good in school." I replied, listing off some of the things that I normally do. I could see everyones eyes widen when I listed off my list. Kenny then broke the silence.
"Damn dude, most of us just mess around a lot, you really know how to use your time!" He said with a laugh. I looked at him and grinned. Well, I do have a lot of free time.
"So, what kind of dance do you do, and have you made any songs yet?" I always get kind of nervous when people ask me about my breakdance, mostly because I feel that they would judge me if I messed up or didn't do something crazy. Even though I know that they would be impressed my some simple moves, I still felt weird doing those moves in front of people. Either way, I told them.
"Well, I can breakdance and I have made songs, but I'd rather wait before I let you guys listen to them." I noticed that they all went wide eyed yet again, but the silence was short lived.
"Woah, well, I want to see some of those moves on the dance floor when the next dance comes up!" David said to me as he was smiling.
"I guess I can, but I'm always worried that I'll mess up." I said. I always hated knowing that I could mess up at any point, but I learned breakdance for a reason.
"Don't worry, you won't mess up, and even if you do we won't judge." James spoke to me. The conversation went along those lines, and was far more enjoyable than the one I had with the cheerleaders a few days ago. Our conversation went along quite well, and I almost forgot that May was there a few times. She was so quiet, even more so than James. I didn't expect her to be so quiet, but then she asked a question that scared me for a second.
"You seem familiar to me, do I know you from somewhere?" I was shocked at what May had asked me, but I managed to keep my cool.
"I don't know where, unless it was recently. I don't know where else you would have seen me." I replied. She looked at mo for a second, as if accessing a memory stored away, but eventually just dropped it and we continued our conversation.
The lunch bell rang and we all left. I was starting to feel somewhat like I was back in New York, but then I realized that I hadn't asked about anyone else. Man, I hope I don't seem like an ass now. I actually found a group that I liked, and funnily enough, they are considered the "popular kids." I didn't really know what to make of it, but I wasn't going to complain. Fifth period went fast, and I was able to think about what to do for the song I had been working on. A couple days ago my data was lost on my computer, but I already knew how most of the song went, so I wasn't too worried about it. I was thinking about how I could change it, rework it, and make it sound even better. However, I wouldn't have time to think about it when I got home later today. I would have a lot more to deal with.
I walked into the APUSH class and put my stuff down. Marie wasn't there yet, but she came in a minute later giving me a glare. I dismissed it, but she looked pissed, even more so than in calculus. She looked me in the eye and started to talk to me.
"I need to see you after class." I just looked at her and scoffed.
"Yeah, I don't think that's gonna happen." I saw her eyes narrow and I just looked at her with a small smirk.
"I'd better see you out there. You don't want to get on my bad side." I scoffed yet again. As scary as Marie might have been when we were younger, I wasn't afraid of her now. She was a head and a half shorter than me and didn't really seem to be all that menacing. So frankly, I didn't care if I did get on her bad side or not.
"I really don't give a shit about whose bad side I'm on, I'll be leaving here in two years, so you don't scare me at all." I threw out everything about being worried if I was caught, I just wanted to show Marie that she wasn't the ruler over this school. I hated people like her, people who thought that they were better than everyone and tried to show it off. Even if she wasn't really showing it off, I still wanted to show her that she was not ruler of this school.
"You're making a mistake, I hope you know that." She growled while grinding her teeth. I smiled to myself, knowing that she was getting really annoyed. I let the conversation drop as class started, and I noticed that she kept giving me sideways glances and glares throughout class. This kept up for the entire class period, and I was waiting for it to end just so I could get home and have the entire week to myself. The bell rang, and I got my stuff and walked out the door. Unfortunately, Marie was right on my tail. Just as I walk out the door, I feel a tug on my backpack as Marie pulls me back over to her. I turn to face her, and I see an extremely pissed Marie.
"Where the fuck do you think you're going?" She said as she grabs onto my shirt.
"Who the fuck do you think you are grabbing onto my shirt?" I say as I rip her hand off my shirt. Her face gets even more pissed off. I notice people stop and stare at us, and a small circle starts forming around us.
"No, don't give me your bullshit-"
"And don't give me your attitude. Don't even try hitting me either, because from the sounds of it, you're already in a lot of trouble." I smiled once again to myself, knowing that I could win this fight, but I really didn't want it to escalate into a fight. Getting suspended in the first week of school would not be on my list. I saw her face twist even further into anger, and I was actually scared that this might turn into a fight, but luckily that didn't happen. Instead she came right up next to my ear and whispered so I would be the only one to hear.
"I'm gonna find you outside of school and beat the shit out of you for telling people that I'm in calculus." She backed away from my ear, but I wasn't about to let this drop. Maybe because I was stupid, or maybe because I still wanted to show Marie her place, I poked at the fire.
"Oh, why are you afraid of people knowing that? I'm sure everyone here would love to hear it!" I shouted, gesturing toward the large crowd gathered around us. Her eyes shot open, and she took a quick step toward me, grabbing onto my shirt with both of her hands and pushing me.
"YOU BETTER NOT!" She shouted at me. When she shoved me, I took a step back, but quickly came back and shoved her off of me. She let go of my shirt and took a couple steps away from me.
"I don't know why you're so scared of that information getting out, but whatever, I won't tell them." I said as I walked away. The crowd parted and let me pass, and I didn't hear another word from Marie. As I passed through the crowd, though, everyone was giving me a look of surprise and...a little bit of fear. I might have been the first person to get away with talking back to Marie like that unscathed, and I planned on keeping it that way. No one dared talk to me when I walked out of school that day, probably because they were slightly afraid of me. But little did I know just how much trouble this was actually going to get me into.
I rode home and did normal things that I would have done in New York had I still been there. I worked on my song, getting things done, and just having some fun after what had happened at school. I decided that I would ride my bike around and maybe just go wherever I end up. I got out my bike and didn't have any direction in mind, and just headed off where I felt like. This ride didn't last long. In no time I found myself riding down the alley that was right behind the cul-de-sac, the one that Ed, Eddy and I would always walk down and even made some of our scams down here. My nostalgic thoughts were cut short when I spotted a blue-haired Kanker walking in my direction. Before I had time to turn around, I heard Marie shout in my direction, and most obviously toward me.
"HEY BASTARD! GET OVER HERE!" Her voice was loud, and I wouldn't be surprised if the kids in the cul-de-sac heard it too. I faced her and rode my bike to her.
"So, still mad at me, I see?" I grinned, fully confident that I would be able to defend myself. Within a couple seconds, we were within a step of each other.
"Fuck yeah I'm still mad. I had to scare those prissy-ass cheerleaders to keep quiet because of you!" I just smiled at what she said, and this seemed to be making her even angrier.
"I didn't really like them either." I said. "In fact, I don't like this school in general. I wish I was back in New York."
"Why did you tell people after I specifically told you not to?!" She shouted at me. While I had calmed down a bit, it seemed Marie hadn't.
"Well, I told them before you told me not to." I said, adding more stress to the before part. "I still don't understand why you don't want to be known as smart, seems like a pretty dumb idea." Her eyebrows furrowed and her face turned into a sneer.
"You wouldn't understand." I started laughing when she said this. She sounded like a pouty kid when she said that, so I couldn't help but let out a laugh. While I was expecting a punch while I was laughing, I didn't feel anything. When I stopped and looked down at her, the look on her face confused me. Her eyes were wide open. Her face was pale. Her mouth was slightly open. I looked at her, wondering what had just happened, and just in case, I looked behind me, but there was nothing. I looked back at her and noticed that she had taken a step back, before saying something that confused me even further.
"Smile." I gave her a confused face, before giving a small smile. "No, show your teeth."
"What the fuck are you doing?" I asked, not knowing what she was trying to do.
"Just...show me your teeth." I looked at her confused once more before showing her my teeth. Her eyes focused in on my teeth, and her eyes widened again. "What's your name?"
"Uh, it's Daniel. What is wrong wi-"
"No, your real name."
"What? That is my real name." I said, becoming worried about where she was going with this. She waited for a few seconds before the one word I didn't want to hear from her came rolling out of her mouth.
"...Edd?" My eyes widened when she said my name, and I didn't know what to do. I felt the blood rush from my face, leaving what was most likely a ghostly image of me. I froze like a deer in headlights, and didn't say anything for many seconds. I didn't know what to say, until I realized what had happened. When I was laughing, she saw my teeth...which still had the gap in them, one of my most recognizable features from when I was younger. HOW COULD I LET THAT SLIP?! I mentally screamed at myself. More awkward silence passed between us, until she spoke again.
"Edd...is that really you?" Her eyes were wide, and she looked like she was on the verge of crying. I got off my bike, and took a step towards her.
"Marie...please...don't tell anyone about this." She just looked at me with eyes that were almost letting their tears fall. I didn't know what to say or do, so we just stood in silence for a little while longer. Marie took a step away from me, and then fell to the ground, her head buried in her knees with her back up against the fence. I crouched down beside her, and tried to talk to her.
"Marie, please don't tell anyone that I'm back, I don't want that to get out." I heard her cry and saw her body tremble. She didn't answer me back, so instead what I did was tell her where my house was and to come talk to me when she felt better. She just nodded and kept crying. I felt bad for her, and as I left, I said words that I should have said to her a long time ago.
"I'm sorry." I rode my bike towards my house and put my bike back into the garage. My mind was going fast, thinking about what had just happened. I didn't know what would happen now, and I knew that now my future was in Fates hands. My stupidity had just earned me my secret getting out to one of the people I wanted to keep it away from, and I guess it serves me right. After an hour of thinking about what my future had in store, I heard a knock at my door. Sure enough, when I opened the door, it was Marie, but just as I saw her, I felt something hit me in the left side of my face, which I knew was Maries fist. Well, I should have expected that. I look back to her, and see her face, plastered with disbelief, anger, and betrayal.
"Why did you leave us?" The question stabbed at my heart, and I knew that this was going to take a while to explain.
"Just come inside and let me explain." I motioned for her to come into my house, but she just stood there with an angry face.
"Not until you tell me why you left without telling us!" She shouted, letting a couple stray tears roll down her face. I took a step towards her, and I felt so guilty and sad, and as much as I would have loved to just make her forget me or anything else so that she wouldn't be so sad, I needed to explain everything to her.
"Marie, I'm not going to be able to explain it in five minutes, so you can either come inside, or you can stand out here in the cold for an hour as I explain everything." I saw her consider it in her mind, then she walked into the entryway of my house. I started walking to the living room and started to ask if Marie wanted anything to drink when she grabbed my shoulder.
"I just want to know why, so stop with the formalities and let's talk about this." I just looked at Marie for a second before sighing in defeat and sitting on one end of the couch. Marie sat on the other end.
"So you really want to know why I left?" I asked.
"That's why I'm here, dumbass. You had us all worried when you left, so why didn't you tell anyone? Why not Ed or Eddy? They were your closest friends, so-"
"Were. Eddy turned out to be a complete ass, but yet I do feel bad for not telling Ed. He was the only one who actually cared about me in the end." I spoke, looking down at the ground, remembering what I wish hadn't actually happened.
"Oh, and I didn't? What, did you just think I just hated you? Did you think I didn't actually care about you? Did you-" I cut her off as her voice rose.
"Oh yeah, I totally think someone cares about me when they do the shit you did! You humiliated me in front of my friends, you hurt me, you practically assaulted me so many times, who does that to someone they care about?!" I shouted at her. Well, this conversation took quite a turn. I saw her look at me, and her face morph from anger to sadness, and I saw a tear roll down her face before she curled up on the couch and buried her head in her knees. I saw her body trembling, before she said something, so quiet I almost couldn't hear it.
"I'm sorry." I pause at this moment, and realize that what I had just said struck deeper than what I had meant it to. I looked at her for a few seconds before moving a little closer to her, to maybe try and comfort her. The only problem is, I'm almost never in this kind of position. Most of the time if I say something that cutting, I meant it, but now was one of those rare times I didn't mean it.
"I...it's ok Marie, really, I...I didn't mean that...listen. I'm sorry about that, I know you cared about me, it's just that you have a rather...strange way of showing it." I said, trying to cheer her up, and at first I feared it didn't work, because she kept crying. But she slowly raised her head, and looked at me. Her mascara was streaked down her face, and she still had tears running down her face. I just looked at her and waited to see how she would react. Luckily for me, it wasn't violent.
"Thanks Double D. Still though, I didn't know that's how you felt about me." She said in a quiet voice.
"You're welcome, I guess? Anyways, I left because of Eddy. I think you heard about it, but he blamed me for the scams that happened after that whole fiasco with Eddy's brother. For whatever reason, everyone turned on me and bullied me. Ed was the only person who actually talked with me, so I just felt like no one else really cared about me. I decided just to not tell anyone just in case they wanted to retaliate right before I left, and I never told Ed because I didn't want him to tell anyone and I also didn't want to see him so sad."
"Why did Eddy try to blame you? You guys were practically like brothers, what would make him do that?" Marie said, looking at me with a questioned look.
"Well, after a while, I decided to stop helping him with his scams, as I finally felt like we didn't have to do that anymore. I guess he took it as me betraying him, and decided that he didn't want me anyways, so he abandoned me and made everyone else do the same. I felt alone and I went through a lot of sadness, and after a few months of that, my parents told me that we were moving to New York. I saw this as an opportunity to leave my past behind, and...I never really wanted to see it again." As I was saying these last parts, remembering what had happened, how sad I was, how I almost felt like I wasn't even worth it anymore, I hung my head low, looking at the ground. "I just assumed that no one actually cared anymore, but I just recently found out that I was wrong. Anyways, we left and I never told anyone. I practically started a new life in New York, and I've become someone completely different, someone I'm proud of. And now I'm back here, and I never wanted to come back. I just wanted to be where I was happy, and that was in New York. But now I'm back, where I have a lot of bad history, bad memories, and I just wish I was gone. I wish I never lived here." I said as I felt some sadness and anger about my whole past here.
"Don't say that." Marie spoke quietly to me. I looked at her confused. She saw my face before explaining. "Don't say that you never wanted to live here. Otherwise...otherwise what would have happened with Ed and Eddy?" I still had the confused look on my face. She was going to say something different, I could tell from that pause, but I decided to let it go...for now.
"They probably would have killed themselves." I said with a chuckle. Marie made an attempt at a laugh, but it came out as more of letting air out of her nose sharply. I look back at her and see that she still has a face painted with sadness and...something else that I just couldn't quite put my finger on.
"Marie, are you ok?" I ask her, actually wondering if she was fine.
"Yeah, I'm just...I still can't believe that you're back, it's just...so surreal." She seemed to be pondering something in her head, remembering memories of the past. I stay quiet for the next few seconds, still looking at her, wondering what was going through her head. She noticed me, and we made eye contact. She looked back down at her knees, still with her knees against her chest. She looked to be nervous about something, but I didn't know what. It was quiet for a little while longer, before she gave a sigh of defeat.
"It's just that, you meant a lot to me, and I just couldn't believe that you would just leave, and I thought it was because of me, and I just felt so bad and I felt like I had ruined so much. I've been thinking that I caused it for these years, I just..." She had started crying, and I could tell that she was having a hard time getting through this. I didn't know what to do, because here she was again, crying and having a moment of weakness, something very rare for Kankers, and I could tell this was going to take more that just saying "It will be alright."
So, I hugged her. I didn't know what else to do, but I felt like it was the right thing to do. She let go of her knees and hugged me back. She was still crying into her arm, and we sat like this for a minute or two, until her crying had calmed down.
"Thank you." She whispered into her arm, yet loud enough so I would hear it.
"Marie, don't think that it was you, please. You had nothing to do with why I left. I don't want to make you feel guilty, and I just wish that I could have told you that sooner." It felt weird being in this position with my childhood tormentor, but I felt obligated to do so, especially after hearing the sadness Marie went through. I started to release my grip on Marie, but I felt that she clung on for another second before slowly releasing her grip on me. I let her go, but stayed right next to her. She still had her knees pulled up to her chest, but she had stopped crying. We sat like that for a few more minutes, yet it wasn't really an awkward silence. It was more of a time where we were both thinking about the things that had happened, amongst other things.
"So what did you do in New York?" Marie asked, finally breaking the silence.
"Well, I did a lot of stuff. I kept my grades up at a 4.0 at least, I learned to play the guitar, I learned to make music on my computer, I learned how to breakdance-" I heard Marie let out a small laugh when I said that. I looked at her with a small smile on my face. "What?" I asked.
"Nothing, I just can't imagine you breakdancing, that's all." She said as she kept on giggling. My smile got a little wider, wanting to see the reaction of her when she saw me actually doing some of my best moves. There was one problem, though.
"Well too bad for you that I can't show you, cause these rooms are all carpeted or too small." I replied to her little jest at my talents. She continued to chuckle, but I kept going with what I was talking about earlier. "So, anyways," I say, elbowing her at that part, which only makes her giggle harder. "I like exploring abandoned buildings, I've gotten better at lying, and I made lots of friends in New York, just to name a few more things." Her giggling had ceased by now, and she looked at me with actual interest.
"Well, if you've become so good at lying, then how can I trust everything you just said?" She said with a small smirk.
"Sounds like someone doesn't believe. I can go get my guitar and show you that I'm telling the truth." I said as I got up and went to go get my guitar. I came back and at back down next to her, but with a little room between us so I had room for the guitar. I played a song that I had written a while back, one that was a little simple but flowed very nicely. While I was halfway through the song, Marie leaned over and placed her head on my shoulder. I felt my body tense up a bit, and a moment later, felt my face warm up a bit. However, I kept playing without a problem, but my thoughts were interrupted by a question. Why do I feel embarrassed and nervous all of a sudden? Why when Marie put her head on my shoulder? I let these thoughts float around my head with no intent on giving them an answer yet, but I still didn't understand it. Once the song was over, we sat in a silence for a few seconds before I look over at Marie, still on my shoulder. I saw that she had a smile on her face and that her eyes were closed, and she looked a little strange, because her mascara was still in streaks down her face, but after a few more seconds of silence, she opens her eyes and looks at me. She jumped off of my shoulder and looked away, but not before I saw a small blush appear on her face.
"So what about you?" I ask, just to break the silence.
"What do you mean?" She asks, looking back toward me, but I let out a small laugh. "What?" She asks a little more annoyed.
"Oh it's nothing," I say as I get up. "It's just that you happen to have some mascara all over your face, so I'm getting a paper towel so you can get it off." I say as I walk into the kitchen. I grab a paper towel and run it under the sink to get half of it wet. I walk out to Marie and I give her the paper towel. She washes off her face...or at least tries. She missed a couple spots, so I decided to help her.
"Jeez, I would think that you would know how to wash off your own face Marie." I told her as I took the paper towel out of her hands and started to get the spots that she had missed, but she moved her face away.
"Double D, you don't have to treat me like I'm a kid." She said.
"Well you're the one who can't wash off her own face." I retorted with a smirk. She looked back at me with narrow eyes before giving a small smile and standing up.
"Give me that." She said as she took the paper towel from my hands.
"Bathroom is down at the end of the hall!" I call to her as she left the room. When she was gone cleaning her face, I thought about how weird this whole thing is. Here I am, with my childhood tormentor, yet I feel...strange. Not strange in the way that there was something bad, but yet, not something good either. I haven't really felt this feeling before, but the closest I can imagine it is with what I felt with Nazz a long time ago, but this was...different. I couldn't describe it, but I assumed that I would find out later. A minute later, Marie came out to the living room again. She sat by me and I put my guitar to the other side of the couch. I asked the question I asked before.
"So what have you been doing in these four years I've been gone? Last time I remember, you weren't in any of the classes I was in?" I ask her.
"Hey, just because I wasn't in any of your classes in middle school doesn't mean that I'm not smart. I was just lazy and I had better things to do."
"Uh-huh" I reply sarcastically.
"Hey, I'm in calculus, am I not?" She retorted.
"Oh, no you are, I wasn't saying that you aren't smart, I'm saying that you could have easily done that in middle school." I said back to her.
"That's easy for you to say," She said as she elbowed me in the side of my chest. I just laughed and let her keep going.
"I'm into drama and singing, so that's what I'm going for. May has become the athlete in our family, and she's the best in the state, if not country. She's already getting lots of scholarships and schools are competing for her. I just wish I could say the same about me." She looked down with a forlorn look, but quickly got over it.
"I've been in a few plays so far, and I've been noticed on my singing, but I don't have schools competing for me." She added a little venom to the last part, but I understood where she was coming from.
"Schools care more about athletics than the arts, which I find fucked up. I mean, you would have about the same chance of being chosen to be in a major sports team as you would becoming famous for the arts. Just goes to show you that strength beats out beauty, I guess." I looked at Marie and saw that she was smiling and laughing. "What?" I ask, smiling with her.
"Oh nothing, it's just weird hearing you swear." She said as she kept on chuckling.
"Like you haven't heard me swear before, especially in the past few days." I say, still smiling.
"I know, but it's weird hearing it and knowing that you're Double D." I just nod and let her keep going on.
"I'm glad that schools have noticed May and that she's actually in a really good spot, but I also feel like I'm inadequate. I don't know, like, I just feel so...useless. I don't know, it's just-"
"Marie, you're in Calculus and APUSH and other classes that are probably advanced, so why would you feel inadequate? Colleges are going to see that and see someone who's actually advanced, so why are you worried?" I ask her. What I was saying was true, and I actually meant it, but the look of worry did not escape Maries face.
"Well, my family isn't exactly in the best financial position to pay for me going to college. May's practically guaranteed to get into college, Lee doesn't want to go to college, and I don't have any way to pay for college, but I want to go. I have no doubt that I would do well, it's just that, I can't. It just sucks, but there isn't anything I can do about it." I looked at her, and she seemed like she wanted to change it, but as she said, she couldn't do much about it.
"It's ok Marie, you'll find a way. Maybe you could get a job and pay off for college that way." Marie scoffed at my idea.
"What, and be buried under student debt for the rest of my life? No thank you." She said. She flipped the hair away from her eye, but it still covered her right eye. She looked down at her phone, and jumped up.
"Oh, crap, it's already 7! I gotta get home, otherwise May is going to have a fit and Lee will rat on me!" I got up with her, and she readied herself and I walked her to the door. I opened the door and she looked at me with a smirk.
"Always the gentleman, aren't we?" I smiled and nodded my head.
"Of course, Marie. How couldn't I?" She was about to walk out the door when she stopped and turned toward me. She looked nervous and quickly gave me a hug. I hugged her back, and I heard her whisper in my ear, "Thanks for everything, Double D." She let go and walked away. I finally took notice of how she looked. She had a nice hourglass figure, and it wasn't hard to figure out why guys wanted to ask her out. I blushed as if she could read my thoughts, and then she left my vision as she walked past my driveway and toward the trailer park. I was left confused yet again for this feeling, and I didn't know what was causing it. I supposed I would find out later, but for now, I would just let it be.
I did normal things for the rest of the night, and I actually felt inspired to finish my song, and after several hours of working on the last of it, I finally finished it. I felt proud and like I had made something incredible, even though it probably wasn't that good. I didn't care, though, because I was getting somewhere. I was tired, even if it was only 10, but I decided to go to sleep. Tomorrow would hold some more surprises, and while I didn't know at the time, it would actually change things between me and Marie.
A.N: Alright, I'm on break now, but I'm getting my wisdom teeth pulled on Tuesday, so I'm not sure when I'll get started on the next chapter. Also, Marie knows now, and the storm is now forming, but what else will happen now? Alright, I'm out, hope you all enjoyed this chapter and as always, I love your reviews, so go ahead and post your reviews and let me know how you enjoyed this chapter! Until the next chapter, goodbye!