Random Dedication- This is for this one crab I found on the beach (who I named Benjamin). I really like him...but don't tell him that 'cause he said he wanted to be 'just friends'.
Romeo, Tristan and...Brad Pitt?
When the bell rang at the end of first period my teacher, Mr. Malcolm addressed the class. "Anyone who is going to the game may leave at this time. If you are not, please report to building 3."
Building 3 was the Literature classroom.
No one else was there when I arrived so I sat down near the back.
I doodled while I waited.
Two girls I barely knew walked past me, chatting in annoyingly high pitched voices.
I heard the door open again but refused to look up.
Cold fingers stroked my hair on the way past.
Don't acknowledge him. I told myself.
Even with him being my- wince- boyfriend, I was still really cold with him. But I think he's used to it by now, and it didn't seem to daunt him.
The teacher walked in.
"Do what ever you want.'' Miss. Lincoln, a young substitute teacher told us. "Within reason.'' She corrected, experience with teenagers kicking in as she thought about what 'what ever you want' could mean.
I looked up from doodling on the back of my notebook to find the class nearly empty.
Miss. Lincoln was already turned around, playing Spider Solitaire on the computer.
Two rows away was Angela.
She smiled and waved when I looked at her.
The two girls sat a little further away, chatting.
In the front row at the entirely opposite side of the room was Mackenzie.
He motioned with his index finger for me to join him.
I rose almost at once, like I had been waiting to spring on an invitation.
Mackenzie chuckled at my eagerness.
Angela looked unsure of what to do.
"Come on, Ang." I invited her, and she stood also, looking relieved.
Mackenzie stood up as we neared, examining a poster on the front of the podium. He chuckled at what ever it said and leaned back to slide onto a desk in the front row.
"Good morning, Angela!'' He said pleasantly. "How are you this fine Monday morning?" His smile was radiant.
I had to lean against the podium to keep from collapsing on the spot.
"I'm okay." Angela said, looking nervous.
He smiled, "Good." He said, and looked at me with bright eyes.
Embarrassed, I looked down at the podium I now stood behind. I laughed all of a sudden. "I feel like I should be making a speech!"
Mackenzie chuckled, "Then make one! Blow us away with your mad speech making skills."
"Uh." I said brilliantly. I couldn't make a speech! I was joking! "Four score seven years ago...?"
I stopped as they both burst out in laughter.
"No!" Mackenzie choked. "Just make a non-historic speech."
"Like what?" I asked, thrown off.
"I don't know..." He said, looking around for inspiration. "How well do you know Shakespeare?"
I laughed, looking at the Romeo and Juliet poster on the wall. "Pretty well."
"Then lets hear a line or two. So far I have not seen your romantic side."
"Go, get thee hence, for I will not away.
What's here? A cup, closed in my true loves hand?
Poison, I see, hath been his timeless end.
O churl! Drunk all and left no friendly drop.
To help me after? I will kiss thy lips
Haply some poison yet doth hang on them
To make me die with a restorative."
They both just stared at me.
"Well that was not in the least bit romantic..." Mackenzie pouted.
"Yes it was!" I argued. "It was right before Juliet killed herself for love of Romeo! That's about as romantic as it gets! They were both willing to give up everything for each other."
He simply shook his head.
"Ha. Okay, if I dropped over dead right now what would you do?"
"Hmm..." He looked at me curiously. "What 'hath been your timeless end?" He quoted.
"Um..." I considered. "I choked to death."
"Now!?" He said, looking around. "On what?"
"My own saliva."
He stuck out his tongue to show his disgust but apparently got over it. "I'd give you mouth to mouth recesitation."
Now it was my turn to make a face. "Ew! My heart gave out!"
"...Mouth to mouth."
"It's not my lungs! It's my heart! That wouldn't save me, Mackenzie!" I nearly yelled.
Miss. Lincoln hushed us.
Angela giggled, sitting on the desk next to Mackenzie to watch the conversation.
"Does restarting your heart require taking your shirt off?" Mackenzie asked eagerly, continuing as if there had been no interruption.
"I spontaneously combusted. What would you do?"
"Is it because you're so hot?" He chuckled.
"Are you going to twist everything I say? Just answer the freaking question!"
He sighed, becoming serious. "Our situation is completely different from Romeo and Juliet's."
"You are right." I agreed. "Do you want to know what the difference is?"
There was silence.
"WE DON'T LOVE EACH OTHER!"
Angela burst out into a fit of uncontrolable giggles.
I'm glad someone found me funny. Mackenzie did not even crack a smile.
"Romeo and Juliet did not really 'love' each other. In today's world, even if you would have taken out Tybalt's murder, Romeo's exile and the suicides, it would not have lasted." Mackenzie said, carefully.
"How can you be so sure?" I leaned forward on the podium as I spoke, getting angry. No one disses my Romeo...
"Romeo was impulsive. He asked Juliet to marry him on a whim a couple hours after he met her. It is impossible for them to have fallen in love in that short of time. Romeo and Juliet was a doomed story from the beginning."
"Are you telling me you don't believe in love at first sight? Hypocritical, isn't it?"
"As I said before, IT'S DIFFERENT! Plus, if you're going to give something why give your life? It's pointless!"
"What would you give? Flowers and heart shaped chocolates? Or perhaps..." I pretended to think. "A STOLEN RING!"
"Haha. Very funny." He was suddenly looking very serious. "Speaking figuratively, of course-"
Most figurative conversations involving me did not make much sense. I wondered if we would use the name 'Dave' for Mackenzie and, if so, I would want the name 'Jane' for me. If Jessica were here, then it would be a party! She could come up with petnames- Dane, perhaps?
While I was still following this ridiculous train of thought, Mackenzie was talking. "I would think the perfect gift to give both members of the couple would be eternal life, not immediate death."
My breath caught in my throat. If he meant what I thought he meant, he had basically just said "I vant to bite vou." (I added the accent for effect.) He had admitted that he was prepared to offer me an immortal life with him.
I stared at him in disbelief for several seconds and managed to pull my eyes away before he noticed anything suspicious about my prolonged silence.
"What do you think is a romantic part then?" I asked.
"The scene where Romeo meets Juliet. It's all very sudden but sweet.
If I profane with my unworthiest hand
This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this
My lips, two blushing pilgrims ready
stand
To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss."
"Wow! You really do know Shakespeare!" I said, impressed.
Angela stared at us with a knowing smile.
I continued where he left off,
"Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much.
Which mannerly devotion shows in this;
For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch
And palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss
He eased off the desk to stand in front of me on the other side of the podium. He snatched up my hand from it's place on the podium.
I gasped but he continued,
"Have not saints lips and holy palmers too?"
He asked, sounding very much like Romeo.
I laughed.
"Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer."
I knew these words like the back of my hand. It's something that rubbed off on you after you've seen the movie about a million times.
"O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do!
Then pray; grant thou, lest faith turn to despair."
Hearing him say this made my heart hurt. I could clearly remember another boy who had whispered these lines to me only months before. But I still continued, somehow unable to stop.
"Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake."
Mackenzie looked at me from under his lashes as he softly said Romeo's next lines.
"Then move not while my prayers effect I take.
Thus from my lips, by thine my sin is purged.
I want to kiss you now." He whispered "But Miss. Lincoln is watching."
Sure enough Miss. Lincoln suddenly started clapping. "Wonderful! That was marvelous! Such feeling!"
"Wow!" Angela said simply, raising her eyebrows.
I blushed at all of their words.
The other two girls had stopped talking and were staring at us, obviously angry that we had interupted their little gossip fest.
"See." Mackenzie said. "That was romance. Try it sometime in real life." He raised my hand, which was still grasped in his cold one, to lips and kissed it. "This will have to suffice." He muttered.
The two girls on the other side of the room twittered, new gossip blossoming right under their noses.
"Oh! Bella has always been romantic!" Angela said. "But I guess you didn't know her when she was-" She stopped mid-sentence and seemed to change her mind. "Obsessively reading classic romance novels."
"A romantic Bella?" Mackenzie laughed. "Wouldn't that be nice! But, of course, it has to be hard for me..."
"I don't try to make it hard; it just always turns out that way." I said defensively.
He shook his head. "What 'classic romance novels' did you used to read?"
I shrugged. "Whuthering Heights-"
He made a face but didn't say anything.
"Jane Austin's books are some of my favorites."
"I like them." He commented. "The movies are mediocre. Not quite as good as the books but they will do."
"I like Shakespeare, also and not long ago I read Tristan and Iseult."
"Tristan and Iseult..." He made a face. "Also made into a movie. I never bothered to see it though."
"I have read a couple of Jane Austin's books but never Tristan and...Is- Ise-" Angela stumbled over the name.
"Iseult." Mackenzie helped her. "It's basically a horror story about Iseult who cheats on her husband, King Mark, with Tristan."
"It is not a horror story!" I said indignantly. "It is a beautiful romance novel written in the style of a myth. I thought it was interesting."
"It was so repetitive!" Mackenzie argued. "Tristan and Iseult have sex. They feel guilty. Iseult goes back to Mark. Tristan makes an elaborate disguise only to pull it off at the wrong moment. Iseult cries because she is 'in love' with Tristan. And the cycle repeats. Stupid mistake after stupid mistake until they die a lonely and useless death."
That was depressing.
"And now we're back to death." I pointed out. "You just like putting down the classics don't you?"
"Very much. Angela," He turned unexpectedly to her. "What book did you last read?"
She looked startled. "Erm. The Life/Death of Bindy Mackenzie."
"It has my name in it!" He said happily.
I laughed. "Yeah, as a last name...for a girl."
He scowled. "Yeah, well...your name means war!"
"And beautiful." Angela pointed out.
"But mostly war." He said stubbornly.
"You aren't even making sense anymore." I pointed out.
He scowled, looking away. "Pretty girls mess up my train of thought. If you would both just go away then maybe I could think straight!"
Angela blushed. I'm sure I did too.
"Being as I'm not making any sence while we're on the book topic, lets move on to movies."
And that's how the rest of the school day went. Mackenzie would ask what was our favorite...fill in the blank? Movie? Vegetable? Continent? Word? Ice cream topping?
He would scoff, criticizing my answers and drilling me on why exactly I liked those things.
It ended up that Mackenzie spent most of the time rolling his eyes. Angela spent most of it giggling at our eagerness to fight. And I...well, I blushed a lot.
"What's your favorite type of car?" Was one of the more embarrassing of Mackenzie's questions. "And don't you dare say your truck!"
I scowled but said, "Volvo." without thinking.
Angela shot me a startled look.
I think I must have turned some odd shade of crimson because Mackenzie's eyes narrowed, sencing something odd about my answer.
I coughed, looking away and asked my own question, "Why is it I have to answer your questions but when I ask you one I get the answer 'I don't think you need to know'?"
"Well, Bella, I don't think you need to know."
I scowled, infusing sarcasm into my voice. "Wow, that was hilarious, Mackenzie. Seriously, I'm cracking up over here."
"I answered a whole lot of your questions!" He snapped, suddenly defensive. "Now, just because I won't answer one-"
"Time out!" Angela squeeked. "You two have been together for a grande total of 40 minutes and you're already at each others' throats!"
He and I both cracked up at the last part. He must have been curious as to what I found funny about our relationship problems but I cound not help it. 'At eachothers' throats' is a funny phrase in my mind...apparently in both of our minds. Funny and oddly appropriate...
"What is your favorite bumper sticker?" He asked as if there had been no interuption.
I stared at him. "I don't pay attention."
"I like the one that says 'A good friend of mine was murdered'. It took me a while to figure out that they meant it religiously. I thought that they were just telling the world that their friend died for some odd reason." He rambled. "I'm sick of political ones."
There was an awkward silience.
"What is your favorite movie with Brad Pitt in it?" The questions were starting to get more specific.
"Wow. That's a very strange question." I told him.
"Aren't they all?"
"I'd have to say, Interview with a- a-" Damn it, Bella! Just say it! "Vampire." See, I told myself, easy peasy...
"Wow. Interesting choice." Mackenzie commented. "But you're a girl..." He trailed off.
"Wow, really Mackenzie? I'm sorry. I must not have realized."
He sighed. "What I meant was, he's not very attractive in that movie is he?"
I remembered having a cliched vampire movie marathon a few months ago before... before vampire became a taboo. That movie had been one of them. I could remember Edward -flinch- making fun of Brad Pitt's and Antonio Bandares's long hair.
"Not really." I answered. "But, I mean," My voice became dry. "Were the vampires supposed to be handsome? Who ever heard of good looking monsters? V-v-" Sound it out... "Vampires are supposed to appear on the outside as what they are on the inside- murderers."
A muscle twitched in his jaw. Success! God, I was horrible to this boy...
Mackenzie turned to Angela and patiently awaited her answer. He did not seem to trust himself to speek.
"I like the Ocean's movies. They make you think and they entertain you. Plus, Clooney is also in it so...whats not to like?"
True dat on the Clooney!
Mackenzie noticed my dreamy smile and scowled. "I am a fan of the Ocean's movies also but my favorite Brad Pitt movie would have to be Seven." He told us.
"What's Seven about?" I asked, truely wondering.
"A serial killer who chooses his victims through the seven deadly sins."
"Sounds..." Be nice. "Charming."
He chuckled.
Ok, so maybe that wasn't the best adjective...
"At the end Brad Pitt's character goes crazy." He said happily.
"Oh, come on! You just ruined the ending!" I said unhappily. "I'm guessing he played the serial killer?"
"Um. No." Mackenzie corrected. "He plays the detective."
"Well," I said, dryly. "I do love our law enforcement..."
He chucked, a low, adoring sound.
I looked up at him, wanting to find a reason for him making that noise, just as the bell rang.
Angela and I both jumped. Mackenzie didn't even blink.
I ran back to my original seat to collect my books, tripping on my way back to the front. Mackenzie was waiting for me and, surprisingly, so was Angela.
Angela smiled at me when she thought Mackenzie wasn't watching and wiggled her eyebrows while casting him pointedly admiring looks.
God, we had only been a couple for a few hours and my friends were already giving me hell for it.
Disclaimer- Guess what! What? I don't own Twilight! No way! I know...bummer right? Totally. (That was the people in my head talking to each other...oh God, now they're fighting...)
Sorry about not posting as soon as I got back. The good people of FanFicAdmin banned me for a couple days. Why? 'CAUSE I'M A BAD, BAD GIRL!
I went on a 'write dialogue' spree so...that's what was expressed in this chapter...heehee.. and in the next few too...
Sjs2- Haha! You're OC character is not the only one who can read Jane Austin and still not be gay! Take that Pete!
Anyway, I had a crappy week so can you make me feel a lil better and review. It's not hard, seriously. If I can do it, anyone can!