Roxanne had discovered early on that she loved the feeling of having her arms wrapped around Megamind. He had a naturally sweet smell about him and he was so strong, despite his slim figure. Every day with him made her feelings for him grow, and now that he was taking her away, he was like…a hero. Her hero.
They flew out of the downtown area, over a portion of the lake and landed at a large brick building covered in graffiti.
"What is this place?" Roxanne asked as they climbed off the hoverbike.
"This is my…lair," he told her. It was more of a lab than a lair, he thought, just because lair sounded a bit too evil for him.
"Do you live here?" his date asked.
"Yes, I do. Me and Minion, of course."
"Of course." Roxanne had met the alien fish a few times, when he came to meet up with Megamind after school. "So how do we get in?" she went on, noticing that there was nothing resembling a door.
Megamind took her hand and, much to her surprise, walked through the wall. It was a hologram, she quickly realized. Impressive. It was quiet and dark inside, and very cold. Roxanne absentmindedly moved closer to her savior to warm up. Given his lack of body fat, the cold got to Megamind, too, so he was happy to exchange heat.
After a quick tour, he brought Roxanne to one last part of the lair. It was a wide open area with sketches of past and future inventions all over the walls, and it was much bigger and brighter than the rest of the building. Trying to stay cool and confident, he grabbed a small black remote from his nearby desk and pressed play. The two of them were shocked to hear the screaming guitars and machine gun drumming suddenly blasting through the lair. Megamind scrambled with the remote, and when he finally got the music to stop, he noticed that Roxanne was laughing at him.
"Sorry about that," he said sheepishly. "Let's try that again."
The sound of a CD player switching out one disk for another echoed throughout the room; it was followed by an acoustic guitar, one that Roxanne recognized right away.
"You like A Rocket to the Moon?" She was somewhat surprised.
"Not usually," Megamind explained. "But I've been listening to this song a lot since…" He trailed off and looked down at his shoes.
"Since when?"
"…since I met you." He was blushing lilac.
My eyes are no good, blind without her
The way she moves, I never doubt her
When she talks, she somehow creeps into my dreams
She's a doll, a catch, a winner
I'm in love and no beginner
could ever grasp or understand just what she means
He finally found the courage to look up and smiled. "Roxanne?" he said quietly.
"Yes?" She was smiling so sweetly at him; he could feel his knees going weak. Even with her soiled dress, she looked so beautiful to him. She was the first person to accept him for who and what he was. And from he could tell, she liked him that way. She never asked him to changed, she never told him he was weird or a freak or a loser – she liked him for him.
"Would you dance with me?"
Her smiled grew even wider and her eyes sparkled. "I would love to."
He closed the space between them, putting his hands and her hips as she put her on his shoulders. He had studies many styles of dancing, both formal and informal, but this was most people seemed to be doing at the dance.
Baby, baby blue eyes
Stay with me by my side
'Til the mornin', through the night
Well baby, stand here, holding' my sides
Close your baby blue eyes
Every moment feels right
And I may feel like a fool
But I'm the only one dancin' with you
Megamind hadn't bothered to dim the lights; he was too distracted by his unbelievable luck. Roxanne now had her arms around his middle, her cheek to his chest, and they weren't so much dancing anymore as they were just standing there, enjoying each other's touch, Nick Santino's the only voice being heard.
I swear I've been there
I swear I've done that
I'll do whatever it takes just to see those
Baby, baby blue eyes
Stay with me by my side
'Til the mornin', through the night (can't get you out of my mind)
Baby, stand here, holdin' my sides
Close your baby blue eyes
Every moment feels right
And I may feel like a fool
But I'm the only one dancin' with those
When the song ended, Roxanne pulled away just enough to look at Megamind, neither of them changing to placement of their hands. "Can I ask you something?" she said.
"Of course you can," he said with a grin.
"Do you…know what love feels like?"
The alien's green eyes widened. Why did she want to know? What was she implying? "What? Why?"
"I just want to know. Have you ever experienced it?"
He was suddenly more nervous than ever. How did he explain this without sounding like a total fool? "Honestly…no. No, I haven't. Love is probably the one scientific thing that I know very little about." Well, it wasn't a total lie. He knew he had strong feelings for Roxanne, but wasn't it too soon to be labeling it?
She nodded, thinking. She had never been so unsure of her feelings before. It was hard to say if what she was feeling was love when she had never actually been in love before. But what else could she call it when she couldn't stop thinking about him, got butterflies when she was around him, and felt like she would do anything for him? She couldn't think of any other explanation.
He was seeing something in her eyes that he had never seen before. It was a different sparkle than when he saw her in the hall and her face got a little brighter. The all-around look of her was different. Good different. He liked this look. But when he noticed her leaning in closer to him, all thoughts left his brain. Oh, God, what did he do…?
Before he had the chance to come up with a reaction, her lips covered his in a kiss. He froze for a few seconds before his train of thought started to get back on track, and he did his best to return what she was giving him. This was his first kiss, and amazing as it was, he had never had so much trouble thinking. When he finally got the hang of it, he responded eagerly, making Roxanne giggle against his mouth.
She took a step back and smiled at him. "You're not like the other guys, are you?"
He chuckled. "Well, I do look a little different."
She rolled her eyes and smirked. "That's not what I meant."
"Sorry. Please continue."
"I've…had my share of boyfriends," she went on, a little embarrassed to be saying this to him. "But not one of them has been as sweet as you, as funny as you, or…" She took both of his hands in hers and sighed. "…as handsome as you."
Megamind raised his eyebrows. She thought he was handsome? "I'm not handsome, Roxanne."
"Yes you are!" she snapped at him. "At least, I think so."
He grinned at her. "Do you love me, Roxanne?"
Heat rushed to her cheeks and she took one more second to think about her final answer. "I think just might," she said with a laugh.
Beaming, Megamind was certain that what he had just heard was a dream, and that when he woke up tomorrow Roxanne would just be that beautiful girl in the hall who he could never get. Then again, that kiss had felt pretty real, and so had all those hugs she had given him, not caring who saw. She was a bigger person than him for sure, never embarrassed of what she did or wanted. And now she wanted…him. What a feeling!
He lifted her off her feet and pressed his lips to hers in another kiss. She returned it happily, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I love you, too, Roxanne!" he told her, greatly relieved that he could finally tell her so, and that she shared this uplifting feelings. Cloud nine was a wonderful place to be.
After hours of just talking while sitting on Megamind's couch, Roxanne had a request.
"So what other types of music do you like?"
"Usually rock, but I like all kinds, really," he told her. "But not that silly pop and rap they always play on the radio. I'm not a fan."
She giggled a bit at him. "Can you play me something?"
He jumped up from the couch excitedly "Of course I can!"
Roxanne smiled how cute he looked, running off to somewhere out of sight to play his music for her. She was young and in love, and it was a great feeling.
She soon heard drums and electric guitars in her ears, and waited for her new boyfriend to return.
I know you can't hear me
But that does not mean
I don't want you to feel me
Ooh, ooh
It's just a matter of time
Til you are mine
Megamind came back with and sat down close beside her.
Who am I
Who am I to say
Angels from the sky don't walk the earth
Ooh
As time goes by, I realize
There's so much more that I could ever learn
You're an angel in disguise
Roxanne had a feeling that these songs were a way for him to tell her how he was feeling, but he was too shy to say so. Either that, or they were casually listening to music and she was just flattering herself. But whatever it was, she was really enjoying this alone time with him. She leaned against his side and he put his arm around her.
Don't cry, I'll be home soon
You know I want only to be with you
It's just a matter of time
Til you are mine
As the chorus played again, Megamind locked eyes with his own angel in disguise. He was in fact playing these songs to say the words that he couldn't, and she was sure of it now. He could tell. He loved her, and she loved him back, but there were just some things that he couldn't put into his own words.
And the truth is
I am scared all the time
I'm terrified
when I think of the world without light
Megamind's bright eyes dimmed as Ronnie Winter said these words. He was terrified. What would everybody think about Roxanne dating him? He was used to the ridicule, but based on her reaction to embarrassment at the dance, Monday wasn't going to be pretty. And what if that caused her to leave him? Nobody wants to be judged the way she would for going out with the Blueberry Head.
She felt his tense and sat up, catching the fear and sorrow in his eyes. "What's the matter?"
He sighed. "You shouldn't be with me, Roxanne."
Her eyes widened. "What?"
"You should be with some human guy. Someone you're proud to be seen with. Someone you can date without being judged."
She turned to face him, he did the same, and she took his hand. "Megamind," she said softly, looking down and then back up at his sad face. "I am very proud to be dating you. There isn't anybody in school, on Earth, like you. Didn't you hear what I said?"
He simply looked at her, a bit of confusion on his features.
"I told you that I love you," she reminded him. "And I know we're young and everybody says they love someone in high school, but-" She paused and her hands on his strong biceps, looking into those green eyes that she adored. "I said I love you, and I meant it. And I know you meant it, too," she said.
"I did," he assured her. "I do love you."
"Then that's all that matters. You shouldn't care what the other kids say. I sure don't. Maybe I did before, but not anymore."
"What changed your mind?" he asked, feeling a little better now that she had said such heartfelt things to him.
"Well, the way I see it, when you realize you have these feelings for someone, nobody else's really matters. I'd rather be with you and be judged than not be with you and worry about some silly reputation."
Now Megamind was sure of her feelings. It was written all over her face. He grinned at her, and she did the same. He stood from the couch, taking Roxanne with him. With a goofy, lovesick smile on his face, he put his hands on her waist and kissed her softly and sweetly. She gladly returned the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck.
For some reason, she couldn't wait until school on Monday. The look on the faces of their peers would be priceless.