Chapter 15 ~ A PIACERE
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Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.
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A sigh escaped the three teenagers' lips at the exact same moment. Those teens were namely Drew, April, and May. Jun, however, shifted his gaze from Drew to May to April and back to Drew and so on. The silence continued for quite some time. However, this silence was short-lived for Jun cleared his throat.
"Hey, get a load of today's mystery meat. I think its moving." he said, prodding the indistinguishable clump of food on his tray. It seemingly stuttered before deflating into a grey heap. Drew seemingly hadn't heard him. May simply shrugged before prodding her own food. April shifted her gaze to the inedible mound before stabbing hers. In other words, Jun's futile attempt to start a conversation failed miserably.
The blond sighed before pushing his tray away.
"What's wrong with the three of you? I feel like I'm talking to lifeless zombies!" complained Jun. To prove his point, the three answered in groans varying in pitch.
"Hellooooooo… earth to everyone! What am I here, chopped liver?" asked Jun, waving his arms around in exasperation. He was answered by silence.
"Ugh. Why the heck do I even bother?" he wailed to himself, losing all hope.
"Exactly, why do you?" mumbled April, running a hand through her hair.
"Oh, now you respond!" exclaimed Jun none too grateful.
"Sorry, I've got way too much on my mind is all." apologized April.
"Oh? Like what?" asked Jun. She shrugged.
"Go interrogate those two." she replied, ignoring his question.
"But they won't respond!" he complained.
"Your problem, not mine."
"Are you PMS-ing, 'cause you're acting really bit- OW!"
April huffed angrily after his arm met her fist.
"You're inconceivable!" she exclaimed, getting up. Alas, the mere act caused her to collide with someone.
"Hey! Watch it!"
'Déjà vu…' she thought.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying much attention."
"Well you better!" snapped the person she bumped into. She looked up to see indigo orbs. It was Amber Liandré. She seemed different however. For one thing, she wasn't wearing those horrible green contact lenses. Her wavy hair was in a high ponytail, much like April's.
"Oh, it's just you." deadpanned April, having regretted her apology. Amber glared at her, then at May.
"Move." she ordered, glaring at the brooding pianist. May's eyes widened at the statement.
"Excuse me?" stated May, shocked at the girl's command.
"I said move." repeated Amber, much louder this time. They had started to attract attention, seeing as how the students in the cafeteria started paying attention to them.
"And who are you to order me around?" demanded May, getting up, trying to control the anger building up.
"And who are you to sit next to my Drew?" Amber shot back. Four sets of eyebrows shot up. Drew, April, May, and Jun's respectively.
'That's not really answering May's question…and her Drew? WHAT. THE. HELL.' thought April to herself.
"Your Drew? Since when did he become yours? If I remember correctly, Drew is a living, breathing, human being that is not to be classified as anything remote to property." retorted May. Amber's face flushed red from either embarrassment or anger, it was hard to tell.
"That still doesn't give you the right to sit next to him! You're nothing to him anyway!" screamed Amber, trying to repair her damaged pride. Both girls were at eye level, locked in a staring contest. It was hard to tell when exactly May stood up but it was presumably sometime during their heated debate.
Conveniently, Drew chose that moment to interfere. Apparently, the fact that he was discussed about openly and being referred to as something akin to an inanimate object didn't settle well with the violinist.
May's eyes were locked with Amber's. Amber raised her hand but before it made contact with May's cheek, a strong hand grabbed hold of her all too feeble wrist.
"You have no right to say that. You know absolutely nothing about me so what the hell makes you think you have a say in anything concerning me?" hissed Drew in a dangerously low tone though everyone within the vicinity heard him. A stunned silence descended among the area. Drew's eyes were narrowed dangerously and they promised pain for the next person to talk back. Moreover, Drew Hayden kept his promises. At all costs.
Amber's eyes were wide in fear and astonishment. Her mouth was cotton dry as she tried to formulate a reply, opening and closing her mouth repeatedly, like a fish.
Drew let Amber's arm drop to her side as he grabbed May's wrist and proceeded to drag her out of the room. April could only blink in surprise. She hadn't realized that Jun was shaking her until he spoke. She felt her knees buckle. Without warning, her strength left her. Something about the look in Drew's eyes and the unnatural killing intent he emitted unnerved her.
"Easy now…" whispered Jun, leading her out of the cafeteria. She shook her head. This was all a little bit too much for her.
"So what now?" she asked, trying to make sense of it all.
"Let's get some real food." suggested Jun, leading the way out of school grounds. April blinked a couple of times before following him, deciding that she could sacrifice a lecture on the history of the place she grew up in.
Then, as if an image reflected on a mirrors dark surface, it shattered and it pieced itself back together to form an entirely different image.
"Drew, are you alright?" asked May as she was being half-dragged by the green haired teen.
"I'm fine. You?" asked Drew, facing her, genuine concern evident in his expressive eyes. May nodded.
"I'm just a little pissed." she replied. Drew searched her eyes for something and he seemed to be glad he hadn't found it. May knew better than to ask.
"Umm Drew…?"
"Yeah?"
"You can let go now…" squeaked May, blushing.
'Get a grip Maple! You do not squeak!' thought May, scolding herself. Drew blushed lightly before complying.
'What is wrong with you Hayden?'
Drew sighed and leaned on the wall.
"Wanna skip?" he asked out of the blue.
"What?" asked May, the idea not processing properly in her mind. She must've heard wrong, for a moment, she thought that Drew Hayden had asked her if she wanted to skip school.
"I'm asking you if you want to skip school with me." repeated Drew, sighing exasperatedly.
"Uhhh…" started May, not knowing how to respond.
"Don't worry, skipping science won't kill you." said Drew.
"Okay…?" answered May, unsure.
"Then let's go." said Drew, leading her out of school grounds.
"Umm…what now?" asked May. Drew shrugged.
"What do you wanna do?" he asked. May shrugged as well.
"I'm not sure." she replied. Her body though, seemed to have other plans. Her stomach grumbled loudly and she blushed once more, making Drew chuckle.
"Lunch it is then." he said, leading her through the throng of people downtown. Since it was a weekday, it wasn't that crowded so May had no trouble keeping up. Soon, both found themselves in front of a quaint looking restaurant, which radiated that homey feeling.
Both ordered burgers and some fries with a couple of milkshakes. When their food was served, May giggled absentmindedly.
"What happens to be amusing?" asked Drew, eyebrow raised.
"Nothing. I just remembered our ridiculous argument about mayonnaise and ketchup." answered May, giggling louder. Drew chuckled. Not long after, they started eating and chatting, the previous events seemingly forgotten.
"Your bill." said the friendly waitress, putting a small rectangular tray with their bill on it once they were done. Drew made a motion to take out his wallet.
"I'll pay for my share." volunteered May, getting her wallet.
"No, I'll pay. That's final." said Drew, placing the money on the tray before getting up.
"Let's go." he said. May huffed a little before following Drew out of the restaurant.
"It's not fair Drew. I could've paid for my share." argued May.
"Come on now May, I was the one who convinced you to skip. It's only right that I pay for the expenses."
May huffed again before resigning, deeming it useless to argue.
At another part of downtown, April and Jun were enjoying lunch at a fast food joint. Jun had a cheeseburger while April had a plate of spaghetti.
"You know Hayden…" started Jun. April raised an eyebrow at the choice of address.
"No I don't. Enlighten me." she interrupted.
"…You and the banshee looked a lot alike." he commented. It was obvious that he wanted to say something else due to the moment's worth of hesitation but she didn't seem to notice. That made her eyes narrow. She then pulled her hair out of its ponytail, not wanting to be compared to the infuriating, forgive the language, biatch.
"Don't ever say that again." she hissed lowly, stabbing her lunch. Jun raised his hands up in the form of surrender.
"I was just saying." he said before getting back to his meal.
Resuming the focus to the two musicians, they were both casually strolling at the mall.
"What now?" asked May.
"You have got to stop asking that." said Drew, exasperated.
"Sorry…"
Then, they passed a pet store. May squealed.
"Drew look! Isn't that kitten just adorable!" cooed May, pointing at the small white and pinkish orange fur ball, eyes glowing with adoration.
"Yeah, I guess so." he commented, not really having that much interest in animals. May tapped the glass lightly making the puffball turn its jade orbs at her.
"Adorable!" she squealed again. This now raised his interest.
"Where to?" he asked suddenly. May tore her gaze away from the adorable mass of fur before she thought about it.
"The ice cream parlor!" cheered May. Drew sweat dropped.
'We just ate and she's still thinking about food?' he thought incredulously.
"Okay…" he replied. May's eyes dimmed.
"Bye kitty." she said sadly. Drew shook his head and sighed. What the hell prompted his emotions to go haywire? It was just May right? He dispelled these thought and he decided to focus on the present, leaving his questions for later.
He decided to follow with the childish lady's plans, 'just for today' he supposed.
So that's what happened. Drew would frequently ask May what she wanted to do, she would answer, and he would comply.
At the moment, they were staring at the huge fountain that was located at the heart of the mall. Drew watched May's awed expression illuminated by the fountain's lights.
"Wait here." he instructed.
"Huh?" she asked, bewildered.
"Just stay there. I'll be back." said Drew, running off. May was confused but she was also grateful for the fact that he gave her an opportunity to think.
Why on earth was Drew being so nice? And why was she okay with skipping school? She faintly remembered freaking out when April tried inviting her to skip. So why was she okay with skipping with this guy whom she knew for, what, like, three months when she wouldn't even entertain her best friend's suggestion? And why did she feel happy about it? May groaned before slumping.
"Miss me?" teased Drew, flipping his hair with his right hand, left hand hidden behind him.
"You wish." she retorted.
"So where'd you go?" she asked, curiosity showing.
"I had to go get this." he said, handing her a cylindrical box about a foot in height and diameter.
"You didn't have too. And I can't accept that." said May, staring at the pink box with white polka dots.
"Well you have to 'cause there's no way I'm keeping it." said Drew, shoving the box into May's hands. May stared at Drew who just smirked.
"It's my thanks for this afternoon." he explained, smiling gently. May's head started spinning. It was just something about his smile…
She was jerked out of her thoughts when the box meowed. Her eyes widened.
"No way…" she breathed, staring at the box at arm's length, as if afraid it would bite her.
"Open it before the thing runs out of air." said Drew nonchalantly. May complied and she squealed happily upon opening the box. Inside was the kitten from the store. It was pinkish orange except for its paws and the tip of its tail and its face. It had a rose petal on its nose and beside it was a red rose, the thorns removed.
She put the box down before hugging Drew tightly.
"Thank you so much! Is she really for me?" she asked in disbelief. Drew blushed before clearing his throat to regain his composure.
"Well who else?" he asked, acting 'cool'. May picked the cat up with her right hand and the rose with her left.
"How can I ever thank you?" she asked. Drew shrugged.
"You have got to stop shrugging…" she commented. He shrugged just to aggravate her.
He checked his watch and his eyes nearly bulged out of its sockets. He took the box and gave it to May after punching a few holes on the cover.
"I think we should go now." he said.
"Why, what time is it?" she asked.
"Nearly six o'clock." he said. May's jaw went slack.
"What? My parents are gonna freak! Bye Drew, thank you so much for today, I gotta go!" exclaimed May, running away, Drew was going to follow her but he lost sight of May, what with all the people crowding the mall at this nearly late hour.
After seemingly endless running, May arrived at their porch. She put the box with the cat and the rose on the porch and out of sight before trying to figure out excuses. She breathed deeply before opening the door only to be greeted by her mom, a white and red duffel bag in her hands.
"Hi sweetie, April called and explained everything, here you go. Your clothes and your uniform are already packed." said Caroline, smiling and handing her the bag. May didn't know what to make of this development. Then, her phone vibrated in her pocket. She took it and read the message quickly.
From: ~summer's child~
May! Retard!
u 4got ur bag!
Come over now! I told ur mom we had a sleep over planned!
May silently thanked the heavens. It meant she didn't have to explain Skitty to her parents just yet. Yes, she named her cat Skitty.
"Well, have fun dear." said Caroline, kissing May's cheek before closing the door. May let out a breath she didn't know she was holding before she picked the box up again. She hailed a cab and she gave directions to the Hayden residence. May sighed for approximately the hundredth time that day.
This was certainly a tiring day…
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Meaning behind the chapter title:
a piacere – at pleasure; as pleased i.e., the performer need not follow the rhythm strictly
~ This is because most of the characters did what they wanted, breaking the status quo.
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Yeah, I know I took my time with this chap but what can I say, writer's block sucks. Please give me your opinion on the story. It would be much appreciated. If you have any suggestions, don't hesitate to pm me. Well, that's all for now I suppose. More surprises to come, I assure you. PLEASE REVIEW!