an: disclaimed.
Become her friend
"Oh, oh, oh, how I was supposed to know that you were o-o-over me?I think I should go. Something's telling me to leave, but I won't. 'Cause I'm damned if I do ya, damned if I don't."
I stood there nonchalantly, leaning against the wall like some cool protagonist in some Western movie. I heard the door creak open and a flood of students pushed through. I hadn't realized that it was an Honors class. Massie came out last, talking to Kristen Gregory, one of the nerds who loitered around the library. Well, maybe not loitered, seeing as that she actually used the library.
I waited until Kristen left to talk to Massie. She actually was particularly cute; she had glossy brown hair that reached the small of her back and sometimes served as a nice shield away from her deep amber eyes. She was tiny, too. Or, for me she was. I stood at the height of five feet and nine inches, and she was shorter by six inches. But she wasn't scary skinny, like Olivia Ryan. She actually had a little fat to her, but it made her even sexier.
I followed her and she looked up at me, confusion embedded into her eyes. "Hey," I smiled.
She awkwardly smiled back, tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear and opened her locker. I hadn't even noticed we'd made it there. "Hi. Can I help you?" she asked in that polite tone of hers.
"Yeah, you can, actually."
I actually did it. I convinced Massie to have lunch with me. Oh, it wasn't easy, believe me there. She knows all these tactics of trying to get away from me ("Oh, look, my friend just texted me." "I have to go the office now, the principal needs me." "I'm not that hungry.") but, of course, I found my way around her strategies. I smiled at her from across the small table. She wasn't looking at me.
Her darted around me, searching for someone, for something. A savior, someone to help her get away from me. I was, after all, a stranger who asked to have lunch with her. "So," I started, hoping no one was going to come. My view of Alicia was perfect. She was straight ahead, her hair cascading over her shoulders with so much care that I thought Mariah Carey's make-up artist did it for her. "Your mom re-married to Alicia Rivera's dad, right? And that's how you guys are step-sisters?"
Massie smiled politely, her amber eyes still not meeting mine. She tucked a loose strand of brown hair behind her ear and nodded. "Yeah, that's how it went down."
I nodded, not really understanding, for my focus was stuck on Alicia and the way her glossed lips slowly clamped down onto her fork, capturing the green lettuce into her mouth. Daaaaaaaamn, what I'd do to be that fork. I averted my attention back to Massie who was now looking at me. Or, not at me. She was staring at my French fries, hunger hidden under her eyes. I arched an eyebrow and used my arm to slide it towards her.
She looked up at me, grateful and devoured the entire plate. For some reason, instead of finding that horrendous and disgusting, I found it absolutely adorable. I leaned forward, my focus on her now. "So, you and Alicia are close, right?"
Massie wiped the corners of her mouth with a tissue and she smiled. "Yeah, we are. I'm really going to miss her when she goes off to NYU. Len, my step-dad, Alicia's dad, really wanted her to go to Harvard, though, but my mom convinced him that it was okay wherever she went. I love that my mom and Leesha are really close, y'know? And that Len's pretty cool, too. I mean, after my dad left us..." She cleared her throat and looked up at me. I was surprised to see her amber eyes were sparkling with fresh tears.
I opened my mouth to say something, but she smiled, shutting me up. "Sorry, I didn't mean to say that. But just to let you know, I usually don't just talk to anyone. Not that I'm a priss or anything, I mean, I think people who don't talk to everyone are kind of rude because in different individuals, you find different opinions, many other revelations, other things you can work with. That's why I think people are really interesting, however, I'm not one to talk to all of them, which I think is really hypocritical of me to say."
She rambled on and on about different topics; the irrelevance of Jersey Shore to what's happening in reality, how Tumblr has basically caused destruction in her life since she's started, and how Chuck Bass is the closest thing to a boyfriend she's ever gotten. And for some reason, I listened to her drone on and on about why she questioned why everyone else found Harry Potter to be a waste of time and why they 'd rather read People magazine.
I chuckled at her when she chugged down the bottle of water I bought her. Some water dribbled down her chin and I handed her a tissue. She sheepishly took it and wiped at her chin. "Sorry. I know how much I irritate people with my incessant chatting. It's just that I have a lot to think about, y'know? Like, how do clocks move around? I think it's fascinating, all the different kinds of clocks out there." She grinned again at me and balled the damp tissue, stuffing it into her pocket. Her eyes widened and she looked at me, surprise on her face. "I'm so rude. Here I am talking about myself and what I and I didn't even get your name."
I chuckled and shook my head. "It's Cameron Fisher, but—"
"Okay, then, Cameron Fisher, it's been nice meeting you. But I need to skedaddle. I'm part of the Yearbook Club and I'm already late." She stood up and hurriedly gathered her belongings into her arms. She glanced up at me and she grinned again. "I'd love to talk to you again—"
"Then let's," I heard myself say. "Uh, I'll talk to you again tomorrow, okay? I'll meet you at your class."
Her face was frozen at confused, and then softened to understanding. "Okay," she softly murmured. "Sounds like a deal." She smiled at me and I felt the corners of my mouth curving upwards. She quickly swept away and I watched as she did. My eyes quickly turned to Alicia Rivera, who, to my utter surprise was staring at me with her face in a indecipherable expression.
She subtly smiled at me and I half-smiled back. So close, yet so far. Almost there, Cameron, almost there.
:)