Chapter 5
School was soaring by. It was suddenly the end of tenth grade. I was already almost 17. Where the hell was all the time going?
“A 3.99, are you kidding me?” I crumbled up the report card and threw it into my trash can. Evan was sniggering on my bed. His hair had yet again grown out and now shaped his face. He covered his mouth to try to stop laughing, but instead started snorting like a pig. I rolled my eyes and jumped onto my bed next to him.
“You don’t understand how much I wish I had a 3.99, and you just throw it away,” Evan whispered, sitting up and walking over to the trash can. He stuck his arm in and pulled out the crumbled piece of paper. He smoothed it out and made his way over to my announcement board. “This should be hanging up for everyone to see.” He tacked it to the board and ran his fingers over it. My face suddenly felt warm and I couldn’t look his way anymore. The way he had caressed the sheet made me take in a shaky breath. I thought back to how his hands had roamed all over my body. Would he ever do anything like that again? Would he always have to be drunk doing it? Could he ever actually love me? God, of course not, he was my best friend. He was straight. He had to be. He had to be for my own sanity.
Evan came back to the bed and stood at the edge, looking down at me. I stared straight ahead at his shirt. He had on a plain green tank that was extremely wrinkled at the bottom. I wanted to reach out and smooth it, but I couldn’t will myself to do it. I clenched my hands together to stop myself. He continued to look at me or over me; I didn’t want to actually look up at him to see where his eyes were at. I didn’t want him to see right through me.
“Mel, my shirt isn’t that interesting.”
I glanced up to see his lopsided smile and felt the warmth spread through my face again.
“You need an iron,” I choked out and suddenly my hands were all over the bottom of his shirt. I heard him take in a sharp intake of breath, and I immediately stopped, hoping that he wouldn’t say anything.
“I probably do,” He laughed and laid back down on my bed. “It is extremely hot in here, how about we go outside and see Dany.”
“You’re making more friends?”
“Yeah, well she is our neighbor that we never talk to, and she’s pretty cute actually, so maybe, you know.”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS37kvXXV5T
“I know what?”
“Maybe one of us can get with her.”
My throat suddenly closed, and I braced myself against my bed.
“Yeah. You have more luck in those situations, so you can totally get her.”
“No, no. This time, I will let you make some moves. She’s a total catch. I think she would be your perfect match.”
You’re my perfect match.
“Yeah, I bet she is,” I murmured, grabbing my sandals.
We made our way downstairs. Evan’s arm weaved around my waist and pulled me close to his side. I looked down at the stairs and clenched my teeth together trying not to turn red. He continued to walk down the stairs with me on his side like there was nothing weird about it. I tried to pull away, but his grip tightened when he noticed me trying to get away.
“This is what you have to do with Dany. Hold her close. They always enjoy the intimacy.” His hand squeezed my side and then let go. My side tingled and I rubbed it in hope to make the feeling go away.
The air was refreshing after the long and cold winter that we had that year. It was late May and school was almost out for the summer. I had dreaded this moment for a while.
Evan hadn’t brought the subject of the end of the school year for a couple of weeks now. I know he was cherishing it, but I wanted to see the pain, and there was none of that.
Just two months ago, Evan’s parents had announced their divorce. And after an excruciating month of Evan’s pain, more came. His mother had moved out, and his father could not support the expense of the large house on his own, so his father started looking for small apartments, and ultimately found one that was about a twenty-minute drive. Evan was leaving at the end of the school year, but you couldn’t even tell because of his chipper and smiley exterior.
“Dany! Dany!” Evan screamed over and over again from my backyard. His excitement was more than I had ever seen it before.
“Why don’t you ever say my name that excitedly?”
“Mel! Mel! Mel!” He yelled, running over and wrapping his arms around me. “I don’t need to yell your name for you to come. You’re always there, my wonderful nerd friend.”
“Nerd?”
“Hell yeah, nerd. You’re the best nerd I know,” He grinned, spinning around and running towards Dany who had emerged from behind a hill. “Dany! So good to see you!”
He embraced her and kissed her cheek. She blushed and looked over towards me.
“And who is this?” She asked, eyeing me up and down.
“This is Mel, my buddy. Mel, this is Dany, our gorgeous neighbor,” He said, winking at her. I thought he said that he would let me have her.
I held out my hand and smiled at her.
“Nice to meet you Dany. You are beautiful, indeed.”
“You’re not so bad yourself. Actually, you might even surpass Evan over here.”
Evan pretended to stab his heart and winked at me.
“Thanks… How about we take a swim?”
Evan coughed and grabbed my arm.
“We’ll be a second, Dany. You just stay right here.”
Dragging me inside my house, Evan trapped me against a wall. His breath bit at my cheek.
“Let’s do something else with her.”
“Why? Swimming lets us, you know, see her.”
“Well…” He groaned and looked down at his hands. “I mean… Never mind! Okay, never mind, you’re being so difficult, ass.”
“What? What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Let’s just go fucking swimming.”
“God, okay.”
Evan shoved me against the wall and stalked back outside, his head shaking, and his fists clenched. What the hell was that? I waited a few seconds and then walked back outside. Dany was already sprinting back to her house to mostly likely grab a swimsuit. Evan still had his fists clenched.
“Evan, tell me what’s wrong.”
“I-I just didn’t feel like swimming, that’s all.”
I took a deep breath and did something I knew could go completely wrong. I reached out and grabbed his fist. His eyes shot up at me and watched as I uncurled his fingers. Our fingers intertwined and Evan turned away, looking back towards where Dany had been.
“What are you doing?”
“Helping you relax. What does it look like, Jackass?”
“Gay,” He growled, pulling his hand away from mine.
I staggered back. He just said gay. Oh god, did he remember? I looked at him, completely speechless. He was mumbling something, but I couldn’t understand. Why would he say that? Why would he do that? Was he completely against it? Was he homophobic?
Before I could respond, Dany came barreling over in a lacy swimsuit. I averted my eyes and walked over to put the ladder in the water. Evan shoved past me as soon as I got it in, and cannon balled into the pool. He emerged and pushed back all his hair. I glanced down at his wet chest and grimaced as he caught me looking.
“Dany, the water is fine, get on in,” Evan laughed, splashing around.
Dany slid past me and got on the ladder. Evan came over and pulled her in before she could get all the way in.
“Evan!” She screamed and they both fell backwards into the water.
I gripped my shirt but let go as soon as I saw Evan again. His body wasn’t very defined, but yet, he had such smooth skin and no more baby fat. He swam around with Dany for a few minutes as I just stared at them. For some reason, I didn’t want to get in. Dany was beautiful with water droplets running down her whole body. Her sweet laugh echoed through the air and I couldn’t bear it. She was so beautiful, and I wasn’t even half her beauty.
“Mel,” Evan said, breaking my trance. “Get your awkward ass in here.”
I made my way towards the ladder and heard Evan whisper loud enough for only me to hear, “and take off your shirt”.
I smiled and tore my shirt off before scaling up the ladder and leaping in. A hand grabbed me as I surfaced and I found Dany there, her lips only inches away from mine. I could almost sense Evan staring at us. This is what he wanted right? To get me with Dany, right? I touched Dany’s face and pulled her body against mine.
“You’re so pretty,” I muttered, bringing her lips to mine. She tasted like vanilla and it was so soft. She moaned as I bit down gently on her bottom lip. I didn’t fully realize that the ladder shook, and a pair of feet moved through the grass and out the gate. Dany’s grinning face met mine as I slowly opened my eyes. She ran her hand through my wet hair and pulled me back into another kiss. I gripped her and everything felt right.
“Evan’s gone,” Dany whispered, running her hands down my chest.
I looked over at the empty space in the pool and then back at Dany’s sweet face.
“He must’ve had to do something. He always forgets about things,” I smiled, and leaned down to kiss her neck.
“Are you sure?” She murmured, her fingers gripping my shoulders.
“Yes.” I bit down on her collarbone and sucked until a spot began to form.
“God, Mel, now I won’t be able to wear a swim suit around my parents.”
We swam for a while longer, but my mind kept wandering to when I had swum with Evan and how his arms had wrapped around me in such a sweet embrace.
I made my way over to the ladder and Dany gave me a confused puppy face.
“I’m just going to go check on Evan. It’s kind of weird of him not to at least stop by and say that he’s busy. Stay here, I’ll be right back.” I flung myself up and over the ladder. The grass immediately stuck to my feet as I ran towards his house.
I pounded on his door until I heard footsteps from inside. The door opened ajar and Evan poked his head through.
“Man, why did you go?”
“Third wheel,” He muttered and began to close the door.
“Hey!” I said shoving the door open. “You wanted this. You told me I could get with her. If you would rather have her, go get her.”
“No, that’s not it.”
I stepped inside and found that he was already dressed in normal clothing.
“Dude, you didn’t have to leave.”
“You looked pretty busy to me,” He said, putting his hands in his pockets. I gritted my teeth and ran my hand through my hair in frustration.
“But you didn’t have to. I could’ve stopped. You could’ve stopped me!” I yelled, searching his eyes for an answer.
He stood silent and shifted his weight back and forth between his feet. I watched his hands flex slightly in his pockets. I groaned and pushed him against the wall.
“What are you doing?”
“Do you want me to have her?” I asked.
“Well…”
“Do you want me to have her?”
Before he could even reply, I asked again, my voice higher and more desperate. “Do you want me to have her?”
I grabbed his hands out of his pockets and held them both between my own. He looked me straight in the eyes and took a deep breath.
“Yes, Mel, yes I do.”
Shoving me away, he scurried into the kitchen and the water began to run. My fists clenched and I could feel my face turning beet red. The water continued to run. I yelled and kicked my foot against the wall before forcefully pulling the front door back open. I was about to step outside when a thought popped into my mind.
“You just made a big mistake. I will have her, and I will love her more than I ever loved you. She will be my everything. She will be my Renesmee Cullen.” I slammed the door behind me.
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