“I know! Did you hear that rumor about her running away with my love child? I swear that was the best one.”
“No the one about them joining a convent is the best one. I can’t imagine them as nuns; they have a first class ticket to hell.” We laughed at the stupidity that our classmates say and it sort of died down.
“Well you should get ready for your date.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot. It’s not really a date, I think. I don’t know.” I shook my head at the thought and went upstairs.
After a shower I got ready and drove to Melanie’s house. She came out wearing a tight Pink Floyd shirt that came just below her belly button, a pair of ripped skinny jeans and vans on her feet. I couldn’t help but smile at how good she looked. She didn’t dress up or plaster her face with makeup like the girls I normally dated and it was refreshing. Not that this was a date or anything, but...I didn’t know. She had become my normal in the midst of all the Nephilim insanity.
I shook my head at my crazy thoughts and she cocked her head to the side.
“What?” She asked as she put her seat belt on.
“Nothing, just wondering what five-year-old you stole that shirt from.” She slapped me on the arm as I pulled out of her driveway.
The warehouse where the Battle of the Bands was being held at was so packed, I could barely find parking. All the best indie rock bands in Florida came to duke it out on stage for bragging rights and to give an amazing concert.
Luckily, Anthony’s parents owned the warehouse and he put our names on the VIP list, letting us skip the line. I held on to Melanie’s hand as we entered and her other hand had a death grip on the back of my shirt. We squeezed through people to get to the bar. Just as we arrived, two bar stools opened up and we snatched them right away.
I would normally go up to the front of the stage, but Melanie was so petite and fragile, I didn’t want her anywhere near those mosh pits.
Since we were on the VIP list, we got the 21 and older wrist bands with free drinks. She surprised me by ordering a beer and since I was driving, I just ordered a bottle of water.
It was shocking how in just a couple of days of us knowing each other, she’d opened up. She was so shy and now I couldn’t get her to shut up. The thought made me chuckle.
“Are you laughing at me?” She wiggled her eyebrows which made me laugh again.
“You’re so adorable.” I didn’t mean to say it out loud but it was too late to take it back. The concert hadn’t started so it wasn’t too loud and she’d heard what I said.
Her cheeks reddened and I felt bad for making her feel uncomfortable. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass you or anything. I just really like you.” She shook her head and a smile crossed her face.
“I really like you too, Max,” she said and I didn’t know if it was the beer talking but I liked her sudden boldness.
“Good,” I said as some guy walked up to the bar, standing between us. He was about my height, waves of brown hair and a total biker dude. The leather jacket and boots gave him away. For a moment, his outfit made me think of Angela. Okay, I have to stop.
His abrupt behavior made Melanie tip her beer bottle, spilling it over the bar top.
“Hey man, back off.” I got up from my stool and stood straight, challenging him.
His eyes traveled between me and Melanie as he noticed we were together.
“I’m sorry there, lad. I’ve had too much of the moonshine already, didn’t mean to interrupt you and your lady.” Melanie was cleaning up the spill and was about to correct him when I interjected.
“It’s all good.” He had a thick Irish accent and he turned to Melanie giving her an apologetic smile.
“My name’s Aiden, and as an apology, please let me buy you both a drink.”
I eyed him skeptically; this was all too choreographed to be an accident. I shook my head no.
“We get free drinks, thanks anyways.”
“Oh.” He looked at me a little longer than needed and reached across the bar, excusing himself, to grab his beer.
I noticed he was still standing by us as Melanie gazed at him. She looked like she was in a trance and alarms bells rang in my mind.
“So are you from around here?” I asked him, trying to fish out some answers.
He shook his head. “No, I just moved to town. I start at Lincoln on Monday.” That caught my attention.
“You don’t look like a high schooler,” I said. He didn’t appear old but he was definitely no teenager.
“I’ve been held back a couple times,” he shrugged, “you go there lad?” he asked and I nodded in response.
“Well if you look at that, I just moved in today and I already made a friend. Fantastic.” He grinned and I tried to smile but it didn’t reach my eyes.
“You could have lunch with us,” Melanie blurted out and I snapped my neck to look at her.
What the?
She must have seen my expression and let out a breath. “I mean if you have the same lunch as us and stuff.” Her eyes darted down to her bottle in embarrassment.
“That’s great, thank you so much for offering. Well I want to go catch the show up front. I’ll see you both at school.” He winked and the crowd swallowed him as he made his way to the stage.
The awkwardness from that encounter didn’t last long. Soon after the bands took the stage, the warehouse erupted with music. Taking me by surprise after the fourth band went on, Melanie hopped off her stool and started to dance. She came up to me and stood between my legs and wrapped her arms around my neck. The alcohol was making her bold, reminding me to never let her drink again because she barely had two beers.
She was dancing all over the place and I put my hands on her waist to keep her steady.
“You don’t usually drink do you?” I asked as she looked at me with a mischievous grin on her face.
“Nope.” She shook her head dramatically making her dizzy. “This is my first time.” She hiccupped and it made me smile but I had to get serious. Her first time? What was she doing drinking then?
“You shouldn’t have ordered a beer Mel, let me get you home.” She pouted and I didn’t mean to sound parental but the right thing to do was get her home. “Come on, we’ll walk down the pier for a bit.” I ordered one more bottle of water and her smile came back, holding on to me for dear life as we made our way through the crowd.
“So tell me about yourself, Max. I’ve told you my life story and all I know about you are the basics. You don’t like to share much.” I held her hand as she walked on top of the benches down the pier—hoping she didn’t fall. The pier was empty and the sky was filled with stars illuminating the night.
“There’s really not much to tell. Nothing bad or exciting has ever happened to me. I’m just your typical teenage boy.” Lies. Great, starting a friendship on lies. If she only knew how un-normal I was, to say the very least. I was just your typical Angel hybrid who seems to burst into flames every time he gets upset. Yeah, normal.
“Well…missster typical, ar-are you a virgin?” She slurred.
I choked on my laugh. She couldn’t be serious. “Um...what?”
“Oh, come on, you heard me.” She was definitely out of her shell. “I’ll tell you if you tell me.”
I laughed at the ridiculousness of this conversation. “Um...okay...uh...no, I’m not.” She stopped walking to face me, placing her hands on my shoulders. She leaned down and whispered in my ear, “I am.” Our friendship lines were blurred. She bit her lower lip like she was handing her virginity over to me.
I picked her up and placed her back on solid ground. “It’s time to go, Mel.”
While I dragged her back to the car, she grumbled about not wanting to go home yet. But I had to, I didn’t want to say or do anything to mess up whatever friendship we did have, and I knew she’d regret it tomorrow once she had a clear head.
On the way home, I heard her light snores; she had fallen asleep. We pulled into her driveway and I got out to open h
er door. After digging in her pockets, I found her keys, picked her up in my arms, and went to open the front door. She was so light, I barely made an effort. The tricky part was going to be finding her room. The big man upstairs was on my side again because a little boy who couldn’t be more than six years old was standing in the kitchen. Guilty as I caught him eating a cookie, I tried to smile so he didn’t think I was dangerous. He noticed his sister in my arms and with a knowing look he walked out the kitchen, down the hall and pointed to a room. I whispered my thanks and he made his way back to the cookies. I eased my way into her room and accidentally banged her foot on the doorframe. She gripped the front of my shirt as I startled her awake.
“Max?” She whispered and I gently laid her on her bed. Her room was like a child’s room. The walls were a lavender purple and her ceiling a very light pink. She had a modest sized bed with a couple of stuffed teddy bears on top. Everything was very organized and structured. Not like my room that looked like a hurricane came through.
“Yeah, I’m here. Just go back to sleep, I’ll see you on Monday for school.” Setting her down, I couldn’t go because she was still gripping my shirt.
“Mel?”
“Don’t go.” She pulled me down to her and kissed me. My eyes were wide open and I regretted that I wasn’t giving her the proper attention she deserved. Her eyes were shut as she kissed me with such passion.
“Mel, stop.” I was finally able to pull away. It was not that I didn’t like her, I did. But this didn’t seem like the right way to go about it.
Even though it was dark, I knew she was blushing as she looked down at her hands.
The wheels started turning in her head and I saw her expression change. “I’m sorry.” Her eyes went wide and glossy—she was mortified.
“No, Melanie, don’t be. I like you, I just want to do it right.” With that I caught her attention.
“I want to take you on a proper date. Pick you up at your door, give you flowers, take you to some fancy dinner that I can’t afford and even see one of those cheesy romantic comedies you girls like.”
She was stifling a laugh. “Are you asking me out?” She wiggled her eyebrows and I nodded yes.
23
“I will trade you my ham and cheese for that PB &J,” I said to Melanie as she started to pull her lunch out of her brown paper bag. After spreading the contents out, her small mouth scrunched to the side while she contemplated my proposal.
“I don’t know Max, this PB&J looks really tasty.” She was teasing me.
“Come on, Mel, it’s not fair, you have a nanny who makes your lunch.” Yeah that was a low blow but I want that sandwich.
“Oh my gosh you’re such a baby. Fine, have the sandwich.” She tossed it over to me and I ripped the zip lock bag open and took a big bite. Oh this was delicious.
She grabbed my ham-and-cheese and the football players at the table burst into laughter.
We spoke about Friday night in the truck on the way to school and I have to say, she had opened up a lot because she wasn’t as embarrassed as I thought she’d be. But we decided to give this dating thing a shot. The only thing was we hadn’t decided on a date just yet.
As I sneaked in some bites from her pudding cup, someone sat in the seat next to me. I wouldn’t have cared much if the table hadn’t got quiet and Melanie’s eyes weren’t as big as saucers.
“Hey there, mate.” The Irish accent penetrated my ears and I knew who it was. Aiden.
I turned to find a mob of girls behind him and I didn’t even want to ask.
“Hey, what’s up?” Keeping it simple and vague.
“Never better. Everyone is very friendly; especially the girls. I might need a bloody drink after today.” He glanced over his shoulder at the group of girls waiting for his attention and he swiftly turned away. I laughed once I noticed that he felt awkward with all the attention he was receiving. Maybe I had misjudged him.
“You’re the new toy in town; it’ll wear off once they realize you’re ignoring them.” He smirked at my comment and relaxed.
I didn’t realize I hadn’t introduced him to everyone until I heard someone clear their throat and that speaks volumes because you can barely hear the announcements through the PA system in the cafeteria. We had everyone’s attention.
After the introductions, the chatter continued but the team still seemed weary of him. I could feel the awkwardness at the table.
“So Aiden, where you from, man?” Anthony asked him. He got along with everyone so I wasn’t surprised he was the one trying to break the tension.
“I’m from Ireland. Dublin to be exact. My parents passed away this past summer and I moved in with my uncle here in the states.” Everyone at the table seemed to ease up then. Giving him the pity look.
He noticed. “It’s alright, lads; I’ve come to terms with it now. So tell me about this town, where can I go and get a drink?” At that, the mood changed and everyone joined in on the conversation.
Betty “Big Boobs” McPherson walked up to our table and headed straight for Aiden. I didn’t know why I was surprised; I should have seen this from a mile away. Since eighth grade after Jones’ brushed her off, she has steered clear of us and if she did come my way, it was usually to taunt me. But then again we hadn’t had a new person in town since Jones and Angela in the eighth grade.
Wow, I must have been an idiot if I didn’t connect those two dots. Jones and Angela moved in to town around the same time as each other. Great, I was the definition of self-absorbed.
Betty was the captain of the cheerleading squad but she was not really liked by the football team. I didn’t know why but it was obvious with all the eye rolls and scowls on the team’s faces.
“So I heard we got a new kid in town. Actually two. Aiden and Melanie. And look they’re both hanging out together. Sooner or later they’ll hook up just like Jones and Angela. Sucks, right, Max?” I saw where she was going with this. Now I could sit there and act like it didn’t bother me but I just couldn’t deny the similarities. Since when had I become so paranoid?
“Hey Bett’s, what are you doing here?” Anthony said from the end of the table. One thing he didn’t like was drama and he avoided it at all cause.
“Oh, nothing you need to worry about, just finding the whole situation sort of ironic.” She looked between the three of us and I couldn’t help but take a look at Melanie. She appeared a little sick while Aiden was just confused. Can’t say I blame him when psycho-Barbie waltzes in.
“Since you’re done observing, why don’t you go sit somewhere else in the cafeteria?” Jones said as he came up from behind us.
Ever since Angela got hurt, he’d been skipping out on lunch to be with her. I wondered why he was still here.
“Ah, here comes Jones to save Max. And the bromance lives on. I could have sworn it was over when Angela came in between you two. Guess not,” she smirked and I saw Jones clenching his fist.
Seeing how upset he was, I hadn’t said a word. Looking back, I never said anything. Jones always fought my battles and I let him. This whole Guardian act had been right in front of me this whole time and I never clued in.
She hopped on top of the lunch table next to Aiden and placed a hand on his shoulder but he looked pretty pissed off himself. He shrugged her off.
“Relax; I’m not putting the moves on you…yet. I was actually going to suggest Melanie. She’s really cute in that girl next door, innocent thing she has going on. And once you pop her cherry, you can come knock on my door.” Mel gasped and she looked down at her hands on her lap, while I sat here doing nothing. I wasn’t angry at Betty, I felt sorry for her, but not anger. The guys were looking my way and I knew what they were silently telling me. I needed to stand up for myself, and not let everyone else do it for me.
“Shut the hell up, Beatrice.” My voice came out loud and traveled across the lunch room. If they weren’t paying attention to us before, they were now.
“What did you just say?” She looked a
t me like I had just slapped her in the face.
“I said shut the hell up. I can’t believe you’d hold a grudge against me since we were thirteen because I didn’t want to help lie to your mom. Get over it!” I stood and walked right up to her.
“You think I’m holding a grudge? Against you? For that?”
“YES!” I yelled.
We stood face to face as her eyes drilled holes into me. Jones’ hand came to my shoulder and I knew he thought I would have a fiery episode but I felt relief, I wasn’t angry.
“I don’t hold a grudge for that, Max. You made me look stupid that day. That’s why. And you’re doing it all over again,” she whispered so only the few people around could hear what she said.
“It’s not me, Betty. You’re doing it all to yourself. If I were you, I’d let it go.” Just like years ago, her eyes glistened and she pushed her way past me and left the cafeteria.
“Holy hell, Max, you finally put that chick in her place.” Brett yelled from the other end of the table making everyone erupt in laughter and cheers. I stood there dumbfounded.
I turned and looked at Jones who had a grin on his face. Raising an eyebrow at him, he answered my unasked question.
“She’s had it in for you since that day years ago. Everyone’s noticed it but you. Why do you think the team doesn’t like her? We’ve been waiting for you to finally say something to her for a very long time. She’s annoying as hell.” He clapped me on the back but I didn’t feel like celebrating with everyone else. Have I really been a pushover? Looking back, she had been trying to torment me for a while, but I never let her get to me, she was just some stupid girl. Not until she hurt, Melanie.
Oh snap, Melanie.
I turned back to the table and saw her talking with Anthony.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
She turned away from her conversation and smiled towards me.
Sins of the Fallen Page 12
