Charity Moon

by Deanna Kinney

  “I didn’t think so. I guess he’s trying to look like a big shot ‘cause he’s telling his buddies that he felt you up before you slapped him and jumped out of his truck.”

  “Is that right?” I stormed through the parking lot until I found him. His friends wisely moved out of my way as I approached.

  “How dare you say that about me!” I hissed. “Besides kissing me, against my will I might add, you never touched me! And I could’ve been killed! I was almost attacked by a wild animal, it was raining, and I couldn’t find my way home! Boy, you are quite the gentleman! If any rumor should spread it’s that Jeffrey Davis is the lousiest date anyone could ever have! Not to mention, you kiss like a piranha!” Everyone around began laughing, but it angered Jeffrey and he came at me in a rush. At the same time, a hand went up against his chest and pushed him backwards as Levi stepped between us.

  “Don’t even think about it,” he growled.

  Jeffrey backed away in surrender and quickly headed in the opposite direction.

  “I don’t need your help! I can take care of myself!” I snapped.

  His eyes narrowed in irritation. “Who said I was helping you. It looked to me like Jeffrey was the one in danger.”

  “Oh, that’s very funny.” As I glared at him, sure that the lasers shooting from my eyeballs must be burning him, I knew there was something I wanted to discuss with him, but for the life of me, I couldn’t recall what it was. So, I did the only thing I could do—I turned around and stomped angrily off to class with Toby right on my heels.

  “So, do you think I could get away with hair that cool?” Toby asked, using his fingers to make his neat style messy, but only succeeding in looking like a total idiot.

  I stopped and stared at him, knowing all the help in the world couldn’t get his hair to look as delicious as Levi’s. “Do you really want me to answer that?”

  “Um, no—I guess not.”

  During Calculus, I purposely kept my eyes down on my work, fighting the urge to look over at Levi. I did allow myself one peek and regretted it. Levi was staring right at me and a confused expression tainted his face. I quickly looked away, both surprised and unnerved at my reaction. I hated feeling weak and vulnerable. For years I’ve prided myself on being tough and in control of my emotions, and yet, in a little over a week’s time, Levi Drake had somehow managed to peel off a layer of my hard exterior. And dang it, I’d worked hard on packing the layers thick.

  I wasn’t always this angry. Before my dad died I could be seen wearing a smile at all times. My life was happy then. My dad called me his little sunshine. He said I could light up a dark room just by entering it. I sensed my mom and dad weren’t always happy with each other, but when we were together—we were a happy family. That was before the darkness came—before the sadness. The sadness stole my reason to smile—and anger replaced joy.

  When I entered my Biology II class, I moaned aloud as I noticed Mr. Stevens had the room set up for a movie. With all my lack of quality sleep, trying to stay awake during a boring film proved to be impossible. I couldn’t fight it, as almost immediately upon starting the film, my head became heavy and my eyes drifted closed.

  A high keening noise, mixed with an angry growl, woke me with a start. I looked around and observed, with surprise, that I was in a thick forest surrounded by damp, green trees as far as the eye could see. I took a few cautious steps, noting the squishy feel of moss under my feet. I sensed the strange sensation of being watched and turned abruptly to find Levi standing behind me. He was wearing a brilliant smile, and my heart did flip-flops in response. His brilliant smile soon faded, however, and he tilted his head in an odd angle as he listened intently, to what I couldn’t imagine. At that moment, his expression turned to alarm, and he bolted into the forest and out of sight. As I stepped closer to the thick, dark brush, trying to catch the slightest glimpse of him, I heard him yell for me to run. Before my legs could attempt to obey, I heard something fast approaching and screamed in horror as a furry, dark creature with fangs jumped out at me.

  I jolted in my seat with a loud gasp, demanding attention from every student nearby. It took me a moment to get my bearings straight, realizing I’d been dreaming—how humiliating. Good thing I don’t give a rip-roaring rapids what people think of me or else my self-esteem might’ve been bruised.

  “What are you staring at?” I snapped at the poor boy sitting next to me. He immediately looked away. Some boys can be so easily intimidated, I noted with amusement.

  After class, I was at my locker putting my books away when I overheard the two girls next to me, Catherine and Emily, whispering. I normally wouldn’t care about what they were discussing, but, at the mention of Levi’s name, for reasons I didn’t want to consider, I found myself instantly drawn to their words. I strained to hear, unconsciously leaning in closer, and caught only parts of their conversation. Something was said about Levi’s gang being ambushed after school by the jocks, led by Jackson our quarterback. I also heard something about their cars, but I didn’t catch the rest. I felt surprisingly angered by the new revelation and made a mental note to think on it later.

  Everyone was staring at me as I entered the cafeteria, but I wasn’t sure if it was because of what Jeffrey was saying about me, or what happened in the parking lot earlier. Either way, I really didn’t care. I had other things on my mind. I walked slowly toward my friends and plopped down in the seat next to Ashley.

  “You look tired.” Ashley commented.

  “Yeah, so much so, that I fell asleep in Biology during a film.”

  “Wow, you’re lucky Mr. Stevens didn’t catch you. He would’ve humiliated you in front of the class.”

  “Oh, I think I humiliated myself enough. A nightmare woke me and the whole class turned around to gawk at me.”

  “What was it about?”

  “Oh, you know, dark forests, sharp teeth, growling monsters trying to eat me—the usual.”

  “Funny, Charity, real funny.”

  Delaney came in and sat down by Ashley. “I just came from listening to the sweetest poem in English class. Mrs. Hildebrand picked Levi to share his poem in front of the class. It was about love at first sight. He has to be in love—that or he’s a hopeless romantic.”

  “Who cares what Levi does!” I snapped.

  Personally, I was still struggling with my own poem assignment. All I had written thus far was—Trust, trust who can find? It steals your heart and robs you blind. But somehow I didn’t think Mrs. Hildebrand would pick mine to be read in front of the class.

  “So, were you really going to kick Jeffrey’s butt this morning?” Stacy asked as she piled food in her mouth.

  “Well, I don’t know how much kicking I would’ve done, but I was willing to give it a try until Levi butted in,” I grimaced.

  “I think it’s romantic of him to defend you like that,” Ashley said.

  “He wasn’t defending me, Ash, he was trying to be a big shot in front of his new gang,” I remarked, applying fresh lip balm.

  “Well, the way I heard it he was definitely defending you. Besides, I think you’re wrong about him. He hasn’t started any trouble, if anything he’s tried to prevent it. And he hasn’t shown preference to any of the girls here. He’s even turned down a few, including one of our own, which shows he’s not a player. I think he’s a good guy.”

  “Well, it’s only been a week. Give him more time, his true nature will reveal itself.”

  Delaney interjected, “I think you want him to turn out to be a bad guy so you don’t have to admit how you feel about him. He’s the first guy who’s ever busted your chops. Levi ‘Lava-Hottie’s’ melting your tough exterior, and I think you like him.” There was a taunting to her tone and I didn’t like it.

  “Don’t be ridiculous. I can’t stand Levi Drake, and I don’t give a flying flip what you psychos say!” I got up to stomp off and plowed straight into Levi, bouncing off him and heading to the floor. He caught me instinctively, both hands around my w
aist and pulled me to my feet, but then quickly released me as though my touch had burned him.

  “Speak of the devil, I need to talk to you,” I said, trying to hide my shock as I pulled my shirt back into place, which had managed to rise during the collision. I hoped he hadn’t noticed.

  “If you can’t stand me then why do you need to talk to me?”

  “Shut up and follow me.” I walked out of the cafeteria doors and all the way around the building, out of sight from everyone, then turned on him. “Do you mind telling me what happened Saturday night?” I demanded, sticking my finger in his chest, which I noticed was very hard.

  “I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about. The last I heard you were with Jeffrey Saturday night, so why don’t you ask him?” I almost detected jealousy in his tone, almost.

  “Don’t act dumb. I know you were with me in the forest. I just want to know why and how you got me home.”

  He ran his hand through his disheveled hair, temporarily distracting me as I studied the soft, wavy locks. They fell back into place, resting against his perfectly shaped forehead.

  “Charity, I think you hit your head too hard. You’re not making any sense.”

  I was snapped back into the moment. “Oh really, then how did you know I hit my head? I only told Ashley about that.” I waited for an answer.

  He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out.

  “Do you have word constipation or something? Answer me! I want to know why you were out in that forest with me right now! Were you following me?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. Why would I be following you?”

  “I don’t know, you tell me.”

  “I don’t owe you any explanation. If I were out there and if I did bring you home then it seems to me like you should be thanking me instead of busting my chops. From what I hear you were clearly in danger. And don’t flatter yourself. You’re not my type. For one thing, I like my women passive.”

  “You are such a jerk!”

  “Well I wasn’t a jerk until I came here and met you! Obviously you bring out the worst in me!”

  I gasped as his words stung me, and my thoughts immediately turned inward. But how could his words hurt me when I don’t even like him? Then the revelation hit me and hit me hard. I do like him, more than like him, and his words cut me deeply.

  Levi’s expression turned to confusion as he studied mine. Then his eyes softened and compassion filled them.

  I became even more angered and, as he opened his mouth to speak, I spun on my heels and stomped off, stopping myself as I rounded the corner, “Oh, by the way, Jackson and his jerks, I mean jocks, are planning to ambush you and your friends after school. And they’re planning to do something to your cars. Just thought you should know.”

  His eyes widened in surprise.

  “I’m only telling you because the others, unlike you, seem to be good guys.” I spun and turned the corner.

  When I was out of danger of being noticed, I pounded my fist against the brick building in anger, noting the throbbing in my hand, which only added to my agitation. “You are such a stupid girl, Charity,” I murmured to myself. I leaned against the building and slid down, burying my face in my hands. My mind was reeling with thoughts. I didn’t want to have feelings for Levi. I couldn’t trust him. I didn’t want to trust him. How did I let this happen? The revelation of my feelings stunned me, and I made up my mind right then and there to fight them, ignore them, whatever it took until they were gone.

  It turns out there wasn’t an ambush after school at all. Levi and his friends were ready for Jackson and the jocks, and though there were some heated words, the jocks cowed away just like we all knew they would. They never had any more trouble from them again. As a matter of fact, they seemed to be friends after that.

  The next day, when I entered Art class, Levi was already seated and concentrating hard on writing something in his notebook. I strolled over to my seat and dropped my heavy, red backpack on the floor with a loud thud, startling him, thus creating my first and only smile of the day.

  I sat down and gave him an irritated glare, which he happily returned.

  “All right class,” Mrs. Reed began, “today we’re just going to do a drawing exercise. Take out your pencils and sketchpads please. Now, I’m going to give you five emotions, and I want you to draw what comes to mind as you think of each one of these. They needn’t be big because I want you to be able to fit them all on one sheet of your paper. I’ll also write them on the board in case you forget. The five emotions are; anger, fear, depression, confusion, and awe. It should take you the entire class and as soon as you’re finished bring your work to my desk.”

  I got the feeling Mrs. Reed was needing a break, thus the stupid assignment, and after only a few short minutes, she slyly slipped out of the room—no doubt heading for the teacher’s lounge.

  I concentrated hard on my project, trying to isolate each emotion. As the bell rang, I hurried and wrote the emotion “confusion” under a drawing of my Calculus book. I scrambled to Mrs. Reed’s desk and added my paper to the top of the heap. When I turned around, my backpack swung, sending all of the papers scattering to the floor. I huffed, knelt down, and was in the process of gathering them up when I stared, in disbelief, at the paper in my hand. I wasn’t sure what to make of it, but I was looking at my face drawn beautifully five different times with the emotions listed off under each one; anger, fear, depression, confusion, and awe. My eyes quickly scanned to the top of the paper and noted the name neatly scrawled—Levi Drake. My breath caught in my throat as I turned abruptly to find he had already exited the room.

  The rest of the month passed without incident. Levi had settled into his newfound popularity with relative ease. I, on the other hand, was miserable, though I hadn’t quite figured out what to do about.

  Chapter Five

  It was Friday night, and my friends and I decided to go to our annual “Football for Charity” event. Every year, in the spring, our school joins E. W. High for a football game for charity. This year all the money raised went to our local orphanage.

  Because of the intense rivalry between our two teams, both of which are incredibly good, the game was riveting right up until the end, but unfortunately we lost by two points.

  My friends and I were hanging out, people watching, when out of the blue Ashley said, “Look, Charity, there’s Levi and his friends. Let’s go say hi.” She grabbed my arm and pulled me along like a dummy. I knew the real reason she wanted to say hello. She wanted to talk to Josh, Levi’s closest friend, a good-looking boy almost as tall as Levi but slightly more muscular, with dirty-blonde hair and sleepy eyes. She had a huge crush on him, and everyone knew it.

  “Hello, Levi,” she said, beaming.

  “Oh hello, Ashley. Hello, Charity.” He was polite, though he said my name with less excitement, no surprise there.

  I just nodded in response.

  “Hello, Josh,” she said sweetly, turning to face him.

  “Oh, hey, Ashley,” he responded, his face turning an adorable shade of pink.

  They were so cute. In unison, they stepped closer to each other and began talking as Levi made his way over to me.

  He was wearing blue jeans that fit nicely and a grey t-shirt tight enough to reveal just a hint of the defined muscles hidden underneath. “How are you, Charity?”

  “I’m fine. How are you?” I can be polite when I wanna be.

  “I’m good.” Then he smiled at me. It was the first time I’d ever seen him smile. He had dimples, which just added to his charm, not that his charm worked on me, mind you, but I could see how it could work on others.

  It looked as if he was about to ask me something when we were interrupted by a group of five guys approaching. They greeted each other kindly enough, but I sensed tension.

  “Hello, Levi,” the first guy said. He was tall with black, spiky hair, and even darker eyes. I assumed he was the leader because of the way he carried himself, with a subt
le hint of arrogance.

  “Wesley,” Levi responded in a cold tone.

  “You look good. How you liking your new turf?”

  “It’s good,” he said simply.

  The tension between them was strong, and I began to wonder if Ashley and I were in the middle of something we shouldn’t be.

  “Who’s the girl? Is something going on I should know about? You’re not breaking any rules—are you?” His tone was taunting. He started to approach me when Levi was suddenly between us. Funny, I didn’t even see him move.

  “Easy, Levi, I just want to talk to her.” He seemed amused by Levi’s unexpected protectiveness, and I couldn’t help but smile inside. He slowly walked around me. “Hello there. What’s your name?”

  “Charity Bell,” I answered coldly.