Cruel World

Green eyed girl

"Who was that?" Mikey's familiar voice broke the aimless stare I was lost in. I found myself daydreaming of the boy's tattoo. "Marina?" He places his hand on my shoulder. I turned to face the boy I called my best friend. His hair a light purple and blue mess with baby blue tinted white.

"Your hair is always such a mess Mikey," I changed the subject. "Yeah, maybe it's 'cause I dye it every month." He plays with the unnaturally colored hair. I swat his hand away from his head and fix his hair myself, his lips formed a tight smirk. "There," I pull my hands back to my sides and admire my work. I guide Mikey to the mirror that hung from my locker door.

"Very nice Marina," sarcasm poured from his grin as he spoke, "your turn." He ruffled my hair making it a frizzy mess. "Mikey!"
"Marina,"
"Now I look like I've walked down Mowgli's road." I tilt my head and try to hide my smile so he thinks I'm mad at him. "Maybe,"--he shut the locker door and leaned against the locker so that he towered over me,-- "because you have." A smile threatened to crack on his lips.

I could feel the heat bouncing between our bodies and it scared me. Mikey is a very handsome boy but I wasn't looking to date anyone or fall in love. I couldn't say the same for Mikey though.

I slipped out from between Mikey and the lockers but I was stopped by strong arms wrapping around my waist. "Don't leave yet, I'm not done with your hair." He tickled me, making me laugh hysterically. "Mikey stop!" I said between deep breaths. He spun me around to meet his eyes. Our smiles faded and I could tell that his lips longed for mine. But I couldn't let that happen.

"Mikey," I cleared my throat, "Mikey we should get to class."
"Oh--right." His arms dropped to his sides and the broken look in his eyes made me feel bad. I'm the reason he's sad.

We walk in awkward silence down the hall to our first class of the day. "Mikey?" I broke the awkward silence. "Yeah?"
"Thanks for fixing my hair," I kissed his cheek to lift his spirit and slipped into my next class.

---

I sat next to Mikey at an empty table in the cafeteria. "We'd be better off starving than eating this shit." Mikey pushed his tray of food away from him. He was right, this food is disgusting. I push my tray away from myself also. I glanced around to the room, not a lot of people were eating.

"Hey you gonna eat that, Burger Queen?" One of the boys from the table of mostly-popular kids asked. "It's Marina," I slide the tray over to him, his whole table watching us, stifling their laughter. Great, he was dared to come over here.

"Alright, Marina," he smirked, "would you like to come to one of my parties?" This had to be a joke, I've never been invited to a party. I looked at the expressions of everyone at his table, the way they stared at me made it obvious it was a dare.

Everyone's eyes on me except for one boy, the boy with the rose tattoo. He was talking to someone, a girl with auburn hair and green eyes that glowed much more than just green. Something bright burned in her eyes. Something--neon.

"Wow, first she can't pick up her books and now she can't answer a question?" A girl with bright pink hair snickered. Mikey shot the girl a glare and she laughed with pleasure. "What? You want some? I'm taken, baby." She winked and turned to the green eyed girl. She grabbed her face and forced a kiss on her, her green eyes locked on mine like she wanted to tell me something. I broke the stare to look at the boy hovering over our table.

"I'll be there." Turning back to look at the green eyed girl, she shook her head no as if it was her choice. I flashed her a smile and she rolled her eyes.

---

I followed behind the boy that invited me to the party. "Matty come on," the girl with pink hair hung on the boy's arm slurred. Her jacket lazily hung from her shoulder, revealing a rose tattoo on her shoulder. "Okay, I'll be upstairs in a minute." Matty kissed her cheek and watched her climb the stairs. I thought she was dating the green eyed girl?

He turned to face me and Mikey, an impatient look plastered on his face. He was shirtless and I could see half of a rose tattoo poking out from his jeans. "Soon everyone will be here and the music will start playing. So, I'll leave you two with that." He turned to climb up the stairs but stopped at the first step. "Oh, and Mikey, don't worry, the candy will be in your greedy little hands soon enough." Matty smiled at both of us and climbed the stairs.

I look over at Mikey, he scratched his head and tried to hide his nervousness. "Candy?"
"Um--yeah. Candy," he placed his hand on the small of my back and guided me through the house.

"We should probably leave before everyone gets here, Marina." Mikey said as I plopped onto the couch. "Are you embarrassed of me Mikey?"
"What? No. I just--I'm.. sick." He stutters.
"You just don't want me to find out what that candy really is." I tease him, his eyes widen.
"Oh come on Mikey," I grab his wrist. "It's just weed." His eyes dropped from mine. "Mikey?"
"Marina," he stares at his feet. "It's just weed, right?"
"Right," he chokes.

He's lying to me. I've opened up to him so many times before, and he just lies to my face. I try to ignore it, I came to have a good time, and I will.

---

Neon flashed everywhere around me and the people that I stood in the middle of. Loud rock music blared through the speakers, kids dancing and drinking and kissing and smoking. Here I was standing in the midst of it all, yet I still stood out. I wasn't the only one.

I found her green eyes glowing across the room. She was sitting on a couch, one leg crossed over the other, a drink in her hand. She looked sad and desperate but I was still intimidated by her stare. I pried my eyes off her and escaped the crowded room but everywhere I went in this house, I was hardly able to breathe. I felt trapped.

My heart beats quickened as well as my breathing, I needed fresh air, now. I stumbled through the maze like house, my vision started to fade into black and I couldn't blink it all away. I thought I was going to pass out right there on the floor of the upstairs hallway but a hand on the small of my back kept me from doing so. How did I even get upstairs?

When I came to my senses I found myself sitting in a metal chair on a balcony. A glass table sat in front of me, a tall vase held one single rose. I plucked the rose from the vase and ran my fingertips along the petals.

"Your boyfriend is looking for you," a soft, soothing voice said from behind me. I turned to find her leaning against the railing of the balcony, her arms crossed as she looked out at the city far below us. "He's not my boyfriend,"
"He sure wishes something different," she turned to face me, her emerald eyes glowed in the grey lighting of the almost dark night. I had to look away, there was something about her eyes that made my stomach tense.

"Do I intimidate you, Marina?" She spoke in a low tone, her voice as smooth as silk. Does she intimidate me? I ignore the question and join her at the railing, standing about a foot away. I looked down at the neon lights strung at the bottom of the railing making soft buzzing noises.

"Why did you help me?" I turned to face the girl standing beside me, her eyes on the lights. She took a deep breath and hesitated before speaking. "I ran into you," she cleared her throat, "and you followed me."

We stood in silence for a couple minutes, listening to the quiet buzz of the lights and the not so quiet music from inside. I played with the rose's petals again. Roses, why roses? Why did everyone have these tattoos? Does this girl have one? Her girlfriend had one so maybe she does too, but why was her girlfriend all over Matty like that?

"Aren't you dating the girl with pink hair?" The words spilled from my mouth before I could stop myself. She bit her lip and looked at the left part of the city to where I couldn't see her face. "It's complicated," she spat. She brought her hand to her face and looked as though she wiped something off it. "I'm sorry I asked,"

"Goodbye Marina." She said, her head bowed as she passed me and disappeared through the sliding door that led inside.

It wasn't a good bye, there's no such thing as a goodbye. I've said goodbye to many people, many people that I loved, that I cared for. They're gone now. And I'm tired of losing them to such a word as goodbye. I could only hope that this girl won't just disappear from my life as easily as she disappeared through that door. There was something about her that made my skin heat up, something about the way her eyes flickered. When her hand touched my back, I felt energy, motivation. When I look at her I feel.. celestial.