run like mad | clairo

one

it all started when ross and his family moved to town eight years ago. he was the only boy in madzy's third grade class who didn't make fun of her for being unable to tie her shoes. it was a slow start to a friendship. thankful glances from madzy and shared granola bars from ross evolved into constant play dates until they were sixteen.

"it's just weird to call it a play date, ross. i mean we're not playing anymore, you know. we're-we're blossoming. we're blooming," ranted madzy to a stone faced ross.

the pair were side by side in ross's bed, propped up by pillows behind their backs. madzy's hair was down, framing her face with brown waves and her arms were crossed across her chest.

"we're not flowers. we're people," shot back ross coolly. the comment was enough to shut down madzy's complaints about calling their hangouts "play dates." he began to flip through the channels on his television, scouting for something halfway decent to watch while madzy stared passively.

it was a typical friday night for the pair. madzy would bike (or drive now that she got her license) to ross's house, greet his parents and then embark up the stairs and into ross's room. from there, the two would talk endlessly, watch movies and play video games until they were unable to keep their eyes open and succumbed to the calling of ross's bed for sleep.

"wait, i wanna watch sleepless in seattle," declared madzy as ross passed through one of the movie channels playing it.

"seriously? it's such a chick flick," retorted ross, an unimpressed look on his face. madzy's pout made him flip back to the channel.

sleepless in seattle was easily one of ross's least favorite tom hanks films and probably in the top ten of his least favorite films ever. it wasn't really a chick flick in his mind but more of a dumb story that rewarded bravery in the weirdest way.

for madzy's sake, he sat through the rest of the movie without any complaints but seized the remote once the ending credits began to roll.

"i don't understand why you hate it. it's such a sweet movie," teased madzy. ross turned to face her and gave a disapproving glance.

ross wasn't a fan of tom hanks. the only film with him that he actually liked was forrest gump because who doesn't like forrest gump for christ's sake? he found sleepless in seattle to be a romanticism of making odd and destructive choices that rarely had a positive outcome. madzy just liked the movie because she was a closet fan of cheesy romance.

she always envisioned that her and ross would fall into a cheesy romance themselves someday, maybe when they were seventeen and were each other's prom dates and an end of the night kiss resulted in an explosion of repressed romantic feelings for each other. or maybe it would be after they parted ways for college and after some years apart, they realized that they needed each other and took the logical steps of launching themselves into a long and blissful marriage. hopefully with a dog or two.

but it was weird. madzy wasn't exactly into ross. she had always thought he was handsome but now it was more cute. he was now taller than her, far taller than her lately actually. he had jet black curls, cut neatly and framing his now defined face perfectly. his personality was more or less the same: aloof, sweet and a bit odd. she didn't want to date him, not by a long shot. but some nights, madzy found herself thinking about ross until she fell asleep.

recently, it had become a common occurrence. things such as them holding hands while they laid side by side while watching movies or the way he smiled at her as he came up from underwater in her pool. or the way he looked in his bathing suit. wet hair plastered to his forehead, his usual patagonia baggies hanging from his slim frame.

he looked different lately. he was becoming the type of cute that madzy only found in leading men of random movies. the only way to describe it was a tom cruise sort of cute, so attractive yet only a dream because who would date tom cruise for anything other than his face?

madzy felt those odd feelings of attraction creeping up, fully hitting her once the movie ended. the way ross poked fun of her and his lips slightly curled up was now cute rather than annoying.

"so, what're your plans for the first day of school?" asked ross, breaking the brief silence between them.

"uh, go to class?"

"no, i meant like before and after. we should do something to commemorate the beginning of this year," replied ross.

"commemorate. it's just the beginning of junior year.  we should've commemorated passing sophomore year," retorted madzy. her arms were now crossed over her chest as she waited for ross's response.

"come on, this is the year that everyone remembers the most when they think back to high school. an iconic year deserves an iconic beginning," he argued.

"how about i pick you up that morning and then after class, we can get dinner in the city?" madzy's offer was plain but seemed to suffice.

"can we invite pacey?" madzy nodded as a response.

while ross and madzy had a cozy movie night, pacey williamson was stuck working at the video rental store. friday nights were usually slow so he resorted to his third favorite pastime: watching the latest pornos when no one was in the store.

tonight's selection was gym sluts 2, a sequel to the ever popular movie which was focused around flexible women having sex in several areas of the gym. a petite blonde was getting pounded by her impossibly buff "personal trainer" when she walked in.

"excuse me?" her voice cut through the moans of the girl on the screen and pacey quickly muted the television and hoped the customer wouldn't somehow reach her neck over the counter and realize a stretched out pornstar was on the screen.

"ye-yes?" sputtered out pacey, turning to face the woman.

she was middle aged, not quite old enough to be his mother but maybe an aunt, the cool aunt who was your mom's younger sister who would sneak a beer or two to you at gatherings.

to say she was pacey's type was a given. his requirements at the moment only included a pulse, good movie taste and ability to drive. amber dennis fit all three preferences and she looked pretty cute in a plain black sundress.

"do you have any movie recommendations?" asked the woman, keeping her focus on pacey.

"depends. are you a romance kind of woman? or do you find yourself going to the comedy or action section?" asked pacey, making sure to keep a straight face.

"i'm a romance kind of girl, if you catch my drift," replied the woman.

"i'll lead you to the romance section."

the pair walked to the romance section, pacey leading the way. this was a perfect opportunity to see  the most important part of a woman: which movies would she pick without any outside opinions?

the woman chose poetic justice, fools rush in and the bodyguard. pacey was unimpressed with the selection but impressed by the way she subtly bent down and bit her bottom lip when he made a case as to why sleepless in seattle was one of the worst movies ever. she listened and dissented from his argument but said she respected his opinion.

pacey realized he was a bit smitten as he checked out the movies to her. he finally caught her name, amber dennis as he scanned her last movie and she introduced herself properly.

"and what would your name be?"

"pacey williamson. pleasure to meet you," he replied, a smile on his lips as she extended her hand to shake his.

"you as well. i hope to see you soon." and with that, she was gone. she was the third and last customer who came in during pacey's shift that night, leaving pacey free to continuing watching porn until it was time to close up shop.