Falling For The Nerd

On My Way.

           It is snowing hard. The snow comes   down in sheets and it is hard to see even a foot ahead of me. The snow has piled up on the streets, three feet deep in some places. I am upto my knees in the snow, and my legs are already getting numb due to the cold. I put my head down, hunched my shoulders and plow through the snow. In the distance I hear Melissa scream. My heart beats faster and I put all my energy into my feet. Despite the snow, I can vaguely say that Melissa is about ten feet to my left. I don't know what day it is, I don't know where we are, all I know is that Melissa is in trouble and she needs me. I continue to walk through the snow when I hear sirens. There is help near by. I hesitate. Do I get to Melissa or get help? I decide to go get help first. I turn around and retrace my steps, which have already been covered by the snow. My legs begin to hurt and my breath comes out small white puffs. A strong wind blows and I hold out my hand to cover my face. The wind gets stronger and stronger until suddenly, I hear a loud crack. I turn to look and see a large tree crack at its base and keel over. I hear Melissa call my name and I shout out for help, but the tree lands on the ground and I can't hear Melissa anymore, just the ringing in my head...a loud beeping sound, annoyingly close to my ears...

              I sit up and shut the stupid alarm. I held my head in my hands and tried to get the image out of my head. Ever since Melissa told me that we were going to New York, I had been having the same nightmare every night. I was scared of not being there for her. I glanced at the clock- 5:32am. We were leaving for New York today. I sighed. At that moment, knocked and looked into my room. "Honey? Are you awake?" she asked. "Yeah, I am. Come in." I said. 
           Mom came into the room wearing her striped pajamas and sat on the edge of my bed. She caressed my face and smiled at me. "Are you excited?" Mom asked and I smiled back. "Yeah. I can't wait." I answered. "Bad dreams?" she asked rubbing my arm soothingly. "Same one." I sighed. "Don't worry Derek. You're going to have the time of your life there. Also, Remy and Mike are responsible adults. I know that they will supervise you and take care of you. All of you know that you should be careful. It will be fine. It's just a dream." Mom said softly. I nodded and let myself relax. It wouldn't snow now, it's summer!

           I showered and put on my 'travelling clothes'- my black AC/DC t-shirt and jeans with my Converse. The clock read 6:05am. I was meeting the rest of the gang at the airport at 7:30am. The flight was at nine. I was early, for once. I went downstairs, where mom was flipping some pancakes. She had helped me pack yesterday by taking a day off from work. It was as fun as packing could get. "Derek, you are NOT packing that rag cloth!" " Mom, it's my best vintage t-shirt!" "If that's what you kids call vintage, then our garbage is gold. Take that out this very instant!" "Okay..geez. How crazy can you get?" "I heard that." Awesome time. I set the table and mom served us both pancakes. I got the coffee and we dug in. It was perfect. We spoke for a while and quarter to seven, mom changed and drove me to the airport. I put on the radio and we were lucky, we got a string of awesome songs. We drove in silence, just enjoying the music. We arrived at exactly seven thirty. Mom helped me unload my only suitcase and backpack from the back of the car and closed the boot. She hugged me and I held her tight. Now I know I'm not leaving forever or anything, but for me, separating for mom was always hard. Like that one time I had to go live with my grandma in Wisconsin for two months because mom had to travel to London and dad couldn't leave his business in Toronto. I cried for a week. I was thirteen. Judge me.

             "Derek, I want you to enjoy and make memories. Don't forget to call me every night. I want to know what you're upto. Take lots of pictures. Be crazy. Just don't worry about anything at home, okay?" Mom said as she flattened my t-shirt. "Yeah, got it. Love you mom." I hugged her once more and headed into the airport. I looked back and waved to her and she waved back. I looked around and spotted Jake at one corner. He was standing there with Gwen and Melissa. "Hey! Derek, here!" Jake called out and I grinned as I walked over to them. "Hey!" I said as I held Jake in a bro-hug. I hugged Melissa then turned to Gwen. "Sup, Gwen?" I asked and gave her a side hug. "I'm good." Gwen replied.
            Gwen was petite with ginger hair and striking blue eyes. She was rather shy and kept to herself. We spoke thanks to Melissa, who introduced us at school. I wouldn't have bothered to stay in touch, it's just that Gwen is really good at video games. She beat me at Melissa's place. I was still a bit sore about that. "Where are the rest?" I asked Melissa. "Oh. Amber's car broke down on he way, so Leo's picking her up. They should be on their way." Melissa said as she glanced at her watch. Surely, in fifteen minutes we could hear Amber and Leo make their way towards us, arguing at the top of their voices.
           Amber was wearing a Mickey Mouse t-shirt, denim shorts and a red and black checked shirt over it, like a jacket. Her blonde hair was open, her grey eyes lined with kohl. Her long legs ended in a pair of boots. She had a small backpack and her suitcase was being pulled by a very frustrated Leo.
He met my gaze and glared at me, as if it was my fault he was stuck with Amber and her rantings. "...if it was me." Amber said in an affected tone. "Oh really? Aren't you the smartest. " Leo said in a scathing tone and Amber gave him a look of pure loathing. "Liz! Why did you have to invite him?" Amber asked as she walked upto Melissa and put an arm around her. "Amber, we spoke about this. You promised you were going to compromise." Melissa said in a warning tone. "Yes. Unfortunately, I did." Amber said. "I doubt she can even spell that word." Leo muttered, so only I could hear him. "Shut it, grumpy." I said to him and went forward to hug Amber.
        I had known Amber for a while because she had joined the cheerleading team last year. She was different from the other cheerleaders, mainly because she had a slightly tomboy-ish nature (as tomboy-ish as a cheerleader can get).
              Once everyone finished greeting each other, Melissa suggested we go to Starbucks for a while. Jake and Amber (who got along very well) lead the way. I lagged behind with Melissa. I put my arm around her shoulders and asked, "Are you excited yet?" "Are you kidding? I'm going crazy!" Melissa answered as she put an arm around my waist. "Did you talk to Remy about the rooms." I asked. "Actually, I did. And she saw right through me." Melissa said. "Darn it. We're going to have to sneak out then, Lizzie" I said to her and she just smiled. "No. Then I spoke to Mike who spoke to Remy and convinced her to let us get three rooms. Although I had to swear by the sister code that there would be no funny business." Melissa said in a serious tone. "What sister code?" I asked, confused. Melissa kissed my cheek and said, "It wouldn't be a code if I told you, would it?"
We caught up with the rest of the group and grabbed a table. I sat in between Melissa and Gwen. Leo went to place our orders. When he returned, Amber took a sip of her drink and said, "So this New York trip is like a honeymoon for you guys, huh?" Melissa nearly choked on her drink. "What are you talking about?" Melissa said once she recovered from a coughing fit. "Oh you know, what with getting three rooms instead of two and all that stuff." Jake agreed. I looked around and decided that these people were not going to give it a rest.
            So I pulled my chair so that it was touching Melissa's, leaned and kissed her in front of them. "Yes. This is like a honeymoon for us. Happy?" I said glaring at Amber and Jake. "Okay. Enough with the arguing." Gwen said. She was always the peacemaker. "Alright. So what's the plan, Melissa?" Leo asked, though he was struggling not to smile at our PDA. "Right. So the plan is..."
              Mike would be coming to pick us up at the airport alone. Remy was well into her second trimester and Mike did not want her to travel unless there were enough people to keep an eye on her. So he would pick us up and take us to our hotel (which is literally a few streets away from their apartment) so that we could drop our luggage and he would take us home for dinner. The next day we spend the day in Manhattan. We visit the beach and have a fun evening. The next day we spend at the beach with Remy. Mike has some meeting with foreign investors, so he won't be there. Monday, we go to Remike's (like my Remy and Mike ship name? Don't tell Melissa) place for an early breakfast and then we leave for the airport. End of holiday.
              "Sounds good." Leo said. We had finished our coffee and snacks and we were talking about random stuff when a female voice told us that our we were to head to security. Half an hour later, we were boarding our flight. I sat next to Melissa, who was near the windows and sighed to myself. As I held her hand in mine, I couldn't be more happy or excited.