Marcel

35

I sit at the island, stabbing the small pieces of cut up pancakes with my fork then shoving the sweet syrupy food in my mouth. This morning I woke up to an empty bed and followed the smell of pancakes and bacon down the stairs and to the kitchen, being greeted by Marcel who was slaving over the stove, flipping the pancakes. 

Now he is stood beside me, leaning on the counter, asking how it tastes.

"Open your mouth and taste for yourself." I push the little square pieces of pancake on the fork toward his mouth and he parts his lips, allowing me to place it in his mouth. He licked my fork when I pulled it away and I nudge him as reaction. "That's disgusting." I tell him and he laughs. He shrugs his shoulders and picks up a piece of my bacon and shoves it in his mouth before I could grab it. "Hey! You can have bites of my pancake... not my bacon." I mumble with a full mouth and continue to eat.

"Would you like it back?" He asks and I turn my head to see the chewed up food on his tongue as he stuck it out of his mouth. 

I squint my eyes at him. "You're such a boy."

"I am beyond glad that my aunt and them left. This was one crazy weekend." He ignores my last statement and stretches his arms over his heads. His shirt rises in the process and reveals his waistline. He drops his arms to his sides and notices the frown on my face.

"Hey, it's okay. Brittany will visit again soon, I'm sure." He says reassuringly and I nod. I take a drink of my orange juice before sliding off of the stool and walking my plate to the sink. Harry and I had planned to walk around the Avenue today and have a calm, relaxing day together. We've been locked up in this house all week and we need to get out to do something.

"Thanks for breakfast baby!" I shout and run to the staircase so that I can go to my room to get ready for our day.

After getting my shower, I changed into a pair of black lounge shorts and a white t-shirt. I don't want to wear my outfit for today yet and get it messed up while doing my hair and makeup.

My iPod is playing on my docking station and it's turned up to a decent volume. It's on shuffle and I smile to myself when one of my favorite songs comes on. As if on cue, Marcel walks in. I'll Be by Edwin McCain plays through the speakers and Marcel approaches me, playfully holding his hand out for me to take. I shyly place my hand in his and use my free hand to cover my face, giggling as he pulls me into him. He lifts my arms and places them upon his shoulders and I intertwine my fingers behind his head as he holds onto my waist, swaying us back and forth. I feel my cheeks beginning to heat up at his sweet gesture.

"I'll be your crying shoulder, I'll be love's suicide. And I'll be better when I'm older. I'll be the greatest fan of your life." He sang to me. "And rain falls angry on the tin roof as we lie awake in my bed. You're my survival, you're my living proof. My love is alive and not dead. Tell me that we belong together. Dress it up with the trappings of love." He takes in a breath before continuing to stare into my eyes and sing heavenly. "I'll be captivated. I'll hang from your lips. Instead of the gallows of heartache that hang from above."

He dips his head down, pressing his head against mine and I shiver at the proximity between us.

"You seriously are the reason I survived most of high school." He whispers, running his fingers through my damp hair. I pull my arms from around his shoulders and wrap them around his torso and hug him tightly.

"You seriously are the only reason I came to school." I respond, keeping my head placed against his chest. I always worried about missing a day of school because I didn't want anyone to take advantage of that and use it as a free pass to torture this poor boy in front of me. 

"You really saved me though, Riley. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be here right now. There has been so many times where I wanted to just end it. End everything. End my life. But I couldn't because you would pop into my head whenever I was crying and ready to give up. I would think about how much effort you've put into defending me, and if I would've taken my life, I would've let you down. Whenever I held onto a bottle of pills, thinking that one quick slither of courage could change everything, you would click in my head right before I could do anything. I would think to myself, all of the stuff Riley goes through just to protect me, everything she has done will be down the drain after I do this. I've never realized how much you meant to me, Riley. You are my life saver." His eyes are growing red and glossy, but I can't look away this time. I take in every ounce of this raw emotion. 

I already knew how Marcel felt about me. I knew that he appreciated the things that I went out of my way to do for him, to make sure he was the slightest bit comfortable. I couldn't hold his hand through high school and fight every one of his bullies, but I always stood by his side, doing what I could to put an end to the traumatizing shit these kids at our school have put him through. What I didn't know is that there were nights where it was all too much for him to handle and he wanted to rid all of the trouble in his life. I didn't know that on those terrible nights, I was the one he was thinking of. I was the reason he didn't go through with his plans.

"I'll always be here for you. No matter what happens between us, you've always got me." I smile but choke back tears. "I love you so much Marcel." I stand on my tip toes and kiss him on his cheek.

"I love you so much more, Riley."