He Loves Me Not *Under Editing*

The Shift

He leaned with one leg halfway up the wall while the other was glued to the ground. The muscles in his arms twitching as his head faced the ceiling.  I, on the other hand, sat on a bench in the hall peering up through my eyelashes and rare red locks.  I was tiny where he was huge, I was insignificant whereas everyone wanted to be his best friend.  Together we would be perfect, like yin and yang.  Only, he didn't love me back.

I went back to focusing on my book.  The cliche love story that was still timeless: Romeo and Juliet.  Written by my best (dead) friend, William Shakespeare.  I heard voices and glanced up to see his whore of an- oops.  Very attractive yet someone that takes advantage of their dates.  Anyways, it was his girlfriend and her posse.  She was hanging on him like a slab of meat on a hook at a butcher shop. "Get off me.  Now," My tantalizing imaginary boyfriend growled.

"Why babe?" It questioned.

"Because I'm breaking up with you."

"WHAT? YOU CAN'T!"

"Watch me."

"Why?"

"Because you cheated on me."

"I would never-!"

"Never try to get caught.  But you forgot one thing, Tony gives more of a shit about me than he ever will about you."

"AAAAARGH!"  With that, she stormed off with her friends looking like the tablecloth ghost outfit kids wear on Halloween.  I couldn't help myself from looking at my personal god in awe.  He must have noticed my mouth forming a giant O that I couldn't fix to save my life.  He smirked and trotted over to my resting place.  He sighed heavily as he sat down.

I stared at him with curiosity in my eyes, he had never known me for as long as we went to school together- three years but no one was counting.  I went back to my book.  Romeo Romeo wherefore art thou Romeo.  Well...  Mine was sitting right next to me but no one knew that except for my school books, best friend, and diary.  "So let me guess, you are a typical high school girl named Tina or Stephanie, you think artistically a lot, you have a crush on me like every other girl, and you love Romeo and Juliet because you want that to be your life?"

I stared at him for a second and wonder if he was actually talking to me, there was no one else in the hallway and he was sure as hell not talking to himself.  "Well, someone sure thinks a lot of themselves, and no my name is not Tina or Stephanie.  It is Cydney with a C."

"Ah, I see said the blind man.  You never answered assumption two three or four."

"I think that way depending on the situation, and I am a faithful reader of Shakespeare because he understands me better than I understand myself.  But no, not because of Romeo and Juliet.  My favorite play is Hamlet."

"What about assumption three?"

"I guess you will have to find out eventually."

"How soon is eventually?"

"Depends."

"On?"  I got up and started to walk away.  I knew he was flirting with me but I had no idea why.  I was nothing. A tiny girl with no future and some demons that had to go back with the skeletons in the closet.  I thought he wouldn't follow me at the shock of being rejected.  Oh, but when will I stop being wrong? Survey says: Never.  He lightly grabbed my arm and tried to turn me around.  My breath caught as I slammed my chin into my chest and analyzed the speckles in the tile flooring.  

He must have gotten the hint because he released me and I ran away.  I only had an hour in this hell before lunch and I was not going to be anywhere around him for it.  I pushed through the doors outside and ran blindly with my book.  I ended up where I wanted to be least of all, the football field.  As a five star stalker, I knew that Alex always spent his off blocks and lunch on the football field practicing for the games and just hanging out with friends.  I figured that if I sat in the middle of the bleachers I would be disguised by the other girls swooning over his body.

I read my book and occasionally watched the sport that I could not even begin to comprehend.  As far as I knew, he never saw me.  Although, that may have been because his buddies were constantly driving his attention from the stands to the pigskin.  The bell rang and everyone else got up and left.  Everyone except for me, and guess who?  Alex.  

He finally saw me and made his way up to me.  I got up and started to walk away.  This was a bad idea;  A small girl with a big book in her tiny arms cannot outrun a football player even if she tried, and believe me, I tried.  This time, he grabbed my shoulder and didn't let go.  I stopped and slowly turned, staring at his sneakers the whole time.  "You can't ignore me forever."

"And why not?"

"Because I'm too beautiful."

"You should tone down your ego."

"That was a joke."

"I know."

"Then why didn't you laugh?"

"I don't have to laugh at every joke you say, and I'm slightly intimidated right now if you can't tell."  Now I was looking at him in the eyes with a slight scowl.  Why could I not just live my sad pathetic life without being noticed and humiliated?  "How are you scared?"

"I didn't say scared."

"Okay, intimidated."

"You may be strong, but you are far from smart.  I am INTIMIDATED because you are over twice my size if you haven't noticed."  Even standing straight up and my head leaning all the way back I only came up to his chest.  He chuckled and stared down at me.  He started to bend down and I got confused.  Why is he getting closer to me?  He brought his lips to my ear and whispered.  "If you didn't want to be here right now you can leave, you know."

My voice caught in my throat and I struggled to respond.  He took that response as me not wanting to leave.  Then, he did it.  He brought those soft lips to mine and kissed me.  I was terrified, I froze.  He let me go and looked into my eyes again.  Now was the time to run.  I ran down the steps trying not to fall. Then I ran back into the school and into the first place I knew where he couldn't get to me: The bathroom.

I made it in there and threw myself into a stall.  As I waited for my gasping to subside, someone else came in.  "Ugh, why would he leave me?  So what I made a mistake everyone does!  And the worst part is that he made a scene about it!  How did he even find out?  Tony said that he dropped him like a hot tamale when he got better and cockier at football."

"There was only one person there, and she is so mouse-like she would be scared of you to snap in her direction.  You just have to know that you will be the best thing that ever happened to him, and don't always trust your boy toys."  The last part was muttered under their breath.  So there were two people...  Wait!  I am NOT mouse-like, I am just smaller than the rest of the general public.  I stood up and walked out to see them.  I shot the leader a look that could melt iron and washed my hands.  I left and went to the cafeteria.  With every student in there, it would be hard for him to find me.