The Weight of The Moon

Chapter Six

I have to emphasize the uncomfortableness I felt, in hopes that Peyton will back off of my future outfit choices. Mr. Kirsch was clearly taken aback when I entered the bookstore, and I don’t blame him. Because, for once, I wasn’t wearing a band shirt and baggy jeans, instead, I was wearing the blouse and pair of tight, high-rise jeans my mother had bought for me to wear to my cousin’s christening years ago. I had worn them that once, and then shoved them at the back of my wardrobe, with the rest of my formal clothes, ignored before forgotten. Since then, this was the first time they had seen the light of day. And it was a shame, really, for they really were nice clothes, they were just… not me. 

I looked down, and slightly adjusted the baggy white blouse. “Too much?” I asked Mr. Kirsch. 

He shook his head no. “Not at all, dear. You look nice.”

I raised my eyebrows at him, in question. I opened my mouth, ready to ask if Mr. Kirsch required any help, but he stopped me abruptly. 

“No help today, thank you. Buddy told me you have company upstairs.” I sent him a polite smile, trying to hide my disappointment, for helping out Mr. Kirsch would have further delayed the meeting I was so nervous about. Anyhow, Mr. Kirsch shooed me towards the staircase, and I had no choice but to proceed. 

With every creaky stair I nervously clambered up, I was closer to Marlie. Well, at least Mr. Kirsch had confirmed his presence. One of my worst fears was being stood up, in my favourite place, in front of my favourite people. Suddenly, the staircase was much shorter than usual, and within what felt like seconds, I was stood on the first floor, with Buddy at the counter to my left, and Marlie on my  favourite sofa to my right. 

I politely nodded in Buddy’s direction, before heading over to the sofa Marlie and I had shared the previous night. 

Come on, this is easy Selena, just one foot in front of the other, I told myself repeatedly.

And in no time at all, I was sat beside Marlie on the sofa. Behind the sofa, at the opposite side of the table was the coffee counter, where Buddy was smirking in my direction, and the staircase was to the left. In between, was a maze of unoccupied sofas. With a large stack of books and a coffee mug placed on the coffee table, and Marlie’s shoes underneath, what I saw before me was exactly identical to the drawing I had produced in art class. 

Weird, I thought. Had I unknowingly predicted the future? I didn’t understand. There was no dispute in the fact that I had drawn this exact scene before me, no more than two hours before it actually happened.

And then I realised.

I was sat on the sofa, frowning, and deep in thought, whilst being sat next to the hottest guy I’d ever met, who I had yet to utter a single word to.

“Umm, hi…” I muttered, attempting to sound apologetic for my distractions. 

“Hi… again.” He smiled at me, and I inwardly cursed to myself. I must had ignored him the first time he’d said hi. Ooops…

Introductions occurred, the obvious ‘hey, how are you?’s and ‘how was your day?’s.

“So what’s your favourite book genre?” I asked Marlie, bringing up the conversation that was clearly destined to happen. Books.

He smiled, certainly thinking precisely the same. “Uh, fantasy, I think. Like Harry Potter, and Percy Jackson, and all that.”

“Percy Jackson?! They’re my favourite!” I fan-girled.

This received a smirk from Marlie. “Yeah, I love the Greek mythology.”

“Oh, yeah, me too.” I toned it down a little after that. If I overplayed this part, would he notice something strange? Like the fact that I practically am a Greek myth?

Thankfully, he didn’t appear to note anything unusual. “Which is your favourite Greek myth then?”

Better to be honest, than to have to continue a lie into the future. “Selene and her moon chariot.” He knitted his brows, to which I continued, “I have a thing about the moon. It’s beautiful.”

“Ah, Heracles is my favourite, by far.” Marlie grinned.

“Of course.” I scoffed, but smiled, letting him know that I was just being friendly. “You’re a guy, and Heracles is a cool guy. A great role model, I guess.”

He shrugged. “Yeah, and I just love the animated movie.”

At this, we both laughed. 

A few jokes, and interesting conversation topics later, Marlie sipped his coffee, seemingly nervous. 

“Erm, Selena?” He asked.

“Yes?” I replied, looking into his deep, brown eyes.

But with that we were interrupted. 

By a girl, who, to my bewilderment, came and took a seat on Marlie’s lap.

She was a beautiful girl. She had extremely long blonde hair, that was distinctly naturally straight, but curled in perfect ringlets. They fell immaculately over her shoulders. Her face was soft, and her eyes were large, and in a piercing shade of blue. She wore a tight burgundy top, that was tucked into a ridiculously short, black skirt, looking even shorter, due to the legs that stretched up to her armpits. 

She pursed her lips, and pressed them to Marlie’s cheek. Oh.

“Sorry I’m late, Marls.” She said, which gained a blush from Marlie.

“Um, Selena, this is Brandi. Brandi, Selena.” He introduced the two of us, still a bright shade of red.

I smiled politely. “Nice to meet you.”

I wasn’t met with a reply. Instead, Brandi had taken out her phone, and was tapping away, clearly messaging someone more important. I wished I had amazing manners like her.

For a few moments, there was an awkward silence, where neither me nor Marlie knew what to say. Brandi seemed as if she had plenty to talk about, not to us, but instead, to her phone. 

I had never met this girl before, never even seen her before, yet here she was, with me and Marlie. His girlfriend, I assumed. 

After what seemed like a lifetime of listening to nothing but the noises made by Brandi’s phone, she slipped it back into her black purse, and turned to Marlie. 

“So when are we going to leave?” She didn’t even glance in my direction, completely blanking me. 

At least Marlie turned to face me. “I’m sorry, Selena. I have to go.”

“Oh.” I tried to sound too disappointed, and instead act as if I didn’t care, but I’m afraid to admit that I most probably failed. 

“You’ll call me though, right?” 

I nodded, despite being confident that the chances of that were highly unlikely.

He grabbed a pen , hidden behind the stack of books on the table, and jotted down his number on the back of my hand. I made a mental note to wash it off immediately after I arrived at home. I didn’t want to be walking around with the number of another girl’s boyfriend on my hand. 

“I really am sorry, Selena.” He said, as Brandi finally left his lap, and he began to stand. And he did look genuinely sorry, which led to my assumption that he took some kind of acting classes. 

“Well, bye then.” Marlie said, as he walked towards the staircase. 

“See you.” I muttered.

Finally acknowledging me, Brandi exclaimed, a little too happily, “Bye Selena!” Oh, I guess she was listening to the introductions, then.

And just like that, Marlie was gone, and our date was over.

Staring at the number, hastily scrawled across my hand, I walked across the room towards Buddy.

“Don’t call him, Selena. He’s not worth it.” He told me, making me my usual latte.

And I nodded, knowing he was right. 

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Comment your thoughts below... I'd love to know what you think of Marlie after this!!