Not What I Expected (A Marcel Fanfic)

Chapter 10

I wake up in my own bed, surrounded by posters of everyone I used to idolise, the sun being way too bright. I forgot my room was so bright in the morning. I remember my fight with Alexa, but for now I'll enjoy my week of family and no jealousy. Being the way too forgiving person I am, I'm not really mad at her anymore. But a week away from each other will do both of us good: she'll spend as much time with Zayn as she wants, and I get to hang out with my mom and dad, and not get jealous over the lovey-dovey relationship Zayn and my best friend have.

I drag myself downstairs and pour some cereal and milk into a bowl. My mom enters the kitchen through the back door, kicking off her gardening shoes and coming in front of the bar.

''Morning!'' she greets, watching me as I eat

''Hi.'' I reply, trying to not let the food fall out of my mouth.

''So I see you haven't dropped the cereals yet?'' my mom asks amused, and I stop chewing, looking her straight in the eyes.

''Never.'' I say seriously and she chuckles, leaving me alone. I put my bowl in the sink after I finish and go sit on the couch and watch T.V. with my parents like I used to every Sunday morning. My thoughts drift off and I try to find something to do today. Star-hunting, maybe? Nah, it would be boring alone. Jogging? Good joke. I settle on going to the beach and tan or whatever. Basically go to the beach.

Mom and dad decide they want to go with me and I feel slightly relieved. When we got there, the beach isn't too crowded. It's September after all. I get undressed and lay down on my towel to tan a bit. After a while I get bored, and go into the water on my own. I watch the people on the beach, and try to spot a hot guy. Easy task. I set eyes on one and try to make eye contact with him, but, of course, my not-so-pretty face fails.

I find myself wondering about what Marcel is doing right now. I bet he's somewhere with Leeroy. What if he's wondering what I'm doing? I realize I show the first symptoms of what I call 'The Kyle Syndrom'. Kyle was the first guy I kind of fell in love with, and I literally learned the stages of falling in love. Lucky enough for me, thinking about the guy constantly is just the beginning of the crush. I hope to keep it that way.

We go back home, and I check my phone for the first time in a few hours.A missed call from Alexa and a text message from Marcel. My heartbeat fastens and I open it.

''Hey.x'' it reads. I smile to myself, and my heart is ready to burst. It's dumb how one simple text message from him saying 'Hey.x' can make me blush and get butterflies in my stomach. I check the time it's been sent, and it's been an hour and a half. I feel so bad. I quickly type back a 'hey' and go take a shower. When I come out he still doesn't reply.

I spend the rest of my day laying somewhere. On the floor, on the couch, in my bed... And suddenly I look out the window and the moon is shining and the sky is dark. Time goes by fast. I sigh and burrow myself in blankets once more. I almost fall asleep, when my phone rings. It's Zayn, and I seriously question why on earth he would be calling at 11 p.m. I hope Alexa is okay.

''Deedeeee! Hi.'' he chirps and I cringe at the nickname.

''Call me that one more time and you won't get near Alexa agin because you'll be dead. What do you want?'' Zayn is like a brother to me, well more of an annoying step-brother, so I allow myself to talk to him like this.

''Wanted to check on you.'' the reply is pretty unexpected. I think of what to say for a second.

''You, or Alexa?''

''Me.'' I have to say, I am very surprised.

''Well, Malik, since you're so very interested, I'm okay. Enjoying my quiet week. How are you two?''

''I'm glad you're good. We're fine. Enjoying our be-as-loud-as-you-can week.'' he mocks, but I still laugh.

''I was just going to sleep. Your calling times are weird.'' I tell him fighting back a yawn.

''Oh, well sorry, aha. I'll let you sleep. Night Delilah.''

''Night.'' I say before hanging up.

The next day I wake up early enough to go to school by myself. I enter the subway, and find myself a seat. A few stations after I sit down, I see a familiar face stumble in. Leeroy. As soon as he spots me, he smiles and comes over to me.

''Delilah, love! Good morning.'' he smiles, and that's the first smile to make my day brighter.

''Good morning Pikachu.'' I grin and he seems surprised and then laughs.

''Marcel bragged about our Pokemon nicknames?''

''Nope, I asked him.'' I reply.

The rest of the ride we talk about so many things, I lose track, and although I try to remember how we got from Pokemon nicknames to the hits of 2009, I fail. Leeroy kisses me on the cheek goodbye, and heads to his locker. I almost jog to my own, trying as much as I can to avoid Alexa. She is at the othe end of the hall, walking hand in hand with Zayn.

What I like about our friendship is we get each other. I know she's avoiding me just as much because she gets I need to be away from her for a bit. In a week's time, I'll probably be back at her apartment, eating half or the whole fridge on her couch. And that day she'll come home and be like 'Oh you're back. Cool.'. Because that's just how things between her and I work.

I snap out of my trance and turn back to my locker combination. It doesn't work, and the locker doesn't open. I get angry, and try to yank the door, but the bell has already rung and I really need to go to class.

There has been no sign of Marcel so far. I'm kind of relieved, but a bit worried. Marcel wouldn't miss school on purpose, would he? But maybe I just haven't seen him because his locker is on the other side of the building.

We have a surprise test during the first class, and I almost rip my hair off. I try to keep cool and think what Marcel would have done if he was me. He would've smiled. That beautiful, bright, happy smile. So I do the same.

I smile, get my pen, push my hair behind my ears, and start to write.