Superheroes Suck

Chapter 17: Reading to Old People Is Ridiculous

Mary groaned, "I meant Oliver is in love with you. Gosh, you calling him Murphy has started to affect me."

Mary laughed, trying to brighten the mood but the damage was done. I sat frozen in my chair, unable to even come to terms with the implications of her admission. There was something, almost an intangible force that seemed to keep my jaw hinged and my lips sealed shut.

How do you respond to something like that?

My grip on her hand tightened, an attempt on my part to stop the shaking of my body.

"Tell me everything." I managed to breathe out.

"You're not going to argue with me?" Mary questioned, "You're not going to say, 'That can't be true' or the classic, 'Murphy is not in love with me Mary, there is absolutely no way that that could be true' or something expressing your insane about of disbelief on how he could be in love with you."

"Mary..." How can I think about this rationally when I know nothing other than that he's supposedly 'in love with me.'

"I am so happy to get all of this off my chest. Penn I could joke about because I knew you felt the same and I hoped one day you two would realize how the other felt. Oliver was different, way different." Mary sighed, trying to read the confusion in my eyes.

She looked at me, waiting for me to prompt her, "How is Murphy different? Was it because you didn't know that I felt the same?"

That made her laugh, which served only to confuse me further.

"You and Penn were like romantic interests in a teen romance novella, all starry-eyed and full of hope and puppy love. The popular boy next door and the shy girl who couldn't see that her best friend had a thing for her. It's practically a Disney Channel movie." How rude, my life was way too profane for the Disney Channel. 

She continued, "You and Oliver, on the otherhand, were so perfectly imperfect and the moment I saw the two of you together, I knew he had the ability to hurt you. The same ability that I knew that Penn lacked, and I wasn't sure if that was a bad thing."

"What do you mean Murphy could hurt me? He can be a jerk at times, but Murphy is a good person, a really good person. We both know that he is nothing like that, he's practically the picture of a perfect boyfriend. Ask any girl he has dated, they'll all tell you that he treated them so well but..."

"...he was in love with someone else, you." Mary shot me a look of thinly veiled annoyance. "That's also not what I meant. Penn is a good guy and I knew if you ended up with him, you'd be one of those sickly sweet couples who celebrate Valentine's Week and who kiss each other goodbye every time they leave the room. You and Penn could have had an idyllic, happy life because your love was simple and easy. You wouldn't really have to change much about your relationship, the only thing that would change is the two of you would be boning.

"The same can't be said about you and Oliver. Oliver loves you, like really loves you. I see it in his eyes everytime he looks at you. Every time you're in a room together, I see a man who has loved you since he was a child and falls in love with you again every day for a different reason. I knew that you could fall in love with him, really fall madly and deeply in love with someone who would hold the power to crush your already fragile heart. Penn was never a threat to that, we both know Penn is not that kind of person and I am in no way saying Oliver is, but Penn is a threat to no one. Being in love with Penn would be comfortable, safe.

"Now that the whole drama with Penn has been resolved and you've pretty much friend zoned the hell out of him- wait I feel so bad saying that. Ignore that last remark, I take it back." Mary groaned. I had to admit that was a little mean, although I had kinda flip-flopped after the ball. "Back to Oliver, now you know the whole story. Oliver is super into you and it's up to you to decide what you're going to do with that information."