flashback

n i n e t e e n

 

Fletcher

         If Ceon wanted to make me feel like an idiot, he was doing an excellent job at it. Sometimes I didn’t understand him. Here we are, having a good time, and he drops a bomb from 80 feet high right on my head. I wanted to slap him when he said he was naming himself Marquis. Spoiling the mood came surprisingly easy for him.

       Theo just watched him as he sat there in thought, until Ceon picked up the duffle bag and cocked his head and squinted his eyes. He only did that when he was about to be a Lego block on the bottom of my foot. “So are we going, or what?” he said.

I ran my hand through my hair—it was much easier since it was straight now—and followed him out the door. Back by the bicycle racks were Danny and Sarai, only not the ones I had seen last. Sarai, well, her nose looked weird. And she looked like a freaky little Asian girl. And Danyelle, her eyes were this ocean color, and she was wearing a red wig that was super curly. She looked the opposite of how she usually did. And while I have never and will never think of her as anything but a sister, she looked stunningly beautiful.

And I could tell the other guys did too, because Mario was still staring and Ceon made this odd spluttering sound that was a cross between a retarded seal and dying whale. I told him so.

And Theo, he just walked over to her and calmly took the duffel bag from her that she was holding and cupped her elbow, kind of possessively. She thanked him, and looked at me sideways. I hated Theo a little then, just at that moment.

Then she reached out and touched my hair. I began to feel self-conscious.

“I know…” I said.

“Smile, Ceon,” she said.

And he did, and ran his tongue over the fake braces. Then she turned to Theo.

“Now you smile,” she said. He did, and she squinted her eyes. “Your gap is gone,” she said, her voice small and like a little child’s. I didn’t know what her deal was, but I wasn’t having it. I pulled out my drawing pad from my knapsack and started sketching the Sheathing library, the block it was on, the girls jumping rope, guys playing baseball, the sun that perfect angle in the sky, the shadows just so…

Danyelle tapped me. “Train’s coming.” She said, frowning as she looked at the scattering of tiny hairs I had glued somewhat haphazardly to my chin. I tucked my head quickly, and watched her go in and sit next to Teddy in a single row. The car was surprisingly empty, but then again with Mario and his buff friends, they cleared that right up.

Danyelle was resting her head on Theo’s chest, and his arm was around her. They were being so intimate; I looked across the aisle to gage Ceon’s reaction. He looked lost in thought, but every now and again his eyes would flick over to them and his jaw would harden just a little more.

I stared blatantly. Theo’s lips moved, and over the rumble of the train I couldn’t make it out. But Danyelle blushed, and he moved his face so close to hers that their noses grazed. I winced, half-closing my eyes, expecting a kiss, but Danyelle’s eyes darted over to Ceon and she pulled back. Ceon’s jaw was locked in place, and his eyes were hard and unconcealed, his opinion written on his face like an open book. Danyelle bit her bottom lip, and Theo, seeing the exchange, touched Danny’s chin, forcing her to look him in the eye. And with one final, biting glance at Ceon, he leaned down and kissed her.

Danyelle

“Don’t you like my new look?” Teddy asked when we were sitting next to each other in the train. I smiled and lifted my head off his chest. “It’s not you, honestly. You look good, don’t get me wrong,” I said, my finger grazing the clip-on stud on his earlobe, “But it’s not the Teddy I know.”

“Hmm,” he said, studying my face. “You still look just as beautiful,” he added.

I blushed. “Thank you,” I whispered, a jolt of excitement running through my spine.

He leaned down toward me, and I leaned toward him, but I felt eyes on me. I turned to Fletcher, who was staring at me with a look of disapproval. I swallowed and looked at Ceon. It was his eyes that got me the most. They were so full of question, and anger, and sadness and the innocence of them filled me with such anguish that I almost cried out.

Teddy took my chin so that I faced him. And he kissed me, his lips soft, and his mouth open. I melted in his arms, my hands strewn around his neck carelessly, my eyes closed…

My heart was beating so fast that when we pulled away I put my hand to my chest.

The train stopped, and Ceon got up first, followed by Mario and Zion, and when he exited the train, I heard him swear. He practically spat it in my direction with such ferocity that I was taken aback. I blinked twice. Teddy hadn’t heard, and I was glad he didn’t. Fletcher hung back, waiting for us to exit, but before he did, he said a few quiet words to Teddy that he probably, to this day, doesn’t know I heard. I surely wasn’t glad I heard them at the time.

“You,” he said, “You son of a bitch.”

Teddy said nothing, but the hazel specks in his eyes danced violently.

“You’ll pay for that display,” Fletcher continued. “You’ll pay for it…”