The Anatomy of a Parody Heart

mars

Dan beats Enzo to the park again.

Enzo's park.

Enzo's swing.

Stupid.

Enzo doesn't look at him, as he sits down. Doesn't even turn his head.

Not until Dan leans across.

And pulls something - rips it, really - off the back of his shirt.

Enzo is still in his school uniform. He didn't have time to change. Mum was in her room again. Door closed.

The twins were fighting. Again.

Again.

Enzo dumped his bag. Took one look at them.

And left.

"Enzo," Dan says. Quietly.

Enzo looks at him.

Dan is holding something in his hand. A piece of paper.

A post-it-note.

The words go back to Mars, freak are scrawled across it. In fat black capitals.

Freak.

Enzo feels all the colour rush into his face. He swears; snatches the post-it-note from Dan. Crumples it into a ball.

Shaking hands.

And throws it as far and as hard as he can - so far and hard it makes his arm ache.

Every part of him - shaking. Angry.

So angry.

"Enzo," Dan says again.

Two syllables.

Two.

That's it.

That's it.

Enzo fists his hands in his lap. His eyes sting. He scrunches them up. Tight. Hating them.

Hating everything.

"You want to kill them," Dan says, after a while, "don't you?"

Enzo looks at him. Looks.

His eyes are very blue.

"Yes," Enzo says, "I want to kill them."

Dan sighs, then. It is more of a breath, than a sigh.

"Me, too."

Enzo looks away. He can see the post-it-note in the grass. He wonders whether it would be okay to go up and stamp on it.

He looks back at Dan.

"Why are you talking to me?"

Dan laughs, at that. A startled laugh. "What'd 'you mean?"

"I mean...why are you talking to me?" Enzo narrows his eyes. "You don't know me."

"So? I'll get to know you." Dan shrugs. Pauses. "Unless you want to carry on pretending that, you know, you're happier here on your own."

"Maybe I am happier here on my own."

Dan laughs again. "Sure. Like everyone prefers their own company over somebody else's."

"I'm different."

"Yeah? Well, maybe, I'm different, too."

"No way you're as different as me, Carter. Don't even try that."

"Whatever. Callahan."

Enzo's head snaps up. "How do you know that?"

"What?"

"My surname."

Dan smiles. "I have my sources."

"Seriously."

He shrugs. "I know your sister."

"You know Gem?"

"Izzy."

Izzy.

Enzo stiffens. "How come?"

"She goes to the college my dad works at."

"What college?"

Dan frowns. "You don't know what college your sister goes to?"

"No," Enzo glares at him, "I don't."

"Pine something or other. Pine...Hill." Dan snaps his fingers. "That's it. Why?"

"Just wondering."

Just wondering.

Enzo shakes his head.

Stupid.

Dan is watching him again. There are freckles on his nose. And his cheeks.

Lots of freckles.

He is wearing his school uniform, too - a smart shirt and tie. Too smart.

Too clean.

It makes Enzo feel dirty.

Dirty - and like he really, really wants to push Dan off the swing.

His swing.

So he does.

Dan falls onto his back, hard.

In the mud.

His mouth half-opens. Half-closes.

He grins.

Enzo stands over him. Glares at him.

Tries hard not to grin.

"I'm sorry," he says. "But your uniform sucks."

Stupid.

So stupid.

He grins.