A Thousand Miles and A Million Years

Chapter Nine

Mae

12 Years Old

"Oh my god." I complained, making sure to hold out my words as I shifted uncomfortably in Mark's bean bag chair, my Pre-Algebra book shifting in my lap.

"What now?" Mark asked, lifting his head from behind his Algebra 2 book to watch me with raised eyebrows as I huffed.

I met his gaze and watched his face got a while. "I hate math." I concluded.

"So do I, but think of it this way: the sooner you finish your math the sooner you get to do your short story while I have to research for Social Studies." He explained, wavering his pencil around to and emphasize his catastrophe.

"Why would that make me feel better?" I asked. "I don't want you to feel my agony."

"Okay, okay." Mark laughed. "Jeez, I was only kidding anyways."

"I know." I said as I got back to my problem. I finished up my stupid equation before slamming my book, startling Mark, and moving on to the next chapter of my short story.

The prompt was to lengthen your most memorable dream into a short story. naturally I picked the one where I get lost in a field trying to find Mark, only to find him set up with a record player. I ended up detailing every part of the beginning I could before elaborating on the record player. it seemed to have the band playing on the spinning disk. I ended the dream with the record stopping and the world fading into black.

I sighed and smiled as I finished my last sentence in my notebook. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Mark watching me, so I turned my head slowly while he averted his eyes back to his social studies. "What?"

"What?" He asked in response, pretending I didn't just catch him watching me.

"Why were you looking at me?" I asked, rolling my eyes from my backpack so he could see before proceeding to put my homework away.

"I like seeing the concentration on your face when you write and draw." he admitted, too focused on his work to properly make eye contact.

"Pft, okay." I said sarcastically. "Not much good to see anyways."

Even though I had been sure to mumble the last remark I let escape quietly, I heard Mark grumble in frustration.

"Don't say stuff like that." he concluded after finishing his next sentence.

"Why?" I challenged, feeling irritated already today.

"Because I don't like hearing someone deny their beauty." He scolded. I glared at him before getting up with my back pack and starting to leave.

"Dude," he said, jumping from the position he was laying in on his bed. "Where are you going?"

"Home." I informed him as I exited the room with him trailing behind me.

"Why?" He asked desperately as he grabbed his coat.

"I already told you I don't like you lying to me." I told him as I made my way quickly down the stairs.

As I reached the door and started to open it, he lodged himself between me and the door. "I'm not lying though."

"Mae," he started, sighing and seeming to have words caught in his throat. "You are beautiful."

I rolled my eyes and pushed him out of my way, leaving through his back door. Suddenly, Mark was in front if me again, putting his hands on my shoulders to keep me from going. "Mae! Just stop!"

"Why?! Why Mark? Why? What's the point of stopping when there was no where to go anyways?" I said, shaking a bit from the anger that I has built up about myself being released. "Why do you even hangout with me anymore?! Your the popular handsome one that shouldn't be even looking at the stupid emo girl next door!"

"Really, Mae?" he asked, frustrated. he but his lip in anger, with almost enough force to draw blood. He let go of my shoulders and ran a hand through his hair while the other stayed on his hip. "It's because your my absolute best friend and id rather have a beautiful, intelligent, creative girl like you over anything else I have!"

"Okay. Yeah. Me too." I said after a second of breathing deeply and letting my breath form their own clouds around my face while looking at Mark. I started to feel the cold on me and I shivered a bit under my skin, not wanting to show it.

"Please, just come back in my house and we'll spend the weekend together as planned." he pleaded gently, putting an arm around my shoulders and waiting for an answer. I nodded my head yes and walked with him back into his house.