Wingmen | Redlyn

Part 6: Oh

Big Red's POV

Malaak's books are spread out on the table in my dining room, shuffled in with mine. I can tell which ones are hers because they're in perfect condition, as though they've never been opened, yet I've seen her open them in class. The lack of bends or tears on the pages amazes me. 

Currently, she's staring at her computer screen where her story is pulled up. As she explains parts of her story, I consider the possible changes that could be made, making a mental list to be ready for when she asks for them. 

"So I have the police here," she says, "but they don't seem to fit in well."

"Police don't often hang out at baby showers, unless the baby's parents are serial killers," I respond. "Maybe that's why."

"But how do I introduce them into the story otherwise? I need to get them in."

"You could just drop them altogether," I suggest. "They don't need to be in the story to make it work. Plus, sometimes it's better to keep things simple and easy to follow, rather than trying to make it more complex. Only bring characters in if they have a purpose. If you could drop them, do it. Otherwise, you'll just have to explain more to your reader."

"That makes so much sense," Malaak says.

She types a note into the Google doc, making only the dullest click on the keys. It's nothing like Ashlyn. She types strong and precise, the way she plays the piano. I always liked watching her during the winter musical rehearsals when she would dive into a song and her fingers would find the keys without a thought. The music directed her along, not her head, and she gave every ounce of herself to her songs, letting it all echo out in the room at the end of the song for her watchers to collect. 

"How do you know so much about making stories?" Malaak wonders, thawing my daze. 

"Oh, um, I read a lot as I kid," I reply. "I'm also in the school's theatre club, so I know a bit about developing characters, 'cause if we didn't have enough people, we just cut the character and gave their lines to someone else, and the play worked perfectly fine without them. Like how Ryan's parts in Stick to the Status Quo were given to Sharpay, because Rico couldn't sing well."

"Interesting. I didn't realize you were in the theatre club."

"Uh, yeah, that's, like, half my personality now.. I joined it with Ricky at first, but it actually became really fun."

"That explains why i see you hanging around EJ's cousin a lot," she figures. "I knew she was in musicals and stuff."

She only knows her as EJ's cousin. I had forgotten that other people don't know her like I do. They don't know how much of her heart she puts into her songs. They don't know that she doesn't do anything unless she's going to give her all to it. They don't know that her laugh could end a war with its melody, or that her eyes sparkle when she's sitting on top of a car, looking out at the city lights. 

But none of those things should matter. None of those things can matter. She's already asked someone else to the dance, and she doesn't see me that way at all. I need to get over this, and my frantic head can only think of one way to do that right now. 

"Hey, Malaak, are you going to the April Ball?"

She looks over from her computer screen, a slight smile on her face as she responds, "Not currently."

"Well, would you like to go with me?"

She takes a moment, her grin growing a bit more. Strangely, I don't feel near as nervous asking her now than I used to be at even the thought of asking her. I'm just not hanging on to her answer like I was before. 

"I would love you," she replies finally. 

_______________________________________

Ashlyn's POV

The A&W parking lot is nearly empty, which I guess is to be assumed at 11:02 at night. The parking block is cold as I sit down next to Big Red with my Beyond Meat burger and my root beer. Before, we used to always have a specific purpose when hanging out, but now we tend to just text each other randomly with a location in mind, and not once have either of us declined. It's nice seeing him, because whenever I do, I always leave happier than when I got there, like recharging some kind of internal battery. 

"I wish the dining room was still open," Big Red comments. "I like getting the frosted glasses."

"Plus, then there are free refills," I add. "Me, Carlos, and Seb come here for hours sometimes, and we always just keep refilling our root beers, and if you take their survey, you get a free sucker."

"Well, we'll have to come back sometime when more than just the drive-through is open."

"Absolutely."

I take out my burger and chomp down, and there's a minute of quiet while the two of us eat, before he finishes chewing.

"My study date with Malaak went well," Big Red says. 

Oh, yeah. He was seeing her today. The reminder kind of sours my smile, for reasons I don't know yet—or maybe I just don't want to accept. He's always liked Malaak, and I'm happy it's working out, but thinking about him being with her gives me a gross twist inside. I'd kinda rather he just stay here with me on this parking block, staring out at empty asphalt, knowing that there's so much opportunity for us to fill that space with just our words, because I'd certainly tell him anything he cares to hear, and he doesn't hold back from me either. 

That's great, I should say. Or maybe, I'm so happy for you. Or, She's so lucky. 

"Oh," is what comes out. 

"And we're going to the dance together," Big Red continues. 

"Oh," I say, this time, sounding even more glum. "I mean, that's fantastic." 

He looks at me skeptically, which is fair. I wouldn't believe me either. But I force myself to keep a smile, because there's no reason I shouldn't be smiling. He just scored a date with the girl of his dreams. 

"Everything okay?" he wonders. 

"Yeah, yeah," I insist. "Everything's fine."

He nods and returns his eyes ahead of him, but a frown is still etched into his expression.

"Everything okay for you?" I reflect back to him. 

"Yeah," he utters quietly. "Everything's fine."

We finish eating in silence, uncomfortable, heavy silence that I swear has the power to crush a city, but for some reason I'm still alive. He scored a date with the girl of his dreams. 

Maybe I just wish that girl were me.

A/N: Hello, lovelies! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. There's only two more left, so it's going to be fun. Anyway, I'm going to try to post those two today. Until then, have a good morning, and stay safe and stay healthy. Pomegranate is a cool fruit. Beets are a cool vegetable. If the apocalypse is upon you, may the universe treat you with kindness. Good day.