waves; byler

( iii.) watch

     mike was pissed off. everybody was becoming popular all of a sudden, and he was just that senior. his sister got more action when she was his age. mike didn't even care about sex anymore! he just wanted to be a part of something special. not like the fucking glee club or whatever like that idiotic show from when he was a kid, but half of a pair that can't go without each other. well, not like you're dependent on the other person, but that you could go without them but you don't want to. fuck feelings.

     max, on the other hand, was kinda nervous about sitting at the cool table. hopefully this meant something about her chances for the drill team, though, because will probably wouldn't have invited her if she wasn't about to become part of the dance clique. it kinda scared her to think that her life was going to change from the steady way it was for the past four years, but max was ready. well, she hoped so.

     will was glad to finally have the ginger back, as he hadn't eaten lunch with her in years. truly, he found the whole situation kind of funny, in the sense that he was accomplishing much more than he intended to when he first started high school. jane, though remaining polite, had barely spoken to max the entire lunch period. she was still kind of uneasy about their situation. jane really did miss max, but she didn't want to doom herself to a lifetime of exile, or something.

     "so, uh, are you excited for tryouts?" sarah tried to act nice towards max. it was pretty hard.

     "yeah! i mean, who wouldn't be?" max responded enthusiastically. "although, i have to admit, this is me stepping a little out of my comfort zone."

     "well, i just know you'll do great, max," will nudged her. max thanked him and turned towards the popular girls' chatter.

     at the party's table, there were now only three. dustin was gushing about his girlfriend suzie, whomst he met at a steam camp for all the highschoolers interested in engineering, while mike and lucas listened. if you asked the two listeners, they'd never admit it, but they were both jealous. how does a regular nerd get a girlfriend while a 5'10" mophead and a dark-skinned baseball player don't? once lunch was over, max jogged over to mike while linking arms with will.

     "mike!" max was having a giggling fit. "guess what will just told me?"

     "what?"

     "she's got a better chance than anybody else." will spoke monotonously.

     "no, say it funny!" max could barely contain her laughter. will let out a laugh.

     "okay, she's got a better chance than any other twiggy, overly-makeuped, uncoordinated artificial-blonde," will cackled. "it's not that funny, but i can't- i can't stop laughing."

     "okay, hahah, see you later, will!" max gave the boy a hug and walked off with mike. once will was out of earshot, max told mike, "you should sit with us for lunch tomorrow. if i make the dance team."

     "if? max, why not when? will said it himself; you've got a better chance than anybody else."

     "you don't know what happened between me and jane."

     "okay..i guess." mike was silent until he dropped the redhead off. instead of going to class, mike decided to skip. he hopped into his car and drove off to the quarry, softly singing along to the one song he played on repeat. it was a song he'd always seemed to know the words to, but he could never seem to remember why.

darlin', you gotta let me know..should i stay or should i go?

     he hopped out of his old car and slammed the door shut.