Finally my mother nodded, “Are you going to the school fest today?”
I shrugged, I hadn’t gone yesterday due to Ace and I was in no mood to go today.
“Joanna, you are the class president. Shouldn’t you be there every day?” My mom scolded.
“Mom, all are so busy that no one will even notice my absence and everything is arranged, if they need me they’ll call me.” I assured her.
“If that stupid female calls me you are dead.” She warned, “Don’t touch her.” She warned Ace and then went into the kitchen.
“Stupid female?” Ace inquired, his confidence and ego seeping back to him now that my mother had approved and wasn’t glaring at him.
“Mrs. Finn.” I answered, opening the door. “Mom doesn’t really like her.”
“Oh.”
The bike ride was pretty silent. I was enjoying the wind on my face and he was busy riding. Soon we were sitting inside a food joint.
I looked around; I had never been here before. The place wasn’t very big but seemed pretty neat. The whole place screamed homey and peaceful. There were a few people laughing and eating. It was jovial and cozy.
“I used to come here with my mother.” Ace said suddenly, his voice held no emotion.
“Does your father ever talk about her?”
“Never. It’s like he has forgotten he was ever married, he just fucks that bitch.” Ace spoke with so much malice that it made me wince.
“I am sure he remembers her, he’s just trying to move on.” I said, trying to comfort him, softly tapping his hand.
At first he froze and I lifted my hand, embarrassed. But then he smiled and joined our hands. I couldn’t stop the way my heart lifted and stomach churned.
He sighed. “That’s not true. He moved on the second that bitch came into the house.”
It was awkward hearing Sean’s mother being called bitch every time. I hadn’t known him for long and I didn’t like him much now but this was too much. “She doesn’t have a name?” I asked in a low voice.
Ace stared me. “I don’t want to burn my tongue by taking her name.”
Shit! He really hates her.
“Can I take your order?”
I turned and faced a middle aged woman smiling lovingly at us.
“Tacos and Pizza?” Ace asked and I shrugged. I loved both.
He ordered and the lady gave one last sweet smile before going.
“When are you telling me your life story?” Ace asked, turning his attention back to me.
I grinned. “You’ll have to wait and see.”
He smiled, his rare smile that made my stomach do a somersault. “I guess I can do that.”
Our food arrived pretty fast and we dug in. My concentration on the extra cheese Pizza in front of me.
Yummilicious!
“Were you wearing this at the warehouse?” I asked, suddenly curious.
He paused and shook his head, almost nervous. “I was wearing my usual black jeans and black Tee but I changed as I had to come to uh- meet your mom.”
I grinned, a full megawatt grin. “That’s so sweet.” It was hard to stop from leaning and pinching his cheeks.
“Sure. Whatever.” He stiffly said, his cheeks going light pink.
I bit my lip from commenting anymore, preventing him from further discomfort. Although my heart seemed to have floated into a dreamy world and the butterflies in my stomach seemed to be twerking.
We finished eating and he paid even after my protests. It was almost like a date, the only thing missing was that it wasn’t.
“What’s your worst fear?” He suddenly asked, walking into the opposite direction of his bike.
I thought for a second. My worst fear? Lizards? But I can manage to stay in the same room. Getting criticized? I can bear it. I thought some more. “Losing someone I really care about.” I finally answered.
His eyes furrowed and his hands went into his jeans pockets. He kicked a pebble astray. “That’s everyone’s worst fear.”
“True.” I agreed. “But that’s because we never know who we’ll lose when. Its unpredictable and humans hate it.”
We lose everything we have ever found. It’s a way of life telling us to not take anything for granted.
“It’s funny how the people that hurt you the most are the ones that swore they never would.”
I shrugged. “Yeah but no one ever said life was easy.”
“My mother had promised she would never leave me, she did. My father had promised me on my fourth birthday that he would always love me the most, he didn’t. When that bitch married my father she said in her oath that she would treat me as her own son, she never did. When I first met Sean, he promised he would be my brother, he never was. And Anastasia was the worst.” He paused as if suddenly realizing I was there and I didn’t know who this Anastasia was.
I so wanted to badly ask him who she was but I knew he wasn’t ready for it. “Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so love those who treat you right and forget the ones who don’t. No one ever said life would be easy but they promised it would be worth it.”
We were all born for a reason. Chase that fucking reason and strangle it as you feel proud and alive.
He looked at me intently with something in his eyes that I vaguely recognized as affection and confusion. I looked at him, before turning away. His stare was doing different things to me and I didn’t know if I should like them.
Eventually his lips quirked up, “Love the ones who treat you right.” He repeated and I nodded. Finally something that goes in his head. “You are weird.” He added.
I scoffed. “Me? Weird? Bitch please, I am limited edition.” I slapped my mouth realizing what I just said. It was a complete reflex; I was so used to hearing this from girls that my mind automatically connected with the mouth after hearing weird. “I am sorry; I didn’t mean to call you uh-bitch. It just kind of, sort of came out and-”
He laughed, his eyes crinkling with amusement. “It’s okay. In fact even I can use it. Many people call me weird too.”
We are all a little weird in our own little weird way. That’s what makes us different.
I sighed, “Yeah sure. Wait! No. That’s cheating, you can’t steal my dialogue. Make one for yourself.”
He thought for a few minutes, unconsciously still kicking that pebble. “How about this? We are all a little weird and life’s a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we unite with them and fall in a mutual weirdness and call it love.”
I stopped walking, my mind still trying to make sense of those weirdy words. When they finally registered in my mind, I burst out laughing. “Oh my god! Do you even know what you just said? That’s what you are going to tell when someone calls you weird?” I continued laughing, until his words froze me.
“You look beautiful when you laugh.”
My breathing hitched and then stopped altogether, his words ringing in my head like a chanted spell that had my mind bewitched. The air around us had charged noticeably.
“Yeah?” I whispered breathlessly, lost in his eyes.
Hips lips quirked up and he leaned closer. “Yeah, your eyes shine like stars shinning at night. So pretty.”
Oh my! I gulped as he leaned even more close. My eyes darted to his lips and suddenly his eyes clouded with unfathomable emotions and his mouth open, like even he couldn’t believe he had just said that. All too soon, his stance changed. His mouth closed forming into his iconic grim line, he eyes became blank and his back stiff.
I felt my breathing become normal and my heart beat reducing. What was all that about? You could have just frigging kissed me idiot.
“How about I tried being normal but I got bored? Or I tried being normal and those were the worst two minutes of my life?” Even his voice lacked the earlier joy and playfulness.
“Yeah, they are good.” I said in a small voice.
“Home?”
I nodded, not daring to spare a glance at him. Stupid me, I shouldn’t have laughed at that time. Things are weird between us now. Again.
And I didn’t like it one bit.
I sighed realizing just how attached I was getting to this bad boy whom I was tutoring. It was unhealthy and scary.
Attachments: Make us dream about things that will never come true.