Pause

by CJ Adler

  Slap!

  I watch as his head whips to the side from the impact.

  “Did you just slap me on the face?!” He hisses at me in shock, bewildered.

  I nod. “Actually, I punched you, but let's just go with slapped. I thought it would calm you down.”

  “How would that calm me down?!” he yells, cradling his red cheek.

  I shrug innocently. “Well, did it work?” I ask, curious about how successful my technique is.

  “No!” he shouts accusingly, unimpressed by my creative methods.

  I lift my fist to his face again. “Well, then let me try a second time—”

  His hand clasps around my own. “Don't try again, you hooligan!” he shouts yet again before lowering my hand back down to my lap.

  “I thought you were going to genuinely help me, not resort to physical abuse. I don't need toughening up, I need a friend,” he lectures me. “And seeing as I'm 'cliqueless', according to you anyway, I'm kind of lacking in the friend department.”

  I sigh, feeling for him. “Max, it's not your fault that your mom and dad are splitting. What's happening is between them. Telling your dad was the right thing to do.”

  He protests. “But—”

  “Max…” I cut him off. “It's not your fault. If you want to take one thing from what I've just said, take that.”

  He nods, shooting me a fleeting smile as he finally accepts it.

  “Hey Maxi, you want a drink?” I ask as I hop off the couch and drag him along after me into the kitchen. I hand him a can before he can argue. “And now for something that cheers up everyone…” I trail off in excitement before placing a bendy straw in his drink.

  He raises both eyebrows before bursting out in laughter. “A bendy straw?”

  I nod enthusiastically at his question. “I made Jay buy packets of them. Bendy straws are the bestest thing ever since the Mars landing!”

  “What Mars landing?” he asks, scrunching up his nose as if puzzled. “Exactly!”

  Max merely laughs at me before a taking a sip of his drink through his awesome bendy straw. “You're such a child at heart, Aqueela,” he swallows, “and that's a good trait to have.”

  “What's going on down here?”

  I glance up to see Jay fully dressed after having finally finished in his beloved shower. His hair is now wet and spiky, darker in color and completely disheveled. Absentmindedly, I watch in fascination as water droplets run slowly down the tops of his hair and down the sides of his face.

  “Hello?” Jay snaps his fingers in front of my face as if to capture my attention, the color of his eyes reminding me of an ocean. “Anything in there?” he questions as he knocks on my skull repeatedly, making out as if it's hollow inside.

  “No,” I answer stupidly. Honestly, I forgot what he asked. He distracted me. I motion to Max with my head. “Guess who came to pay us a little visit.”

  Max, having noticed me staring, waggles his eyebrows suggestively before his gaze flickers to Jay as if to imply something, all the while he's loudly slurping on his soda out of the rainbow, bendy straw like some obnoxious caveman.

  I narrow my eyes at him to get him to stop taunting me.

  Jay glances Max's way with a friendly smile. “Hey man. Long time.”

  “Too long.” Max grins, agreeing with Jay.

  “I missed having dumb and dumber around,” Jay jokes, messing with us.

  “Hey!” Max and I both raise our voices simultaneously, feigning offense as we both place our hands over our hearts at the same time. It would seem planned to the untrained eye but that's only because Max and I function on the same brainwave.

  Jay scoffs at our childish fanatics. “You're both proving my point here.”

  ***

  After having made fun of Jay for being hostile and Max for crushing on Bell, the two bonded over the idea of throwing me into the fishpond below Oog's house…before actually doing it.

  “I will make you two rue the day you did this to me, rue it!” I yell up at the two laughing figures above me as I stand dripping wet below the tree house and beside the stinky pond, the one I now smell of. “Come down here and face me like men!” I shout, waving my fist in the air.

  They had playfully tackled me to the floor before taking me outside and throwing me into the pond, continuing on with their evil plot. They saw the fire behind my eyes as soon as I surfaced the muddy water. They made a jump for Oog's tree in order to escape my wrath.

  Unfortunately, Oog's not here to kick them out, something about bailing Gland out of prison. Beats me. When it comes to Oog, not knowing is better than knowing.

  I should be up there by now, tearing them both limb from limb, but they've taken the ladder up with them, leaving me with no way to get up.

  “I will avenge me!” I raise my voice at them. “In fact, I'm going to mess up your room, Jay. Maybe I'll get my hands on your new leather jacket and dye it pink all over again!” I threaten.

  “Pshaw,” Max scoffs, uncaring.

  “And you!” I point an accusing finger at Max in warning. “You…you…” I trail off in wonder. “Okay, so I got nothing on you, but you will pay too when I come up with something!”

  “Don't you dare, Aqueela!” Jay shouts out in anger, his laughter having suddenly faded.

  “Watch me! Game on!” I call back as I head for the entrance of my house.

  I happen to glance back, only to see Max scramble down the ladder, slowly gaining on me. Jay gets impatient and jumps down the tree, landing on the floor like a skilled spy. My mouth falls agape in fear as he gets back to his feet, straightening up, uninjured due to his perfect and precise landing.

  I scream and take off running.

  “Shut the hell up!” the cranky neighbor snaps at me, reprimanding us for the increasing noise levels.

  “No, you shut up!” I shout back, ignoring his demands as I continue screaming at the top of my lungs.

  Furious, he takes off his boot before chucking it my way. It's too bad his timing and aim are all off. I dodge the object easily, more than I can say for Oog. It's a pity he decided to return home now of all times, the boot hitting him straight in the forehead, knocking him unconscious to the floor.

  “Oog!” I yell in concern, still very aware of the chase going on.

  Gland's eyes flare up in hatred. “Oh, you did not just hit my boy, Oog, in the head, you old sandbag!”

  The old man's eyes widen as he begins running in the opposite direction, sensing the threat. At this rate, Gland's going to be revisiting his cell very soon.

  “Mercy! Mercy!” the old man yells just as Gland tackles him to the floor.

  “Leave no man behind!” I yell in a warrior tone before taking hold of one of Oog's limbs, fiercely dragging him after me, saving him from the chaotic war at hand.

  I reach the house, quickly turning the doorknob and entering with Oog. I don't bother locking the door after me, knowing that Jay will overpower me and catch me. I won't make it in time, especially not with the extra weight. With that thought racing through my brain, I sprint upstairs and head straight for Jay's room, blocking out the sound of Oog's head knocking against each step. He'll wake up with a headache but, hey, he'll live through it…I hope.

  We make it into the room. Just as I'm about to shut the door, a foot wedges it's way in, pushing the door wide open.

  I watch in terror as Jay steps forward with a menacing grin on his face.

  “Game over.”

  Chapter 28

  Retract the Claws!

  “Now, now, Jaybird, let's be rational about this.” I pause in thought. “See what I did there, Jay and bird, Jaybird, because they actually exist and...” I trail off in laughter, finding myself to be absolutely hilarious.

  However, I look up to see that Jay is most definitely not finding any of this funny. I frown. “You know, some people, such as myself, cause happiness wherever they go, but then you get people that cause happiness whenever they go. You fall in the latter category,
Jaybird.”

  Still, he doesn't crack a smile. Insulting him probably isn't the way to go.

  “Look, Aqueela, technically you're off the hook because you haven't actually done anything yet. If you just get out of my room now, then we're good and I'll call all of this off,” he says, taking a step backward, unblocking the path to the exit of his room.

  I eye the exit, knowing he'll let me go, but where's the fun in that?

  From the corner of my eye, I see the tuft of greasy, ginger hair—Oog is still unconscious. I can't let him suffer in vain. Something must come out of this, in honor of Oog's death. With that thought in mind, I cross Jay's room in the blink of an eye and take hold of his leather jacket. In a flash, I'm downstairs, leaving Oog to rest in peace and leaving Jay to register that I didn't take his bait. In fact, I'm going against what he asked, as per usual. My actions are predictable seeing as Jay is hot on my heels.

  I make it into the kitchen and quickly open the fridge, taking out all my

  liquid options. Jay catches up and stops short when he sees his new leather jacket dangling from my hands in a threatening manner as I motion to all the liquids I could accidentally on purpose mess.

  “Come any closer and I won't hesitate to murder your jacket!” I hiss, manipulating him in the process.

  “Aqueela, let's think about this,” he reasons, our roles reversed as he tries to talk me out of it, “don't be irrational.”

  “Please, Jay, don't insult my intelligence, when do I think about anything ever?!” I snap before breathing out calmly. “Now, do you want to try that again?”

  Jay steps forward, my eyes widening at the threat fast approaching. I unfasten the cap of the soda and hold the open bottle over his jacket. “Don't you dare come any closer. Stay put!” I demand as he stops moving, holding his hands up in a surrendering motion.

  I'm distracted for a brief moment when Max walks in, out of breath. He glances up to see the sight before him. “Do I want to know?” he asks when seeing the wicked grin on my face.

  “I'll beat him to a pulp with my bare hands,” I warn Max. “I'll pummel him, pulverize him. Hey! What do you think you're doing?! Don't come any closer. I'm warning you, Max!” I shout at him as he edges closer toward me in a daring manner.

  Jay merely scoffs, not buying my threats.

  “That's it!” I panic, accidentally spilling the milk and soda all over the jacket, completely drowning it.

  Jay's eyes move off of me and onto his jacket. “You're dead, Aqueela,” he retorts calmly before, unexpectedly, leaping forward to get to me.

  I just lost any sort of leverage that I had. Now there is nothing keeping the boys at bay. “Mercy! Mercy!” I start screaming, mimicking the cries of the old sandbag, as I run back upstairs and head for Jay's room.

  Unfortunately, Oog has awakened. Just as I try to lock the door to Jay's room, Oog shoves me out of the way, wasting my time. He's in search of Gland who is probably still brawling with the old man.

  “Move, Oog!” I hiss.

  I only aggravate him further as he lunges back for me, trying to bite me, his head aching. No doubt, my fault—he seems to know that too.

  “C'mon, Oog, you should be thanking me for not leaving you for dead!”

  It's moments later when Jay steps into his room.

  “Oog, help me or I'm burning down your tree house!” I call after him only for my pleas and empty threats to fall on deaf ears.

  “There's nothing saving you now,” Jay says in a taunting voice that manages to send shivers up my spine.

  I ignore him and grab one of his pillows, quickly throwing it at his face. He merely dodges it. My eyes roam his room for a brief second to find something else to throw. He takes the gap and grabs my arm before pushing me up against the wall with his body. His arms are pressed up against the wall by the side of my head, effectively caging me in between the wall and his body.

  “Get off me, you looney tune!” I shout in the most menacing voice I can possibly utter.

  He shakes his head solemnly. “I warned you and yet you still messed on my jacket. You've destroyed three of my jackets since I've met you,” he points out. “How clumsy and stupid can you possibly be?” he asks as he leans in forward, his blue eyes twinkling in irritation.

  “How can you be such a jerk?!” I retort back angrily, shooting him a deadly glower for literally putting me in this compromising position.

  “Just shut up for a second,” he mutters in a low voice as he keeps his eyes trained solely on me, sucking me into the unruly depths of his gaze.

  Before me lies an expanse of blue, an ocean where waves of curiosity hit me one after the other. I shake my head, trying to block him out before he starts to get to me.

  “Make me,” I challenge stupidly as I shove against his chest, looking for an escape.

  I'm engulfed further into his strong arms, barely noticing that my words have silenced him. He raises an eyebrow suggestively. His eyes flicker down to my lips momentarily before he searches my face for approval. If I look up at him, his currents of blue will sweep me under and I might not be able to resurface. The curiosity lingering in his eyes keeps me from swimming against the current. I suck in a deep breath as time slows. I almost allow it to happen but suddenly remember the facts—with Jay, I'll always be drowning.

  Acting on instinct, I pull away and squirm in his arms. “Not like that, you looney tune!”

  I feel his chest vibrate as he chuckles and finally releases me. He recovers quickly, flashing me a kilowatt grin, in turn.

  “Wow.”

  Jay and I both snap our heads in the direction of the voice before we see Max watching with a stupid grin plastered on his face.

  ***

  “I have got snow in places no man should have snow! I have seen the world and experienced rejection and abandonment that no man ever has. I've felt immense pain that no man should ever feel and I've—”

  “And here I thought Aqueela was the drama queen who exaggerated everything,” Jay comments, cutting Max off completely.

  We went snowboarding. When Max fell off his board into the snow, we left him behind…again.

  I nod along with Jay, agreeing, before the insult registers. I whack Jay upside the head. “Hey!”

  “Hey.” Jay grins flirtatiously, sending me a wink.

  Max comes to his own defense. “Well, what kind of friends leave their other friend out in the ice desert to die? I even began to hallucinate—”

  “Mhmm, hush now, disgusting worm,” I say, patting his hair in sympathy as if I actually care. “Seems to me,” I glance between the two, “as if you guys owe me an apology.” I remember how the two mocked me for being 'afraid'. They were both convinced that I'd back down because of the height thing.

  “Only if you admit to initially being afraid,” Jay protests.

  “No!” I scoff in denial. “I have no fear. I'm made of stone, you two said so yourselves. Was me being victor not proof enough?”

  Jay raises both eyebrows at my audacity. “You weren't even the real vic—”

  I slap my hand across his mouth to prevent him from exposing the truth to Max. If Max finds out, I will never live it down. Fortunately, Jay's phone rings and he leaves the room to take it.

  “How's things going with you and Bells?” I ask Max, quickly changing the subject.

  “Yeah well…uh…about that…” Max trails off in embarrassment. “I want to ask her out eventually but I want your blessing first—”

  “You have it!” I shout happily, clapping my hands before shaking Max by the shoulders back and forth. “You so have it!”

  “Okay, calm yourself! I think I just got whiplash,” he kids, removing my hands from his shoulders. “Retract the claws.”

  “Watch it.” I glare at him.

  Jay enters the room again, interrupting us. “Listen, Aqueela, we need to

  talk.”

  I raise an eyebrow. “Why?”

  “Excuse us, Max,” he apologizes before pulling
me to one side.

  “What is so important that you had to manhandle me?!” I huff, trying to compose myself.

  “It's about your stepmother…” he falters, “she's asking to see you.” He immediately sees my distress, having sensed this reaction from me. “Listen, Aqueela, you don't have to do anything you don't want to do. You always have a choice. I just thought you deserved to know.”

  “Jay…” I stammer, unsure, “what do you think I should do?”

  He hesitates before glancing down at me with a gentle smile that manages to calm my nerves. “It's up to you. I'll support you every step of the way,” he confirms. “If you want me to go with then I'll be with you and if you don't want to go, then I'll support you in that too. Either way, you're made of stone.”

  Yeah but even stone can crumble.

  I let out a heavy sigh before glancing up at him with determination. “I'll go,” I say, a smile lighting up his features. “But you're coming with me.”

  Chapter 29

  Are You Ready?

  “Are you ready?” Jay asks from beside me as I grab my bag.

  I look up at him with doubtful eyes, feeling vulnerable. I nod my head, lying. Inside, I'm a turmoil of nerves.

  Jay steps forward and places a hand on my shoulder in an act to comfort me. “You don't have to do this, Aqueela. We don't have to go.”

  I shake my head. “I should though.”

  He offers me a soft smile. “I'm proud of you.”

  Normally, I would be unaffected by such a simple sentence, but when those four words come tumbling from Jay's lips, my heart skips two beats.

  “I cannot believe you're blushing because I said I'm proud of you,” Jay retorts, clearly amused.

  “Shut up!” I snap, not bothering to deny it. He's too bright to fall for a lie. He simply chuckles in response. “No worries. It's so cute.”

  I glare at him, unimpressed.

  He falls silent, sensing that this is no longer a joke. “Jeez.” He sighs, frustrated. “What's gotten into you to make you so feisty all of a sudden? I was only messing with you.”