I walked in to find Frank at the table reading a magazine. On the edge of the kitchen table was a plate of food wrapped in tin foil. Without looking up from his magazine he slowly pushed the plate my direction and smiled. I picked it up exhausted. Oz was already at my feet dancing in circles.
“I’ll expect a full report tomorrow after school. Okay son?” He looked at me from behind his glasses with affection and I felt relief wash over me. He was so good at making me feel welcome, no matter what. I guess I needed that after the day I had just finished.
“Promise uncle,” I agreed and ran off to my room, with Oz following right behind me.
The meal didn’t last long between the two of us and I started to get myself ready for a shower. I took my shirt off and dragged my weary body to the bathroom for a much needed scrubbing. I turned the water on hot and let my muscles relax and tried my hardest not to think about anything that happened today. It almost worked...but the flowing water only reminded me of the rain on Asia’s smooth skin. I could almost feel her touch through the water. This was not helping. I had to focus on what was important, school, my music, and starting over. Anything but girls! I turned the faucet handle to the coldest setting I could and cleared my head.
10: 39 p.m.
Later that night I found myself still restless, as I lied in my bed in my favorite pair of old blue jeans. Oz was asleep next to my ribs and his paws would scratch at my exposed skin as he ran in his sleep. I was exhausted but could not fall asleep. That was one of the side effects of letting my power out. It would keep me going like caffeine. So I reached over and picked up my guitar and played for a few minutes. The thunder rumbled outside my window and my thoughts fell under her spell again. So I sat the guitar down and turned out my bedroom light, angry with my lack of will power.
“She’s just a girl,” I tried to convince myself. Then from my window came a tapping. I woke from my daze and fumbled over my bed to reach the window and just like that...she was there.
Asia was standing outside my window with her hands gently pressed up against the glass. Her breath softly filled it up with a delicate fog and lightning flashed far away. Quietly I opened the window, being extra careful not to startle Oz or wake my uncle. The breeze swept inside my room like a serpent and the chill made my skin stand up at attention. Her eyes filled with the light from the moon and seemed to glow even bluer now. Little curls of neon yellow danced off the highlights in her hair and it softly swayed around her shoulders. She looked like a dream.
I waited patiently for her to say something but she didn’t. She only stared at me closely, first my face and then my chest. I was confused but growing excited when our eyes locked into another stand off. Her haunting face seemed happy to see me and a little smile curled at the side of her mouth. She slowly bit her bottom lip and lightning flashed across the horizon but it made no sound. I started to smile and she leaned in quickly and pressed her lips into mine. I froze for an instant until my instincts took over and my lips followed her lead. Slowly and completely her kiss devastated me. I was now lost in a dizzying smell of cherry blossoms.
The kiss was electric and her full lips tasted like rain. I knew that sounded crazy but they did. Everything was in slow motion and my insides felt hot as my power filled every pore I had. The kiss couldn’t have lasted for more then ten seconds but it felt like ten minutes. I couldn’t breathe and I thought that my heart might burst from my chest. I was in ecstasy.
As we pulled apart the thunder shook my room from above us and the rain started to fall slowly. Big fat drops fell against my skin and my head felt dizzy. That’s when I realized that Asia was smiling and her face looked radiant. The new rain drops peeked out from her hair like stars and my hands started to steam a little bit.
“Thank you Max...” her eyes sparkled with tears. “Thank you for saving me.” And with a toss of her hair, she was gone. She ran toward her Jeep that she had parked down the street. The rain began to pour, making it hard to see but I watched her until the tail lights from her truck vanished in the dark. As I closed the window I could still taste her lips. Her hand prints were still smeared along the glass, gently fading away. I fell backwards on my bed with my mind racing.
“Uh oh...” I said to myself. My pulse was still racing.
“I am in trouble,” I warned as the truth set in. Asia Lyn Michaels had just carved her initials into my essence. I could feel the fire call to her…for her. There was only one thing to do. So I jumped from my bed, grabbed my still damp towel, raced to the shower and turned the water to the coldest possible setting.
I didn’t sleep much that night. I spent most of it tossing and turning on my bed. When I finally fell into my dreams, there were no nightmares to live. No screaming, no fire, no little sister. Only the rain and Asia’s soft kiss.
Crush_09
~# 1 Crush: Garbage~
Tuesday morning – 7:59 a.m. – August 15th.
Kai was running late to pick me up, of course, so I had a few minutes to kill. That’s when I remembered the note Frank had handed me the day before. I ran to my room and dug the jeans out of the dirty laundry pile, by my closet. I turned out every pocket but found nothing. There was no note, not even pocket lint. I checked the rest of the pile of clothes. Nothing. Did Frank find it while I was asleep? Did it fall out of my jeans on my tour of the island last night? Oh well, I’m sure Frank will remember what it said. He was awfully upset about it. Or was he just not a fan of mysteriously stunning girls in little black Jeeps?
I could have spent the rest of the morning pondering this. It seems my mind was still racing from the night before when Kai pulled up and honked his car horn. BEEP! BEEP!
“Lets roll Max,” he called from the car. “Come on rock star! Let’s do this!”
I laughed as I ran out the door, stopping only to give little Oz a pat on the head. I tossed my guitar and school bag in the back seat and jumped in.
Algebra II – 9:05 a.m.
“So I was thinking…maybe we should consider playing the ‘Lolo Bash’ beach party this weekend?” Kai asked.
“First off…we haven’t even had a practice yet. Hell…I haven’t even met the rest of the band yet and second…the “Lolo what?” I found his positive attitude infectious but insane.
“If we put in some hours practicing after school, I’m sure we could be ready in time. I mean, you saw how quickly we clicked yesterday morning.” His smile was huge.
“Don’t take this the wrong way Kai, but you’re out of your mind,” I teased.
“But the ‘Lolo Bash’ is the biggest party of the year. It could be amazing,” he squealed as his eyes stared off into space.
“Relax.” I patted him on the back. “We will be amazing one day, trust me.”
“You’re right…” he conceded. “…But we have to make an appearance. Everyone will be there.”
“Okay,” I said not excited at all. I’m not a huge fan of parties and an even lesser fan of drinking but I didn’t want to bring him down any more than I already had. His giant smile returned and I was beginning to realize that I was so lucky to have found such a good person so quickly. I’d known him for only a little over a day and it already felt like we had been friends for years. I hoped I’d never lose that.
Biology – 9:45 a.m.
As I sat down next to Sam I could tell that something was wrong. Her eyes were big and nervous to see me. She must have heard about the altercation between Devon and I. And I thought I’d be the one nervous to see her after yesterday. It was hard to be nervous around her. She made me feel so comfortable.
“Morning Sam,” I said quietly, trying to feel out her expression. She smiled up at me nervously and continued sitting there silent. She must be extremely upset with me about yesterday.
“You okay?” I asked.
“Fine,” she said. When I tried to find her eyes they trailed away from me with disappointment. Now I was completely baffled. Ms. Snyder watched us closely with an inquisitive grin and the final b
ell rang, signally the start of the class. Without a warning, Sam exploded with guilt.
“Max I’m sorry…” she inhaled a long deep breath. “I should have told you about Devon. You know…him and I…our history.” She was twisting her pen in her hands.
“I mean there is no more him and I…not now…not again.” She was ranting in one long monologue at barely a whisper. I just sat back and held on.
“That’s why I wrote that note for you…” Holy crap…the missing note was from her.
“I just wanted to apologize for not speaking up sooner,” she continued but now I was lost in my own guilty thoughts. I can’t believe I had already lost that note. This also probably meant that she hadn’t heard about the ruckus after school yesterday. That was hard to believe, as small as the school was. Gossip has a magical way of spreading through school hallways at the speed of light.
“Max…please don’t ignore me. I feel bad enough already,” she interrupted. I couldn’t believe she was beating herself up for nothing. She didn’t owe me an apology for anything. She didn’t belong to me and I was not her property either.
“It’s okay...there is nothing to apologize for.” I smiled and I realized what a good and sweet person was beside me.
“Now stop being silly and let me copy off of you today…because I was totally lying yesterday…” I teased and a smile filled her face again. “I suck at science,” I joked. We both laughed and attracted the grumpy glare of the teacher.
“So you got my letter?” her voice was warm. I shifted anxiously in my chair.
“Um, yes,” I lied.
Computers – 12:01 p.m.
There was a half hour left in fourth period when my stomach started to knot up with tension. Sam spent the class right next to me, avoiding Devon’s stares, which were often. Kai spent it between Devon and I, trying his best to prevent another incident. It wasn’t working too well, because every chance Devon had to get a rise out of me, he did. I had the strangest feeling that this was how my semester was going to be. Everyday.
“Just ignore him,” Kai whispered in my ear when Sam wasn’t paying attention. Devon smiled from across the room at me. A smarmy, used car salesman smile.
“I’m trying,” I grumbled. Actually, I wasn’t in the least bit trying to ignore him. I almost wanted the attention but I wasn’t sure why. I needed him to be the bad guy, so that I was the good guy…I guess. Either way, this would make for a long and trying school year. I looked at Sam as she ran her long blonde hair behind her ear, exposing the lines of her neck again and I thought.
“That would be fine with me…” I didn’t mean to say it out loud, but I did and Kai looked up at me like I was half crazy.
“What?” he asked.
“Nothing,” I groaned. Sam winked at me as if she knew exactly what I had been pondering and I cleared my throat nervously. A few minutes later the bell rang and we gathered our stuff and headed for the door. Devon watched my every move as we did and Sam noticed his disturbing stare. She shot him a disapproving look as we passed through the door and into the hall. That made me smile…big.
Lunch – 12:35 p.m.
Kai had the notion that lunch would be the perfect time to work on our set list. He told me that the rest of the band would meet us at the table under the tree, where we ate the day before. As we approached the bench at the back of the court yard, I could only see one kid waiting on us.
He was short and skinny, with a small red Mohawk stitched down the middle of his head. He looked unsure as we walked up to him. His big brown eyes focused on my every step. In his right hand was an old beat up, acoustic guitar. The paint and finish were worn and it was covered in stickers, mostly of different band names and according to his decorations, we had the same taste in music. That made me feel at ease. Kai ran up to him, spinning his drumsticks in his hands.
“Noggin bro!” Kai called out for all to hear and the two proceeded to bump foreheads with a dull clunk. The sound of their heads colliding together made me smile and made Sam roll her eyes.
“I’m glad to see you back friend,” Kai said. “What took you so long?”
“My family and I kind of got stuck in Australia over the summer. Just got in late last night,” the boy said with a pleasant temper.
“Better late than never!” Kai sang and turned his attention to Sam. “You remember Sam don’t ya?” he asked.
“Of course.” He and she exchanged a soft glance. It was obvious that they were familiar with each other, but no where near as close as Kai and her.
“And this must be the infamous Mad Max.” His voice was cheerful but cautious. I cringed at the fact that my old nickname had officially caught on. Sam seemed to be the only one who noticed my discomfort.
“Marcus Allen, I’d like you to meet are savior and future chic magnet…Max Valentine.” Kai slowly bowed as if we were in a cheesy kung fu movie. “Or as the locals have come to know him…Mad Max.”
“Please to make your acquaintance,” Marcus said extending his hand. I shook it firmly.
“Pleasures all mine Marcus.” I was trying my best not to blush and forget about that stupid name. I was noticeably uncomfortable now and Sam stepped in and made it worse.
“It hasn’t even been two days and you have a nickname already,” she teased. “Oh sorry, I meant Mad Max.” She laughed out loud and Marcus and Kai followed her lead. I loved the sound her voice made when she did, so I held my building frustrations in and didn’t let myself get annoyed too much.
“Yeah…I guess,” I said.
“You should be proud Max…you earned it,” Kai shrugged with a laugh. Sam looked at me confused.
“No…I didn’t.” I tried to correct him but it was too late.
“You are way too modest.” Marcus added. “The way you stood up to Devon and his cronies yesterday…awesome,” he gushed and I felt Sam’s stare on me.
“Five against one! Man you’ve got some big balls dude!” he continued in awe. The green flecks in Sam’s eyes only seemed to brighten with her disapproval and to add smoke to the fire, Marcus wouldn’t shut up.
“And Lucy…man was she lucky you were there to help her.” He shook my hand again with more conviction this time. “You sir, have my respect.”
Kai had finally noticed the anger on Sam’s face and tried his best to get Marcus to stop talking, from behind her, with hand gestures. It was in vain though. My right hand found the back of my neck as Sam stepped closer to me.
“Hey Marcus,” Kai called to him.
“What man?”
“What’s the first rule of fight club?” Kai asked as he motioned with his fingers to zip his lips. Instantly, Marcus understood that things might not be as cheery as he had thought.
“There is no fight club!” Sam snapped and pulled me away by my hand. The wonder twins looked at each other and sat down quickly on the bench. They both started playing the first song they could think of and pretended they didn’t see us.
“All right Max…spill it,” she demanded. Her face looked more serious then I had ever seen her. I wouldn’t say she was furious, but close to it. I took a breath and looked around the court yard to find Devon and the horsemen watching with smiles. He sat with his arms crossed and an alligator smile.
Sam put her hand on my cheek and pulled my wandering eyes back to hers and I could feel them burning right through mine. In the distance a storm was approaching, with its cool winds already flowing into the lunch area. It felt good against my body which had begun to warm slightly.
“Lucy Zhang stopped me to talk…” I started slowly and her face changed to a questioning glare. “And Devon decided to make his presence known.” I was praying that I had said enough. The last thing I wanted to do now was go into details.
“And?” she asked direct but not pushy.
“And nothing happened. Lucy had her feelings hurt a little…” I paused. “Devon made his feelings clear about how he felt about our new friendship.” I was so convincing that I almost believed m
y half truths. Her eyes searched mine for a moment then turned and found Devon watching us. She let a gasp of tense air out and turned back to me.
“Okay…” She smiled as she found my hands with hers. “Friends,” she said with a strange little smile. It made me feel like this conversation was far from over. Then, out of the blue thunder rumbled around us. It seemed to take most of the students by surprise, as they all shuffled and chatted nervously. Some with there eyes toward the sky.
At that moment, the smell of cherry blossoms filled the air, triggering my hands to pop with heat. Sam felt this too and I pulled my hands away and shoved them in my back pockets. Her eyes looked on in surprise but I wasn’t sure if it was from the sudden rush of heat that she had felt or my reaction to that burst. The breeze picked up and the smell faded lightly and for a second my hands cooled.
A hush seemed to sweep through the crowd as if the whole student body had simultaneously choked on their lunches. My mind wouldn’t let me understand at first, I was still busy trying to shake that familiar scent from my nose. Not when the crowd fell silent. Not even when Kai and Marcus stopped playing their instruments. They sat motionless with their mouths open, staring directly behind me. Only when Sam took a step backwards and that smell returned with a vengeance, did I let myself understand.
I turned around slowly and found Asia not more than twenty yards away, strutting toward us. And I do mean strut. She was in a thin black and white summer dress that accented every curve she flaunted. She seemed to move in slow motion and in unison with my heart beat. Her walk was primal and she was completely aware of the attention she was commanding. Her eyes locked onto mine and I could feel time slipping away again. It only took a moment for her to reach me and notice I was frozen again. She seemed to enjoy that.
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