by Rue Volley
“Quit it,” he muttered to me.
“Don’t tell her to shut up, dude,” the boy said as he rose up and stepped out of the booth.
Josh sighed. “I didn’t... I said ‘quit it’.”
“Same thing,” the boy said as he stood there and placed his legs apart. Josh glanced at him.
“Oh shit,” Josh muttered under his breath. I leaned around him.
“He bit me,” I said. The boy grabbed Josh’s shirt and pulled him up. I laughed.
I stood up on the seat and looked at them.
“Oh… he is a bad ass. He will kill you,” I said, as I laughed at the boy.
“Maybe with little girls, but we’ll see what he does with someone his own size.”
The boy took a swing at Josh and Josh ducked him. He didn’t flash, he just moved quickly.
I squealed, like I was watching T.V.
“Hit him in the you knows!” I yelled at Josh.
He stood up just in time for the boy to catch him on the second swing. Josh fell forward and hit his head on the table.
“Oh my god!” I yelled at the boy.
I jumped down and kicked him in the shin. The boy, “Oww’d” and stepped back.
“You are crazy,” he said to me.
“You better stop beating up my boyfriend, you ass!” I yelled at him.
I leaned over and looked at Josh. He came up and wiped blood from his lip. I glared at the boy. The boy held his hands up.
“Do what you want then!” he yelled at me. I grabbed Josh’s hand and ran out the door.
I stood there and looked down the street. I saw a flashing light. So pretty…
“Oh. My. God!” I said, as I started to run towards it.
“Holy crap,” Josh muttered as he ran after me.
He ran around the corner and I was standing in front of the rolling rink. He held his hands up.
“No,” he said.
I looked back at him and nodded then shot off towards the door and busted in, looking at all the lights blinking. I ran to the counter and looked at all the shoes on the wall. Josh ran up behind me and shook his head.
“I need a six,” I said to the girl behind the counter.
She lowered her magazine and popped her gum. I flinched. I hated bubble blowers… keep it inside. I don’t want to know what color your gum is. She stood up slowly and grabbed a pair of skates for me. She placed them on the counter in front of me. Josh grinned at her.
“I would guess that you wear a pretty big size, huh?” she asked him.
He grinned. I was bent over and stood up to look at her.
“Listen… he needs an 11. I know, because I have felt his stuff and I would guess that he needs that size.” I leaned back down and continued to lace my skates up. Josh smiled at her.
“Well… she’s right, I need an 11,” he said, as he looked down at me.
“Uh huh,” The girl said, as she grabbed a pair of skates for him and she held onto them as he tried to pull them from her hands. He leaned forward.
“I cannot put them on, if you will not let them go.”
She smiled and I stood up and looked at her.
“Knock it off, gum whore,” I said to her.
She huffed and stared a hole in me, as I rolled towards the wood floor. I almost lost my balance, but I caught myself on the railing and looked back at Josh. I waved and gave him a thumbs up. He walked to the bench and sat down. He started to put his skates on, and I yelled at him.
“Oh my god…! This is my song!” I said, as I started to wave my arms around.
“Okay! Just wait.”
Josh looked around and flashed his hands quickly, to lace his skates up fast and he stood up and rolled to me. I started to boogie… yep, boogie. Wow, okay, anyway, I lost my balance and he caught me. I laughed and looked up at him.
“Let’s roll!” I said and lunged forward.
Josh grabbed the sides of my waist and we fell backwards the first step. We both “oomff’d” when we dropped. The wood was not merciful. I laughed, although it did hurt. Josh leaned up in my ear.
“Please let me lead,” he whispered.
He pushed himself up and gripped my hand. He pulled me up and we started to make a clumsy go at blending in. Little kids whizzed past us, I think it annoyed Josh to some degree that he wasn’t just automatically amazing at this. He held onto my hand tightly and I started to remember how to skate… at least decently. I let go of his hand and started to skate way too fast. The straightaway is a breeze for me, but the corner is a whole other beast. I saw it coming, I really did. I screamed out and looked back at Josh who was adapting pretty well to the wheels he had strapped to his feet. I would guess that it had more to do with balance, and I know that his balance is impeccable.
I rolled at a crazy speed towards the corner, with no hope of turning. Josh saw the disaster coming and pushed forward, trying to catch up with me. I slammed into the corner and flipped over it. Josh grabbed at my feet and stopped me from banging my head on the floor. He held my feet in front of him and I grabbed my sides and I laughed my butt off. He lowered me down gently and I laid there catching my breath. He peeked over at me and grinned.
“You don’t know how to do this, right?” he said as he leaned on the railing.
I shook my head and started to push myself up.
“Doesn’t mean I can’t,” I said as I threw my leg over the railing and almost bit it when my skate touched the floor. He grinned and took my hand.
“Do you think that you could just let me help you?” he asked me.
I shook my head and pushed off. I started to skate really fast again, I felt like I had it conquered, when I heard him yell out behind me. I turned around and saw a girl coming, about three sizes bigger than me. I almost lost my balance, then I recovered, I gave a thumbs up to Josh and yelled out again. I glanced back and the girl was even worse at skating, than I was. I tried to get out of her way, I swear that I did. She wobbled, slamming her skates down one at a time looking as if she may drop to the floor, before she reached me.
Suddenly she was on me and in a desperate attempt to save herself and disregard the world; she lunged forward and grabbed me from the back. My skates slammed against the wood as I tried to maintain my already pathetic balance. She fell forward and I went down too. We slammed into the wood with her riding my back like a turtle shell and we skidded across the glossy wood finally coming to a stop as Josh reached us. The girl pushed herself off of me and I lay there, flat on my stomach, feeling like I had just been ran over by a truck. Josh leaned down and laughed so hard, I thought he would fall himself. I rolled over on my back and looked at the lights blinking on the ceiling. I looked up at him.
“I think I’m done,” I said to him.
He continued to laugh, as he reached his hand out to me and I took it. Josh held onto my arm as he led me back to the exit of the rink. I hit the carpet and I walked towards the bench and dropped on it, rubbed my butt and looked up at him. He sat down next to me and smiled. “Well… did you get her number by any chance?” he asked me. I laughed.
“No… I did not,” I said to him, as I pulled the first skate off and then started on the other.
He laughed as he shook his head at me.
“All I could see were your little arms and legs sticking out from under her body… it was ridiculous,” he said as he pulled both of his skates off.
“Well… I think that she should be thankful that I pressed my rubber stoppers against the wood… that’s how we stopped,” I said to him, like it was a win for me.
He grabbed his sides and laughed harder.
“Yes… that was brilliant,” he said as he stared at me.
I shrugged my shoulders and ran up to counter, stopped and rubbed my butt again. Josh watched me, smiled then jogged up next to me and slammed his skates down on the counter. The girl grinned at us.
“That was something special,” she said as she winked at him.
He grinned and I grabbed his hand and p
ulled him outside. I stood there looking around, like a kid does when they just have to get into something heinous. I looked back at him and bolted for the car.
I looked back at him and yelled, “First one there… drives!”
Josh tried not to flash, but he did kick in some speed. He blazed past me and jumped into the driver’s seat. I stopped by his window and stared at him.
“Unfair,” I said to him as I looked at his face. He actually looked happy. I tilted my head at him. “What?” he said, as he raised his eyebrows.
“You look like you are having fun, Josh,” I said as I smiled. He shrugged his shoulders at me.
“Maybe,” he said as he started up the car. I ran around to my side and jumped in.
He looked at me.
“Where to now?” he asked. I looked around.
“Let’s go to Red Woods,” I said to him. He looked out the window and then back at me.
“I don’t know about that,” he said.
I leaned over and bit his neck… I didn’t break his skin, but he hunched his shoulder and looked around, like we could get in trouble.
“Please,” I said to him.
He looked at me, as I put on my best sad face and he shook his head.
“Fine… but after that, we go back home,” he said to me as he pulled out.
I popped my shoes off and put my feet up on the dashboard. He looked over at me and grinned.
Josh pulled into Red Woods and we came to a stop. I had my eyes closed as I smelled the grass and flowers that engulfed the place. I felt his hand on my cheek and I opened up my eyes and looked over at him.
“I like you a lot,” I said to him. He smiled.
“I like you too,” he said. I grinned and jumped out of the car.
I started to flash towards the lake. He ran after me as fast as he could. I flashed past a couple, making out on a blanket, and they didn’t even look at me. I grinned and pushed forward, made it to the edge of the lake and stood there staring at it. Josh flashed up to my side and looked out over the water too. I closed my eyes and took a breath.
“God… you know I used to love to come here when I was little. I always imagined that it was like a magical place, when you are little, that’s how it is,” I said as I glanced at him.
He grinned and looked at me.
“Little did you know,” he said. I shrugged my shoulders and started to back up.
He looked back at me and held his hands up.
“What are you doing?” he asked me. I bit my lip and kept backing up.
“When I was little, Kai always beat me at skipping stones on the water,” I said.
Josh started to walk towards me.
“Okay?” he said, not really knowing what I had in mind.
He almost made it to me and I flashed forward so fast, it blew his hair around.
“What the hell, Rue?” he yelled at me.
I flashed onto the water’s surface. I tried to balance myself, as my feet bounced and skidding across the water and I turned to wave at him. I started to slow down and then I dropped into the water, with a yell. Josh flashed out and dropped down near me. My head popped above the surface and I laughed as I treaded. He swam to me and looked at me.
“Are you crazy?” he asked me.
I nodded as I smiled. I started to kick back to the shore. He followed me. I reached the shoreline and fell down on the grass. I lay there, staring at the clouds over head. Josh walked up to me and lay down next to me. I closed my eyes and then started to look at the sky again. I pointed to one that looked like a beetle, and smiled.
“Beetle,” I said. Josh looked up and spotted one that looked like a dog.
“Dog,” he said. I looked over at him and smiled. I rolled on my side and touched his hair.
He rolled over and looked at me. I stared into his eyes and then at his mouth.
“I think that you are so pretty,” I said to him. He smiled.
“Pretty? That is a thing for girls,” he said to me.
“No… you’re just pretty, your eyes, your mouth,” I said, as I touched his lips.
I felt his breath under my fingertips and I looked at him.
He was looking at me, his face looked softer than usual.
“You are pretty,” he said. I bit my lip.
“You think so, huh?” I asked him. Josh ran his hand across my cheek and touched my hair.
“Prettier than any girl I’ve ever seen,” he said, in a half whisper.
“I’ve never been called pretty, Sara has called me ‘hottie’, but I think that she was just being nice to me,” I said as I closed my eyes.
I felt his finger touch my lips. I opened my eyes as he scooted towards me.
“Well… you are an amazing creature, Rue,” he said. “Listen… I want you to know, that I only think of you.”
I stared into his eyes, wanting to search for the punch line, but I don’t think that there is one.
“Oh,” I said, as I rolled onto my back. He leaned up and looked down at me.
“Did I say something wrong?” he asked me. I shook my head.
“No… I am just waiting for you to start laughing and make a joke,” I said.
He pulled me up and we sat there looking at each other.
“I am more serious than I have ever been, Rue,” he said to me.
He touched my face and started to lean in. I closed my eyes and let him. I felt his mouth gently touch mine. It wasn’t hard, it wasn’t passionately out of control he simply kissed me and my heart stopped. I kept my eyes closed, as I felt his lips leave mine. I opened them up and he smiled at me.
“What?” I said.
“Oh nothing,” he said as he stood up and held his hand out to me.
I took it and swayed a little when I stood straight up.
“Oh crap,” I said as I held my head. He leaned in and looked at my face.
“What is it?” he asked me. I opened my eyes up and the grass blurred.
“I feel dizzy,” I said. He held my hand and headed back to the car.
“I think that your high is wearing off, Rue,” he said to me.
“The magic cookie?” I asked him as we kept walking.
“Yep… time to go home, before you crash,” he said as he scooped me up and started to walk quickly back to where we parked.
I held onto him. I know that I could have walked, if I had to but I liked leaning against him though, it felt safe to me. He reached the car and opened up the door and sat me down. I leaned back and sighed. He jumped in his side and looked at me.
“You okay?” he asked me. I shook my head.
“Yea… I just feel kind of sad,” I said, as I looked out the window.
He drove us home and I opened my own door when we stopped in front of the house. I stood there and looked at the house. I sighed again. I started to walk towards the house and he flashed up next to me.
“Still doing alright?” he asked me.
“Yea,” I said, as I stepped onto the porch.
I opened the door and walked to the couch, grabbed the remote and dropped down. I snatched a pillow and hugged it curling up in the corner. I flipped the T.V. on and started to surf. He ran into the kitchen. Theodore had mass amounts of muffins and cookies lying around. Josh looked at him.
“She is coming down. We need something to even her out.”
Josh turned when he heard me cry out. He flashed into the living room and looked at me.
I sat there clutching my pillow, staring at the television.
“What?” he asked me. I pointed at the screen and sniffled.
He leaned in and saw a girl crying on the screen, as she read a letter. He looked back at me.
“Okay,” he said as he turned back to Theodore. “Got something yet?” he asked him.
“No… I am close though,” Theodore waved his hands at him. “Go and console her Joshua.”
Josh looked back at me and rubbed his neck.
“Crap,” he said. He walked back in and I looked up
at him, with glossy eyes. He bit his lip. “What?” he asked me. I started to cry.
“She loved him and he left her, because he didn’t think that he was good enough for her and he wrote her a letter telling her how much she would always mean to him and she is pregnant and he doesn’t even know, because her father hates him and he told him that he would never make her happy and he was like, ‘yes I can’ and the dad was like, ‘no… you’re a loser’… I am paraphrasing, but you can get the idea right...? She wants to be with him, but she will lose her inheritance and her parents want her to marry this douchebag, that doesn’t love her… he just wants the money… he doesn’t love her… So now she is thinking about getting rid of the baby or giving it away, because she can’t look at the baby every day the rest of her life, seeing his face.”
Josh stood there with his mouth open. He looked towards the stairs.
“Sam?” he yelled out.
“Oh god,” I cried out, as I grabbed a tissue. Josh looked at me.
“What now?” he asked me.
“She is going to go to some crazy doctor and she will probably die now!” I said in a panic.
Josh looked at the screen reaching for the remote in my hand. I hit the top of his hand with it.
“Change the channel… there has to be something else on,” he said to me.
The girl walked into the doctor’s office on screen, and I sucked in my breath.
“Get out of there! He loves you, he does!” I screamed, as I leaned towards the T.V.
Josh blinked a couple of times and sat down next to me.
“She should just get rid of the baby and move on,” he said as he stared at the screen.
I glared at him and he looked at me.
“What?” he said. I hit him with the pillow.
“You would say that! What about our baby? You would be fine with me just getting rid of it right?” I yelled at him.
Johnathan, Sam, and Kai ran into the room and looked at us on the couch.
“Baby, what?” Johnathan said as he glared at Josh. Josh stood up with his hands out.
“No… no, no! No baby!” he said.
“What the hell, dude?” Kai asked him. Josh stood there and sighed.
“No… no baby! I will never have a baby, there is no baby. Rue is not having a baby!” he said.
I cried out and let my head fall into my pillow as the door closed on the screen, with the girl sitting on some table.