“Cody leave him alone,” I said angry. Not only because I used to be good friends with Brent but because I hated Cody and couldn’t believe he couldn’t distinguish a Star Wars fan and a Star Trek fan.
“You joining all the losers now, Kirk?” he grinned cruelly.
“No, I actually just left them,” I replied. It took him a minute to get it and when he did, he scowled.
“You never fit in with us, you’re where you belong now,” he spat.
“Finally, something we can agree on,” I nodded, my eyes piercing his. Cody muttered something under his breath and walked away annoyed.
“So, you really are back to being the old you,” Brent said in shock.
“Yeah, the rumors are true this time,” I told him, moving closer. He actually smiled at me, a first in years.
“Good. You turned into a real dick for awhile,” he said honestly, making me laugh.
“Yeah, I did. Sorry about that.” I apologized genuinely. I felt horrible about ruining our friendship.
“It’s okay, I’m just happy you’ve left the dark side,” he joked, making me laugh. After that, Brent stopped avoiding me or looking through me and actually began to talk to me again, it wasn’t quite like it had been but it was a good start.
Michaela
It was finally graduation day! Dad had flown back to be here for it and I was so happy to have him there, he had even driven to Gran’s and picked her up so that she could be there too. They sat together, watching me with big proud smiles on their faces, the Kirks seated with them. Alyssa sat a few aisles away with Reggie and Paix, none of whom looked too thrilled when they called my name, only Paix bothered to clap. I smiled back at the people who cared about me as I walked off the stage, diploma in hand. I suddenly felt a lot lighter and more accomplished. I’d done it, I’d officially graduated high school, now all we had was prom and then I was done and moving to Paris. All the pieces were coming together, one at a time.
“Congratulations!” everyone shouted at James and I when we came to meet them at the end.
“Thanks.” I smiled happily. I felt so relieved to have this off my shoulders, one less thing to do.
“Ice cream?” dad asked me with a knowing smile.
“Yes!” I exclaimed. Who didn’t want to celebrate with ice cream? We all went to the ice cream parlour together, everyone in a good mood and smiling.
“Are you excited for prom?” June asked me, I had a feeling she was more excited than me. She was doing my hair and makeup and helping me get ready and couldn’t wait.
“Yes!” I gushed, ready for it and wishing it was here, instead of two days away.
“How could you not be with a dress like that!” Gran exclaimed. I’d brought the dress on one of my sleep overs to show her and she agreed it was perfect and couldn’t wait to get pictures of James and I. She especially loved the fact that it was a wedding dress.
“I can’t wait to see you in this dress I keep hearing about.” James smiled lovingly at me.
“Me too,” dad chimed in.
“You’ll still be here?” I asked him, hopeful.
“Of course, honey. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” He smiled and I felt so happy to hear this. I was even more excited for prom now. I never wore dresses so I wondered what he and James would think.
It was finally prom. June came over in the afternoon to help me get ready in my room, while Reggie, Alyssa, and Paix, all worked to get Gert ready. Dad stayed in his office while we all worked on beautifying ourselves. June had decided to do my hair in an updo, to show off the open back of my dress, I trusted her to work her magic, knowing she could do far better than me. And boy, did she impress me, I hadn’t quite known what my hair would end up looking like but it was better than I had ever expected.
“Oh my God, June!” I marvelled, “This looks amazing! How did you do this?” I asked in shock as I looked at my hair that was twisted in waves and braided into a sort of messy bun at the base of my neck, while wisps of wavy hair framed my face.
“Lots of research and some practice,” she laughed.
“Well, you out did yourself,” I told her honestly.
“Thanks! You look great, lets just add a little makeup,” she said, taking out her large palette. I never wore makeup, so I didn’t have a clue what she was doing or what she was going on about as she tried to explain, I just nodded and smiled going along with it. It felt fun to get dressed up and be pampered like this, it made me wish I had sisters who liked me and I could do this with too, I was so thankful I had June back in my life.
“Put on the dress and then look in the mirror, I want you to get the full effect,” she ordered, not letting me peek in the mirror to see what she had done with my face. My face felt slightly heavier but not much. I was so curious what she’d done, after applying all sorts of products. I did as she asked and took my hanging dress off the hook and slipped into the silky-smooth material. Once in my dress, June passed me a pair of dangly earring to put on and then turned me to look in the mirror. I didn’t recognize the person I saw staring at me, she looked older, much more elegant and beautiful. She looked a lot like my mom. I felt my eyes began to water and fought the tears.
“Don’t cry! I just finished your makeup!” June ordered, smiling widely. “You look incredible, Mick,” she gushed.
“Thank you so much, June!” I said, squeezing her in a tight hug.
“Anytime, I had a blast girl!” she said and I knew she meant it. June headed back to her house to get James and the family. I walked out of my room, bringing only a small clutch June had lent me, that contained my phone, some gum and a lipstick for me to reapply during the night, as June explained would most likely be necessary. I went down the stairs to wait for James. Gert, Reggie, Paix and Alyssa all came down as well, to send off Gert, who was leaving in a limo. James was taking us in his car and that was perfect to me. Gert wore a shiny light blue dress that matched her eyes, it hugged her entire body and had cut-outs on her ribs, it was very daring and very her. Her hair was down but wasn’t straight as it usually was, she had it cascading in loose waves and her makeup was dark and smoky, making her look fierce. She looked beautiful. The girls all eyed me up and down, as if not recognizing me.
“You look beautiful Gert,” I told her, speaking first.
“Thanks, you too,” she acknowledged, surprising me. We hadn’t really interacted at all since I got back from Spring Break and we had our little argument. She had been doing a good job of avoiding me and had even stopped bothering me so much. I don’t know if it was because of what I said or if it was because our time together was coming to an end, but I was thankful.
“Thank you,” I said, meaning it. Dad came down, his eyes tearing up as he took me in.
“You look beautiful Honey,” he said looking at me, “You both do,” he added to Gert but didn’t take his eyes off me. “You look just like your mother,” he said, making me want to tear up as well, she had been beautiful and I had always wished I looked more like her. I took this as the highest of compliments.
“Thanks dad,” I said, feeling all emotional. A car horn honked breaking us from the moment.
“That’s my ride,” Gert announced.
“Let’s just get a picture,” Alyssa said, pulling out her phone. Gert smiled and posed by the door and then the girls all followed her out. I had kind of wanted to get one of us together but didn’t say anything as they went out, just happy none of her friends in the limo came into the house. Gert was going with Cody to the prom, I found it very fitting because they were the two most annoying people in our grade. Once Gert had left, Reggie, Paix, and Alyssa came back in but didn’t bother waiting around for me to leave, they all fled in different directions.
“Have fun tonight, you look really nice,” Paix said sweetly and part of me was actually going to miss her, she was the least of all the evils.
“Thanks Paix.” I smiled as she headed to her room. James knocked on the door and dad opened it, letting him, Ju
ne, Mr. and Mrs. Kirk all in. I watched James and his expression as he took me in. His eyes widened and mouth dropped but no words came out, he was utterly speechless which was just the reaction I was going for.
“Mickey! You look wonderful, my dear!” Mrs. Kirk cried out.
“You look lovely,” Mr. Kirk added, smiling as well. Only James remained silent, frozen in his place.
“James, doesn’t she just look stunning?” Mrs. Kirk asked, when he continued to remain silent.
“Y-yes, yes she does,” he stuttered out, “You look incredibly beautiful,” he got out finally, his eyes still locked on me. I smiled even wider under his mesmerized gaze.
“Let’s get some pictures of the two of you together,” dad said, excited.
“Yes, we must!” James’s mom agreed. James came to me and stood beside me, taking my hand in his as camera flashes went off.
“James, look at me!” his mom ordered and I turned my head to find him looking down at me smiling, I smiled back at him and then looked back at our parents and their trigger happy fingers.
“Perfect,” his mom announced. After they had gotten ones of just James and I, they decided they needed family photos and we took pictures for another fifteen minutes, until they were all satisfied.
“Are we allowed to go now?” James asked our parents, who seemed content to take pictures all night.
“Yes, you two may go now,” his mom sighed, smiling all the while.
“Have fun!” June shouted out. I hugged dad good-bye and took James’s hand.
“You make sure she has a good night,” dad told James.
“Yes sir.” James nodded as dad patted him on the back and we left hand in hand to his car. We waved to his family as we drove away, all of them smiling and waving us off.
“You look so beautiful Michaela,” James told me, holding my hand as he drove, his eyes continuing to sneak glances at me.
“Thank you.” I blushed from his loving words and the way he kept looking at me.
“I can’t wait to take you to our room tonight and have you alone to myself,” he divulged, making my body heat with shared desire.
We drove to the hotel where our prom was being held, it was a fancy hotel and the prom was decorated beautifully. I found Tara and Lloyd right away, with Emily and her date Steve and Derek, who was flying solo. They all looked wonderful, everyone did. It was nice to see everyone all dressed up and this side of them.
“You look incredible!” both Em and Tara said, rushing up to me.
“You guys too!” I told them.
“You look really beautiful, Mike.” Derek smiled down at me.
“Thanks,” I said, as James’s arm went a little tighter around my waist.
“Let’s go get some punch,” James said, not leaving me alone for a second. I smiled inwardly and followed as he led me, not letting go of my hand, in fear of losing it. We sipped our punch and I was thankful that no one had spiked it, yet. We made our way back to my friends and then all went to take pictures together. Gert and her friends were ahead of us and holding up the line. They all looked beautiful of course, but their styles were all similar and more on the risky side. I smiled at Tiffany, in a bright pink halter dress that was tight and ended above her knee.
“You look really good,” she complimented as her group passed us, giving me a smile and thumbs up. All her friends, looked shocked, hell, so did mine.
“You too.” I nodded. No one had ever seen us interact pleasantly and this was a first, as far as they knew.
“That was weird,” James whispered to me.
“No, not really. We’re kind of friends, I think,” I told him, just making him look more confused. We all posed and then took pictures, some with funny faces, some with smiles, some of each, capturing this moment as much as possible. It was sad to think tonight was the last time I was going to see many of the people I’d spent the past almost seven years with. I was going to miss them, some more than others. Prom ended up being more fun than I thought it would be, we all talked, laughed and then we danced the night away. James held me close and whispered loving words in my ear during all the slow songs and as the night progressed his loving words got naughtier and naughtier, and I was looking forward to this night ending and getting to our hotel room. There were some after parties but James and I decided to skip them to go up to our room and enjoy the rest of our time together. I had exactly three weeks left until I moved to Paris, and I already had lots planned and lots to do. I was going to spend most of that time at Gran’s and the rest at the Kirk house. Our house had been sold and in eight days we would all be leaving for the new family to move in. I was still devastated that it wasn’t going to be my home anymore, it didn’t feel right that some new family would be moving in, when I had so many memories there and it was right beside James. But all the same, I had to pack up all my belongings into boxes and bring them to Gran’s to store, while I was living in Paris, she had been more than happy to keep them for me. I was excited for Paris and my program, but I was really going to miss James and Gran. It was bittersweet, I was finally following my dream but those I cared for most, weren’t going to be there for it. At least I’d be able to see dad more, the last few months had been excruciating without him. Three weeks was going to fly by, especially when I had to spend a large chunk of it packing and moving to Gran’s and then packing everything, I was taking with me to Paris. I wanted to spend every second of it enjoying James and his magnificent body.
Our room at the hotel was beautiful and luxurious, I didn’t even want to know how much James had spent. There were rose petals on the bed and chocolates on the pillow.
“This is beautiful,” I told him in awe.
“You are beautiful,” he said, his voice raspy. “I couldn’t wait all night to get you alone, you have no idea how incredibly stunning you are,” he told me, his eyes filled with lust. I felt heat spread down my body to my core as he took me in his arms and kissed me hungrily.
James
I helped Mickey pack up all her things, trying to make it fun and not as hard as it was for her.
“I guess I’ll have to leave these at Gran’s,” she said sadly, holding the box with all her family videos. I rubbed her back, knowing how hard that would be for her, those videos were her own kind of therapy and meditation. It was weird seeing her room all packed up and her walls bare. She didn’t have much to begin with, unlike the evils, who had boxes pilled up high in their rooms and pouring out into the hallway, but still it was hard to accept that she wouldn’t be living next to me, like she had most of our lives. I wouldn’t be able to make signals with my curtains to her anymore, or walk over to her place whenever I wanted. It was going to be a huge adjustment for the both of us. Her father had sold his car now that he had permanently moved to Europe and wasn’t coming back here in the near future, so we made trips with all her boxes to her Gran’s in my car. I loved being able to drive again, I had really missed it and wasn’t going to make a mistake like that again. I also really loved being able to chauffeur Mickey, I knew she was much more comfortable when I was driving and I liked being the person to make her life that much easier.
“You ready?” I asked her as we stood standing in her room, the last of her boxes all packed away in my car. She looked around the empty space, her face sad and it was hard to see, especially since I was sad about it too.
“Ready as I’ll ever be.” She nodded, taking one last look around and then out the window to my room. She went to close the curtains and came back, taking my hand in hers, I gave it a squeeze and then kissed her.
“I’m going to say my good-byes to the girls and Alyssa,” she told me.
“I’ll wait in the car while you do that.” I nodded understandingly.
“How’d it go?” I asked when she sat down in the passenger seat beside me, she shrugged.
“It went okay I guess, I said my good-byes and hugged them all, the only one that seemed to care in the slightest was Paix,” she told me. That hurt to hea
r, I couldn’t imagine how she was feeling, they’d been a family for eight years, a dysfunctional family but still a family and to be so cold and uncaring, it was beyond me. “I think the rest of them were happy to be free of me,” she whispered, breaking my heart.
“Well, it’s their loss,” I told her genuinely, they were crazy not to want her! We drove to her Gran’s, where she would be staying the next two weeks and I would be staying with her, up until the final day when she got on that plane. I was so anxious, I was hoping this day wouldn’t come but time had passed in the blink of an eye. I was terrified how things would work, being so far apart and for so long, three years was a long time. But I wanted us to work more than anything. I hadn’t been accepted into the school in New York and that was fine with me, I’d only applied in hopes I could go there with Mickey, otherwise it didn’t even interest me. I had no idea what I was going to do now. Mickey kept saying the world was my oyster but I felt like the world was terrifying, I didn’t know what I wanted to do or be! How was I supposed to know all this so young? It was crazy. All I knew was I wanted to be with Mickey, I really didn’t care about the rest. Gran was so happy to have us both stay with her and seemed to be in good spirits, all things considered.
“What’s going to happen once you leave?” I asked Mickey, as we lay naked breathing heavily.
“I don’t want to think about that now,” she said, getting on top of me again and completely taking my mind off it. Mickey continued to distract me and avoid the topic for the next week, but as they days got closer, I needed to know and figure it out.
“Babe, how is it going to work once you leave?” I asked once again.
“Do we have to do this now?” she sighed and pouted, and then went to rub my thigh.
“Yes, we do. You leave in five days,” I told her, ignoring her suggestive touch and what I was craving. I lived for her body and how it made me feel. How was I going to be able to go without her for half the year, only to have her for a few weeks when she visited?
Losing You Page 18