Monday, 19 April 2010

• Puppy Love...

  From a year ago... why am I recycling? Not sure... just am...

  Tall for his age, Sean'd just finished a growing spurt that left him all ankles and wrists with hands and feet too big for the rest of him. Long, crinkly blond hair hung wild and free in front of his hazel eyes clouded with shadows of things past he could never speak of. Skinny, too, so skinny his hand painted worn jeans refused to stay up until he cinched the belt tight like a nerd and he'd rather awkwardly yank them up when they slid too far down when he thought no one noticed. An old band t-shirt, a braided leather strap on his slim wrist, and a bulge in a pocket completed his carefully assembled look. The bulge is where things started to go wrong. He didn't want her to think the wrong thing. He'd planned this whole day out carefully, and she wasn't impressed, and now she was glaring at him. He was sure she was thinking the wrong thought so he reached deep in his pocket.

  "It's not what you thinking," Sean stammered. "It's my knuckle ring, not a boner. Seriously."

  She stepped back one giant step as if she was playing "Mother May I" and had been sent back. Sean pulled out the steel metal ring and fit it across his knuckles. "See. It's just my knuckle ring- in case we get jumped. I'm not thinking about you that way. Honestly."

  She took another giant step backwards until you could fit three guitar cases between them. Sean held out his fist, the metal tight across each knuckle, a perfect fit, and the summer sunlight danced across it.

  "You think we're going to get jumped?"

  Sean started back pedaling, talking as fast as he could, taking small steps towards her. "It's not you. It's me. Nobody likes me. I got enemies everywhere. I just wanna be prepared. Ok? I don't think anyone is gonna' try to hurt us, but you never know. Last week, when I was in the city, five kids I ain't never seen hit me in the back. Left a big bruise. It's turning purple. Wanna' see it?" He turned around and lifted up his shirt. Across his pale skin was a long purplish red bruise, just like he said.

  He could tell from the look on her face that she was gonna run so he plopped down on the grass and unsnapped his guitar case. Maybe that would keep her from running, he thought as he tuned it. When he looked up, she was crossing the grass towards the street. She was gone forever, he decided, and bit his lower lip before hitting a bad chord on his guitar. Lost in the sounds of the song he was playing, he didn't look up until a cold soda touched his back.

  "Yours," she said.

  "We could have shared one," he said, carefully opening his so it wouldn't squirt over the guitar or the girl.

  "No way," she said. "I called my dad. He's picking me up in twenty minutes."

  They sat on the street curb in the shade of an old oak and watched the Saturday afternoon traffic pass by them.

  "Today was all wrong," Sean said.

  "Yeah," she said.

  Against his better judgement he leaned in to kiss her and she jerked away just in time for his tongue to streak across her cheek. She wiped his spit off feverishly. "What's wrong with you? Are you a puppy or something?"

  "I just wanted you to be the first girl I kissed," he said repentfully.

  "Liar," she said. "If I was your first, you would have kept your tongue in your mouth." A car beeped and pulled up. She dusted off her jeans. "See you Monday in school."

  Currently Waiting for You (Special Collectible Version) CD+DVD/Booket Package see related

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