I felt like, at some point, a girl may get this idea in her head that she wanted to live out some love story that she has read or seen in movies.
The idea of love might sound appealing enough to have her swoon and daydream about her prince charming. And I couldn't blame her.
I'd hate to admit that I was like that girl because that would be silly of me.
There had been parts of life that felt like less of a dream and more of a nightmare, and because of that, it had me questioning just how close I would get to a fairytale if they even existed.
Speaking of a nightmare, I might be living one right now, and the embarrassment I was experiencing would probably haunt me until my ten-year high school reunion. Great.
There was a crowd gathering in the courtyard, and whatever drama was going down, I didn't want to be a part of it. But all the students had their cellphones out filming the whole thing. Teenagers really had nothing better to do than record a personal matter like that.
"Keep your voice down!" I instantly recognized the guy speaking out loud.
"Hell no!" The second voice was even clearer than the first.
It was the last day of my senior year, and when that bell rang, I was ready to start my summer vacation. But leave it to my cheating boyfriend to make a scene and ruin all of it.
James stood in the middle of the crowd with Stephanie opposite him.
She shoved him hard enough to have him stumbling.
James had his back to me, unaware that I was watching this all unfold.
I heard the whispers from the people close by.
"Oh crap, Mia is here."
"Isn't that Mia, James' girlfriend?"
"I don't think they'll be together anymore after this."
"It's a shame. They always looked like the perfect couple." Ha. Funny.
"Mia must be shook, hearing about her boyfriend cheating on her like this?"
"James, don't pretend I didn't get this from you! I always get tested. I start sleeping with you, and BOOM! I get a freakin' S-T-D!" Stephanie shouted.
My jaw hit the ground.
This couldn't be happening.
"For all I know, you could be playing the victim right now when you're the one who gave it to me. But somehow, you're looking for someone to blame," James fired back angrily.
Stephanie's eyes met mine over his shoulder. "Or maybe your little girlfriend gave it to you?"
Nope. Completely out of the question.
James and I never had sex. But I could see that I dodged a bullet right there.
"Leave Mia out of this!" James yelled.
Stephanie laughed bitterly. "No. I want to know. Let's ask her."
All the cellphones and eyes turned towards me as James realized I had been three feet away.
A million stupid questions were running through my mind, but all the answers to them were undeniable.
My boyfriend cheated on me. And by the sound of it, it happened more than once.
Stephanie couldn't have been the only one either.
There was no good way to find out about a cheater. But there were less public ways, and James didn't take that route.
"Mia, I," James began. But I held my hand up, indicating that he didn't have to explain because I didn't want to hear any of it.
I didn't care how regretful and misty his eyes looked or that his face had become sullen. Nothing he could say would make this better.
I cleared my throat and tried to speak up, hoping the emotions hiding inside me wouldn't make an appearance. At least not now. "I remember you wondering if I would regret not making that cliché decision about sleeping with you on prom night."
James swallowed nervously.
"Luckily, I avoided what could have been the biggest mistake of my life. We're done, James." I told him before I stalked off.
"Mia! MIA! MIA!" he called out for me, but I had already pushed my way through the crowd, and I was sprinting at lightning speed towards the parking lot.
I only stopped to catch my breath when I saw my best friend, Grey, leaning against his motorcycle in the already half-empty lot.
Grey had on a sleeveless white tee, exposing those biceps that he was oh so proud of since he spent last summer working out non-stop. He's paired it with dark jeans and his signature black boots. He was rocking the bedhead look today, and he didn't care what anyone thought about it. Except me, of course, but he knew I liked that look on him. I couldn't imagine any look that this guy wouldn't be able to pull off.
Grey was holding his cell phone in one hand, and the other he held up to his chest as he kept making it into a fist, clenching then unclenching.
I wonder if he was watching the video that I'm sure was already circulating in the school.
I let out a sigh.
If this was my junior year, and I knew I would have to come back and face these people next year, I would be horrified. But I was going to college. I wouldn't have to see James again, and I didn't have to worry about those stupid videos. I could start fresh with all of this behind me.
Grey looked up and smiled as if he felt my gaze on him. That was the same warm smile he gave me when I told him my mom had left me. That smile held so many promises behind it. I knew when I saw it that Grey would help me fix my problems and not let me go through anything alone.
Sliding his phone into his pocket, Grey opened his arms wide. Once again, I was running, but this time it was straight into the arms of the person that had never let me down. Not once.
I buried my face into Grey's chest. One, because he smelled heavenly. And two, he loved to comment on how he hated seeing me cry.
I didn't even know why I was crying, but I was.
"I'm sorry. I know you think I have an ugly crying face," I muttered.
Grey chuckled softly. "That was a joke. You're still holding that comment against me after all these years?"
I nodded with my head still firmly placed against his chest.
He gently eased me away from him, and I instantly missed the soothing warmth.
"I don't think you're ugly when you cry. I just know that every time I see you cry, it makes me feel like I wasn't doing my job to protect you. It makes me feel like a shit person. And you know I take my job very seriously. No tears are supposed to fall from these brown eyes with me around. This is literally in my best friend's job description." Grey used his thumbs to wipe away the last few tears that regretfully escaped. "So is beating up the asshole that..."
"Nope!" I pointed my finger at his chest. "It's over. We're over. None of this matters anymore. I have a new life waiting for me at college." I tipped my head up to meet his stormy gaze. "It's fine. I'll be fine. Promise." I gave him a reassuring smile.
Grey brushed back a few strands of my strawberry blonde hair and then used both of his hands to caress my face. His expression went from angry to oddly soft and calm. "Of course, you'll be fine because I'm never letting you date again." He smirked, clearly satisfied with his new mission in life.
I folded my lips into a thin line, trying my best not to be irked or peeved by his words.
I gave him a blank stare for what felt like minutes.
"What?" Grey asked with an innocent expression as if he hadn't tried to put an end to my love life.
I slapped his hands away from my face. "You're never letting me date again? You cannot be serious?" I said, keeping my tone of voice surprisingly even.
He seemed to consider my words for a moment, but it was all an act. "Dead serious," he said, confirming how well I knew his personality. He was too stubborn to change his mind now. "The majority of guys my age are immature jerks anyways." He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.
I rolled my eyes. Stating the facts, I was more than aware of didn't make me feel better.
"Greyson, I love you and all, but it's kind of my decision. Don't you think?" I tried to reason with him.
Call me pessimistic, but I knew this wasn't going to work.
Grey bit his bottom lip in contemplation before he nodded. "Yeeaahh... nope."
My eyes turned into slits.
"Come on. Don't be like that." He made a move to place a hand on my shoulder. I stepped back, out of reach.
"You're ridiculous," I gritted the words through my teeth.
"So I've been told. I'd like to think that it's one of my special traits. It makes me totally lovable." Grey winked.
I crossed my arms against my chest. "More like totally annoying," I mumbled under my breath.
"What was that?" Grey asked louder than necessary.
"Oh, nothing. Never mind." I smiled sweetly at him.
He frowned.
"So anyways, James was supposed to take me home today, but..." I trailed off with my mind running back to everything that happened ten minutes ago.
"Forget him. Let's not bring that idiot up again." Grey hopped onto his motorcycle. Cradling his helmet in one arm, he pulled out his phone to send a quick text. He slid it back into his pocket and then put his helmet on. He peeked at me from over his shoulder. "What are you waiting for, Mia? Christmas? Hop on." He twisted his upper body, picked up the other helmet behind him, and handed it to me. I took it.
"I thought you were taking Katrina home today?" Katrina was Grey's girlfriend, the longest one he's had so far. I could say that since they had passed the three-month mark last week.
Grey shook his head. "Nope. I told her to ride with one of her friends instead. My best friend needs me today. I need to cheer her up and then somehow find a way to convince her that she should just swear off dating. For at least a couple of years." Grey added, probably trying to rile me up again to mess with me.
"HA. HA. HA," I said sarcastically. "Not going to happen." I needed to squash that idea pronto. "You have my permission to try and cheer me up, but we have to let go of the last one."
"Why?" Grey asked, lifting the kickstand with his foot.
"What do you mean, why?" I answered his question with one of my own.
"I mean, why bother dating at this age anyway. Nobody that meets as a teenager lasts more than a few years. They're never super serious about each other. So yeah, let me ask again. WHY?"
"I should ask you why when you're dating someone," I countered. "If you think dating at this age is stupid, why do you do it?"
Grey shrugged. He was silent for a second, and I wondered if he would answer me. Or maybe he was thinking of a subject change because he couldn't be bothered to respond. "Let me worry about that." He gestured to the helmet in my arms. "Put that on and let's go," he ordered.
I let the silence grow between us again. I was taking the time to build up the nerve to ask Grey something. "Are you sure there's not another reason that you think I shouldn't be dating?" I was grateful my voice didn't expose the tiny ounce of anxiety bubbling inside me that had made it hard to speak those words in the first place.
The helmet hid most of Grey's facial features except his vibrant Caribbean blue eyes. But that was all I needed to see to know that he was keeping something from me. I think I had an idea of what it was. Or maybe I didn't.
Maybe I wanted it to be something that it wasn't. And that wouldn't be good.
Grey looked away from me and faced forward.
He let out a heavy sigh. "I don't want to see you get hurt. That should be reason enough. Why would I have any other?"
"Right," I muttered so low that he probably didn't hear me.
I slid the helmet onto my head, buckling it in place. Then I held onto his shoulder before swinging my leg over.
Grey turned on the motorcycle, revving it up.
I wrapped my arms around his stomach and leaned into him. "I don't think I want to go home right now," I murmured.
He chuckled. "Good. I wasn't planning on taking you home now anyway."
Then we zoomed off.