True Beauty.
6
Freedom
“The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.”
~Carl Jung~
Lena Rose Winter
Sleeping has always been one of my all-time favorite things in the world, but how comfortable I was at the moment was unreal.
I opened my eyes and regained my memory of what happened. I gasped at the realization that I had fallen asleep beside Liam. I touched my cheek, was there any drool? I breathed a quiet sigh of relief. There was no drool. I was okay.
"Liam? You fell asleep? Oh god, oh god. I fell asleep."
His eyes were closed and he looked so peaceful. I admired him a bit. Beautiful, was all I could think. His eyelashes were long. Maybe he wasn't sleeping? Hell, even I fell asleep. His eyes fluttered open. He smiled when he saw me. I laid my hand on my hair, self-consciously. Did I really look that bad?
He had a childlike appearance. His hair had managed to get messy. "Good afternoon, sleepyhead," I said, my lips tugging a bit.
He scribbled something on his sketchbook and then showed it to me: if anyone slept here, it was you.
I felt a blush rise to my cheeks and put my head down. Why did I have to sleep? Really. It seemed as if embarrassment followed me everywhere, especially whenever he was there.
"What time is it?" I asked, changing the subject.
He pointed at his wristwatch, which displayed: 7:00. I let out a curse in shock and fear. My mom was going to be worried, hell, knowing my mom, she might have already called the police. I got up and started jumping up and down anxiously.
He stood up and looked at me like I was a freak. He waved his hands up and down as if to say: calm down, woman. He took a deep breath and pointed at me, so I could do the same.
I imitated him; my nerves felt like a needle popped their balloon. I smiled gratefully, he bowed. I giggled a little.
Suddenly, his eyes got big, and his smile reached his ears. There was a twinkle in his eye.
"What is it? What?" I asked, intrigued. He made a twirl with his index finger. So, I turned around.
It was sunset time. In my mind, it was camera time.
"Wait! I'm going to call my mom, so she doesn't get worried." He nodded, in comprehension.
I took my phone out of my back pocket and checked for any missed calls. None.
Huh, weird.
I called my mom's cell phone. After two rings, my mum picked up.
"Lena Rose Winter, where are you?" Her shrill voice was coated with worry and fear as she started screaming at me.
I winced and pulled the phone away from my ear. Liam rolled his eyes at me. When the shouting stopped, I spoke to her: "Mother, breathe. I'm at the park, I just fell asleep." I heard a huge sigh of relief on the phone.
"Okay, okay. Good. I assume you want to stay to take pictures of the sunset?"
I grinned, my mom knew me better than anyone. "Please?" I said, knowing her answer.
"Fine. But be back by eight, okay?"
"Sure, Mom. Thank you!" I blew a kiss to the phone and we said our goodbyes.
Liam grinned at me, his pearly whites showing. I grabbed my camera and ran to the empty field side of the park. The wind blowing through my hair made me feel alive.
Liam.
I stopped running and turned around. He was nowhere to be seen. And during the moment when I had turned around, a figure ran past me. I recognized it as Liam, his red sweater was unmistakable.
I went into full speed and pulled my tongue out to annoy him. He just smirked. We grinned at each other.
I took his hand and ran to the perfect spot. His skin was soft and my smaller hand fits perfectly into his large one. It was like the last piece of a puzzle.
I shook those thoughts off as I released him and held my camera.
The sky was a mystery of colors. Red, pink, purple, orange, yellow and brown all mixed together to create a picture perfect landscape. Just gazing at it brought me a sense of tranquility. The sun was melting into the sky. I basked in the warm glow that illuminated the place. The sun seemed to bring a sort of dense atmosphere that felt refreshing.
The night was pushing its way through. There was a strip of gray among the fiery colors of the sun. The sun was sinking into the sapphire ocean. The horizon was turning a darker gray. With every moment that went by there was a change in color of the sky. In comparison to the soft beauty of the sun, the night was beautiful in its own way. It was more mystifying than the sunset. The night had dissolved the sun and the sky was now a midnight blue.
I took a picture of every moment. Everything. I felt the same bubble of happiness and contentment in my heart again. I was meant to be here. Enjoying my life.
I sat on the grass and stopped taking pictures. I just stared at the sky.
What a beauty it was.
I wonder what it would be like to be a bird, I thought. It would signify complete freedom. I would have the ability to travel anywhere, without any weight on my shoulders. I wouldn’t have to worry about what college I’d have to go to next year, or school, or anything else.
Someone tapped on my shoulder. Liam handed me his sketchbook. He had written: "Being a bird would be the best thing in the world."
I felt my cheeks get red. I’d spoken my thoughts out loud. He sat beside me and we both just contemplated the sky.
I remembered something. During the movie High School Musical, Gabriella had said: ‘Do you remember In kindergarten, how you'd meet a kid and know nothing about them, then 10 seconds later you'd be playing like you were best friends, because you didn't have to be anyone but yourself?’
That was exactly how I felt. I knew, in my heart, that this moment with Liam would be the start of something new.
7
Wandering Souls
“I promise to stay, to see you at your worst and best and still love you. That’s what friends are for.”
Lena Rose Winter
A month later…
"No, you're wrong, Liam,” I answered confidently, crossing my arms around my chest. “The answer to this equation is 364!" He just smiled with the same certainty I had.
We were sitting in Math class, working in teams. We'd grown close friends and I was on Cloud 9. We had so much in common. Same taste in music, art, food. The only subject we'd fight over was math. He thought he was smarter than me.
He was clearly enjoying this, as I was.
"I'll go ask the teacher, but if I'm right, you buy me an ice cream today. And if you're right, which is impossible, I'll buy you one. Deal?" I offered him my hand to shake. He agreed with a weird gleam in his eye.
I got up and made my way to the teacher's desk. Mrs. Burt was concentrating on some kind of work. I cleared my throat, which caused her to look up.
"Yes, Ms. Winter?" Her expression displayed at what point I'd annoyed her. I barely kept myself from rolling my eyes. Wasn't that her job, to help me?
"Excuse me, but I did question 5, yet my partner and I don't seem to agree on the answer. Would you kindly tell me what it is?" I asked, flashing my innocent face. She nodded and flipped through the pages of her corrected version.
"Ah, the answer is 464, Ms. Winter," she informed me. My face dropped, and my eyes went wide.
I walked in shame to Liam's table. "Youwereright," I mumbled, barely audible.
He smirked and put a hand behind his ear as if to say: What? Repeat that.
"I said, you were right!"
He grinned, and I pouted.
"You're mean."
He showed me his notebook, where he'd written: "It's not my fault I'm smart. You owe me ice cream."
I put my head down, mad at myself.
"Please smile?"
I ignored him. He sighed loudly. I heard his pencil scrape the paper again.
"Ready to die?"
It took me about 15 seconds to process what was happening. Before I knew it, my laugh resounded i
n the whole class. Liam's hands started moving around my stomach. Oh, he knew how ticklish I was.
"S-Stop p-please!" I gasped between giggles.
I didn't expect him to obey, because he continued even more. After what seemed like a lifetime of dying and laughing, he stopped.
I smiled. It was impossible to stay mad at him. He wiggled his eyebrows while grinning, he was happy he won.
I pulled my tongue out childishly.
A strict voice brought me back to reality. "Ms. Winter and Mr. Black. What do you two think you're doing?"
I turned around to see 27 pairs of wide eyes observing Liam and me, their mouths agape. I put on a serious face and answered: "Mrs. Burt, I'm sorry. Liam and I were just fooling around. It won't happen again."
I looked at Liam for help and he nodded feverishly. Mrs. Burt didn't seem convinced or forgiving.
"Oh, I'll make sure of that. Detention for both of you."
I heard snickers, but I just stared at Liam. Like me, his mouth was curved into a perfect "O.”
"B-But Mrs. Burt, that's not fair!" I whined, shocked.
"Life's not fair. Go sit at your place, Ms. Winter, and I'll see you and your friend here at detention. And what are you all staring at? Back to work!"
Well, getting detention may have seemed horrible two months ago, but this time I would be with my friend.
This was going to be a very interesting afternoon.
♥♥♥♥♥
The bell rang, startling me for a second.
I breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, school was over. Detention time was approaching. I still had fifteen minutes though. I put my stuff in my bag and walked to Liam's locker, 155. He was putting his books in his black bag. He looked so calm, concentrated and peaceful.
I’ll have to change that, then.
I tiptoed so I could come from behind him. I put my head on his right shoulder and said: "Hey there, peanut,” in a grave, yet squeaky voice.
I don’t know if he was just surprised or if he really got scared, but he must have jumped at least 5 feet into the air. I laughed, hard. Metaphorically speaking, I was laughing my ass off.
"Y-You...j-jumped...like a s-scared little bunny," I managed to say, between laughs.
After about five minutes of clutching my stomach to stop laughing and crying, I took a deep breath to calm myself. In, out. I took a look at Liam. He now had his bag lazily slung over his shoulder. His face was in a perfect poker face. He stared at me and then typed something on his phone. I came closer to him because I knew that whatever he was writing was meant for me.
"It's not even funny. You're immature and I am NOT a bunny! Do I have floppy ears to you? Or do I like carrots? Well the answer is no."
I struggled to keep a straight face. I bit my lip and looked at Liam through my eyelashes. We both knew what that gesture meant; I was sorry. He rolled his eyes and smiled. It was contagious.
"Now, how about going to detention? It's my first one.” I linked my arm in his. “Let’s go pay the price for being rebels.”
We started walking in a funny way to where detention would be held. When we entered the room, Mrs. Burt glared at us.
"Sit down,” she commanded. “Now, you rebels, I'm going to get a plate of doughnuts, stay here." I guessed the last sentence was directed to the whole group.
I obeyed and sat on the chair beside Liam's. Speaking of us ‘rebels,’ I was curious to know who was here too. I raked my eyes across the room. A buff, tough looking boy was sitting at the other end of the class, breaking his pencil. There were two girls were sitting beside him, giggling about something.
"Looking for something hot? Over here, dumbass."
It was a voice I knew all too well.
Liam’s head and mine turned toward the voice. My eyes narrowed at its owner. Jonah was staring right at me, slouched in his seat and his legs stretched out before him.
There was someone beside him. It was — Stacy?
She looked at me with an expression of hate and disgust. The wheels in my mind were turning. What was she doing here? Why is she looking at me like that? Our gazes locked.
"Want a picture?” she drawled at me. “I know I'm gorgeous, but I don't like filthy scum looking at me." Her voice was even squeakier than I remembered. How could I've ever been friends with her?
I sat back, speechless.
"Oh, stop drooling at us.”
My eyes widened, and I looked at Liam. His expression mirrored mine, undoubtedly catching ‘Us?’
"Don't worry, babe,” Jonah told her. “She's just jealous. But I have you, and you're the whole package.”
It was time to break my silence.
"Why would I be jealous?” I snapped, practically burning holes through him. “I dumped you."
Sadness, fury, and another emotion I couldn't place flashed in his eyes. He recomposed quickly by chuckling.
"Hon, I dumped you. I discovered girls who kill their own fathers are worthless and will always be unloved."
His words hit me like a slap in the face. I felt tears flood my eyes and I looked at Liam. His nostrils flared and he clenched his fists.
I stood up. “Shut up, Jonah.”
“Why, is it because I’m right?”
Congratulations, Jonah. You have officially succeeded at being a complete asshole.
I took a step towards him. “No, you’re far from right. In fact, you’re the most ignorant person I know.”
He laughed and stood up. “Would an ignorant person find out that your dad abused you?”
I gaped at him. “That’s complete bullshit!”
“It’s true,” he shrugged.
I started walking towards him until I was close enough to jab a finger in his chest with every word I said. “Listen to me, Jonah. Don’t you dare say one bad word about my dad. He is and always will be the most honorable man I know.”
“You think you’re so good, eh?” he chuckled. “But sleeping with the silent freak doesn’t make you a better person,” he blurted out.
I let out a small growl. “I wasn’t done,” I said, putting emphasis on every word.
“Don't you ever dare say anything bad about me, or the ones I love! For your information, my father was the noblest man on earth. The cement he walked on is a thousand times cleaner than you are.” I didn't shout and my voice was calm, but the venom in it was enough to make him flinch again. “Grow up and get a life.”
I walked out of the room, not caring about the fact that I was walking out of detention.
♥♥♥♥♥
Liam Christopher Black
It was funny how sometimes, you had less than seconds to think about what to do. I had a choice: to follow her or to stay.
I stood up and ran after her.
She wasn’t running, just walking fast. I caught up with her easily. I stopped her by grabbing her arm.
I felt the heat of her anger. Her muscles tensed. She turned to look at me, as if seeing me for the first time.
My heart ached when I saw the emotions in her eyes. They were infinite. One struck out: Pain. I realized just how much she'd been hurting. I nodded at her and hoped she understood what I meant. I sent her a mental message: He's not worth it.
Her bottom lip started to quiver and she gulped. She looked at me, and then shifted her gaze to my arms. I let her go, knowing her anger was now controlled.
As we walked through the halls, she kept her head down. Our legs just moved and moved. I didn't know where she was taking me. We were soon outside the school, standing on the freshly mown grass. I was on her side, confused.
What in the world was I supposed to do now? I am no expert with girls.
Suddenly, she put her arms around me. Tight. I hesitantly returned her embrace. She buried her face in my shoulder. She held on to me as if her life depended on it. I stroked her long, silky hair soothingly.
I waited for my shirt to get wet with her tears, but that never happened. I wondered why. A million thoughts were running through my
head. But I was particularly focused on one. How could she have been punching a guy just a moment ago, looking fierce and invincible, yet now appearing so frail and breakable?