Another Kind Of Love 13

I got my dress for Homecoming. (I am not describing it. But if you want to know what it looks like, I have a picture in my profile.)

Three more days till the Dance and I have not spoken with Tanner. He hasn’t come to school either.

Tuesday, the day after me and Nicole went to the mall, Tanner was at school. He was in crutches. I would sometimes catch him looking at me but then he’d turn his head and look the other way.

Every time I hear someone ask him about his leg, I hear him say: “I fell. It’s just a minor sprain though. It will get better.” Then eye me as though expecting me to tell the truth of the lie.

I kept my mouth shut. Not wanting to look or talk to him, in my head though, I wanted to. I wanted to run up and give him a hug and tell him that I’m sorry for being stupid.

At Study Hall hour, I grabbed a horror book ‘To Die For’ and sat on a shade next to the school across a big oak tree.

‘She looked behind her and kept on running, ignoring her fast beating heart. She was almost there, almost at her safe house. She tripped on something and fell to the ground, sharp pain coming up from her knee. She stood up and looked behind her again. It was coming closer, running faster. The creepy clown with blood on his smiling lips and his white pale face that had big black makeup around his eyes and the red curly wig that had real crawling spiders. It was behind her now, a bloody knife in hand she let out a night curling scream. The clown smiled at her, showing her his black pearled teeth. “What wrong?“ The clown asked. “Why so serious?“ He laughed right when the clown used the knife to cut her head off…’

Someone came into the shadow of the tree and I screamed.

“Monique?” the voice said.

“Sean?” I asked and the figure stepped forward. Sean. “What are you doing here? You scared me.”

“Yeah, I got that idea. You practically screamed my ears off.” Sean sat down next to me and looked at the book I was holding. “To Die For?” he asked and I nodded. “I read it. The clown, it was that guys father.”

I slapped his chest with the book. “Thanks for that. Now I don’t have to read it.”

“That book made me have nightmares…” he muttered as if I didn’t even talk or hit him. “So why you here by yourself? Where’s Nicole and Tanner?”

At the sound of his name, I almost choked out tears. I just shrugged and opened the book at a random place and started reading.

“You looked bummed.” he whispered. “Wanna talk about it?” That was all he said and I burst out in tears.

“I don’t even know!” I wailed out and hid my face behind the open book. Sean just sat there next to me, putting his arm around me, not saying anything as if he understood what she was feeling, even if she didn’t.

“If I was him I wouldn’t want to have something make me feel so miserable. But then if I was with someone to help me get through with it, I wouldn’t feel so lonely. If I was alone figuring it out by myself, I would feel worse. Do you get what I’m saying?” Sean asked me.

I nodded. “I can’t explain more clearer,” Sean continued. “But I’d bet he’d feel better if he wasn’t into this thing all by himself.”

The lunch bell rang and people were already coming out of the back door to the tables outside. A few minuets later, Tanner came out. He looked around and when his eyes reached me and Sean, he blinked and came forward.

When he reached us, Sean stood up. “Gatta go get lunch. Want anything, Mon?” he asked. I shook my head and walked away, giving Tanner a pat on the back in the process.

Silence went through between us and I stood. “I better go get lunch, too.”

I stood up and looked at him. I was waiting for him to stop me. He looked like he wants to say something but then he just nodded and put his head down.

A fist squeezed my heart inside as I walked pass him.