Secret Love

The sound of a pencil on paper could be heard in Adams room, as he drew up his new superhero. For years Adam had been an avid comic book reader, everything from The Avengers to X-Men. What Adam noticed however was that in such a large comic universe, that there were very few Canadian superheros. He figured sure there was Wolverine, but he was part of the X-Men, an American group. Of course there was Alpha Flight, but not many kids today even know about them.

"Ha, it'll be great" said Adam, as he finished his drawing his superhero. "I'll send this to Marvel and DC, and soon everyone will know the name of Canada Man!" As Adam put the final touches on his drawing, the phone rang. "Hello." said Adam

"Hey Adam," said Mary "wanna hang out or something?"

"Uh...sure!" said Adam

"Great," said Mary "meet me at Bobbys Pizza in about a half hour."

"Sounds good." said Adam

"Alright," said Mary "see ya there, bye!"

"Bye!" said Adam, as he hung up the phone, a smile on his face. Adam and Mary had been friends for awhile now, they happened to meet through Dan and Trista. Adam was friends with Dan, and Mary was friends with Trista. When Adam met Mary, he got along with her pretty well. As time

passed, Adam found himself becoming attracted to Mary, but dared not attempt anything for fear of their friendship becoming screwed up.

"Fuck you White! You're acting like a first year thief, I'm acting like a professional!" came the voice of Steve Buscemi from the television that Dan was watching. As Dan sat on the couch, he heard the phone ring.

"Hello?" said Dan

"Hello!" came the voice of Trista, through the receiver.

"Hello!" said Dan

"Hello!" said Trista, the back and forth of hellos on the phone continued for a few minutes.

"So what are you doing?" asked Trista

"Just watching Reservoir Dogs" said Dan

"Guess what?" said Trista "You're meeting me at Bobbys Pizza!"

"...okay!" said Dan

"Good," said Trista "I'll see you there, Bye!"

"Bye" said Dan, as he hung up the phone and turned off the movie. Dan and Trista had been friends since the eleventh grade, as friends go they were pretty close. Since the first day Dan met Trista, he had a crush on her. Trista knew this because contrary to popular belief, she wasn't oblivious to this stuff like Kimmy Burton on the TV show Undergrads. It also helped the fact that on more then one occasion Dan told Trista, hoping it didn't effect their friendship, which it didn't. Though Dan figured he'd never have a chance with Trista, this didn't effect his feelings for her.

***

Mary sat at one of the tables at Bobbys Pizza waiting for Adam. As she waited, she began thinking about him. Like Adam, after they'd been friends for awhile, Mary found herself attracted to Adam. As she waited, she began thinking of ways she could get close to him.

"Hey!" said Adam, as he walked in, and sat in the seat across from Mary.

"Hi" said Mary before sitting in silence for a minute or two, trying to think of something to say.

"So..." said Adam "what's new with you?"

"Nothing much," said Mary "you?"

"Not much," said Adam "just working on my comic book."

"You're working on a comic book?" said Mary curiously.

"Yeah," said Adam, a sound of excitement in his voice. "His name is Canada Man, I created him because of the lack of Canadian superheros in comics."

"Could I see what you've done?" asked Mary

"Sure," said Adam, as a smile came across his face. "Let's go over to my place and I'll show you what I've done so far."

"Sounds good!" said Mary, a smile across her face, as her and Adam headed for the front doors. As they left, they crossed paths with Dan and Trista.

"Hey guys!" said Trista

"Hey Trista, hey Dan!" said Mary.

"So, where you two heading?" asked Dan

"Adams showing me the work he's done on the comic he's making." said Mary

"Finally doing the Canada Man comic, eh?" said Dan.

"Yep," said Adam "Then I'm sending it out to Marvel and DC, so when you see the comic, you'll see one of those names in the left hand corner!"

"Good luck with that," said Dan as he came closer to Adams ear. "And good luck with Mary!"

"Shut the fuck up!" whispered Adam "they might hear you."

"So anyway," said Mary "we're gonna get going now."

"Alright," said Trista "well we'll see you later."

"Good luck!" said Dan, a big grin on his face. Dan watched as a big smile came across Adams face, as he stuck up his middle finger at Dan.

"What was that about?" asked Trista

"Just screwing around!" said Dan. Dan and Trista proceeded to walk into the restaurant, and ordered their food.

After some time, Dan and Trista were almost finished their meals. During the whole time they were there, Dan noticed that everytime one of the waiters walked by, Trista would look in his direction. A smile across Dans face, as he quietly began singing "U Got It Bad" by Usher. The next thing he knew, he felt Tristas foot connecting with his kneecap.

"Ow!" said Dan

"Well stop singing that damn song," said Trista "I don't have it bad for anybody!"

"Well except for Jim the waiter!" said Dan

"No I don't!" said Trista, her voice getting a little higher. As she looked over at Dan, she noticed he had his one eyebrow up, giving her what he calls the Dan look.

"Do you?" asked Dan

"Maybe!" said Trista, still speaking in the higher octave. Dan continued giving her the look. "Yes!" said Trista, as her face went red and she put her hands over her face.

"Go talk to him." said Dan

"I can't!" said Trista

"Fair enough," said Dan "you will talk to him one day though!"

"Well it would be different if he came over and talked to me first." said Trista

"I see." said Dan, as him and Trista paid for their meals, then proceeded to walk to Tristas place. As they walked, Dan quietly began singing "Jimmy's Got A Girlfriend" by The Wilkinsons. The next thing he knew, he felt Tristas fist connecting with his arm.

"And don't start singing that either!" said Trista.

"Sorry!" said Dan "So, how old is he anyway?"

"I think he's 20 or 21," said Trista "he looks younger in the face though, so I'm not sure."

"That ain't bad," said Dan "we're only 20, so he's maybe a year older!"

"You're point being?" said Trista.

"Not exactly sure" said Dan.

"So, moving on" said Trista as they came up to her house. "Come on in, hang out for a while!"

"Sure!" said Dan, as he entered the house, and closed the front door.

***

"That was some good stuff you have so far." said Mary, as she stood at the front door. Mary looked at her watch, it was one in the morning.

"Glad you liked it." said Adam, pausing for a moment. "Uh..Mary..I..I was wondering something!"

"What?" asked Mary

"Well, uh.." stammered Adam "I was..uh..gonna have a female character in the comic and..I was wondering if I could have a character that looked like you?"

"That's so sweet!" said Mary "Why, of course!" As Mary looked at Adam, she saw a smile come across his face.

"Do..uh..do you want me to walk you home?" asked Adam

"No, I'll be okay." said Mary "Thank you for the offer anyway, goodnight..I mean good morning!"

"See ya later!" laughed Adam, as he gave Mary a hug, and watched as she walked down the street. Adam walked back to the table which had his drawings strewn across it. As he piled them all together, he sat on the couch and thought about Mary and the beautiful smile he saw when showing her his stuff.

"I'm getting sleepy," said Trista "so I'm kicking you out now."

"No problem!" said Dan "So I'll see ya later then."

"Thanks for hanging out with me." said Trista, as she gave Dan a hug.

"Anytime," said Dan "hanging out with you is always the high point of my day!" As Dan left Tristas house, he waved at her then continued his walk down the street. As he walked, he began talking to himself about Trista. "She really likes this guy," Dan said to himself "there's gotta

be some way I can help!" As Dan continued his walk home, he began thinking of ways he could help Trista get together with Jim.

***

It had been a few days since Dan and Trista hung out. With them both working, finding time to hang out proved difficult. As Dan was leaving work, he crossed paths with Mary.

"Hey Mary," said Dan "how's it going?"

"Pretty good," said Mary "you?"

"Can't complain" said Dan "so, where you off to?"

"Going home," said Mary "Adams coming over to show me what he's done on his comic so far. He said he's almost finished it, but he's not gonna show me the end, I have to wait for the comic to come out."

"Oh!" said Dan suggestively "So, you and Adam alone in a house looking at some PICTURES!"

"Like you should talk," said Mary "what about you and Trsta?"

"Shut up!" said Dan "Yeah, I really like Trista, but we're just friends. Besides, she's got a thing for Jim at Bobby's Pizza."

"Oh you mean that hot waiter?" said Mary

"Yeah," said Dan "I guess! But whatever happens, it's her happiness that's important."

"That's sweet." said Mary, as they came to a park. The gate at the entrance of the park was poorly designed. The size of it, only allowed people to go in single file.

"Ladies first" said Dan, as he let Mary walk through first.

"Chivalry," said Mary "that's not something you see too often now!"

"Well," said Dan "I'm one of those people that believes that chivalry isn't dead, just few people practice it anymore."

"Isn't that the truth?!" said Mary, as they came to the end of the park.

"Well," said Dan "this is where we part ways."

"Well see ya later." said Mary, as she turned right and began walking.

"See ya!" said Dan, as he turned left and headed for home. Dan went into his house, sat on the couch, and turned on the radio. "Cry Me A River" by Justin Timberlake was playing. As Dan listened to the song, the phone rang.

"Hello?" said Dan

"Hey Dan!" said Trista.

"Oh hey Trista," said Dan "what's up?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to go to Bobby's lounge tonight?"

"Sure," said Dan "I mean I don't drink, but sure!"

"Great!" said Trista "Probably gonna go later tonight, if you wanted to you could hang out over here till then."

"Sure," said Dan "Be there as soon as I can!"

"Will see ya then!" said Trista. "Bye."

"Bye!" said Dan, as he hung up the phone, and got ready to go.

Bobby's Pizza was broken into two parts, in one half of the building there was the restaurant. The other half of the building was made into a bar, called Bobby's Lounge. Trista

frequented this place a lot with her friends, thus she knew a lot of the people who worked there. As Dan and Trista walked in, they took a seat and waited for someone to take their drink orders. The legal age to drink in Canada is 19, Dan and Trista both being 20 ran into no problems. While

waiting for their drinks, they talked and listened to the music playing in the bar as the song "Dirrty" by Christina Agularia.

"I love this song!" said Trista

"Yeah," said Dan "it's a great song." As they sat and talked, Trista looked over at the door, and saw Jim walk in.

"Oh my God!" said Trista

"What?" asked Dan

"Look who just came in!" said Trista.

"Eddie?" said Dan, sounding like a smartass.

"Yes Dan, Eddie!" said Trista. "That why there was some excitement in my voice!" All of a sudden, Trista and Dan saw Eddie run over to their table.

"Really?!" said Eddie.

"No Eddie!" said Trista

"DAMNIT!" said Eddie, as he angrily stomped away from their table.

"Wow!" said Dan "That was weird!"

"Yeah it was," said Trista "but Eddie wasn't who I was talking about."

"Well then who?" asked Dan, as he turned his head and saw Jim talking to one of the bartenders. "Oh I see!"

"Mmm Hmm!" said Trista, her voice again going to the higher octave.

"Well," said Dan as he stood up "I'll just go and bring him over!" All of a sudden Dan felt Trista grab his arm, and pull him back to his seat. "What?!" said Dan "I was just gonna tell him how much you wanted him, and for him to come over." Dan looked at Trista, as she gave him a very dirty look. "...or maybe I'll sit down!"

"Good choice!" said Trista.

While Mary was in the bathroom, Adam opened a folder and pulled out the last frame of his comic. He pulled out his pencil, and began adding some last minute touches on it. As he finished putting the final touches on it, he heard Mary come back into the room. Acting quickly, he slipped the

drawing back inside the folder.

"What was that?" asked Mary

"What was what?" said Adam.

"That paper you just put in that folder," said Mary "what was it?"

"That?" said Adam "It's nothing, it's just the last page of my comic."

"Can I see it?" asked Mary

"No!" Adam said quickly

"Why not?" asked Mary

"You'll just have to wait!" said Adam "Look, I'm sending it to Marvel and DC tomorrow. Whoever publishes it, I'll make sure you get a copy, ok?"

"Okay!" said Mary, with a smile on her face.

ONE MONTH LATER

"Hey Mary," said Trista, as they crossed paths on the street. "Where you off to?"

"Going over to see Adam," said Mary "he said he'd be getting his responses from Marvel and DC today!"

"And if they accepted his stuff," said Trista "you gonna give him a little congratulatory gift?"

"Shut up!" said Mary.

"C'mon Mary," said Trista "I know you really like him. I'm sure he really likes you, I'm actually surprised neither of you made a move when he was working on his comic."

"Well, what if he doesn't like me the same way I like him?" said Mary "I'll feel like the biggest loser in the world!"

"Well," said Trista "you're now going to know unless you try!"

"Then what about you and that hot waiter?" said Mary.

"Have you seen him?!" said Trista "There'd be no way I could get him!"

"Why not?" asked Mary

"I've seen some of the girls he's talked to," said Trista "they're much prettier then me!"

"I'm sorry," said Mary "I don't usually swear, but that's bullshit! You're very beautiful, and there are people that would agree with me!"

"Like who?" asked Trista

"Well," said Mary "Adams commented on how good looking you are, and even Dan would agree. For God's sake, he's had a crush on you since grade eleven!"

"Ya know," said Trista "you're right!"

"Damn straight I'm right!" said Mary.

"In fact," said Trista "I'm going over to Bobbys Pizza and talking to him right now!" Trista and Mary quickly exchanged goodbyes, Trista went over to Bobby's Pizza and Mary went over to Adams house.

As Mary came up to Adams house, she saw him sitting on the front steps, his head down, and two opened manilla envelopes. Hearing Marys footsteps, Adam raised his head, a sad look on his face.

"They both rejected my comic!" said Adam

"Oh!" said Mary, as she sat down beside Adam and put her arm over his shoulder. "I'm sorry!"

"I figured my stuff wasn't good enough," said Adam "don't know why I even bothered sending it in!"

"Don't think that way!" said Mary "You're stuff is great. If those pricks don't think it's good enough, then I say you should do what Todd McFarlane did!"

"You mean publish it myself?" said Adam

"Exactly!" exclaimed Mary

"Maybe I will," said Adam, as he gave Mary a hug. "Ah Mary, I love ya!"

Trisa walked into Bobby's Pizza, to see Dan talking to Jim. She watched as Dan finished talking to him, then he looked in Tristas direction and walked over to her.

"He's all yours!" said Dan

"What did you say to him?" demanded Trista

"Just told him that you liked him, but were too shy to talk to him. So he's gonna come over here and talk to you...Good Luck!" As Dan walked away, he watched as Jim walked over to Trista, and began talking to her. He watched as they sat down, and talked some more. After some time, Dan

knew that Jim had asked her out, and that she said yes. A smile came across Dan's face, as Trista looked over at him. When she went back to talking with Jim, Dans smile turned into a frown.

"You really liked her, eh?" said a woman, as she sat at the other end of the table Dan was sitting at.

"Yeah!" said Dan, a monotonous sound in his voice. "But she's happy, and that's what's important!"

"That's sweet!" said the woman.

"Yeah," said Dan "it is isn't it?"

"Yeah," said the woman "and don't worry hun, maybe one day you'll find a girl just like her!"

"Maybe!" said Dan, a small smile coming across his face, as he looked over the woman "Thanks!"

"No problem!" said the woman, as she kissed Dan on the forehead. As the woman stood up and walked away from the table, Dan looked back over at Trista, the small smile on his face, got a little bigger.

***

Mary woke up that morning, and went outside to get the newspaper. As she opened the front door, she saw a manilla envelope with her name on it in front of the door. As she picked it up, and opened it, she saw a completed issue of Adams Canada Man comic, self published. As she went in the house, she sat down and began reading through the comic. As she read through, she saw how Canada Man beat up all these bad guys, and saved the girl. As she neared the end, she saw the girl character that looked like her, wanting to know Canada Mans true identity. As she turned to the last page, it showed Canada Man without his mask on. The face was that of Adam, the final page showed that Adam has loved her for a while. The final frame showed them locked in a deep,

passionate kiss. Mary, with a look of surprise on her face, put down the comic. Still in her sleep clothes, she ran over to Adams. As she knocked, Adam walked over and opened his door.

"What did you think?" asked Adam

"Does this mean what I think it means?" asked Mary

"Yes!" said Adam.

"Oh Adam!" said Mary "I've felt the same way about you!" Mary wrapped her arms around Adams shoulders, and pulled him close to her. Their lips then locked in a deep, passionate kiss.

THE END