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February Fourteenth
Author's Note - A nice, fluffy Valentines Day story... yes, I realize it's a few days early, but oh well. I finished it early and really wanted to post. Enjoy!
"Good morning Avery!" he grinned, stepping far enough away from my locker in order for me to open it, but not far enough away that I could smell his Old Spice. I grumbled and opened my locker, and a red envelope promptly fell out onto the floor. He bent down and picked it up.
"Did Avery get a valentine?' he asked, holding it between two fingers and waving it in front of me, teasingly. I grabbed it out of his hands easily and shoved it into my math book.
"Go away Carter," I said. As usual, Carter went nowhere. I finished putting everything into my locker, save the things I would need for my morning classes. I ignored Carter and made my way to the math classroom.
"Aren't you going to open the envelope?" he asked, trailing me down the hall like a little kid would. Oh, the annoyance of having him in all of my morning classes.
"It's none of your business," I replied. I hoped he would forget about it. I wouldn't want to explain the contents to him. Well, I didn't know what this one contained, but judging by similar notes received in the past three weeks, this was not something Carter should see - especially not from someone who worshipped a homophobic cartoon character such as Cartman.
We reached the classroom at this point, and Carter saw no problem with seating himself next to me. Not that he had the place to object, as he'd been assigned that seat back in September by our evil Algebra teacher.
"Do you know who it's from?" he asked, poking me in the arm with his mechanical pencil. At least it wasn't a pen. I didn't want to get pen marks on my shirt. I opened my math book to where I'd shoved the envelope. My name was printed on it in capital letters with a black permanent marker – AVERY M. QUINN. The man that they came from knew my middle name. He knew my favorite color (green), my favorite school subject (Science), and just about everything about me. He also knew how to make me blush, which I managed to do every time I read one of his letters.
I held the envelope in my hands, but I didn't dare open it now. I would do it later, when I was alone, when I could be alone with his words. I wondered if this letter would be the one where he revealed his identity to me … though I was nervous about this last thought. Would his letters still be intriguing if I knew who he was? Would I still want him?
The morning announcements began, interrupting my thoughts. Though I didn't normally listen to them – they usually just told of which sports games were coming up and who needed to see the principal.
"Don't forget about the Valentine's Dance after school today! It starts at seven, and admission is four dollars per person. If you bring a date, it's only five dollars between the two of you! Have a great Valentines Day!" I decided that the women that worked in the office and did the morning announcements were way too chipper.
Carter leaned over and whispered in my ear, "you going to the dance?" His breath was hot against my ear, but this had to do with the fact that I was cold, and not because I was thinking about his mouth doing things other than whispering … honest.
I didn't answer Carter's question, partly because I didn't know what my answer was, and partly because Mr. Hatch, the evil math teacher, began going over Very Important Formulas that we would need to know for the next exam.
After Algebra, I managed to ditch Carter and slipped into the bathroom. We had ten minutes of passing time and it only took me two minutes, maximum, to make it to English. I had enough time to read the letter. I went into a stall and opened the envelope, my hands trembling so much that I nearly ripped it. The letter itself was typed on a plain white piece of paper.
Avery:
I liked the way you were dressed yesterday. That green sweater suited your eyes nicely … and the pants emphasized your … um … assets. :-) Let's just say that I was glad I'd chosen to wear loose pants that day. Then again, you'll always cause that reaction in me, no matter what you're wearing – or not wearing.
This letter isn't going to be nearly as long as the rest, because I have but two things to tell you … one of which you already know.
The first is that I love you. I've told you this many times before, but I don't want you to forget this, ever.
The second is that, on this day, which is used by many as an excuse to buy chocolates and fancy cards, I want you to know who I really am. I am tired of this mystery and hiding myself. Feelings like this should not be kept secret. However, I want to give you the option of choosing whether or not you want to know who I am.
If you do, meet me at seven, tonight, at the elementary school playground. I will wait for you by the swings. If you don't show up by seven thirty, I'll assume you don't want to meet me, and that will be it. The letters will cease, and I will fade away.
It hardly bears saying, but I do hope I will see you tonight.
- Love, your prince
Once I finished reading the letter, my heartbeat had doubled, and I could barely manage to fold it back up again. He wanted to meet me… my head was spinning with the possibilities. I could go, and finally discover who he was … or I could stay home and never know, never hear from him again. But what if he was someone I didn't like?
I put the letter back in its envelope and put both back into my math book. I had all day to think about this, and right now I had to get to English.
Carter was waiting for me in the classroom, and looked at me expectantly when I sat down. Our teacher hadn't shown up yet to start class, so I couldn't very well avoid him, short of getting up and leaving the room.
"Well, what'd it say? Is your secret admirer going to meet you at the dance?" he asked.
"I believe I already told you that it was none of your business," I replied, taking out my English notebook. In the process, however, the envelope and letter fell out of my math book onto the floor. Carter took this opportunity to pick it up and open the envelope. I made an attempt to get it back from him, but he held it out my reach. He opened up the letter and started reading it.
"I liked the way you were dressed yesterday," he said, quoting from the letter. I made another reach for it but failed. Luckily, at least, Carter didn't read any of the rest of the letter aloud, though I watched his lips move as he read the rest inside his head. For a fleeting moment, I found myself wishing the words came from Carter. A moment after I thought those, though, I knew it wouldn't be possible, knew it was a stupid thought.
"Aw, gee, that's so cute, Avery," Carter said, handing the letter and envelope back to me. I took them, wary. What did he want from me?
He wasn't able to say anymore because Mr. Archer finally walked into the room, clapping his hands together to get everyone to be quiet. I wondered if I would be able to make it out of this class and avoid Carter at the same time. It wouldn't work, though. Carter was in art with me as well. I'd be able to ditch him after that, when I had lunch.
"Do we really have to do Shakespeare on Valentine's Day?" Alice Henderson asked, sounding whinier than my eight year old cousins did. She flipped her blond hair back and attempted to look flirtatious, which I found kind of gross. I mean, Mr. Archer was like, forty years old.
"Alice, you said the same thing on Halloween, and I'm not going to be surprised if you use the same reasoning on St. Patrick's Day. Just because people choose today to express their affection for one another does not mean we have to stop learning," Mr. Archer replied, shooting her a withering look, and proceeded to write several words on the white board. I recognized them – they'd been in the reading from Taming of the Shrew that we'd had to read the night before. I wrote all of them down in my notebook, leaving spaces for the definitions, which I knew would be coming next.
A sharp poke in my back distracted me, but I ignored it, knowing that Carter was only trying to provoke me. Then his hot breath was on my ear again.
"Can I borrow a pencil?" he whispered, voice barely audible, and yet still made my spine tingle with – what? Something dangerous, no doubt. It was Carter, after all. I didn't answer him, just continued copying what was on the board. I could still feel him breathing behind me … he hadn't moved.
"Avery, please? I'll keep my mouth shut about that letter if you lend me a pencil." His voice was still quiet, but he was drawing Mr. Archer's attention, and I didn't want that. I passed my spare pencil back to him, but it was too late.
"Mr. Harrington, Mr. Quinn, would you mind sharing your conversation with the class?"he asked, using his death glare on us. I was blushing, oh yes, but Carter just smiled and held up the pencil I'd given him.
"I was just asking Avery for a pencil," he said. Mr. Archer stared for a moment.
"Perhaps you should do that before class next time," he said, and continued with the class. My blush subsided, and I made it through the rest of the class period unscathed. Carter followed me out of the room.
"Thanks for the pencil," he replied, holding out the utensil to me.
"Keep it," I replied, feeling rather generous – or, rather, eager for him to leave me alone. I didn't need this confusion, not today.
"You know, you're kind of cute when you're embarrassed," he said. My face heated up, even though I tried not to care. He was just trying to provoke me. He was silent for a while, at least, until we got to art and I put my things down at the table in the back. I grabbed one of the easels and started setting it up, Carter doing the same beside me.
"So, are you going to meet up with this secret 'Prince' guy?" he asked me, clipping his paper to the top of the easel.
"You said you weren't going to talk about that anymore," I reminded him. I walked over to the cabinet and took out a box of charcoals, as the instructions on the board said. The art teacher, Ms. Gregory, was sometimes late to class, and she left the instructions on the board. Today we were using the charcoals to draw a still life she'd set up in the front of the room.
"I lied," Carter answered, grinning cheekily at me. I sighed and didn't answer him, taking the charcoals out and starting to do some preliminary sketching. I didn't mind drawing so much, because it was kind of relaxing, even though I was horrible at it.
"You never answered my question," Carter's voice in my ear startled me, and I made a mess of what I was doing. I ripped the paper off and ignored my heartbeat, which was faster. Never mind the effect all this hot breathing was doing to a certain part of my anatomy.
"Stop doing that!" I hissed, glaring at him. Carter just shrugged and went back over to his easel – not that it was that far away.
"Well, you didn't answer me. Are you going to go meet him, or leave the poor guy hanging?" he repeated. I sighed, wondering if Carter would ever give it up.
"I don't know," I said, "and I don't see how it's any of your business anyway." I lowered my voice as the rest of the class trickled in and started setting up.
"I just think it's cute that someone has a crush on you," Carter said, "but I'll leave you alone if it bothers you that much."
"Yes, it does," I told him. He shrugged.
"Fine," he said. He didn't say another word for the entire period, didn't so much as look at me. I pretended like this was exactly what I had wanted, despite the fact that a tiny part of me wished that he would keep teasing me. You're one fucked up guy, Avery, I told myself.
He didn't even try to follow me to my locker after class. When I got to my locker, I exchanged my morning books for my afternoon ones, and, on impulse, I grabbed the other envelopes that were in my locker. Some of them I'd brought home, but a few had been kept in my locker, for fear that my mother would find them.
Instead of spending lunch in the cafeteria, I went to a secluded corner of the library (which was usually empty at this time of day) and sat down on the carpet with the envelopes. As I had told Carter, I still wasn't sure whether I wanted to go to meet my 'Prince' or not. I was worried about who he would turn out to be, whether I would like him in person as much as I did in writing.
I opened the earliest letter, the first one I'd gotten from him, and read the words it contained. Even then, he'd been bold, telling me all the things he longed to do to me. I would kiss your neck, unbutton that blue shirt you wear so often, kissing your chest along the way. And then I would unbuckled your pants … As I read the words, though, I couldn't help hearing the words come from Carter's lips, his breath hot against my neck and his lips at my throat. I dropped the letter on the floor and covered my face with my hands. What was wrong with me?
/ \
My mood when I got home from school had not differed much from what it had been when I left for school. If anything, I felt worse. I was torn between my confusing thoughts about Carter and the possibility of finally meeting, in person, the one person that might actually like me.
"What are your plans for tonight?" my dad asked me when I ventured into the kitchen for a snack. It was nearing five o'clock by then, and I still hadn't made a decision about whether to go or not. Dad was dressed up in a suit, complete with a tie and his black hair slicked back.
"I'll probably just stay in," I said, though I wasn't totally committed to that idea. "You guys are going out, obviously." Dad nodded.
"We will be, as soon as your mother is ready," he added, glancing towards the hallway, "I hope she realizes that the reservations are for six." I walked over to the fridge and started searching for something to eat. Mom walked into the room, all dressed up, her hair pulled up. The way Dad looked at her, though, was enough to remind me that some love lasts forever. Mom walked up to him and they kissed, so obviously in love with each other that it was almost painful.
"We'll be home late," Dad said, wrapping an arm around Mom's waist, "don't wait up." They kissed again, and then walked out the door and to the car. It was then that I decided that I had to go. With Carter, I might not have any chance, but at least with this man, this mystery man, at least I knew he loved me, and from reading his leaders, I liked him well enough that it was worth a shot.
Now all I had to do was wait. Rather than just stand around doing nothing, I took a long shower and then found something nice to wear. Well, as nice as it was going to get. Of course, it was going to be cold out, so he wouldn't see the shirt I'd picked out. Unless he had plans to go somewhere warm afterwards.
Even after doing that, it still wasn't close to seven. I occupied myself with brushing my teeth, wandering around the house, worrying about who it could be. Carter was still on my mind, but I tried not to think about him.
When I finally left the house, I put my jacket on and bundled up. It was dark out, but the streetlights guided my way. Luckily it hadn't snowed in a few weeks, and the snow that we'd had was melted away. It was still cold enough that I could see my breath coming out in small puffs in front of me. I kept my hands in my pockets and walked at a steady pace. The elementary school was only about a ten minutes walk from my house, and I got there at five past seven, according to my watch. The swings were at the far end and I could see someone over there. Even though there were lights around the playground, I couldn't tell exactly what he looked like, and this only made me more nervous. I walked faster.
My heart sank when I saw that it was just Carter sitting on the swings. When he saw me, he smiled and stood up.
"What the hell are you doing here?" I hissed. Where was 'prince'? If Carter had come all this way just to tease me I would … I don't know.
"Avery," he said, and his voice was soft and low, and I was reminded of the whispers in my ear, the tingling down my spine. I shivered, and I wasn't entirely sure that it was from the cold.
"Please, don't ruin this for me," I begged him, "this is the one chance I have at something good. Can't you just let me have this? Can't you do something nice for once in your life?" I took a deep breath and turned around, scanning the playground for any sign of another person. Maybe he was late. Maybe he'd seen Carter here and left. There was one possibility that I was purposely ignoring.
"Avery, it's me," Carter said, and I could feel him closely behind me. I didn't want to turn around and see him looking at me.
"I don't know what you're talking about." I was being obstinate, but I didn't want him to know what I'd been thinking about all day, all week … for a long time. Carter walked around in front of me and stood so I was forced to look at him. He'd washed his hair and combed it down, instead of in the faux-hawk he'd had earlier. His jacket was unzipped partway, and it looked like he wearing a tie.
"It was the only way I could see if you were even interested," he said, "You didn't get any of my other hints. Avery, I'm not lying to you. It was me, the whole time." He was staring at me; his eyes were so intense.
"How do I know? You could just be trying to trick me. I'm not an idiot." I was trying so hard to sound like I didn't even care. But god, if he was telling the truth … hadn't I been hoping for that, in the back of my mind?
"Well, that first letter… I sent it to you two weeks ago. It was a Monday. I told you that I liked the blue shirt you wear a lot. I said I wanted to kiss you…" he trailed off and looked at me. I watched him lick his lips. Oh, what that did to me.
"You could've broken into my locker and stole them to read," I said, but my suspicion was wavering. He was silent for a moment, just looking at me. And then, his gloved hands were on my face and he leaned towards me. I didn't try to stop it, just waited for his lips on mine, this one kiss that the whole day was building up to. Warmth spread through my entire body with the pressure of his mouth on mine, and I opened my mouth to let him in. I grabbed his shoulders and kissed him back with all the force I'd been holding back.
When we broke apart for air, my face was burning, and Carter still hadn't moved his hands away from my face.
"Oh, god, Avery, I love you so much," he breathed, stealing another kiss.
"I … I love you too," I whispered back, afraid to trust my voice right now.
"I know someplace a little warmer," Carter said, "you're welcome to join me." he grinned that oh-so-familiar cheeky grin.
"Sounds good to me."
The End