It's Gonna Be Me

Kris: Hey all! I'm back with a new fic! Recently I've been getting ideas for short fics (songfics, I suppose you could say) from the eyes of my four co-authors, Aaron Sidnay, Kevin McGorma, Justin Layor and Brian Layor. This one is from Kevin's POV, with more to come soon! Enjoy!

Kevin McGorma stood his backpack up against the wall and sighed. 'Something's missing,' he thought sullenly. He glanced around and spied a familiar 14-yr-old girl with a shoulder length reddish-brown ponytail, glittering brown eyes and a blue cross baseball cap walking past him. With a sly grin, he inconspicuously slid his foot out into the middle of her path, and in a seemingly fluid motion, her foot caught his and she tumbled to the ground.

Kevin grinned and laughed. 'Now my day is complete. Another day, another flirtation with Andi.' He managed to hold back his laughter for a few moments in order to speak. "Have a nice trip?"

The girl, Andi Knox, gave the boy a sardonic glare. "Yeah, I was actually thinking about inviting you to go in the fall!" Her leg flew up from behind and hit the crooks of Kevin's legs, knocking him down onto his posterior. He sat up quickly and regained composure.

"Now why on earth did you do that?"

"Same reason you tripped me to begin with -- opportunity!"

Kevin groaned. "I guess. Hey, wanna go rollerblading at the rink this afternoon? I was gonna go with Dan and Danielle, but they had an out-of-town friend come in yesterday."

"Um..." Andi glanced at her watch. "Sure. When should I meet you there?"

"Six-thirty."

"Alright, done. I'll see ya then!" Andi stood and started to walk away.

Kevin hesitated for an instant, then shouted after her, "And mind you, this *isn't* a date!" Andi didn't turn around, but made a 'OK' sign over her shoulder in reply. He sighed, secretly wishing to himself that it was.

~*~

At 6:00, Kevin skidded his bike to a stop next to the rink entrance and went inside. Music was already playing loudly, even though it had just opened a few minutes before. He'd planned on arriving early anyway. Andi had always held some compelling air about her that attracted him, but he was forced to hide these feelings (much to his sorrow). His best friend, Dan Avalon, had also had a crush on the girl in the past, but the sensations had worn off with time. Kevin knew this was love he was feeling towards Andi -- something kept persuading him that she was different from all the other girls he'd liked in the past.

He sighed and sat down next to the door on a bench, his skates falling from his hands to the floor with a clatter. 'She isn't gonna show,' he thought dejectedly. 'I just knew this was a bad idea...even worse than the time we tried to prank all the girls in that haunted house...I know she's not gonna come...' He silently removed his shoes (after noting not to do this around Andi because of the rancid stench that resulted. One cannot play soccer all afternoon and not have some sort of smell about you.), put his skates on and waited.

After thirty minutes, right as his watch beeped to signify 6:30 P.M., the door opened and Andi strolled in with her baseball cap in hand and skates in the other. Kevin was surprised she wasn't wearing the hat. He fought for his voice as he noticed all of Andi's facial features in a glance, then noticed he was beginning to sweat. He quickly wiped his sweaty palms dry on his shirt and proceeded to look busy with his skates he'd readjusted at least twelve times in the thirty minutes he was waiting.

Andi came and sat down next to her friend. "Hey Kevin, how's it goin'?"

"Um, good," he stuttered nervously. 'She seems different for some reason...definately different from earlier today...but I can't seem to place it in my mind!'

"Same here." She slipped on her skates in a matter of moments and stood slowly, trying not to fall. "Ready to skate?"

He grinned and stood as well. "You bet. Tell you what -- I'll race you. Four laps around the rink, the first one back to the starting line wins."

"Bring it on, slowpoke," Andi taunted playfully. The two entered the rink, and on the count of three, began the race. Kevin managed to pull ahead as he'd planned and kept his position to see if Andi could catch him. Sure, Andi was athletic...extremely athletic for a girl as a matter of fact. But he had always been more dexterous in the area of sports. He *was* a year and a half older than she, after all...and very attractive for an almost 14-yr-old, he knew. She often turned the heads of guys two and three years older, and some even had the nerve to harmlessly hit on her occasionally. She'd always managed to handle it with dignity though...he had to admire her for that talent.

He was beginning to wonder how far behind Andi had fallen when he heard a shout of surprise and shock.

"Hey, let go of me, punk! I'm not here alone this time!" Andi's angry tone caused Kevin to whirl around on his skates and almost lose his equilibrium in the process. Two Senior guys had surrounded Andi, one was holding her wrist firmly while the other had her shoulders.

The leading punk laughed. "Ooh, I'm scared of you now. C'mon babe, I've got an apartment with a great view waiting for us!"

Andi broke his grip roughly, then turned and kneed the other guy and tried to skate away. The first guy quickly caught ahold of her shirt and pulled a small knife from his shirt pocket.

Kevin panicked at the thought of Andi getting hurt. "Hey!" Now he could feel the anger burning inside of him from watching this fiasco. He was positive the guy could see it, because for an instant he looked intimidated and almost let go of Andi's shirt. He skated over to the guy with every intention of making the point that he'd seen enough. "Leave her alone, you freak!"

The attacker turned violently, knocking Andi flat on her rear. "Gimmie one reason why I should, before I rearrange your face," he sneered.

Kevin helped Andi to her feet and held her close to his own body, as if trying to show the guy there might be something between them. A wave of emotion flooded his being and caused him to lose his voice for an instant -- not too long, but long enough to anger the guy a little more. "She's with me, ok? Now get outta here before I call the cops on you." The first guy glared at him for a long, hard second, then skated out of the rink with his friend close behind.

Andi breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Kev. Those guys didn't wanna give up."

"No problem." He felt his friend's body trembling slightly still from the encounter. "Are you alright? You seem a bit shaken up."

She chuckled and scooted back from Kevin's embrace (though for a split second, she appeared to have almost enjoyed it). "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just--" She stopped in mid-sentence and let out a hiss of pain. Kevin saw one of her hands fly to the other protectively.

"What did he do to you? Are you hurt? Did he--"

"I'm alright, Kevin. Calm down." After a moment, Andi removed her hand to show a small bloody slash in her left palm. Kevin lost it completely.

"OK, that's it. I'm gonna find that punk and make him wish he'd never tried to mess with you. He had no right to--"

Andi managed to grab the boy's hands that were flailing in anger and frustration. "Kevin! Chill out! I've had worse cuts and scrapes before, this is next to nothing. Don't lose your cool over this."

He sighed. "If you say so. But that punk shouldn't have done that to you."

"I know, I don't think so either." Andi sighed and began to skate around a little to calm down. Soon Kevin joined her as well.

"Hey, do you wanna go get some pizza or something? I have a feeling those guys are gonna be back soon."

Andi nodded once. "Yeah, sounds good. I'd rather not live through *that* episode again."

~*~

Kevin noted how hungry the whole encounter had made him after inhaling at least half of a pizza, while Andi only poked at the two pieces she'd taken, as if distracted. Curiosity finally got the best of him after a few moments of silence.

"What's wrong, Andi? You don't seem really all here, if you get my meaning."

Andi sighed heavily. "I suppose I'm just upset after the whole skating thing. It really gets old after a while."

Kevin liked it when she was honest with him, but often the truth hurt. What did she mean, 'after a while'? Did it happen more often than he'd thought? "Well, why don't you, ah...get a, y'know, boyfriend so they'll leave you alone?" He managed to stutter.

"Sure." She glanced at the boy through the corner of her eye, then shook her head. "I don't think so. I've been in what you might call a "relationship" before (though *I* personally call it a "mistake"), but I was burned and broken by the time it was over. I don't wanna end up with a broken heart again."

A lump of puzza had managed to wedge its way into a stuck position inside Kevin's throat. He'd never really known Andi to be one who'd be hurt that easily! He finally managed to swallow the bite and asked, "care to tell me what happened?"

She shrugged sorrowfully, as if not wanting to remember the details. "It's an awful long story..."

"I've got time," he said quietly.

"Well..." she inhaled and exhaled before continuing. "It all started when I had a crush on this guy in the homeschool group."

Kevin interrupted briefly. "Anyone I know?"

"Nah, it was before your family moved here. Anyway, I went out with the guy once, and he led me to believe I'd actually found something special."

"What happened?"

"The long and short of it is he was actually going steady with the most popular girl in the group but didn't have the guts to tell me."

The boy let out a low whistle. "Ouch, bummer," he muttered.

"Tell me about it." Andi began to stare out the window near to the booth they were sitting in, now lost in thought. Kevin just sighed sadly. The last thing he wanted was for Andi to be hurt that badly again, and he knew that *he* would never break her heart, but she wouldn't trust any guy --including him-- long enough to find that out. A song came over the radio as the two sat there in silence, but while Andi ignored the lyrics, Kevin heard something different.

*You might've been hurt, babe
That ain't no lie
As you've seen them all come and go

I remember you told me
That it made you believe in no man, no cry
Maybe that's why

Every little thing I do
Never seems enough for you
You don't wanna lose it again
But I'm not like them
Baby when you finally
Get to love somebody
Guess what -- it's gonna be me*

He sighed again. "Hey, say that someone you'd known for a long time, say...I don't know; a couple years, told you that he loved you. Would you believe him?"

"It depends."

*You've got no choice, babe
But to move on
You know there ain't no time to waste*

"On what?"

The boy could've sworn a smile was beginning to fight its way to her lips. "I dunno, I guess on the guy, and how sincere he is. Though I'd never be able to tell, I'm sure."

*You're just too blind to see
But in the end you know it's gonna be me
You can't deny, so just tell me why

Every little thing I do
Never seems enough for you
You don't wanna lose it again
But I'm not like them
Baby when you finally
Get to love somebody
Guess what -- it's gonna be me*

Kevin glanced around for the waitress to pick up the check, but as he caught her attention, he also had the attention of a familiar pair of high school guys from across the room. He panicked and paid quickly, trying not to look over at the guys again, grabbed Andi's hand and hurried out the door, where a cold rain had begun to pour while they'd been eating. Once outside, she snatched her hand out of his grip angrily.

"What are you doing?! That was my hurt hand!" She snapped, growing irate.

He shot a glance over his shoulder. "Those guys from the rink were in there and I know at least one of them made eye contact with me. Let's get out of here before--"

"Before what, chicken?" A familiar voice sneered. Kevin whirled and ducked in time to evade a punch thrown towards his head. The two punks circled around him, waiting for him to make the first move. For an instant, Kevin actually thought about fighting them...but instead, he grabbed Andi's hand and ran towards the dark alleyways behind the pizzaria. The two shouted with surprise and began to chase the fleeting teenagers. Kevin led Andi through the alleys, jumping over trash cans, dodging cats, climbing chain-link fences, and trying to maintain their position ahead of their pursuers. The rain didn't help much, and neither did the thunder -- the lightning occasionally lit their way, however, making it a little easier to see where the were going.

Finally he accidentally ran them down a path to a dead-end. Andi's eyes widened, parcially from panic and for fear for their lives. "We're trapped! Nice going, Kev," she snapped. Lightning lit up the frantic look on her face.

"I try," he growled to himself. The two guys caught up with them and cornered Kevin against the back wall. The boy put up his fists in a defensive fighting stance as thunder boomed in the distance.

The leader laughed. "Do you think you can take us on?" He threw another punch towards the boy.

Kevin stubbornly blocked it. "I have a chance," he snapped back. After the leader recieved a right hook to the jaw, the two punks engaged themselves in a fistfight with the younger boy, who was on defence for both himself and Andi. All Andi could do was watch helplessly as her friend fought and, to her horror, began to lose. Lightning flashed, temporarily blinding Kevin and giving the two others an opportunity to strike. The second guy managed to land a punch in Kevin's stomach, knocking the wind out of him. The leader smirked, kneed the younger boy in the crotch, and threw him up against the back wall where he fell into a pile of trashbags with a cry of sudden pain. The thung walked up to Kevin, who lay helplessly writhing in agony, and kicked him in the side, then in the back, and finally smashed a trash can lid over the boy's head. Kevin's vision flashed an indescribable shade of color and faded into darkness. He could just make out Andi's frantic screams for help as he slipped into the sweet bliss of unconsciousness...

~*~

Darkness. Throbbing pain. Bright colors. Low voices. Soft, worried sobs. Hushed words of comfort and concern. Kevin's senses came to him slowly as he awoke into consciousness again. A shadow shifted over him, startling him and causing him to want to jump to his feet. His brain's screams and frantic signals didn't make contact with his body; instead, he moaned and tried not to concentrate on his massive headache. The rain had stopped, he noted, but he was still soaked to the bone as if he'd been out in the downpour for a very long time. He opened one eye, and to his horror, Andi was nowhere in his sight.

"Where'd she..." he mumbled incomprehensively, trailing off.

"Try not to speak, you're not fully awake yet." A teenage boy with kind, searching crystal eyes and neck-length black hair knelt down next to him and laid a hand on Kevin's forehead. After a moment, he sat back on his heels and brushed some of his long ebony bangs out of his eyes. "Who were you talking about?" He asked quietly.

Kevin's eyes burned from the pain in his head. "Andi...where is she...what happened..." he sat up slowly and glanced around, vision clearing. The girl was still missing. Panic cleared the rest of his senses as he stood quickly. "Andi!" He cried.

The boy wrapped the trenchcoat he'd been wearing around Kevin's shoulders, bringing the fact that he was shivering to his attention. "She's alright," he soothed. "She didn't go far, just to go find your bike and hers back at the resturant." Something in the boy's voice managed to calm Kevin's fears about his friend.

"But is she hurt? Did those punks get her? And who are you--"

"Kevin!" Andi's cry startled the boy and distracted him from the questioning. She was running towards him, tears of happiness streaming down her face.

He met her halfway and caught her in a hug. "Andi, are you alright? You're not hurt, are you? Where'd those guys go?"

Andi laughed. "I'm fine, Kev. Actually, I should be asking *you* that question...you're the one who was unconscious for over four hours."

"Four hours?!" Kevin slapped his forehead. "Oh man, my mom's gonna kill me! I told her I'd be home by nine!"

"It's only 10:30 -- are you ok after the fight?" She seemed to be a bit sheepish at remembering the past incident. "I mean, that was one heck of a hit he gave you..." Kevin blushed as she ran her hand through his dark, wet hair, searching for the place where the trash can lid had hit. A sharp twinge of pain caused him to take in a hissing breath in an effort to resist temptation of crying out as she found the spot.

Kevin looked over his shoulder at the boy who'd given him the coat. "I'm alright, I suppose...I admit I've been better, but then again I've never been hit over the head with a trash can lid before." He noticed that his friend was shivering from the cold, wet night air and hesitated for an instant. Slowly, he took off the trenchcoat given him and placed it around Andi's shoulders to keep her warm.

The teenager approached them and stood beside the two. "I'm glad to see you two are alright. I found Andi crying beside you, Kevin, and the two guys running off into the alleys. They must've hit you pretty hard, considering your head was bleeding horribly when I got here."

Kevin nodded once. "That would explain the headache and the goose-egg on the side of my head," he admitted. "Hey...who are you, anyway? It seems like I've met you before, but...I can't really place your face."

"I guess we could say we've met. I'm Gabe." He extended his hand to Kevin, who took it and gave it a friendly shake. A shiver of deja vu ran up his arm and down his spine. "You could kind of say I'm a guardian to you in a way."

Kevin glanced at the boy through the corner of his eye. "I will, then. It was nice to meet you, Gabe. And thanks for taking care of Andi for me."

"No problem." Gabe brushed his bangs out of his eyes again and raised his index and middle finger to his forehead, then flicked them away in a sort of farewell salute and winked at them. "I'll leave you two alone now." He turned around and began to walk away without any further words.

"Will we ever see you again?" Andi asked quickly.

Gabe stopped and glanced back at the girl kindly, smiling. "I'm sorry to say you won't. But I'll be there, just the same. Goodbye!" For an instant, a glow seemed to overtake the boy, causing Kevin to close his eyes instantaneously. But when he looked again, Gabe had vanished.

Andi gasped. "What the...where'd he go?"

"I dunno," Kevin breathed quietly. He turned to the girl, who was still staring into space after Gabe, and sighed to himself. "We'd better get going. It's getting awfully late and my mom's already going to blow a casket about me being late..." He started to walk towards where Andi's propped their bikes against the wall, but was interrupted.

"Kevin, wait..." the boy turned and glanced at Andi, who was slowly walking after him. "I think there's something wrong with me after all..."

"Are you hurt?" He asked.

"No, no...nothing like that..." she sighed and stopped about two feet behind where Kevin was standing. "I don't really know, actually...I mean, I'm not bleeding externally, but something inside of me is making me feel strangely, if you get my meaning."

Kevin laughed softly and smiled. "I don't know. I've no real term for the sinsation you're describing to me." he said teasingly.

Andi looked at her shoes, glowing an embarassed shade of red. Kevin had a bad feeling that he might've said the wrong thing just then. "Well it's not really something that has a term...I can't really tell you what I'm feeling right now because it won't make sense...it'll contradict everything I said earlier."

"Oh..." Kevin's heart skipped a beat in excitement. Was she saying what he thought she was saying? '...could she really....' he paused and mentally kicked himself for thinking such a thought. 'No. She said she wouldn't trust anyone, so that can't be it. No way...'

"Kevin..." Andi took his hand in hers and looked up into his eyes. The gaze she gave him dove deep into his being, rekindling a flame of hope he'd tried to extenguish. "I guess what I'm trying to say is...well..." she stopped in mid-sentence.

He nodded once, as if trying to cue her. "What were you saying?"

"Um...thanks," she stuttered. "I never really thought a guy would stick up for me like you did, back at the rink, at the resturant, and here in the alley." She squeezed his hand a little bit. "When you started fighting, I started wondering about all I'd said back during dinner. I know I said I didn't trust anyone, but...I guess you must really care about me if you're willing to risk your life to save mine."

Kevin felt an excitement take over him as Andi slowly inched towards him. "I wouldn't let those punks take you away. I was ready to protect you, even if they broke every bone in my body in the process." He put his hand on the side of her face and looked in her eyes as she'd done to him before. "I'd never let anything happen to you, Andi." He bent his head down a little to get closer to her face and saw her close her eyes in anticipation of something.

He smiled. "I love you, Andi," he whispered. They both cautiously leaned in and let their lips touch in a tender kiss.

Above on a nearby fire escape, Gabe, now dressed in a white robe, chuckled to himself happily. "I knew they were made for each other. I'm glad I was positioned to be his guardian angel -- he's a very interesting boy to know. Andi will be happy with him in the future."

~*~