1 comments/ 10021 views/ 0 favorites Collisions Ch. 01 By: AvaAmour This is my first ever submission, so any comments/suggestions would be appreciated. :) Sorry it's not very steamy, but I added the sex dream to hopefully add some spice. Thanks for reading! AvaAmour -------------------- "Ooh. Oh God Bobby. Just like that." Bobby looked up, smiling at his girlfriend writhing on his bed. As he paused, she moaned in protest, so he quickly resumed his position at her slick entrance. He licked up and down prior to probing his tongue as deep within her as possible. "Mmm. Ooh. Ooh Bobby. Please, more." He obliged, gently sucking and nuzzling into her. Then he began using his finger. He gently thrusted in and out a few times, causing her to pant at him. Then he began using two fingers, going in deeply before pulling almost all the way out. Simultaneously, he continued lavishing her with attention from his tongue. "Oh God. Ooh. Oh yeah, babe. I'm ready, Bobby. Please." In response, he continued fingering her while he ate her out. He loved hearing her beg for sex before he gave it to her, and she would be so incredibly wet when he finally gave in that he loved going down on her before sex. Just a few minutes more and he would feel heaven-on-earth. "Please Bobby. Please. Mmm." She continued begging until he brought her dangerously close to orgasm. Then he finally stopped and paused for a moment. "Are you ready, baby?" He asked quietly. She just kept begging. "Okay, here we go." He said to her. He looked down at her glistening wetness and readied himself to enter her. Placing the tip of his shaft at her entrance, he rubbed it around, allowing himself to tease her while also lubricating himself. He smiled as he watched her thrusting up, trying to take him into herself. Then he began enter— ____________________ "Mellie! Mellie wake up this instant. You've already slept through your alarm and the two snooze modes!" Mellie sat upright quickly, breathing heavily from the shock of being pulled out of her dream and from the excitement she felt on waking. She looked at her clock. Shoot, it's already 6:45. She usually got up at least half an hour earlier in order to ready herself for school. Do I have time to shower and blow dry my hair? She had wanted to wake up earlier to look especially nice on her first day back to school. Oh well, she thought. I can shower quickly and wear my new pair of jeans instead of a skirt. Then I don't have to shave my legs. She ran to the bathroom and quickly stripped out of her pajamas, her mind going back to her dream. Her amazing dream. She jumped into the stream of hot water, still contemplating Bobby. Mellie had always harbored a huge crush on Bobby Boedon. He was the hottest boy in her class, and was also 19—a year older than all the other seniors at school. Somehow, that extra year added so much more mystique and maturity to him. Of course, every other girl probably dreamed about him too. Tall, muscular, with wavy blonde hair and deep brown eyes, he also was on the Honor Roll and dominated at any sport he played. Bobby had moved to Bloomfeld at the start of high school, and Mellie had fallen for him the first day. She wished that she could actually experience such pleasure as he had given her in the dream, but he doubted that he even knew of her existence. Although Bloomfeld High was not overly large, their social circles did not even touch one another. Bobby fit in with the jocks and cheerleaders. He always seemed to be dating one of the girls from the squad, especially if they were blondes. Mellie fit in with many different groups, but none of those included jocks. She participated in band and theater, and was one of the top 5 students in the class. As such, she took all Honors and Advanced Placement level courses. She also was not blonde. She had light brown hair that could be said to have some blonde and red natural highlights, but definitely couldn't pass for a blonde. Mellie turned off the water and got out of the shower. Wrapping herself in a towel, she went to the mirror, grabbing a hairbrush from a drawer on the way. She brushed out her hair, regarding herself critically in the mirror. She considered herself pretty, with hazel eyes that turned green in certain lighting, a "sweet" smile, and straight features. Her best feature was her hair, which hung to her waist and could be styled as curly or straight easily. However, "pretty" didn't get her dates. She was somewhat shy around boys, and didn't put out like the popular girls did. Also, the boys she met in her classes were also nerdy, and generally not very attractive, though they were all very pleasant to know. They just did not match up to Bobby Boedon. "Stop obsessing," she said to her reflection. She left to finish getting ready for school. Once clothed, she did her hair and threw on some natural make-up. Then she grabbed her backpack, keys, and purse, and ran to her car, grabbing a pop-tart on the way out the door. "Love you, bye!" called her Mom. "Good luck today!" "Love you, Mom. Bye!" Mellie got into her car and drove to school, arriving in time to grab her usual parking spot next to her best friend, Danielle. They got out at the same time and walked to the gym, where tables were set up for students to grab their schedules. They met up in the entrance, comparing their classes. Danielle was also in the Honors and Advanced Placement program, so they took many of the same classes. However, Mellie was in English Composition instead of English Literature, and Danielle had signed up for a fun class about children while Mellie had decided to take a study hall. They shared their first class, Advanced Biology II, so they walked to the room together, greeting some of their friends on the way. ____________________ They went through two classes, getting their textbooks and syllabi, then split as Danielle went to her Child Welfare class and Mellie went to her study hall. She was slightly apprehensive about taking a free hour, because she had never done so before and knew that the rougher kids often did. She walked into the cafeteria, where the study hall was held, and found an empty table. Once seated, she began comparing her exam dates for Biology and Statistics. They never coincided, which made her feel confident about studying for them. She opened up her Statistics book. Although Mrs. G was one of her favorite instructors, she always assigned homework on the first day, so Mellie thought she could get it finished quickly. About halfway through the hour, the kids who participated in the Vocational Program got up and left to go to those classes. These students were normally in trouble, and took the vocational classes because they would not be attending college. Once they had left, she looked around, and noticed that Bobby was in the study hall. Ohmygod, she thought to herself. I can't believe I finally have a class with him. How will I be able to concentrate on homework when he is sitting less than ten feet from me and looking so hot? She spent the second half of the period mentally obsessing while attempting to complete her Stats assignment. Finally, the bell rang, signaling the end of the period. Mellie rushed out, and ran straight into Bobby as she was looking down at her schedule. She tripped, going headfirst toward the floor when suddenly, she was caught by a pair of very muscular hands. She looked up, straight into the eyes of— Oscar Gutierrez. Not Bobby Boedon. Now she felt doubly foolish. He hadn't even stopped to catch her; rather Bobby had continued walking toward his class. Feeling humiliated, she began to get teary-eyed. Shoot, now I look like a wuss. Hopefully no one notices. What is WRONG with me? "Careful there, chica." Oscar looked down at the girl. He had seen her in band, but there were well over 100 people in band, so he knew her face but not her name. As he examined her to check if she was steady, he noticed she was about to cry. "Dios Mio, are you okay?" he asked, mixing some Spanish into his sentence as he freaked out. Damn, if she's hurt, they principles will blame me, and all I did was catch her, he thought to himself. He continued to support her in case she had somehow hurt herself as she fell. Mellie looked up at him, amazed that his eyes were blue. Most Hispanics had brown eyes, right? She couldn't think straight. Oscar was the worst of the rough kids. He had been expelled their sophomore year and had a reputation as well as a rap sheet. She couldn't believe he would have caught her. Wasn't he supposed to be bad news? Her mind raced, but finally realized he had asked her a question. "Umm. Yes. I'm fine. Just...embarrassed." Mellie looked down shyly. "I better get to class. Um. Thanks for helping me." She felt strangely weird when he released her, but stopped thinking about it as she ran to class. Her mind returned to sharing study hall with Bobby. Maybe tomorrow I can talk to him. She rushed into the room right as the bell rang and found a seat near Christine, one of her closest group of girlfriends. As the teacher passed out the syllabus, Mellie told Christine about having study hall with Bobby. Christine gave her advice on what she should say to him, but Mellie knew she couldn't actually start up a conversation with him. Especially after making such a fool of herself. Christine would understand. She had had a crush on one of the drummers for years, and had talked to him only twice. It stunk to be one of the shy, smart girls. Mellie smiled and thanked Christine, then they both paid attention to the teacher. However, a small part of Mellie's brain continued to berate her for her stupidity. How can I even think that Bobby would want me? The thought stayed in her mind the rest of the day, torturing her as she finished each class, ate lunch with Christine and Danielle, and went to band. She filled Danielle in then about her disastrous encounter with Bobby and how Oscar had been there. Danielle looked shocked. "Oscar?! How strange. He's a felon. That's how much trouble he was in sophomore year. Plus, I hear that he's like, a sex fiend. And remember how Bernice tried to say he was a rapist. I can't believe he touched you. Do you feel dirty?" "I don't know. At the time, I just felt thankful I hadn't done a complete faceplant, you know?" "Yeah, I get it. Just try to avoid him if you can." Mellie looked over her shoulder, to where the low brass section was arranged in the back of the band. She and Danielle were first flutes, so they sat at the very front. Oscar was playing while she looked. When holding a trombone, he didn't look nearly as intimidating as his reputation made him. But that didn't mean she wanted to cross him more than necessary. "I will. Trust me." Mellie smiled at Danielle as they watched their music, waiting for their cue to come in. _________________ After band rehearsal, Mellie went out with Danielle, Christine, and another one of their friends, Jess. They hung out, comparing their first days and laughing. They were glad to be seniors and couldn't wait to graduate at the end of the school year. Senior prom also planned to be exciting. But first was homecoming, and of course they had all their college prep tests to take. They planned to all get together Friday night for a movie night, and went to their homes to finish homework. Once home, Mellie returned to thinking about her dream. She felt dirtier for having dreamed that than she felt about having Oscar catch her. She figured it was just a response from having watched that crime show about rape victims the night before. Although everything Bobby had done had felt amazing in the dream... She sighed. Bobby is more experienced than I could even imagine. Even if we dated, it would be so awkward to be a virgin dating a stud like that. She moved on to finishing her homework, pushing Bobby from her mind. Collisions Ch. 02 Here's the next chapter guys. :o) Just a note: Oscar is pronounced in the Spanish way. Phonetically that is "Oh-scar". Again, any constructive criticism or love is appreciated. Thanks for reading! AvaAmour ________________ The rest of the week went by fairly quickly. Mellie had no more sexual dreams, she grew accustomed to her coursework and schedule, and she used her study hall as a time to simultaneously work ahead on homework while checking Bobby out as surreptitiously as possible. On Friday night, Mellie went to Christine's house with Danielle and Jess. They watched movies, gossiped, and ate pizza. During one part of the conversation, the girls compared the attractive leading actor to the hottest guys at their school. "I think his hair is better than any of the students at Bloomfeld," claimed Jess. "And that jaw line is beautiful!" "You always go for the strong jaws," teased Danielle. "Maybe you should date a shark instead!" With that, she began to hum the Jaws theme song ominously while acting like she was swimming through the water. "You're so silly," Jess countered. "Sit down so we can finish watching this hunk of awesome." Danielle complied, and the girls sat quietly for a few scenes. Then the main villain came on the screen. He looked to be of Hispanic descent, and spoke with a Spanish accent. However, he still was quite attractive, which Mellie was quick to point out to the girls. "You think he's hott?" asked Christine incredulously. "I think he looks like Oscar Gutierrez." "He doesn't," insisted Mellie. "Plus, Oscar has blue eyes. Our hottie has brown eyes. Kind of like—" "BOBBY BOEDON," the girls all said together, and then lapsed into giggles. They all found Bobby attractive, but also knew that Mellie had the biggest crush on him. Plus Jess had an on-again, off-again relationship with one of the juniors who participated in band with the girls, while Danielle jumped to a new crush each week. Soon, the conversation flowed to Homecoming, which would be in two months. None of the girls had their dresses yet, but agreed to go shopping together during the few weeks before the dance. Being seniors, they also would get the opportunity to pick two of their classmates as King and Queen, though everyone knew Bobby would be the King, and one of the cheerleaders would doubtlessly be Queen. By midnight, the girls had grown tired and somewhat quieter, so they said their goodbyes and left for their houses. Mellie was sad the night was over, but felt happy they had the chance to hang out and that they all got along so well. She loved her friends as she did her family, and enjoyed school because she almost always had class with at least one of them. She went to bed feeling pretty content with life. ____________________________ The next day was Sunday, and Mellie went to church with her family. Normally she paid strict attention to the pastor, sang along with all the hymns, and even followed along in the Bible when the pastor quoted verses in his sermons. Today, however, her mind was wondering much more than usual. She began to people watch, and was immensely surprised to see Oscar sitting in the back of the church. She had never noticed him there before, but it was entirely possible that he would be able to slip in after the service began and slip out soon before everyone was dismissed. She tucked the thought away and forced herself to pay attention to the rest of the service. By the end of it, Oscar was gone from both the church and her mind. ____________________________ The next few weeks passed without incident. Mellie thought minimally about Oscar and constantly about Bobby. Then one day she ran into Oscar yet again. Mellie and Danielle had just gotten out of their Spanish class, and were walking down the hall toward the band room, still conversing in Spanish with one another. They had only travelled about twenty feet when a small freshman came barging up from behind them, pushing everyone out of his way. He walked between Mellie and Danielle, pushing Mellie toward the other side of the hallway, where everybody was walking the opposite way. "Whoa there, chica bonita," came a male voice as Mellie tripped into him. "Lo siento, amigo," she replied without looking up at him. She tried to walk back over to Danielle, but the guy grabbed her arm to get her attention. She stopped and looked back at him, realizing with a start that it was Oscar. "Hola, chica. Watch where you're walking so I don't have to keep catching you. Comprende?" He then leaned forward and whispered in her ear in a husky voice, "You wanna learn espanol from a pro? Come talk to me sometime, gatita." With that he turned and walked away, leaving her speechless and rooted to the spot. What just happened? Mellie thought to herself. I've seen Oscar more this school year than I have every other year combined. And he never talks to people, but he's spoken with me twice. Why in the world did he call me a kitten? She continued to ponder everything, confused, until she heard her name. "Mellie! We have to hurry or we'll be late for band! Come ON." Danielle was waving frantically from further down the hall, and had apparently missed the entire interlude with Oscar. Mellie brought herself back to reality and rushed to band with her friend. _______________________________ The following week came with astonishing gossip spreading like wildfire around the school. Mellie arrived at her usual time and went to class with Danielle. "Did you hear about Bobby and Sarah?" asked Danielle. "She totally just dumped him, which means he'll be free for the Homecoming Dance! Don't you just wish you could ask him? That would be so awesome, and you two would be beautiful together." Danielle continued gushing until the instructor began lecturing, but Mellie remained silent and tuned Danielle out. She wasn't sure if she even believed the gossip, but she knew she would be able to tell if it were true once she reached her study hall and observed Bobby. Through the two classes preceding study hall, Mellie's head remained in the clouds. Although she did take copious notes in order to be able to look back on what the teachers had said, she remembered nothing of what she had written. Then the classes were over and she rushed to the cafeteria, where she grabbed her usual table and took out some homework. When Bobby came in, he sat by himself, looking glum. From this, she knew that the rumors were true. She kept looking at him, saddened by his obvious grief over the situation. "He might get creeped out if he notices you staring at him like that, gatita." "What are you doing here? Why do you keep calling me that?" The words came out more rudely than she intended, but he had startled her. She looked up at him with a challenging look written clearly on her face. He laughed at her. "I call you that, gatita, because you remind me of an incredibly sexy kitten." "Sexy? Do you need your eyes checked? You don't even know me." Mellie was fairly confused by the attention he paid to her, and also wary of being near him because of his reputation. "Mujer, you don't know me either, but that don't mean that you ain't got opinions about me," he countered her words easily. "Anyway, Senorita Gatita, why don't you just ask Mr. Ken Doll over there to the dance? You obviously like him, you're obviously attractive, and he's very available. Wear that top you were wearing when you crashed into me last week and those jeans you wore when you crashed into me on the first day of school. Then if he says no, quit obsessing and know that he is muy estupido." Speechless again, Mellie just looked at him with wide eyes. "Oh, and wear your hair down for a change instead of pulled back." With that, he walked away easily, leaving her to her homework and her obsessions. _________________________ Three days later, Mellie woke up early so she could blow dry and straighten her hair. She put on the outfit prescribed by Oscar, unable to believe she was taking his advice. Then she went to school as usual, hoping she could get up the nerve to even talk to Bobby, let alone ask him out. The first two hours passed by far too quickly, leaving her nervous and apprehensive about how Bobby would regard her. She went to study hall and sat at her usual spot. After attendance was taken, she got up and moved over to Bobby's table. I can't believe I'm doing this, she thought to herself. Breathe in. Breathe out. I'll be okay. She sat down across from him, took a breath, and began to speak. "Um. Hi. I'm sure you don't know who I even am—" "Mellie. You're Mellie. We both took Economics last year, but weren't in the same class. Anyway, during that Economic summit our teacher had all the classes participate in, you and your partner got second place. So I actually do know you." He smiled at her, looking her up and down slowly. "I don't remember you being so gorgeous then though." "Um. Wow. I. Um." She paused for a moment, recovering. "Anyway, I was, um, wondering if maybe we could try hanging out sometime?" Her voice grew steadily more faint as she finished the question. Then she looked down at the ground, shy and terrified. "Mellie." His voice was gentle. "Look at your blush. Yes. I would like to hang out with you sometime. Why don't we go out to eat tomorrow night? I'll take you to Fred Le Tray's at 6. We'll get to know one another a little better. Then maybe you won't make so many assumptions about me." He smiled at her again. "That would be g-great," Mellie stammered. She was simply stunned that he had even recognized her, let alone agreed to go on a date—A Date!—with her. She walked back to her table, sitting down without even realizing that Oscar was sitting there already. "Obviously, he said something nice, gatita. I told you it would go well. Aren't you glad you listened to my advice? Ain't gonna doubt me now, are you?" He was smug, but felt strange, like he'd lost a bet, not like he'd been right. He asked himself why he felt so weird, but honestly couldn't figure it out. Did he like this girl? No way. She was too good, too pure, for the likes of him. I can't have a crush on her, he told himself. I don't even like white chicks, and this chica is as white as they come. He walked off, back to his table. ________________________________________ Mellie woke early the next morning, determined to look amazing for her date. She had filled in all her friends yesterday after the band rehearsal, and they had been completely amazed at both her bravery and the payoff. Mellie too was still in shock, incapable of grasping why he would have said yes. As the four girls had left the band room, Mellie had caught sight of Oscar leaving as well. Wow, he looks really upset, she thought to herself. I wonder what's wrong. She pushed Oscar from her mind then, focusing on how amazing her next day would be. After waking up, Mellie gave herself a manicure and matching pedicure while trying to keep herself relaxed. Then she curled up with a book in her room until after lunch. She showered, blow dried her hair, then spiral curled it, putting half of it into an intricate updo that could pass for either casual or fancy depending on what she decided to wear. After her hair was finished, she went over to her closet, searching for the perfect outfit for the date. She knew that Fred Le Tray's was fairly fancy, but did not want to look too dressed up for the occasion. Picking out a deep purple silk blouse, she waded through her clothes, eventually finding a black knee-length skirt to wear with the blouse. She had shaved her legs in the shower, so she went without panty hose. She finished up the ensemble with black high heels that she hoped would show her legs and butt off nicely. After throwing on some make-up, she got her mother's approval on the outfit. "Oh honey," her mom gushed. "You look so beautiful. So grown up. I can't believe it." Her mom's eyes began to tear up, and she pointedly left the living room for her office in order to leave Mellie alone. "Try to be back before eleven dear!" Within five minutes, Mellie heard a car drive up to the house. This is it, she thought to herself. I can do this. If dinner goes well, I'll have a date to the homecoming dance and I could even have a hunky boyfriend. She sighed, sending up a silent prayer that her date would go wonderfully. Tap tap tap. There it was, a knock on the front door. Mellie counted to fifteen, then walked over to answer it. When she opened the door, there stood Bobby, wearing tailored dress slacks, a black collared dress shirt, and a deep purple tie. She pointed to the tie, stifling a giggle. "Looks like we match, Mr. Boedon." "That it does, Mellie. Apparently we both picked the perfect outfit today. At least, you did. You look...stunningly beautiful." He offered her his arm. "When does your mom want you back? I thought maybe after dinner we could keep hanging out." "She said to be back by eleven," said Mellie. "I would love to hang out after dinner." Bobby opened the car door for Mellie, waited for her to get in completely, then shut the door gently. After getting in the driver's side, he reached for her hand. Mellie allowed him to grab it and hold it, barely containing her pure joy. This was only the dream of her entire high school career, and Bobby was even better in person than he was in her fantasies. They arrived at the restaurant about ten minutes before their reservation time, so Bobby parked the car and asked if she wanted to just sit tight for a few minutes. Mellie agreed, looking shyly down at their intertwined fingers. With his other hand, Bobby reached over and gently raised her face to look at him. "Don't be shy, magnificent Mellie. You look beautiful. That's all I can think about you. I can't believe that I never noticed before. You must have always had a boyfriend before now, right? I mean, how could guys stay away?" "No. I've um, never even been on a real date before," Mellie admitted cautiously. Why was he suddenly noticing her looks? Why didn't he ever talk to her before this if he was so nice? "That cannot be true," Bobby looked astonished. "How have you gone all through high school without breaking the hearts of every man and boy around?" "I don't know." Mellie felt really awkward. She wished Bobby would drop the subject. Maybe they had nothing in common they could talk about. She fervently hoped this date would be a success, but she didn't know. She looked down again. "Mellie, look at me." It was a demand rather than a request. Bobby moved her face up again, but this time he leaned forward and kissed her. And oh, what a kiss it was. Mellie had never had any other guys kiss her, so she had nothing to compare with this, but if she had, Bobby's kiss would have won hands down. He gently pressed against her lips for a few moments before sliding his tongue across her bottom lip slowly, like a caress. She opened her mouth, surprised he had done that, and he let his tongue slip in to mingle with hers. Suddenly, she felt herself responding heavily to him. She moaned into his mouth, mimicking his tongue's movements with her own. They continued making out for a moment before Bobby pulled away, gasping. "Wow. Are you sure you haven't gotten a lot of practice at this? You are...I can't even begin to describe how amazing that was." He looked at her in astonishment, then leaned in again. As soon as their lips locked, Mellie could feel her heart rate accelerate. Again, Bobby started out gently, then moved on to slip his tongue into her mouth again. Mellie moaned, "Mmm..." which caused Bobby to moan back in response to her. Bobby's hand moved around to cradle the back of her head while simultaneously pulling her toward him. His other hand moved to the small of her back, to the strip of skin showing between her skirt and her blouse. "God, you are amazingly soft," he said to her. After a few more minutes, they separated, then got out of the car to go into the restaurant. Mellie's thoughts were racing at speeds of hundreds of miles per hour. She couldn't believe she had just made out with Bobby Boedon. The Bobby Boedon. Blissfully, she walked toward the restaurant, almost falling when she didn't step high enough over the curb. Luckily she caught herself, because Bobby didn't seem to notice her stumble at all. Thank goodness, she thought to herself. I couldn't bear it if he thought I was a clumsy oaf. She watched her steps more carefully until they were seated. The waitress brought over the menus and asked for their drink orders. Mellie ordered a water in order to avoid getting hyper from sugar, while Bobby ordered a drink from the bar. The waitress asked to see his driver's license, which he brought out for her to inspect. Then she walked away with their order. "Did you just order alcohol?" Mellie hissed. "I thought you were nineteen!" "I am. But I have a fake I.D. that says I'm twenty-two." Mellie looked at him disapprovingly, feeling upset that he would blatantly break the law in front of her. "Oh calm down, Mellie. I need a stiff drink anyway, or I'll have something else stiff to deal with after that heated make out session in the car. You can't begrudge me for wanting to calm myself, can you?" "Of course not. I was just surprised I suppose." They began to make small talk, but Mellie had lost a bit of respect for Bobby after his stunt. She was startled, however, to discover they had similar taste in some things, particularly in books. They shared many favorites, and Bobby brought up about half of them. Mellie was astounded. She had never met anyone who liked even a fifth of her favorite books, and here Bobby liked almost all of them. This allowed them to converse until the waitress came back and took their order. Bobby ordered for both of them, which bothered Mellie a little bit. He got her a chicken salad while he ordered an expensive cut of steak. Of course, she thought to herself, he doesn't really know me yet. Maybe we'll share the steak. This proved false, as Bobby ate the entire thing and looked at her critically for finishing her entire salad. Maybe he thinks I'm similar to his past cheerleader girlfriends, she wondered. She decided to drop the matter so she could enjoy their date. Bobby talked about his younger sisters, who he spend a lot of time with, and how he loved to watch movies with his friends on Friday nights. "My friends and I do the same thing!" exclaimed Mellie. They compared their movie taste and found it to be similar once again. They had so much in common that they were able to talk through the entire meal and even while walking back to the car. Bobby then drove her to Bloomfeld lake, where she could see the sun beginning to set. He pulled out a couple blankets from his backseat, a basket he wouldn't let her peek into, and his iPod Touch, then led her over to the dock jutting out of the sandy beach. He laid the blanket gently on the dock, then turned on the iPod to Mellie's favorite band. Again, she was shocked at their similarities. Once they were seated, he placed his arm around her and opened the basket. Inside were chocolates, as well as strawberries, whipped cream, and shortcake. He pulled out some champagne glasses and filled them from a bottle chilling in the bottom of the basket, then raised his in a toast. "To eating dessert while watching the sun set," he toasted. Mellie clinked glasses with him and took a sip from her glass. This was real champagne! She didn't know whether to be excited or horrified, but she sipped at it anyway, not wanted to spoil the romantic moment Bobby had created. They sat quietly, eating dessert while the sun dipped below the horizon. Then the stars began to come out. Mellie snuggled up into Bobby's side as the temperature began to drop. He placed his arm around her, then brought his face toward hers. Collisions Ch. 02 They started kissing again, first slowly, then gaining intensity. Mellie wasn't sure if she felt the way she did because of the alcohol or because she actually was enjoying the moment, but she followed Bobby's lead as he pulled her closer. Mellie brought her hands up to his shoulder and head, pulling him into her as well. Then Bobby began to push her down so she was lying across the blanket with him on top of her. He continued the kiss while doing so, and was successful at keeping his tongue in her mouth as he maneuvered them both. Mellie began to pant, but was wondering how far Bobby really wanted to go on their first date. She had never even made out with a guy before and here she was, under one, feeling extremely ready to go all the way. "Bobby?" she asked. "We need to keep an eye on the time. I can't be late." "It'll be fine, Mel. We still have forever." Mellie hated being called Mel, but said nothing, mainly because her mouth was already busy as soon as Bobby started talking. She closed her eyes, moaning with pleasure at his skillful tongue in her mouth. Then she felt him moving his arms. He moved them to her waist, then slowly started raising her shirt. The cold made her skin get goosebumps, which woke her up. She moved her face away from his, but he just continued kissing her on her neck, which made her feel even sexier. "Bobby, wait. I'm...I'm not ready for that yet." Bobby continued pushing his way up, until Mellie stopped him from touching her bra. "Please, Bobby. We've only been together for a few hours. I can't do this with you now. Please stop." Bobby stopped moving his hands up, immediately let her go, and pushed himself away. He sighed loudly. "God, Mel," he said. "Grow up a little. Nobody waits these days. You might as well give in now." "I'm sorry, Bobby. It's just...I wanted it to be special...and I wanted a say in it." She said the last part with finality, making sure she let him know that she wanted nothing to do with him sexually at the moment. Yes, he was definitely an amazing kisser, but she didn't want to go all the way on a first date. "Whatever. I understand. Straighten your clothes out. You look like a slut." His words felt like a slap in the face to Mellie, who felt that she wouldn't have needed to straighten her clothes if he hadn't been pushing her further. Nevertheless, she straightened her shirt and patted the wrinkles out of her pants. "Yeah, that's better. I'd better get you back home for your precious curfew and your precious mom." Mellie was confused at his sudden hostility, but she walked to the car in silence, wondering what she could have done differently to make the date end better. She didn't want to have sex with Bobby. Well, she did, but fantasizing about it and actually doing it were two very different things. Especially since it was their first date. Now it might also have been their last date, since she hadn't put out for him. She hoped that this would not be the case, but she didn't know. No regrets, she told herself. I didn't want to do it now; if he can't handle that, then I shouldn't have to handle him. Bobby drove her home in silence, then walked her to her door. Once there, he leaned in and said, "Look, I'm sorry. I'm not accustomed to girls refusing me is all. I still like you. How about we go to homecoming together?" "Okay," Mellie replied quietly. She wasn't actually sure what he wanted, but at least she'd still have a date this way. "Are we going to hang out again before the dance?" "I would, Mel, but I'm going to be swamped the next few weeks with practice and classes and all. Oh, and I was hoping you would be able to keep this between us. I mean, I don't want the entire school to start gossiping about you like they do about me. We should just lay low for awhile." He leaned in, kissed her on the mouth, then walked back to his car and left. Mellie was so uncertain at this point about whether any of the experience was even true. She went to bed fairly quickly, still wondering about their date. Collisions Ch. 03 As always, I appreciate any constructive criticism or compliments. I'm still getting the hang of this writing thing. Still not much steam, but I wanted to establish the characters first. Chapter 5 or 6 will probably start being juicier. Thanks for reading. :) ____________________ True to his word, Bobby really did not speak with or even look at Mellie during the next couple weeks. The only time he did was merely to ask what color her dress was so he could be sure to have a matching tie and buy a nice corsage. Mellie told him it was a deep purple, and he grunted and walked off, again leaving her alone. During study hall, she stopped observing him, instead focusing on homework and studying for the upcoming tests in a couple of her classes. However, after two weeks had passed, Mellie began to get excited for the dance. She actually had a date, and she hoped it would make the dance even better than she anticipated. The thought of having someone with whom she could dance during the slow songs cheered her, as did the idea that her friends all had dates as well. Hopefully this dance would prove enjoyable for all the girls. During band, Mellie and Danielle talked about what they planned to wear to the dance. Danielle was wearing a red dress, wanted her hair in an updo, and had purchased red heels that matched her dress. Mellie had her purple outfit, hadn't yet decided how to wear her hair, and planned on wearing a pair of silver heels with the dress. As neither girl had yet purchased any jewelry, they planned to meet at the mall that night. After rehearsal, Mellie went home, worked on her homework, and helped her mom prepare supper. After eating, she and her mom had some time to talk about how school was going for Mellie and what was going on her mom's work. Mellie told her mom she was somewhat afraid of Bobby, and her mom told her to just try to stay near people at the dance. "If he gets pushy, honey, just leave him. Your friends would gladly bring you home if you needed them to do so, and any guy who is pressuring a girl for sex should be ashamed of himself and most certainly does not deserve to have the girl." Mellie agreed with her mother. She started planning a signal for her friends to tell them she needed help. She figured she could talk it over with Danielle at the mall. Thanking her mom, Mellie ran upstairs to get her purse and take a picture of her dress and shoes. The picture would probably help her decide which jewelry would look best with her dress. She then left for the mall. ______________________ "Those earrings are phenom. You really have to get them, Mellie. They will match your shoes perfectly; plus they are absolutely stunning." Danielle had an eye for such things, so Mellie grabbed the earrings. "Ooh, Danielle! Check out this necklace. The ruby almost looks real, and it's the exact shade of your dress." The girls had been going on like this for over an hour, and had yet to find very many things. However, the store they were in now seemed to be the best. Mellie had her earrings, and now Danielle had a necklace. They continued to peruse the products on display, and each made a few more selections before they headed to the cashier to pay. Danielle had decided not to buy earrings, because she already had studs that would match the necklace she was buying. Nevertheless, she found a fancy purse that would match her dress, and she bought a pair of elbow length gloves. Mellie purchased the earrings Danielle had pointed out, as well as a matching set of a necklace and bracelet. She had actually received a silver handbag a few months earlier for her 18th birthday, so she only needed the jewelry to complete her ensemble. After making their purchases, Mellie and Danielle walked to the cookie place, where they each purchased a cookie and a slush. Feeling rather content with their evening of spending, the two exited the mall and said they would see each other the next day in school. Both were feeling extremely excited about the dance, and Danielle had congratulated Mellie numerous times about nabbing Bobby as her date. Mellie remembered her words as she walked to her car. "You are so lucky, dear! I am so happy for you. Be careful though, especially if he gets pushy again. If he tries to pressure you into anything, just leave him. It will still have been awesome to have him as your date. And you two will be breath-taking for the pictures!" Danielle always looked on the bright side of things, a facet of her personality for which Mellie was eternally grateful. Her positive attitude has helped relieve some of Mellie's fears, and Danielle had easily agreed with having a signal in case Mellie needed some help. Mellie felt confident that the night of the dance would easily go her way. She got in her car, started it, and drove out of the parking lot. It's a good thing we finally picked out our stuff, she thought. Otherwise, the mall would have closed before we bought anything. She had stayed longer than she thought she would, and it was dark out. Luckily, Mellie had finished all of her homework prior to leaving for the mall, so it was alright that their shopping had taken more time than she had planned. Mellie drove up to an intersection and stopped for the red light. She was still musing about the dance, and decided she wanted to turn on some music. The light turned green, and Mellie drove forward, still reaching over to her radio to turn it on. Since she was looking at the radio, she didn't notice the bright lights approaching her until it was too late. She only heard a loud squealing of brakes, which caused her to look up and realize what was happening. Mellie didn't even have time enough to scream before the car slammed into her. ____________________ Earlier that day. Oscar was in a foul mood as he left school. He still felt so wired recently. He had so much energy, but it was mainly negative energy. He knew better than to give in to his violent urges, but they were so damned hard to ignore sometimes. He didn't know what had come over him, but he knew he could trace it to the beginning of the school year. He hadn't gotten in trouble yet this year, and he was doing really well in all of his classes. He should be feeling happy. But he wasn't. He suspected it had something to do with that girl. Mellie. He believed that he had a crush on her, which was impossible. Dios mio, he thought to himself. He liked Latinas, with their sassy charm and sexy appearance. He did not like white people. They were rude, they looked down on Hispanics, and they thought they were the best people in the world. The fact that he was Mexican made his shady background even worse. People expected him to be a law-breaker, a gangster, a felon. Then when he did break laws, he was punished all the more, just because of his background. He had messed up just once really. In getting involved with a few former friends. They had encouraged him to break the law, to push the limits, to steal, commit arson, and beat people up. He had welcomed any semblance of friends, and had vigorously followed their lead. Then he got caught, and caught again. And put in prison, and expelled from school. His so-called "friends" had deserted him, leaving him to the authorities. If not for his family, he most likely would have embraced his bad-boy image and joined a gang. But they kept him sane and accepted him in spite of his problems. They had stood by him during the entire year-long process, and had encouraged him to return to the normal high school and to graduate. Now he was getting straight A's, spending time studying, and hanging out with friends who didn't force him to break the law to earn their friendship. But it didn't matter. Whenever anything went wrong, the principal brought him into her office for questioning. If he so much as touched someone, like when he caught Mellie that first day of school, people would assume he was trying to hurt or take advantage of them. He felt that no matter how hard he worked, he would never escape his past. It hadn't mattered to him before. What people thought of him, what they said about him. None of it had mattered. Until this semester. Now all of a sudden he wished people could see him for who he was now, not who he had been two years ago. He wished that Mellie in particular could look at him without fear or judgment in her eyes. Why am I crushin' on this chica? He couldn't get over her for some weird reason. He felt drawn to her in a way he had never previously felt about anyone, male or female. But instead of pursuing her, he'd helped her get a date with that pendejo! The asshole who only wanted sex. Oscar couldn't bear the thought of Mellie being with Bobby, the idea of her kissing him, or doing more than kiss—STOP THINKING! He mentally chastised himself for even holding the idea of her being his. It was ridiculous. It was stupid. It was there, though, and so strong. He sighed. I need to stop thinkin' about this mujer. No necesito mas problemas in my life. I have enough as it is. In order to escape his thoughts, he called up one of his friends, Carlos, and asked if he wanted to hang out. Carlos said yes, and offered to come by and pick Oscar up. Oscar consented, and waited for his friend to arrive. Carlos and Oscar hung out at Carlos's house until after dinner with Carlos's family. Oscar enjoyed eating with them because Carlos had four brothers and a sister. All of them were younger, with Anjelica being the youngest. Every boy in the family and all of their male friends were fiercely protective of her, and Oscar was no different. He was putty in her hands. "Oh-car! Play with me!" Anjelica demanded as soon as she saw them. She had her doll out and a suitcase of doll clothes. Oscar went over to help her dress her doll. "How is Juana doing today?" he asked her. "Good. She has a fasten show." "You mean a fashion show, muchacha?" Oscar laughed. He loved kids, and wished he had siblings. "Si, a fasten show. Ayuda me, por favor." Oscar sat down on the ground, then laughed as Anjelica grabbed the suitcase of doll clothes and marched over to sit on his lap. Together, they undressed and dressed Juana until the fashion show was finished and dinner was ready. After dinner, Anjelica played with two of her brothers, leaving Oscar free to play video games with Carlos. After an hour or two of gaming, Carlos threw in a movie, and the boys relaxed with a couple of beers. By the time the movie finished, night had fallen and it was time to get Oscar home. "You okay to drive, Carlos? Or do you want me to call mi padre?" "Nah, it's fine dude. I drive buzzed all the time, and have never gotten so much as a speeding ticket." "If you say so." Oscar always refused to drive if he had anything to drink, but as he wasn't thinking too clearly at the moment, he allowed Carlos to lead him to his car. After driving for five minutes, Oscar concluded that Carlos was still a fairly safe driver when buzzed, but was definitely impatient. He sped up at yellow lights, and crossed even if they turned red. It scared Oscar, but Carlos seemed confident. They drove past the mall, which was closing, and were still a block away from an intersection when the light turned yellow. Carlos gunned the engine, accelerating. "Dude, there is no way you'll make this light. Just slow down, man." "It's fine, Oscar. You worry too much, mi amigo." Carlos looked over at Oscar as he said this, and therefore missed seeing that the light had turned red and a car was crossing the intersection. "Look out!" "Shit!" Carlos slammed on his breaks, but the car kept going forward even as it slowed. The car crashed into the side of the other car, pushing it for some yards before coming to a stop. "Holy shit, Carlos. You hit the driver's side. We could have killed them!" Oscar was freaking out. Somehow, someone would tell him that this was all his fault. That he should have taken Carlos's keys or called up his parents for a ride instead. Shit. Shit shit shit. He called 911 as he unfastened his seatbelt and opened the car door. Luckily he could get out. When the operator answered, he told her they had been in a t-bone collision and at which intersection the crash had occurred. "I'm walking over to the other car now," he stated. The operator told him she had already sent an ambulance there, and that help would be there soon. She asked him if he was showing any shock symptoms, to which he answered no. He reached the car. It looked familiar, and had a Bloomfeld High Honor Student sticker on the bumper. Oh no, this was someone from school, he thought. It could be someone we know. He went around to the passenger side of the car and opened the door. Inside...inside was...oh God. It was Mellie. And there was blood. It seemed like it was everywhere. In a choked voice, he told the operator what he was seeing. She told him not to move the victim, but that if he knew how to check her pulse, to do so. With shaking hands, Oscar reached out to her wrist, and with a huge surge of relief and joy, felt a pulse. "She has a pulse! It's still strong and everything," he told the operator. After hanging up and calming down a bit, he stopped shaking and really assessed her appearance. She looked somewhat battered from the airbags going off, and had a bad cut on her head. He knew that her head wound was the reason for the blood, but he was still freaked. He grabbed for her hand again. "Mellie! Mellie, please be okay. Please answer. I'm so sorry. I'm just...so...sorry. Please. Mellie." He was begging, and he recognized it in the back of his head, but a different part of him was in control now, and this part had to know she was okay before it made him go insane. Oh Mellie, he thought. He knew now that he could not ignore how he felt about her anymore. The ambulance arrived, and Oscar told the paramedics that he knew her from school and wanted to stay with her. One of them took one look at his crazed visage and knew that he would not be refused. They cut her out of the seatbelt and carefully moved her onto a stretcher and into the ambulance, working over her the whole time. Please God, Oscar prayed. Please let her be okay. He told Carlos to give the cops his cell number if they wanted to question him, but that he thought that Mellie shouldn't wake up alone. Carlos, shaken from the experience, agreed. Be okay. Please be okay. The words just kept repeating in Oscar's mind as he rode to the hospital. ______________________ Mellie was beginning to wake up, but continued dreaming. She'd had such a strange dream, with voices belonging to people she didn't know, and one person she did know. She heard authoritative voices calling instructions. "Vitals are normal, but she's still unconscious." "Someone get her clothes off so we can check for other injuries." "She needs stitches, but only on her head. She has a laceration, about 4 inches across, on the front left side of her head. Still bleeding." "Someone get her purse and notify her family." Mellie was confused. Someone was hurt, bleeding still. Who was hurt? "Young man, are you related to her?" A defiant voice answered, "Yes, I'm her brother." Mellie knew that voice from...somewhere. It was a nice voice. Who was his sister? Mellie didn't have a brother, so it couldn't be her. "I'm going to start her on an IV of morphine to control any pain she feels once the shock wears off." Mellie felt a prick, and within seconds she drifted back to sleep. ____________________ When she next awakened, Mellie felt disoriented and extremely confused. She was in pain. Several parts of her hurt and she had a killer headache. She opened her eyes and tried to sit up. "No no no, gatita. You must stay down." "What are you doing in my dream, Oscar?" She asked someone moodily. What a horrible dream. She must have been the one the voices had been talking about, but why was the dream still continuing? "You aren't dreaming, Mellie. Are you in pain?" He asked the question very quietly, looking down as he asked, as if he were feeling guilty. "Yes, actually. Why am I so sore everywhere?" "You were in a car accident." Mellie's pulse spiked as she processed that information. Oh. She remembered. She had looked up, seeing headlights coming toward her and hearing brakes squealing loudly and then...nothing. Pain. That dream that wasn't a dream. Oscar's voice begging her to be okay. Oscar telling a nurse that he was her brother. As if he looked anything like her. She decided to stick to thinking about that last part instead of about the accident. Her heart rate slowed, but a nurse came in anyway. "Hello, Mellie. I'm Hannah, and I'll be your nurse for the next eight hours, and I'll be giving you medications and checking some of your injuries out, dear. Do you have any questions for me?" "Umm, how bad am I?" "Well, you sustained a couple broken ribs on your left side, you have a fractured arm, and you have some serious bruising and some cuts on different parts of your body. The worse is on your head, which you must have hit after the airbags deflated. You also have some burns from the airbags, but ultimately you were very lucky." "Are my parents here?" "They are on their way. Your cell phone was damaged in the accident, but they used your driver's license to get your name and call your parents. They should be here shortly, hon." "Okay. Thank you." "Do you need more pain medication before I go?" "No thanks, I'm alright." "Okay, well here is your call light, and I'll just wrap it around this bed rail for you. It controls your tv and the bed angles as well. Just call me if you need anything." "Thanks." Mellie looked at Oscar, who still looked guilty and worried. "What's eating you?" she asked him. "This is all my fault. Oh Mellie, I'm so sorry. I didn't think Carlos was even buzzed, but he kept running the yellow lights and then we didn't see you until it was too late, but I should have taken his keys away and called my dad to pick me up, and I am so so sorry that we hit you. I tried to tell him to slow down and to not run the light, but he didn't listen." Oscar looked into her eyes as he said all of that, his blue eyes fierce with all the emotions he was feeling at the moment. Mellie knew he meant it, and told him that she would be fine and that he didn't need to hold himself so responsible for the accident. "It was just that—an accident. You didn't make him crash into me, and you certainly wouldn't cause me harm on purpose. So it's okay." Her parents arrived a few minutes after her conversation with Oscar. When they saw him, they glared at him silently until he sighed and left the room. They then rushed over to Mellie's side. "Oh Mellie, we're so glad you're okay. Is that the boy who did it? They said he was one of those Mexicans." "No, Mom. He was in the car, but as a passenger. He's the one who called the hospital so quickly. And he rode in the ambulance with me so I wouldn't be alone when I woke up. You shouldn't have been rude to him." Mellie's dad cut in, "We're sorry, honey. We were just so worried for you. Your mom called me, and luckily my flight had just gotten in, so I was able to rush over immediately." Her parents remained with her for a couple hours, doting over her and talking to the doctors. They talked to a police officer who understood that Mellie remembered nothing about the crash except that her light was green. He told her that Oscar had told him the same thing, and that Carlos was in trouble for drinking under the legal age and for driving while intoxicated. Mellie felt badly about Carlos getting in trouble, but was disappointed to find that the car was totaled. "It's alright, Mellie. We can get you a new car." Her mom smiled reassuringly, then stood up to kiss her daughter goodbye. "We'll come back and visit tomorrow morning, sweetie. They just want to keep you overnight to make sure you'll be okay." Collisions Ch. 03 Her dad kissed her on the forehead and then followed his wife out of the room, leaving Mellie alone with her thoughts. _______________ "Hey! Gatita!" Mellie recognized Oscar's whisper as she woke up. "What are you doing here?" she asked him groggily. "Just checkin' on you again. I only woke you up because you were frowning in your sleep. I hoped maybe having a visitor would put a smile back on your pretty face." Mellie looked up at the clock. "Holy crow; it's 3 in the morning, Oscar. Why did you come back so late?" "I didn't. I mean, I came back at like 11:30, which isn't late. You were sleeping peacefully then, and I was able to hide whenever the nurse did her rounds." He looked at her, extremely happy to be able to stay with her. He had enjoyed watching over her while she slept. She looked like an angel with her pale skin and her hair flowing over the pillow. He wanted to make sure she wasn't alone, and to be the person to help make her feel better. "Oscar! You need to sleep! You have school tomorrow." Mellie lectured him, but gently. She didn't want the nurse to hear her talking with him. Surprisingly, she was glad he had been there. But she was still so tired. Her eyelids already felt heavy again. Oscar noticed and said she should go to sleep. "I'll be here, mi gatita." He grabbed her hand and held it gently. Comforted by his presence and kind touch, Mellie fell back into a deep sleep. ______________________ When Mellie woke up the next morning, there was no sign that Oscar had even been there. She decided she must have dreamed the whole thing. How strange, she thought. I would guess that I'd dream about Bobby being here, but not Oscar. It's weird, but I felt safer with Oscar than I did on my date with Bobby. Pondering this dilemma, Mellie ate her breakfast and hoped the doctor would discharge her at some point during the day. She felt much better now, though she was still in some pain. But she was definitely ready to go home and spend her time recuperating there rather than in the hospital. She passed the time before lunch watching television game shows and old sitcoms. Her mom and dad each called the room phone a couple times, and her mom said she'd come visit at lunch time. When her mother arrived, she brought Mellie some clothes and a new cell phone. "It's already received about 20 text messages. Apparently your friends know something happened. You might want to answer them so they know you're alright." "Thanks, Mom. I appreciate it." They ate lunch together, then her mom returned to her work, and Mellie began texting her friends back, assuring them that she was perfectly fine, just a little battered and bruised. Luckily, her left arm was the one that had been broken, so she was easily able to use her cell phone and do everything else through the day. She worried a little about showering and such, but pushed those thoughts away because she knew her family would help her as needed. Later that day, the doctor came by and inspected her. He told her he would discharge her, but that she would have to stay home from school for a few days and she would need a nurse to teach her how to care for some of her dressings and other injuries. He also told her that her normal doctor knew about the accident and to notify her if any issues arose. Mellie's parents came to pick Mellie up when she was discharged. They had a family dinner at home, then Mellie worked on homework while day dreaming about the Homecoming dance the following week. I hope Bobby will still want to take me, but what if he doesn't want a date with stitches on her head and a cast on her arm? After finishing her homework, she devoted all of her thoughts to Homecoming. She fell asleep dreaming about it. Collisions Ch. 04 As always, feedback is appreciated. :) ____________________ The next day, Mellie slept in until noon. She woke feeling refreshed, but somewhat anxious about missing school. She had spoken with Danielle and Christine the night before, and they had promised to get all the makeup work she needed and bring it over tonight. Mellie ate breakfast and took some of the pills the doctor had prescribed for her. Then she put on fresh clothes and gave herself a sponge-bath so that she would look and feel cleaner to see her friends. At 3:30, she was surprised to hear her doorbell ring. She wasn't expecting her friends for another hour or so. Maybe it's a package for Mom or Dad, she wondered. She answered the door. It was Bobby, carrying a bouquet of long-stemmed red roses. "Oh wow. Hi, Bobby. Um, do you want to come in?" Mellie felt awkward at receiving him due to her bruising and the negativity she had felt was left over from their date. "Sure. These are for you. How are you feeling?" He handed her the flowers and carefully placed his hands on either side of her face so that he could look into her eyes. Mellie sighed. "Thank you. I'm feeling much better today than I was yesterday. Just bruised a little." "I brought you something else, too," Bobby told her. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a deep purple silk scarf. "I thought you could use this as a sling for the dance. It should match your dress and it'll feel soft on the part of your arm not in a cast." "Wow, Bobby. I really appreciate it. You don't have to take me as your date just because I was in a car accident though. I mean, I would understand if you wanted someone who could actually dance and who wouldn't be covered in bruises." Mellie looked up at him. She sincerely hoped he would want to go with her, but a part of her also wanted him to say no. Curious, she thought. Why would I want him to refuse to go with me? Then I would have no date. "Of course I still want to go with you. Even battered and bruised, you'll be far prettier than any other girl present at the dance. I look forward to our night together." He laughed. "That sounded oddly formal, but it's the truth. I wanted to make sure you knew that." "I really do appreciate that. Thanks." "By the way, I made plans for us for after the dance if that's alright. My friend Cameron is throwing a party at his house because his parents will be gone that weekend. Most of the school is going, including your friends and their dates. It'll be fun." "Oh. Um, that's fine. That sounds fun." Mellie smiled at him. "Good. Well, I need to get going. I hope you feel better. When do you get to come back to school? I miss seeing you in study hall." "Next Monday. So I'll only miss one more day." "Awesome. I'll see you on Monday, Mel." With that, he left. Mellie trimmed the stems of the roses and put them in a vase in her room. She didn't need her parents asking about them. Her friends showed up next, bringing her homework and chocolates. "Ohmygod, Mellie. We were so worried when you didn't show up at school yesterday, and then the rumors started about how you were in a car crash with Oscar and Carlos. Is that true? Did they crash into you?" This came from Danielle, who was always submerged in whatever gossip was flying around the school. "Yes. Carlos ran a red light and hit me." "That's insane! He ought to be locked up for like, the rest of his life," Christine said. "They both showed up to school without a scratch on them, and here you are, an inch from death. We heard they weren't punished by their parents or the school, and that Oscar didn't even get caught with any alcohol in his system because the cops didn't find him until later. Only Carlos got a drinking ticket." "Well, Oscar is the one who called 911. And he rode in the ambulance with me to the hospital. He wasn't the one driving though. And he apologized like, ten times. Probably more than that, honestly." "Whatever. They should both be drawn and quartered. They are high school seniors and should know better. What if it had been a pregnant woman or something? Then they'd be responsible for two deaths. This justice system is ridiculous!" Mellie appreciated her friends' concern, but she really did not want them to blame Oscar. He was so much more than they thought him to be. She was really starting to respect him. Once Danielle and Christine finished their tirade, they left so that Mellie wouldn't get overly excited. Mellie started on her assignments and wished she didn't have to miss school the next day too. She was grateful to Bobby for the flowers, but felt unfinished. His visit hadn't excited her as much as she would have guessed. A few weeks ago, she would have paid huge sums of money to get him to come to her house, and then when he came, she felt...nothing. Maybe I don't like him anymore, she mused. When her homework was finished, she ate and went upstairs for bed. ___________________ The following Monday, Mellie went back to her classes. Friends mobbed her in every class, asking to sign her cast or how she was feeling. Everyone was overly friendly, and Mellie grew tired by the end of the day. She was glad when classes were over. It gave her room to breathe and think. Bobby had smiled at her during study hall, but made no move to join her at her table. Rather, he spent the entire period doing homework, just as she normally did. Mellie fell into bed that night, exhausted and thankful for her friends' well wishes. She hoped the next day would be easier, and was glad that Homecoming would be the upcoming weekend. Smiling, she drifted off to sleep. ________________ Earlier that day. Oscar had been thrilled to see Mellie in study hall. He was surprised by the intensity of his happiness that she was alright. However, he felt that she was now completely off-limits to him. He and his friend had nearly killed her. What if Carlos hadn't slammed on the brakes? What if another car had been involved? Oscar was constantly reliving the entire scene, wishing he could find a way to make everything right. Every time he thought of Mellie, he felt sick. The sight of her bleeding, the moment before he knew she was still alive, all of it made him feel pain worse than any he felt during his life. He wanted to vomit whenever he thought of her like that. But his pain and suffering were abated by the feelings he remembered having when he felt her pulse and when he had held her hand while she slept. He would never drink again. Never! It wasn't worth losing the things he cared most about just to have an hour or two of buzzed fun. Oscar's second-to-last class each day was Physical Education. Although PE was not required of junior- and senior-level students who participated in marching band, Oscar enjoyed being physically challenged. Working out every day also gave him a way to let out his anger and frustration with the world. Now, instead of breaking laws or getting in fights, he pushed himself to run faster, lift more weights, and work harder. It normally worked. Nowadays, only seriously upsetting situations could cause him to lose his cool. Oscar's PE class was currently in the weightlifting unit, a unit at which he excelled. The one downfall of weightlifting, however, was that the jocks were often in the weight room and the locker room at the same times that the PE students were. Jocks were not required to participate in a PE course, but they did have to designate so much time each day to working out, so many of them used a free hour as a time to hit the gym. Since Oscar had a decent amount of respect for some of the athletes, he did not mind this normally. Yet when it meant he had to be in near proximity of Bobby Boedon, he most definitely did mind it. Today was one of the days when Bobby was present at the gym at the same time as Oscar. All through the class, Oscar was able to successfully ignore Bobby and his friends, each of whom was more unpleasant than the last. Bobby had to be the worst though. Oscar didn't understand what girls saw in this guy. Sure, he was attractive in a model kind of way, but his personality left a lot to be desired. Women are so shallow, he thought. He channeled his frustration into his workout, which left him somewhat more tired and a little cranky at the end of class. He went to the locker room to change back into his everyday clothes and get ready for band rehearsal. As he changed, he could overhear bits of conversations from the people in the room, especially those from the row of lockers on the other side of his own locker. He tried to tune it out, until he heard Mellie's name. Who is talking about her? he thought. None of the jocks really know who she is. "You know, Mellie. The one in band and theatre. She's one of the girls in the Advanced Placement program. With the really long hair." Oscar definitely was eavesdropping now. He recognized Bobby as the voice of the speaker, and he silently kept dressing. "Okay, man. So what about this Mellie girl? Why are you taking some nobody honors student to Homecoming when you could have any of the cheerleaders?" That was the voice of another football player, but Oscar couldn't remember his name. Bobby lowered his voice a little. "She came up to me during study hall and asked if I wanted to hang out sometime. When she dresses up, she is damn sexy, man. It took all I had not to get a boner on the spot. So I agreed, thinking that maybe I could get a little pussy out of the deal. I prepared for the date and everything. I looked up her profile on SocialNetwork, and found out which movies, music artists, and books she liked best. Then I researched some of them and got enough info to seem like I had really enjoyed all the same things. But when I took her to the pier later, she wouldn't put out. When I told Cameron, he laughed at me, the asshole. So I decided to keep the date to homecoming and get her drunk afterward. Seriously, it's not like she could continue resisting me. Stupid bitch." "You go, Bobby. This should be an easy whore to bang. If you get her drunk enough, you should share her around with some of us. She'd probably never remember it, anyway." Oscar felt his blood go cold, then begin to boil. He had encouraged Mellie to go for this piece of shit. Encouraged her! It would be his fault if anything happened. He wanted to go warn her, but he knew that she wouldn't listen to him, and that her friends would flip if they saw him merely approach her. He also knew he couldn't get into a fight with these asswipes now, or he'd be expelled again, but he could go to the dance and make sure he was always watching Bobby. Forcing himself to take deep breaths and calm down, he hurried off to band, hoping nothing would happen to her. _____________________ On the day of the dance, Mellie slept in again, hoping it would help her stay up later to go to the party with Bobby and her friends. After a light lunch, she showered (after receiving a little help from her mom to cover her cast), then blow-dried her hair. She had decided to go for a curly look for this occasion, and spent the next two hours meticulously curling all of it. After she finished with her hair, she put on her makeup, jewelry, dress, and shoes. Then she packed her handbag, got her camera from its charger and went downstairs so her mom could take pictures. By the time Bobby arrived, her mom was ready for pictures of the two of them. Then Mellie and Bobby left for dinner. During the dinner, Mellie was glad that Christine and Danielle had decided that they needed to all eat as a group because Bobby was definitely looking at her with a strange gleam in his eyes. The girls continued to take pictures of themselves and of the entire group, and when dinner was over, they all departed for the dance. All the usual occurrences that go hand-in-hand with high school dances occurred. Someone spiked the punch toward the end of the night, causing at least three teachers to get tipsy. Chaperones walked around sternly telling couples to dance with less gyrations, and couples did so until the chaperones were once again out of sight. Two girls on the Homecoming Court dissolved into sobs when the captain of the Cheer Squad was crowned Queen, and all the girls went crazy when Bobby was crowned King. Rumors of a fight in the parking lot floated around, but no one knew if they were true, and everybody agreed that the DJ needed to stop playing country music. Mellie and her friends enjoyed dancing with their dates, especially during slow dances, and when the dance was over, each girl departed with her date, calling that they'd see each other at the after-party. At this point, Mellie got nervous. She had spent hardly any time alone with Bobby the whole night, and she still had a nagging feeling that he had something planned. Bobby and Mellie drove to Cameron's house, which was a mansion on the wealthy end of town that could easily accommodate three times the high school's population. Then the party really picked up. Only upperclassmen and a very select few sophomores had been invited, and the presence of alcohol was evidenced throughout the house. As the night went on, couples began disappearing to more remote places of the house, but surprisingly, Bobby did not push for Mellie to join him anywhere but on the dance floor, which was crowded with people. Mellie had several drinks, none of which were alcoholic, so soon she felt the need to use the restroom. "Bobby, where's the restroom?" she called over the music. "They're probably all in use, so you should use Cameron's parents' master bath. It's at the top of the stairs, in the left wing, sixth door on the right. That'll lead to their bedroom and the bathroom is accessed through the bedroom. Cameron told everybody to stay away from that area, so you should be able to get in right away." "Thank you," Mellie said as she left. Once she got upstairs, she was glad Bobby had told her to use a private room. Through cracked doors she could see couples in various stages of undressing themselves or even fooling around. Finding the correct room, she let herself in and then went to the bathroom. When she was finished she washed her hands in the ornate marble sink, and dried them off on the plush towels. She checked her makeup and hair in the mirror, then opened the door to leave and go downstairs. When she walked into the bedroom, her eyes were immediately drawn to a figure standing by the door. "Bobby, what are you doing up here?" she asked tentatively. "I was just on my way back down." Bobby walked forward, holding a bottle of Tequila and two glasses. "I thought we could spend some private time together and relax for awhile." Mellie backed up, but didn't want to return to the bathroom. "Bobby, I don't drink. Can't we just go back downstairs and dance again? Please?" Bobby's eyes had narrowed at her while she spoke, but she could see that he enjoyed hearing her say "please." At that, she had an idea of what was happening, but she didn't know what she could do to stop it. Bobby poured some of the tequila into one of the cups, then drank the entire thing in one gulp. Mellie could tell that the glass was much larger than a shot glass. Bobby poured another glassful of alcohol and again downed it in one gulp. Then he advanced toward her again, stopping at the bedside table a mere five feet from her. "How about you start sharing some of this with me, Mel? You know you want to." He poured her a glass, then poured himself one as well. "Drink with me," he demanded. Mellie shook her head no, not able to talk. Bobby drank half of his glass, put both glasses onto the table, then stepped forward and slapped Mellie in the face. As it was on her left side, Mellie felt a couple of stitches pop. That whole side of her face burned, but Mellie continued to shake her head as Bobby held the drink toward her again. "You might as well just take it, you bitch," Bobby said. "Otherwise I'll hit you again. Maybe this time I'll hit you harder. Now, drink!" Mellie found her voice this time. "No. You can't force alcohol down my throat, so you might as well stop trying." She fought to keep her voice from shaking or breaking. Bobby drank the rest of the alcohol in his glass, put it down, poured another glass, drank it, and slapped her, harder this time. Mellie bit her lip, but couldn't stop herself from letting out a little cry of pain. She had felt her cut rip open a bit that time, and she could now feel blood beginning to run down her face. Bobby grabbed her by the arms and shoved her onto the bed roughly. He then said calmly to her, "I can hurt you in ways you never imagined you would hurt. So you can either start listening to me or you can reap the consequences. Now, I'll tell you one more time. Drink what I'm offering you." Mellie again refused, but didn't want to speak anymore for fear that her voice would show her terror. At this, Bobby calmly took the glass of alcohol and threw it in her face, drenching her open cut. Mellie clenched her jaw to keep from crying out. It burned so badly, her face felt as if it were on fire. "I guess we're going to do this the difficult way. But I WILL get what I want from you, whether you make it easy or hard." At this he put the glasses down on the table and kneeled next to her on the bed. "Here's what will happen if you choose the hard route. Your experience with me will be longer and more painful than it needs to be. If you choose the easy route, we will be finished quickly and you can leave. Now, which path will you choose? The easy one or the hard one?" ____________________ Oscar was worried. He had gone to the dance and watched Mellie and her friends from the sidelines, making sure Bobby didn't enact his plan at the dance venue. He danced with some of his female friends, but only for a dance or two each. He was far too preoccupied with his surveillance of Mellie to really enjoy dancing. When Mellie's friends had left the dance, he'd waited about ten minutes, then followed suit. He knew where Cameron's house was, and he didn't want to seem like he was stalking the girls or anything. When he got to Cameron's mansion, Carlos had been waiting for him so they could enter together. Since most of the senior and junior classes had been invited, nobody would think it odd that they were attending. They went inside and walked toward the dance floor, where Oscar felt fairly certain Mellie would be dancing with Bobby. Whenever he had watched her smile at Bobby, or laugh at a joke he told, he had to remind himself that he had encouraged her to attend the dance with him. It still made him ache to see her held by a different set of arms. He had shaken his head at these thoughts, and then continued dancing. Later however, he had lost track of her. He had seen her leave the main dance room and head toward the stairs. Figuring she was going to the restroom, he didn't feel the need to continue to survey the situation. Ten minutes later, however, he noticed two things. One, Mellie hadn't returned yet. And two, Bobby was nowhere to be seen. This is what worried Oscar the most. Ever since he had heard Bobby talking in the locker room, his stomach had been in knots over how he could protect her, save her. And now it looked like he could accomplish neither. He headed toward the stairs, hoping to find Mellie on the second floor. When he got up there, though, all he saw were couples drunkenly making out in all the open bedrooms. The bathrooms were locked, and he knew people were hooking up in them. His heart hammering, Oscar retraced his steps. At the top of the stairs, he had gone right. This time, he would go left. There were fewer people in that wing of the house. Walking softly so he would not be heard, Oscar stopped outside each door and listened for Mellie or Bobby's voice. This hall goes on forever! he thought anxiously. After passing a couple more doors, he thought he heard something. He stopped and put his ear to the door, and just then there came a loud "BANG!" from within the room, followed by glass breaking and a muffled groan of pain. He waited for a moment more, and heard Bobby's voice. This is it, he thought, before he backed up a few steps, ran, and slammed into the door, barreling into the room and leaving the door hanging brokenly from its hinges.