Grayson

"What's up with you, man? This time last year, all you cared about was your car and screwing Kathryn." Douglas asks.

"I've been feeling like shit lately. Do you realize someday there will be adults out there that still harbor hate toward all of us, because of how we treat people?" I asked.

"I've thought about that a lot too, ever since Mary sang that day." He said.

"I've don't want in on this bullshit of Kathryn's." I said.

"I heard she dumped your ass." He chuckled.

"Yeah, that's how it happened." I said in a sarcastic tone.

"You got sick of her shit finally, didn't you?" He asked, and I nodded.

"She came in my room the other night and started fucking me. I literally ended it in the middle of her orgasm."

Doug laughed his ass off. "She totally deserved that."

"Yep, anyway I tried to apologize to Mary today, and she blew me off." I said.

"Wouldn't you?" He asked.

"I guess so." I shrugged

"I just thought I could make the rest of her year better, just make her laugh, or something."

He shook his head. "You're the last person she wants to laugh with besides, Kathryn is planning her big prank. Don't help Kathryn by getting to close to Mary Ellen." He warned.

"When did you grow up so much?" I nudged him.

"When I stopped hanging out with your lame asses." He said.

I threw my bag into the back seat. "See you at practice tomorrow." I said as I sat down in the car. Doug was a smart one to dump our asses as friends. Now he's in all top honors classes, and I only see him at practice and games.

I pulled out of the school parking lot, and made my way toward home. I'm always stopped at the exact same light everyday. I look to my left and see some sorry looking dude yelling into his phone, then I looked to my right and see a ballerina dancing. "No fucking way." I mutter to myself.

The light turned green, so I pulled into a parking lot and turn around. Thankfully, there is a parking spot out front, and I parked my car.

Seeing Mary twirling, puts a smile on my face, and it looks like there's a man recording her. Another woman, young and pretty, steps into my view, and it seems like she's coaching Mary.

I'm still too far away from Mary to see much, but I can see she's fucking beautiful.

Her hair is pulled back and she's not wearing glasses, so this is the first time I've ever seen that angelic face. Her body looks like it was carved for an angel.

I squeezed my eyes shut, then looked again, just to make sure my eyes aren't playing tricks on me. Nope, that's her, Mary Ellen. I didn't know that was her given name until two days ago when I saw it on a sample pamphlet for graduation. It's a beautiful name, really.

I decided right then and there, that I'll make friends with Mary Ellen. Then I'll make the rest of the school year fun for her. Maybe then, I can shake off this guilt, and start feeling like me again.

I watched until they were done, then stepped out of my car and leaned against it. She walked out with the other two people, and they all said goodbye.

She saw me, and started walking the other direction. "Mary Ellen, wait!" I jogged to catch up to her.

"Why did you call me that?" She stopped and turned around.

"That's your name isn't it?" I bent slightly to try to look in her eyes, and she followed my gaze as I straightened back up.

"That's better. Anyway, I was hoping you'd let me give you a lift home?"

"No thank you." She turned to walk away, but I caught her arm. She must have caught a cold chill and shivered, but she didn't even turn around.

"Please? I'll buy you an ice cream, you can even get a cherry on top."

"What do you want from me?" She turned around and faced me.

"To make amends. I don't like the way this guilt makes me feel. I was hoping you'd be my friend. Maybe we can make the best of senior year. I promise that's all I want." I tried to be clear and honest.

"So you want me to make you feel better about being a bully all these years? Sorry, I dont think I owe you anything." She said before she walked away.

Good point.

"Wait! I can make the bullying stop. If I can't make them stop, then I'll stand by your side and defend you. You don't deserve any of that, Mary Ellen. I..I..won't do it for just you, I'll help other people too. It's time for all those assholes to grow up." She wouldn't face me, so I took a step closer.

"I promise on my mother's life, Mary Ellen. I'll do everything I can to make things better."

She turned around, just as I saw her wipe a tear from her eye.

"You promise?"

"On my whole family's life, I swear to God, I'll try to make things better. Just let me take you for ice cream and give you a lift home."

She stared at me for a long minute.

"Fine."

"This is awesome, come on!"

I opened the passenger door and it squeaked. "I keep meaning to fix that."

She sat down, and I reached in to buckle her up. "I'm not in special ed, I know how to put on a seatbelt."

"Oh, right...sorry I just, Sorry." Damn, she smelled so good, and I did brush my arm against hers. Her skin is exactly as soft as I thought it was.

I jogged around to the drivers seat and got in. "What's your favorite ice cream?" She just looked down at her hands.

"A strawberry sundae." She whispered.

"Okay, two strawberry sundaes it is then."

I turned the key and my car fired up with a roar, I love that sound.

We pulled up at the local Dairy Queen, and I told her to hold on before I got out. The least I can do is treat her like a lady, so I opened her door and offered her my hand. She lifted her's toward mine, but pulled it back. She's unsure, so I lifted her chin to look at me. "Trust me, it really is okay."

I offered her my hand again, and this time she took it. I was shocked at how warm and soft her hands are, and to be honest, I was a bit shaken. I stared at her a moment, before leading her inside and we found a table. She sat across from me and I ordered two strawberry sundaes, I didn't forget the cherry.

"Why were they recording you back there?" I asked.

She didn't make eye contact. "I've been chosen to interview for Julliard, it's part of the application process." I think that's the most I've ever heard her say.

"That's amazing news! I know you sing, play piano, and dance, what else do you do?"

She cleared her throat. "I can play the cello, guitar, violin, drums, and I've done a few plays at the local theatre."

"You're also like the smartest person in our school." I added.

"I don't know about that really, some people just don't apply themselves, or they haven't yet discovered their talent. I do believe everyone has talents."

She still won't look at me.

"You work at the radio station too?" I know that, because Doug told me.

"Yes, I just fetch coffee for the DJ, it's nothing too exciting."

Our sundaes arrived, and she took her first bite. I never noticed how full her lips are until now.

"You're staring at me." She said

"I'm sorry." I cleared my throat and also ate my ice cream.

"So what's your talent?" She asked.

I wiped my mouth with a napkin.

"Well, besides football, I'm pretty good with cars. My dad's a mechanic, and that's what we do together. I get decent grades, and my father is determined that I'll go to college and not work on cars my whole life."

"What will you study?" She asked.

I chuckled. "No clue actually. Maybe psychology so I can figure out why I've been such a jackass my whole life."

I finally saw a tiny smile.

"Your dad's a mechanic? I always figured you were rich like the other guys." She said.

I shook my head. "You see that car out there? I earned every dime working at my dads shop to buy it, and totally rebuild it. We aren't poor, but we certainly aren't rich. I'm working on an old Camero now."