Those Three Simple Words

The next week went by quickly and mostly consisted of Ray and I getting much closer to the guys and Rosemary, band practices, and working on the math project with Michael. I honestly started to develop quite the little crush on him; he was just too cute.

Out of everyone, though, Frankie and Rosemary quickly became my best friends, with Michael in close second. They were just so spontaneous and energetic that it was hard not to like them. I also noticed that Rosemary would get shy and red-cheeked around Ray a lot. I’d say Ray has a little admirer.

It was finally Friday, and I was planning on going to band practice with Ray again and work on the project some more with Michael. Our teacher had extended the due date because of the slackers in our class, and I was quite happy. It just meant I could spend more time with Michael.

I was walking to lunch when I heard someone call my name from behind me.

“Maria! Maria, wait up!” I turned around to find Frankie waving his arms like a maniac as his short legs carried him as fast as they could. I laughed, but was abruptly cut off as he crashed into me.

“Oof! Oh, dang, I’m sorry Maria!” I almost fell on some poor little freshman, but Frank grabbed my arm before I could.

“It’s okay, Frankie. Come on, let’s get to the lunchroom.” I was trying not to laugh too hard as we walked to the cafeteria. I instantly found Ray among the crowd, his orange fro visible above everyone’s heads. Of course, right next to him was head of plum purple hair. Frankie and I rushed over to see them. Everyone else came over a few minutes later, and Michael walked over to stand by me.

“Hey, Maria.” He said with a smile. I smiled back and gave him a quick hug. Rosemary walked over and gave me a hug and then went back over to Ray. He smiled down at her and she smiled back, a soft blush starting to form on her cheeks. I see a couple of soon to be lovebirds!

We all grabbed some food and sat at one of the large tables. I got a lovely eyeful of the food Gerard was eating as he was teasing Michael about something random and Frank busted up laughing, sending strawberry milk right out his nose and onto his tray and my arm.

I screamed loudly and wiped it on a laughing Bob, who gave me a disgusted face. Everyone in the cafeteria fell silent and looked over at us. I felt my cheeks heat up and my eyes get wide as I hid my face in Michael’s arm. I felt him chuckle at my embarrassment and everyone started talking again.

“Mikey, are they still looking?” I asked, peeking out at the other students. Everyone looked at me with an odd expression and I felt myself shirking back into Michael.

“Maria, you actually called me Mikey!” Michael said incredulously.

“So? Everyone does… I still like Michael better, though.” I said, not understanding their surprise. It’s not that big of a deal.

“I just never thought I’d see the day!” Gerard said with a grin on his face. I stuck my tongue out at him like a little kid and Michael laughed again.

“It’s not that big of a deal, guys.” Michael said finally. I smiled up at him and he smiled back.

After more teasing in lunch and three classes full of Frank, I was finally in my last class of the day: science.

Today we were working with chemicals. We were told that the chemicals weren’t dangerous, but to not ingest them. That never stopped Frank Iero.

I looked over at Frank, my lab partner, and saw him putting on swimming goggles.

“Uh, Frankie, you know we have to use lab goggles, not swimming goggles, right?” He looked over at me and gave me a big, cheesy smile. I sighed and started to write my name on my paper. I barely got to the second m in ‘Summers’ when I noticed Frank pouring the yellow chemical into another measuring glass. I raised an eyebrow and he grinned at me.

Then, he took a long drink of the chemical. I felt my mouth drop open and I started to freak out.

“Frankie! You’re not supposed to drink the chemicals!” He shook his head and pulled the goggles off his face.

“Whoa! I’m fine, Maria.” He laughed at my shocked expression. I rolled my eyes.

“If you get sick and die, it’s your fault.” I said. We worked on the project and finished it with five minutes to spare before the bell rang. I was getting excited for the weekend and I couldn’t stay still. Luckily for me, Frank was the same way. We were both staring intently at the clock, willing the big hand to land on the twelve, making it three o’clock.

Finally, the bell rang and Frankie and I jumped up, almost knocking over our stools. We ran out of the classroom without a second thought and into the parking lot. I looked around for Ray’s car and finally found it. I was about to go run into him, but the scene I saw before my eyes made me stop and smile coyly. Frankie saw what I was looking at and made the same face.

Ray was standing by the car, but he wasn’t alone. With him was Rosemary, and they were kissing. I knew it would happen eventually; they were getting really close. The height difference was almost hysterical; Ray was stooped over and Rosemary was on her tiptoes.

“What are you guys looking- oh.” I turned around to shush Michael, who was with Gerard and Bob. I turned back around to see Ray waving goodbye to Rosemary with pink cheeks and a huge smile. I skipped over to him, feeling extra giddy now. The guys followed close behind me, all with smirks on their faces.

“Hey, there, Ray.” I said coyly. His cheeks turned bright red as he realized what we had witnessed.

“Oh, um, hey guys.” He said, sounding nervous. I smiled and wrapped my arms tightly around him.

“Congrats, Ray.” I said. The guys all congratulated him in some way and his cheeks continued to grow redder.

“Don’t blush, Ray. You really like her, you shouldn’t be embarrassed that we saw you two kiss.” Michael said calmly. Ray raised an eyebrow at him and a smirk appeared on his face.

“Oh yeah? Well, why don’t you just kiss Maria now, then?” I felt my cheeks grow hot and glanced over at Michael, only to see his cheeks extremely red, too. I bit my lip and leaned over towards him. I pressed my lips against his cheek quickly and pulled back, biting my lip again. His eyes went wide behind his glasses and his cheeks grew hotter.
Everyone broke into a chorus of “Awww!”s and I blushed harder.

“Bye, guys. See you all later.” I said, smiling at everyone. I gave Michael one last sweet smile before getting into the car with Ray following suit.

“So, Maria, I see you’re getting closer to Mikey.” I rolled my eyes but couldn’t help but smile at the thought of his adorable smile.

“Yeah, I guess I am.” I couldn’t wait to see everyone again today for band practice; it was going to be quite interesting. But I was glad I kissed Michael on the cheek. Maybe someday, we’ll be something more than just friends. I’d like that. A lot.