A Step to Love

When we got to the place of the ceremony-so-called-graduation, it surprised me to see that there was a table set out next to entrance, in honor of Sasha’s passing. I didn’t know why it did surprise me, but it just did.

I noticed it was her last school picture, which was taken not to long before the event. She wore a red blouse in that picture. I remembered admiring how pretty it looked on her.

“Aw, thank you, Lils! You look lovely, too,” she had said.

I seriously needed to stop doing this.

I turned my head to the side, and just behind Pat and George, I made my way to the chairs. The ceremony was about to begin and the twenty-six graduates were waiting impatiently in the background. I hadn’t seen Alex, though. Not since yesterday anyway since he decided to take a ride with his classmates during the morning to get ready elsewhere.

“Good evening, fellow ex-graduates, current students, family and friends,” Mr. Walberg, the school’s principal said, making a small instruction. “I would like to start by thanking all of you for coming here—I know most of you have very busy schedules, and frankly, I, myself think that Friday is a bit difficult for most, but that’s beside the point…Once again, thank you…”

After a while of blah, blah and this and that; music, dancing and lame jokes from part of the teachers’ side, it was time to give out the diplomas, making the graduation from the school, official.

“Mia Annette Reese,” Mr. Walberg called out through the microphone I recently noticed he held and a redhead dressed in a black graduation toga with some white fabric sticking out of the end, came nearly running to receive her diploma along with other trophies according to her achievements during the school year.

We all knew who was coming next. Pat waited excitedly on my left for when her son’s name was being called out. Brit sat on my right, wearing a dress I had picked out for her. And even though she looked stunningly gorgeous, she was still serious.

“Alexander Marcus Rodriguez-House,” Mr. Walberg said and Alex appeared in his toga, smiling to all of the thousands of girls cheering for him. I turned to see Brit…and…

And she was smiling.

“There you go,” I teased, while clapping for Alex. Her head turned to look at me, but turned back, only to be rested on my shoulder. “It’s ok, baby,” I assured her.

“I LOVE YOU, ALEX!” Jake shrieked with a squeaky voice, causing Brittany to erupt into silent giggles. He was sitting next to her, so I stretched my arm behind her to hit the back of his head.

“Don’t yell; we’re in public,” I muttered.

His eyes turned to Brit and with a hand he caressed her shoulder, but didn’t say anything.

“He is so handsome, isn’t he?” Pat whispered, and even though I knew it was meant for herself only, I had to agree.

Why? Why did he have to be ‘handsome’? …Curse Marc Rodriguez.

And why the hell was I thinking about this? I had a boyfriend.

~*~*~*~*~

“Oh, honey, I’m so proud of you!” Pat embraced Alex into a tight hug, kissing his cheek several times before letting go.

“Mom,” he protested, “you’re kind of embarrassing me.”

“Well, excuse me for being happy for my son’s achievement,” was her reply.

“Yeah, but leave some space for the others.” He smiled, referring to the rest that came to congratulate him.

George came then, patting Alex gently on his back. He whispered something in his ear, probably some “congratulations” or something. Then, Alex came to hug Brittany and Jake at the same time. The three of them squealed silently and when they parted, Brit grabbed Alex’s head only to plant a kiss on his pale cheek, making his smile turn wider. She still didn’t say anything, though, but at least I got to see her smile and that was enough to make anyone’s day.

“Why don’t we go celebrate?” Alex asked his mother and she nodded.

“Aren’t you forgetting someone, though?” she asked him, pointing her worn out hands toward me.

I froze a bit. This is so awkward. It felt awkward for me, at least. I mean, if you think about the last encounter.

I smiled a bit. “Uh, it’s all right, you do—”

But the look Pat gave me, made my lips seal. Alex sighed and gave his mother a roll of his eyes before turning to face me. He stretched his arms and waited…

“Well?” he said after a while of no movement. I looked around to see the others reactions. George and Jake just raised their eyebrows while Pat encouraged me to come forward with her hands. Brit—she just smiled.

I took several steps forward burying my—short—self into his wide arms. He closed them upon my waist and leaned his head a little, resting it on my shoulder. I inhaled deeply. I couldn’t help it. His scent was just amazingly good. He didn’t smell like his usual self; you know, the mixture of mint with strawberries? Instead, he smelled like fresh shaving cream and perfume.

I guess this wasn’t so bad, I thought after a while of being pressed against him, feeling his soft hair against my neck and left cheek.

For a moment, I wanted to melt within his arms. Yeah, I knew I contradicted myself a lot, but I just didn’t know whether to hate him or not sometimes. It was just…so difficult, based on the things we have talked about and been through.

I was still considering the idea that he might be bipolar or at least something related to it. Or I don’t know, maybe I was the one being delusional.

I then decided, that I wanted to stay like this for a while—wrapped in here, feeling slightly secure.

That was until I spotted a blonde head from afar and pushed Alex out of instinct. “Hey!” I yelled, suddenly rushing onto Brody’s arms. “What are you doing here?” I giggled as he leaned in, kissing me on my lips.

He parted and smiled. His smile was beautiful. That cute baby face of his that showed some small dimples whenever he smiled. He wore a simple tux, nothing too fancy, but still looked incredible. I hadn’t seen him in a while. Not since Sasha’s funeral, I think. He didn’t know Sasha that well... Okay, let me rephrase that. He didn’t know Sasha at all, but he went to show his respects and to be with me during that time.

He was constantly calling me to check that I was okay.

“How are you, Gorgeous?” he asked, wrapping his fingers with mine.

You know, come to think of it, I always thought Brody at the beginning wasn't much. But as the time went by, I began to slowly realize how much he meant.

I always thought of him as the typical player guy because I only based my opinions of the rumors I heard of him in the dancing academy, and well, he never really showed any special interest apart from the one he used on the other girls as well. You know…the whole cocky attitude that makes you think he's so cool, and in reality, he only was just your typical teenage guy that paused between sentences?

Did you know he stopped doing that ever since he told me he loved me? Maybe it had to do with him being nervous? I hoped.

So, yeah, that only proves that you never should judge somebody without getting to know them first. The typical saying: "Don't judge a book by its cover." Well, that's what I did and I ended up being wrong.

Apart from the millions of times we talked through the phone and seconds later, he said he had to leave... Apart from the whole situation where he was drunk the day of my birthday, and sometimes the times where he stares into thin space or finds a way to avoid some questions, he was great—amazing in fact.

He was the one to bring Benny to me as a surprise, not Alex. Brody was the one to practically give up our little space, so he could take his best friend to the dance (and all though I wasn't totally okay with that, it was still a sweet move).

Brody had always respected my decisions, even if it had to be no having sex because I wasn't ready. He caressed me sweetly, he never treated me horrible to the point where we fought. Come to think of it: we never fought!

He was always a gentleman.

So, yeah, maybe he calls me "babe" sometimes, although he knows I despise it, but nevertheless, he was the one to climb a tree and recite me lines from Romeo and Juliet, just so we could take a ride and talk. He was the first one to say “I love you”, which I truly appreciated.

The day after my birthday he apologized for the whole drunken mess and took me to know his family’s history and even gave me a mare as a present. What kind of person does that?

From what I remember, he has never insulted me...

So, what could I say?

That I was officially, purely and madly in love with him. He wasn’t perfect, and yet, nobody is. He was just…Brody and I liked him for it.

Right now, I didn’t even care about Jenny and Alex’s relationship. If he wanted to screw his life, well, that was just his problem. As he had said, I didn’t own him, so he didn’t have to explain anything.

I had Brody, and I didn’t care what he thought about it either. I would be furious, though, if I found out Alex was going out with Jenny in order to prove something.