Give It Time and It Will Change

"Alright, what has he done this time?"
"What?"
"Don't you 'what' me babygirl. You know what I'm talking about."

Amelisa sighed into the phone. Natalie had been trying to get her attention but Amelisa was staring off into space while chewing on her bottom lip.

When Amelisa hadn't replied, Natalie said, "That boy is going to give you grey hair before you two even get married."
"If we even get married."
"Doesn't seem like you two have much of a choice at the moment."

Amelisa got up and began pacing back and forth in the living room feeling antsy. "There's always a choice. Arranged marriage is very rare in the states. At least I think so. You know what, it should be illegal. It's down right stupid. And against my rights. I didn't even want to get married in the future. I just wanted to go to college, get my PhD, get a good job, have two kids and live out my life. Do you think I really need a husband for that? Didn't think so." She was out of breath after her rant. She fell back into the couch.

"Done ranting?" Natalie asked.
"I think so."
"You still haven't told me how he fucked up this time." And so Amelisa went into explanation.
When she was done, Natalie sighed deeply. "What's that supposed to mean?" Amelisa asked raising an eyebrow. "He hugged a girl and that pissed you off?" She asked almost disbelievingly. "Well...yeah, I guess so." "So you're telling me that the boy can't have any girly friends?" Amelisa began to squirm in her seat.
"Well...no. I mean, I have my own guy friends..."
"And do you hug them?"
"Yeah."
"Then it shouldn't be a problem that he hugs his, right?"
"They lingered." Amelisa stated, emphasizing on the word lingered.
"You and Jeffery linger in hugs. Sometimes you guys even take five minutes to hug."
"That's different. We're practically brother and sister. We're allowed to."
"Ah, but let's not forget you guys had the potential to take it further. Actually, you guys almost did, if I recall correctly. Don't you remember?"
Amelisa inhaled and then exhaled, running her hand through her hair. "Of course I remember...But what the hell does me and Jeffery have to do with anything?" Natalie noticed a bit of hostility in her best friends' voice. "Amy, all I'm saying is that he's still got a life. Obviously, he hasn't gone totally public with the idea of the two of you as an item, right?"
"Mhm."
"Well, that means no one else knows. So you can't really expect the girls to keep their paws off of him. And who knows, maybe they were just being genuinely friendly with each other."
Amelisa took time to consider this before finally speaking. "Sometimes I wonder who's back you actually have, mine or his." she said chuckling slightly. "I'm on no ones side, babygirl. I just want you to really think of all of the possibilities before getting all hot-headed. You forget that I've known you since you were a sixth grader. You have a tendency to act on impulse sometimes." Amelisa knew Natalie was only being honest with her.

"What do you suppose I do?"
"I can only tell you what I would do. Let it go. It was a friendly hug, maybe they're close. Who knows. Let it go, and let him approach you first. Don't avoid him, and if he asks what was wrong today, say nothing. If he said he noticed something, deny it." Amelisa took her words into consideration.

"I had planned to go to his house later tonight to talk to him about the whole going public thing...but that was before I saw what had happened. Should I still go talk to him?"
"No, remember what I said, let him come to you first. Don't even bring up the public thing until he does, alright? I think the safest thing to do right now is to just leave it alone. Don't push him into talking or doing anything. But if things start to get sexual between you two again, I think it would be better if you stopped it. Like what Jeffery said, don't be his play thing." "Right." "You're going to be okay, right?" "Of course."
"Alright. Well babygirl, I have to go. I love you. And remember, let it go."
"Right. I love you too."

*****

"You don't seem as happy today. Skip out on breakfast this time?" Almost like it was a routine, Alexander was right next to Amelisa, examining her closely. "Yeah, I guess so." She tried to come off as indifferent, although she felt anything but.

'Seriously, what's wrong with me?' she thought to herself as she tried to focus her attention on her friends who were starting to feel neglected of her mental presence. 'Maybe I'm just anticipating the moment he talks to me. Who knows, it might not even happen.'

"If you don't stop shifting from foot to foot, I'll shoot your pinky toes." Jane said while trying to steady Amelisa with her arms on her shoulders. "I kind of need those." Amelisa said almost absentmindedly.
"Yeah, now that Jane mentions it; what's with the twitchy-ness?" Philip asked. Amelisa shrugged, not even making valid eye contact with anyone.
"You're nervous." Jeffery concluded, sounding matter-of-fact.
"No shit, Sherlock." Amelisa said, rolling her eyes.
"Don't need to be a twat about it, Watson." Jeffery said, giving her a good morning hug.

After Amelisa gave no more comment in the matter, they all went back to their business, talking as usual; Amelisa went back to her own thoughts. 'I should stop anticipating it. If I keep on with it, it'll never happen. That's usually how these things work, right?' She let the thought hang in her mind for a few moments before the bell rang, signalling for everyone to get to class.

Arriving at her desk and looking over all of the school work she had to do in this class alone gave her a slither of hope she would be able to get her mind out of this situation. She was determined to make this day a work day, and nothing else. She even made plans to skip lunch and spend it in the library doing a reading project. She almost laughed at herself when that thought came in her mind, knowing it would probably not happen; although she gave herself kudos for the effort.

*****

Lunch rolled around and she gave the library some thought. Finally coming to a conclusion, she grabbed her bag and headed to the glass doors that led to the silent zone. People hardly ever came into the library unless they were with a class or it was raining outside. Amelisa had managed to get on the librarians' good side through friendly small talk her whole time at high school. By the time junior year started, Mrs. Peggy knew Amelisa by name and even allowed her to go into the small glass study rooms that overlooked the lunch area and gave a view of the mountains in the distance. That was, actually, exactly what Amelisa needed. Some peace and quiet, alone with her school work and thoughts.

*****

Amelisa didn't know if she should feel relieved or upset at not seeing Shawn at all the whole day. Seventh period had just ended and she was gathering her stuff and heading down the cement stairs to her last class. She didn't walk fast as if she was trying to avoid anyone, nor was she walking slow enough for anyone to try to talk to her. She went her own pace, willing herself to just go about things normally as she had the whole school day. If Shawn wanted to talk to her, he would do it on his own time; she didn't want to go searching for his attention.

When she reached the door to her last class, she thought about lingering there just in case there was a slight chance Shawn would catch up to her; however she decided against it. She walked to her desk and continued to take out her notebook and write a procedural entry as routine demanded. Just as she was allowing her work and handwriting get the best of her attention, there came a voice from the doorway calling out her name.

"Amelisa, I need to talk to you." She looked up and saw Shawn hanging half way in the hall and the class room. He didn't look happy or bitter, just casual. "Be in before the bell." The teacher grumbled. Amelisa nodded before getting out of her chair and walking out of the class room. Amelisa didn't allow herself to be strayed too far away from the class to be somewhere private, she wanted to be around a crowd of people.

"Hey."
"Hi." Well? What else was she supposed to say...?

"Are you alright?" He looked at her this time, reminding himself to be aware of her eyes and the emotions that flickered through them.
"Yeah, I am. Why?"
"You seemed...off yesterday before eighth period started. I didn't know what was up."
Amelisa wanted to come back with something cheeky to say about him having his little hug fest with that girl, but decided against it. "Oh, no. I was fine. Maybe I was just tired and staring off into space or something."
"You were looking right at me."
"Was I? Well, that's inconvenient. My bad." She tried her best to sound friendly and keep all emotions out of her face. She was not going to give him any proof that she was not alright.
"Positive?"
She fought hard against her bitter self to keep the annoyance out of her voice. "Positive."
"Alright...well, there's something else I wanted to ask. Come to my game on Friday? I don't really know if you follow up on soccer games or anything, but we're going against our rival, so it should be pretty intense. It would be cool if you made it out and watched."
Amelisa had to hand it to Shawn; he looked adorable when he was nervous and scratching his head awkwardly. This was the perfect time to ask him to that party.
"Sounds great. My friend invited me to a party she's having that night after the game, go with me to that?"
"Oh, yeah, I heard about her party. A few of my fiends are going. I didn't have any reason to go. I guess I do now." He smiled now, finally looking like himself. Amelisa felt the tensity she didn't notice roll off her shoulders. "Great, sounds like a plan. What time does your game start?"
"They usually start around six, but the stands fill up quite a bit, especially during games against our rivals, so you might wanna get there a little earlier."
"Will do."

The minute bell rang and before Amelisa could turn around to go back to class, Shawn pulled her in for a hug. It wasn't a hug that lasted for a while, but it still made her feel some what special.

*****

Shawn and Amelisa hadn't made much contact with each other the rest of the week. She was even surprised no marriage stuff had come up between their parents. But that didn't mean she forgot about their plans for Friday.

She decided to bring along a friend, at least for the game. She didn't want to look like a total loner. Luckily Jane and one of their friends Briana agreed to go, deciding they'd stick around with her until she went and met up with Shawn.

"We'll be at the party too, if things decide to go to shit between you two. Like, if he decides to ditch you for his friends and a bag of weed, or something."
"I appreciate your guys' support, but I don't think he does weed..." she said, not denying that he might ditch her for his friends. "You never know." Briana said, eating some popcorn she got from the food stands. Amelisa made a mental note to ask him about that later.

She made sure they sat in one of the bottom rows so he could spot her if he chose to look. She never really made it out to any kind of school sporting event, except for football games in the fall. Then again, who didn't want to sit in the bottom bleachers with their friends and rate the football players by who has the nicest ass? She was pretty sure she vaguely remembered one of her friends concluding that #7 (she was pretty sure that might have been Shawn) had "quite the perky behind" and that she would "definitely tap that white ass". Ah, she loved that she had the friends she did.

The soccer players of the opposing team assembled on the field while the home team ran on, listening to the crowd of their friends, family, and fans encouraging them to win.

Shawn couldn't help but genuinely wonder if Amelisa had actually came to his game. He felt pretty sure she would, but there was always that creeping doubt. However, there was literally no time to think of such things. Their game went on, in their favor mostly. Nothing seemed to slow down until one of the members of the other team got injured. Shawn took that opportunity to glance up at the stands. He didn't need to look for longer than a few seconds; she was sitting on one of the bottom bleachers with two of her friends he often saw her with. Their eyes met and Shawn felt the need to win this game at all costs-- just to show off. Why was he feeling like that all of a sudden? He never felt like he had to prove himself to anyone except his coaches.

"Shawn, hello! Get back into it!" one of his mates called out to him while they were getting back into their positions. He had to win this game. Just to see what she would say.

*****

Amelisa decided to wait for Shawn in the shadow of his car. He was parked behind the school by the locker rooms while she was parked in the car park that was open only for school functions. She didn't have a hard time convincing her friends she'd be okay on her own and that she could just meet up with them at the party. Although she was a little worried about bumping into someone other than Shawn; it didn't matter to her that she would have to get used to his arse hole friends, she still wasn't comfortable with them. She heard footsteps coming towards the car and could easily see his blonde hair. Shawn had changed into dark jeans and a dark blue button up; it was a sight than made her nibble on her lip.

She stepped out from the shadow. "You guys did great tonight."
Shawn jumped a bit, having not noticed she was there at all. "Oh, jeez Amelisa. You scared the shit out of me." He laughed while leaning on his car. Amelisa wasn't sure how she was going to act tonight. She had decided to just forget about the other day, hadn't she? She should just act normal...normal...normal. 'Bitch, be cool. Be cool, bitch' she thought to herself.

"Oh, my bad." She said apologetically. She walked and then leaned her back against his car next to him. "Well, I'm glad you didn't make the trip out for nothing." Shawn felt some sort of victory for showing his skill off to her. "We still have a party to go to." She added with a smile. "As if I could forget. Everyone talks about that girls' parties. I've never seen you there before." He said.
"Yeah, I don't really go. She invites me all the time, and I know my friends go, but sometimes I'm just too tired to make the drive out here."
"Yeah, no kidding. I feel the same way, but..."
"But you're such a popular sought-after guy, you have to make the drive out." she finished for him with a smile.
"Guilty." They both turned to each other now, smiling friendly smiles. They both felt a sense of comfort, smiling carelessly at each other in the darkness of the almost empty car park in the back of the school. It was a moment neither of them felt like breaking, but knew they had to.

"Let me just put my stuff in the back and we'll head out. You can go ahead and get in if you want."
"Oh, I drove here." She took her car keys from her pocket and jingled them into view. "I can meet you at the house."
Shawn let his disappointment show only minutely. "Oh. Well let me drive you to your car at least. I don't think I'd want you walking around in the dark after a game. Some of these people start their own parties in the back of their cars after games." Amelisa found she couldn't really argue with that, so gave in and got in the passenger seat.

*****

The two met in front of the mail box of the house. Loud bass music echoed throughout the yard that held a large crowd of people. Faces were hard to distinguish because of lack of proper light, so Shawn just said hello back to those who greeted him. He stopped to see if Amelisa was following him and brought her to his side, placing a hand naturally on the small of her back.
"Don't wanna loose you in the crowd." He whispered in her ear. She felt comfort in his touch, and was suddenly thankful for it. She tried not to take notice of the lingering eyes that followed the two of them. She should of known what she was getting herself into.

They walked to a group of boys who were lounging around the stairs.

"Look who finally decided to grace us with his presence."
"Yeah, like, three years after the game ends."
The two were greeted this way by, who Amelisa assumed was, Shawn's friends. She had seen all of them hang around Shawn, but never bothered to learn their names.
"Hardy-har-har, shut the fuck up. This is Amelisa, don't be douche bags." This was Shawn's way of introducing Amelisa to his friends. None seemed too interested; they just gave her a once over and went back to talking about whatever they were talking about.

"Hi. I think I've seen you around before." Someone actually addressed her and she turned to a blonde boy who was slightly taller than her, but shorter than Shawn. She had, indeed, seen this boy before. Every time she saw him, she always noted that he had very stunning dark blue eyes. She actually hadn't seen that too often, dark blue eyes with light blonde hair. His name finally came to mind.

"This guy is one of my closest friends. Amelisa, Hunter. Hunter, Amelisa." Shawn said, properly introducing the two. "Hello. Yeah, I've seen you around too. I think we have a history class together." Amelisa said, recalling. Hunter nodded back, "Yeah we do! I knew you really seemed familiar."

Just then, the host, Amelisa's friend, Becky, came to greet her new guests. "Amy! It's good to finally see you at one of my parties! Did you drag her out, Shawn?" Becky squealed while giving a shocked Amelisa a hug. "Actually, she was the one who offered we come. I wasn't going to at first." Shawn said while giving Becky a one armed hug. "Well good thing you both came anyways! Hey Hunter!" She said giving Hunter a hug as well. He went along with it.

"Do you guys want drinks?" Becky offered. They all just looked at each other and nodded. "Cool, Amelisa, come with me!" she hugged Amelisa's arm and dragged her along. "Have fun!" Shawn called out and laughed. Amelisa just gave him a crooked grin, allowing herself to be pulled along into the kitchen/bar.

*****

"Earth to Helen! Hellllloooooo!" One of her annoying followers was trying to get her attention, but all she could focus on was what walked through the front door. Shawn, her Shawn, with that nobody tramp, whatever the fuck her name was. Vexation ran through her mind. 'I thought I made it painfully clear he was mine with that long hug. Who the fuck does she think she is.' Helen thought, not letting her eyes leave the way Shawn had his hand on her lower back.

"Oh, I see what you're looking at." The closer of her friends leaned in on Helen and her point of sight. "Isn't that the girl who's caught the eye of Shawn?" Even the mention of the obvious made Helen's eye twitch. "Shut the fuck up." She growled. Her friend only giggled at Helen's displeasure. "Looks like either you haven't been taken seriously or you haven't made your point as clear as you should have." Her friend mumbled in her ear while they watched Shawn and the girl converse with Hunter and Becky.

"We'll see how clear I make myself this time."

*****

"What are you gonna wanna drink?" Becky asked Amelisa when they entered the somewhat crowded kitchen. "I think I'll just have a soda." "Oh, come on. Loosen up, have a beer or something." Becky said while high-fiving another one of her friends. "Nah, if I have one, I'll never stop. And I gotta drive home." She knew it was true too.
Becky sighed in disappointment. "Well, sodas I think are in the coolers in the garage, help yourself. I'll wait for you in here."

Amelisa made her way through the crowded hallway leading to the garage. The light switch was off and she turned it on while letting the door close. Unlike the rest of the house, it was empty. She walked to one of the many coolers and searched for a soda. When she found a Coke, she walked out the garage and into the almost empty pantry. She noticed Hunter hanging around, talking to another group of guys. He saw her and nodded his head in a greeting with a smile. She smiled in return and then almost bumped into someone. Turning to apologize, she saw a petite looking girl in front of her, unmoving. The girl that was hugging Shawn the other day. She had long flowing red hair and large, pale green eyes. 'What was her name again?' Amelisa asked herself. She suddenly grew uneasy when those pale green eyes were staring intensely into her own eyes. The girl took Amelisa by the arm. She may have looked petite, but her grip was strong and aggressive. She pulled Amelisa farther into the pantry, looking only at her and not taking notice of anyone else around.

They stared at each other for a few seconds.
"Yes?" Amelisa asked, looking from the girls' eyes to the ground, then back.
"Did you not get my message the other day?"
"Sorry?"
"You saw me hug Shawn. That was your cue to back the fuck off."
Amelisa was startled and she knew she probably looked like a deer caught in front of the headlights.
"For one of the smart kids, you're very dense. I meant for you to see us hug. This is my warning to you: Stay away from Shawn Maleck. He's mine." The girls' grip tightened on Amelisa's arm.
"I don't even know who you are." She said with a blank face. The red head looked fuming at that statement.
"I'm Helen, Shawn's rightful girlfriend." Helen said, almost like Amelisa was a little child.
"Oh, I see. You're jealous." Amelisa said. Inside, she didn't know where that came from. She was speaking without choosing her words--a habit she did when she was angry or annoyed. And this girl was definitely annoying her.
"Not jealous, merely stating what is mine. And he's mine. So you better watch yourself, cunt. Or you'll regret it." The girl seemed to rid herself of anger and replaced it with fake cheerfulness and friendliness. She gave Amelisa a very fake smile and then walked off.

Amelisa stayed standing where she was for a few moments, deciding what to do. She didn't know how to feel. How was she supposed to feel? This confrontation was definitely very sudden and caught her off guard. She did what she instinctively did when these unforeseen things occurred: she fled the scene. Amelisa slowly sat her Coke on whatever space was available, hung her head low, and walked out of the pantry.

Before walking out into the living room, she looked to try and find Shawn or maybe even Becky. She saw both Becky and Shawn talking to the group of guys and, Lord behold, Helen was right at Shawn's side. Of course. Helen blended in more appropriately than Amelisa ever would.
She felt numb, and with the help of what was left of her pride, went back to the garage and walked out the side door to the safe familiarity of her car.

*****

He didn't know what else he was supposed to do in those few minutes. He knew something was very wrong when he saw Helen grab Amelisa by the arm and pull her back into the pantry. He inconspicuously walked to the people closest to where Helen and Amelisa were and pretended to pay attention to them when he was really listening to what the red head was telling Amelisa.

In all reality, he wasn't shocked that Helen would say these things. He wasn't shocked that she would step up and 'claim' what she thought was hers. She had always been like that. He was just a little displeased she chose Amelisa as a target. Of course, everyone started noticing Shawn was taking an odd interest in this Amelisa girl; he had been questioned frequently about it. However, if one took the time to think it over (which, who would? Everybody just saw her as some girl, not a girl of particular interest), it would seem clear why Shawn would take an interest. She seemed different in her own subtle way.

But he figured there had to be more to the story than just his friends' interest in Amelisa's uniqueness. Shawn does not simply advance this quickly on a girl who was not noticed by their particular clique, and he knew this for sure about his friend.

He knew Helen wouldn't of reacted this harshly unless she saw Amelisa as a real threat. That had to count for something.

When he saw Amelisa walk back through the kitchen, he stood assessing his thoughts, while still pretending to pay attention to the group he was in at that moment. After a few more seconds, he saw Amelisa walk right back past him again, going back to the garage with her eyes looking at the ground. He looked at her eyes and saw what looked like numbness. That's when it struck him.
Amelisa was not the kind of girl that was cut out for this kind of rivalry.

*****

Helen arrived back at the house around two in the morning. All the lights were out, as expected. Her parents were never home. She dropped the car keys on the counter and stumbled up the stairs. She made her way to her room and turned on the light and proceeded to take off her dress and strip to her undergarments. She sensed someone at the entrance to her room.

"I didn't know you were home." She said walking in her bra and underwear to throw her party dress into the hamper, then to her dresser for her pajamas.
"You're gonna die one day from your drunk driving." Said the person standing in the door way.
"Shut the fuck up." She instantly said. "It's not like you don't drink."
"I do drink. But not as bad as you do. And I don't drive when I'm drunk."

Helen scoffed and rolled her eyes. "What do you want, brother?" She asked, looking at the boy via her dresser mirror.
"I heard what you said to Amelisa."
"What about it."
"Maybe you should leave her alone."
Helen slipped on her night shorts, and now stood glaring at her brother in her bra.
"Don't tread on things that have nothing to do with you." She spat. The boy said nothing and continued to stare into his sisters' green eyes while she stared into his blue.
"What's it to you, anyways?"
"I don't think she's cut out for this kind of thing."
"Hence the reason why she's a nobody."
"Hence the reason why you should leave her alone."
"What are you going to do about it?"
"I'm just advising you leave her alone. Leave the two of them alone. You might hurt her."
"If that's what it takes for her to leave Shawn alone, then so be it." Helen's face became expressionless.
"Helen. Don't do anything drastic. He's just a guy. And she's just a girl. Leave it be." Then the boy turned around to walk out the room to leave his sister to get ready for bed.
"Hunter." Helen called. Her brother walked back into the room and she walked to him, almost nose to nose. Two siblings who looked nothing alike, half naked without shirts, and expressionless towards each other. There was no affection in their reactions to one another.

"If you get in the way in any way, shape, or form, I will not hesitate to ruin you and the girl both." Helen threatened.
"In my years of living with you, I've noticed that not only are we incomparable by means of appearance, but also in personality. It seems as though I have a brain and a heart. You only have a brain that thinks of itself."