Give 'Em Hell, Kid

“Gerard, are you ready yet?” My mother called from downstairs.

“Almost,” I yelled back, before returning my attention to the mirror in front of me.

I gave myself a critical once over. I was wearing a suit, and it felt strangely suffocating. I was used to wearing a uniform, so the shirt and tie combination shouldn’t have been an issue. My shirt was white, with black trousers and a matching suit jacket. My tie was the only bit of real colour – it was blood red. My mother had handed it to me with a sly smile on her thin lips earlier that day. I assumed it was to match the dress Lexi was wearing. She also handed me a bottle of gel and told me to ‘do something with my hair’. I knew I’d never hear the end of it if I didn’t at least style it to look a little tamer, so in the end, I decided to slick it back a little.

Looking in the mirror, I didn’t really feel like me. I felt like I was playing dress up, trying to be a grown up, when I was far from it. I found the whole thing a little…distasteful, in a way. Sure, it would be nice to see Alexia dressed up, and to take her out, but I was beginning to wonder if I had chosen the right place for our first official outing as…well, whatever we were. That was another thing we needed to talk about.

I wasn’t big into labels, but there was no denying that the lack of a term for our relationship status was making things a little bit awkward. I didn’t know how to describe who she was to me. She was my best friend, but she was also more than that. Girlfriend sounded like a lame title. It sounded too juvenile. Which, I was, but my feelings for Lexi were far from juvenile.

“Gerard, she’s going to be here soon. Get your ass down here now!”

I sighed, and lifted a hand to run through my hair, before I remembered that I had half a tube of gel in it, and swiftly dropped my hand back down to my side. I left the sanctuary of my room, and forced my feet to take me down the stairs to the living room, where my mother was waiting anxiously for Alexia to arrive.

“Ma, you’re making me nervous. Stop it,” I scolded, fixing my tie.

“Hey, who’s the parent here?” my mother muttered defensively, before her hand swiped my hand away from my tie and fixed it back in place.

“It’s a shame Mikey isn’t going,” she sighed.

“It’s only homecoming, ma.”

“You think that now.”

There was a sadness to her tone, one that I was hearing far too frequently for my liking. I wanted to ask her about the conversation I’d overheard between her and dad that night. I wanted to know if her fear should be mine also. I hated seeing my mother in a perpetual state of anxiety and resignation. She tried to hide it, but I could see it in every movement, every word she spoke.

“Ma, I wanted-“

I was cut off by the click of the front door, which signalled that someone had entered the house. I knew who it was, even before I felt my body tingle like some kind of homing beacon. Sometimes, I swore I could literally feel her presence. It was scary at times, as much as it was comforting.

It was strange, that she was coming to me on our first date. I had wanted to do the traditional thing of picking her up, but I had to concede that going over to her place, while her father was still home, was not the best of ideas. I hated that a part of me was still frightened of him, and what he might do to me. It wasn’t enough to frighten me away from Lexi, though; only her house, for the foreseeable future. I knew he wouldn’t be around long. In fact, I was surprised he was still around after a couple of weeks. He would normally be home for a few days, before going off for a few days, just like my own father.

“Oh, I knew the dress was perfect! You look stunning!”

My mother was beaming, taking in the sight of Alexis walking into the living room. I couldn’t help but smile, my eyes taking in just how different she looked. It wasn’t one of those cliché ‘wow, I can’t believe how beautiful she is’ moments. I already knew how beautiful she was, no matter what she wore. She certainly looked far more feminine than I had ever seen her before, and I can’t deny that I enjoyed the sight. My assumption about my tie had been correct. It matched her dress perfectly. It fitted her nicely, showing off her curves and chest which were normally hidden under baggy clothes.

“Hey,” she greeted uneasily, and her discomfort was obvious to see. She was out of her normal comfort zone, so I understood. Her brown hair was loose, which, again, was something she normally didn’t do. I didn’t realise just how long it had gotten.It was past her shoulder blades now.

“Hey,” I replied.

“Nice suit,” I could hear the sarcastic undertone. I wasn’t surprised that she was poking fun at my more formal look.

“Nice dress.”

That shut her up, with blushing cheeks. My mother ignored our exchange, and in seconds she was pushing us together, side by side, so she could take photos.

We were told to pose, with my arm around Lexi. It’s something that I had done a million times before, but it wasn’t quite the same when the gesture was forced for someone else’s amusement. Our smiles were obviously false, especially when we were both dying to leave and get the hell away from my mother’s attempt at photography.

“Smile, guys! This is supposed to be fun,” she sighed with frustration.

“It would be, if we weren’t stuck in front of a camera, so we could actually get to the dance,” I blurted out, which was promptly followed by my mother’s ‘shut the fuck up’ gaze. It was one of her scarier looks; not only because she looked intimidating, but it was also a real threat. I learned the hard way about ignoring the look. Let’s just say, I couldn’t sit for the rest of the day after that.

“Okay, now you can go. You know the rules – don’t get into trouble. Don’t be stupid. Be home at a somewhat reasonable hour. I swear, if I ever get a call from the cops again, you won’t see the light of day, until you’re thirty. Got it?”

“Yes, ma,” I gave her my sweetest smile, and her answering smile made the brief torture almost worth it.

I grabbed Lexi’s hand, and all but dragged her out of the house. It was bad enough that we barely had any time alone in the last few days, and I wasn’t going to delay a bit of private time any more than I had to.

I heard a giggle from Lexi as I dragged her away, a light, breathless one that sounded a little nervous. I opened the door for her, earning a raised eyebrow from her.

“Where’s the real Gerard, and what have you done with him?”

“What? I can’t do something nice for my girl?”

I wanted to slap myself.

“Oh, I’m your girl, huh?”

Her smile was teasing, but her make up couldn’t hide the blush that rose to her cheeks. There was something so serious about the statement, like the words were seeking a confirmation of a fact that had felt long distinguished. We had never explicitly said what we were. I’d avoided it for fear of freaking her out (and myself, if truth be told).

“Yeah, you are.”

“So, I suppose that means you’re paying for our future…outings, from now on?”

“Is this when I point out that you live in a mansion?”

“Yeah, but it’s also when I point out that you’re hardly poor, and I know you can afford it.”

“So, driving you everywhere, which costs money, isn’t enough?”

She shook her head.

“Not if you want the benefits of having a girlfriend.”

That was when she closed the gap between us, and softly brushed her lips against mine. It was a quick kiss, so light and barely there, that I almost wondered if it had happened. If it wasn’t for the way she shyly looked away, before slipping into the care, I would have thought it was a dream.

“Homecoming, here we come.”