The Boy on the Blue Moon

I went outside the school building to meet Mike and the other guys to catch the school bus. I kept glancing at the corners nervously as if I expected to see Kellin standing there looking at me with his deep blue eyes filled with rage and something else I hadn’t figured out yet; and not knowing what it was made me even more scared. The thought of him filled me with a strange heat I’d never felt before. I was so lost in my thoughts I almost didn’t see Mike pulling me closer and staring deeply into the bruise Kellin had left me with.
- What the fuck?! – he shouted. I was so speechless I could barely mumble. I should’ve seen it coming.
- It’s fine, r-really – I managed.
- No Vic, this is totally not fine! Who did this to you?! – he spat. I could almost see fire burning in his eyes, but they weren’t nearly as scary as Kellin’s.
- I fell against a locker, why do you even bother anyway? – I replied, backing away from him.
- What are you too bitching… - Jaime started, but before he could finish the sentence, he realized what the whole commotion was about.
- What happened to you, man?! – Tony asked, stunned.
- Could all of you just leave me alone?! It’s just a bruise, for heaven’s sake! – I was starting to get really irritated. It was like they felt they needed to stand up for me, and they really didn’t, I could clean up my own messes.
- We’re only so dazzled cause we care about you, bro… - Mike started.
- Seriously, Mike?! It’s really nothing. You three must be really dying for a fuss to make a big deal out of this. – I let out without thinking, and for once I didn’t regret it. Jaime looked down at his feet, as if my words had somehow hurt his feelings. Mike looked up to me, as if he was surprised with my attitude towards them. Well, I wouldn’t blame him. It’s not the first time I feel like this, but it’s definitely the first time I openly talk about it. I don’t know exactly what got me so brave all of a sudden, you could say I’m one to suffer in silence. I guess that makes my venting very random, but I don’t care. At that moment, the bus parked only a few steps from where we were standing. Jaime and Tony immediately started out towards it, but when I was about to follow them, Mike held me back.
- I’m not going to put this behind me so quickly, and if you don’t want to tell me who did this to you I’m going to find out by myself. That doesn’t have a shape of a locker or whatever and you’re a terrible liar – he said, looking straight into my eyes as if he expected to see the name of my aggressor written in my cornea with red ink. I just stared back with a blank face I had developed over years of practice before getting away from his grip with a swift yet firm move of my arm. We walked in the bus without a word and went for the back. The rest of the trip was silent as I thought about what Mike said. He’s got a lot of friends, but starting a fight with Kellin’s gang would be way too risky for anyone at school. And all of this trouble over a bruise?! I just couldn’t stand the fact I was to blame for all the commotion.
As we got home, I went past the living room in a blur so my parents wouldn’t notice the bluish mark under my eye. I banged the door behind me as I got in my bedroom. I was so frustrated by Kellin and my brother’s attitude for a moment I thought I’d punch the fucking wall, but I contained myself. I didn’t need any marks on my finger nods to improve my situation. I grabbed an old Halloween make up set in order to cover my bruise with some beige colored face paint. It didn’t work so well, but it was better than nothing. I grabbed some big old sunglasses I had never worn before and tried them on. Now the marks were almost all hidden, but I remembered why I had never worn those sunglasses; they looked ridiculous. . I think I remember what I was forgetting this morning; to turn off the alarm clock and stay in bed.
I laid down under the covers of my bed, trying to full myself into thinking if I pulled the sheets just a bit more over my head I’d disappear for good. After roughly 15 minutes, I sneaked a peak over the edge of the covers and realized, disappointed, I hadn’t been carried away to a far-away land or something of the sort. So I pulled my head from beneath the sheets and stared at the ceiling, going over everything that happened today. I ended up thinking of Kellin and how I hated myself for standing up to him. I also didn’t understand how such a fragile looking person could get so scary so quickly and, mostly, throw a punch like that. What I felt for him was a mix of hate with a strange curiosity. I wanted to know what lied beneath his deep cold eyes. And the way his mouth twisted on what was supposed to be a smile after I was on the ground wasn’t any less disturbing. The sound of his laugh was more like a death sentence as he contemplated my weakness. So distracted I was, I didn’t realize I had been laying in bed for nearly two hours until my mother gently knocked on my bedroom’s door to let me know dinner was ready. I groaned and got up, starting out towards the mirror. I looked truly ridiculous with those sunglasses and cheap make up, but it served a purpose. My bruise was now totally concealed, only someone who already knew of it’s existence could notice it. And the fact I was wearing sunglasses for dinner was ratter weird, but I could just brush the subject off with some lame excuse if my parents ask anything.
As I went down the stairs, Mike’s eyes rested on my face. He was still pissed off at me, but he couldn’t contain a smirk at the sight of my “outfit”.
- Well, bro, seems like you’ve developed a sense of style… - he said with a petulant smile on his lips.
- My eyes were a little bit sensitive to light, so I decided to spare them – I replied. I wouldn’t let anything he said get to me, not right now.
- I hope you’re feeling better by tomorrow; it would be a shame if you had to show up at school like that – he finished. I couldn’t blame him for mocking me; I knew exactly how ridiculous I sounded with those looks and that lame talk about light sensitivity.
- Let’s hope so. – I said calmly while pulling a chair at the table.
- Oh Vic, you look gorgeous with those sunglasses Granny gave you for Christmas last year! – my mother added, ratter excited about me finally wearing my grandmother’s Christmas present. This time, Mike almost chocked on his lemonade trying to hold back from laughing. My mother didn’t seem to notice, so dinner went on as usual until the doorbell rang.
- I get it! – Mike said, already running towards the front door. Jaime and Tony were waiting in front of our place to walk to Gabe Braham’s party.
- Hold on, I’ll be down in a moment! – he finished, running up the stairs. I followed behind, taking the lead to go and lock myself inside my room again. Before I could shut the door, Mike went past me.
- Sure you don’t wanna come Vic? – he asked. I thought about it for a second. I knew Kellin and his pals would be there, and Mike would probably stand up to them, which would probably turn out to be pretty violent. I couldn’t let my little brother get in a fight over me, it’s something I couldn’t afford doing. I’ll find a way to stop him, even if I have to deal with Kellin myself.
- Actually, I do want to go! – I replied with fake excitement. He smiled.
- Great! Now take off those stupid sunglasses! – he said, half down the stairs already. I placed the sunglasses at the side of my bed quickly and followed him down.
Gabe’s house was only a few blocks from mine, and after 15 minutes walking we were at the doorstep. The music was so loud anyone in a rage of 100 feet from the place could hear it. The door was flung open and we were invited in. My name wasn’t in the list, but nobody seemed to care. Jaime and Tony had brought some beer, and Mike was walking ahead, so no one would dare to stop us. I started to regret coming the second I went past the doorstep. There was no sign of Kellin so far, but I knew he would be here any moment. Gabe was one of his pals after all, and it would be their first chance of partying hard after Quinn got back from… well, wherever he was. Someone showed us to the kitchen and we dropped the beers off. Mike turned to me:
- Ok, Vic, show me to that prick at once and we’ll get this done with. – he said firmly. He really hadn’t put my incident behind him. I looked at him in disbelief.
- Just forget about it already! Let’s just enjoy the party, shall we? – I said with a smile, handing him a beer and grabbing one for myself. I wasn’t much of a drinker, but I needed to relax. As I went past the kitchen, I saw him. Kellin Quinn was standing right beneath the stairs, staring me in a way that almost made me drop my beer. I managed to put myself together, but I didn’t dare to look him in the eye. I had seen those documentaries about great predators from the wild, and eye contact could be misinterpreted as challenge. Even though I knew Kellin wasn’t a wild beast, my guts told me he wasn’t all that different from them.