When Push Comes to Shove

I sped down the road, weaving between clumps of trees while my heart thundered in my chest. Did that really just happen? No way, that's impossible. I bet I'm just tired from the long journey. I've been reading too many scary stories lately. Yeah that's it. By the time I made it out of the trees and into a busy city intersection, I had completely convinced myself that it was all in my head and it didn't really happen. I banished the cold look that seemed to have burned itself to the back of my eyelids and instead focused on the task at hand.

I navigated my way along what I assumed was the main drag of this town because it was super busy with stores on either side. I spotted a Panda Express and turned quickly into the lot only to have the last parking space taken by a car full of loud, obnoxious teenagers. Grumbling to myself I pulled around and had to park in the next lot over. As I walked over the median dividing the lots from each other the kids that stole my parking space were just now getting out of the car. As I walked past them towards the main entrance a guy with spikey blonde hair called out,

"Maybe next time sweet cheeks, too slow!"

I whirled around to see him snicker along with the rest of his posse, his eyes unashamadly roving over my butt. I gave him the finger and ignored him, choosing instead to enter the restaurant.

Inside it was warm and dry, a nice contrast to the chilly damp of outside. The scent of orange chicken and all the wonderful goodies that american chinese cuisine has to offer wafted through the air.

I was in heaven.

I took a place in line and inevitably the group of jerkwads from outside just had to get in line.

Behind me.

So they could look at my ass.

"Mmmm mmmm, that is a nice derrière if I do say so. You do pilates?"

I ground my teeth together in a vain attempt to ignore him, but obviously this guy was not used to being ignored. He commented in an obnoxiously loud whisper,

"I'd like to squish those cheeks together to make one big juicy peach..."

My eye started to twitch. He will not get the best of me, I won't allow it. At least I wasn't going to allow it until he got fresh and smacked my bottom, pretty hard I may add.

That's it.

I turned around and without warning punched him straight in the nose. A look of disbelief crossed his face before he was falling backward into his cluster of lackeys, knocking them willy nilly like bowling pins. If I wasn't so angry at the moment I probably would have laughed. Instead I loomed over him, satisfied to see a trickle of blood run out of his nose.

"If you ever touch me like that again I'll rip off your balls and make you wear them like a hat! Are we clear?!"

He just stared at me and nodded vigorously, blood flying from his nose with the motion.

"Good. I'm glad we understand each other."

I didn't pay him a second glance as I turned around to place my order with the now terrified clerk behind the counter before finding an empty booth to wait for my meal. I took a moment to scan the rest of the lobby, my eyes landing on a small group of kids in the back corner. Everyone in the place had been staring at me after I punched that dude, but now most of them were back to their own little worlds, chatting it up.

Except for him.

He had baby blue eyes and shaggy brown hair that flopped over his face, but it seemed natural, not like he was trying too hard like so many other guys. He was staring at me with an amused expression on his face while the rest of the kids at the table talked animately with on another. Wordlessly he stood up and headed over to my table when he discovered he'd been caught staring. The kids he sat with didn't even look up, like he just walked off silently all the time.

"That was really cool. I love it that someone finally put Blake in his place."

He gave me the once over, but it didn't leave me feeling dirty the way that Blake had. When I didn't say anything he continued.

"I'm sure you're new here, because anyone that has spent any amount of time here would not have punched Blake Livingston right in the shnoz. They may want to, but no one else has the balls to do what you did, but I'm glad because Blake's a prick. What's your name?"

I was liking this guy already.

"My name is Zoe. And you're right, I am new here. It's good to meet someone who isn't a prick. What's your name?"

"Jake. I've lived here all my life so feel free to ask me anything, I probably know just about everyone, kids and adults."

"Good to know."

I grinned like a silly school girl as he wrote down his phone number on a small scrap of paper he ripped out of a small notebook that he had stuffed in his pocket. I accepted it from him without making a complete fool of myself.

"Where did you end up moving in to? Somewhere nearby?"

I thought briefly of the kid I had seen in my room before shaking him out again, he wasn't real.

"Oh I live over on 256th. Do you know the green house with the loft in front?"

His smile immediately evaporated and I fould myself feeling guilty. Did I say something wrong?

"What is it? Is it a bad neighborhood or something?"

Just perfect! My dad chose the ghetto neighborhood...

Jake didn't say anything at first and I sat there in akward silence until I thought I would explode. He frowned once and finally spoke.

"No, the neighborhoods fine, its just that my friend Erek used to live there."

Used to? I felt a chill creep up my spine but I refused to think about it.

"Oh that sucks. Did he move away or something?"

Please tell me he moved away... he had to. A pained look crossed Jake's face and his next words confirmed what I already knew.

"No he didn't move away. Erek is dead. He killed himself."

Angry eyes flashed through my mind and I felt a surge of pity.

"I'm so sorry."

Jake forced a smile, and ran a hand through his hair.

"It's okay, it happened years ago while we were in high school. He hated his life and I wasn't surprised when he did what he did. It still hurts though you know?"

He stopped talking and smiled at me.

"Listen to me, pouring out my heart to a stranger. Well, I guess I'll see you around, after all, I know where you live."

He laughed a bit and walked back over to his table of friends that we now watching me with interest. I found myself thinking more and more about his friend Erek. How did he do it, and why?

"Order up!"

I snapped back to the present and grabbed my order before heading back out into the rain.