My Mad, Crazy, Insane, Perfect, Beautiful Life

Devon’s POV:

I’ve never been normal. What is normal anyway? Is it anything more than, like Ashley Purdy said, a setting on a washing machine? If so then I should’ve been glad I wasn’t ‘normal’. Hell, if I’d been ‘normal’ I wouldn’t have met Jaime.

We met by accident. I was fourteen, and starting high school. I’d been scared shitless because I wasn’t like everyone else. I hated pop, I hated pink (the color not the singer, I LOVE the singer), I hated the slutty and girly outfits I’d seen the popular chicks wear. I also hated that my parents wished I was like them; popular, outgoing, living life as though I didn’t give a shit if I died of alcohol poisoning or got knocked up in my teens. I hated them.

At the end of week one I was tired. I mean I was tired of everyone and everything, my parents included. I didn’t want to go home, right away or ever. So once the bell rang I made my way to a nearby 7-Eleven. I bought a bag of chips and a large slushy. I took my food outside and sat next to the entrance of the store. I know it’s a really stupid thing to do, especially in southern Cali but I didn’t know what else to do. So I wouldn’t look like a total bum I dug out my math homework and began working the problems. I was in the middle of an equation when a yoyo flew by my head. A centimeter to my right and I would’ve, not been knocked out, but I would’ve had a nasty headache.

“Shit sorry.” I looked up and saw a boy I’d seen around school. He was a freshman too but he wasn’t anything like me.

“It’s alright, you missed.” I said before going back to my homework.

“I’m Jaime,” he said drawing my attention once again.

“Devon,” I said shyly.

“So what are you doing here?” I shrugged.

“Surviving I guess.” I suddenly felt him come closer to me. Before I knew it he was hovering above me looking down at my work.

“By doing math homework?”

“Well we can’t all get by with yoyos and good looks.” Oh yeah I said it. I couldn’t freaking believe I said it but I did. “Fuck this,” I closed my book and shoved it in my bag. “So what are you doing here?”

“Just practicing some moves,” he said tossing his yoyo in the air.

“Would one them including taking off my head?”

“That was an accident, I-uh got distracted,” he smiled down at me.

“I can go if you…”

“No, no it’s fine. Besides by the look on your face just now it seems like going home would be the worst thing in world.” I smiled a bit at that.

“Something like that.”

He sat down beside me which surprised me. Is he really interested in me and my crap-filled life? I remember thinking. “What’s going on?”

“You really want to know?”

“No I’m just trying to make conversation.” He said with a sincere look which quickly turned into a cheeky smile. “Yeah I wanna know.”

“Fine, just tell me if I bore you.” And so I proceeded to spill my guts. I told him everything: about my parents wanting me to ‘fit in’ and be like my sister Clara, about dad banging mom’s younger sister behind her back, and how I only knew that because I walked in on them one day when I came home from school, how my mom is oblivious to everything, how I had to bury my sister during the summer.

“Fuck, I am so sorry,” Jaime said.

“Clara would’ve liked you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. You’re different and…”I looked at him and my eyes locked on his.

“What?”

“You’re special.” I said. “You listen and you don’t walk away. Clara would’ve loved that. She, she would’ve loved you simply for letting me vent and being a…well friend.”

Jaime then reached out and took my hand in his. “I’ll always listen. Devon, we may have not known each other long but I fucking adore you already.” I rolled my eyes at that. “Seriously, I’m not bullshitting you. I like you Devon. You’re different too, but in a good way. And dare I say it, you’re really pretty.”

“I call bullshit.”

“No, no you fucking don’t. You may not see it but you are very special to me. I-I don’t want to lose you.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I didn’t know Jaime well but I already felt a connection, a
strong one at that, and I didn’t want to lose that.

“You won’t.” I said making him smile the most contagious smile I’d ever seen. One I will never tire of.
“Now how about we change the subject before we start crying like we’re in some cheesy chick flick.”

“Twenty questions?”

“Alright, you first.”

“Any rules?”

“Don’t ask me anything that’ll make me cry or piss me off. I’ll slap you if you do.”

“Deal.”

We started out innocently enough. He would ask me what movies I liked, or what TV show was I currently fixated on, or what song was currently my favorite or what CD was in my CD player at that very moment. When I told him I loved Star Wars to no end he laughed. God I love his laugh.

“What?” I asked stuffing a chip in my mouth.

“Tone would love you.”

“Who’s Tone?”

“My bud Tony,” he said stealing a chip. “He’s been my best friend since forever and he’s addicted to Star Wars.”

“Does he go to our school?” Jaime nodded taking a swig of my slushy. “Is he like you?”

“No, he’s shyer and keeps to himself a lot, but once he warms up to you he’ll be the sweetest guy you’ll know.”

“Next to you of course.” He blushed for the first time that day. He was quick to change the subject.

“How long have you had those babies?” He said brushing my left snake bite piercing with his thumb.

“Only a couple months, it was a birthday present to me.” I said. “I gave it to myself because no one else would.”

“They’re cool. Bet your parents didn’t think so though,” I nodded.

“They crap themselves when they saw them and after I refused to take them out I got grounded for eternity.” I said.

“Shouldn’t you be serving your sentence then?” I shook my head.

“They quickly forgot about when the cops told us Clara had been in an accident.”

“Forget I asked.”

“Believe I am.” I said taking a swig of my slushy. I couldn’t help but think that his lips were on the straw, and now my lips were on the straw. Would that count as a kiss? Speaking of which…

“What was your first kiss like?” That question totally caught me off guard.

“Um…” What do I say? The truth? He’ll probably laugh at me. “I’ll let you know when I have it.”

Before he could say anything to that the heavens decided to piss on our parade. In other words it started raining. I swear California weather is completely schizophrenic. “FUCK!”

I got up and quickly tossed my food stuffs in the trash. I grabbed my bag off the ground as Jaime held out his hand. “Come on!”

I put my hand in his and we took off running. I didn’t want to go home just yet but one cold was all it would take to get me stuck there for a whole day without seeing my new friend. We got to my house in no time. “You should get home, I don’t want you getting sick because of me.”

“Alright but um there’s one thing I wanna try first.” I looked at him confused and then shocked as he moved his face closer to mine. His lips met mine as his hands grabbed gently at my hips. It was warm, innocent, aw hell it was magical. I slowly reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around me and the kiss deepened. I didn’t want to let go. But I had to…I couldn’t breathe. I pulled back and gasped.

“Wow.”

“Wow sounds accurate.” He said breathless. “Look I promise you I won’t ever hurt you. I meant everything I said before. You’re special and I want you in my life, forever and always.”

“Frankly my dear…”

“Don’t! Don’t say you don’t give a damn! Please-----“I cut him off with a soft quick kiss.

“Figured that would shut you up,” I said. “Now what I was gonna say is that frankly my dear I don’t think I’ll be able to survive high school or whatever life throws at me without you.” He smiled at me. “Still---“

“What?”

“I don’t get why you’d want to waste time on a girl like me.” Jaime sighed as though that was the last thing he wanted to hear.

“Alright let’s make a deal.”

“A deal? What kind of deal?”

“We spend every hour outside of school together, no matter what. And if by some miracle I get a girl or you find a stud for yourself, we’ll spend at least the weekend together. Then when prom comes around in senior year no matter if we’re dating anyone, we will go together. If our significant other’s bitch and complain then at least we’ll have each other. We will celebrate graduation together; we’ll talk later on who the designated driver will be.” My mouth dropped open in disbelief. “Kidding Dev. Then we’ll just have forever too deal with one another.”

“Alright deal.”

He kissed me one more time before releasing me. I walked up the path and onto the porch before looking back.

“By the way my first kiss was perfect.” I hollered at Jaime who smiled ear to ear as he walked away.

I went inside and narrowly avoided mom patrol (mom always acts like a cop whenever I spent large amounts of time outside home). I tossed my soaked clothes in the dryer and hopped in the shower. Few minutes later I dried myself and slipped into my pajamas.

As I laid in bed that night I couldn’t help but notice I still had a smile plastered on my face and wondered if Jaime did too.

I think I’m gonna like high school.