Pulse

Ivy went home that night pondering. Did Daniel like her? Was he gay? Ok, she didn’t actually think he was gay, but one can never know…

Ivy’s dreams that night were full of Daniel, as well. She had really wanted to write some more, as she had 4 songs she was working on, but her day kept popping into her mind at inopportune moments. How was she supposed to write about the distant past and future when all she could think about was that one day?

She dreamed first that they were old, and married, living in a little house in the country, inviting neighbors over for dinner all the time. Oh, how Ivy loved to cook! Then she dreamed of starting a band with him, listening to the crowd cheer as she confidently took the stage with him right beside her. Afterwards, her dreams turned a bit sour. She dreamed that he kissed her, not just a peck, but like he loved her. As he pulled away, the dream-Daniel whispered in her ear “I like men.” and went to stand by Andy, the incredibly flamboyant homosexual in her anatomy class who would sit beside her and giggle as large plastic models of the male anatomy were shown to the class.

Ivy awoke with a start when her cell phone rang. She looked at the time, 5:23, then she looked at the caller ID anxiously, for once hoping it was only Harold. But as fate would have it, it was Daniel.

She blushed as she opened the phone. “Hello?” she said groggily.

“Rise and shine!” he said cheerily, and she suddenly imagined him and Andy making out behind the school.

“Oh, dear LORD!” Ivy shouted, shaking her head to dispel the image.

“What’s wrong?” he sounded worried.

“Oh, uh, nothing. I just, um, stubbed my toe? Yeah, that’s it, I stubbed my toe.”

Of course he didn’t believe her. “Sure, sure.” He said. “Look outside your window!” he was excited.

Ivy was forming vague speculations as to what would await her when she pulled the blinds apart. But when she finally did, she saw nothing.

“What am I supposed to be looking at?” she asked, very confused.

“Wait, what window are you looking from?” he was just as confused as her.

“The left…” she answered warily.

“Your left or my left?” he asked.

“Mine.” She answered plainly.

“Oh, well, that would explain it. Now, close your eyes and keep them closed until I say so.” He was so excited, she couldn’t ruin his fun. “Are they closed?” he didn’t wait for her answer. “Now, I’m going to count backwards from ten, and when I hit zero, you can open your eyes. Ten… nine… eight…” he sounded like he was jogging. “Seven… six… FIVEFOURTHREETWOONE!” he shouted. “Zero.”

When Ivy opened her eyes, Daniel’s face was staring at her from the other side of the window. The scream she unleashed probably could have awakened the dead.

“Hiya.” Daniel grinned, staring back at her shocked face.

Ivy took several deep breaths to calm herself before she could manage to choke out, “Why are you here?”

“I’m kidnapping you. Now, hurry up and get dressed.” His grim got bigger. She thought his face was going to fall in half.

“But - but - but…” Ivy struggled for an excuse. “My mom.” She finally decided on. Ha, see him try to get out of THAT one, she thought

His smile got still wider. “I already cleared it with her. She’s fine with it, and she thinks it’ll be good for you, and she thinks it’s cute.” He cocked his head to the side.

“What’s cute?” Ivy had to ask.

“Me, I guess!” He laughed a bit too loudly. The sound almost hurt her ears. “But hurry up! We’re gonna miss the show!” He sounded like a whiney eight year old.

“Fine! Go away so I can get dressed!” Ivy threw her hands up in exasperation, forgetting her cell phone was in one of them. It bounced loudly off of the ceiling fan, the wall, and her head before landing safely on her pillow.

“What to wear, what to wear…” she muttered vaguely to herself, once she was positive Daniel had left.

After almost fifteen minutes, and almost as many ignored calls from Daniel, she decided on her new jeans, the pair with the zippered pockets, her Avenged Sevenfold shirt that she had gotten at a concert last year, a red and white striped tank top to wear underneath of that, and her red hoodie.

She walked out of the house and was immediately glomped by Daniel. “Where were you?” he yelled into her ear, still hanging from her neck like a monkey from a tree.

“You’re a real spaz, did you know that?” Ivy dodged his question.

“Yes. But WHERE WERE YOU?” he howled like a wounded animal.

“Getting dressed. You did want me to be clothed, didn’t you?”

He looked at her and she couldn’t help but imagine what she thought might be going through his mind. It caused her face to go red. She closed her eyes and tried to dispel the blush. The next thing she knew, Daniel was picking her up and placing, actually, it was more like throwing, her into his jolly rancher-mobile. Ivy yelled, but he had already started to walk to the other side of the car. He tripped on his way over, which saved Ivy from all of the indignation, and for some strange reason, gave her a little bit of grim satisfaction.

“I saw you trip.” She said as soon as she was sure he could hear her. “You tripped right there.” She pointed to a vague somewhere outside of the car.

His face turned red. “Yeah, I tripped.” He sighed, and let the color run out of his face. “But you wouldn’t move!” Again, he plastered the goofy grin from that morning onto his face. And again, Ivy wondered why it didn’t split in half.

“Where are we going?” Ivy decided to take the high road, not ruin their friendship, and get some information all at the same time.

“That’s for me to know, and you to find out.”