Memories in My Eyes
Where the Wild Things Are
"I have arrived, and I come bearing gifts." Gabriel stepped into my room, holding two bags of Trader Joe's kettle corn, pretzels sticks, and a jar of gingerbread cookie butter. I'd probably have a horrendous break out in the morning, but it would be worth it.
"Have I ever told you how much I love you?" I kissed his cheek as he settled himself on my bed and reached for the kettle corn, pulling the bag open.
"I feel like you don't tell me enough," he smirked, munching on a pretzel stick. I rolled my eyes, shoving my hand into the bag, "So are we binge watching Grey's Anatomy or are we going to watch Monica and Chandler fall in love for the fifteenth time?"
"I feel like being a surgeon today." I grabbed my remote and switched the tv to Netflix, picking up where we left off the last time Gabriel was over. Escaping into the world of Shonda Rhimes, I was content. I had my best friend, I had junk food, and I didn't have to go to school.
"I have some news."
"What is it?" I asked through a mouthful of popcorn, my eyes not moving away from the TV. Jackson Avery was blessing my screen, and if I was a cartoon, my eyes would be beating hearts. That man was gorgeous for absolutely no reason.
"Guess who's starting Bridgewood Prep on Monday." I whipped around, my neck cracking in the process, but I didn't care. A large grin spread across my face as I crawled on top of my soulmate.
"If you're lying to me, I'm going to strangle you."
"I'm not lying. Finally convinced my dad that it was a good idea. Mom's been all for it, but he wanted me to move in with him. Not happening." I wrapped my arms around his neck, pressing my face into his t-shirt. Things were finally going to be okay. As long as I had Gabriel with me, I would be fine. But then something dawned on me. There was one person who wouldn't be thrilled to see Gabriel, and it was going to cause a problem.
"I should warn you," I mumbled, not knowing how he was going to take this new bit of information.
"What happened?"
"I'm not sure if you know, but Eric has an identical twin. His name is Daniel, and he goes to Bridgewood." I doubted he'd actually go after Gabriel on account of the fact that the latter was 6'3" and nearly all muscle, but I didn't want to take any chances.
"You serious?"
"Yeah. He knew exactly who I was. He's been giving me hell since I got there." I sighed, dropping back onto my side of the bed. I pulled the popcorn bag into my lap and started stuffing my face again.
"Elena--" I cut him off before he could give me the lecture I knew was coming.
"Don't worry. I broke his nose. Got two weeks detention for it, too." Gabriel smiled proudly, threading his fingers through mine.
"I taught you well." I rolled my eyes, grabbing the jar of cookie butter and the bag of pretzel sticks.
"I doubt he'll actually say anything to you because you're a giant, but just in case he attempts to make your life hell on Monday, you can't say I didn't warn you." I popped the snack into my mouth, leaning back against my pillows.
"Hopefully he learned his lesson from you. I don't want to have to break his jaw." This was one of the many reasons I loved Gabriel. He always stuck up for me. He'd been suspended on more than one occasion for "defending my honor" as he liked to call it. Things were going to be that much better because now I had my best friend by my side.
I let out a small sigh of relief when the final bell rang. I never thought I would look forward to detention, but the whispers wouldn't stop. It was just like being back at my old high school, people calling me a psycho and wondering when I was going to go off the rails. Mr. O'Donoghue's classroom was my only safe haven. Well, not so much the classroom as the person.
"You're smiling," he commented when I stepped back into his classroom. This was officially the last day of my two week detention.
"This is the last day I have to stay late, and my best friend starts school here on Monday. My days are finally looking up, Mr. O'Donoghue." I slid into one of the desks in the front, resting my chin in the palm of my hand. I noticed him watching me, a small smile on his face.
"It's good to see you happy for a change. Is she going to be joining this class?" I almost laughed at the fact that he thought my best friend was a girl. It was a valid assumption, but I never got along with girls too much. Gabriel and I had been attached at the hip since I could remember, and Eric joined very soon after. I entered the wonderful world of sports as soon as I could run and never really looked back.
"Gabriel is a boy, and I'm not sure. I haven't seen his schedule, but I doubt it. He's lazy." I giggled, rolling my eyes at his vow never to take an AP class in his life.
"I take it you two will be causing trouble."
"Probably. I would say no, but I can't make any promises. Trouble seems to follow us wherever we go, part of the reason I left my old school if I'm being honest." I didn't want to allow past memories to sour my good mood, but thinking about everything I'd been through made my stomach feel like it was filled with ice shards.
"Just be careful please. I'm sure Headmistress Gibran won't be as lenient as she's been this time."
"Don't worry. I won't go around punching people in the face anymore, but Daniel had it coming."
"I agree. I'm just not sure I'll be there to get you out of trouble next time." It was nice that he actually cared, but I hoped I wouldn't be put in a position to get in trouble again. I was crossing my fingers that having Gabriel around would improve the environment for me.
"You don't have to worry about it, Mr. O'Donoghue."
"I'll tell you what. I've seen you everyday for the past month and a half. I think we should be on a first name basis by now. So when it's just the two of us, you can call me Colin." I couldn't fight the smile that spread across my face upon learning his name.
"Colin," I repeated like it was something foreign. The name wasn't unusual, but falling from his lips, it was somewhat special.
"Something amusing?" he asked, raising his eyebrows at me.
"No. It suits you."
"I should hope it does. I've had it for the last 35 years." My jaw dropped a little. There was no way he was 35.
"You can't be serious. You don't look anywhere near 30, let alone 35." It was no secret that he was gorgeous, but I'd always thought he was in his late twenties, not mid thirties.
"I'm going to take that as a compliment. Yes, I am old and wrinkly. Are you going to run away screaming?" I could see the amusement dancing in his eyes, and I decided to play along.
"Absolutely not. There's no way I'm jeopardizing my freedom because you like to deceive people." His chuckle was a beautiful sound, and my cheeks began to hurt from the wide smile that was on my face.
"I don't think I would call it deception. No one cared to ask how old I was."
"It's not exactly customary to ask an adult how old they are, let alone a teacher. It's seen as inappropriate," I slid out of the desk and started to walk around the room. It was more decorated than the other classes, various posters and pictures covering the walls.
"I've heard worse than someone asking me how old I am."
"Let me guess, you got hit on by a student on your first day here." I turned around, wiggling my eyebrows suggestively.
"Try the first fifteen minutes. And she tried to say that she thought I was a student." I laughed harder than I had in a while. It was completely obvious that he wasn't a student, but I could see why she tried. In a different lifetime, I probably would have tried too.
"That doesn't surprise me. All of the girls walk around here with shortened skirts, hoping some boy on the lacrosse team will notice them." With a roll of my eyes, I slid back into the desk I'd previously been sitting in, crossing my legs underneath me. I glanced at the clock, sighing when I realized it decided to go slow today. Maybe it was because I was so anxious to leave. Whatever the case was, I willed time to go faster.
"You know, it's your last day of detention. How about we go to the music room? I'm sure you're sick of sitting in here."
"You don't know how happy that makes me." I practically sprinted out of the room, following the familiar route to my favorite place in the school. I bounced on the balls of my feet as he unlocked the door.
"Someone's a little impatient." I nearly pushed him out of the way and walked straight toward the piano. I'd had a melody in my head for the past couple of days, and I wanted to play around with it. My fingers pressed down on the keys, the music filling the room. I hummed along, a few words coming to my mind.
So gather all the rebels now, we'll rabble-rouse and sing aloud
We don't care what they say, no way, no way
And we will leave the empty chairs to those who say we can't sit there
We're fine all by ourselves
I immediately stopped playing and reached for my backpack, pulling an empty composition book out of it. I couldn't remember the last time I'd written a song. I never had any inspiration, until now, and I wasn't even sure where it came form. I scribbled the words down on a blank page, smiling as I started to play again.
So aye, we brought our drum and this is how we dance
No mistakin', we make our breaks, if you don't like our 808s
Then leave us alone, cause we don't need your policies
We have no apologies for being...
I had some semblance of a chorus in my head, but I couldn't put the words together. I huffed, resting my hands on my lap and closing my eyes.
"You can sing?" My head snapped over to Mr. O'Donoghue. I'd completely forgotten he was in the room, and suddenly I was embarrassed. I hadn't really sang in front of anyone other than Gabriel and my parents during the holidays.
"Uhm...yeah I guess." I laughed nervously, shutting the book and turning my body to face him. I wasn't sure I wanted to continue while he was here.
"Is it something you want to do professionally? You have a lovely voice."
"Thanks, but I haven't really considered it. I wanted to be a concert pianist when I was younger. It's still an option. I just know I want to be involved with music." It was therapeutic, and I really couldn't see myself doing anything else. The New York City lifestyle called to me, and I couldn't wait to live it.
Find me where the wild things are
"Have I ever told you how much I love you?" I kissed his cheek as he settled himself on my bed and reached for the kettle corn, pulling the bag open.
"I feel like you don't tell me enough," he smirked, munching on a pretzel stick. I rolled my eyes, shoving my hand into the bag, "So are we binge watching Grey's Anatomy or are we going to watch Monica and Chandler fall in love for the fifteenth time?"
"I feel like being a surgeon today." I grabbed my remote and switched the tv to Netflix, picking up where we left off the last time Gabriel was over. Escaping into the world of Shonda Rhimes, I was content. I had my best friend, I had junk food, and I didn't have to go to school.
"I have some news."
"What is it?" I asked through a mouthful of popcorn, my eyes not moving away from the TV. Jackson Avery was blessing my screen, and if I was a cartoon, my eyes would be beating hearts. That man was gorgeous for absolutely no reason.
"Guess who's starting Bridgewood Prep on Monday." I whipped around, my neck cracking in the process, but I didn't care. A large grin spread across my face as I crawled on top of my soulmate.
"If you're lying to me, I'm going to strangle you."
"I'm not lying. Finally convinced my dad that it was a good idea. Mom's been all for it, but he wanted me to move in with him. Not happening." I wrapped my arms around his neck, pressing my face into his t-shirt. Things were finally going to be okay. As long as I had Gabriel with me, I would be fine. But then something dawned on me. There was one person who wouldn't be thrilled to see Gabriel, and it was going to cause a problem.
"I should warn you," I mumbled, not knowing how he was going to take this new bit of information.
"What happened?"
"I'm not sure if you know, but Eric has an identical twin. His name is Daniel, and he goes to Bridgewood." I doubted he'd actually go after Gabriel on account of the fact that the latter was 6'3" and nearly all muscle, but I didn't want to take any chances.
"You serious?"
"Yeah. He knew exactly who I was. He's been giving me hell since I got there." I sighed, dropping back onto my side of the bed. I pulled the popcorn bag into my lap and started stuffing my face again.
"Elena--" I cut him off before he could give me the lecture I knew was coming.
"Don't worry. I broke his nose. Got two weeks detention for it, too." Gabriel smiled proudly, threading his fingers through mine.
"I taught you well." I rolled my eyes, grabbing the jar of cookie butter and the bag of pretzel sticks.
"I doubt he'll actually say anything to you because you're a giant, but just in case he attempts to make your life hell on Monday, you can't say I didn't warn you." I popped the snack into my mouth, leaning back against my pillows.
"Hopefully he learned his lesson from you. I don't want to have to break his jaw." This was one of the many reasons I loved Gabriel. He always stuck up for me. He'd been suspended on more than one occasion for "defending my honor" as he liked to call it. Things were going to be that much better because now I had my best friend by my side.
***
I let out a small sigh of relief when the final bell rang. I never thought I would look forward to detention, but the whispers wouldn't stop. It was just like being back at my old high school, people calling me a psycho and wondering when I was going to go off the rails. Mr. O'Donoghue's classroom was my only safe haven. Well, not so much the classroom as the person.
"You're smiling," he commented when I stepped back into his classroom. This was officially the last day of my two week detention.
"This is the last day I have to stay late, and my best friend starts school here on Monday. My days are finally looking up, Mr. O'Donoghue." I slid into one of the desks in the front, resting my chin in the palm of my hand. I noticed him watching me, a small smile on his face.
"It's good to see you happy for a change. Is she going to be joining this class?" I almost laughed at the fact that he thought my best friend was a girl. It was a valid assumption, but I never got along with girls too much. Gabriel and I had been attached at the hip since I could remember, and Eric joined very soon after. I entered the wonderful world of sports as soon as I could run and never really looked back.
"Gabriel is a boy, and I'm not sure. I haven't seen his schedule, but I doubt it. He's lazy." I giggled, rolling my eyes at his vow never to take an AP class in his life.
"I take it you two will be causing trouble."
"Probably. I would say no, but I can't make any promises. Trouble seems to follow us wherever we go, part of the reason I left my old school if I'm being honest." I didn't want to allow past memories to sour my good mood, but thinking about everything I'd been through made my stomach feel like it was filled with ice shards.
"Just be careful please. I'm sure Headmistress Gibran won't be as lenient as she's been this time."
"Don't worry. I won't go around punching people in the face anymore, but Daniel had it coming."
"I agree. I'm just not sure I'll be there to get you out of trouble next time." It was nice that he actually cared, but I hoped I wouldn't be put in a position to get in trouble again. I was crossing my fingers that having Gabriel around would improve the environment for me.
"You don't have to worry about it, Mr. O'Donoghue."
"I'll tell you what. I've seen you everyday for the past month and a half. I think we should be on a first name basis by now. So when it's just the two of us, you can call me Colin." I couldn't fight the smile that spread across my face upon learning his name.
"Colin," I repeated like it was something foreign. The name wasn't unusual, but falling from his lips, it was somewhat special.
"Something amusing?" he asked, raising his eyebrows at me.
"No. It suits you."
"I should hope it does. I've had it for the last 35 years." My jaw dropped a little. There was no way he was 35.
"You can't be serious. You don't look anywhere near 30, let alone 35." It was no secret that he was gorgeous, but I'd always thought he was in his late twenties, not mid thirties.
"I'm going to take that as a compliment. Yes, I am old and wrinkly. Are you going to run away screaming?" I could see the amusement dancing in his eyes, and I decided to play along.
"Absolutely not. There's no way I'm jeopardizing my freedom because you like to deceive people." His chuckle was a beautiful sound, and my cheeks began to hurt from the wide smile that was on my face.
"I don't think I would call it deception. No one cared to ask how old I was."
"It's not exactly customary to ask an adult how old they are, let alone a teacher. It's seen as inappropriate," I slid out of the desk and started to walk around the room. It was more decorated than the other classes, various posters and pictures covering the walls.
"I've heard worse than someone asking me how old I am."
"Let me guess, you got hit on by a student on your first day here." I turned around, wiggling my eyebrows suggestively.
"Try the first fifteen minutes. And she tried to say that she thought I was a student." I laughed harder than I had in a while. It was completely obvious that he wasn't a student, but I could see why she tried. In a different lifetime, I probably would have tried too.
"That doesn't surprise me. All of the girls walk around here with shortened skirts, hoping some boy on the lacrosse team will notice them." With a roll of my eyes, I slid back into the desk I'd previously been sitting in, crossing my legs underneath me. I glanced at the clock, sighing when I realized it decided to go slow today. Maybe it was because I was so anxious to leave. Whatever the case was, I willed time to go faster.
"You know, it's your last day of detention. How about we go to the music room? I'm sure you're sick of sitting in here."
"You don't know how happy that makes me." I practically sprinted out of the room, following the familiar route to my favorite place in the school. I bounced on the balls of my feet as he unlocked the door.
"Someone's a little impatient." I nearly pushed him out of the way and walked straight toward the piano. I'd had a melody in my head for the past couple of days, and I wanted to play around with it. My fingers pressed down on the keys, the music filling the room. I hummed along, a few words coming to my mind.
So gather all the rebels now, we'll rabble-rouse and sing aloud
We don't care what they say, no way, no way
And we will leave the empty chairs to those who say we can't sit there
We're fine all by ourselves
I immediately stopped playing and reached for my backpack, pulling an empty composition book out of it. I couldn't remember the last time I'd written a song. I never had any inspiration, until now, and I wasn't even sure where it came form. I scribbled the words down on a blank page, smiling as I started to play again.
So aye, we brought our drum and this is how we dance
No mistakin', we make our breaks, if you don't like our 808s
Then leave us alone, cause we don't need your policies
We have no apologies for being...
I had some semblance of a chorus in my head, but I couldn't put the words together. I huffed, resting my hands on my lap and closing my eyes.
"You can sing?" My head snapped over to Mr. O'Donoghue. I'd completely forgotten he was in the room, and suddenly I was embarrassed. I hadn't really sang in front of anyone other than Gabriel and my parents during the holidays.
"Uhm...yeah I guess." I laughed nervously, shutting the book and turning my body to face him. I wasn't sure I wanted to continue while he was here.
"Is it something you want to do professionally? You have a lovely voice."
"Thanks, but I haven't really considered it. I wanted to be a concert pianist when I was younger. It's still an option. I just know I want to be involved with music." It was therapeutic, and I really couldn't see myself doing anything else. The New York City lifestyle called to me, and I couldn't wait to live it.
Find me where the wild things are