If you are not the one

“Damn you Kevin.”, I cursed under my breath, trying to hide the ugly purple bruise.

My eye was swollen badly, and the cut under it was also turning blue. I put on as much concealer as was needed, and brushed my hair so that it was covering my eye, and put a hat on to keep my hair in place. I prayed that it wouldn’t get windy today, otherwise it was going to lift up my fringe, and then I was going to be dead. I dressed quickly in the first best clothes I could find when I saw I was going to be late, and grabbed my bag, slinging it over my shoulder and running down the stairs.

Kevin was standing at the front door, his face guilty. I brushed past him without meeting his gaze, and took off down the sidewalk. I had decided on walking to school today, I didn’t feel like being in the car with Kevin. Who knows what will happen? I heard him driving alongside me, and glared at him.

“Come on, Shell, just get in the car.”, Kevin called through the open passenger window.

“What about no?!”, I snapped, walking faster.

He accelerated and drove past me, giving up. I sighed with relief, and walked slower, trying to relax my tense muscles. The sky was looking dark and stormy, and it was just my luck that the wind picked up. I pressed my hand over my fringe, and walked quicker. I could smell the rain in the air, mixed with the salty smell from the sea. I was shivering by the time I reached the school, and walked into the warm building, hugging myself.

“Shell!”, I walked quicker when I heard Kevin’s voice.

“Shell, wait up, come on, don’t be like this.”, he yelled after me.

“Just leave me alone!”, I snapped, thankfully reaching my locker then.

Gerard wasn’t there yet, or he had been here a while ago. I took out the necessary books, thinking about Lynn-Z for some reason. It was going to feel weird sitting alone in class again. I yelped in surprise when someone put their arms around my waist.

“Hey sugar. I missed you.”, Gerard whispered in my ear.

“Oh, hey. I missed you two.”, I said, not looking around, and acting as if I was searching for something in my locker.

“What’s with the hat?”, he asked, and I shrugged.

“Nothing. I just felt like wearing one.”, I replied evasively.

“Oh, well you look cute. Can I get a kiss?”, he pleaded in his best puppy-dog voice.

“All right, if you really have to.”, I said playfully, as if it was such a chore to kiss him.

He turned me around and pulled me roughly against him, crashing his lips against mine. I pulled away after a few minutes, having the need to breathe. He stared into my eyes, and I turned away, feeling suddenly self-conscious and making sure the fringe was still in place. I closed my locker and we walked together to Amber’s locker where everyone was already standing and chatting.

“Why are you wearing your hair over your face like that?”, Mikey asked after we hugged.

“Uhm, because I had – uh, decided to try a new look.”, I stuttered, looking anywhere but at him.

He had the irritating ability to tell immediately when I was lying. I could feel his eyes burning into me, and fiddled nervously with my bag’s zip.

“I like your old hairstyle better.”, Gerard said.

I looked up at him, my face carefully devoid of any emotion. Before I could stop him, he pulled off my hat, and at that moment a wind blew into the building through the open front doors, blowing my fringe out of my face. I heard his sharp intake of breath above the rest of my friends’ horrified gasps, and decided that the floor was suddenly very interesting.

“What the hell happened to you?!”, Gerard demanded furiously.

“I – walked into my closet door. I always forget to close it.”, I lied quickly, my cheeks burning.

“Don’t lie to us, Shell. Tell us the truth. We’re your friends.”, Mikey said, his voice filled with anger.

“I’m not lying.”, I said stubbornly.

“Guys, we’ll be right back. Oh, and if you were shouting coming from the bathrooms, it will be me murdering her.”, Amber said, grabbing my arm and pulling me away.

Gerard grabbed my hand, his face pleading, and my hand slipped out of his as Amber pulled me. She closed the bathroom door behind her, locked it, and turned to me with a determined expression.

“Wash your face.”, she demanded fiercely.

“I’m sorry, what?”, I said dumbly, staring at her.

“I said, wash your face. I want to see how bad it is.”, she said, pulling me over to the sink.

I washed my face carefully, and dried it on the towel she handed to me. I was silent while she inspected it.

“That doesn’t look like you walked into your closet, and I know you don’t forget to close the doors. I’ve slept over at your house more times than I can count, and not once in all those times did you forget to close the doors. We’ve been friends since primary school, and apart from Mikey, I know you best. So don’t lie to me, and just spit it out. It looks like you were hit to me.”, she said.

I sighed dejectedly, and stared up at her, my face filled with defiance.

“Before you judge him, I want you to know, that whenever he gets too angry, something in his mind snaps, and he doesn’t realize what he’s doing. It has happened only once before, and the only reason you couldn’t see it was because it was a bruise on my back. You’re not going to the police, I’m not going to talk to a shrink, and what is said between these four walls, stays there.”, I said, turning back to the mirror and putting my fringe back over my eye.

“You have to tell Gee, Shell. He is your boyfriend, and he’ll want you to trust him with something like this. Who did this to you?”, she asked softly, leaning against the sink.

“It was Kevin. He found out about Kyle when Alecia asked me out about it yesterday at the mall. He was absolutely furious.”, I replied, leaning against the sink as well.

“Shell, what are you going to do about it?”, she asked, her eyes glued to the bruise.

“I’m not going to worry about it. The first time it happened was like five years ago, and last night was the second time. In a month they’re going to write their finals, so he’ll be up in his room the whole time. And until that time comes, I’m just going to avoid making him angry. It’s not likely to happen again.”, I said with a shrug.

“Okay, fine. Let’s go back so you can tell Gee before he calls the police on me.”, Amber said with a smile, linking her arm through mine.

We walked quickly back to her locker, and everyone was standing there with serious expressions. Gerard was looking murderous, and I could see Mikey and the other guys trying without success to try to calm him down.

His face looked relieved when he saw us coming, and then he got a determined expression on his face. They made a circle around us as soon as we reached them, staring from me to Gerard to Amber and back to me again.

“Guys, the – person, who did this to me, has some kind of problem, that makes him kinda black out when he gets too angry, and doesn’t realize what he’s doing. I will tell you who it is, but you guys have to promise me that you won’t confront him, or go to the police, all right?”, I whispered just loud enough so that they could hear.

“It was Kevin.”, I said when they all murmured their agreement.

“I’m gonna kill that – “

“No, Gerard!”, I said forcefully, grabbing his arm.

“Shell, the guy beat you up!”, he said angrily.

“I don’t care. You promised you wouldn’t confront him, and I told you that he didn’t realize what he was doing.”, I said, tightening my grip on his arm.

“Well, I do care. No one’s going to beat up my girlfriend, no matter what the reason.”, he said, glaring at me.

“Please, Gee.”, I pleaded softly, changing my tactic.

He stared into my eyes for a while, and sighed. I let him go when his tense body posture relaxed, and curled my arms around his waist to comfort him.

“Fine, I’ll let it go. But if he does it again, his going down. And now you’re comforting me when I should be comforting you.”, he said, and kissed the top of my head softly.

Just then the bell rung, and he walked me to class, his arm curled around my shoulders and mine around his waist. I loved it when he held me close like this.

“I’ll see you at lunch, babe.”, Gerard said, kissing me softly before I walked into class.

I went to sit in the back on my usual seat and made to take out my books when Mr. Jefferson walked into the class, dragging a TV and VCR behind him. I groaned softly, knowing it was probably going to be some or other war movie filled with blood and gore. It was the DVD of World War 2, and in the first half hour they already showed the Jews being gassed. I looked away, laying my head on my arms, sick to my stomach. I closed my eyes, feeling drained. I couldn’t go to sleep, because Lynn-Z wasn’t here to wake me up when the bell went, so instead I let my mind drift off to Gerard, a dreamy smile playing on my lips.

“Will all the Juniors and Seniors please report to the Hall after the end of the period please.”, Mr. Hutchins, our principle, said over the intercom.

Some of the girls groaned with relief. They probably felt the same way I did about movies like that. After ten minutes the bell rang, and I grabbed my bag, running out of the class. I leaned against the wall, waiting for Gerard. I knew he was going to come this way. He was going to be slightly irritated, it was his double Art, and he hated it when he got interrupted. I smiled brightly when I saw him storming down the hall, his expression furious.

“Hey babe.”, I greeted him when he reached me.

“Hey sugar. I can just kill that guy with my own bare hands. What did he have to call us for now, he could have done it in the two periods before lunch. I’m never gonna finish on time if he keeps interrupting me.”, he ranted while we walked to the Hall.

Amber and the rest of the guys were waiting outside for us, and we walked in, finding seats in the back. Gerard was still fuming quietly, and the fact that Frank and Mikey kept snickering about something didn’t help either. I could see he was about to blow.

“Guys, cut it out, will ya?”, I said softly, my eyes flickering to Gerard to warn them.

They smirked, but luckily stopped with their idiocy. Mr. Hutchinson walked onto the stage, clearing his throat for silence. I made myself comfortable in the seat, ready to listen to yet another one of his long and boring speeches.

“Good morning, students. It’s time for the yearly Winter Formal. You will need to organize a way to get money, since the budget won’t cover everything. You will have to organize where the food and refreshments are going to come from, the decorations and the theme, lighting, music, tables and chairs, the cutlery. The ball will be in a month, so that will give you more than enough time to organize everything. The juniors will be in charge of the lighting, food, tables and chairs, and the cutlery. You can hold carwashes, bake sales, and whatnots for money. The seniors will be in charge of all the music, theme, and the decorations. You have until lunch to decide what you are going to do. In front I have paper and pens so you can dot down your ideas.”, Mr. Hutchinson said.

I was surprised that he didn’t have a long speech, and that it was about something as stupid as the Winter Formal.

“Let’s bunk and go to your art class, then you can finish some of your paintings.”, I whispered to Gerard.

“You’re a genius. Let’s go.”, he said softly, grabbing my hand.

We slipped out while Mr. Hutchinson was standing with his back to the door, and laughed quietly while we walked to his art class. We walked in and he immediately went to his table to continue working. I sat down at another table and took out a book to read, but I couldn’t concentrate. Instead I watched while Gerard worked. He looked so peaceful, concentrating so hard to get everything perfect. My mind wandered while my gaze was still riveted on him. I started daydreaming about our wedding.

‘He was standing in front of the altar in a black tux, his face glorious as he watched me walk down the aisle. Friends and family stood on the beach where we had decided to marry, some of the women crying. I could never understand that, weddings were happy, yet still all the women cried. The altar under which Gerard was standing was filled with bright red and white roses weaved together in a complicated manner, and tinged with soft pink and gold light as the sun started setting.

I reached him, and my father lifted the veil, tears in his eyes as he softly kissed my cheek and handed me over to Gerard. He took my hand, and we turned to the priest, unable to keep the smiles off of our faces.

“Do you, Gerard Whitaker, take this woman as your wife. Do you promise to love her, through sickness and in health, through the good and bad times, forever, until death do you part?”, the priest asked.

“I do.”, Gerard said.

“And do you, Michelle Martins, promise to take this man as your husband. Do you promise to love him, through sickness and in health, through the good and the bad times, forever until death do you part?”

“I do.”, I said happily, Gerard squeezing my hand tightly.

“You may now kiss the bride.”, the priest said with a smile as everyone started cheering.

Gerard turned to me, and pulled me to him, crashing his lips onto mine. He pulled away after a few seconds, and we turned to face our cheering friends and family. As we walked back down the aisle, they threw confetti on us, shouting congratulations.

“Can you believe we’re finally married? You look beautiful, Mrs. Whitaker.”, Gerard said with a bright smile.

“No, I can’t. And so do you, Mr. Whitaker.”, I said, pulling his head to mine for a kiss.

“Shell?”, he said after a while.

“Mhmm?”

“Shell!”, he said loudly, shaking me.

I jumped with fright, and toppled off of the chair. I stared up at him, he was chuckling as he bent to pull me up.

“Are you all right?”, he asked with a smile.

“Yeah.”, I mumbled, my cheeks flaming with embarrassment.

“Let’s go, it’s time for lunch. What you were daydreaming about?”, he asked while we walked towards the cafeteria.

“Uhm, our wedding, actually.”, I said shyly.

“Where did we marry?”, he asked curiously, even though I was sure he knew the answer.

“The beach, of course.”, I replied.

“I should have known. Can I get you anything?”, he asked when we stood in line to buy our food.

“That’s not necessary. I just want a slice of pizza.”, I said.

We ordered and took our food to our table. It felt as if everyone was staring at my black eye, not that it wasn’t unusual for them to see something like that, many kids in our school were being abused, but people still stared, and it made me uncomfortable. I looked down so that my hair served as a curtain, hiding my eye.

The whole table was talking about the Formal, and naturally the guys were all grumbling, none of them wanted to go, but their girlfriends did, that is, everyone except me. Amber was giving me the death glare, and I just grinned her, taking a huge bite of my pizza.

“How come you have such an easygoing girlfriend that doesn’t mind about not going to some stupid ball?”, Bob mumbled to Gerard, who just laughed.

“Don’t even get any ideas man, she’s mine.”, Gerard said, putting his arm around me possessively.

“Dude, I would never try to steal your girlfriend.”, Bob said, his voice filled with fake hurt.

“Yeah, whatever. Listen, girls, why don’t we just do something fun that night? Like have a small beach party with just the ten of us. It’ll be much more fun.”, he suggested.

“I’m with Gee on that.”, I said quickly, and the other guys nodded their heads in agreement.
“Fine. But when we’re seniors, you will take us to the Formal.”, Amber said.

The guys hooted excitedly, and started chatting about guy stuff. Amber and the girls were talking about some hot movie star, when I felt my phone vibrate again in my pocket. It was a text message from Kyle. I made sure Gerard wasn’t watching me before I read it quickly.

“I’ll be waiting in the wings.”, was all it said.

I sighed irritably, snapping my phone shut without replying, then decided against it, and replied anyway.

“Don’t hold your breath.”, I typed quickly.

“No, wait, go right ahead and hold your breath.”, I said sarcastically, and hit send.

“One day you’ll come crawling to me, begging to take you. And I won’t hesitate to do so.”, he replied in a few seconds.

I switched my phone off and snapped it shut, throwing it into my bag. Luckily everyone was still talking, and I continued eating, my mind far away.