Somebody to Love

Day Six of the Season of Love! How are we feeling? Mushy? I'm taking it back though. Back to old days of school and boys and in particular that one boy who could have done with a slap but if you used your lips instead, he'd totally get the point. What? What did I say?

Crossed Wires © Billy London 

Nina saw that idiot through her bedroom window and thrust the blinds down. Absolute fucking bully, how dare he turn up at her house? She was glad she’d hit him and she’d do it again in a heartbeat. Of course she’d risked being expelled for fighting but she wasn’t on the athletics team for nothing. The moment she spotted teachers heading their way, Nina legged it. Quite literally, the girl became smoke. If anyone knew it was her, it’d be because Connor said it was her. Twat. She was fed up of him. The Big I Am. He’d teased her for the last time and she lost her temper. Until that moment, giving Connor Sands dirty looks whenever he walked past her in the school corridors satisfied her. They weren’t in the same class for him to irritate the hell out of her. But he got away with it because he was the school’s football star. “He’s buff!” was the general consensus from the girls in her years, and a few boys too to be fair. Connor needed a smack in the face. And that’s exactly what Nina had done.  

Downstairs, Nina heard her mother opening the door, her slightly accented voice floating up the stairs. ‘Hello Connor, nice to see... Oh my word! What happened to your face?”

“Nina and I had a fight,” the bastard said bluntly. 

Her mother was silent and Nina cringed. She was so dead in three, two… “Marina Adeome! Get down here now!”

Nina folded her arms and sullenly made her way down the stairs. This was her turf. No way was this fool getting away with anything. “Yes mother?” She said with a straight face. Her gaze wavered to Connor, purple blooming around his normally crystal blue eyes. Served him right. Now he couldn’t play on his looks. Maybe. A small smile curved his lips. Dammit.

Nina’s mother pointed to Connor. “Did you hit him?”

She shrugged, not taking her eyes from Connor who mouthed at her, “You’re in deep shit.”

Her mother placed her hands over her face, and wailed, “Oh my god. What will his parents say? Apologise. You have to. Say sorry!”

“No!” Nina threw back. “I’m not saying sorry to him. He made me!”

Her mother started to argue with her with Connor interrupted. “It’s true Mrs Adeome. It’s my fault.” Both Nina and her mother stared at him. The hell just happened? Did he just take the blame for what was legitimately his fault? “Can I talk to her for a minute, please? Would you mind?”

Nina’s mother closed the door behind him and led them into the living room. “Connor, I don’t know what’s gone on, but don’t leave here without an apology from her.” Nina saw her mother’s fingernail too close to her eyeball. “I’ll give you five minutes.”

As soon as the door closed, Nina exploded. “So it’s not enough that you’ve probably got me in trouble at school, now my mother is going to beat me to death because you,” she hit him on the arm, “won’t. Shut. Up!”

He caught her by both hands. “Oi! Stop with the violence!”

They both looked to where he gripped her. Something in the air changed. Why did he have hands on her? She snatched her hands out of his grasp and Connor looked towards the doorway. They waited for her mother to return but the hallway remained silent. “Look, I wasn’t doing anything to your locker.”

“I saw you! You were!”

Connor chucked his bag to the carpet and rifled around in it. “No, I was trying to leave you this.” He shoved a red envelope into her hand.

“What is this?” She held a corner between two fingers, as if it was diseased. “What’s in this? What did you do to it?”

“Open it The Brain,” he snarled at her. 

“Don’t talk to me like that!” She warned. Connor caught her by the tie and pulled her forward so fast she fell face first into his chest. Scrambling to lift herself away from him, she found her hands pressed to his chest. “The hell?”

“‘This hell.”

He lowered his head and touched his lips to hers. Lips that girls in her class had sighed and oohed over. A mouth that had only crossed her mind with a means for it being smacked severely; and that mouth moulded to hers. Connor Sands was kissing her. Had she really hurt his head that bad? Nina gripped his forearms to steady herself and nearly shrieked at the tense muscle beneath her fingers. Now she got it. Red envelope. Her locker. Constant teasing. God he was a wimp, why hadn’t he talked to her before? Oh yeah. She hit him. And had threatened to hit him before. Connor lifted his head. “I like you. Just don’t hit me.”

“I will if you deserve it,” she retorted.  

The floorboards squeaked and Connor near threw her across the room, folding his hands behind his back and looking at the ceiling. Nina sat down on the sofa and crossed her legs as her mother opened the door.

“You two made up?”

“Almost,” Connor explained and Nina had to admire his smoothness. “Would you mind if I came over a bit later?”

“For?”

“Girlfriend/boyfriend stuff,” he said glibly and Nina choked on the soul trying to escape her body in shock. “That’s why we fought. Valentine’s day. I need to make it up to her.”

“Well I hope your version of making it up to her doesn’t involve your penis young man.” Her mother said, arching her eyebrows.

Nina and Connor turned flame red. “Wow,” Connor said eventually. 

She had to be hallucinating. Connor kissing her and her mother talking about penises had to be a figment of her imagination. Nina got to her feet. “I’m just going to go and hang myself now.”

“Connor, come around at seven. Nina’s father and I will be in the next room but we can put some food aside for you both. Don’t let her get away with hitting you.”

Connor didn’t take his gleaming eyes from her face. “I won’t.”

As he left, Nina grabbed the card and opened it. A hideously cutesy rabbit hugging a teddy bear beamed at her. Inside Connor had written I promise I’ll stop winding you up if you come out with me. What do you think?

Nina had never been particularly concerned with boys and their ilk before, but the card and the memory of Connor’s kiss all seemed to promise one thing. She really was in trouble.