Love and Fandoms (14 page)

He ended the story
at the part where he called her, and she stood up and gave him another hug.
"Sounds like an exciting time, kid. And now I'm going to try not to think
about how potentially dangerous the whole thing was."

"I've been
doing that all day."

"I bet. And,
as much as I like Allyssa, I'm glad she couldn't go and gave her ticket to
Mandy."

"I'm guessing
she might say that, too."

"You haven't
talked to her?"

"We talked
this afternoon for a few minutes while she waited for her parents to be ready
to leave, but other than that, we've texted back and forth. She only got home a
few hours ago, and I didn't want to call her from Mandy's. I'm going to
Facebook chat with her when I get to my computer."

"I won't hold
you up any longer then. I really would like you to get some sleep at some point
in the relative near future. You know, I occasionally like to try and be a good
mom."

He kissed her
cheek. "You're not just a good mom, you're the best."

"Oh, you
flatterer. I knew there was a reason I kept you around."

They said
goodnight, and he went to his room to turn on his laptop. While he waited for
it to boot up, he texted Allyssa to tell her he'd be online in a minute. She
got right back to him, saying she was already there.

As she said, as
soon as he logged onto Facebook, he found her on chat and clicked her name.

WYATT: Hey.

ALLYSSA: Hey
back.

WYATT: How was
your day?

ALLYSSA: Shut up,
sweetie. Talk to me. Are you okay?

WYATT: I'm fine.
I'm glad I was able to hang out with Mandy instead of being here alone.

Maybe it was his
imagination, but he thought she waited a bit longer to say anything that time.
Though it might have been some sort of innocent reason. She couldn't tell he'd
kissed Mandy, could she? He reread his last sentence and knew there was nothing
in it to give them away.

ALLYSSA: It's a
good thing she was there instead of me. We'd have both lost our wallets, and
probably any souvenirs we had.

WYATT: I had my
wallet out to give him. Mandy said she would have given up hers, but she could
tell the guy was ripe to be taken down.

ALLYSSA: Good. So
did you guys do homework all night, or did you force Mandy to watch something
good? Firefly or Buffy or something?

WYATT: Homework.
She also spent a good portion of it reading the Season 1 Mister Incognito
Omnibus Alex bought for her.

ALLYSSA: How did
Alex buy it for her?

WYATT: He gave me
money, and I picked it out.

ALLYSSA: Nice! He
scored boyfriend points off of you.

WYATT: Ha! Guess
so.

He wasn't about to
tell her the truth of the situation. She could find out when it happened. No
doubt Mandy would break up with Alex before school started tomorrow.

ALLYSSA: It's
okay. You get major boyfriend points for hanging out in a hot girl's room and
only doing homework.

His stomach
dropped, and he hurried to type something, anything, to look like he wasn't
hesitating.

WYATT: I got you
a gift. And the three of us got you something, too.

ALLYSSA: What?
Tell me tell me tell me!

WYATT: I bought
you an official con t-shirt. I can't tell you the other thing or Kareem will
kick my butt.

ALLYSSA: Oh, come
on. I'll act surprised.

WYATT: Can't do
it. You'll see tomorrow during fifth period.

ALLYSSA: Fine.
Thank you for the shirt. You didn't have to.

WYATT: I wanted
to.

ALLYSSA: *Swoon*
;) Anyway, when I see you tomorrow, I'm giving you a big hug and kiss for the
almost-mugging. And another for the shirt.

WYATT: Looking
forward to it!

ALLYSSA: Going to
sign off now. Tired. You sure you're okay?

WYATT: I am. Will
be better when I see you tomorrow.

ALLYSSA: Good
answer. ;) See you at break. Good night.

WYATT: See you
then. Good night.

He logged out of
chat, turned off his browser, and then his computer. He really was looking
forward to seeing her tomorrow, but he couldn't get Mandy out of his mind. She
seemed serious when she said she needed time off after Alex, so he should concentrate
on Allyssa. It wouldn't be hard, right? She was gorgeous, liked all the same
things as him, and was his perfect match. So why did his thoughts keep
returning not only to the kissing earlier, but the hugs, touches, and
hand-holding all weekend? Because Allyssa wasn't Mandy, that's why. Plain and
simple.

He let out a deep
sigh. The best thing would be to forget about it for the night. Go to bed and
let morning take care of it all. When he saw Allyssa, had her in his arms, and
pressed his lips to hers, it would all be better. Yeah, right, as if anything
would be that easy.

MANDY

On the short drive
to school, Luci kept asking her about the weekend, but she was having trouble
giving anything but one or two word answers. As soon as they got to campus, she
planned on finding Alex, so her stomach was twisted in every conceivable knot
she could think of. When Luci asked what was wrong, she explained how tired she
was, and she'd tell her all about it in Home Ec and at break. She didn't feel
like talking about Alex right now, though he would be the main topic later
instead of the comic-con.

"Didn't you
talk to Kareem last night? I'm sure he told you all about our weekend."

"Yeah, we
talked for like two hours, but I need the non-mega super geek version of the
convention. And your mugging adventure. He can't tell me what moves you used to
take that scumbag down. That's the dirt I want."

"I used a
self-defense move to disarm the guy, and then I went into auto-pilot with
Taekwondo. I mostly gave him front snap kicks to his stomach, and straight
punches to his face. I put him down with a spinning side kick, and threw
technique out the window and kicked him as hard as I could in the ribs and man
bits. He didn't even try to get up after that."

Luci laughed as
she maneuvered into the parking lot. "You're going to have to tell Mr.
Franklin this afternoon. He'll love it."

"Yeah."
She thought about texting Alex to have him meet her somewhere, but she knew
where he'd be. Once they parked, she said, "I have to find Alex. I'll see
you in 2nd period."

"Okay, but
you won't have to look very hard." Luci pointed to the edge of the parking
lot, where Alex was pacing. He looked as nervous as she felt. Was he going to
break up with her first? That would be fine. Ideal, actually.

He saw Luci's car
and hurried over. As they got out, he said, "Hey, Luc," and then
grabbed Mandy's hand and dragged her away. Neither said anything. She was
psyching herself up for the coming scene, and could only guess he was doing the
same. Last year and before, she might have been able to read his mood, but
today she didn't bother. He'd been nervous in the parking lot, but now? Who
knew?

He pulled her into
a little deserted alcove near the Language Arts building, very convenient for
him first period, but on the other side of campus from her U.S. Government
class. Figured. She should have guessed he was only thinking about himself, but,
really, he'd probably decided on this spot to break up with her for the further
inconvenience. She had to admit, though, she was semi-proud of him for not
choosing to do it out in front of everyone. The Pigs would have cheered the
loudest, high-fiving everyone around.

Instead, as soon
as they were out of sight, he gave her a huge hug, lifted her off her feet, and
spun her around. She belched out a surprised yelp, and then his lips were on
hers. She wanted to protest, to push him away, but when he nipped her bottom
lip and then rubbed his tongue across the top one, she gave in and melted into
him. Their tongues dueled, both to give and get dominance, a technique of
practiced lovers. At least as far as kissing was concerned.

Damn it!
Had he somehow guessed her intentions to break up with him and decided to
actually fight for her? And the worst part of it all was that he was winning.

When he put her
down, both relief and disappointment warred inside of her. He gazed into her
eyes, which caused her heart to do flip-flops inside her chest. In an almost
whisper, he said, "Are you really okay? From yesterday?"

She nodded and bit
her bottom lip.
Damn it again!
Why did she do that? He knew dang well he
had her when she bit her bottom lip.

"Good."
He kissed her, this time gently, and then put his head down on her shoulder and
started crying. It shocked her for a few seconds, as it was something he'd
never done before. Between pitiful bouts of weeping and full-blown sobs, he
muttered, over and over, "I'm so sorry, Mandy. I'm so sorry." She
held him and waited for this emotional blast to subside.

When he finally
wound down, she helped him wipe the tears from his face, and they both laughed.
She waited for him to compose himself, and after a few short and sweet kisses,
she said, "What was that all about?"

"I'm just
…" He blushed and looked down to the ground.

"What?"

He looked into her
eyes, bring a gasp from her. His tears had made his brown eyes, normally so
intense, soft. She wracked her brain, but couldn't remember ever being so
attracted to him. Such a change from being ready to dump him minutes ago.

"I'm so sorry
I wasn't there for you. Not just yesterday, but all school year. I'm so sorry.
I love you so much, Mandy. I love you."

She almost said it
right back, but held her tongue. He'd been too awful lately. She had to make
sure this really was her Alex.

"On Friday
night, I got drunk and … well, you know. I must have gone home too early, or
maybe my parents suspected all along. Anyway, I stumbled in, thinking I'd sneak
to bed, but they were right there when I opened the front door. They took my
phone and changed the wifi password, so I had no way to get ahold of you. And
I'm grounded until the end of football season."

"So how did
you send that insensitive text last night?" she asked, a bit of venom in
her voice.

He kissed her
forehead. "I know it looked insensitive, but I swear I didn't mean it to
be. I had to sneak into my dad's office and steal my phone for a minute to see
if you texted anything. Then I saw you almost got mugged, and I didn't know
what to do. I heard my dad coming, and I had to text that as quick as possible.
I could barely sleep last night I was so sick with worry."

"All weekend
I was planning on breaking up with you today."

"No, Mandy.
You can't."

She kissed his
cheek. "I'm not. Not anymore. But by the way that you've been acting all
school year, I didn't think you'd care. Honestly, I didn't, either. But when I
got that text, I thought I saw how little you thought of me, and I broke down.
Luckily Wyatt was there to help calm me down, or I might still be crying."

"Wyatt was
with you?"

"He was more
creeped out by the almost-mugging than I was. His mom had to work last night,
so he hung out at my house until she got home. Why? Jealous?" She didn't
add that he had every right to be after their intense make-out session on her
bed. But since it had been Alex's fault, she didn't feel too bad about it.

"I am,
actually. Not because he was there, but because he got to spend the weekend
with you."

She gave a bitter
laugh. "Our last two dates did nothing but make me feel
uncomfortable."

"I know. I'm
sorry, Mandy. Really, I am. It all went to my head. When we were at Michigan,
so many people told me I needed to be treated like royalty this year, in every
aspect of life. And it almost cost me the most important thing in my life.
You."

Now tears ran down
her cheeks, and she kissed him.

"I had a lot
of time to reflect this weekend," he said. "I realize the only thing
I should want is to be a good boyfriend and not care what anyone else thinks."

She kissed him
again, this time with a real hunger. He kissed back, spun her around, and
pinned her to the chilly bricks of the Language Arts building. She moaned into
his mouth, and somewhere in the back of her mind she heard the bell for 1st
period, but neither of them moved. She couldn't remember ever being late for a
class when she didn't have an excuse from a teacher, but she didn't care, and
neither did Alex.

WYATT

Wyatt and Kareem
walked from the science building towards the math building where he always met
Allyssa for break. They were discussing the best way to give Allyssa the signed
poster, which they knew she'd absolutely love. Wyatt wanted to simply hand it
to her, while Kareem thought it would be funnier to pretend they lost it. Wyatt
had been on the wrong side of similar jokes pulled by Kareem, and he never
enjoyed it, so why make Allyssa suffer through that? Finally, he'd agreed, but
he wouldn't let Kareem go as far as he normally did. Anyway, he sort of hoped
they ran into Luci and Mandy. That way Kareem wouldn't be there when Allyssa
gave him the promised hugs and kisses, and also so he could see how Mandy was
doing.

Alex had come into
1st period about ten minutes late, and though he tried to act casual, Wyatt
noticed his eyes were red, like he'd been crying. He must have taken it harder
than Mandy figured he would. He had nodded to Wyatt when he came in, probably
to keep up the act of looking casual. After the text last night, this was sort
of a shocking outcome. Did he care enough to cry, or had she really laid into
him?

As he and Kareem
rounded a corner and had the senior quad in sight, they first saw Luci waving.
"There's my girl," Kareem said. Then, at practically the same moment,
he saw Mandy. Kareem whispered, "Looks like you're going to have to get
her out of your mind once and for all. She seems pretty happy with Alex."
And she did. He felt like he got punched in the gut.

Luci rushed up and
exploded into Kareem's arms, knocking him back a foot or two, and they shared a
quick peck on the lips. "I missed you this weekend," she said.

"I missed
you, too, baby. I'm going to get you a ticket to the big con in San Diego next
summer so you don't miss any more goodness."

"Ooh, can't
wait." She said it with sarcasm, but Wyatt saw the excitement dance behind
her eyes. She'd probably never be a full geek convert, but Kareem would see she
enjoyed enough to have a good time in San Diego. They'd talked about going
yesterday afternoon, deciding it should be their last big event before Kareem
headed off to Stanford.

Kareem and Luci
wandered away, both saying they'd see Wyatt later, when Mandy and Alex came up
to him. He'd hoped he could sneak off without talking to them, but no such
luck. He put on a big smile he wasn't sure he had in him and waited for them to
catch up.

"Hey,
Wyatt," Alex said, giving him a friendly slap to his shoulder. Mandy gave
him a grin and a shrug. She looked genuinely happy, and he supposed he should
be glad for that.

"This is an
unforeseen turn of events," she said, and Alex laughed. Wyatt hoped his
own smile didn't falter.

"Thanks for
being there for my girl, Wyatt. Not just yesterday and this weekend, but all
school year. I've been a real jerk." He went on to tell a story of how his
parents busted him for being drunk after the football game on Friday, and how
it gave him ample opportunity to realize how horrible he'd been. As Alex
talked, Mandy snuggled into him and gazed up with a look that proved this
wasn't an act, but that she still loved him. Wyatt knew he should be happy for
her, that he had Allyssa, and he could, in fact, very easily be in love with
her, but his rational mind wouldn't let him. For the first time since eighth
grade, he had a chance to win his dream girl back, and again Alex snatched her
away. Stupid, selfish thoughts? Yeah.
Get over yourself, buddy.

"So what did
I get her at the comic book thing?" Alex asked.

Mandy gave him a
mock-angry look and smacked his shoulder. "He said you researched that and
told him what to buy."

"And you
actually believed that?"

"Not even for
a second," she said, and all three laughed.

This really did
look to be the old Alex, the one even Wyatt couldn't help but like despite him having
Mandy. Truth be told, it was for the best. Alex was perfect for her; he could
see that plain as day. By the way she looked at him, he knew he could never
make her as happy as Alex could. Besides, she had a much brighter future as the
girlfriend and probable someday wife of a big-time star quarterback.

After that, they
said goodbye, with Mandy saying she'd see him in fifth period. He hurried off
to get Allyssa, now hoping more than ever she had the hug and kiss for him
she'd promised last night. When he saw her, she rushed forward to meet him
halfway.

"You get
lost?"

"Sorry. Alex
stopped me to thank me for taking good care of Mandy this weekend. I'm sure he
would have thanked Kareem, too, but he'd already wandered off with Luci."

She gave him a
mock pout. "So I don't get my surprise?"

"You weren't
getting that until fifth period anyway. Kareem's going to pretend like he lost
it, so just play along."

"Oh, don't
worry. I know how to handle Kareem." She kissed his cheek. "Thank you
for the heads-up, though."

"I do have
your shirt, so you don't have to go to PE empty-handed."

"Ooh, cool.
But first, I have something for you."

She embraced him,
and their lips met. Both were well aware they were in the middle of campus, in
view of many eyes despite this spot not being a crowded thoroughfare. Their
lips parted, and the tips of their tongues danced together. His hands dropped
to her hips, and she moaned into his mouth. As the bell buzzed, signaling the
end of nutrition break, Wyatt realized there actually was no problem here. Once
he got over his misguided self-pity, he understood how much Allyssa meant to
him.