Chapter Six

Ashe and Nia go on a date.

Ashe kept combing his hair until he was able to stop it from sticking out of his head like an antenna. He examined himself in front of the mirror making sure nothing was going to fall or stick out. He'd put on a clean pair of black jeans and a white t-shirt under his usual gray sweater. “Well,” he said to himself, “I'm no Johnny Depp, but still not bad.”

 

He grabbed his wallet on the way to the door muttering to himself about what one is supposed to do on a date. Dinner? There weren't that many places in town that looked like a fancy outing. Movie? Ashe heard that there was a theater somewhere, but he wasn't sure. Cliché? Maybe but what else do people do on a first date aside from interview each other?

 

His train of thought crashed when he bumped into his uncle.

 

“Where the hell are you going?” he asked.

 

“Out,” said Ashe.

 

“What like on a date or something?”

 

Ashe moved past him and grabbed the doorknob. “Maybe.”

 

“Don't do anything stupid. I don't want to have to take care of whatever chick you decide to knock up.”

 

Ashe turned around, “What? It's not like that.”

 

“Right, next you're gonna tell me that you love this chick. Yeah right.”

 

Ashe slammed the door on his way out with his fist tightened. Punching his fat uncle in the mouth would have made him feel better, but it also would have gotten him kick out of his house. He stormed down the empty street for a few minutes before stopping to take a deep breath. He leaned against a lamp post and took a glance at where he was. Across the street from him was the neighborhood park surrounded by trees where the leaves were changing into a bronze orange color. The leaves scattered along the breeze and around the swing set. Something about this calmed him down.

 

'Nia's poem,' he thought. 'Didn't it go something like this? Something about winter mourning the fall?'

Ashe stood there watching the wind blow the leaves around until the sun had set. He went off to the Blackberry to meet Nia. Past the Scene and the school, he made it to a small brick building in the middle of a barren lot. He look around but no sight of Nia. Ashe sighed and went in.

 

Inside was dark and empty with the exception of a staircase leading down. From there he could already hear the band playing inside. Ashe went down the steps until he could see into the place. The dry air was filled with the scents of spices and cigarettes. All wooden tables and chairs stood between him and the booths against the far wall. Ashe looked both ways before crossing through. On one side stood the small stage where the grungy musician strum his guitar. On the other side were few solitary drinkers at the bar, but still no Nia. Ashe threw himself on the booth's cushioned seats and sat there looking up at the dim yellow lights that lit the place. After a while, Ashe just started to sway at the melodious songs.

 

“Hey.”

 

Ashe snapped out of his daze only to snap back into astonishment. In front of him stood Nia wearing a single black long sleeve shirt with a frilly skirt.

 

Nia brushed the hair from her face. “Hey, did I make you wait?” she asked.

 

Instead of answering right away, Ashe just babbled like an idiot while his face burned red. Nia giggled at Ashe's vain attempt at communication. She took the seat next to his.

 

“I'm guessing you wouldn't know what to do next huh?” Ashe said.
 

“I've never done this before either,” she said.

 

“Oh well,” Ashe ran his fingers through his hair. “Do you want something to eat?”

 

“I ate before I came,” Nia said.

 

'Maybe I should have eaten,' he thought.

 

“Is this alright?” Nia asked. “I mean, that dance thing is happening at the school.”

 

He tried not to look at her but his eyes kept slipping back to her face. “Don't worry about it. I didn't want to go anyway. I'd rather be here with you.”

 

“Why?” asked Nia.

 

“Why are you asking this?”

 

Nia looked down with her eyes half closed. “I just...want to know.”

 

Ashe nodded to himself. After a little while he said, “Because I don't like others that much. I mean, I like you, but that's because you're...you. I mean, you're kind; you're thoughtful and it's almost like you always have something nice to say.”

 

“Almost?”

 

“Well I don't get the poetry sometimes.”

 

Nia looked at him with a small smile. “Thank you.”

 

A waiter came up to their table and they ordered a couple of sodas. With their drinks, Ashe and Nia discussed for a while whether or not poetry and rock music were related. Ashe wasn't sure, but Nia believed it was a more subtle relationship.

 

“Hey Nia,” Ashe said. “Did you want to go to the dance?”

 

Nia blinked as a slowness overcame her voice, “I'm not good in crowds, but I thought it would have been nice to go...with you.”

 

“I'm sorry.”

 

“No,” she said. “That's okay.”

 

Ashe hung his head. 'D****t, I should have asked if she wanted to go. I'm such an idiot,' he thought. He looked up and caught a glimpse of the band playing.

 

They played, “I've been sittin' here, trying to find myself. I get behind myself. I need to rewind myself.”

 

Ashe jolted up. 'I know this song,' he thought. He got up from the table and stood in front of Nia with his hand out. “Hey, would you like to dance?”

 

Nia's face lit up when she took Ashe's hand. They moved in front of the stage with his hands around her waist and her arms around his head.

 

“I take to many pills, it helps to ease the pain. I made a couple dollar bills, but still I feel the same. Everybody knows my name. They say it way out loud.”

 

“You know,” Nia started, “this song isn't very romantic.”

 

They swayed back and forth.

 

“Yeah,” he said. “I guess I messed up again.”

 

“You didn't mess up. You just do things your own way.” She looked into his eyes, “There's nothing wrong with that.”

 

“Yeah,” he said staring back into her eyes.

 

“And when your walls come tumbling down, I will always be around.”
 

For those few minutes dancing in the Blackberry, they felt as if nothing else mattered. There was only him, her, and the music. No one else was around. No one was there to tell them that teens can't love. No one was there to tell them that they're too dumb to know what they want. No one was there to tear them apart.

 

“So I think I'll keep walking with my head held high. I'll keep moving on.”

 

Nia cupped her hand on Ashe's cheek, stroking with her thumb. “Ashe...”

 

“Uh hey...”

 

They saw that the band had stopped playing to stare at them with the lead vocalist scratching his head. “So like, are you guys gonna like kiss or what?”

 

'B*****d ruined the moment,' Ashe thought. He turned to Nia who was tugging his arm.

 

“Take a walk with me.”

 

 

Streetlights flickered every once in a while as Ashe and Nia walked side by side asking about whatever came to mind.

 

“Okay here's another one,” he said. “Why do you hang out at the library all the time?”

 

Walking down the street Nia answered, “I didn't choose any electives, so they gave me library assistance for every other period. Plus, I like to read. Your turn, where do you get your music from?”

 

“Online, most of those bands have a website or a myspace page. They're better than most of the stuff that plays on the radio. Your turn, what's your favorite band?”

 

“Step Zero,” she said. “It was one of the first one's you gave me. My turn.” Nia turned the corner and Ashe followed. He saw that she was leaning on a railing on the edge of the sidewalk. In front of her was a wide lake with the moon shimmering on its surface. “Why do other people upset you so much?”

 

Ashe stood behind her. “Excuse me?”

 

“Its just that, I noticed that you get mad at other people really easily. Unless you're with me, you just kinda choose to be alone. How come?”

 

Ashe sighed and took the spot next to her. “You're nosy. You know that?”

 

“Sorry.”

 

“You wanna hear a little story?” Ashe asked. Nia nodded.

 

"This one summer, back when I was a little kid, I really wanted to have fun and hang out with some friends. The thing about that though was I didn't have many friends, so I went looking for some. I found a few kids I knew from school. They were riding their bikes around the park. I asked if I could hang out with them, but they said I needed a bike so they could start a bicycle group. I wasn't really sure how to ride a bike since I never really had one, but I just wanted to hang out with someone. So I went back home and found the one my mom used to own. I was in grade school and the bike was bigger than I was. It was all I could get at the time because my family never really had a lot of money and I really didn't want to ask my dad for one because I knew he'd get mad and yell at me. I just went anyways."

"So, what happened then?" asked Nia.

"Well, when I got there," said Ashe, "and they saw what I had with me...they basically called me stupid for thirty minutes and shoved me in the dirt."

"That's horrible," said Nia.

Ashe gave a small nod. "The thing is, at the time I really thought that it was my fault. I really believed that I was the one who was too much of a loser to have a real bike. That I didn't deserve to have friends. That it was just my place to be alone. I was the one the world chose to be miserable so that everyone else could be happy."

"That's not really fair," said Nia.

"Yeah," said Ashe, "I thought that too...but I don't care anymore. They're off killing each other and I'm here with you.” Ashe grabbed a rock from the floor and threw it at the lake. “You hear that,” he yelled, “I guess the joke's on you a******s!”

 

Ashe let out a deep breath and leaned his head against the railing. Nia watched as Ashe muttered something that looked like, “I'm sorry.” She brushed her hair to one side as a cold wind blew through.

 

“We're a lot alike, you and me,” she said.

 

“It sucks, being lonely.”

 

“Yeah,” she said. “Ashe, if I where to go somewhere...would you follow?”

 

Ashe stood up from the railing. He wasn't sure where this came from or how to answer. Instead he reached his hand out to her. “Let's take the long way home.”

 

“You didn't answer me,” she said.

 

“I know.”

 

Nia got off the railing and took Ashe's hand. With the other hand she pulled Ashe towards her. Ashe followed suit and grabbed her by the waist. He pressed his lips to hers, and hers to his. For that one moment, the pain of loneliness was gone. The cold wind around them had disappeared.

 

“Thank you,” she said.

 

Ashe smiled, “Don't.”

 

“Thank you,” she said.

 

“I said don't.”

 

Nia giggled. “I know, I was just trying to annoy you.”

 

Ashe laughed. “Yeah.”

 

They held hands on the way back to the Blackberry. Before they parted she gave him a small kiss goodnight. He blushed and waved goodbye as she walked away. He stood there for a while in the cold. His heart pounded in his chest like the first time he saw her.

 

“Wow...”

Author's Note

Well here it is. I still think I took too long. I wanted to add a scene in the rain but I never got around to throwing it in. The song playing in the background is "Only God Knows Why" by Kid Rock. He owns the song; I don't; disclaimer; yadda yadda. Step Zero is a real band too, so there.

Reviews

[Emily B]

it was a touching, romantic scene. . . who needs rain?

[Servant Ties]

I like the entire book, and why does it have to be for a contest why can't it just be for fun?? but I still thought that it was really good. >.<