New Kid in Town

Chapter 10 of Banished for Love

Once I am out of Jeremy’s house and standing on the front lawn, I realize I have no shoes, and that I’m wearing only my Badtz Maru pj’s, consisting of tiny shorts and a low-neck tank top. Great.

 

I hear a “Psst” coming from an upstairs window. I look up just in time to catch my matching slippers before they hit me in the face. Cheyenne stands in the window looking down at me.

 

“You’re welcome,” she calls in a stage whisper. “Now get outta here, we’re leaving to go to lunch.”

 

“Thanks, see you later,” I respond, stepping into the plush slippers. I jog across the street and around the side of my old house.

 

“Well,” I ponder aloud to myself, “I would rather not spend the day at my ex-house feeling sorry for myself, so the meadow it is!” The trek there is now easy and familiar. I push through the ferns and head straight for the gazebo.

 

After standing there awhile, staring at the roiling gray clouds above, I hear a rustling at the opposite end of the clearing from where I had entered. I stop and stare in that direction, bracing myself for whatever might appear. Hansel and Gretel perhaps?

 

A boy, not at all Hansel OR Gretel, seeming about my age, stumbles into the meadow. He stops and takes in his surroundings with a look of cool awe. As his eyes pass over the gazebo, they double back and lock onto mine. We stand there for an immeasurable moment. Slowly, as he looks at me, a grin spreads across his face. He begins strolling across the grass toward me, eyes never straying far from me. I become glaringly aware of my attire as he looks me up and down. He reaches the gazebo and leans against the railing across from me. Up close, I can now see that he is extremely attractive. His black hair, streaked with purple, falls over his forehead and dips into deep sapphire blue eyes. His lips are turned up in a cocky, confident smirk. Through his tight hoodie, I can make out thick, ropey muscles wrapping around his arms and chest. Large Skullcandy headphones are resting around his neck, and from them I recognize the song Dance with the Devil by Breaking Benjamin. Compared to my height of 5’6”, I’d place him just over 6 feet. He radiates a bad boy vibe, instantly intensifying his mysterious allure. He is first to break the silence.

 

“Hey,” he says, that lopsided smirk still on his face. “I’m Devin.”

 

“Kelsey,” I respond as coolly as I can manage. “Have we met before?” I ask, finding him vaguely familiar, but not quite able to place why.

 

“Doubtful, I just moved here. I was out exploring when I stumbled upon this place, and you.” His smirk grows and his eyes roam down my body, lingering around my neckline and hem of my shorts.

 

“I see,” is my brilliant reply.

 

“Yeah, so you live around here?” he asks, still visibly checking me out.

 

“Yeah, I live near here with my boyfriend,” I respond, exaggerating the word slightly. His eyes flash to my face and his grin grows impossibly bigger.

 

“Shoulda guessed a beautiful young thing like you would be attached.” I blush deep red in spite of myself, taken aback by his compliment. After all, we did just meet. If I’m being honest with myself though, I am at least a little attracted to this mysterious new boy. I feel a momentary pang of guilt as my subconscious reminds me that I’m with Jeremy. I brush that thought away, it’s not like I'm not allowed to make friends with other people, even other boys.

 

“So,” I clear my throat, “how old did you say you were?” I ask, trying to distract myself from the guilt.

 

“I didn’t,” he responds, giving me a cocky smirk. “But if you must know, I’m 17. And you?”

 

“If you must know, I’m 16. I’ll be 17 on November 2^nd,” I specify.

 

“Ah, Dia de los Muertos,” he responds.

 

“Excuse me?” I ask, cocking my head in confusion.

 

“November 1^st and 2^nd are the Days of the Dead according to Mexican culture.”

 

“Oh right,” I reply, a little less confused. Janie and Libby had always teased me about my birthday being the reason I was so dark. That, and my Scorpio star sign being described as morbid.

 

“I share a similar fate, my birthday being November 1^st,” he responds with a grin.

 

“Ah, a fellow Halloween baby, my favorite holiday.” I gush a little.

 

“Mine too. As I always say, you’re never too old to trick or treat,” he replies. I smile at him, thinking we are going to get along just fine.

 

***

 

Okay, who was this guy? We chatted all day, eventually ending up sitting beside each other on the gazebo floor, and we have more in common than I would’ve thought possible. Same favorite movie, The Phantom of the Opera. Same favorite band, and song by that band; Monster by Skillet. A love of reading, particularly sci-fi and fantasy.

 

Talking like this with Devin, I realize that I couldn’t tell you Jeremy’s favorite movie, or song, or band, or book. This realization, quite frankly, horrifies me. Right then and there, I make a vow to myself that I would learn all these seemingly trivial things the very next time we were alone.

 

As the sunlight fades from the clearing, Devin stands, wiping dirt off the back of his ripped black skinny jeans.

 

“It’s getting late, and I need all the time I can get to find my way back home,” he says, reaching out a hand to help me up.

 

“I may be able to assist you there. Whereabouts do you live?” I ask, wiping dust off the back of my own shorts. I notice the way Devin seems to be staring longingly at the fact that I'm swatting at my a*s and feel self-conscious all over again.

 

“I live in the woods about 5 miles North of Pacific Valley,” he returns his attention to my face, with noticeable effort.

 

“Oh, that’s easy. Want some help getting there?” I reply.

 

“You mean you’ll walk me home?” he inquires, that cocky smile returning to his lips.

 

“Well, I certainly can’t let it be on my conscience if you never find your way back. I don’t want to be questioned in a missing person’s case,” I match his snarky tone.

 

“Then by all means, lead the way,” Devin gestures toward the forest in the opposite direction of where his house would be. I clear my throat, trying to suppress a chuckle, and push his outstretched arm so it’s pointed in the right direction. He looks off in that direction then turns back to me with narrowed eyes, looking skeptical. I roll my eyes and set off across the clearing.

 

***

 

“Wow, yeah I would’ve gotten so lost,” Devin glances around at the dark forest as I lead him away from the meadow.

 

“You get used to it,” I reply, shrugging nonchalantly. “It also doesn’t hurt to have pretty decent night vision.” I grin smugly at him.

 

We walk in silence for a while, the forest growing increasingly darker around us. Devin walks closer to me, his hand barely brushing mine as it swings back and forth. Years of studying human body language clues me into the fact that this gesture means he wants to hold my hand. I subtly cross my arms over my chest, huddling in on myself as if from the cold.

 

Not long after, we break through the trees at the front of a large clearing. Set in the center is a huge, and I mean absolutely huge Victorian gothic style mansion.

 

“Well, I’ll be damned, we made it,” Devin says, insultingly surprised, and also seemingly enjoying a private joke about what he’d said.

 

“This is your house?!” I ask in awe.

 

“Well, our vacation house. But yeah,” he replies simply, allowing me time to pull myself together.

 

“Your parents must be rolling in dough.” I say jokingly, nudging his ribs with my elbow.

 

“They were,” I glance at him in time to see a very sorrowful, very haunted look in his deep blue eyes. “My parents and little sister died a few weeks ago, that’s why I moved here. It’s just me, our maid, and our butler now. Since I have no other living relatives, the courts appointed them as my guardians until I turn 18.”

 

“Oh goodness, I’m so sorry,” I respond, impulsively wrapping him in a tight hug. Devin hesitates before eagerly returning the gesture. I scratch his back, attempting to comfort him in any small way I can. We stand there for an immeasurable moment; Devin is first to let go.

 

“I’d better get inside and let you get back. Thanks for today,” he says with a smile. “Are you okay walking home by yourself? Do you need a ride?”

 

I smile back, shaking my head. “I’ll be fine, the walk home will be a good chance to think through some stuff. Will I see you at Pacific Valley Monday?” I ask, hoping very much I’d get the chance to see him again.

 

“If we have any classes together, then yeah.”

 

“It’s a small school, chances are we will,” I respond and we both laugh.

 

“Till Monday then,” he says softly, taking my hand and kissing my kuckles, the way they do in old movies, before disappearing into his house.