Stood Up

While alone in the room I stumbled over myself. Why didn’t I say no? I just had to agree with him, of course Milo was a nice guy...but I told KiKi I’d hang out with her. Because she had let me in on a piece of her life. Too late now. 

I wouldn’t be able to make it to the East Dorms in time, besides she might not even be there when I reached them. I couldn’t get a hold of her, because she didn’t give me her number. I had no ones number at that point. I assumed I’d have to get on my knees and beg for her forgiveness tomorrow. That is...if she would even look at me. The silence circled me while I moved around picking up everything in the room. I had handfuls of books and papers. A lot of them were surprisingly Milo’s. 

The kid was smart. Most of his test papers were A’s and B’s. A few D’s as well, but with a guy like him I didn’t expect him to not get lower grades too. While cleaning I found photos on the floor near his bed. A small stack of them rested in a sloppy pile. Looking around I checked to make sure he wasn’t back yet.

There was a boy sitting in the sand with slightly tanned skin, and thick fluffy brown hair. He looked as though he was staring at something, there were more pictures of him. Then I stumbled upon the photos of a girl. She had red-brown hair and pale skin with light green eyes. She was stunning in a foreign way. I could only wonder who these people were. Why he had photos of them...and where were they? I hadn’t even seen them on campus. Not that I was really looking around the campus, but...I would have thought Milo would’ve introduced them to me if they were important enough to him that he had photos of them. Next there were photos of him with KiKi. They were happy photos, and a lot of them made me laugh. It wasn’t until my eyes caught the sight of one photo in particular. His lips pressed softly against her cheek, a smile wide on her face. They were an item...and this was the proof. How happy they both looked, no wonder he care so much. Was it that he still...loved her?

“Hey,” I heard a tap on the door that frightened me into dropping the photos and act as though I was picking up the final few items on the floor.

“Hi,” I mumbled unable to focus on the voice to figure who it was. 

“Milo told me to come get you,” he started. Though quickly pausing for a moment he let out a pained sigh, “I see you found the photos,” it was Tyler. I nodded in silence, great now I never stood a chance with her. I couldn’t do that to Milo. “Don’t think to hard about it. Milo’s not that easy to be read and neither is KiKi...just don’t assume anything,” he smiled while putting a hand on my shoulder.

“They looked so happy,” I whispered.

“Happiness is only temporary with those two. Besides the other people you saw in that stack of photos mean way more...come on man,” Tyler comforted me. I wasn’t going to lie it was weird to be comforted by someone so dark and silent like him. Nothing more was said about the photos, just that those two people were important. Tyler kept everything else very secret.

When we walked out Tyler seemed to focus on the path in front of us, I managed to sleep the day away and once more the night sky danced over me. “Don’t mind, Milo...he may seem like a prick all the time, but he has his moments where you can see the goodness that he locks away,” Tyler stated. 

“I can see it,” I admitted. 

Tyler nodded and smiled at me, “Good...then you must understand him pretty well,” he laughed. I only forced my own laugh back at him. I honestly didn’t understand that boy the slightest. In my eyes Milo was just a fucked up kid. Psychotic in away...but that just didn’t say much about myself seeing as I listened to the man. Tyler then stopped and looked down smiling softly, “There he is,” I could hear Tyler’s words, but the tone in words he spoke was so proud. As if he was in a sudden awe over Milo. I simply nodded and stood next to Tyler quietly until he too began to walk.

“Hey! There you two are! We’ve been wanting to leave for some time now!” Milo said while pulling us both into a quick hug while Adrian and Dante stood in silence behind him. It was always so strange how that man could make a room go mute just with his presence. 

That night we road in a large white SUV. The interior inside was nice, black leather. Seat warmers, a really nice stereo with speakers that lit up and flashed different colors with the beat. Everything about the car was up to date and classy in a modern way. This was Tyler’s ride. I didn’t know much about Tyler, who was always silent, but he must’ve had money. No...not must’ve he did have money. That was the only conclusion I could come to that was reasonable...besides him being a thief. Though, Tyler didn’t come off as a thief in my eyes, Adrian seemed more likely to be that. 

The vehicle roared as we began to pull out of school parking lot. I looked to see Milo who took the passenger seat flipping through CDs. Adrian was sitting in the very back looking out the window while Dante was next to me talking to Tyler about god only know what. The slang they all used was beyond confusing. “Hey um...Tyler,” I spoke up. Everyone fell silent, though Milo continued to search through the CDs a smirk growing on his face.

“Yeah,” Tyler said while staring at the road in front of him.

“Can we uh...stop at the West Point Dorms...I wanna tell KiKi I can’t make it,” I said politely. Tyler simply nodded and began to drive the short distance across campus. “Thanks,” I looked down, for a moment before double checking to see Milo’s expression. A soft smile. What the hell was wrong with this kid?

“Make it fast,” Tyler said while looking back at me. I looked up to see we were sitting at the entrance of the building. I nodded with a smile and jumped out of the car. Sprinting not running to her dorm I was going to try to make this fast. Hopefully, she wouldn’t make me change them...again. Both herself and Milo seemed to be good at getting me to do s**t. Reaching dorm 88 I straightened out my shirt and took a deep breath. Lifting my hand to knock the door opened before my hand could touch it.

KiKi looked up at me, her blonde and black hair slightly curled and she was putting in an earring while holding a white paper in her hand. “Oh s**t,” she huffed. Something was going on. She looked taller now. I looked at her feet to see she had laced up heels that resembled an open toed boot, though they stopped just at the ankle. She had one a pair of dark denim skinny jeans and a nice white low cut shirt. She put on just a little make up to really make the color of her eyes pop and wasn’t wearing glasses she had contacts in I assumed. 

“Going some where?” I asked trying to not sound hurt. Because I thought it was going to just be us hanging around. Even if what I was about to say was going to change the plans anyways. 

“Anthony, I’m so sorry. I’d explain it...but um....I was just going to put this note on the door for you. I’m in a rush. I’m so sorry,” she said handing me the note then walked off. I turned and watched her walk, the sway of her hips made my jaw drop. She looked...amazing. She didn’t look back at me. Instead she lowered her head and walked as fast as she could to hide herself from my vision. This wasn’t suppose to happen. 

Was I just stood up?

I wanted to rip the note up into a trillion pieces then stomp them before storming out of the building, but curiosity told me to do other wise. Lifting it up I read the words that were artistically scribbled onto a blank white sheet of line-less paper.

Anthony,

Sorry for not telling you this earlier, but I didn’t have your number, and wasn’t expecting things to turn up this way. Jason (my jerk of a boyfriend) randomly called. He’s taking me out to dinner. I would have told him I had other plans, but he’d be PISSED if I told him I was hanging out with you tonight (mainly, ‘cause you’re a guy). I’m SO sorry. Please don’t take this the wrong way, you’re a nice kid...I just don’t want to make Jason all huffy and bitchy. I hate it when he gets like that. You know he can be a real dick sometimes. Hope I didn’t ruin your night, and I’m sure you can find something else to do. Try not to get wrapped up in Milo’s “adventures”. Meet some new people. There’s a million asses you can stare at anyways, so don’t be upset you can’t stare at mine! I’ll talk to you soon. 

Sorry.

-KiKi

I stared at the paper with pink cheeks about the a*s statement while trying not to be upset that she had suddenly changed her plans. After all it was kind of good things worked out like that, but I was upset. Because...if I would have told Milo I had other plans I would’ve been stood up, then again...I was stood up in a way. (I wasn’t going to not hang out with Milo when she could go do whatever the f**k she wanted.) She didn’t have a clue that I had unintentionally made plans with the boys and she didn’t have the heart to explain it to me in front of my face, she handed me a note she had planed to tape to her door then ran off before I could speak.

“Awesome,” I huffed while folding the note and stuffing it into my pants pocket. There wasn’t time to sit and whine over being somewhat stood up, I had to get back to Tyler’s SUV we had places to be and things to do. 

Better me and than her I suppose...I’d hate to see such a sweet girl upset. I thought. That was the only positive I could see in it, and though I knew I probably should’ve ran back outside, I walked. 

“Hey!” a feminine voice called out. Turning around I saw Mae poking her head out from a door way. She looked at me with her large glasses while her short brown hair bounced when she motioned for me to walk over to her. I sighed and turned around. They can wait, besides the longer they wait the less likely they are to get in trouble...so, I guess I’m sort of helping them stay out of jail. Really though I knew that was just my excuse to waste a little more time, and collect myself.

“Yeah?” I breathed while looking at her with two let down eyes. 

Mae shook her head, “It happens to all of us,” she started already knowing what happened without me having to say a word, “Anyways, I’m not talking to you to cheer you up. Just playing messenger. Tyler called me to find you, and since your here I figured I should tell you that he said you have less than five minutes to get outside or they’re leaving your a*s,” she said with a smile. I wanted to scream and throw a fit right then and there, but I didn’t. I simply nodded. “Okay,” I managed to say before she shut the door on my face.

When the door closed I took off into another sprint. I did not want to be alone tonight or I really would have just been stood up. I could see the door to the outside world all the way down the hall. The faster my legs moved past each other the further everything seemed, especially the door. 

My body forced itself to push the doors open and I saw Milo leaning half way out the window of Tyler’s car shaking his head, “Could you be any slower?” he joked.

I flashed a dark look at him and opened the back door. Milo crawled back in and turned the stereo up and Tyler wasted no more time and pulled out of the parking lot. While we all sat in the roomy car with the music as loud as it could possibly get I stared at the note. I studied it carefully. Her hand writing was sloppy, yet very feminine. But it wasn’t the hand writing I was studying it was the words. The wording of the note. Urgent, rushed, and apologetic. It was unfair in away. From what I knew her boyfriend only angered her...yet she was quick to leave. She relied on people from what I could tell. Adrain sat up behind me from the third row of seats and chuckled, “First IOU letter from her, hu?” he said while pulling it from my hands. 

“What the hell are you talking about?” I questioned him while trying to get it back. 

“Well, at least she thought about you enough to write a letter!” he laughed. 

“Let me see!” Milo chimed. I shook my head, he was the last person I wanted to let see that. Adrian passed it to Milo who read it out loud. 

“Seriously, is that necessary!?” I yelled trying to get it back. Of course my attempt went in vein as Milo simply crumbled up the apology note and threw it out the window.

“F**k her. We’ve all got one of those notes man, don’t let it get to you as much as you’re letting it. Typical KiKi,” I listened to his words, but only watched the the paper flew out the window and out of sight. 

“Still, did you have to throw it out?” I muttered while crossing my arms. 

Dante placed an hand on my shoulder, “Do you really want to look at something that’s explaining why you were stood up?” 

He had a point; I was just to stubborn to accept it.

“Say it, Tony. Say that you were stood up. Accept the fact that KiKi is a b***h,” Adrian said from behind me.

“She’s not a b***h, and I wasn’t stood up. I mean...I was going to tell her I had other plans anyways,” I tried to defend myself. It was a pathetic attempt, but it was my last chance to redeem myself.

“No, you weren’t,” Milo laughed, “If things went how we all expected them to go. KiKi would have convinced you to stay and we would have just left. That’s why we sent Mae after you. Because she’d call us if you were hanging with KiKi and we’d leave. You were stood up. Just say it so we can end this group mediation,” Milo’s words cut me. They wanted me to hang out with KiKi and had a plan so that I could. 

Meaning...I was stood up. I was blown off (and not in the good way). I looked down as no one spoke. Milo said what everyone wanted to say, but couldn’t find the words to say it in a kind way...so Milo took over and said it the only way he knew how. Raw and cold. I sighed and ran my hand through my thick, dark hair; I should’ve have figured as much. I should’ve known it was too good to actually happen. My luck was just bad.

“So...are you going to admit it, or do we have to force it out of you?” Tyler said calmly.

“I was stood up,” I wasn’t sure if I said to out of disbelief, or because I was coming to the realization that they all had been waiting for me to conclude to. I looked up at Dante, who I didn’t know very well, with a shocked expression. 

He smiled and patted me on the back, “It was gonna happen sooner or later,” he tried to reassure me.

“So...she does this a lot?” I mumbled. I only got a car full of nods. I sighed and looked down. I should’ve figured as much from a girl like like her. A pint sized wild fire that was always burning. Never tamed and though it was small it seemed like no one could put it out. “Should I not be surprised then?” I asked knowing that hearing them tell me it was normal, though hurtful, it would probably ease my mind.

“Basically,” Milo breathed with an expression that was anything but assumed. I sat up straight and looked out the window. Before long I saw an orange glow from the front seat, then another one. “Pass this to Tony...he looks like he could use some stress relief,” Milo said simply.

Dante held a small white stick with a burning tip in my face, “Here. Smoke it,” Dante said simply. I looked at it and shook my head no. 

This time no was not an option for me.

“Smoke the damn thing. Stop being a p***y,” Adrain commented. 

With that statement I snapped, “Fine.” 

Snatching the burning stick from Dante’s hand I watched how Milo smoked his for a moment then mimicked him. Placing it between my lips tasting the paper end. I inhaled. The smoke rushed to my lungs and caused something like a head rush as I began to cough. I coughed and coughed and coughed some more. It was as if I lit a smoke bomb inside my throat, the sandy dry feeling that rested in it was uncomfortable. Wheezing a little I wanted to throw up. The taste of nicotine was awful and I could feel a headache coming on. I held the cigarette away from my face and finally caught my breath. The thick scratchy smoke, the bitter scent of tobacco, the dizziness, the head ache, everything impacted me and left me feeling like a sixteen wheeler hit my in the chest. 

“You okay?” Milo asked with a smirk as smoke ran from his mouth. I blinked and nodded while trying not to wheeze anymore. “Take another hit,” Milo told me. I really didn’t want to, so I shook my head. This time he sighed, “Okay...so cigs aren’t your thing. Hand it over,” he demanded. Not even wasting a second I handed the stick back to him. He began to smoke that one just as he finished the first. “Don’t worry, kid. We’ll find your thing,” he said with a smile.

“Yeah,” I huffed. My throat still felt dry and uncomfortable

Author's Note

Please ignore any/all grammatical errors and spelling mistakes.