The Songs in Our Hearts: A Young Adult Romance(29)

“I’ll try to act like I’m surprised,” I tried to lighten his mood. A hint of a smirk lifted a corner of his lips.

“You always know what to say to win a man’s heart.”

I laughed nervously and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

“Who’s Dane Wesley, if you don’t mind me asking?”

I bit my lip. “Just this guy I used to like. It was more of a childhood crush kinda thing.”

“Why did Samantha mention him like she knew something we didn’t?”

“It’s a long story.” I sighed. I didn’t want to talk about Dane Wesley. I looked at the time on the car console and grabbed my backpack. “I should probably get going,” I said, pulling the car door handle again, but Micah’s voice stopped me.

“What I said about kissing you,” he began, “was true.”

I slowly turned back to him, knowing full well Micah had to hear my heartbeat now. My voice caught in my throat and I quickly tried to swallow down my nerves.

Micah’s eyes were steady and serious. I licked my bottom lip and opened the door. I would do what I knew best. Run away.

“I’ll see you later,” I mumbled under my breath.

I didn’t look back at Micah as I climbed out and closed the door behind me. I didn’t look back as I raced up the porch steps and went inside the house. I closed the door and leaned against it, trying to catch my breath.

“Is that you, Charlie?” my dad called from the living room.

“Y-yeah. It’s me.” I hoped he wouldn’t ask me any questions about how my evening had gone. I didn’t feel like talking about Micah or the get-together at Samantha’s house. I shut the door to my room, retreating into safety, and collapsed into bed. It had been an exhausting evening. I stared at my phone for a few minutes, just in case Micah decided to text me, but he didn’t. Finally, I gave up and hooked my phone to the charger. I sank back onto my comforter and into a deep sleep.





“Life of the Party”

Shawn Mendes





“THIS IS MARSHALL,” MICAH SAID, pointing to a guy who was way taller than me, dressed in a red-and-black flannel shirt. On the bus that morning, Micah had told me he wanted me to meet a few of his friends who had agreed to help us out with our Frankenstein project. The day had blown by in a whirl after having to explain to Jennifer what had happened at Samantha’s house, and picking a new lunch table altogether to avoid the witch and her dirty looks. Mostly, I tried my best to not think about Micah and his confession in the car.

“What I said about kissing you was true.” I could feel the honesty in those words each time he caught my eye in English, or across the lunch tables in the cafeteria. I knew he was telling the truth. It was as though I were walking through a haze for the last seven hours until Micah and I were outside near the buses with his friends. Marshall had scruffy blond hair, longer than I had ever seen on a guy before, and his smirk reminded me of a cartoon villain. Marshall held out his hand and I hesitantly shook it.

“He’s into stunts,” Micah continued. “Marshall does a lot of tricks on bikes and knows how to hold a camera.”

“Stunt man and cameraman,” I repeated, a little too amused by just how well this was seeming to work out. “Sounds promising.”

“...and this is Paul,” Micah gestured to his next friend. I looked to the other guy who stood beside Marshall. He was tall, too, but skinny and handsome. Unlike Micah and Marshall, Paul had the start of a moustache on his upper lip and very dark, captivating eyes. I wanted to pinch myself. Why hadn’t I noticed him before at school?

“They said they’d be willing to help us make the movie. Paul is really good at building stuff. He could make all the props and figure out the whole fire-burning part at the end.” Micah bumped his shoulder.

“Sounds cool,” Paul replied.

“He’s going into the army after he graduates this year,” Micah said matter-of-factly, the pride in his voice obvious. I smiled at the two of them; I appreciated the bond they seemed to share.

“I didn’t know you were a senior,” I said, and Paul nodded.

“I’ve been taking a lot of my classes online. I’ve had to help out with work around my dad’s auto shop. He needs the extra hand and I figured I wouldn’t be here much longer. I’m pretty much done with all of my coursework,” he explained. I was impressed. I had no idea Micah’s friends were actually normal!

“I’ll also try to be the monster,” Marshall interjected as he tossed back his blond hair. If we didn’t live in the middle of nowhere, I would have totally assumed Marshall to be some sort of surfer dude. He just had that look. Maybe he was a skater boy.

“Great! Wow. Thank you all so much for being willing to help us.” I smiled at them. “I mean, really.”

“Micah promised us pizza. He also told us not to let you near it,” Marshall said.

“Micah would say that.” I glared at Micah.

“Sorry guys, I have to get going,” said Paul. “My dad needs me at the garage and I’m already late. Call me on my cell when we need to start. Remember, don’t text me. I hate that shit.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Micah waved him off. “Gotcha.”

“Ten-four.” Paul saluted us. “Nice to meet you, Charlie.”