willing to give. So I convinced myself to take the risk.
Within a week, we were officially dating. I told her all about my family and why I don't like to bring them up. I also explained to her why I'm always so cold and quiet. She seemed very understanding of it all. She told me she wouldn't judge me and invited me to her house a week or so later so I could meet her family. The younger of her brothers was friendly, but her parents and other brother seemed to be annoyed by my presence in their house. Especially her father, who seemed to always be screaming about something. It didn't matter to me, though. If Annie wanted me there, I was going to be there.
And in hindsight, that's where I really started to go wrong. I focused all of my time, energy, and effort on making her happy. Whatever it took, that's what I did. I think, over time, that my vision began to narrow. My sights were focused only on her and what she wanted. And nothing that was happening around me or to me had any effect on my life. Sometimes, that was a great thing. I wasn't nervous around strangers when I was with her. I wasn't bothered by the insults at school. I had someone who appreciated me. I finally had someone who cared about me. That was the only important thing to me.
So important that it left me blind to the betrayal that she was plotting right in front of my face.
Previously, Annie had dated a lot of guys. I didn't know this before I got involved. One named Brian really broke her heart. But so did a guy named Dave. And Chris, too. Then there was Eddie. The list of names grew daily. I didn't care; we had never sat down and discussed her entire dating history, so I wasn't bothered whenever a new name came up. I just assumed it was someone that just hadn't yet made his way into our conversations. Stupid, I know.
Anyway, one Friday after school, she suggested we get something to eat at a nearby pizzeria. It sounded like fun to me, so I was all for it. It was this memory that Doc and I visited next.
"This will be a brief stop," I told him as we sat down near the rear of the restaurant.
Within ten minutes, I spotted Herbie and Annie approaching through the window. When they came inside, Annie locked eyes with the young male working behind the counter and froze. There was Brian, her ex-boyfriend, wearing a big white apron and a red and green striped shirt. His eyes grew when he saw her, then narrowed when he looked at Herbie. Of course, Herbie's obsession with Annie being what it was, he glared back at Brian and took a small step forward, positioning himself between the two.
"You look ready for a brawl," Doc noted, keeping his voice low.
"I was. Don't really know why," I admitted. "I guess her stories of how much he'd hurt her led me to feel like I needed to protect her. From what? I don't really know. He wasn't a physical threat to her. Looking back, I suppose I was just puffing up my chest and trying to look intimidating for once in my life. It felt good to have the upper-hand on someone else for a change."
"Did you?"
I didn't answer.
Annie mumbled in Herbie's ear that she wanted to leave, so he escorted her out. Of course, I didn't know it at the time, but that encounter hadn't been an accident. She'd known exactly where Brian worked.
See where I'm going with this? Rather, where she was going?
There were a lot of similar signs which would've given me a good indication of where our relationship was headed if I'd only opened my eyes. She talked about her ex-boyfriends a lot. More specifically, she talked about how I was getting everything they never would. Aside from that, she started getting kind of touchy with me. Things I'd say would offend her when no offense was intended or expected. She always expressed interest in joining me at the soup kitchen but never came to see me when I was there. I always seemed to be pushing for more time together while she wanted more time apart. Her family hated me, too. Even the brother that had seemed to like me at first was no longer speaking to me. At the time, I was sure I'd done something wrong, but I never found out what it was. Now, I'm not really sure I did anything.
Stranger things began to happen. Around four months into the relationship, she started ditching planned dates with me. She'd decide at the last minute that she instead wanted to hang out with another friend. Sometimes I'd get stood up. But I was always forgiving. I believed that I was special to her. I believed she'd never let me go, so I believed our relationship was safe. She kept telling me how much she loved me despite our occasional problems. Foolishly, I accepted her at her word.
But something happened about two months before the junior prom. Something that should've set off alarms in my head.
Herbie and Annie were standing on the sidewalk in front of her house when Doc and I approached. We wore the invisibility belts this time; there would be no blending in on that quiet street. Annie lived on the north side of town in a beautiful two-story house with several bedrooms and two bathrooms. She and I often looked at the stars on clear nights, talking about anything and everything. I enjoyed it. It was peaceful and comfortable—two things I learned to appreciate when I could find them—and I cherished the memories of those nights long after Annie and I had parted ways.
Well, most of them, anyway.
"I wish I had this kind of view from my backyard," Herbie was saying. "All I can see are power lines and street lamps. Drowns out any stars I might be able to see."
"Really?" Annie turned her attention to the lamp post less than fifty yards away. "We have those, too. Why don't they block out the stars here?"
"Yours are few and far between," Herbie told her. "We've got far more of 'em on our street. Probably to flush out as many dark spots as possible. When I was younger, our area was a haven for drug dealers and muggers. Things have gotten better since then, but I wouldn't say it's exactly safe."
Annie gazed into the evening sky. The moonlight glistened in her eyes. "I hope it's this clear on prom night."
"Me too."
Herbie fell silent after that. He was looking at the sky, but unfocused eyes gave away the weight on his shoulders. Leading up to the prom, I had grand aspirations of giving Annie the greatest night of her high school years, a night she'd remember for the rest of her life. I wanted to get her a limo and a beautiful corsage. On top of that, I'd planned to buy a nice tuxedo from the men's clothing store downtown. All of this would cost a pretty penny, of course.
So I stepped up my job searching. I looked for anything I could get, whether it was cooking burgers or parking aeromobiles. But no one wanted to hire me. Most part-time jobs had already been snatched up by students with reliable transportation, and what work was available was during school hours. Try as I might, I couldn't get anyone to give me a break. So, as we stared at the stars that night, I was hoping and praying that Annie would be understanding if I couldn't afford the total package for prom night.
"Something's on your mind," Doc said. "It seems the mention of the prom rattled your nerves."
I let out a long breath, staring at my former self. My naive, stupid, blind self. "More than you know."
When Herbie started rolling pebbles beneath his feet while avoiding eye contact with Annie, I knew what he was about to ask.
"For the longest time," he began, gulping hard between words, "I just assumed I wouldn't be going to the prom. Never thought I could find a date." He paused for a moment, but Annie didn't reply. She just kept looking at the sky. "How about you? Did you always assume you'd be going?"
She nodded. "Yes, though I imagined I'd be going with Brian."
That caught Herbie off-guard. "But . . . you're happy that you're going with me instead, right?"
"Sure," she said. "I mean, if he asked me, I'd probably go with him. But he won't do that."
I wanted to take off the invisibility belt, walk up to Herbie, and plant a giant red flag on the street in front of him. He was obviously taken aback, and it showed in his face. But he didn't do what he should've done. In retrospect, I wish I'd let her believe we were going together all the way up until p
rom day and then stood her up. I was no boyfriend, no love interest, not even a friend. I was a tool. A pawn.
"Wait a minute," Herbie said, eyes filling with a mixture of anger and pain. "You'd still go with him even though you and I are a couple?"
"Of course," she said matter-of-factly. "It's been my dream for years to have him escort me to the prom. You know that; we've talked about it."
"We've talked about how he was an ex-boyfriend of yours that meant a lot to you at that time! Not someone you still loved! Not someone you'd prefer to be with over me!"
Annie continued to behave as though it was no big deal. "Herbert, calm down," she said, finally facing him. "I'm not going with him. I'm going with you."
"That's not the point. You'd prefer to go with him."
She looked at him as though he was being completely irrational. "So? Why is that a big deal? I'm with you, and we're going to prom together."
"A girl should want to go to prom with her boyfriend," Herbie told her. "You make it sound like I'm your second choice. Like you're only going with me because Brian is unavailable."
"No, that's not it." She shook her head with a slight huff of frustration. "It's always been a dream of mine, that's all. Don't you have any dreams? Haven't you ever wished for things to go a certain way? Not that you're unhappy because something happened