Chapter Two
“Let’s dance,” Donnie said, reaching for Heaven’s hand while they sitting on the benches outside the ice cream shop.
“Are you drunk?” Heaven said, giving him her hand and allowing him to spin her around in the parking lot.
“Better to question his sanity,” Bennett said, managing to smoke and eat an ice cream cone with the same hand.
“Maybe you should question your own sanity,” Beatriz said, licking the edges of her ice cream sandwich.
“Maybe I should,” Bennett shot back. “For a sane man wouldn’t dare to start another battle with you. Can’t you leave me in peace?”
“I’ll leave you in peace when you stop waging chemical warfare on us with that thing in your hand,” she retorted.
“Oh? This?” Bennett said, holding up his cone then dropping it and grinding it under his boot. “Are you happy now, princess?”
“You know what I meant,” Beatriz grumbled. “Not that I would expect you to listen to anything anyone says to you – let alone a woman. The only opinion you trust is your own.”
“I do understand a woman’s words but you, Beatriz are no woman,” Bennett said, stubbing his cigarette as he pulled a fresh one out of the pack.
“She looks amazing, doesn’t she?” Clark said, smiling as Donnie and Heaven continued to sway in the parking lot, both of them smiling and glancing over at him. “She never stresses about others looking at her but I enjoy watching her body move like that.”
“Move?” Bennett said, looking at her closely as he lit his new smoke. “What part of Heaven’s body is even moving? Heaven’s built like a child. I prefer a woman with curves.”
“Heaven’s curves are enough for me,” Clark said. He noticed Beatriz’s face flare up as though Bennett had lit her face on fire rather than a Marlboro. “Though I will say, curves have their place in the world for the right man, but my eyes can only take in Heaven right now.”
A tipsy-looking blonde girl suddenly stepped out of the shadows with a smirking Bordin at her side. “Heaven’s an illusion,” the girl said, walking up to the group.
“Gah! Meagan, what’s that horrible smell?” Bennett said, pretending to gag.
“It isn’t me – I’m wearing Juicy,” Meagan said, falling rather than sitting next to Beatriz on the bench.
“No,” Clark said, frowning. “It’s what you brought with you. I thought the trash wasn’t supposed to be taken out until the weekend.”
“Hardy, har, har,” Bordin said, putting a hand on Meagan’s shoulder and squeezing it. “I’m only here to get some ice cream…see?” He held up his chocolate cone and Beatriz jumped up from the bench.
“Ugh, what are you doing here? Seriously?” she said, warily glancing at Heaven. “You better not be here to cause problems. Where’s your idiot friend?”
“My friend?” Bordin repeated, thinking. “My friend…”
“Jason,” Donnie said, finishing his dance with Heaven. “Is Jason meeting you here tonight?”
“Hell if I know,” Bordin said. “Can I have one of those?” he asked, turning to Bennett who was opening a fresh pack of cigarettes.
“Sorry bud, I just ran out,” Bennett said, shaking the full pack and fixing Bordin with a hard-eyed grin.
Bordin sniffed. “Fine then, better for my lungs anyway, I suppose.”
“I want to dance, too,” Meagan said, pouting at Bordin. “That looked like fun.”
“I suppose that anything looks fun to you considering how much you drank before we came here,” Bordin grumbled, shoving her away. “Go then, go dance if you can find a partner.”
The door to the ice-cream shop swung open and a tall, wiry looking guy stepped out, using his foot to close the door. His face lit up from behind his thick glasses as he caught the tail end of the conversation.
“I’ll be your partner,” the lanky newcomer said, walking towards them and eating french fries. “Meagan, did you hear me?”
“I heard you, Bryan,” Meagan said, “get away from me before I catch some of your nerdiness.”
“Don’t be mean to him,” Donnie said. “Musical theater is a great way to spend your time in high school.”
“If you’re a nerd,” Meagan said. “However, if you would like to dance with me, Donnie—”
“I would not,” he said, eliciting a chuckle from Bennett and Beatriz. “I only dance when I like the person I’m dancing with.”
“Awww come on,” Meagan said, pouting.
“I suppose I could dance with someone,” Clark said as he reached over and grabbed Beatriz’s hand, pulling her away from the benches and beginning to sway with her in the same way that Donnie had done with Heaven. Bennett sneered but didn’t move from his spot, rolling his eyes and looking over at Meagan.
“It appears that no one wants to dance with you,” Bennett said drily.
“Are you going to ask me, then?” Meagan asked.
“Don’t be ridiculous. As if I’d want to dance with you.”
“I don’t bite.”
“Thank God. Who knows what you’re carrying—”
“Ouch…”
“Not to mention I don’t like you.”
“What’s not to like?”
“Among other things, you hang out with him,” Bennett said, pointing at Bordin with his cigarette. “He wouldn’t be fit to taste my ashes.”
“My offer still stands, Meagan,” Bryan said in a low voice.
“And my answer remains the same,” Meagan said. “Please Bryan, leave me alone. Your desperation is starting to stink up the parking lot.”
“I guess that’s your answer, then,” Bryan said, taking a seat on the furthest bench and calmly eating his fries.
“You hurt his feelings,” Bordin said, smiling.
“It’s probably good for him to receive practice in being rejected,” Meagan said.
“This is the place to be tonight, isn’t it?” Clark said, glancing over his shoulder to see Andrew helping a young woman with bright red hair from his car. As the two walked up close, a playful smirk showed up on Clark’s face. “I want to say it’s a surprise to see you, but I bet this isn’t a coincidence.”
“This place has the best chicken fingers,” Andrew said, confused at the sight of Clark dancing with Beatriz as Heaven sat and watched him dreamily. “Everyone, this is Sola, a friend of mine from school,” he continued, introducing the redhead.
“I remember,” Heaven said, standing and giving the girl a quick hug. “How are your classes going?”
Sola smiled, revealing a perfect pair of dimples. “Okay. It’s early in the semester so I can’t quite tell if I’m doing well or not. Andrew’s been very helpful so far.”
“I doubt that,” Bennett said. “I bet he’s only pretending to be helpful so he can tutor you in human anatomy.”
“Ugh! Really, Bennett? You’re so vulgar,” Beatriz screamed angrily, leaving Clark and storming over to glare at Bennett. “You’re embarrassing everyone!”
“Ahh but you’re not blushing,” Bennett said. “Which only proves what I had been saying earlier and that is that you miss, are no lady,” he said as he broke into laughter, smoke pouring out from his nose and mouth.
“Either way, no Bennett, I’m not trying to do that,” Andrew said, looking at Clark with a nervous eye. “Come on, Sola, let’s get something to eat.”
“Great, I’m starving. Nice to see you again, Heaven,” she said, leaning in towards her. “And your date’s very cute,” she said, looking at Donnie.
“Him? Oh he’s not my date,” Heaven said. “We’re just friends.”
“I’m a friend who’s here to help a friend,” Donnie said.
“Help?”
“This one here,” Donnie said, wrapping his arm around Clark’s shoulder. He smiled nervously. “He’s the one with Heaven.”
“Oh, I see,” Sola said. “Well we won’t bother you guys,” she said, nudging Andrew ins
ide. He seemed reluctant to go but was finally pushed through the door.
“That’s not embarrassing at all,” Clark said, smacking his forehead.
“It’s fine,” Bennett said. “It’s true, isn’t it?”
“Well,” Bordin said, “I’m happy Heaven’s happy.”
“Liar,” Donnie said.
“It’s not your business,” Bennett said.
“Ahh, but this fine lady is, I’m sure of that,” Bordin went on, looking Beatriz up and down.
“That’s where you’re wrong,” Bennett said.
“He lies,” Clark said. “Dammit, Bennett, why do you have the ability to talk circles around everyone else but clam up when we talk about Bea?”
“Because there’s nothing there,” Donnie said, pulling her towards him. “Isn’t that right, Bea?”
Beatriz frowned, not sure what to say with all the attention put on her. In the streetlight of the parking lot she could see Bennett’s tense shoulders hidden under his worn leather coat, the stiffness in his scruffy jawline. His eerie grey eyes fixated on hers. “There’s nothing between us,” she said as Donnie began to twirl her around the sidewalk.
“Aww, what an adorable scene,” a new voice came from the parking lot, causing everyone at the small gathering to freeze up. “What a cute little party everyone has going on here.”
“Jason,” Donnie said, releasing Beatriz into Bennett’s arms. He pulled her close, and for once Beatriz did not argue, finding a surprising amount of comfort in those forearms. His veins twitched beneath his dark skin and she pressed herself tighter against him to the surprise of both of them. Heaven swallowed, running up to Clark and standing close by.
“Why all the fuss?” Jason asked, appearing in the streetlight. “Don’t stop on my account. This is a celebration, isn’t it?” he asked.
“What’re you doing here?” Donnie asked, shooting a warning look at Bordin. He had no doubt been the reporter of all of this. “Seriously man, we aren’t up for your drama tonight.”
“Donnie, when are you going to accept that I’ve changed? I’m not here to cause any problems,” Jason said, looking at Beatriz and then Heaven. “I’ve just heard the wonderful news that your charming new halfback has earned himself the lovely Heaven and I only wanted to see for myself if it was true,” he said innocently. Clark wrapped a possessive arm around Heaven’s shoulders, pulling her to his chest. Jason licked his lips. “I see that what I’ve heard is true. Well look at you, Clark, I wouldn’t have thought you were into girls but it appears I was wrong. Maybe with a little less hair gel you could almost pass for a real guy.”
“Jason…” Donnie said in a warning voice.
He turned around with a smile. “What? I’m merely pointing out what must have attracted this oh so charming Heaven to Clark’s arms. No longer are you a geeky, gawky boy who can barely stand on his own two feet. Now you’re a big man, playing soccer with my Donnie every day.”
“How did you know we were here?” Clark snapped. “You should leave.”
“You aren’t welcome here, either,” Bennett said, releasing Beatriz and walking up to Bordin.
“Relax,” Bordin said, holding up his arms. “I’m not here to start anything with anyone, let alone you.” He reached over and grabbed Meagan’s elbow. “Let’s get out of here. My parents will be asleep, we can watch Netflix,” he said.
“I’ll see you guys around,” Meagan said, allowing him to tug her away. “Heaven? I’ll see you later?”
“Of course,” she said, giving a small wave.
“I hope you enjoy her, Clark,” Bordin said sarcastically. “From what I hear it’s quite the ride.”
“Jackass,” Clark called, giving Heaven’s shoulder a squeeze. “As if Heaven would be with anyone else.”
“Wasn’t she at band camp all summer?” Bordin asked. “I think we all know what really happens at band camp. If I recall, I thought I saw a picture of her—”
“She wouldn’t,” Clark said defensively.
“Even if she did, why should it matter?” Beatriz said, suddenly shivering slightly. She had no idea how cold it really was tonight.
“That’s because Clark doesn’t see Heaven as a girl but rather as a possession,” Jason said. An awkward silence followed. “Ahhh, so it seems I’m correct.”
“Please,” Clark said, narrowing his eyes, “get the hell out of here. No one’s looking for trouble. We’re just trying to have a good night.”
“If it’s such a good night, then why did you let your girl dance with someone else?” Jason asked, smiling at Donnie. “Donnie, when will you learn to find a girlfriend of your own? Will you never cease in trying to take other men’s women?”
“I wasn’t doing that,” Donnie said. Clark, however, looked a little taken aback by this statement.
“You…you weren’t trying to take my girl, were you?” he asked.
“Don’t be a moron,” Donnie sputtered. “I was talking you up to her.”
“It’s true, Clark,” Heaven said. “Don’t get jealous.”
“I don’t like to speak ill of family, but you have reason to be,” Jason said, baiting him all the more. “I see the way Donnie looks at your girl. Surely you know that he’s not picky about what he can get his hands on?”
“Donnie isn’t like that,” Bennett said.
“Is that so?” Jason went on. “Then why is he also after your girl?”
“She’s not my girl,” Bennett said.
“And she never will be,” Jason said. “Be careful, Clark. I know Donnie and I know that once he wants someone, he doesn’t care how he gets her.”
“Leave,” Donnie said, taking a step towards him. “You’re ruining our night.”
“I’m only telling the truth,” Jason said, smiling at Clark. “I think your friend knows that.”
“Just go,” Clark said. “You’ve given me a lot to think about.”
Jason grinned, walking back to his car. “Good,” he said. “You may not like what I have to say, but I mean to be honest.”
“You mean to be deceitful,” Bennett said.
“What do you mean he gave you a lot to think about?” Heaven asked.
“I think I’m gonna head out,” Clark said. “I’ll see you tomorrow at school?”
“What? Why?”
“I just remembered I have a lot of homework to do,” Clark said. “I’ll talk to you all later.” Kissing Heaven awkwardly on the forehead, he walked to his car which was parked close to Jason’s and said a few passing words to him before getting in and driving away.
“What do you think Jason said to him?” Heaven asked, frowning.
“I don’t know,” Donnie said. “He’s poisonous.”
“Jason can get into your head quickly,” Bennett said. “Be careful, Donnie.”
“Careful? Me?” Donnie said. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Any actions you take may stir up jealousy in our simple friend,” Bennett said.
“I was trying to help. Is that so wrong?”
“You may have helped too much,” Heaven said, looking upset. “I shouldn’t have danced with you like that. Clark may have gotten the wrong idea.”
“We’re friends! There’s nothing wrong with that,” Donnie said. “Come on you guys, you’re all being pulled in by him. Don’t let Jason trick you like this.”
“I should go,” Heaven said in a soft voice.
“Heaven,” Beatriz said, “don’t worry about Jason.”
“I’m not worried about Jason,” she said in a strangled voice, looking up the sidewalk towards her home. Clark had left her without a ride but luckily the trip wasn’t far. “I’m worried about Clark. I have to try and call him.”
“And you need to go home to do that?” Beatriz asked as Heaven began to walk.
“I just need some privacy.”
“Don’t go alone!” Bennett shouted, turning to Bryan. “Follow her home, you
live close by.”
“Okay,” Bryan said, quickly catching up with her.
“I have to go to the bathroom,” Beatriz said suddenly. “You guys better not leave me here to walk home alone.”
“We wouldn’t leave a girl to walk alone,” Donnie said. “Would we, Bennett?”
He smirked. “Not a girl.”