First Comes Like #Wattys2020

6

SIX

"Hide me." Macey says and wiggles down her chair and under the lunch table. 

I don't even get to ask her why. The next thing I know, she's clawing at my leg and Gat is heading quickly toward our table. I don't even know how Macey knew he was coming. I mean, he would have been behind her.

I take subtle glances at Gat, as he weaves through the lunch tables on our school's unnaturally green lawn. They've organized the tables in a way that they're all under in the shade of an oak tree. Gat gets stopped at almost every table. He's just that kind of guy. The kind of guy who talks to just about anybody, anytime, anywhere. Nothing is ever awkward with him. He'll just start a conversation with you.

That's how he and Macey started talking in the first place. He was 'The New Guy' at the time and 'The Hot Boy on the Swim Team'. Macey had been crushing on him for two weeks since the first day she saw him. And then one day in Physics, he slipped into the seat next to her.

"Hey." He'd whispered, "Baby, are you a monosodium glutamate? Because I just can't seem to get enough of you."

"That's a chemistry pick-up line." Macey said, laughing (successfully without snorting like she usually did).

"And that's why I'm not even in this class." Gat laughed, then, "Please give me your number." And that's how they went from flirty eye contact to sucking face. At least, that's what Macey said.

Today, however, Gat's smiles don't reach is eyes. For the first time ever, he looks sad. He plops down next to me and looks at me hopefully.

"Please." He says, "Please tell me you know where M is." I stuff fries into my mouth and stare at a ketchup spill on my lunch tray.

Macey? She's clawing at my leg under the table!

"Nope." I try to say but it comes out like 'Nmmop'. Gat understands though. He sighs and rests his hands on his knees. "Then please tell me you know why she's avoiding me." I think fast and swallow. I don't because Macey refuses to tell me. But I could know.

"Um yeah." I say, "But I want to hear your take." I ignore Macey's hands threateningly closing around my ankles.

Another sigh from Gat. "She's been acting weird ever since we... You know." He looks away and makes a weird gesture with his hands. I nearly choke on air.

"You guys had sex?" I shout, completely shocked.

The birds on the lawn flutter away at my outburst. People turn to look. Macey's fingers close tighter around my ankles.

She didn't even tell me. I'm not hurt, really, just super surprised. I can't really imagine the two of them in bed.

"She didn't tell you? Oh man, she'll probably hate me now. She probably wanted to tell you herself."

Uh, probably not.

Gat pouts and rest his head in his hands. He looks so adorably sad.

"Don't pout." I tell him and tap his chin lightly with my finger. "Macey's probably avoiding you because she doesn't want you to see the huge pimple on her forehead. I mean, it's huge!" Macey's blessed with absolutely perfect skin. (Not jealous. Not jealous.)

But still. That's for not telling me what was going on.

Gat ruffles his own sandy blond hair. He's got a very boyish look to him. Soft green eyes and long limbs. Gatwick is about 5'11. (That's about 5 inches taller than Macey. And me, if you care.) He's playful too. Basically, he's a puppy. "You think so? She has perfect skin! And I don't care about a pimple." Gat sighs again, looking unconvinced by my story. "Why are you eating by your self anyway?"

"Peace of mind." I say, which I think is a very believable answer because with Dean a little more active in my life these days, it's not something I've been getting a lot of. I look up at Gat and he's staring at me with his green eyes.

"You've always been kind of weird Val." Gatwick said, tilting his head sideways at me. "Anyway, tell M I really, really need to see her." Gat bumps my fist, like he always does and then leaves.

"I'll do that for you." I say to his back, as he walks away. Macey owes me big time for making Gat think I was stranger than he already thought I was. And, she had a lot of explaining to do.

***

At a certain time during gym class, the girls bathroom is always empty. I'm sitting on the counter whilst I wait for Macey to finish her sobbing in a bathroom stall. She didn't really want to look at me after Gat left, but she was under my table for God's sake.

"I'm sorry I made you cry." I say for the hundredth time. "And I'm sorry I tricked Gat into telling me." Honestly, I'm not. Sometimes, a girl has to do what she has to do. You know, for friendship.

I hear Macey pulling more tissue from the roll. It's probably almost done. She blows her nose loudly. "I swear I was going to tell you, Val."

I stop myself from saying, Yeah? When? And say, "Go on." instead.

More sniffling. "It was Boxing Day and we were alone at his house and it was nice." she says, being very selfish with details. "He was sweet."

"So why are you avoiding him?" I ask. I examine my eyebrows in the mirror as Macey talks.

"After we did it, I thought, what if he's one of those guys who dumps the girl after he's had sex with her? I don't know why. It just popped into my head. And then I thought, we don't even have that much in common. What's going to keep us together?" 'Sniff, sniff' goes Macey. "It's sounds stupid, but I didn't want to lose my v-card to just anyone. I wanted it to be someone that I could see in my future. And now I don't know."

"For your first question." I say, "Love." Because love is always the answer. "And Gat's not just anyone." I say, running my thumb over my eyebrows. "You guys are great together. He's not going to break up with you. He obviously likes you a lot."

Macey sighs and flushes. The sound of the toilet drowns out her last few sniffles. She unlocks the door, steps out and looks at me in the mirror as she washes her hands. "We'll see. Thanks Val." she says, "Promise you won't speak about this incident again?"

"What incident?" I say, and with her red nose, Macey grins at me.