Forgive my Fins: A new point of view

Chapter 4

I finally arrived in the cafeteria and saw Courtney and her groupies laughing their heads off.

"What's going on?" I asked as I approached them.

"Oh, Brody just put that loser in her place. Like she could ever steal him from me. I told you to keep her away from him, Quince" she responded with venom in her voice.

"Who are you talking about?" I asked. Please not Lily, please not Lily, please not...

"Lily," she said.

My heart stopped and my stomach dropped to the floor as I ran out of the cafeteria in search for her. My best guess would be the girls bathroom so that was my first stop. I was just about to enter as I collided with her.

"Believe me now?" I asked, leaning against the wall. I know this isn't the best time for 'I-told-you-so's" but when she gets mad at me she tends to forget everything else so getting her aggravated will actually help her calm down faster. Once she is distracted, she won't be thinking about it as much.

"Get lost," she yelled. Her eyes are all swollen and puffy. It takes everything I have not to kiss her on the eyes and hug her until she feels better. This isn't the time and place for that, though. If she can just pull through for a couple more classes then I can calm her down at home. If anyone sees her like this, they will never let her get over it.

"Move!" She yelled again.

"I asked you a question," I said, hoping to fuel her anger even more.

"And I choose not to answer," she said. Her voice was stern and filled with anger. She seemed to be stopping herself from crying, and that got more difficult for her every passing second. She tried to step around me but I blocked her path. Courtney and her friends were on their way and she could run into them any second.

"Admit it, I was right," I told her. She needs to learn to trust me.

"No. You were wrong. I'm just crying 'cause I'm so happy," she lied. Just then, tears started spilling from her eyes again. I couldn't stand to see her like this. It shattered my heart to hundreds of pieces. She should be happy.

"Come on, princess. You don't need to cry over that loser," I said sincerely. She started crying harder and I felt myself starting to tear up, but I had to be strong for her. I had to be there. I swore Brody out and wrapped my arms around her. I pulled her in closer and that's when hell broke loose. She burst out into full blown sobs. I leaned my face into her ear and just tried to soothe her.

"Shhh, he's not worth it," was all I could manage to say. I wanted to tell her so much more. I wanted to tell her that she was beautiful, that she was worth it, that she deserved better. I wanted to tell her that I broke me seeing her like this and I would do anything I could to take the pain away. I wanted to tell her that I loved her but I couldn't. I couldn't say any of that. I just held her in my arms and comforted her. Just then, the bell rang.

"Shit," I muttered. I start walking with her still hugging me. I take her inside the girls bathroom and into a stall. I put the cover down with one hand. I let go of her, sit down, pulling her onto my lap. Right on cue, Courtney and her gang walk in giggling about what happened in the cafeteria. I whispered to Lily to lift her feet up and she obeyed without asking any questions. She seems to be listening in on their conversation because she starts to cry again.

"She needs to learn to keep her paws off another girl's guy," we heard Courtney say.

""It's Court—," Lily gasped. I quickly put my hand over her mouth and I used my other arm to pull her closer to me. She was still processing what was happening. I guess she didn't realize how bad this looks. Me, clearly a guy, in the girl's bathroom with Lily on my lap. We were in quite the compromising position. My senses were on hyper alert. I could feel every single thing happening to the both of us magnified by 10. I could see her hair flow down her neck and rest just below her shoulders. I could see the side of her face and I was memorizing each and every freckles. She and I had never been so close together. My skin was on fire from her touch. I could feel her goosebumps, not unlike mine. I just wanted to turn her around and kiss her.

Suddenly, I saw her glanced down and her sudden movement snapped me out of my trance. "Pink and yellow?" Courtney said. "What does she think she is? A walking candy shop?"

One of her friends responded with, "At least she makes an effort. That's more than you can say about her friend." I assumed she was talking about Shannon, Lily's best friend. I saw Lily get tense. She is just about to lose her cool. Just one more comment and she will probably claw Courtney's eyes out. I prepare myself for her reaction just in time as Courtney completely crossed the line.

"The one whose entire wardrobe consists of jeans and polo shirts? Someone should tell her they sell my castoffs at Goodwill."

Lily dove forward reaching for the latch as she dropped her feet to stand up. My hand shot out to reach hers. I gently pulled it back while my legs put her back in place.

"Don't. She's not worth it." I whispered in her ear. After a second she relaxed in my arms. Suddenly, I got an idea to get rid of Courtney faster. I tighten my grip around her stomach. She grunted and just as I predicted, Courtney gasped, "ewwww!" Finally, they started walking away.

"Did you see the boots in that stall?" I heard Tiffany as she was walking away.

"Yes, must be that butch girl from the football team. Doesn't she have a mother?" Courtney replied. Wow, she is really nice to me but boy she can be a witch.

I vaguely heard the tardy bell ring as I got lost in Lily again. Man, she was beautiful. I just wished this moment would never end. I could stay like this with her forever.

"Your boots aren't that bad. You know she thought you were Em—" Lily started to say. I just burst out laughing. I guess she thought I was upset with Courtney's diss. What she didn't know was Courtney had bought me those boots as a christmas present last year. I started to lose my grip on her so I held on to her tighter. She was so confused and that just made me laugh harder. I finally stop laughing as I let go of her so she could stand up.

"Sorry, princess, that was just too damn funny." I told her. Courtney is so obviously jealous of Lily. She tries so hard to be pretty so she can have Brody where as Lily is just a natural beauty. Don't get me wrong, Courtney is considered one of the hottest girls in school. She just lacks the innocence and charm Lily has. I don't think there's anything wrong with that but Courtney obviously does. She is insanely jealous of Lily. Of course, Lily won't understand as she underestimates her own beauty.

"Well, I'm glad you found humor in your humiliation. I don't happen to enjoy being ridiculed and—" she says outraged.

""Aw, come on. Couldn't you see through her?" I asked. She just gives me a confused look. "She's jealous" I explain.

"Right, I'm plucking Brody right out from under her perfectly sculpted nose," she remarks sarcastically. I just laugh in response. She tried to squeeze past me but the stall was too small for her to get through.

"Stand up!" she commands irritatedly. I oblige but I didn't move out of her way.

"Hard as it is to believe, I won't say 'I told you so' about the dance." I said to her. She rolled her eyes in response.

"In fact,"I continued, "I'm going to help you out." I tried to ignore the gnawing in my chest. A part of me still doesn't understand why I am helping the love of my life get some other guy. Especially one so sub-par. But there is a larger part of me that knows how important it is to protect her.

"Let me out. It stinks in here." she said ignoring my offer and throwing me a look. I do as she says a squeeze past her after flashing her a smile.

She opened the stall door and walked out. I followed her out. If she was going to do this to herself, I will do everything I can to lessen her pain and that meant being there with her.

"As I was saying, I'm going to help you catch your big fish at the dance."

"But he doesn't want..." she starts.

"He doesn't know what he wants," I cut her off with my tone sounding much more frustrated than I wanted. I took a deep breath. Brody is too self obsessed to see anything but himself. Everytime Courtney wanted her attention she had to do something he never expected and that gave me an idea.

"To get Ben-nett's attention, you need to do something special. Surprising, shocking even.

"And what, do you suggest?" she asked in a mocking voice.

"I'll tell you, in the parking lot after school," I said trying to look cool before walking out of the girl's bathroom.