Just Revenge

Chapter Twenty-Eight: First Ones There

The next day, I showed up excited for our last performance. The cast party was always the night before our closing performance and I couldn't wait to get onstage one more time, my last time since I didn't plan on acting for another show this year. My parents dropped me off at the amphitheater early since they were already on their way somewhere else so I knew no one else would be there yet, but I didn't mind. I was actually looking forward to getting a moment of peace and quiet before the other kids showed up.

When I walked down the hill though, I was surprised to see that I wasn't even the first one there. A tall, skinny figure was sprawled out on the concrete stage, scrolling through his phone. Almost instinctively, a plan popped into my head and I slowed my steps, focusing on being as quiet as possible as I made my way down the hill. When I reached the bottom, he still hadn't looked away from his phone and I took it as a sign. You just weren't allowed to be that zoned out and not pay for it. If I had a water bottle on me, I probably would've dumped it on him but, as it was, I didn't, so I settled for a couple fistfuls of dirt and from the bottom of the hill. I ran the last couple of steps to the stage and flung the dirt onto his chest and upper body.

"WHAT THE HELL?!?" Cortland sat up so fast his phone actually flew out of his hands and skidded to the ground a couple feet away. Naturally, I died laughing at him.

"What are you, twelve? Who the hell even throws DIRT?!" He tried to brush the dirt off his arms and chest, but he was doing it too aggressively and pretty much just looked ridiculous. I couldn't stop laughing.

"It's not FUNNY! I swear... you're literally a child. Grow up!" He gave up on the dirt and went to grab his phone from where it landed.

"Oh please, that was funny. You just couldn't see it." I regained my composure a little.

"You're right, must've been the dirt in my face that got in the way." The corner of his mouth tipped up a little bit as he finished his sentence, but I could see him fighting the smile.

"Relax, Genius. By the time everyone else shows up, you'll look good as new."

He shook his head, still smiling a little, "I shouldn't need to, but it's whatever I guess. At least I'll still look better than you, even with the dirt."

"Is that the best you got?" I fake pouted, "I'm ugly? Ouch. And here I was expected something good, not something we already knew." I pushed his shoulder lightly so he knew I was kidding as I turned my body to drape my legs over the edge of the stage.

"That's definitely not the best I've got," he stopped fighting his smile, shaking his head as he sat down next to me, "But just to be clear. I never said you were ugly."

I laughed at his distinction, "Oh, no?"

"No." His smile faded a little as he looked over at me, "I don't waste words and all that, remember?"

I shook my head at him as I turned away, "I don't even know what that means. Dude, you're so cryptic."

When I looked back towards him, he was still watching me though his smile had fully faded now. In a second though, it appeared again, although this time it looked a little bit forced, "Don't worry about it Flip Phone." He paused for a while, "So, you and Max, huh?"

I smiled, "Yeah. He's really nice."

He nodded his head, "Yeah, he's the best."

I don't remember choosing to keep talking, but somehow more words spilled out, "I mean, I'm not really sure what's going to happen with us. Honestly, I don't even know if I'm doing all this right. I've never really been a girlfriend before. I'm not even sure if I'm a girlfriend now. Maybe it's too early for labels? Like I said, I don't know how that works exactly. Is there a certain time length before I call myself that? Or is it a conversation? Like... when does that come into play exactly? The only knowledge I really have about this comes from books and stuff and I know that that stuff isn't really real. I mean, maybe it feels like it sometimes, but I know it doesn't work in real life like it does in those dumb romance novels. Real people aren't like that, that's why they're fiction, but I still..."

I realized I was rambling and cut myself off. "Sorry, I don't where that came from. It's just new to me is what I was trying to say."

He tilted his head at me curiously, "You've never had a boyfriend before?"

I shook my head at him.

"Why not?" He didn't bother apologizing for the intrusive question, nor did I really expect him to.

"I don't know. It just never really happened. To be honest, Max is the first guy that's ever even tried."

He looked genuinely surprised at that, "Wait, seriously."

I got a little offended at his shock, "What, like you've ever been in a relationship!"

He laughed, shaking his head, "Fair. But that's different. I'm an ass and I don't know how to talk to people. You talk to people just fine, which is why it's surprising."

"Not really." I corrected him.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I'm usually pretty shy and awkward. You guys are just... different." I couldn't help but think about why they were different, about how my anger had pushed through my shyness enough to get me to talk to them.

His smile this time was something I'd never seen on him. It was softer and kind of sweet actually, "I know what you mean. Sometimes people just fit, like they were always meant to be a part of your life. The missing piece of puzzle and that kind of thing."

He was wrong, that wasn't what had pushed me out of my comfort zone, my anger had. But at the same time, I got what he meant. I did fit with his group a little bit better than I would ever admit to aloud. I had fun with them, and I felt more like myself then I had in a long time.

We sat in silence for a little while after that, but it was a comfortable kind of silence.

"Carmen?" After a while, Cort broke the silence, but refused to turn his head and meet my eyes, "You know you deserve the stuff from the dumb romance novels, right?" His eyes stayed fixed solidly on the ground. "Whether you think it works like that in real life or not, it should. You deserve it."

When he finished talking, he lifted his head long enough to meet my eyes for a long moment and, for what seems like the millionth time in just the last few days, I didn't have any idea what to say.