Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better

Chapter 8

The girl

waits outside

on her front stoop.

Excited

and a little nervous

she is wearing a dress

for once in her life

an ankle length dress of midnight blue

that somehow complements

her green eyes.

Her blonde hair is braided 

in a french braid down her back

and peeking out from under her dress

are her old familiar high tops

An old red pickup truck pulls up in front of the house. The girl stands up. Out of the passengers seat jumps the boy. He holds open the back door of the truck and runs his fingers through his hair. The girl can't help but notice he is dressed much snazzier than usual. She walks down to the sidewalk and stands there, a little unsure. Which is unlike her.

The boy's eyes widen as he sees her. 

The girl smooths down the fabric of her dress. "I know, I look silly."

"No." The boy shakes his head. "You don't. Not at all." 

The girl smiles at him, and the boy is lost in her smile. Until the car horn beeps.

"Alright." The boy says towards the direction of the drivers seat. He turns back to the girl. "Sorry." 

The girl smiles again. The boy gestures for her to get in, and she does, scooting as far as she could. Which was only the middle seat, since there was a bunch of junk piled on the other side. The boy hopped in next to her, a little closer than he normally would be because of the cramped conditions. Still, the girl didn't really mind.

"How ya doin' Scout?" The boy asks.

"Good. You?" The girl asks in return.

"Great, now that you'se here." The boy smirks. The girl knows that smirk well, it is on his face quite often. But seeing it directed towards her makes her feel a whole different way.

"Ay, Spot, let da goil breathe." The person in the drivers seat said, craning his neck around. 

"Eyes on the road, Jackie boy." The boy orders with a smirk.

"Who's that?" The girl whispers.

The boy tries to not be distracted by her whispering right in his ear and their close proximity. He replies, "Jack. My fosta brother."

"Brother. Not 'foster' brother." Jack corrects.

"I'm not related to you." The boy says.

"Aw, ya know ya love me." Jack says.  "He's just a little sore 'cuz I'm from Manhattan and he's from Brooklyn, and he knows 'hattan's the  better borough."

The boy rolls his eyes. "Don't listen ta him."

The girl watches the exchange. She can tell that both boys care about each other, even through the boy's  'tough' exterior.

"Well, we're here." The boy says, opening the car door and holding out his hand. 

The girl, blushing slightly, takes it. They're just friends. Just friends. Just friends. As much as she wishes it to not be true.

**************************************************************

The boy looks

at the girl at his side

as they enter the gym

where the dance is held

he sees her little smile as she looks at the decorations

and the food

he loves that smile.

Ms. Medda is standing by the DJ

she catches the boy's eye

and gives him a wink.

The boy nods back.

He's nervous

he's never nervous

but he's nervous now

because it's her

"Watch." He says. Just one word. But the girl hears, and that is enough to make her turn and watch as he makes his way over to Ms. Medda. He exchanges some quiet words, and Ms. Medda nods and hands him a microphone. A microphone?

He taps it, and the sound echos through the gym. Crowds of students stop chattering and look towards him. 

"Hey everyone." The boy says. He clears his throat. "I... just wanna do this little thing, then you can all get back ta talking or whatever." His eyes scan the crowd, and land on her. Medda signals the DJ, and soft music begins to play. 

The boy licks his lips and begins to sing. "Well I know it's kinda late, I hope I didn't wake you. But what I've got ta say can't wait, I hope you understand. 'Cause every time I tried ta tell ya, the words just came out wrong. So I'll have ta say 'I love you' in a song." 

The boy's eyes never leave the girl. He sees as she raises a hand to her mouth, biting down on her knuckle as she watches. 

**************************************************************

"Yeah, I know it's kind of strange

Every time I'm near you

I just run out of things to say

I know you'd understand

'Cause every time I tried to tell you

The words just came out wrong

So I'll have to say 'I love you' in a song"

The boy's voice

is clear and strong

yet another thing he is good at

the girl

watches

wondering who he is talking about

letting herself think

that maybe

just maybe

it's her

The boy finishes the final chorus, and a smattering of confused applause rings out. The boy brings the microphone up closer to his mouth again, and says, with a smirk on his face- that smirk she knows so well- "Scout Taylor, would you like ta be me goil?"