DetectiveRed

  I don't remember why Percy and I started growing apart. Maybe it was just a natural thing between boys and girls, where they can't stay friends as soon as high school starts.

  As soon as we moved, he started becoming distant. He was popur for the first part of high school. Maybe that was why. He had these beautiful big brown eyes and a naive charm. When he smiled, he could light up the room. The other girls couldn't resist. I couldn't either. He was charming, honest and had the ability to understand how you felt. On the other hand, I was me. Max. Max the boring. A short-haired tomboy, in an age where tomboys were normal. Where everyone just wanted me to grow out of it. Gloomy, but not gloomy or committed enough to be emo or goth. Just a year prior I was friends with the guys from the school and Percy, but now I was pushed into the girl box. That must have been when it started. He got swarmed and popur and I didn't. He assimited quickly and I took a lot longer.

  Now it's the end of the school year. Our st year of school and we are once again on opposite ends of the popurity spectrum. Me, less tomboyish and at least getting along with the girls and him standing alone as everyone dances.

  He's a lot taller than me now. At least six foot, great for basketball, not that he'd ever pyed. He stopped bothering to talk to me years ago, when his initial popurity started to fade. He'd gotten a new reputation that year. One that came from him beating the shit out of some guys a couple years older. At the time it was hard to imagine those big brown eyes angry, or his small frame beating up some year ten jerks, but now he wears that reputation well. The slightly oversized suit, his stoic frown and eyes that make him look detached from the world around him. He'd make a natural bodyguard.

  Why did he come? I keep stealing gnces his way whenever I get the chance. My ‘friends’ are chatting about their boyfriends, girlfriends, and going off dancing, but I feel stuck looking at the boy across the room. If he notices, he doesn't react. His eyes do dart to me once, but they quickly focus on the ground instead. He's been here since the dance started and he hasn't talked to anyone. Why?

  My feet and body move towards him without me asking them to, curiosity overwhelming my thoughts and any fear of his violent reputation fails to stop me. He starts fidgeting with his buttons and suit as my body moves mindlessly closer. He looks up to see how far away I am, and starts staring at the ground. He’s shuffling backwards; he was on the edge of the court, now he's almost at the wall. His eyes dart around, looking for an escape route. An escape route from a five-foot idiot in heels and an impractically tight dress. The way he looks at me, you'd think I'm the Hulk.

  "Why are you here, Max?" As if a switch has been flipped in his head, all of the fidgeting, calcuting and looking around stops. His pupils dite just a bit when he looks at me. He's up against the wall and I have no idea why I'm here.

  "I could ask you the same thing, Percy."

  "My mum made me come. I need to make some memories, or something. Can you go back to your friends now?" His eye twitches. His face is red from the nose down and covered in nicks.

  "Are you okay?"

  "I'm fine. Can you go?"

  Music bres from behind us. The hall has been divided into two halves, a part with music, lights and smoke and a part with food, drinks and chairs. Even from behind the divider, the music and lights are still loud and bright. Percy's foot taps against the faux wooden floor; even while trying to be still, he can't control it.

  "Are you sure?"

  "Look Max, I don't know who challenged you to talk to me, but you've done it. Cool. Now go away."

  "What the hell are you talking about?"

  "Who put you up to it?" His voice is a hoarse monotone, I'd assume angry if it weren't for… I don't know. It's such a weird assumption. He lets out a sigh. "You haven't noticed yet, have you."

  "Noticed what?"

  "People are staring."

  "Percy, what are you talking about?" He's right. My friends are whispering to each other and looking in our direction. A couple of heads peek out from behind the dividers, and at least three teachers are looking at us. "Oh."

  "Now can you go away before someone thinks I'm holding you hostage."

  "Are you okay?"

  "Go. Away. Max." He clenches his fists, the beating of his feet against the floor speeds up. I step backwards carefully. The stares from around the room grow in number and intensity. He looks like he's going to explode but I don't think I'm in any danger. The Percy I knew couldn't hurt a fly.

  I get about five feet from him and he storms off. No one tries to stop him from leaving the building. No one seems to even care that he's gone. I thought he would stomp away, but his footsteps are as soft as they can be for someone of his size.

  "You okay?" Kaitlyn asks; when did she get here? "He didn't hurt you or anything?"

  "Yeah, I'm fine. He didn't do anything."

  "Oh, good. Good, good, good. I got worried when he talked to you. He’s big.”

  "But I talked to him..."

  "Why?"

  "I don't know, something came over me."

  She puts her hands on my shoulders. "Don't do something like that again. I get liking bad boys, but he can be scary. Charley still has a scar from when he pushed her."

  "Shit, what?"

  "Yeah, he pushed her over or something. A couple of guys tried to get revenge and he broke one of their noses, the rest were pretty beat up…"

  "I heard about the st bit."

  "It doesn’t matter if you don’t mess around with him." I gently move her hands off me. “Anyway… This is a dance.”

  "I’ll join you in a minute." I wave her off.

  Kait meets up with her boyfriend and they start awfully dancing together. It’s sweet, but I can’t get Percy's dramatic exit out of my head. It’s not like Kait would notice if I slip out and follow him?

  Maybe it's a dumb idea to chase or even walk after the guy you've just been told is dangerous and potentially violent. It's what the Internet might call a "white person in a horror movie" move. To be fair, I am white, and stupid, but I hope this isn't a horror movie. Percy isn’t dangerous. He just isn’t! He was cute and energetic! He dragged me kicking and screaming through primary school. He taught me everything I know about assimiting.

  The closer I get to the door, the more curiosity and anxiety mixes in my mind. The boy's eyes are much more empty. The same gorgeous brown, but the lights were out. The bags under his eyes were so dark? Not enough sleep? Poor diet? Why should I care?

  A teacher guards the door. We aren’t meant to leave without a guardian. Were the teachers too scared to stop him? I should probably turn back now. If teachers consider him dangerous, I'm probably not gonna be able to do much.

  "Hey Miss Jackson, there are girls drinking in the girls’ bathroom," I lie.

  "Oh, not again. Thank you for telling me, Max."

  The teacher starts heading for the toilets. I can hear shouting as I dash out the door.

  The evening air chills my face, despite the yers of frilly fabric piled on to this dress of mine. What's the point of clothes that don't keep you warm? The muffled sounds of music and shouting and singing make it out the door, but clear as day I hear sobbing. A boy sobbing. The sound of tears being choked back should have been audible to the teachers. Did they not care?

  I turn the corner of the hall, following the sobs and heavy breathing. It had to be Percy. No one else was out here.

  "Percy," I ask. The sobbing stops, repced by sniffling. "Percy, is that you?"

  "I'm warning you, Max. Go away." His voice cracks.

  "No."

  "Please."

  "What's wrong?"

  A rustle comes from where the sobbing was, shoes cck against cement. Out of the dark a rge figure moves and starts running my way. I try and move.

  My body feels weightless, the wind is knocked out of it. I feel like I'm falling for minutes. He trampled me. I can't breathe. My vision fades as I lie on the dry ground.

  ---

  Shit, shit, shit. I couldn't see. I knocked her over. I can't move properly. She must be on top of me. When will I learn to just endure it? Running, fighting back, either way I lose. How do I keep forgetting? I need to squeeze out from under her. She should be tiny but she weighs a ton. I'm one of the strongest guys in school and I can't lift her properly.

  Why didn't she just leave me alone? I was fine. I just needed to wait it out. The overstimution was fine, the feeling of the bass reverberating through my guts making me feel like throwing up? Peachy! I could make it through it all if she didn't come back in and ground me.

  And now she's likely unconscious on top of me and I'm trying to get out. I need to run before anyone finds her and they call the cops on me. No one will believe it's an accident. Hell, she probably won't. I couldn't see. And she moved. But that's not gonna hold up in court.

  I finally get free and cmber to get up. Rocks dig into my heel, but I can't worry about where my shoes went. There's an unconscious girl on the ground and it's my fault and I need to get out of here. My legs wobble under my weight and my heart sms hard against my chest. Adrenaline should be able to get me away. My body isn't responding perfectly. Probably a concussion. I've always been uncoordinated, but this is worse than usual. I ignore the wobbliness as I break into a sprint across the road. There are lights and cars, but no people. It might be a couple of minutes before she's found.

  My torso feels like it's going to crash into the ground, but my legs keep me moving. It takes so many steps, and so much running to get as far from the hall as possible. I should be a lot fitter than this. My foot gets caught on something, and the loose bance keeping me upright fails. My body sms into the cold concrete pavement. My arms try to brace but they are too small to absorb much of the impact. I need to ignore the pain reverberating through my torso and arms and get crawling. The safe corner is only a couple of metres away.

  I sit, just for a second, before I lose control. Why couldn't she just leave me like she always does? Maybe that's not fair, but who cares. It's not like anyone will bme her for not caring. Three years of trying to disappear and my face scaring people off should have kept me safe. Now that she's seen me crying, I'm a target again. I'll always be a target.

  A soft sob interrupts my spiral. It's definitely a girl. I would assume she’s next to me, but I can't see her. Maybe she got dumped by her boyfriend or something. I should leave. This is her spot now.

  Is it Max?

  Fuck.

  "I'm sorry, I didn't..." That's what I meant to say, but that's not my voice. It's definitely her. "Max!" Can she read my mind? Where is she? Where is my voice? What's going on?

  A shimmer of blue catches the moonlight for a second. Max's dress. It goes past my legs and down to my feet. I tripped on it.

  "Max! Where are you?" The voice bounces off the school buildings. She has to be here somewhere. I try to ignore the blue dress. Its frills and shape don't make sense. There has to be a logical expnation for this. A prank, or a hallucination, maybe a dream caused by being knocked out and some weird wish fulfilment.

  It's such an awful fantasy as well.

  'Max!" I shout. "Stop messing with me." Max couldn't make something like this happen. I can't bme her. Whatever is happening can't be real. Cool air brushes against my tears. It's so cold. It's a dream, but it's cold.