Chapter Twenty-Seven
Maverick
I peeked out of the curtain from backstage, seeing everyone as they wandered into the theater and took their seats. A lump was wedged in my throat, and my hands wouldn’t stop shaking.
Last year when I’d played Brom in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow play, I’d been nervous before going on stage, but once I’d gotten out there, I’d had a lot of fun.
However, this time I was going to be singing, dancing, and having to remember all of my lines. For once, I was thankful I hadn’t gotten the part of the Beast. Not sure I could’ve handled all that pressure.
“Mavy!” Sarah pulled me away from the curtain. She was dressed in the peasant Belle outfit and didn’t look nervous at all. “How are you feeling?”
“Is ‘dead man walking’ a valid answer?”
“Oh stop,” she said. “You’re going to be amazing. Just remember to breathe and not fall off the stage. Again.”
“How are you so calm?” I asked, envying her confidence, which was ironic since I was playing a guy with an ego the size of the sun.
“I’m nervous,” she admitted, walking with me to the shop, where all the props were made and stored. “But this is my passion, and I refuse to let the fear of messing up stop me from pursuing it.”
The five minute ‘til show time announcement was made backstage and Sarah had to rush off to get in place. I worked on my breathing, deeply inhaling before releasing it slowly.
Oh my freaking god, what is my first scene again?
I needed to go check my script. All of my lines seemed to leave my head in a flash. With hands shaking and my heart rate spiking, I stood there and fought off an anxiety attack.
Then arms came around me from behind.
“You okay, big guy?” Avery asked, resting his chin on my shoulder.
Almost instantly, I relaxed and turned around to face him, enfolding him in my arms. He was going to be a stagehand that night, helping with the set changes.
“Yeah,” I said in a tone that contradicted it. “Well, as okay as I can be. Do you have any spells you can cast that’ll give me, like, super confidence? Hell, I’d even settle for a little.”
“Remember what I told you months ago, when we were at the tracks?” he asked, staring at me with thoughtful blue eyes. “It may be scary, but you have to have faith in yourself and do it anyway. You don’t need magic to be awesome, Mav. Because you already are.”
Mr. Lee rounded the corner and gave an excited smile. “You ready? Show’s about to begin.”
I nodded, and once Mr. Lee left, I looked back at Avery. He was dressed in all black—as usual—and I tucked a piece of his dark hair behind his ear. More eyeliner covered his lids that day, fanning out at the sides of his eyes and going into a sharp point.
My gothic beauty.
I kissed him beneath his right eye, and he did the unexpected and brushed his lips across my throat. It sent shivers down my spine.
“Break a leg,” he whispered, and I felt him smile against my neck.
“Hey, you remembered,” I said, moving back to meet his amused gaze. It seemed like ages ago when he’d showed up at my audition after school, telling me to break a foot.
We’ve come a long way since then.
But we still had a ways to go.
About two weeks had passed since the Halloween party, and he still hadn’t told me whatever it was that’d made him freak out on me that night. I wasn’t exactly a creative person, but the possibilities I’d conjured in my mind to explain it weren’t exactly reassuring, especially having a general idea of the abuse he’d suffered.
Hearing the opening of the musical, every muscle in my body tensed at once. My face must’ve reflected my horror, because Avery pulled me to him and kissed beneath my jaw.
“Just go out there and have fun,” he said against my skin. “I’ll be in the wings watching.”
And funny enough that actually made me feel better.
When it was my cue, I walked out on stage, feeling all eyes on me. Fortunately, I didn’t walk out alone. Greg, the guy playing LeFou, was at my side, and we started into our section of the opening song.
My mom was in the audience, and some of my friends. Knowing they were out there—somewhere—made me happy.
People in the audience laughed at the appropriate part, but the bright lights shining on the stage made it difficult to make out any of their faces. Maybe if I looked hard enough, I’d be able to, but it worked out better that way anyway.
If I couldn’t really see them, it felt like rehearsal, and I could trick myself into thinking no one was out there watching my every move.
Adrenaline kicked in and I put on the performance of my life—one I hoped to repeat, like, five more times because we had more shows. I sang my heart out, and I only forgot one line, which I then improvised, and I doubted anyone in the audience even realized it.
In between my scenes, Avery met me backstage and helped fix any piece of my costume or wig that had moved out of place. And each time before I went back out there, he’d give me a good luck kiss, causing me to walk out on stage with a silly smile.
During my final scene, when Gaston fought the Beast, I fell off the ledge and landed on the padding hidden behind it. I grinned when I heard my buddies hoot and holler from the audience. Freaking Travis and Ricky.
Quickly, I rolled off the mat and crawled off stage. A set change was coming up.
“That was the finest death I’ve ever seen,” Avery said in an overly dramatic manner once I was in the wings. “Such… oomph.”
“I’ll show you oomph,” I said, tugging him to my chest before capturing his lips.
After the cast did the big bow after the show, I jogged to the dressing room to change out of my Gaston clothes and back into my Maverick ones. I met Avery outside the room, and he joked that I looked better with the low-ponytail wig on instead of my messy mop, which then caused me to tickle his sides until he begged me to stop.
You know. Just relationship stuff.
“My mom’s here if you wanna come with me to say hi,” I said, grabbing his hand.
“Sure!”
We walked into the audience hall where people were in various stages of standing up and walking out into the main lobby. I scanned their faces, looking for my mom. During my search, Travis and Ricky approached.
“I’m gonna start callin’ you Twinkle Toes,” Ricky said with a lopsided smile. He mimicked some of the choreography—badly, I might add—before belting out some of the tavern song—also poorly.
Travis cringed at him and rubbed at his ear. “Man, it’s a good thing you’re a beast on the football field. Otherwise, I’d say you have nothin’ good going for you.”
“Hey, I’m cute,” Ricky countered. “That’s worth something, I think.” He pointed to Avery. “Right? You’re gay. Who’s cuter: me or dipshit beside me?”
Avery shook his head with a smile. “I can’t answer that. I kinda only have eyes for one guy.”
Ricky’s face fell and he looked like someone just insulted his mama. “I danced with you. And this is the thanks I get.”
“Hmm. I might’ve been wrong,” Travis said, looking at Ricky. “You’re perfect for theater. I mean, you have the diva thing down.”
It was then I noticed that Travis was holding a single red rose. Having a pretty good idea of who it was for, I smiled.
My assumption was proved right when Travis all of a sudden stopped bantering with Ricky mid-sentence and took off jogging in the other direction. Sarah had walked out from backstage, and he neared her. They were too far away for me to hear their conversation, but I saw Sarah’s face light up as Travis handed her the rose.
Ricky stared after them too, and if I wasn’t mistaken, he kind of looked upset. The look went just as fast as it’d come, though, before he focused back on us.
“I’m freakin’ hungry,” he said. “Wanna grab something after this?”
I looked to Avery, who nodded, and I replied, “Yeah. Sounds great. I just need to find my mom first.”
Not seeing her anywhere in the audience hall, I walked through the doors to the lobby with Avery and Ricky beside me. I continued my search, keeping an eye out for her brown hair and the blue dress she’d picked out to wear that evening.
What I didn’t expect to see? My dad.
He stood near one of the art sculptures, wearing a nice suit and even weirder—a smile. Mom was at his side, craning her neck as if she was searching for me too.
“Sweet pea!” she exclaimed once I’d walked up to them. Her arms flew around me. “Oh, you were terrific. I knew all of those years of us watching musicals would pay off.”
Ricky coughed, and I shot him a glare. He was such an ass.
“Like your mother said, wonderful performance,” Dad said, nodding. He didn’t hug me, but I got the feeling he wanted to, but was unsure.
So, I hugged him. “Thanks.”
“Nice to see you again, Avery,” Dad said before giving a tight smile.
Avery moved closer to my side. “Yeah. You too.”
It was awkward, but at least it wasn’t a train wreck like the first time they’d met. Progress.
The biggest surprise of the evening was when Avery’s mom made her way through the crowd toward us. She was wearing a tight black sweater, red skinny jeans, and black pointed stilettos.
Avery’s eyes widened right before he broke out into the warmest of smiles. “Mom! I thought you had to work tonight.”
“I do,” she said, pulling back from hugging him and rubbing his arms. “But I told them I’d be in later because I needed to see my bug in his opening night.”
“I didn’t actually perform,” he said, blushing. “I just helped with the backdrops and stuff. You didn’t have to go out of your way for me.”
She took his chin in a gentle hold. “Of course I did. I’m so proud of you.” Her blue eyes landed on me, and she pulled me in for a hug too. “You were wonderful, Maverick. They should’ve made you the star.”
By that point, my parents were looking between us, confused. Well, Dad was confused. Mom was tentatively smiling, waiting to be introduced.
“Hi, I’m Monica, Avery’s mom,” she said, holding out her hand to my mom. “You must be Karen. My bug told me about you.”
Avery looked down at his feet as waves of embarrassment rolled off him. I’d never seen his cheeks so pink before. I put my arm behind him, resting my hand on his lower back. It seemed to be his spot.
When he was feeling antsy, I’d hold him there and he’d visibly calm.
“It’s lovely to finally meet you,” Mom responded, shaking her hand before looking at my dad. “This is my husband, William.”
Dad shook Monica’s hand, still with a bewildered expression. Not sure what his deal was. Perhaps it was because Monica looked so young, which I understood, because I’d had a similar reaction.
The three of them started talking after that. Mainly Mom and Monica, while Dad just stood there listening. I lost interest when the topic turned to Monica’s shoes and where she bought them. That was about the time Dad lost interest too and began looking around at other people.
While they were engaged, Ricky tugged on Avery’s arm.
“Dude, that’s your mom? Holy crap.”
“Yeah, and she means the world to me so keep any disrespectful comments to yourself,” Avery said, furrowing his brow.
“I was just gonna say that she looks like a nice lady,” Ricky said, putting his hands up in surrender. “That’s all.”
“It better be all,” Avery said, giving Ricky the one-eye. Clearly, he was joking, but there was a note of seriousness behind his behavior as well. Understandable, though.
“What do you do for work?” Mom asked, drawing my focus back to them.
Avery had never gone into any details about her job. Not that it mattered, but it’d made me curious more times than I could count. I mean, Ben had told us about his mom being a mortician during my first hangout with him.
Highly doubtful that anything could be weirder than that.
Monica’s smile faltered a little, and I saw the wheels turning in her head. Dang. Avery really took after her: in appearance and in mannerisms.
“I dance,” Monica answered.
“I’ve always wanted to dance,” my mom said. “I was born with two left feet, unfortunately. Instead of doing a plié, I do the pancake.”
“Aw, doll,” Monica said with a musical laugh, reaching out to touch Mom’s arm. “I could teach you how, if you wanted. You have the body for it.”
Something about that made Dad narrow his eyes and he slipped his arm around Mom’s waist more protectively.
***
The following week, teachers took things easy on us. Most of them—with the exception of the evil Mr. Davis and his progressively balding head—didn’t give us much homework. We were out of school the next week for Thanksgiving anyway.
That Wednesday, I hung out at Avery’s desk before history class.
He was wearing a heavy leather jacket that looked pretty badass on him and the black shirt underneath had an animated skull rocking a green mohawk. His skinny jeans didn’t have any frays, but they had some kind of buckle hanging off them. And the falling apart Converse shoes he usually sported were now replaced by ones that looked brand new, or close to it.
Compared to the first day of school, he looked like a completely different person.
The smile on his face was the biggest difference, though. Instead of looking miserable and untrusting of everyone, he looked… happy.
When Mr. Jones started class, I reluctantly left Avery’s desk to go to mine.
“Such hardship it is, Mr. Blake, for you to have to sit down and learn,” Mr. Jones said, responding to the way I plopped down in my seat and sighed. “No worries. Your boyfriend will still like you in fifty minutes when my class is over.”
I cracked a smile as the class laughed. Mr. Jones was cool. He was a teacher I hadn’t been too sure of in the beginning because it was his first year, but he truly cared about his students—even when picking on them.
After history, I walked with Avery to biology. Ben was already in the room waiting on us, and the three of us talked about the test the next day. Mrs. Brown wasn’t giving us new material to learn, but she was the type of teacher who thought it was a great idea to give us a big test before a holiday break.
I guess it was better than having a test right when we came back, and since the test was Thursday, she was giving us a movie day in her class Friday.
“It’s going to be easy,” I said, attempting to reassure them. “You just need to study the section on plants and know how photosynthesis works and also be familiar with the difference between osmosis and diffusion.”
Avery stared at me like I was speaking ancient Greek.
“Says the guy who has, like, super human biology knowledge,” Ben said, holding his hand up. “For the rest of us average people, it’s hard.”
Mrs. Brown gave us the class period to study for the exam, so we scooted our desks together and had an intense study session. Well, more like I quizzed Ben and Avery in a type of Jeopardy style where the first person to hit their buzzer—aka my hand—would be able to answer. By the end of it, my hand had been slapped so many times that it looked like I was Christian Grey and had just finished a raunchy butt-spanking session.
Not that I’d ever watched those movies or read the books.
Before going to algebra, I had a thought. I veered toward the library and jogged down the three steps into it. It sat kind of in the middle of the building, with glass windows all around it where people could see out—which I thought was a dumb distraction if you were trying to study, but whatever.
Mrs. Lane peered at me over her book. “Can I help you Mr. Blake?”
“Yeah, actually,” I said, going up to the desk.
Avery still hadn’t found the book he wanted in that vampire series, so I asked if she had it yet. She checked her computer before looking back at me.
“Books four and five are both in that section,” she said, smiling.
I went and grabbed them before checking them out. One look at the clock told me I had like a minute to hightail it to algebra, so I ushered a quick thank you before running out of the library and to class.
At lunch, our crew all sat at our table, and so many different conversations were going on.
Travis and Sarah faced each other, their food forgotten, and they spoke quietly amongst themselves. Yeah, they were all ooey-gooey and so sweet that it’d give me a toothache if I looked too long. But I was happy for them.
They’d gone on their first official date Monday night, and from the very little Sarah told me about it, I knew it must’ve been amazing. She told me everything, good and bad included. So her non-detailed responses told me she was really serious about Travis.
“Dudes, we need to go out again,” Ricky said, snagging mine and Avery’s attention.
After the show Friday, we’d gone out to eat with him and then had hit the pool hall where we’d stayed way too late playing pool and goofing off. Time had passed so fast that it hadn’t felt like that long, though. It was definitely something I’d love to do again.
“Yeah, we do,” Avery agreed. “So I can show you up at pool again.”
“I was just a little off my game that night,” Ricky countered, shaking his head. He did the whole pointing two fingers at his eyes before aiming them at Avery thing. “Next time, I’m comin’ for you, Loki.”
“Babe,” I said, getting Avery’s attention. “I got you something.”
He skewed a brow. “If you spent any money on me, I may have to sacrifice you.”
“No money. I swear.” I reached down and grabbed my backpack, which earned a curious brow-raise from Avery because I was the weirdo who never carried them. “Here.”
I handed him the two House of Night books, and the smile on his face was totally worth the bitching out I’d gotten from Mr. Davis for being tardy.
“I checked them out under my name,” I said, zipping my backpack and tossing it back under the table. “But since these books are apparently like crack and go quick, I didn’t want someone else to get them.”
“Thank you.” He leaned into my side, and I slipped my arm around him.
The day was going amazing. Or maybe my upbeat attitude made it just seem that way. Whatever the reason, I was grateful for it.
I had a wonderful boyfriend who was gradually coming out of his shell, hilarious friends who teased me but would have my back in a second flat, and my grades were the best they’d been, putting me in a great position for college. Also, the Beauty and the Beast musical had been a hit over the weekend, and tickets for it the coming weekend were already almost sold-out.
Nothing could bring me down.
Until it did.
We’d finished eating and were on our way outside to hang out before lunch ended, when it happened.
Right as we got into the courtyard, Avery yelped and knocked into me before falling onto the cement. I hadn’t been quick enough to catch him. My mind was reeling as I tried to make sense of it. Maybe he’d just tripped.
I bent to help him, but another guy came out of nowhere and kicked his side. Avery gasped for air as he held the area that’d been hit.
“What the fuck?” I yelled, glaring daggers at the guy before pushing him away.
His name was David, and he was a senior I wasn’t really friends with.
“I’m gonna kick his ass!” David yelled, red-faced and kind of foaming at the mouth, as he leapt forward to try to hit Avery again.
I wasn’t having any of that crap.
I tackled him before he reached his target, and other bodies fell on top of me. I realized that Ricky and Travis had jumped in as well, defending Avery just like I had.
David thrashed around and tried punching us in the process. He landed one to my right eye, but it didn’t take much to hold him down after that. Three athletes who hit the gym almost daily? Yeah, David didn’t have a chance.
“My mom left because of his slut mom!” David yelled. More like shrieked. “That damn whore!”
I got off him and stood up, trying to make sense of what he’d said. Ricky and Travis followed suit, and as David tried to charge at Avery again, they clotheslined him. Knowing they had David under control, I ran over to Avery.
He was sitting up, holding his stomach, and Sarah was beside him, rubbing his back.
“Babe?” I went to his side and tilted his face up to mine. “You okay?”
He went to smile—not a sincere one—and blood dripped from his lip as he did. As well as tears from his pale blue eyes. “I’ve had worse.”
His words crushed me. He shouldn’t have ever had worse. Hell, he shouldn’t even have what he had right then.
“I’m taking you to the nurse,” I said, putting my arm behind his back and helping him up.
“No, I’m fine,” Avery said. His chin was scraped too, probably from when he’d smacked against the ground.
“You are not fine.”
“Tell your whore of a mom I’m comin’ for her!” David screamed, trying to get around Travis and Ricky.
Avery paled right before he bent over and puked on the concrete. As fast as I could, I grabbed his hair, moving it from his face.
Not sure if I hid it well, but I was freaked the hell out. Avery was the sweetest person I’d ever met. Why would someone want to hurt him? And be so angry and rabid about it? David had mentioned Monica, as if she’d done something. I didn’t understand.
The teacher on duty caught wind of the fight and came running over. Just our freaking luck, it was Mr. Davis.
“All of you go to the principal’s office!” he half-yelled, half-wheezed.
There was no arguing with Mr. Davis. So instead of trying to explain what happened—how David had been the attacker and we’d just helped keep him from beating the hell out of my boyfriend—we did what he said and walked into the building.
Mr. Davis walked with us, which was probably the only reason David didn’t try anything on the way there. Once in the main office, under the scrutiny of the two school receptionists, Mr. Davis told us to sit down and shut up before he left.
I made sure to have Avery on my left. Ricky sat by me, then Travis, and David was on the other side of him. If that asswipe tried anything else, he’d have three other guys to go through before touching Avery.
“Boys,” Mrs. Miller— the principal—said, coming out of her office. “I’m disappointed to see you here.” She looked at us before motioning to Avery. “I’ll start with you, Mr. Kinkead. Come on.”
I squeezed his hand before he stood and walked that way. Even after he disappeared into her office and shut the door, I continued to stare after him.
“You’re lucky we’re on school grounds,” I said in a low tone, glaring at David. “Or I would’ve kicked your ass into next week for laying a hand on him.”
“Yeah?” David piped up, clearly feeling froggy since he knew I couldn’t touch him. “He’s nothing but trash and you know it. If his mom takes off her clothes and bangs men in the private back rooms for money, what does that say about him? Bad blood is bad blood.”
Both Travis and Ricky snapped their heads to me, and I wasn’t sure if they expected me to attack David and they were preparing to hold me back… or if they were just as shocked as me about the news.
When my mom had asked Monica what she did for a living, she had answered, “I dance.”
The pieces of the puzzle were slowly falling into place. Maybe that’s why Avery never talked about what his mom did, and why he also seemed so protective of her.
“Mr. Blake?” the principal called me. “You’re next.”
As I passed Avery, I went to touch him—just to feel some kind of contact and let him know I was there for him—but he subtly dodged me, keeping his gaze toward the floor. I didn’t think he meant to do it. I knew him well enough by then to see the signs.
He was in his head. Ashamed, angry, and scared.
I wish I knew how to reach him.