My Only Hate Ch. 6

Chapter 6
     
     I kissed him!

     Cindy went from timid Aphrodite to raging bulldozer as she drove her panicked way through the crowd. Her face was beet red and her eyes were full with fear. Why did she do that? Why did she kiss Jojo? She hardly even knew him! And what if she kissed him while her parents, or worse, Dane was watching?

     She couldn’t get the moment off her mind nor get the tingling feeling on her lips to stop. She pushed to the staircase, almost falling as she tripped on the third stair. Her hair bounced with her as she jogged up the stairs, her heart hammering against her ribs and her face red hot. She thought she would suffer a heart attack if she couldn’t calm herself down in the next ten minutes. But it was impossible for her. Only seconds before, in the cool air of the garden, she gave who was possibly the sweetest, most lovable guy she’s met in years her first kiss.

     While she was engaged.

     Her feet screeched to a stop as she reached the top of the stairs. Instead of going straight to her room, she glanced between the two paths she stood between before deciding to run to the bathroom closest to her. She burst through the door and slammed against the sink, spinning the sink taps until the water came roaring out of the faucet. Her hands shot under the running ice cold water, splashing her burning face and getting some of her dress wet as well. The water splashed onto the floor and on her shoulders, sprinkled her hair and dribbled down her chest, much to her discomfort.

     After a while, she rubbed her eyes, but it was far from helpful for her. When she closed her eyes, there he was. The angel-faced brunette smiled at her, his bangs blowing across his laughing brown eyes. She reopened her eyes, resting her hands on the sink as her cheeks started to warm again. She let out a sigh and dropped her face into her hands, staring at the sink through her fingers.

     What had she done? Now she’d never stop thinking about him. Whenever she’d be around Dane, all she would start thinking about was Jojo, the nice, slightly socially awkward guy she kissed that night. She didn’t know if she’d see him again after the party, but if she did, she knew that she’d find herself in love with him. If she didn’t see him again, she might go around looking for him like a little girl looking for her lost kitten. It was useless. Whatever she had gotten herself into, she’d never get herself out of it.

     She weakly turned the sink taps until the running water thinned and died. Her eyes were on the drain; her breath slowed, but her heart was still racing, as well as a few hormones she’d learned about in sixth grade she’d rather not feel at the moment. Flipping her wet hair back over her shoulders, she stood back up to look at her reflection in the mirror, letting out a yelp as she recognized a concerned Martha behind her.

     Martha, finishing scrubbing the bathroom tiles, came to Cindy as she turned around. “Cindy, what’s wrong? You only leave for five minutes and here I find you as worried as your mother at Christmas time!”

     Cindy moaned and hugged Martha. “Oh, thank God you’re here!”

     Martha raised her brows at this sudden action from Cindy. She wrapped her arms around her. “What happened? Is there something you wanted to talk to me about?”

     Cindy gasped and pulled away, crashing into the sink again. “No!”

     “Cindy, whatever’s bothering you, I can help!”

     Cindy gripped the undersides of the sink, almost climbing on top of it. “No, nothing’s wrong, I swear!”

     Martha raised a brow. “Cindy.”

     Cindy stared at her, hoping she’d let it drop, but she sighed in defeat. She knew she couldn’t fool Martha. She pulled away from the sink, looking down and twisting her dress as her cheeks colored again. “W-well…can we talk in my room? It’s…kinda private.”

     Martha pulled her hand to her mouth, receiving Cindy’s “girl talk” signal. “Oh! I’m sorry, of course we can!”

     Cindy relaxed a bit and led Martha to her room. Martha was curious to know what was wrong right away.

     “Does it have to do with Dane?” she innocently asked.

     Cindy clenched her teeth. She didn’t want to think about him after what he did to her. “No.”

     A worry rose in Martha’s chest. “…Jojo?”

     The sound of his name sent Cindy’s heart into a frenzy again. Even though she ran away from him, even though she hoped never to see him again and wished she never kissed him, she wanted him back in her arms. She wanted to have that wonderful feeling she had when they were together, when they spoke to each other, when they kissed.

     Most importantly, she only wanted to feel it with him.

     With a heavy sigh, Cindy’s cheeks flushed. “It has a lot to do with him.”
*****

     “RAUGH!”

     A series of loud shrieks answered Dion’s roar, followed by high-pitched giggles and breathless “Oh my God”s  as he walked away, recognized not as his gang leader self, but as Michael Meyers. His mask and costume made itself to be another home for him, his hidden persona, the villain he’s always wanted to be. His fake knife, which he so much wished was genuine, brandished fake blood, and a concealed button that was able to make the blood look like it was dripping. Yes, Dion was living his dream: respect through fear.

     Not even his allies were able to recognize him at first. Mickey and Nicky had dressed as pimps for the night, and much to Dion’s annoyance, tried to act like them, attempting to get as many girls as they could to join their “businesses”. To Dion’s sadistic pleasure, the girls offered them violent responses.

     He wasn’t sure where they were at the moment, but Dion was happy to be on his own, scaring unwitting party guests and walking in the skin of a serial killer. He was the ultimate gang leader. Nothing could stop him now. He was non longer Dion Lou Who. He was Michael Meyers, and he was determined to keep it that way.

     At least until midnight.

     As he made his way through the crowds, he found an invisible force trying to push its way through as well. His face was unseen, and his voice was barely audible. But the crowd made room for him, and suddenly a small dark clothed figure emerged, black hair wild and sharp scissors extending from his hands. With the frantic way he was moving, his face was but a blur to Dion, unrecognizable and unimportant.

     Then the figure slammed clumsily against him. He pulled away, briefly glancing up at the Michael Meyers mask and uttering a quick “Sorry” before continuing his way.

     The rest of the crowd returned to doing whatever had been interrupted, some questioning where such an accurate Edward Scissorhands costume was bought or why he was in such a hurry, or why he was so short. Dion, the pale, expressionless mask hiding his appalled and offended face, made not a sound. For a short-lived moment, he did not move, did not blink, did not utter a sound. Slowly, his body turned in the direction his accidental attacker darted. He disappeared under the heads of the partiers, but a path continued to be made for him and where he was going. Dion’s teeth grinded against each other, and an angry flame arose in his eyes.

     How dare Jojo McDodd intrude on his cousin’s birthday party.

     The furious demeanor he once faked became real, and he charged through the crowd, searching for Lou or Betty, anyone who can put an end to Jojo’s disturbance of the Lou Who household. Blinded by his rage to receive everyone’s reactions to him, he hardly noticed the people around him part hastily, fearful of angering whoever’s irate soul was under the guise of the notorious killer. As the crowds thinned, the search for his uncle was made effortless, as he soon found him conversing with another socialite.

     Dion had no patience to allow Lou to finish his conversation. “Uncle! Someone snuck into the party –”

     Lou jumped at Dion’s voice. He nervously held a finger to the man he was speaking with, who in return already looked irritated at Lou, and turned to Dion. “Dion, could you wait a few minutes? I’m in the middle of a very important talk right now.”

     “Honestly, Lou,” the socialite yawned, “you’re ski stories are about as interesting as week-old coleslaw.” With that, he left the dumbfounded candidate alone with his nephew.

     Lou turned back to Dion with a sheepish grin. “Well he was boring too anyway.”

     “Jojo’s here.”   

     The words came out of Dion’s mouth so fast, Lou didn’t understand him. “What?”

     “Jojo’s here,” Dion repeated in a firmer tone. “He just bumped into me and now he’s somewhere in the party.”

     Lou cocked a brow, as if he still didn’t understand. “Ned’s son is here?”

     “Yes!” he repeated a third time, voice raised in frustration at Lou’s slowness. “Somehow he snuck into the house and he probably brought his cousin with him!”

     Lou only blinked back. “So?”

     “What do you mean so?!” Dion exclaimed. “They’re probably here to crash the party or do something to Cindy!”

     “Or they could be here for fun,” Lou disagreed calmly. “They’re not monsters or anything. They’re teenage boys, and well-behaved from what I hear from Ned.”

     Dion stared at Lou in disbelief. “Are you serious? All they care about is getting into fights, and one of them carries a gun in his car! They’re anything but well-behaved!”

     “If I remember clearly,” Lou retorted, “aren’t you usually the one to challenge them in the first place?”

     “That doesn’t matter–”

     Lou held up a hand to stop him. “Just relax, Dion. It’s a party. All they want is to have fun.”

     Dion’s eyes were wide. Was he drunk? “B-but –”

     “Dion. Stop worrying about Jojo and find your friends.” With a chuckle he added “I’m sure you should be more worried about them than him.”

     Before Dion could protest again, Lou turned and went into the party to look for the socialite that abandoned him. Dion’s astounded face slowly morphed into a scowl. The fool. Of course he would deny Jojo’s true intentions; he dared not to ruin his friendship with Ned. He cared more about his relationship with his opponent than about the reputation of his own family. What a pawn. What a stooge. The buffoon couldn’t see a clear as day plan in action if it was under his nose.

     Without any distraction, Dion marched up the stairs to his room, in search of the switchblade he admired so dearly. He cared not if lives had to be slain; he was willing to kill a weaponless Jojo to save Cindy from what his horrid rival was planning to do to her. If no one else would save her, then he was her savior.

     No McDodd would ever corrupt his innocent cousin.
*****

     The images of those previous few minutes she spent with Jojo replayed in her head as Cindy detailed each event. The meeting, sharing each other’s stories, almost kissing before she first left, returning to be with him, and finally, the kiss. So many things happening in so little time. Her head was still spinning from the kiss, images of Jojo appearing every time she closed her eyes. Even so, she kept her face in her hands, lest she pass out from her confusion.

     Martha sat beside Cindy, speechless at hearing that she had gained feelings for a McDodd, even more so that she kissed him. Cindy felt Martha’s eyes on her, worsening her uneasiness, but she said nothing to stop it. She had no strength to.

     The two had never discussed Cindy’s feelings for other boys, not since Dane desired her hand in marriage. They were both aware of Dane’s chauvinistic ways, and both wished for the day the wedding would be called off. And yet, neither of them prepared for Cindy to fall for the son of her father’s opponent, let alone another boy.

     “And this all happened in fifteen minutes?” Martha asked softly.

     Cindy nodded. She wearily looked up at Martha. “What do I do?”

     Martha sighed. “Well, if it were any other situation – that is to say if you weren’t engaged – I’d say you should go back for him.”

     “What would you say in this situation?”

     Martha took a long pause, her face falling. “I don’t know, sweetie.”

     And she didn’t. She could think of nothing that was useful or comforting to Cindy. All she could do was gently rub her back in pity, wishing she knew how to solve Cindy’s teen dilemma. Cindy dropped her head into Martha’s lap, pulling her knees to her chest and hugging them.

     After a short pause, Cindy spoke in almost a whisper. “But didn’t this happen to you too?”

     “Hmm?”

     Cindy glanced up at her. “You know. With Uncle Grinch.”

     It was Martha’s turn to start blushing. Indeed she was once engaged to a man she didn’t love, and loved a man, or creature, as everyone but she and Cindy referred to him as, that no one else did. After much thought about accepting the then Mayor Gabriel May-Who’s proposal, she broke it to be with the Grinch, and they’ve been in love since.

     Soon she and the Grinch became close with the Lou Whos, especially with Cindy. After Lou Lou Who became a politician and the family’s money grew, Martha insisted she be their nurse in place of the Grinch being their butler (he had a slight problem with dishwashing and kept confusing the laundry chute for a trash compactor). From there, she became a sort of surrogate mother for Cindy, and was there to assist her with whatever problems she had. To realize Cindy was going through what she did with the Grinch, she was shocked to find she had no answer.

     “That was different, Cindy.”

     Cindy furrowed her brows in confusion. “How?”

     Martha was ashamed to have to convince Cindy why. “Because I had a choice. No one was controlling whether or not I should stay with Gabriel. Unfortunately, and I’m sad to say this, your engagement’s out of your control. It’s your parents’ decision, and currently they’re afraid to call it off.”

     Cindy’s eyes saddened, and she nuzzled her nose into Martha’s knee, afraid she would cry again if she didn’t look away. “It’s not fair, Martha.”

     Martha gently scratched Cindy’s head, running her fingers through her blond hair. “I know it’s not.”

     Cindy rubbed her eyes in distress. Martha was right. Her parents had control of who she would marry. They could deny Dane her hand any time they wanted, and once in a while it seemed that they liked the idea as much as she did. But they were afraid. She could be with Jojo if she wanted, but her parents were afraid to let her. They were afraid to upset Dane and his parents. They were afraid to get sued for lying and most likely lose their fortune, their house. They were afraid.

     Cindy didn’t want to think of that. Instead, she pulled her mind back to Jojo. A tiny smile appeared on her face as she imagined his brown eyes looking into hers, their hands locked in romantic bliss.

     “You should’ve seen him, Martha,” she continued quietly, butterflies in her stomach. “He was sweet, he was shy…he was just…he was real. He didn’t pretend to be something else like Dane does.” She giggled. “And he has this adorable smile, and his laugh…” She looked up at her. “You know what I mean, right?”

     Martha smiled at the love struck sparkle in Cindy’s eye, thinking back to her times with the Grinch. “Yes. I do.”

     After a moment, Cindy’s smile faded, and the sparkle died. “But after what I did, I don’t think I’ll even see him again.”

     Martha’s smile was next to fade. “Don’t say that.”

     “But it’s true,” Cindy insisted. “There’s hardly ever a boy that’s like him, and it’s a miracle he was at the party. But I still ran away from him, and now he’s gone”

     “Oh, honey, of course he’s not,” Martha assured, worrying she was giving her false hope. “I’m sure he’s looking for you right now.”

     Cindy didn’t respond. She stared at the rug under Martha’s feet, playing with the fabric of her white gown. Jojo might as well have moved to the moon. Of course he wouldn’t look for her. He had another life, other friends, and with a face like that he must have had girls clawing for him. He was only a mirage to her. A beautiful mirage that she would never see again. A teenage girl’s fantasy that would appear but once and then, like a moment in time, it is gone—

     “Cindy!”

     Cindy’s eyes widened. She pushed herself up from Martha’s lap and stared out her open bedroom door, listening for the voice again.

     “Cindy!”

     The voice was a bit distant, but Cindy’s muscles tightened. “Oh my God.”

     Martha took great notice in Cindy’s reaction. “That’s him?”

     Cindy returned her attention to Martha. “Hide me.”

     “What?”

     Cindy’s tone became desperate. “Hide me.”

     Martha stood up, confused by her sudden change of heart. “Cindy, you just said you’d do anything to see him again!”

     “That was before!” Cindy anxiously squeaked. “I can’t see him now!”

     “Cindy…”

     “Martha, please!” she begged, holding her hands in prayer.

     Cindy stared at Martha, praying she would agree to help her. After brief deliberation, Martha nodded. “All right, but you’ll have to face him sometime.”

     Cindy sighed in relief, her muscles relaxing before staring in perplexity as Martha went to her laundry basket and dumped out her dirty clothes. She picked up the pile of clothes and brought it to Cindy, dropping it at her feet before yanking off the bed sheets, leaving only the pillow. “…What are you doing?”

     The next thing Cindy knew, she was upside down in her laundry basket, wrapped in her sheets and covered by her dirty clothes.

     …Well she certainly gave Martha points for originality.

     At last, Jojo braved himself to go upstairs instead of looking for Cindy in the ballroom for the third time. A little nervous about being recognized by one of her family on his way up, specifically Dion, he rushed up the stairs as quickly as he could, looking over his shoulder on the way up. As a result, he tripped on the last step and fell hard on his face. Grunting, he rubbed his nose on his arm and looked down the stairs to see if anyone noticed. To his fortune, no one did, but Jojo was more thankful for not falling on his gloves.

     As Jojo went down the hallway, he found it strange that the rooms were either open all the way or ajar. None were closed. Odd as it was, it was still easier for him to look for Cindy. Down the hall he went through, there were four rooms. The first room looked like a bedroom for Mr. and Mrs. Lou Who, and the third seemed to be an office. The second was a bathroom, so there was really no importance of looking in there if it was open.

     The last room, from the angle Jojo viewed it, had a very feminine touch to it. The vague scent of lavender incense drifted out of it, pleasing Jojo’s sense of smell and slightly calming him down, but only slightly. As he came closer, he found it not to be empty. Carefully poking his head in, he recognized the red haired woman that came to get Cindy ready for her birthday song. At the moment she was placing clothes in a laundry basket, unaware he was watching.

     “E-excuse me?”

     A small gasp came from Martha. She stopped covering Cindy under her dirty clothes and turned to Jojo. “Oh!” She turned fully to him, a wide, pleasant smile on her face. “Hello, there! How can I help you?”

     Her immediate enthusiasm startled him a bit. “Uhh…you haven’t seen Cindy, have you?”

     A hesitant pang kept Martha from answering. She made a slow glance to the laundry basket, where Cindy stayed remarkably still and quiet. Keeping to her wishes, she turned back to Jojo, forcing herself to keep a smile. “No. I’m sorry. Maybe she’s downstairs?”

     Jojo’s disappointed reaction broke her heart, his downcast eyes and hurt frown making her feel guilty. “I already looked a couple times.” He raised his head and gave her a sad smile. “Thanks anyway.”

     Martha’s fake smile fell as he turned back down the hall. Jojo didn’t notice as he passed the third room, then the second, then the first. With a sigh, he decided there was nothing else for him to do at the party. However David thought the party would cheer him up, it only made him more depressed. Not feeling well enough to look for David, knowing he’d fail as he did looking for Cindy, he eyed the top of the stairs as he chose to go home and sulk in self-hatred.

     Squirming to untangle herself from the sheets and the clothes piled onto her, Cindy popped her head out of the laundry basket, staring out the door with Martha, feeling twice as guilty for making him feel rejected. She looked up at Martha, waiting for her to tell her something.

     “Cute boy,” she said. “His makeup could use a little more work, but other than that, he’s a cute boy.

     Cindy sighed, looking away and shaming herself for being afraid to talk to him again. As if hearing her thoughts, Martha turned to Cindy.

     “Go after him,” she whispered.

     Cindy looked up out of the open door, staring where Jojo previously stood. “What if he’s mad?”

     Martha shook her head. “I doubt he would be.”

     Cindy’s hands trembled. She looked to Martha, hoping she would give her advice before she went after him. Martha only gave her a supportive smile. With only that, Cindy regained her lost courage and climbed out of the laundry basket, jogging down the hall and to the stairs.

     There he was, back turned to her as he made his way down the final steps. His little heart broke with each step he made, his eyes slowly turning misty at the thought of losing the girl who stole his first kiss.

     “Jojo!”

     Jojo froze over the last step. His spine chilled as he pulled his foot back to the previous step, and he turned to the voice behind him, his heart mending together as he recognized the fair haired Aphrodite calling from the top of the stairs. Cindy smiled at his elated expression, and she started down the stairs. Before she could blink, Jojo was on his way up, at a much faster pace than hers. Afraid they’d wind up colliding instead of embracing, Cindy slowed to a stop as she reached the middle of the staircase, and Jojo slowed two steps from her, panting slightly and smiling. Cindy smiled back, her face glowing as she hid her hands behind her back.

     “Where’ve you been?” he asked with a chuckle.

     Cindy shrugged bashfully. “Girl talk. Stuff like that.”

     A shy laugh passed between them. Jojo’s smile slowly turned into a worried frown as he remembered what happened after their kiss. “Why did you leave?”

     Cindy’s smile died as well. If she didn’t want to keep running from him, she might as well tell him. “…I-if I tell you, will you listen and not assume something else?”

     An anxious knot tied Jojo’s stomach. “…Sure.”

     His apprehension for what she would tell him made it worse for her. She broke eye contact, staring instead at the stair steps as she told him, waiting for him to turn away and leave in an angry huff. “…I’m engaged.”

     The words hit him like bricks. He staggered back with wide, horrified eyes. “Y-you are?”

     She reached out and grabbed his arm. “Please, listen!”

     Jojo stayed where he was, but he feared what other confessions she would reveal.

     “I don’t…want to be engaged.”

     Jojo raised his brows at this. He stepped closer to her. “You don’t love your fiancé?”

     Cindy sighed in frustration. “I never even liked him.” She crossed her arms stubbornly. “But my parents insist I marry him anyway.”

     “…Why do they make you?”

     Cindy slowly allowed her arms to drop. “His dad has a really good lawyer. It’s a long story.”

     Jojo had nothing to say in response. He thought about David and Vicky’s arranged engagement, but it was nothing compared to hers. “That’s why you ran away?”

     “I didn’t want my parents or Dane to catch me,” she explained quietly.

     “His name’s Dane?”

     Cindy nodded, squeezing her eyelids shut before looking at him with heartfelt eyes. “Jojo, I really like you, but…I can’t be seen with you. Other than the whole rivalry thing, I’m supposed to be with someone else. If anyone other than my nurse catches us together then…”

     Jojo bowed his head. “I understand.”

     Cindy shook her head. “No you don’t.”

     Jojo started to turn away. “Yes I do.”

     “No you don’t!” In a panic, Cindy grabbed his scissor-bound hand, flinching as one of the blades roughly poked her wrist.

     Jojo’s face turned crimson as he turned to her, her face matching his. Cindy didn’t let his hand free.

     Cindy, heart pounding as her hands tightened around his, stepped closer to him. “Just because I’m engaged doesn’t mean I don’t want to take this further.” She nervously flipped her hair over her shoulder, still holding his hand with the other. “I know it’s only been a day, but I feel like there’s a connection between us, and I’ve never felt it with any other guy before. The wedding’s not supposed to be until Dane and I turn eighteen anyway and probably something will change by then, so maybe if we kinda try this out a bit then– ”     

     At that moment, much to Cindy and Jojo’s astonishment, Jojo followed his previous advice and, taking a deep breath, pressed his warm, ashen lips to hers, resting his free hand on her waist as he gently massaged her peppermint flavored lips. Cindy’s blue eyes grew to the size of softballs, her face bright as a stoplight at midnight. She felt his slow shaky breaths against her, and she stared at his cheek, his white fur made invisible by the red blush glowing off his skin. After what could’ve been an eternity, she slid her eyes closed, slipping her arms around his neck and kissing back, their hearts pounding into their throats.

     Below them, the crowd of adolescent party guests cheered wildly at the scene taking place in the staircase, hoots echoing, whistles ringing and hands clapping for the couple. Within the crowd, however, two weren’t cheering.  Fifteen feet apart, yet both sharing the same anger of the other, were the disgusted cousin Dion and ferocious fiancé Dane, outraged at the sight of Cindy so willing to be in Jojo’s arms and infuriated to think Jojo believed he had the right to lay his hands on her. And yet, Jojo and Cindy ignored it all.

     During that kiss, the world could’ve stopped turning. A riotous free-for-all gunfight could’ve taken place behind them. Even the moon could’ve started falling, and they wouldn’t have cared, for at that moment, everything in their world was perfect. No rivalries. No fiancés. Just Jojo McDodd and Cindy Lou Who, two teenagers who, unbeknownst to themselves, were slowly falling in love, and their shared kiss, this kiss between virgins, forever sealed their bond.   

     And nothing else had to be said.