FicWad

A cold breeze and a lone cricket's solo act were the only company Mae had as she silently read from her thousand page calculus book. The sparse of light coming from her desk lamp burnt down against the bold words defining the Second Derivative Test. A point of inflection, said the book, was a sign change on a curve. When positive slopes became negative or when negative slopes became positive. Mae tried to compare it with the past couple of years when the things that had seemed so picture-perfectly right suddenly became flaming regretful disasters. Rising to its peak like the end to an uphill jog and crashing down with much more speed, bursting into pieces so small it's a wonder how the tiny particles held together for so long.

Mae caught herself before she could doze further into her meaningless tangent of thoughts. She had to study, she told herself. She wasn't sure if it was the Senioritis curse of procrastination or simply her own boredom that blocked her mind from taking in the mathematical content. Her Calc grade was slowly slipping and she swore that she would use the night to re-familiarize herself with the material. And she didn't want to embarrass herself in front of Frank.

She suddenly felt silly for letting him get into her head in the most random of moments. She even laughed when she thought of all the girls who played stupid to get a guy's attention. Yet, here she was, studying for the sake of saving face in front of a guy who she didn't even deserve a second glance from much less a friendship.

Mae's body let out a small jump when her cell phone rang full blast. She saw Frank's name on the Caller ID and felt her hand automatically draw back. She allowed it to ring twice more before she let herself answer.

"Hey."

"Hey," Frank sounded as if he had just woken up. "What are you doing?"

"Studying," Mae closed her calculus book. "Or pathetically attempting to."

"I'm glad I saved the day," Frank said with a laugh.

Mae smiled at his childish giggle and laid herself on her bed to start a conversation about anything but math. She didn't even notice that she had knocked her calculus book down to the floor. But she was certain that, by the next day, she would forever know what a point of inflection was. A point of inflection was the survival of a fatal fall and the sound of a mellifluous voice lifting you up into the very edge of heaven.

~

The next day that marked the quiz for the Second Derivative Test proved not to be as disastrous for Mae as the quiz for the First Derivative Test. She actually finished her work and had enough confidence to turn in her paper early. Mr. Betterby gave her a B+ which she was proud to show Frank when he asked her how she did after class. Of course, he had gotten an A, but Mae was more than willing to share her score of a B+ compared to her last quiz's D-.

"Are you free today after school?" Frank asked her on the way out of Calc.

"As far as I know," Mae shrugged.

"Can you meet me at the Star Cafe an hour after school?" Frank asked.

"I can," Mae replied. "But for what reason?"

"I need to talk to you about something," Frank kept his eyes on the floor.

"Can't you tell me here?" Mae asked.

"No," Frank stressed. "I can't."

He hadn't made eye contact with Mae ever since he brought up the meeting and he continued to avoid her gaze as he walked to his next class, back slightly slouched and hands tucked firmly into his jacket's pockets. He almost resembled a turtle hiding itself in its shell. It wasn't hard for Mae to detect the discomfort in his gestures and tone. She had a feeling that he was going to bring up what happened in his car in the library parking lot, but she still prayed that it would be about something else.

Frank didn't bother to speak much to her or even look at her, for that matter, during the rest of the day. It made her feel invisible again. It wasn't until Frank's arrival and friendship that people, besides those who were in her classes, really knew she even existed. Most of the girls knew her as Frank's tutor who they assumed just did all of his homework for him. Mae didn't understand why the girls couldn't just believe that Frank was good looking and smart. For whatever reason, the girls clearly didn't see Mae as any sort of threat to their chances with Frank. He didn't even sit close enough to her in the cafeteria for her to hear anything he or Bob was saying. The two boys just sat in a farther corner of their own discussing some secret topic. Mae wondered if Frank was ridiculing her for the library incident.

"Hey," Lydia took a seat next to Mae. "What's up?"

"I don't think Frank wants to be seen with me anymore," Mae admitted.

"Why would you say that?" Lydia voiced her concern.

It wasn't easy for Mae to trust just anyone and she had only known Lydia for so long. For awhile, she kept silent as Lydia patiently waited for her elaboration. Mae thought of Lydia's brother, Ray, and how polite he had been when she met him. Ever since Gerard graduated and the break up with Mikey, Mae hadn't had a real friend to confide in. She had no reason to specifically distrust Lydia, but she had no reason to entrust her either. Finally, Mae decided to just take the risk since Frank might've already done all of the damage possible.

"He tried to get close to me at the library," Mae said lowly. "And I didn't let him."

"Why not?" Lydia asked.

"I was scared," Mae whispered. "I know it sounds stupid but--"

"It's not stupid," Lydia assured her. "I understand."

"He wants to meet me after school to talk," Mae added. "And I'm sure he's gonna bring it up. He's been avoiding me all day."

"Do you like him?" Lydia asked bluntly.

"Like that?" Mae almost said to herself. "I-I really don't know."

"I think you do," Lydia grinned. "You two have some kind of chemistry."

"Chemistry was always my worst subject," Mae sighed.

"And that's why you can't tell that you're head over heels for the boy," Lydia reasoned.

"Let's not get over-dramatic now," Mae rolled her eyes.

She looked up at Lydia and smiled. She inwardly thanked her for being a friend when she literally had no else. Maybe, Mae thought, it wasn't going to be such a lonely school year after all.

*

Gerard was driving home from the local comic book store when he had gotten the call from Mae asking for a ride to the Star Cafe. He didn't mind giving her rides whenever she needed it since he always felt like it was his duty to protect her. She didn't have any other siblings and he took her in as the younger sister he never had. He could understand why Mikey would resent her sometimes. Gerard often took Mae's side. Maybe it was because she was younger and she was like the baby sister who always had to be right. But Gerard knew that the main reason why he always took Mae's side was because he always saw something in her that reminded him of himself.

"And who are you going to see at the Star Cafe?" Gerard questioned as he parked in Mae's driveway.

"Frank," Mae said with a blush as she entered the car.

"Oh . . . Frank, huh?" Gerard teased. "Homework, again?"

"No, he wanted to meet me about something," Mae tried to feign apathy.

"And what might that something be?" Gerard arched an eyebrow.

"If I knew that, then I wouldn't be meeting him somewhere in the first place, now would I?" Mae retorted.

"Well, excuse me," Gerard emphasized. "He's probably going to ask you out."

"Why would he after you threatened his life last time?" Mae said accusingly.

"Because you're worth risking his life," Gerard said dramatically with a smirk.

"Are you sure you're going to art school?" Mae laughed. "Or did you end up taking acting classes?"

"And acting isn't an art?” Gerard replied as he turned into the Star Cafe's parking lot.

"If it is, I would suggest you take more lessons," Mae joked.

"Brat," Gerard smiled. "Just don't forget to remind him of me when you say yes."

Mae shook her head as she opened her car door to get out. She thanked Gerard for the ride and promised to call him when she needed him to pick her up.

The Star Cafe was a small family-owned business. The structure and choice of food weren't any better than the competing restaurants, but what attracted a majority of their customers was the daily entertainment provided on its small stage. There were performers of many kinds. Some of which were, but were not limited to, musicians, poets, and actors. One of the weekly performing bands even got discovered in the cafe and were signed immediately onto a decent label. Mae entered in the middle of a set with a boy singing about heartache with his acoustic guitar. She scanned the tables and found Frank sitting in a booth by himself.

"Hey," Frank greeted her as she approached him. "I ordered us some drinks if you don't mind."

"Thank you," Mae sat herself across from him. "I'll pay you back."

"No. It's on me," Frank winked. "I hope you like chocolate milkshakes."

"Love them," Mae smiled. "So what was it that you wanted to tell me?"

Before Frank could answer, a waitress served them their drinks. Mae noticed Frank immediately take a sip of his shake as to stall his reply. She took small sips herself, but kept her eyes on his waiting for a response.

"These are really good," Frank said with a mouth filled halfway with chocolate.

"You got some on your chin," Mae giggled, handing him a napkin.

"Oops," Frank wiped the liquid off of his skin. "Thanks."

"No problem," Mae allowed a pause before asking again. "So what did you want to tell me?"

"His guitar is out of tune," Frank blurted out as he motioned toward the boy on the stage. "Like horribly out of tune."

"Why don't you go up there?" Mae hinted. "You are an experienced musician after all."

"Well," Frank blushed. "I'm not that experienced. I never got lessons or anything."

"You don't need lessons to be experienced," Mae reasoned.

"Yeah, I guess not," Frank watched as a table of girls whispered about how talented and cute the boy on stage was.

"Besides, I wanna hear you play one day," Mae suggested.

"Yeah, one day," Frank said lowly.

"Frank?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you gonna tell me what you need to tell me or not?"

Frank seemed surprise by her sudden straightforward demeanor. He was hoping to dance around the topic for as long as possible, but she had him trapped into a dead end.

"Yeah," Frank nodded. "About the library."

"I had a feeling you were gonna bring that up," Mae said softly, she lowered her eyes toward the table's surface.

"I'm sorry I–," Frank cut himself off.

"But you didn't mean it, right?" Mae let out a harsh laugh.

"Well, I–," Frank didn't know where to begin.

"It's okay," Mae assured him. "We can just forget about it."

"And act like it never happened?"

"Yeah."

"But Mae," Frank waited for her to lift her eyes. "What if I did mean it?"

"Then there must be some condition," Mae replied sharply.

"What?!" Frank exclaimed. "Of course, there's no condition. Why would you say that?"

"Because."

"Because why?!"

"Because you're you and I'm me."

Frank tried to read her face for some kind of understanding, but he was coming up empty.

"And what's wrong with that?" Frank finally asked.

"Everything," Mae emphasized. "Frank, I just got out of a pretty fucked up relationship and I don't think I can ever trust myself to feel that way for anyone again."

"Mae," Frank caught both of her hands in his own.

"Let go," Mae fought tears that threatened to fall.

"Do you really want me to?" Frank questioned.

"I don't even know you that well," Mae reasoned.

"And how long did you know your last boyfriend?" Frank asked.

"Almost my whole life," Mae sighed. "But that didn't stop him from hurting me."

"You think you can try giving the kindness of a stranger a chance?" Frank managed a small smile.

Mae looked at her hands entrapped in his own and then up into his mesmerizing eyes. They were wide with curiosity and she almost thought she could hear them whispering for her answer. They almost looked sad.

"I don't know, Frank," Mae pulled her hands away from his grip. "I don't know, yet."

If the circumstances were different, Mae would've jumped at the chance to be with Frank. She wouldn't have hesitated to answer. Frank was intelligent, cute, and a musician. Mae was always a sucker for the musically inclined, but was even more of a sucker for the smart guys. Ever since elementary school, Mae had crushes on the smartest boys in class. And those smart boys always fell for the pretty girls. Sadly, a category Mae never considered herself to belong to. Mae offered a friendly smile towards Frank and told him that she should go.

"Let me give you a ride home," Frank offered. "I dragged you all the way over here. It's only right for me to take you back."

"Gerard's picking me up," Mae declined.

"Please?" Frank insisted. "I just got my car fixed and it's in the best condition it's ever gonna get this week."

"Alright," Mae agreed.

Frank wasn't lying when he said his car was in its best condition. He still had to battle with the brakes, but he didn't have to floor them. No fumes came out as he drove, but there was still no air conditioning. They kept quiet during the ride and tried to avoid every possible awkward occasion. When Frank parked on the curve of her driveway, Mae offered a thankful smile and let herself out. She waited for Frank to either say goodbye or drive away, but he did neither. She started to walk off into her home.

"Mae," Frank finally said, sticking his head out of the driver's seat window. "I really like you. A lot."

"Why?" Mae asked in all sincere wonder.

"Because you're not like anyone I've ever met," Frank replied.

"I could say the same for you," Mae smiled as she walked toward him, kneeling down and leaning her hands against his car door.

They were face-to-face, afraid of keeping eye contact for too long but more afraid of breaking it too abruptly. Frank tucked her loose piece of hair behind her ear, grazing her cheek in the process. Mae could still remember how his chest felt against her cheek. How his arm secured her body so firmly and carefully at the same time. It didn't matter if the winds got colder or stronger because nothing mattered but the burning feeling of his touch. And his eyes made her lose track of time to the point where she couldn't even remember what day it was or even how long she had been staring at them. They made her numb, too. She couldn't feel it when a light sprinkle of rain drops fell on her forehead. She couldn't sense the cool metal of the car she was leaning against. And she hardly felt the crash of his lips on her's. Her eyes shut themselves, but there was a tunnel of apple green in front of her. Nothing mattered at that moment but the feeling of losing control.