Alexander McLean stood proud as he added yet another crate to the top of the old, rickety picnic table. Stepping back to admire his work, he furiously rubbed his grimy hands on his already torn jeans. True enough, this had been the third pair of new jeans that his mother had just bought for the upcoming school year and he had destroyed them in a matter of hours, but she would have to understand. This was for the greater good of mankind, because he could have his pick of any little girl on that block. Specifically, he aimed for Vanessa Marie, the bubbly, redhead who always wore her curls in cute little pigtails and turned all the boys down for kisses. But she wouldn’t be turning him down today, he thought proudly, knowing this was the greatest stunt that he would ever pull. In fact, he knew this would be the greatest stunt ever pulled in the history of Florida. Of course, he was only six years old, but that made no difference. He couldn’t account for anyone else having such cunning brilliance to tempt such a dangerous fate in the name of a kiss.
“You’re going to get in trouble!” Vanessa Marie matter-of-factly announced as she stood among a horde of little girls who had stopped skipping rope when they noticed Alexander’s preparations. They had managed to push through the gander of little boys, anxious to see what he was planning. But, Vanessa Marie was not ready for what she saw. Her emerald doe-eyes naturally widened in horrified wonder as he climbed onto his picnic table. She immediately stabbed a finger in the air at all the crates he had piled on top of the picnic table. “Big trouble, Alexander!”
“Am not!” Alexander argued with a huff, reaching down to grasp his mother’s favorite bath towel. It was a creamy white embroidered with beautiful lavender flowers and elegant butterflies. But, Alexander turned the towel so that the flowers would face his back as he tucked it into the collar of his stained Transformers t-shirt. There was no need to make him look like a complete sissy. And, sure, he was mixing his favorite heroes, but he would need all the power he could get. Superman could only do so much when it came to getting girls.
“What are you doing?!” Vanessa Marie demanded.
“Getting a kiss!” Alexander boasted, taking a giant leap of the crates, knowing he would fly.
My fate was a broken arm
And my reward a one big kiss
When [Mama] asked me why I did it
I made [her] laugh out loud when I told [her]
’Cause the chicks dig it
“Are you stupid?”
“Why are you breaking my heart?” Alex groaned pitifully, stomping his foot down on the scratched and scuffed skateboard to stabilize it before running a hand against his face. But through his scratched and scarred hands, he continued to watch the sixteen year old female who had caught his eye that week. Piper was a sarcastic ball of fire that could make any other teenage girl break into tears just with a single look. She wore ripped and tattered jeans matched with a black tank top knotted just above her belly button. Various bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and charms were applied to her extremities for an added affect and jingle when she spit brimstone and fire at the other boys. Her platinum blonde locks secured into a high ponytail and colored with various Crayola markers because she was overly bored during classes. She was hot. In fact, Alex thought she was on fire. He may have only been thirteen and yet to figure out the mystery behind the feminine wiles, but he was old enough to know he wanted her. Bad.
“I’m trying to keep you from breaking your face, Alex,” Piper said, slouching back against the nearby chain link fence outlining the empty parking lot. She entertained a bemused smirk on her face as she motioned tiredly toward the course of dangers Alex had constructed yet again.
“You don’t think I can do it?” Alex defended, puffing out his scrawny chest in order to assert dominance, though Piper merely laughed. But that soft laugh only seemed to charge him full of determination. After all, he had been practicing on his skateboard for at least two hours with the smaller ramps. In fact, they had been dinky and not worth the effort he had put forth anyway. He could outshine those simple stunts. After all, he was an expert. What possibly made her think that he couldn’t make the giant ramp of solid wood and crates added beneath for height?
“No, I know you can’t do it.”
“Bull--”
“You’re an idiot if you think you can do this.”
“And if I do?”
Piper arched her light brows with curiosity. “What?”
“If I make it, what do I get?”
“To keep your own teeth?”
“Hah,” Alex scoffed, skating toward the start of his ramp.
“Alex…” Piper trailed.
“Yeah?”
She smiled. “You’re crazy.”
And that’s all it really took. With his confidence restored, he pushed off from the ground, building up a surge of velocity in order to make the jump. Only, he never accounted for the brick wall being so close to his ramp, nor how it would feel when he hit it face first.
But, hey, at least Piper had laughed.
Scars heal... Glory fades
And all we're left with are the memories made, oh yeah
Pain hurts, but only for a minute
Yeah, life is short so go on and live it
’Cause the chicks dig it
“Now I need a piece of that!” AJ whistled loudly, stepping on the gas to rev the engine of his mother’s dented pinto. Sure, it wasn’t exactly a babe-magnet, but at least he had his license finally. That glossy ID was the first step toward the road of adulthood at the age of sixteen. It only took three tries at the driving course and finally avoiding the same cardboard dog that had failed him every time. But, that wasn’t the point. In fact, the target had changed as he cruised along the beaches of Orlando. Pretty girls became the object, especially the one sauntering along in a bright pink bikini and black sarong wrap. She was tall and slender, her dark blonde curls swept behind her shoulders with the salt sea breeze. Her lightly tanned skin held a dewy glow from the heat of the sun, only making AJ grin wider. Easing his car closer to the beach line, he hurriedly honked the horn. “Hey! What’s your name?!”
“What’s yours?” she immediately countered, brushing the curls away that had fallen into her face.
“AJ!” he laughed, concentrating on her.
“You better watch the road,” she warned with a faint giggle.
“That’s like telling an angel to turn away from Heaven! What’s your name?”
She walked closer toward the car, smiling coyly. “Why do you need to know so badly?”
“So I can write your name in my heart.”
“Aren’t you smooth.”
“The smoothest.”
“My name’s Abby.”
“Do angels have phone numbers?”
“You’re cute…”
“Down right adorable, so, can I get your number?”
“Turn the car around and I’ll consider it.”
AJ cackled excitedly, immediately whipping the car in a circle. Only, he hadn’t really been paying attention to the road nor the car coming in the opposite direction. The horn of the opposite car immediately screamed with annoyance. Gasping sharply, he attempted to veer away, swerving sharply against a somewhat large crater. He heard the blow of his front tire as he bounced over the wooden and rope fence lining the beach. Bumping along the gritty sand, he hit hard into a large dune of sand. The car bucked hard with the sharp jolt, crumpling the hood as AJ bounced against the steering wheel. Billows of smoke immediately projected from the old engine as AJ fumbled to pop the door open, falling onto the hot sand with shock.
“Oh my gosh! Are you okay?!” she breathed in horror, rushing up to where he had crawled out of the car, coughing. She knelt down onto the sandy beach, brushing her hands repeated against his face.
“I am now…” AJ coughed, grinning triumphantly.
And when the judge asked me why I did it
He threw the book at me when I told him
’Cause the chicks dig it
“What happened this time?”
Alex wryly smirked as he glanced up from the drying plaster that had been wrapped around his left leg from the very beginnings of his toes up to just below his knee, admiring the beauty of his long-term girlfriend, Violet. He had missed her terribly for the past couple of weeks, because both had been busy with their budding careers. She was currently working on a new book in the depths of her private study and he was doing some promotional grunt work for his uprising band. Of course, his mind had been elsewhere when this little accident had occurred. After all, how could his mind ever stay focused when Violet was such an intricate part of his life? She was a gorgeous creature, no matter what her state. Like now, with her tired, hazel eyes peering skeptically down at him sitting so sheepishly on the hospital bed. Her auburn locks tied into a loose ponytail, many pieces framing her soft, delicate face. She wore a pair of loose jeans with a faded t-shirt, in fact, one of his faded t-shirts. A typical, amused smile hinting toward the corners of her rosebud lips. She knew him better than anyone.
“Alex?” Violet stirred his thoughts, reaching to run her fingers through his dark, wild locks. She did her best to hide her smile as he looked up at her, bringing her fingers to his lips to give each a tender kiss. He looked quite sheepish sitting on the hospital bed, his bony shoulders hung forward with obvious guilt as he continued to watch her. His eyes always had a way of burning deep into her soul, leaving remnants of his undying affections for her. But, for once, she tried to look past his charming nature, knowing he was in trouble with Kevin as well as the rest of the band for his foolishness.
“Baby! It was awful!” Alex suddenly lamented out of no where, deciding to milk the opportunity for all that it was worth. After all, he never thought that this was what would get her back into his arms faster than anticipated. He folded her hands into his, pulling her close to the hospital bed. She seemed to comply with his wishes, sitting just at the edge as their eyes matched. “We were just getting out of a promotion and Nick was complaining about how tired he was and how rough it was. I said that he should consider himself lucky. Not many people get the opportunity to live out their life’s dreams at such a young age. I mean, we’re the luckiest men alive. Then! Suddenly! Here comes this lady screaming hysterically. I look ahead and see her baby buggy careening in the parking lot! And this van is shooting straight toward the baby! Me, being the man that I am, pushed Nick out of the way and raced to get the baby before it could go into the busy streets. And, thankfully, I caught her! And just as I was picking her up to soothe her. She was such a beautiful baby. Cooing thankfully at me. Then this damn van backs up, demolishes the baby buggy, and hits my foot. It was tragic! I didn’t care about my foot. I was just thankful to save the baby.”
“Funny, Howie just mentioned you weren’t paying attention to what was happening and the van backed up… Onto your foot…”
“No mention about the careening baby buggy?”
“None whatsoever.”
“Damnit…”
“Alexander James--”
“I’m in terrible pain, Baby,” he suddenly whined, grabbing the cast for added affect, attempting to look quite pitiful as a miserable last attempt at success. “I need you to make me feel better.”
“You never give up, do you?” Violet finally laughed.
“Never,” Alex grinned wickedly, pulling her in for the wild kiss he knew he deserved.
Scars heal... Glory fades
And all we're left with are the memories made
Pain hurts, but only for a minute
Yeah, life is short so go on and live it
It don't matter if you lose or if you win it
Hey, the chicks dig it
