You've got Problems?

(No one has to say it. This has been way to long. But summer's here, so I should be able to get things done faster. Anyway, enjoy everyone.)

“Mr. Myer.”

Myer jutted his head up. His head raced with fear as he realized that he had been sleeping in class. His history teacher looked at him from behind his desk. “Since you seemed to be so attentive to today’s lesson, perhaps you would like to summarize everything I just said.”

Myer stumbled for an answer, but he couldn’t come up with one. He knew, and the teacher knew as well, that he had been sleeping through the class. After a few failed attempts, the teacher lost his patience.

“Very well then Mr. Myer. Since the classroom environment seems to be too much for your mind to handle, perhaps you will find yourself better able to grasp the material in the hall.”

That was an extremely nice way of him telling Myer to get the hell out. Considering everything that could have happened, he was getting off easy. Rubbing his eyes, Myer stumbled out of the classroom, feeling the pressure of the entire class’ eyes on him. The hallway was extremely desolate for a highschool, and would remain that way until class let out. Myer grumbled as he braced his back against the wall and slide down to the floor.

“And Mr. Myer.” Myer looked up at his teacher. “I expect you to have not only the assignments from this chapter done by Friday, but the next one as well.”

He slammed the door shut with a loud bang. Myer sighed wearily. Just how he was going to get two chapter’s worth of material done in just two days was beyond him. He couldn’t have believed that anything bad could have happened by seeing Lilly, but that was childish wishful thinking. He should have realized that staying out with Lilly all night was going to have consequences, and now he was paying for that lack of foresight.

He spent several minutes fuming over the treatment he had been given, but his thoughts gradually turned from anger to daydreams of Lilly. The taste of her luscious lips tickled the back of his mind, causing his mouth to water. Maybe he was really becoming crazy, but the more time he spent with Lilly, the harder it became for him to stay away from her. Sitting out in the hallway by himself, Myer felt his whole body tingling at the thought of just holding her in his arms again. But as he thought more of her, he began to think of what they had talked about last night. Myer shut his eyes and sighed heavily.

He wasn’t willing to show it, but he loved his father. Still, he was terrified of how his dad would react when he saw Lilly. Myer didn’t want to face his father down over his seeing Lilly, but at the same time he didn’t want Lilly to think that he was trying to hide her away from his father. The more Myer thought about the situation that was rapidly forming around him, the more he felt like he was being backed into a corner where there was no escape. It was truly feeling like a catch twenty-two situation for him.

Fortunately for him, the bell for next class rang. Collecting up his backpack, Myer took quick trip to his locker. As he traded out the books in the locker for the ones in his pack, he felt a tingle run down his spine. Looking over his shoulder, he saw that it was Mary.

“What do you want?” he asked.

“I just wanted to know if you’re alright?” Mary said while she stared down at him.

Myer placed put the last book in the locker and faced her. “Since when did you care about me?”

Mary rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. “Look Myer, I know that we don’t really associate anymore. But we were still childhood friends, and that means that I still worry about you. The last couple of weeks, you’ve been acting weird. You look like you’re walking on clouds, and you didn’t show up for school the last two days. I just want to know what’s going on.”

Myer felt an urge to tell her about Lilly, but a sudden fear of her exposure to the world frightened him. He shut his mouth and looked away. The act didn’t do him any good.

“It’s a girl, isn’t it?” Mary asked. Myer turned his head from her and walked away. She was on his tail in an instant. “I knew it, it is a girl. So tell me Myer, who is she?”

Myer whirled around on his heels and faced Mary. “Why in the hell are you so concerned about me all of a sudden? A month ago you stood by while you’re boyfriend threatened to break my legs, now you want to delve into the inner privacies of my life?”

Mary looked shocked by his sudden viciousness. The shock on her face quickly turned to restrained anger. “Alright then,” she said through gritted teeth, “forget I said anything. I was just trying to be your friend, because you really don’t have any. Have a nice life.”

She stormed away, leaving Myer feeling completely indifferent from the encounter. He went about the rest of the day without paying much attention to anything. His head felt weird until just about his last class, and he didn’t know why. But he strongly expected that it was from his after dark activities. Yet he still felt no regret about it. The price he was paying for being truly happy for the first time in years was well worth it. As he walked through the main hall out to his car, Myer noticed a few colorful flyers posted on the walls. Curious, he inspected one closer, and saw that the school was going to hold a dance next Friday night.

A plan formed inside Myer’s head as he walked out to his car. The very thought of bringing Lilly to a place with so many people terrified him. He could only try to begin to imagine how Lilly would feel. But Myer wanted to prove to Lilly that he wasn’t in the least bit ashamed of being with her, and what better way than asking her out to a dance. The hardest part of this would be on whether or not Lilly would agree to go. It was a certainty that she would be absolutely petrified at the idea of being exposed to an entire crowd of people her age. And there was always her fear of total rejection being realized. Ultimately, it was going to fall on Lilly’s shoulders as to whether or not she would chance such an event. A part of Myer desperately hoped that she would agree to it. The rest of him hoped that he wasn’t making a terrible mistake.

It was this worry that consumed Myer’s thought for the rest of the school day. So much so that he only remembered that his father had caught him sneaking into the house just as he was pulling into the driveway. Then the fear crept back into him. Walking into his house didn’t feel a lot different from walking out to the gallows. Knowing that his dad wouldn’t be home for a least an hour, Myer flopped down on the living room couch and tried in vain to get some of his homework done. It only took a few frustrated minutes for him to realize that there was no way he was going to get anything done until he had spilled out everything to his dad. Waiting for him to get back was like the condemned having a noose around their neck as the charges against them were read out. Somehow, and he had no idea how, he managed to not have a heart attack when he heard the heavy falls of his father’s boots climbing up the porch steps.

When the door swung open, Myer looked over his shoulder and gulped. His father didn’t look so happy. And the look certainly didn’t improve when he cast his eyes on him. The way those powerful blue irises bore into him, Myer just wanted dive under the couch and disappear.

“I’ve had a really shitty day.” His dad said as he dragged himself inside. He tossed his cloths and work gear on the floor before slumping wearily into his chair. Then he looked at him. “So let’s make this really simple. Don’t try to lie to me, cause I’ll know if you do. And I’ll make you wish you had never slipped out that window.”

“Are you in a gang?”

Myer shook his head. “No dad. I’m not in a gang.”

His father looked at him with a combination of sternness and suspicion, but finally nodded in approval. “Alright. Are you doing drugs?”

Myer took a deep breath. “No, not drugs either.”

“Ok.” His dad shrugged his shoulders. “You’re not in a gang. You’re not doing drugs. Then what the hell were you doing crawling through the window last night after twelve?”

There. It was asked. There was no turning back now. Myer braced himself for the coming storm. “I was out….”

“Yes?” his dad probed.

“With this girl…”

“You were out with a girl?” The shock in both his father’s face and his words caught Myer off guard. “Who?”

“Well, she lives next door.”

“The new neighbors? They have a daughter?” The corners of his lips began to curve into a smile, but he quickly suppressed it. His fatherly stature returned in an instant. “What were you doing running around in the middle of the night with a girl?”

Myer felt as if he had been struck by a needle. There were no words concerning the real question his father was asking, but he knew perfectly well what was going on inside his head. That his father would even think something like that formed a fuming resentment inside him.

“We were just spending time together. That’s it.”

“And how long has this been going on?”

“Just over a month.”

“And you were going to tell me when?”

Myer folded his arms over his chest. “Today in fact.”

His dad nodded his head slightly, but didn’t take his eyes off of him. “You’re grounded.” He said flatly. “No television. No computer.”

“How long?”

“Until I say so.” He said, rising from his chair. As he began to walk out of the room, Myer took a deep breath.

“Dad.”

He looked over his shoulder at him.

“She wants to come over tonight, so she can meet you.”

His father gave a sly smirk. “Ok. I can’t wait to meet her.”

Myer licked his lips. “And dad. Promise me you won’t freak out when you see her.”

“Why would I? Is there something that I should know about?”

“Just promise me. Please.”

His dad shrugged his shoulders. “Alright. I promise I’ll try.” He walked out chuckling loudly. But Myer wasn’t laughing. To believe that his dad wouldn’t do a double take when he saw Lilly was the same as believing that nothing bad ever happens in life. Myer waited in the living room as his dad went through his room, keeping true to his promise of punishment. It was only after the television and computer had been lugged out that he bothered to try and go upstairs. Once safely behind his locked door, Myer peered through the window at Lilly’s house. He really wished that she had a room with a window right across from him, but that just wasn’t the way things worked out.

He wondered what she was doing right now. Checking the clock by the bedside, Myer laid down on his bed and thought sweet images of her. He thought a lot about the taste of her lips, but also of the times he held her in his arms. Those moments were only second to kissing her. It was more than just a physical thing, it also felt like a merging of spirits. That kind of thinking might have seemed corny to him a few weeks ago, but not now. Now, he didn’t care about such trivial things.

The images turned to dreams. Dreams of him leading her through a windy meadow on a sunlight day, and seeing that mystical shine in her eyes light up at the world she had never known. The way she looked at him for doing this for her was so intoxicating that Myer could have known of nothing else in that single moment. Then he pulled her close to him and held her as they both basked in the light. To hear her joyful sobs at his gift was the sweetest melody that he had ever heard.

Heavy pounding of fists against his door snapped his eyes open. “Myer! What the hell are you doing? When is this girl supposed to be coming over?”

Myer glanced over at his clock, and nearly leapt clear of his bed with a single jump. It was nearly seven. He had somehow slipped into a deep sleep for the past couple of hours. His head felt as if someone were ripping it apart. He weakly tried to walk across the room, but fell flat on his face after he shifted his weight to only one of his feet. The fall wasn’t hard; he just had to force himself to get back up all over again. Myer stumbled out into the hallway where his father stood waiting.

“You plan on introducing me to her looking like a bum?” he asked.

Myer opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off abruptly. “Doesn’t matter. Get cleaned up. I’ll have dinner ready in a few minutes.”

Myer almost shuddered at the thought. His father’s cooking alone was enough to make him scared that Lilly would run away. All the same, he still got himself cleaned up and ready to eat. He did feel a little stupid, because both he and Lilly hadn’t specified an exact time for her to show up. It was just as he was thinking of this that there was a knock on the front door, which caused a wave of concern to wash over him. He rushed out of the bathroom, and saw his dad heading towards the door.

He cursed under his breath and raced down the steps to beat him. Despite his speed, his dad reached the door first. Right as Myer hit the bottom step, his dad swung the door open. Myer knew that his dad’s jaw would most likely drop at the sight of Lilly. He just didn’t expect his own to follow.

Her attire was unlike anything he had ever seen her wear before. Where she usually had on either ragged jeans or sports pants, she now wore a dark blue skirt that flowed down to her knees. The expected black shirt was gone also, replaced by a light blue long sleeved shirt. Lilly’s normally loose hair was pulled back into a bun. This was a completely different look for her. The whole outfit gave her a more innocent appearance, and indeed it certainly made her far more attractive in Myer’s eyes.

“Hello there.” She said in one of the sweetest voices he had ever heard her use. “You must be Myer’s dad. He’s told me a lot about you.”

His dad’s response, in a word, bombed. He couldn’t form a reasonably coherent response as he took a few steps back. Lilly happily stepped inside and walked over to Myer.

“Hi Myer.” She said, giving him a hug. Myer was so overwhelmed by everything that he barely returned the gesture. Fortunately, Lilly didn’t seem to mind. She turned back to his dad.

“I don’t mean to be rude sir, but Myer never told me your name.”

“Call me Mr. Torts.” His dad said in a hollow voice as he continued to stare at her.

Lilly shut her lips and suppressed a giggle. It only took her a couple of moments to regain her composure. She finally seemed to notice they way his dad was looking at her. She sighed heavily. “I suppose we should sit down. I know there are a lot of questions that are probably on your mind.”

And so began what was perhaps the longest hour at the dinner table that Myer could ever remember. Lilly calmly and politely answered every single one of his father’s questions, of which he had a lot. She explained in great detail of her being an Albino, having a deadly allergy to the sun, and suffering from a rare case of anemia. She also explained to him where she had come from and what life was like being in her unique position. All in all, Myer shared no more than ten words within the conversation. At the end of the words and the meal, Myer felt as if the final outcome was only so so. His dad hadn’t really warmed up to Lilly, but at the same time he didn’t show any outward resentment against her. That at least was a good sign.

She was polite enough to help with the dishes, which Myer think earned her a few extra points with his dad. Despite all of this, he could still see the look that his father gave her, and hated every tiny part of it.

After the dishes were done, they moved into the living room. Myer’s dad sat in his chair, while him and Lilly sat on the couch. They both took extra care to not sit right next to each other, least they raise his dad’s suspicions.

“So,” his dad said as he took a quick sip of water, “how exactly did you two meet?”

Myer looked at Lilly just as she was looking at him. “Well,” Lilly said, looking back at his dad, “it all happened like this…”

And thus began an even longer story, one that completely humiliated Myer. He was especially glad that Lilly chose not to reveal the matter of their kisses or semi-intimate moments with each other to his dad. But then again, he was sure she would have to be real stupid to do something like that. When Lilly had finished telling all the events that she and Myer had shared, his dad glanced at the wall clock.

“Well, it’s been nice to have you over Lilly.” He said, rising from his chair. “But I have things to do around the house and I need to turn in early tonight.”

He started to leave, but stopped himself right at the bottom of the stairs. “Oh, and one more thing. Don’t you to stay out late like you did last night. Myer’s in trouble as it is, and I’m sure your folks don’t want to worry about you.” With that said, he went up the stairs, leaving them alone.

Lilly turned to him and gave a weak smile. “How do you think it went?”

Myer thought hard on the whole night. “Considering what it could have been, I guess it wasn’t that bad.”

“But do you think he likes me?”

“I don’t know.” Myer replied weakly. “He certainly wasn’t expecting you to look the way you do. I think he just needs some time to get adjusted to it.”

“I hope so.” She said as she got up.

Myer gave her a puzzled look. “Where are you going?”

Lilly shook her head. “I’m home schooled, remember. My parents were pretty hard on me last night. They said that I can’t go out or anything until I get caught up.”

“Can I at least walk you home?”

She batted her grey eyes affectionately at him. “My knight in shining armor, of course.”

Myer could help but smile at her. He took her hand and lead her out of the house. As they descended the stairs, Lilly looked back inside.

"I think I really gave your dad quite a shock when he first saw me."

Myer cleared his throat. "I'm sorry. I should have told him everything. He didn't know what to expect."

“Tell me about it, I thought his jaw was going to drop to the floor. Of course, I get that a lot. I just wasn’t expecting you to do it too.”

“It’s the cloths.” Myer said, giving his eyes a once over on her dress.

Lilly rolled her eyes. “Please don’t remind me. My mom insisted that I ‘dress appropriately’.” She fluffed the skirt a couple of times. “This just isn’t me.”

“But I like it.” Myer said, grinning at her. “It looks good on you. You seem so sweet and innocent.”

“Really?” Lilly said in a sly voice. She pulled herself in front of Myer and pressed against him. “What would you know about fashion?”

“Enough to know that I like what I’m looking at.”

Lilly smirked. “You’re cheesy, but sweet.”

Myer tried to slip in a kiss, but Lilly pulled back. “What, don’t like my lips?” he teased.

Lilly raised her eyebrows. “Haven’t you ever heard the saying, ‘good things come to those who wait’?”

Myer flashed his teeth at Lilly. With one small jerk, he pulled her back to him and wrapped his arms around her. “I’ve waited all day just to see you.”

“You’re hopeless.” She whispered, barely finishing the last syllable as she stared into his eyes. She certainly didn’t put up any kind of fight when he drew her in and gently pressed his lips against hers. The taste of her lips was so delicious that it was intoxicating. It was almost like a drug, one that he could push out of his mind. No matter how much he tried to not think about it, the memory was always prevalent in his mind. There was just no way that he would ever be able to escape any of Lilly’s enthralling charms, nor would he ever want to.

But nothing could be forever, and so it was with the greatest reluctance that she broke their connection. “I really have to go Myer.” She said in a low voice. “I promised my folks that I wouldn’t be gone longer than three hours. The only reason I’m even here is because my mother convinced my dad to let me.”

“Why wouldn’t he want you to go?” Myer asked.

Lilly bit the tip of her lip and glanced at her house. Myer took a step towards her. “Lilly, why didn’t your dad want to come over tonight? You can tell me.”

“He thinks you’re a bad influence on me.” Lilly folded her arms and walked to the edge of her lawn. “He doesn’t say it, but I can see it in his eyes. He doesn’t want to you seeing me at all.”

Myer gritted his teeth and clenched his fists when he heard this. What right did her father have saying that he was no good? He had only hurt Lilly once, and it had only been because he hadn’t known anything and was scared. And as long as he continued to breath, Myer would do everything in his power to never hurt her again, or let anyone else. Lilly almost seemed to sense his anger, because she turned back to him with that calming look in her eyes. “Don’t be mad Myer. He just doesn’t know how to handle this. There’s never been a guy other than him whose……seen me for who I am, not what I look like. Besides…”

She walked over and softly brushed her fingers through his hair. “It’s not his choice, it’s mine.”

The comforting warmth in his chest was growing to untold proportions with her words and touch. Myer had no way to describe it. The only thing he knew was that he never wanted this feeling to leave him.

“I’m not going to be able to see you for a while Myer. My dad will explode if I do, and my mom really wants me to catch up on my studies.”

“I think I can wait.” Myer said weakly. Being away from her seemed like not being able to breath.

“Thanks.” She kissed his cheek and started walking away.

Myer suddenly remembered. “Hey Lilly.” She looked back. Myer felt himself very nervous, but took and deep breath and pushed out the words. “There’s a dance next Friday. I was hoping that I could take you to it, if you’ll let me.”

“You mean go to a school dance. With hundreds of other people there?” she asked.

Lilly backed away from him slightly. “I don’t know Myer. Being with you is one thing. But this… all of those people that would be there… staring at me.”

Myer walked over to her and took her hand. “Look Lilly, I won’t force you to do anything that you don’t want to. Just think about it, alright.”

She nodded her head slightly. “Ok, I’ll think about it. But no promises.”

Myer smiled at her. “That’ll do.” He gave her one final kiss before she went back into her house.

“See you later. Myer Torts.” She laughed as she slipped inside her house.

Myer just chuckled to himself and shook his head. Feeling a lot better, he went home. When he shut the door, his dad stepped out of the kitchen.

“Quite a night.” He mumbled.

Myer ignored his half hearted attempt for normalcy. “Be honest with me dad. What did you think of Lilly?”

His dad sighed and shrugged his shoulders. “Honestly. I don’t know. She’s certainly….different.”

“That’s what I like about her.”

“Like her? You’re seventeen, you don’t know the first damn thing about what you really want.”

Myer clenched his fists. The words of his father were infuriating, but he held his anger in check. “I certainly know that I want to keep seeing her.”

His dad sighed again. “Look Myer. I don’t want to tell you how to live your life, or who you should hang out with. But I want you to think really hard about this. That girl’s nice enough. She’s sharp as a tack, I’ll give her that. But I was also listening about all the problems that she has. They’re not the every day normal things teenagers deal with, not by a long shot. I’m just saying, I want you really put some thought about what you’re getting yourself into with her.”

“Thanks.” Myer said sarcastically. “Thanks for being so understanding.” He didn’t give his father any time to give a reply, he just pushed past him and went up to his room. Fuming with anger at his father’s words, Myer opened his books and attempted to consume himself in his studies. All the while he did his best to not let Lilly fill his mind, and at the same time he silently hoped that next week would be a whole lot better.