(10) No One Can Love Her Like Him


“Yo, Max, wait up.” Max paused in his tracks and watched as Alex ran up to him. “I may be new to the school but I’ve been here long enough to know that the library is not in this direction.”

Max rolled his eyes and started to walk again. Alex followed. “How long have you liked her as more than just a friend?”

Max released a sigh. “It seems like forever.”

“Why haven’t you told her how you feel?”

“She only sees me as her best friend. I have a feeling that’s all she’ll see me as.” Max shrugged. “I don’t want to ruin our friendship if she doesn’t feel the same.”

“I can understand that, but man sometimes you have to jump into the water.”

“It’s not that simple. Besides, Maria has the biggest crush on Michael Guerin, and even though I think he’s totally wrong for her I can’t keep trying to control her life. I can only sit in the shadows and hope like hell no one hurts her.” They ended their walk in front doorway of their fifth period class, Creative Writing.

“Telling her how you feel is not controlling her life.” Alex pointed out. “I don’t know Michael that well so I can’t say as to whether or not he is wrong for her, but I can say that know one can treat Maria better than you can.”

The bell rung signaling the start of class. Max and Alex walked to their seats towards the back of the class. Alex smiled softly to himself when he saw Tess Valenti walk into the class. ‘Damn, if Kyle could read my mind he would so kill me. God what was he thinking letting her out the house in those pants. Mmm yeah.’

“Hey Max, Alex.” Alex let out a soft moan when she spoke his name.

“Hey Tess.” Max said not even looking up at her.

“What’s up Tess?” Asked Alex while trying to control his kinky fantasies of her. ‘She and I are in the eraser room doing some very naughty things. Alex, man, get a hold of yourself. You’re drooling.'

She slid into the seat on his right. “Oh not much, waiting fervently for school to end.” She smiled.

Alex gulped. ‘Damn that smile should be illegal.’ “Oh do you have pressing plans after?”

“Naw, just going to the park later with some friends. You know, the usual?”

Alex decided to take the plunge and ask her out. “Well you could go to the park any ole day with them. How about you and I maybe going to the movies and catching a bite to eat?”

She frowned. “Oh I’m sorry Alex I thought you knew. I’m dating someone, Jeff Carter.”

“Oh I didn’t know. ‘Tis kewl. Don’t want to bust in on another guys girl.” ‘Damn, damn, and double damn.’

Alex grinned. “Well if you ever decide to drop him then look me up.”

She grinned. “Believe me if I wasn’t in a relationship already with Jeff, you would so be mine.”

Before Alex could comment at the Mrs. Jordan, their teacher spoke up. “Ok people pull out a sheet of paper. I want you to think of someone you love and write a poem expressing your feelings about that person. That’s your assignment for today. Turn it in as soon as you’re finish and you can have the rest of the class to yourself. And please, this is Creative Writing, so try to be creative.”

Alex turned to Max with a grin. “I bet I know who you’ll be writing about.”

Max smirked. “Evans, just remember that we’re in school.”

Alex arched on brow. “Meaning?”

“Meaning if you’re going to right about a certain someone in this class then your poem should be PG 13 and not NC 17.”

Max grinned at Alex who was peaking at the corner of his eyes to make sure Tess did could not hear their conversation.

Max looked down at the blank sheet of paper before him and sighed. He nibbled on the sheet of paper trying to think of what to write. Then a light bulb went off in his mind and he began to write furiously.

Ten minutes later he walked up to the teachers desk and set the paper down in front of her. Then he went back to his seat and pulled out his Walkman and put on his favorite CD.

The teacher looked at his paper. Here’s what it read:

In the morning he wants to hold her tight,
He wants to love and cherish her all night.
Oh how much he loves her so,
But she doesn’t even know.
He keeps her safe from all harm,
But she’s unsusceptible to his charm.
She’s a friend that he must protect from them,
Because he knows that no one can love her like him.

At the end of class Max was the first to leave. When he walked into the hall he immediately spotted Maria standing against her locker flirting with Mark Andrews.

Max made a strangling noise in his throat when he saw her reach up and brush the back of her hand across Mark’s cheek. Then when Mark stooped down and kissed her that was the last straw. Max turned in the opposite direction and stalked out of the school.