The next morning, Maud examined herself to find nasty marks on her wrist and a sensitive bruise under her bangs. She cringed as she dabbed peach-colored powder over the bruise, and she slipped on a checkered wristband to cover up the marks on her arm.
She walked to school quickly and was jamming her bag into an inadequately –proportioned locker when she saw him again, at last.
Brendon walked up to her and leaned against a neighboring locker. She caught a whiff of his musky cologne as she took in his outfit; blue jeans, tight fitting red button down shirt over a brown tee, and black converse.
“Hey, Maud,” he said.
“Hi, Brendon.” She momentarily discontinued the battle between her and her locker. Damn whoever designed this stupid school, she thought.
He smiled at her but frowned in concern when his eyes trailed over her face.
“What happened there?” he asked, lightly brushing his fingertips along part of her hairline. Maud tried her best to look embarrassed.
“Heh... I fell up the stairs,” she lied, laughing awkwardly. She finally conquered her locker and began walking with Brendon down the crowded hallway.
“You fell up the stairs?” he asked, amused.
“Yeah, Urie, You got a problem with that?” she teased.
“Falling down the stairs I get, but up...”
The playful debate continued until Brendon reached his first classroom.
“I gotta go, but I’ll see you later,” he stated, gently kissing her forehead where it wasn’t injured. “Try not to fall up any more stairs.” She laughed along with him as he turned to walk into history.
“Will do, cap’n. But wait,” she said, running up to him. She laid a full kiss on his lips. “You’ve got some lipstick on you.” Maud winked at him, and he rolled his eyes as she wiped it off with her thumb.
“Gee, thanks. Anyways, I’ll see you later,” Brendon said, walking into the room.
“See ya,” she murmured back, strolling down the hall to her class. The dreaded algebra. Dun dun duuunnnn. She ducked into the room and scurried to the back row where she hoped she might turn invisible.
“Ms. Delou,” the whiny, obnoxious voice of her math teacher called, “I do indeed hope you have your homework today. No need for your grade to get even lower, right?”
“Yeah,” Maud mumbled in reply, shrinking down in the hard blue seat. So much for invisible.
A shrill bell signaled the end of the day, and Maud dashed out of the gloomy chemistry room. She weaved through the chaotic crowds in the hallways to get to her locker. To her astonishment, Brendon was already waiting for her.
“How’d you get here so fast?! I mean, the track team is going to be after me because of my insane sprint from science,” Maud said, laughing. He grinned and shrugged.
“Well apparently not, instead the team is gonna want me,” he replied. She rolled her eyes at him and he waited for her to pry her bag from her stubborn locker. Maud gathered her pile of books and shoved them into her book bag, slamming her locker door shut with a vicious kick. She turned and looked at him questioningly; she wasn’t used to someone waiting for her like this. Not that she was complaining.
“I thought... maybe... we could go... catch a movie?” Brendon said, tripping over his words a little.
“Like as in a date?” Maud smirked and inched closer to him.
“Well yeah... if you want...” Maud cut off his rambling with a finger to his lips. She found his nervousness adorable.
“That sounds nice,” she said. He relaxed a little and pulled out his cars keys. He took her small hand in his larger, stronger one and led her to his beat-up, black jeep. They got in and Brendon started the vehicle, heading towards the large theatre complex nearby.
“So what do you want to see?” he questioned. “There’s that new horror one...” Maud thought about it. She hated horror flicks, but it would give her an excuse to hold his hand through the whole thing...
“That one sounds great,” she replied. Muah.
They arrived at the complex after about twenty minutes. Maud bought a bucket of popcorn and soda for them to share, after Brendon refused to let her purchase her own ticket. They entered the theatre with fingers laced together and took their seats.
“So you like scary movies? What’s your favorite?” Brendon asked. Maud, feeling flirtatious, giggled a little.
“Actually, I don’t.” Brendon looked aghast. “Will you protect me from the scary monsters?” Maud made a puppy-dog face at him, and his worried expression softened. He took his hand away from hers to wrap his arm around her shoulder, and she leaned into his chest.
“Always,” she thought she heard him murmur.
Without further ado, the movie began. Maud hid her eyes in Brendon’s shirt at the first glimpse of a zombie-mummy-thing on the screen, but he lifted her chin up and looked into her eyes with a burning intensity. She felt herself pulled under his charms, and their mouths came together in a dance, as graceful and perfect as a ballet. Their lips moved in overlapping arabesques, and their tongues flicked around in gentle fouettés. The passionate routine continued until the final scene of the movie, when Maud gathered up enough courage to watch. Not a good plan.
She cringed at the bloody, terror-filled finale of the film, and Brendon pulled her protectively into his soft arms again. She saw enough flesh-ripping to make her skittish, and when they exited the theatre she jumped at the sound of Brendon’s voice asking her if she was alright.
“Yeah, yeah, fine...” she said, tightening her grip on Brendon’s arm. He stopped and glared at her.
“You should’ve said you wanted to see another movie.”
“No... I liked it...”
He paused for a moment, and suddenly touched his hand to her back. She shrieked and glowed with embarrassment when she realized it was just him.
“Liar.”
“Okay, so maybe I just said yes to hide on you.” He rolled his eyes.
“You don’t need to torture yourself for that.” Maud blushed again. “Why don’t we get you home, Miss Jumpy.”
“No!” Maud practically shouted. Her blush came back yet again when he looked at her oddly, though his little smile remained in place. She couldn’t possibly return home this shaky, because her father would be waiting with questions. She didn’t want to deal with that when she could be in Brendon’s protective presence.
She could tell already that he was becoming her safe harbor.
__________________________________________________________________________
Even after two blissful months of Brendon and Maud being a couple, Brendon didn’t stop asking about the bruises and scars. Maud desperately wanted to clue him in, but couldn’t bring herself to do it. Not that she didn’t trust Brendon. He was practically all she thought about... especially at home.
The two had fallen into a routine of being together. On weekdays they would see each other in school, though Maud continuously turned down his offers to give her a ride there. After last period they might go somewhere, like the park or movies, to be together. And Maud still attended Brendon’s bi-weekly practices... though instead of observing from afar she would now sit on the piano bench with Brendon or lie on the floor nearby. He was self-conscious at first with having her there, but he started forgetting her presence and getting into the music. Conversely, he would sometimes dedicate a piece to her or show her a snippet that he wrote about her, sending Maud’s heart rate soaring.
Despite how easily and eagerly they spent time together, Maud still felt awkward when Brendon insisted upon knowing how she got hurt. She found that it was getting harder and harder to lie to him.
It was a chilly December Saturday when Brendon brought up the subject of Maud’s least favorite holiday. They were sitting on the couch in his living room, cuddling and watching Seventh Heaven reruns.
“So what are your plans for Christmas?”
Maud tried not to visibly flinch. Christmas was when everyone got presents and drank hot cocoa and shared laughter and hugs. Christmas was when Maud woke up to an empty stocking next to a cheap plastic tree, and her father celebrated by drinking more than usual and he would ignore her or lash out at her in a drunken stupor. Needless to say, Maud didn’t get the same warm, fuzzy feeling inside that others did when winter holidays came around.
“Oh you know, family’s probably coming over...” she fibbed.
“Well if you can escape from that for a little while, my mom invited you to celebrate with us for the day,” he offered, smiling his breathtaking smile.
Christmas with the Uries, Maud pondered. Finally, a merry Christmas? Her dad would probably object, but she could sneak out before he awoke.
“What time should I get here?” she asked, grinning. His smile grew.
“Dinner’s formally at 7, but anytime is fine. I can pick you up if you want.”
“I’m good, thanks. How about noon?” She figured she could get out when she needed and just show up then.
“You can get here that early?”
“Yeah, my family’s pretty casual about Christmas.”
“Excellent.”
