Part 1

“Single is simple; double is trouble; triangle is terrible; multiple is miracle.” The writing
jumped out at me as I pinned the paper to my wall. “This is my new motto.” I said.
“Your new motto…” Jacklyn repeated from her position on the floor. “That’s lame Cherry.”
“What? What’s wrong with it?” I scowled as the paper began to fall.
“It’s so depressing. And what’s wrong with having a boyfriend?”
“What’s wrong with being single?” I said defensively, grabbing one of the corners. She
thought about it for a minute.
“Not much…” she conceded.
“See? When you’re single, you get to flirt with anyone you want and you don’t have to
care about someone taking it the wrong way.”
“Yah, but you miss out on someone caring about you.”
“Oh, so you don’t care bout me Jackie?” I teased, tossing a pillow at her.
“Nope. I just come over for the cookies your mom makes.” Grinning at me, she sat up
and turned off the CD we’d had playing for the better part of an hour.
“I see how it is.” Turning away, I made sniffling noises.
“Oh shut up.” A pillow hit the back of my head and we burst out laughing.
Hours later, I lay awake on my bed, staring up at paper. I scowled and turned over;
glaring at the picture I could feel staring at me from my trash can.
“Go away.” I hissed, picturing the wide smile and photogenic face. “I’m done with you.” I
could picture his reply so well. He would smile in that annoying way, his eyes staring down at me.
“We’ll never be done Cheryl. You can’t run from destiny.”
“Destiny, my ass.” I muttered, throwing back the covers. I stalked to the trash, grabbing
the picture out and tearing it in half. “Try talking now!” Throwing the halves back into the trash, I
grabbed a nearby sweater and stormed out of my room. “I’m going out!” I announced to an empty
living room, as I slipped my sneakers on. Grabbing my keys from their hook, I stepped out into
the cold air and shut the front door behind me.
Walking down the street, I glared at the dark windows. The neighbourhood playground
looked empty enough to satisfy me, so I headed for it, kicking a mailbox along the way. Since the
swings reminded me of him, I headed for the merry-go-round and sat down on the cold metal.
“I’m an idiot.” I muttered, resting my forehead on my knees.
“Was this before or after the mailbox?” A voice said. I looked up and into the bluest eyes
I’d ever seen.
“Who are you?” I said rudely, feeling rather annoyed. This was my private sulking time.
How dare he intrude on it?
“Mark.” He was crouched down in front of me, his hands in his sweatshirt pockets. “Is
there a reason you’re wandering around outside at,” he checked his watch. “3 am, in pajama
pants and a thin sweater?” He raised his eyebrows questioningly.
“Am I not allowed to? Is there some rule against it?!” I waved my arms around at the
empty park. “Besides, there’s no one here to care.”
“I’m here, aren’t I?”
“Well screw you. I was here first.” I bit my lip and looked away.
“Are you ok?”
“I’m fine.” I said sharply. We were silent for awhile, as I wished for him to go away.
“You’re pants are getting wet you know.” He pointed out after awhile.
“So what? And now that I think about it, what are YOU doing outside at 3 am in the
morning?” My memory kicked in and I recalled his earlier statement. “And the mailbox…you’ve
been spying on me!”
“No I haven’t.”
“Liar.” My eyes narrowed as I stared at him. His hair was slightly long, curling at the ends.
It looked brown, but considering the light, it could have been blonde for all I would have known. “I
don’t recognize you.”
“I doubt you would. You don’t really notice anyone at school.” he said mildly.
“Aha! See? I knew it! You ARE spying on me!”
 “Just because I notice you, doesn’t mean I’m spying on you. You’re kind of famous in a
way.” My mouth dropped open in surprise before I abruptly shut it.
“Don’t say it.”
“What? What was I gonna say?” he smirked at me. I glared at him.
“You know very well what!”
“I was referring to your eyes.” He sat beside me, his long legs stretched out now, instead
of tucked underneath him.
“My eyes?” The statement confused me and I blinked at him. “What’s wrong with them?”
“Nothing.” He leaned back on his hands and stared up at the sky. “They’re a really pretty
colour.
“They’re purple.” My defensiveness confused me. I’d never cared about what people said
about my eyes before. But for some reason, his statement put my guard up.
“Yah. Purple’s a pretty colour, don’t you think?” He grinned at me. “So what did you think
I meant about you being famous?”
“Nothing.” Dammit! I could feel myself blushing and quickly looked away. “So you go to
my school.”
“Yup.”
“My grade?”
“Mm hm.”
“What’s my name?” He looked at me, his eyebrows raised.
“I don’t actually know.” He admitted after awhile.
“Hah.” I smiled with satisfaction. “Something you don’t know about me.”
“I’ll just find out tomorrow.”
“You’re creepy.” I stood up, brushing my hands off. “And I’m leaving. Bye.” I started
walking, aware of his eyes on my back.
“See you tomorrow.” he called.
“Whatever.” The trip down the street was calm now, and I looked guiltily at the mailbox.
“Sorry.” I whispered, unlocking my front door and going inside. In my room, I stripped off my pants
and sweater, throwing them in my laundry basket before slipping under my covers. Then I
realized something. My phone had been in my pant pocket.
“Shit!” Scrambling out of bed, I ran for the basket and rooted through the fabric. The hard
outline of my phone was non-existent. “Shit, damn, fuck!” I swore, throwing the pants back down.
I had left them at the playground. “Oh you have GOT to be kidding me!” I scowled at the guilty
pants, pulling them back on and running out the door. Yanking the front door open, I crashed into
Mark.
“Whoa.” He steadied me, his hands cold on my bare shoulders. “Looking for this?” He
held up my phone.
“Oh my god, THANK you.” I grabbed it, clutching it to my chest.
“Can’t live without it?” he said dryly, his hands warming my arms.
“Nope. It’s my source of music. And Jackie would kill me if I didn’t have it.”
“Jackie. Cute Chinese girl right? Brown hair, brown eyes.”
“Yup. But you can’t have her. She’s mine and Andrew’s.” I smiled down at the picture of
the three of us, smiling up at me from the small screen. Flipping it shut, I stepped back out of his
reach. “Thanks a lot Mark.”
“No problem.” Sticking his hands in his pockets, he grinned and turned away.
“See you tomorrow, maybe.” I called out, before shutting the door and heading for my
room. I was vaguely annoyed with myself. I was actually looking forward to seeing him tomorrow.
This had only happened with Derek and Andrew, and Andrew was Jackie’s boyfriend.
“For god’s sake.” I muttered, running my hands through my hair as I plugged my phone
into its charger. Stripping off my pants again, I rubbed my arms to get rid of the goosebumps.
Tomorrow was going to be hell. I slipped under the covers and soon fell asleep.