Sunday
Justin sat toward the back of the large, somewhat crowded, train quietly. His headphones were perched on his head, laying directly over his head and supplying music for him to groove to. He drummed his fingers on metal bar on top of the chair in front of him, and looked at the scenery whisking past. It was all a white blur, as the train traveled through the snowed on city. Justin eyed the other natives on the train with curiosity. Their profiles were quiet, as some read newspapers and others talked on cell phones. He wondered if they were just as confused as he was.
The train slowly came to a stop; not to far from the stop he’d boarded at, and allowed a handful of passengers to walk on. He sighed restlessly and looked out the large window again. This time, he could take in the peaceful scenery. Snow was scattered on the tops of trees, buildings, and most cars. The streets were slick and wet, while the sun barely shone that day. He watched the wind billow through the town, and in the distance he could see downtown Chicago. The skyscrapers touched the horizon and birds flew by them, in the distance. Despite the cold weather, and the hectic city below, it was a peaceful day outside.
Just then, a peaceful voice beckoned him. “Do you mind if I sit here?”
The voice knocked him out of his daze, and caused him to look up and pull his headphones down. His eyes met the ones of a girl he was quite fond of. Before he could say anything, he stared at her simplicity. He was used to seeing her with make- up on her face, and her hair done perfectly. But, there she was, standing humbly in front of him, and asking for a seat. Her black hair was pulled back into a ponytail, a scarf around her neck, and a long coat over her back. He watched her gloved hands adjust the strap of her purse, and push the loose ends of her hair back before idly nodding his head.
“Sure…yeah.” Justin watched her sit down in the seat next to him. Out of all the times he’d stared at Melanie’s profile, she’d never looked so astounding to him before…and he’d just seen her yesterday.
Melanie looked at him and smiled. “I never thought I’d see you on the train.”
Justin grinned, looked out the window, and turned to face her again. “I thought I’d try it out.” She was making him nervous for some reason. “I’m just gonna go downtown and walk around…clear my head a little.”
She nodded her head and chuckled. Melanie giggled a little bit more and Justin looked at her. “What’s so funny?” he asked.
“I was going downtown to do the same thing.”
Justin rose his eyebrows. “Really?” When she smiled and nodded her head, he spoke. “Maybe we could go and clear our heads…together? If you don’t have-”
“Yeah, yeah. We can do that.”
There was an awkward silence for a moment, and they both found themselves looking in opposite directions.
All of a sudden, Melanie nudged Justin. “Look. That man is totally picking his nose, but trying to be discrete about it.”
Justin made a face at the occupied man and laughed. “That fool’s digging for gold.”
She laughed out loud and covered her mouth in order to muffle her laughter, before people started to look. Melanie sighed as her laughter dwindled and looked at Justin again. Justin looked at her and grinned, causing them both to laugh.
He cleared his throat. “How come you didn’t call me last night…you said you were.”
“Chasity called me last night,” She stated, and Justin nodded his head. “I would’ve called you, but I was tired after I finished talking with her.”
“That’s okay. I was talking to some people from home anyway,” Justin said nonchalantly and moved around in his seat.
“That’s cool. Did y’all catch up on stuff?”
“Yeah…I’m going over there for Spring Break.”
Melanie admired the grin that beamed on his face at the mention of his trip. She was happy for him-he needed a break, and she was sure that him going back home would bring him back rejuvenated. “I hope you have fun….I was going to audition for some things over there, and take a few classes.”
Justin turned his head quickly in her direction, his features showing that he was intrigued. “But?”
“Well, I had an invitation to that school of the arts in Sacramento, and my cousin lives out there…in like Ana-something.”
He grinned, “Anaheim?”
She nodded her head, “Yeah! that’s what it was. But anyway, I just can’t go anymore.” Melanie lowered her head, in fear of Justin figuring out that her reasons were false.
“I know why you can’t go.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Yes, I do…it’s so obvious, Melanie.” Justin chuckled and motioned for her to get off when they reached their stop. They stepped off the train and walked through the station, Melanie leading. “Do you have to walk so fast?” Justin asked.
Melanie didn’t say anything; she just kept walking until they reached the outdoors. She then turned and faced him as he walked out behind her. She continued down the sidewalk, not once slowing down like he’d asked.
Justin grabbed her hand and spun her around. He stared down at her with some anger, but mostly confusion. “Why the hell do you keep walking off like that?”
“Why do you keep saying the things you do?”
“Because I can.”
Melanie snatched her arm away from him. “You need to stop because contrary to your belief, you don’t know everything.” She continued to walk at a regular pace now.
“I never said I did. I just don’t think you can handle some of the things I say because it’s the truth.” Justin said as he walked next to her.
“Not all of them-”
“Most of them are and you know it. And you know I’m right when I say that the reason you’re not going to California is because Damien is holding you back. Once again, you’re letting him run and ruin your life.” He used his hands when he spoke.
“First of all, all he did was ask me to go to New York with him.” The two now crossed a bridge, and Melanie stopped to gape at the river flowing below them.
Justin came to her side, and rested his arms on the railing before looking at her and saying, “Do you want to go to New York with him?” His voice was quiet now.
“I don’t know, honestly. He wants me to go help him look at colleges. I don’t see why he needs me to go.” She looked down at the large portions of snow that were scattered and floating in the water.
“Think about it Melanie. Why would you want to go to New York, which looks somewhat like Chicago? You could be in California, doing what you love and getting a tan at the same time. Sunlight, skin, beaches…theme parks.”
Melanie shook her head and resumed staring at the dark water flowing below her. His persuasive comments weren’t exactly helping her. “Justin, have you ever been so confused that you don’t know what to do with yourself? Have you ever gotten to a point where you didn’t know who to trust, who to talk to?”
He stared at her for a moment, and simply nodded his head. “Yes, I have. But, there comes a time in your life where you have to just stop, and look at everything from a distance. Isolate the things that hurt you the most, and deal with them one at a time.”
“Is that what you did?”
Justin chuckled softly. “I’m still doing it now. Just don’t make the mistake I did.”
“What was that?” She stared at him with curiosity.
“Well, I did drugs during the latter half of my junior year. I managed to keep it kinda quiet, but it still…I just shouldn’t have done it.”
Melanie nodded her head; “At least you turned around. I’m still trying to get my brother and my father to turn around. It’s hard when they don’t talk to me, ya know?”
“Don’t focus on them so much right now. Focus on graduating, and more importantly, going to college-you should try and set an example first. Sometimes people are just too heavy to be pushed.”
“Kinda like me?” she rose her eyebrows and waited upon his answer.
“No, you just have a blindfold on.” He licked his lips. ” It’s hard for someone to push you in the right direction cause you’re scared to take a chance. You don’t see what’s sitting right in front of you, so you question…everything, afraid that you’re getting steered in the right direction.”
Melanie bit her lip and rose her eyebrows, a smirk forming her features. She looked down at her shoes with embarrassment. “Well, how do I take the blindfold off?”
“Use your hands,” Justin stated simply, making her scrunch her face up. “You look better without make-up. Don’t wear it more often.” He changed the subject.
She blushed. “Thank you, but that’s not ever gonna happen. People would be in my grill for days.”
Justin nodded once, and stuck out his hand for her to take. She did so gratefully, and let him pull her along for the stroll. The two walked in silence for a while, their minds collaborating with each other, and their senses in perfect harmony. They enjoyed looking at the beautiful scenery around them and they conversed lightly with casual observers.
Melanie noticed that none of them gave them dirty looks or questioning gazes because they were of different races. Instead, they politely smiled and went on with their day. Only once had she pulled away from his grasp, to put on her beanie. She shivered as a wind glided by and rubbed the palm of her other hand over she and Justin’s linked one. He took the initiative then and intertwined their fingers, causing her to rest her head on the side of his arm.
Justin looked down at her and grinned, “Damn. All that stuff on and you’re still cold?”
She looked up at him with at pouting stare. “It’s hard for me to stay warm. I’m surprised you’re not cold…all you’re wearing is a sweatshirt with a hood, some warm up pants.”
“Ahh, but what you don’t know is that I have on three shirts, dearest.”
Melanie rolled her eyes and sighed, making sure she was as close to him as possible. Justin sighed just as she did and laughed when she rolled her eyes at him.
“Stop mocking me so much.”
“I just think it’s funny how you act. You’re little facial expression and sounds are quite amusing.”
She smiled, “Oh yeah?”
Justin nodded his head, and she made another face by sticking her tongue out the side of her mouth, scrunching her face up, and crossing her eyes.
“That’s so attractive, Melanie,” He kissed the top of her head. “You need a nickname. I’m tired of saying ‘Melanie’- it’s too much. That’s three whole syllables.”
Melanie gasped loudly with sarcasm. “Watch out now! It’s too much for Almighty Timberlake to pronounce three…whole…syllables.”
He grinned. “Shut up. You know what? I would give you one now, but I’m freaking hungry. I could eat a cow.”
All of a sudden, Melanie fell out laughing hysterically. Justin watched her curiously as she let go of her hand and held her stomach. Her breathing was hard as she gasped for air, and slapped her knee. “That was a good one, Justin.” She said between dwindling laughs.
He shook his head slowly and furrowed his eyebrows, for he had no clue of what she was talking about. “What was a good one?”
“You said you could eat a cow!” she said and giggled.
He looked at her as if she were crazy. “Yeah? And? People say that all the time.”
“But you’re the MILK MAN!” She waited for him to catch on, and when he did she continued to laugh.
* *
Nighttime was beginning to make itself known. On one side of the sky, there were beautiful shades of indigo and purple, while the moon was barely begging to become visible. On the other side, orange meshed with red and the fading yellows of the setting sun. The two sat nest to each other, as they rode on the quiet train back home. The sound of the wheels rolling against the tracks were clearly audible and the car shook sometimes. Justin stared at Melanie as she gazed out the window, and put his arm around her shoulder as he did so. She turned and looked at him, a small grin appearing like it had the whole day they’d spent together.
Lightly she puckered her lip gloss covered lips and said, “You shouldn’t have made me eat two hot dogs, Justin. I told you I was on a diet.”
“Relax, it’s not gonna make that big of a difference. Besides, you don’t need to be on a diet anyway.”
“I have a competition in a month.”
“So? There not gonna be like, ‘Oh her ass is fat!’” he made a face. “Well, I would if I were a judge, but it would be a complement.”
Melanie laughed, “So my ass would be ‘fat’ with a ‘p-h’ instead of an ‘f’?”
“Exactly.” He smiled at her when she laughed again.
She sighed again and quickly snapped her head around to see if Justin would mimic her actions like he’d done in the past. Instead, he flashed her an innocent glance. But, as soon as she turned her head, he was sure to sigh.
Melanie rolled her eyes, and Justin spoke up. “One of these days, your eyes are gonna get stuck like that cause you roll em’ so much. You’ll be walkin’ around like wha?” Justin rolled his eyes up, as if he were trying to look at his eyebrows, and began to touch her face as if he were blind. “What? Who are you? I can’t see cause I…” Justin returned to his normal look now, “…Cause I roll my eyes too damn much!”
She laughed and leaned her head against the cold window. “Sing me a song, Justin.”
Justin looked at her with a confused expression on his face. “Sing you a song? I don’t-“
“Yes, you do. Don’t lie. I hear you in class all the time, and when you went to the bathroom, I saw the sheet music in your folder.”
“Who said you could go through my stuff?”
“I didn’t exactly go through it…”
“Well, what did you do? Trip?” Justin looked at her.
“I-I don’t know…I was just…”
“What song do you want me to sing?” he asked.
Melanie shrugged her shoulders, but he thought of one anyway.
Now on the regular
I would waste time, but I don’t want to
Cause you’re so damn fine
And I heard that you were taken
But that don’t have to stop you from makin’
Late night phone calls on the telephone
About your fantasies and ways to get it on
When you need me I will be
There for you my sweet lady
Sweet lady would you be my
Sweet love for a lifetime
I’ll be there when you need me
Just call and receive me
All she did was stare at him as he added his own flare and falsetto touches. He truly awed her, because she honestly didn’t think he could sing…not like that, at least. His mumblings in class were completely deceiving to the unaided ear, and he probably intended them to be. Melanie only stared at him, unable to do anything else at the moment. He looked at her with the same intensity, the same intensity that gave them that slight little tingle up and down their spines.
Melanie stopped all the sensations though, and asked, “How come you’re not a singer or have a band or anything like that?”
“I am in a band,” He stated.
“What’s it called?”
“We don’t have a name. There are like seven us…we all play instruments and do reprises to songs. We used to play at clubs and stuff, had fans and everything.”
“What happened?”
“I came here,” Justin turned around in his seat now and looked forward, seeing the station come into view.
*
I’m so tired, man. My feet are about to fall off, but yet I still manage to walk Melanie to her door. See how nice I am? I could be in my bed, laying on my back and yelling at Steven and Jon…watching TV. But, I-
“Well, I had fun with you today, Justin.” Melanie turned around and looked at me.
Oh no, it’s the ‘door way scene’. You know the one where a guy and a girl who like each other are about to end their fantastic date, but are shy? Yep, this is definitely it cause she’s waiting on me to say something.
“Yeah, it was definitely nice.” Should I say ‘We should do it again’? Nah…we didn’t go out on a date.
“Yeah…I guess I’ll see you at school tomorrow.” She said.
Duh…tomorrow’s Monday. Dude, she’s worse at this than I am. I’m not gonna laugh at her though, that’s rude. She laughed at me when I told her I was a virgin, though. I’ll pay her back for that later. Maybe I should just kiss her?
“Yeah,” I walked closer to her now, and put my arm on her shoulder. Cue the romantic music please? Thank you. “Don’t forget what I told you okay?” I said softly.
Yay! This shit is workin! She’s looking at me anxiously, like she wants me to put it on her. Yeah, I’m a put it on you girl. Can you handle it? Yeah, I know you want this milk in your Cocoa Puffs.
*
Justin kissed her once, and paused. Melanie stared into his eyes expectantly waiting upon another kiss, and he granted her wish quickly and stopped again. She then took matters into her own hands, and pulled him to her before kissing him on the lips herself. Their lips fit together like the pieces of a puzzle as they moved simultaneously. Justin darted his tongue in and out of her mouth quickly before pulling away, making sure to pull at her bottom lip before fully letting go. He intended upon teasing her, and it was working, but she was determined on not letting it show.
“I’ll see you tomorrow at school,” He said huskily. “Tell Mama I said hi.” His finger slightly lifted her chin, and he grinned at her.
Your body temperature
Is arising
Somethin's goin' down as far as I can see
Just let me take the lead
All you gotta do is let your mind be free...
Get real wet if you know what I mean...
Take me now...
Justin walked down the hallway, not once looking back at Melanie. He had her exactly where he wanted her. Of course he felt bad because he’d probably confused her even more, but he was willing to fix his own mistakes. He then made it to the stairwell and did a little victory dance before happily trotting down the wooden stairs.
When he exited the complex and the night air hit him, he shouted, “Two points!”
Justin: 3 Damien: 2
“Sweet Lady” Tyrese (Tyrese)
“Take Me Now” Justin Timberlake (Justified)
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