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Growing up with his father and brother Wayne had little experience with women. He knew he was attracted to them, sure, (one look at his dad's magazines and he knew) but he had little knowledge on how to interact with them. So he didn't.
He didn’t think about it much, even when his dad teased him about ‘getting no girls’, he just shrugged because it was true to an extent. And so that's how he went on, not thinking much about girls or dating or anything.
Until he saw her.
He first noticed Del in class. She was smart. Super smart. Sure she was quiet, but she always answered the teachers questions when no one else would. He thought that was pretty admirable, someone who was the complete opposite of himself. Of course, that wasn't enough to really do anything for Wayne; it was just…an observation. And then the assembly happened.
He wasn't even gonna go to the dumb thing, but he had noticed the bright green posters with Del’s name on them for weeks and he just thought- what the hell it won’t kill him. So he sat in the shitty metal chairs and dozed off as all of the other candidates went on stage and blabbed away, until finally she appeared. He sat up slightly as he watched her passionately begin her speech. Sure she had some good things to say, but he could only focus on how enthusiastic she was, how her eyes sparkled and cheeks flushed. He was in awe at how full of life she looked.
Suddenly someone shouted out, ‘Del is a crack baby!’ the obnoxious voice echoed throughout the room.
The crowd erupted in laughter as Wayne watched Del freeze up, and he immediately felt awful. He knew high schoolers were assholes, and it wasn't like this was the first time he saw someone be publicly humiliated in front of the school. But this was different… he felt angry for her. He scanned the crowd to see if he could spot the culprit until he suddenly heard her voice.
‘Uh, listen, you can…You can call me whatever you want. You don’t have to like me.’ she muttered. ‘But you should know that I like you.’ Wayne’s breath caught in his throat.
‘And I wanna do good stuff. Like this blood drive we’re having for Gordie, um… so I hope you let me help you.’ She took another deep breath before muttering her campaign slogan, but Wayne had already checked out. He had never heard someone announce to a high school crowd (as shitty as this one) that they wanted to help people. He continued to sit throughout the assembly with her last words ringing in his head, ‘I hope you let me help you’.
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After that, Wayne had to admit to himself that he was at least… interested in her. But after the assembly he noticed a change in her. Hell, everyone did. She had become a shadow of herself, going through the motions of life. He heard through the whispers in the halls what had happened, and he felt terrible. Sure it wasn't the same, but he had also felt like his mother was ripped away from him- so his heart went out to Del. He didn't think much more of it until a week later he heard a boisterous voice echo in the boys locker room.
He wouldn’t have normally paid attention to something like that, but this was different.
‘You know that girl Del ?’
That one word stopped him cold in his tracks. Wayne paused and leaned against the entrance of the locker room to listen.
‘What about her?’ someone asked.
‘Well what if I told you, I have the last dying moments of her mom on video’ Wayne felt his blood run cold. He heard the other guys excitedly exclaim their surprise and disbelief.
‘Calm down.’ The voice laughed, ‘I told her and she’s coming over later. Maybe we can…strike up a deal.’ The other voices roared again in excitement but Wayne had stopped listening.
He had heard enough.
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It was pretty easy to find the fucker who had the video. A few random shakedowns led him to the guy's house identity and address, and Wayne was quickly on his way. As he turned a corner, he noticed a familiar thin figure a few feet in front of him. He instantly knew it was Del, and he continued to follow until she finally dipped into the porch of a ratty house. Wayne quickly ducked to the neighbors backyard, and snuck closer until he was near the wall closest to the door and porch. He peeked from the corner to see Del knock hard on the front door, her pretty face fixed into a tight expression. The door swung open to reveal the pale fucker with the video (What was his name again? Brandon? Ben? Whatever.). Wayne listened as the guy tried to make a deal with her, $20 a week or her mom's death footage would be spread to the school, and of course to her dad. Wayne felt his blood boil as he watched Del try to persuade him out of it, but when her voice finally wavered like a taut string breaking, Wayne felt something within him snap as well.
He knew what he had to do.
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Wayne was quick to instill his plan. He knew it involved technology, video shit that he had no clue about- good thing he had a guy for it.
Orlando jumped at the opportunity to exchange some hacking for Wayne’s protection from the school bullies, and with that straightened out both boys made their way to the shitty house the next day. Orlando can't say for sure what happened to the guy during that two hour beating, but he knows that what Wayne did was enough to make him leave school and never come back. When Orlando asked why he did all of this, Wayne didn’t reply. He just said he needed to protect someone.
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Wayne woke up late the next day, his body sore from the beating he took out the day prior. Normally, he wouldn't have even bothered to go to school when he felt like that, but he knew he had to go for the blood drive- for Del.
As he entered the auditorium he scanned the room, looking for her before his gaze landed on the free refreshments. He grabbed one of the free cookies and began to nibble before he heard a scream and the sound of liquid hitting the waxed wooden floors. As he turned his head to look, the scene unfolded in front of him in slow-motion: Del, like an angry dancer stabbing the pillows of blood as they sprayed out like a waterworks show. Wayne was in awe as he saw his fellow classmate perform her intense, bloody reign over the rest of the pathetic school. He felt like he was watching some artistic performance, a powerful ballet that made his heartbeat quicken. By the time she stepped out of the gym doors and disappeared, Wayne realized he was smiling. When was the last time he had smiled in this shit ass school? He froze and took a deep breath, finally realizing what this meant.
‘Fuck’ he muttered.
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It was at that moment that Wayne knew he was doomed. He was smitten by Del, but he couldn't imagine even having a chance with her. So he decided, if he couldn’t bring himself to approach her, he would protect her silently and inconspicuously everyday until she didn't need him. His future might be doomed, but it doesn’t mean Del’s would be. So imagine his shock to see her on his porch a couple of days later, trying to sell him cookies. Every cell in his body told him not to do something stupid, not to stick his neck out for ANYONE. But of course his heart had other plans. He could still remember it, seeing her in his ratty room felt like some sick delusion life was bestowing upon him- but Wayne loved her presence, and he wished it could last forever. Before he knew it his heart was racing, his palms covered in sweat, and he suddenly heard himself blurt out the most honest, dumbest thing he had ever heard. ‘So, you got a boyfriend?’.
‘Fuck’ he thought.