"What's he doing here?" I asked as I went downstairs.
Derrick and I hadn't talked since the incident two months ago. To be honest, I didn't know if we were still going to the prom together. Although I was still upset with Derrick, I was grateful to his parents for talking to Mr. McCue regarding the prom. He agreed for me to attend, only if I stayed away from Theresa and didn't cause any disturbance. He even suggested having chaperones keep an eye on me in case I caused a "scene." Of course the arrangement had to go through Mr. and Mrs. Sherman, who surprisingly agreed considering they were the ones who put me in this predicament of transferring to another school.
I'd done a lot of soul searching these past two months and realized that maybe the feelings I had for Derrick were not as strong as I thought they were. Maybe I wanted to relive the legacy that Derrick and I created when we were together at Parker. But now I don't want to go down that road with Derrick again. The person I really want to be with is Michael. I just hate I waited so late to figure out what I really wanted. As I went to the door, I opened it to reveal a stunned Derrick standing on the other end with a dozen red roses.
"How did you know I was here?"
"I saw you from the window. Come in."
Derrick came in and gave me a bright smile.
"I wanted to give you these as an apology. I'm sorry for the way I acted."
I smiled as I took the roses from Derrick.
"Thank you. They're really pretty," I said as I went into the kitchen to get a vase.
"So you forgive me for being a jerk?"
I came back into the living room with the vase and roses in hand.
"Of course, but I should apologize too, for the way I acted."
"You don't have to. I know what's going on Char. You don't have to pretend anymore."
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about your feelings for me. I know you'd rather be with Michael than me and I completely understand that. Charlie, I just want you to be happy and I realized that day that you were happy with Michael. He brought out a side of you that even I'd never seen before. I can't believe I'm saying this, but Michael is the better man for you."
I looked at Derrick with complete shock. I couldn't believe that Derrick was saying the things he telling me.
"Wow, I'm stunned," I said as I sat down beside him on the couch.
"Why?"
"Because you are a different person. You changed so much since I went to Belmont, and it seems like you amaze me each day."
Derrick smiled. "I'm glad you see the new me."
"I am too."
"I do want to know one thing though."
"Sure."
"Why did you say you had feelings for me?"
I looked at Derrick as I took his hand into mine."I guess I did because I wanted to feel that connection that you and I had for so long. I think I was scared to move on with my life, and when you came back, I got caught up in the relationship we had and I wanted to go back to that comfort zone with you. I didn't lie about one thing though. You are my first love, and not even Michael can change that."
Derrick smiled. "You will always be my first love too."
I smiled as I extended my arms out to Derrick for a hug. As we were hugging, I had to smile at all the experiences I felt during these past few months. I guess it was true that a person has to go through so much in their life to appreciate what's important. With me, I realized that I met someone so wonderful and perfect for me but I didn't realize it until he was gone. I knew what I had to do now, and that's get Michael back. And I think tonight will be the night I will do it.
Michael
After talking to Chris about Charlie, I felt confident about tonight. I loved Charlie, and if I have to compete with Marberry to get Charlie back, I will. I know things between us will probably not be the same since there's a child in the picture now, but we can work it out. I know we can. I wanted to call Brandy about Steve, but since the incident at school, I didn't know if Brandy would talk to me or hang the phone up in my face. I missed Steve and I wanted to see him. Although I saw Steve all the time, I never realized that he was my son. Now that I knew, it was going to be even more significant when I saw him again. As I was looking at my tux, the doorbell rang, which caused me to jump.
"Who's there?" I asked as I went up to the door.
I opened the door to see Brandy standing on the other end with Steve.
"Brandy. How are you?" I asked in a hesitate voice. Brandy looked at me and smiled.
"I'm doing good. How have you been holding up?"
"I've been good."
"That's good."
I looked at Steve and bent down to be at eye level with him.
"Hey, little buddy. How have you been?"
Steve looked at me as he put his hand out to me for a high five. I put my hand out and gave him a high five, which made him completely happy.Brandy smiled as she watched Steve and me play around like father and son.
"Come in," I said and Brandy and Steve walked in. She turned around to look at me.
"Can we talk for a second?"
"Sure," I said.
I went over to the couch where Steve was sitting and I looked at him.
"You want to watch some TV?"
Steve nodded his head excitedly as I turned on the television. I went straight to the Nickelodeon channel and I noticed SpongeBob SquarePants was on. I didn't know what children see in this show, but I figured Steve might like it. And from the looks of it, he did because he was glued to the TV.
As I watched Steve enjoying himself, I went over to Brandy and smiled.
"Good thinking. Steve loves Sponge Bob," Brandy said.
"I see," I said while laughing.
"I guess you're wondering why I'm here."
"Not really, but I thought you would be getting ready for prom though. I'm glad you came by, especially with Steve. I miss seeing him."
"You know you could have called if you wanted to see him."
"I know, but after what happened, I didn't know how you would have reacted."
"That's why I came by. I wanted to apologize for what happened before and at the party. I should have told you about Steve being your son, but at the time, I thought it was the best thing to do for Steve."
"And why did you think that? It's not like I wasn't seeing him. So why did you keep the fact that I am his father hidden all this time?"
"Because of your parents, well your mother in particular. I never had a problem with your father. After the way they treated me and the relationship, I didn't want Steve to go through any type of hardship that I experienced. So in order for him not to, I decided to tell you that someone else was the father.""Brandy, I understand you did it to protect Steve, but what about me? You could have told me I had a son."
"I know and I realize that now. I'm so sorry that I put you through so much pain. Not only did I put you through pain, but Steve as well."
I looked at Brandy as she smiled at me.
"Listen, I don't expect you to embrace my apology with open arms, but I want you to know that I'm not going to deny you seeing Steve. I know how much you love him and I would never break that father and son bond that you two had before you knew the truth. So whenever you want to spend the day with Steve just let me know and I'll be here."
"Thank you, Brandy. I really appreciate that."
"If I would have told you sooner..."
I went up to Brandy and put my arms around her.
"Stop Brandy, everything that has happened is in the past now. I forgave you for it; so now it's time you forgive yourself."
Brandy put her hand on my arm and smiled.
"Thank you," she said softly.
"Since that's all under the bridge, why are you not getting ready for the prom?" I said while sitting down next to Steve.
"I had some last minute preparations to do before I got ready. I had to put a huge deposit on a limo since Kim forgot to do it."
"How she forgot to do that?" I said laughing.
"With Kim, she would forget her own name. But if you're not going with anyone, you're more than welcome to ride with us."
I shook my head and smiled.
"Listen Brandy, that's a nice offer but I don't think that's a good idea."
"Michael, I understand that there's no future with us. You made that clear the last time we talked. I just thought that this would give us a chance to hang out together like we used to."
"Thanks Brandy, but I still can't. I have a date.""Really? Who's the lucky lady?"
"Danielle."
Brandy's smile suddenly turned into a frown.
"Hopefully you're talking about another Danielle."
"No, I'm not."
"Hasn't she done enough to you? Why would you want to give her the time of day again?"
"It's just a date to the prom Brandy. It's not like I'm rekindling my relationship with her. Besides, I don't think you're the right person to be talking about this with."
"I know, but I just want you to be with someone that's not going to break your heart. First it was Danielle, and then Charlie..."
"You weren't exactly the perfect girlfriend yourself."
"What happened between us wasn't my fault."
"Why are you bringing this up? It doesn't matter who I go to the prom with or who I have a relationship with."
"What you mean by that?"
"All I'm saying is that it none of your business."
Brandy nodded her head and sighed.
"I know, but you have to realize that you have a son now and I don't want either Danielle or Charlie around my son."
"He's our son, Brandy, and if I want either one around Steve, that will be my choice."
Brandy folded her arms across her chest while giving me a scowl.
"I hope you're not thinking what I think you're thinking. If my thoughts are true, you making a huge mistake."
"If I am, that would be my mistake.""I don't understand you Michael. You gave Danielle so many chances it was ridiculous, and now you thinking about giving Charlie a chance. When are you going to realize that you can't keep giving people chances? All it's going to leave you with is a broken heart."
"Why are you so upset, because I didn't give you a second chance?"
Brandy looked stunned and turned around toward the door. She looked at me with a frustrated look on her face as she opened the door.
"I'll be back at five to pick up Steve," she said as she went out the door and closed it.
I looked at closed door and sighed. I went over to my son and looked at him as he was looking at me with a wide smile. I smiled at my handsome son as I pulled him toward me and hugged him.
"It's a good thing you're only a kid, because when you get older, you're going to have a lot of issues to deal with."
Steve nodded his head as if he knew what I was talking about, and started to giggle.
I looked at him as I picked him up and started to tickle him. As I started to smile, I realized that was the first time I smiled in a long time.
After spending some time with Derrick, he decided to go home to get ready, while I decided to do some finishing touches of my own. Ashley was supposed to be coming over later so the both of us could get ready for tonight. As I went up to my room, the first thing I noticed was the picture of Michael and me sitting on my nightstand. I picked up the picture of the two of us being so happy and in love. I smiled as I put the picture back on the nightstand and then sighed.
"I will make everything right between us. I can promise that."
As I walked over to my bed, I looked outside at the beautiful afternoon. The sky looked so blue and peaceful as the sun was shining brightly through the big, thick white clouds. I also noticed some birds chirping on the big hollow tree outside of my window. Just looking out the window made me think about all the times I snuck out through it, or Michael coming in my room. I took a deep breath to relieve some of the tension that was building inside of me as I went into the bathroom to start getting ready. I may not have a good time tonight, but I'm going to make the best of it. As I was about to step into the shower, the doorbell rang.
"That must be Ashley," I said as I turned off the water.
As I ran downstairs and opened the door, I was shocked to see not only Ashley, but Chris right behind her.
"Hey Ash. Hey Chris," I said softly.
"Hey. I guess you weren't expecting me to drop by."
"I'm kind of surprised, but happy. Come in."
Ashley smiled as she walked into the house. She looked at me with a happy grin on her face.
"I'm going to go upstairs to set up," she said as she took her belongings and ran upstairs. I turned around to look at Chris with a dumb expression on my face.
"What's going on? I mean Ash is all giddy and you unexpectedly show up here. Something's telling me that you two are up to something."
"Why would you think that? I just came over to see how you were doing."
"Why? You're Michael's best friend. I thought you would hate my guts after what I did to him."
"I never said I disliked you for what happened between you and Michael. I think what happened between you two was a misunderstanding. You two were going through a lot and that's what caused the relationship to fail."
"I thought it was because of our lies."
Chris laughed. "Maybe, but I think you two were confused over your problems and you let them get the best of you."
I smiled. "At least you see things differently. I wish Michael would see it that way."
"Why do you say that?"
"I don't think I should get into it."
"Why not?"
I looked at Chris as I sat down on the couch.
"I said that because Michael moved on with his life. He and Danielle are back to the happy couple again, and to be honest, I'm happy for them."
Chris sat down beside me with a worried look on his face.
"What are you saying that you're going to give up on Michael?"
"I didn't think I had a reason to fight for him. When I saw them at the mall, they seemed like they were happy. Why should I stand in the way of that?"
"Because what you saw that day was a lie. Danielle and Michael are not together."