Beautiful

Beautiful Girls
Rocky never liked beautiful girls. He just didn’t. It’s not that he only liked ugly girls or that he thought that girls who were called ugly were beautiful. If you took a look at all of his girlfriends, they were remarkably average looking, to everyone, including himself and that’s the way he liked it. It’s not that appearance didn’t matter, it does. It just doesn’t matter to him like it means to some of the other guys.  He thought that some of the girls at his school were gorgeous, breath taking. But he didn’t date them, any of them, even though some of them might of wanted to date him. He just didn’t date pretty or attractive girls just as a rule. Most of the guys at Fort Collins High School thought he was the biggest idiot on the planet. It made perfect sense to him but not to anyone else. Most of the girls knew he wouldn’t date them, because, unfortunately for Rocky, most girls are too pretty and so no girl went near him anymore. That’s why when the most beautiful girl he had ever seen asked him to prom on a warm spring day as he pulled a jacket from his locker, he stumbled for words in shock.
She walked up to him, with a grin on her face, her smile perfect and white, “Hey Rocky,”
Rocky had to do a double take. She was so gorgeous. She had dark brown hair, with a little white-blond streak on the side, like one of the singers that she loved. She wore a beautiful lacy black dress that was loose fitting but still showed off her small hourglass figure. Her face was rounded and her eyes matched the color of her hair. Her eyebrows arched and her face always seemed happy, even if she was frowning.
“How are you?” she leaned her shoulder against the lockers, her little black leather purse hitting the minty green metal.
Rocky debated putting on his jacket. It had been chilly this morning, but it could’ve warmed up. He avoided her eyes, “I’m good. What’s up with you, Cassie?”
“Oh please, call me Cassandra.” She gave him a small smile, “And I’m good too.”
“I remember, in the 5th grade, you threw a fit when the teacher didn’t call you Cassie.” Rocky laughed.
Cassandra closed her eyes and groaned, “Don’t remind me of that.”
Rocky laughed, “Oh yeah, sorry.”
“So…prom.” Cassandra said. The banner was hanging about the exit of the locker bays. The glitter writing out PROM had shed and it looked more like PPON now.
“Prom?” Rocky shut his locker and leaned against the lockers. He became aware, now that he was facing her, how close Cassandra was. Not even an arm length away. Actually, if he stuck his elbow out, it could probably touch her.
“Yeah.” Cassandra nodded. Was it him, or was she slowly getting closer?
“What about it?”
“Well, I’m kind of dateless. And I’m pretty sure it’s not a secret that I like you.” Cassandra smiled again.
“Are you asking me?” Rocky was shocked.
Cassandra leaned in, “Are you saying yes?”
Rocky leaned back, “Cassandra, what are you doing?” he put his hands up, almost pushing her away, “Why would you want to go to prom with me?”
“I think you’re cute,” she smiled.
“Really?” Rocky raised his eyebrows.
“I also hear you don’t date pretty girls.” Cassandra smiled and leaned in further, “I hoped that I could change your mind.”
“So you don’t actually like me?” Rocky asked, taking a big step back.
“Well, I mean, sort of. So am I changing your mind?”
“Actually, you are. You’re showing me why I don’t date beautiful girls. Even if they don’t act like it, they’re still conceited on the inside.”
Cassandra leaned back, “So you’re rejecting me?”
Rocky nodded, “I don’t really want to call it rejection, that sounds harsh. I just want to call it keeping your options open.”
Cassandra frowned, “Well fine then.”
“Yeah. You’re a beautiful girl. Why don’t you go with someone who likes you more?”
Cassandra stepped back and crossed her arms, “Because you’re the only one who I can have. What will it take for you to date me?”
Rocky shrugged and adjusted his back pack, “I don’t know, add some substance.”
“I have substance, that’s why guys like me!”
“I mean to your personality.” Rocky groaned, “I can’t believe I wanted to say yes.”
“So you almost said yes to me?” Cassandra laughed.
“Almost. Don’t count that as a victory.” Rocky said.
“What if I got uglier?” Cassandra asked, “Ya know, dyed my hair some stupid color, got stupid piercings in my eyebrows, or ate candy nonstop?”
“You’d still be ugly on the inside, Cassie.”
*
“You seriously rejected Assandra?” John was over at Rocky’s house, playing video games.
“You’re leaving out a C.”  Rocky shot an alien.
John moaned, “Man, I wish she left out her C’s.”
Rocky covered his laugh, “Oh my god.
“What?” John smiled, “Even if you don’t like hot girls, you gotta admit. They hot.”
“They’re. They’re hot.” Rocky sighed.
“You get my point.”
“Unfortunately, I do.” Rocky sighed again.
John grinned, “I like that, that’s clever. Assandra. Cause, ya know, she’s got a nice—“
Rocky cut him off, “I got it, thanks.”
“Still, what’s a girl like Assandra want with you? I mean, you’re just…you. No offense buddy, you know you’re like a brother to me, but still. You’re just Rocky. Besides having the most badass name ever, you’re not really doing anything to get on her radar.” John said, between head shots to the enemy.
Rocky shrugged. A buzz pierced the noises of other players being shot. John reached for his phone, holding it between his shoulder and his face, “Oh hey A—Cassandra!”
Rocky paused the game, “Why is she calling you?” he hissed.
John held up a finger so shush his beast friend, “Oh, Rocky? What he likes in a girl?”
Rocky covered his mouth to shut himself up.
“Let me see…oh I know for a fact he loves gardening. And little kids. Not like a pedophile, but he just loves spending time with them. Oh I know. He volunteers at the community garden every Saturday, at six in the morning. Oh you hate gardening? Well, I don’t really know what tell you there, Cassandra. I thought you wanted to date him, but I guess if you’re not willing to do that, then that sucks…oh, alright. I see. So if you really want to impress him, go there. Even get there early, he’ll love that more. See you tomorrow.” John said, then tossed his phone away.
Rocky glared at him, “I hate you.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll call you tomorrow at six in the morning.” John grinned, “You will get up and you will see Assandra and you will look at her beautiful face and you will regret saying yes, and you will tell her that you changed your mind and you would love to go with prom with her.”
Rocky groaned, “Oh when you say it that way it sounds even more appealing.”
“Okay, you don’t have to say yes to prom, but you will still go and make her feel sorry for only liking you because she can’t have you.” John commanded.
“Sounds like a plan.”
*
“Look at her, she’s majestic.” John moaned, “Maybe I should go with you and assist with gardening. I wouldn’t mind seeing her get on her hands and knees all day, bro.”
Rocky laughed and shook his head, “Oh no. You got me into this mess, you can’t benefit from forcing me to get up before the sun is.”
John groaned, and as Rocky jumped out of his friends car, Cassandra pretended to be weeding, though instead of ripping up weeds she was tearing up the first growth of a beautiful foxtrot flower. Even though Rocky had only gardened when his mom was alive, which was years ago, he still knew that.
“Cassandra what are you doing?” Rocky asked.
She stood up, “Oh hi Rocky. I come here all the time, I’m such a gardener, ya know?” she popped her gum.
“You are?”
“Oh yeah, totally.” Cassandra smiled, “What are you doing here?”
“I garden, occasionally.” He lied.
“Oh sweet.” Cassandra nodded her head. She held up the flowers she had pulled like they were the head of a bear she had just killed, “I just was pulling these pesky things.”
Rocky stifled his laugh. “Let me help you.”
Cassandra smiled, “Okie dokie!”
Rocky got to his knees in the dirt and pulled up some actual weeds, “So how long have you been gardening?”
Cassandra looked for a place to get down. She was wearing a fancy pair of jeans, probably more than and she was beginning to realize the mistake she had made. She crouched down sitting on her toes, instead of putting her knees on the ground and she tried to balance while ripping actual weeds out, “I, whoops, um I’ve been gardening for a little while, I don’t really know.”
Rocky smiled, “You’re lying.”
“I am not!” Cassandra defended herself, “I love gardening.”
“I was there when you called John.” Rocky laughed to himself.
Cassandra stuck out her bottom lip, “Well, whatever. I’m doing all of this so you’ll date me, aren’t you slightly impressed or pleased? I mean, if a beautiful girl asked me to prom I would’ve said yes in a heartbeat but if she did something that she hates just to impress me, I’d be all over that girl.”
“Well I’m not you, aren’t I?” Rocky snapped.
“Chill.” Cassandra snapped back, “I thought I was impressing you here.”
The sun started to rise higher in the sky, the chilly morning air slowly turning into warmer spring air. Rocky stood up and clapped some of the dirt from his hands, “Well, there’s not much to do. I didn’t exactly plan on gardening so I didn’t bring anything to help. It is the beginning of the season.”
“You’re actually into all this gardening stuff?” Cassandra stood up and looked for a place to wipe dirt from her hands.
Rocky shrugged and sat down on one of the benches that the city had put into the garden, “I haven’t done it since my mom died. She was huge on all of this.”
Cassandra sat down on the other side of the bench, a solemn look on her face, “Oh. I’m sorry.” She suddenly coughed very loudly.
“What was that?” Rocky smiled a little bit.
She pounded her chest, “I swallowed my gum.”
He laughed loudly, “You okay? Do I need to the Heimlich?”
“Oh god no, please don’t.”
Rocky chuckled again, “Fine, shoot me down like that. That’s cool.”
Cassandra scooted closer, till their legs were touching together on the bench, and her voice got lower, her face close to his, “You can put your arms around me like that, just please don’t thrust your fist up into my ribcage.”
Rocky kept his face straight as her lips got dangerously close to him, “Um, no thanks. It was a joke.”
Cassandra whispered, “Damn.”
Rocky scooted slightly away from the beautiful girl, “So why are you so desperate to impress me?”
She scooted closer and resumed her same position, her head tilted toward his and it would only take an few inches forward and they would be…She said in the same low, kind of sultry voice, “I like you.”
For some reason, Rocky realized that this girl wasn’t as conceited as he previously thought. Not to say that she was totally modest and thought of herself as ugly. He thought she was beautiful and she did want to date him and there wasn’t a really good reason for him to reject her in the first place and so why not? He felt himself leaning towards her beautiful pink lips. His lips parted and…
Cassandra smiled and pulled back, “If that a definite yes?”
Rocky nodded and leaned in again, “For prom, at least.”
She grinned and they stayed there in the early hours of the morning, their lips pressed against one another’s.
*
“So you’re dating Assie now?” John said as he pulled up. The sun was higher in the sky now and Cassandra had already left the garden.
Rocky sighed and leaned his head against the back of the seat, “She’s my date for prom now, we could have some problems if you insist on commenting on her ass.”
“Can I help the fact that it’s fantastic?” John asked, “But what happened to you not wanting to date a beautiful girl?”
“We’re not really dating. We’re just going to prom together in a few weeks. After that…I don’t know.” Rocky said.
John gave him a sly smile, “You’re gonna tap that aren’t you?”
“What?”
“Nevermind.” John laughed.
*
Prom came quickly. Rocky’s dad was confused on Rocky’s date choice and why exactly a beautiful girl chose his son. Nonetheless, Rocky’s dad loaned him a suit and tie to wear and on a somewhat warm spring night and Rocky picked up a beautiful girl.
“Hi.” Cassandra sat in the passenger seat.
“Oh dude what the hell is wrong with you?” Rocky asked.
Cassandra frowned, “What? Do you not like my dress?”
Rocky smiled, “No, I mean, why did you want to go to prom with me? You look absolutely stunning.”
Cassandra leaned over and kissed his cheek, “You’re too sweet. Do you really like it?”
Rocky nodded, “Oh yeah.”
Cassandra adjusted the hem of her dress, “Thanks Rocky.”
He nodded and put the car in gear and started driving. The hotel where prom was about an hour and half away, but Rocky was still worried about making conversation. His palms were sweating so bad he could feel his hands slipping on the driver’s wheel. He had hardly talked to her since that day in the garden and even in the garden they hadn’t talked that much.
“So uh…how’s school going?” he asked after about five minutes of driving.
Cassandra shrugged and readjusted the strap of her dress, “It’s fine. ACT is killing me though. I’m so scared about college.”
“Oh yeah. At least we have one more year before we really have to start worrying.” Rocky said, “I mean, this time next year, we’ll be seniors and we’ll have already decided I guess.”
Cassandra nodded, “I’m so excited about this, are you?”
Rocky nodded slightly, “I guess. I mean, I’ve heard horror stories about prom. But I don’t think anything like that will happen here.”
“Horror stories?”
“You know, drunk driving, people getting killed.”
“Oh. I hope that doesn’t happen.”
“I don’t think it will.”
*
“Oh my gosh this is so much fun.” Cassandra giggled. She had a glass full of punch, the red liquid sloshing over the sides as she gyrated to the music. The blue dress she was wearing was moving like a wave with her body.
Rocky leaned in and kissed her, “Oh yeah.”
The DJ slowed the music down, “Hey you guys this is your DJ, I’d like to thank you for having me out here and I hope everyone had a good time and this is a ten minute warning. If you’ve got that guy or girl you’ve been wanting to ask to dance, this is your last chance.”
Cassandra set her cup down and started to dance with Rocky, “This is the best night ever.”
Rocky nodded, his chin bumping her shoulder.
“So why’d you say yes to me?” Cassandra asked, “Not for my looks, I know.”
Rocky wrapped his arms tighter around her waist, “I thought there was more to you then just a pretty face and a nice figure. I realized there was more that meets the eye with you.”
Cassandra smiled and pressed her lips on his, “Not a lot of guys do that. Thank you.”
They moved in a slow circle, still kissing. Rocky whispered in her ear, “Let’s get out of here now so we can leave before some of these drivers can get on the road.”
Cassandra shook her head, “Nah, I’m sure they have a room at the hotel or something. There’s no reason to worry.”
Rocky shrugged, “I’m just trying to be safe.”
Cassandra rested her head on her date’s shoulder, “I just don’t want to miss one minute of this.”
He kissed her again, “I don’t want to miss anything either, but I just want to look out for you. I don’t want anything to happen to my girlfriend the very first night I have her.”
“Girlfriend?”
“Oh, I thought that we were—you know because we’re going to prom and I like you and I thought you liked me—,”
“I like the sound of that.” Cassandra said into his ear.
“Really?”
Cassandra nodded, her  lips tickling his jaw line, “I like the sound of that a lot.”
The man singing about missing the love of his life stopped and a faster song started playing.
“We have to move now don’t we?” Rocky asked.
“Who said that we had to do that that?”
“No one.”
“Then I don’t see why we have to move.”
“Good point.”
Cassandra nodded again, staying in silence. For the last two songs, they slowly danced together. Then the lights turned back on and teenagers started stumbling out the door, some stumbling because they were blinded by the sudden light and other because they had a bit too much punch. Rocky had been sure to stay clear of the punch, but Cassandra had not. At least she wasn’t driving and she wasn’t completely drunk, hardly even tipsy.
Rocky guided his date back to his car and opened the door for her. She giggled and sat down in the seat and sighed. As Rocky turned on the ignition she started talking, “Prom was a lot of fun, Rocky. Thank you for taking me.”
“Of course.”
“Did you really mean what you said?”
“About what?”
“Thinking that more meets the eye with me.” Cassandra leaned over in the car towards Rocky.
“Of course.”
“That means a lot. Seriously.”
Rocky smiled, “You’re welcome.”
*
“ROCKY WATCH OUT!”
*
“9-1-1, my boyfriend just crashed his car—I don’t know, there was a drunk driver or someone and they were drifting and he ended up crashing into the tree. I think he’s dead—oh my god.”
*
“I knew Rocky for a long time. I only asked him out because I thought he would say no and I wanted to see—I’m sorry this is—I can’t believe he’s gone. Some girls say that their boyfriends make them feel beautiful. It was the opposite with Rocky. He made me feel more than beautiful. He made me feel like I was worth something. I want to change because of him. I’ll donate my clothes to charity or donate my hair to be made into wigs for cancer children. I might even volunteer to help with kids. His mom loved to garden and I think he did too, even though he would never admit it. He was an example of what we should all want to be.”