The doorbell rang, causing both Allison and Ben to jump.
“Aren’t you going to get it?” he asked her when she didn’t move.
“Nope. I’m grounded.”
Shivers went down Ben’s spine as footsteps came tromping from the hallway behind them. There was a pause when they neared, before they continued quicker than before.
“What the hell is he doing here?” Mr. Cross grumbled as he entered the room and saw Ben.
“He brought me my wallet.” Allison nudged Ben, prompting him to dig it out of his pocket. “I left it at school today.”
Mr. Cross scowled and started to say something, but the doorbell interrupted him. Shaking his head, he marched to the door and threw it open. “Yes?”
“Mr. Cross?” A figure could just barely be seen beyond Allison’s father.
“Who the hell are you?”
“I’m Ronnie Adams. Your daughter’s boyfriend, sir.”
The door began to shut. “She’s grounded!”
“I’m here to talk to you, sir. About your daughter. Please.”
Mr. Cross stood there in silence, momentarily unsure how to react. Finally he stepped out of the way, allowing Ronnie to enter.
Ben hadn’t seen Ronnie since biology class last year and was unaware how much he had changed. Ronnie had always been moderately attractive in a grunge sort of way, but now he had come into his own. The shoulder-length dreadlocks had been culled, revealing a handsome face with even features. The concert T-shirts and ratty jeans were gone, replaced by trendier clothing that fit closer to his body. He had either been working out or the oversized shirts of yesterday had disguised his nice pecs and narrow waist.
“Do you know this person, Alli?” Mr. Cross demanded as they neared the couch.
“Yes, he’s the guy you threw a whisky bottle at,” Allison said.
Ben held his breath, waiting for an explosion, but instead Mr. Cross apologized reluctantly to Ronnie.
“It’s okay. It didn’t do any damage, sir,” Ronnie said politely.
He was being a bit too cordial, in Ben’s opinion, but it had gotten him this far, which was more than he had expected.
“I can understand why you were angry,” Ronnie continued. “I should have asked permission to take your daughter out.”
“Well, that’s why she’s in trouble,” Mr. Cross huffed, working himself up. “She won’t be going out with anyone for some time.”
“I understand, sir,” Ronnie responded calmly. “I respect your authority. I just felt I should come by to apologize and to introduce myself properly.”
Mr. Cross eyed Ronnie suspiciously. “You can’t stay. She’s grounded.”
“That’s fair. I’ll be on my way then.” Ronnie held out his hand to Mr. Cross, who took it after a moment’s hesitation. “Maybe once Allison is no longer grounded, you would allow me to take her out again? This time with your permission?”
Multiple expressions fought for dominance on Mr. Cross’s face until it settled on perplexed acquiesce. “That might be possible.”
“Thank you, sir,” Ronnie said with one final handshake. He spared a single nod and smile at Allison before he headed for the door.
As soon as the front door was shut, Mr. Cross wheeled around and pointed an accusatory finger at Ben. “You think it’s funny, saying my daughter is with you when she’s out with a stranger?”
“No,” Ben answered, trying not to make eye contact.
“You’re damn right it’s not!” Mr. Cross boomed.
“Dad,” Allison interjected. “It wasn’t his idea. It was mine!”
“But he was happy enough to go along with it!” Mr. Cross countered, refusing to take his eyes off of Ben. “I bet you think you’re real smart, pulling the wool over my eyes, don’t you?”
“No,” Ben answered again, beginning to feel agitated. He handed Allison her wallet and stood. “I have to go home.”
“Yeah, you go home! You won’t ever be coming back here again, you hear me?”
“Fine, whatever.” Big loss. It wasn’t like they ever spent any time here with Mr. Cross being home so often.
“You won’t be seeing Allison again either.”
Ben stopped in his tracks. “What?”
“Your friendship with my daughter is over. You’re never allowed to see her again. Or call, or anything else!”
“Dad!” Allison protested.
“Shut up, Alli!”
“You shut up!” Ben yelled, surprising even himself. “You can’t tell me who I’m friends with. You can’t tell me anything!”
Mr. Cross’s shock only lasted a second before blind fury took control. Two long strides brought him close enough to grab Ben by the back of the neck. Mr. Cross shoved him toward the door, releasing Ben as he stumbled forward. “Get out!” he screamed. “Get out of my house!”
The second Ben opened the door, he felt himself shoved from behind. He hit the screen door, which buckled open. Sprinting to the driveway, he hopped into Tim’s car, his shaking hand stabbing at the ignition until the key slid inside. Once the engine sprang to life, he put it into drive and escaped down the street. He looked in the rearview mirror to see Mr. Cross standing in the yard, huffing and puffing like a bull. Allison stood behind him, a look of complete shock on her face.
* * * * *
There was, thankfully, very little that Mr. Cross could do to prevent them from seeing each other during the weekdays, short of sending Allison to a different school in another district. This possibility wasn’t so far-fetched. The idea would have seemed laughable a few short years ago, but Mr. Cross’s grip on reality was slipping at an exponential rate.
Seeing each other after school was too risky so soon after the fallout, but they still had the benefit of lunch break and choir. Mrs. Hammond enthusiastically insisted they leave class to practice, either in the auditorium, or if it was being used as it was today, then outside.
The two friends were currently enjoying a sunny bench secluded by two large oak trees. Ben’s head rested in Allison’s lap as she played absentmindedly with his hair and he gazed at the lazy clouds above.
“I asked Dad if I could go out with Ronnie this weekend.”
“What did he say?”
“No, but that I could next weekend when I’m ungrounded.”
“That sucks,” Ben sighed. “I mean, I’m happy for you, but it seems unfair that I’m always on his shit list.”
“Who knows what his deal is? You know what’s funny? I’m probably going to have to say I’m out on a date with Ronnie the next time I want to do something with you.”
“Then when you get busted I can show up and say ‘sir’ every other word and your dad will love me.”
“Shut up!” Allison laughed.
“You know,” Ben said, leaning up on his elbows and shooting a disdainful glare toward the school, “we’re going to have to start working on a song soon. It’s only a matter of time before Mrs. Hammond asks us for a preview.”
“For the talent show?” Allison chewed her lip thoughtfully. “I’d totally forgotten about that. So what are we going to do?”
They spent the rest of the period discussing which song to perform. Last year they had been set to sing “Under Pressure” by David Bowie and Queen, but they had practiced it so much that they had grown tired of it.
“Ronnie has a band, you know,” Allison said coyly.
“I think you may have mentioned that a few million times.” Ben paused to read between the lines. “Wait, you want us to sing with them or something?”
“Maybe. They aren’t perfect, but they have this one song with amazing lyrics. It’s about a girl, and she’s watching this guy from far away that she’s totally enamored with. He doesn’t know she exists, but the girl knows everything about him, sees more than everyone else. It’s like she knows more about him than he does.”