Notice Me

Chapter Five: I Wanna Hold Your Hand

At the sound of Maddie's sweet laugh, Trevor couldn't help but glance over.

"What's so funny?"

"You," she giggled, trying to bite back a smile and failing miserably. "I don't know, Trevor. I never really saw you as the punk-rock-I-love-my-band-more-than-breathing type of guy."

He also laughed and slid his arm around the curve of her hips, pulling her close to his side as they walked from the subway to her house near Fenway Park. It was the usual routine where he'd meet her at the Tipton once her shift was over, they'd spend some quality time, usually in a library and he'd walk her home.

"Honestly, I'm not," Trevor admitted with his chin tilted downward, smiling sweetly at the blonde. "I mean my parents made me take lessons as a kid just to have something to put on my college resume and I love it. Then Wes comes by and before I know it I'm in a band and apparently we're friends."

"He's a charmer, isn't he?" Maddie mused aloud. She caved and less than twenty-four hours after their encounter in the library. With Corrie playing messenger, Wes was instructed to meet her an hour before school starts at the front steps, ready to learn.

"So I won't be hanging around the Tipton for a couple days," Trevor explained nonchalantly. "I've got this massive paper to work on for one of my classes. I will be there on Friday though. That's when we're holding tryouts for the band."

"Oh."

Suddenly it was silent and that bothered Maddie. Spending time together shouldn't be awkward. If anything the silence should be comfortable where they could simply enjoy each other's presence. From the fear that their relationship might be a train wreck waiting to happen, Maddie wrapped linked her arms around his and held on tight. Trevor must have sensed her negative energy because he frowned down on her with sadness.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she lied. "Um, I've got this big test thing tomorrow."

"You'll do fine," he smiled encouragingly. "You're smart…almost as smart as me even."

Maddie raised an eyebrow. "Almost?"

"Come on, Maddie," he laughed haughtily and pulled on the lapels of this thick coat. Maddie rolled her eyes at the boy who had ego pouring from his ears. "I am a merit scholar."

"Wow," Maddie chuckled with a sarcastic smile. "I hate you."

"You remember the last time you said that, right?" Trevor chuckled and his arm encircled her waist. He raised his thick eyebrows in a suggestive manner. "We spent almost an hour making out in an art gallery."

"Good times," Maddie grinned. It got quiet again and the blonde turned her curious eyes to the boy who contently stared straight ahead. "Trevor, what are we? Are we dating or just friends or what?"

"I don't believe in labels," he answered in the vaguest way possible. He caught Maddie rolling her eyes and frowned. "I'm really busy with school right now and things are about to get busier with me being in this band. All I know is that I like you and I like spending time with you. Can't that be enough?"

Her expression didn't change and he nudged her playfully.

"But I guess you could call me your boyfriend if you like," he suggested but there was a bit of hesitation to his voice and Maddie was sure to notice it. She tried to hide her disappointment and released his arm, walking up the front steps of her house.

"You know, you're right," Maddie said with sudden enthusiasm. She turned suddenly with blonde hair whipping across her back, wearing the strongest smile she could muster. "It's my senior year and with yearbook committee, newspaper staff, college apps, work and this tutoring thing…I'm going to be pretty busy too."

Trevor nodded. "Remember, don't overdo it."

"Right. I'll see you later, Trevor," she murmured after unlocking the door and turning back to him. With a smile, Trevor leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. It lasted two seconds, maybe three and before she knew it, he was halfway down the street, not even attempting to look back.

As Maddie made her way into the small house that was practically falling apart, she tried to fight the disappointment that filled every inch of her. In the beginning, kissing Trevor had been such an exciting thing to do. Her heart would race as they fought for dominance, practically clawing at one another. She didn't know when exactly things had changed but now it was simply familiar, safe…

And dull, Maddie couldn't help but add in her head while trekking up to her room.

…

"Ow!"

A pillow had come out of nowhere and smacked Wes across the face. With fingers curled into the soft material of the pillow, Corrie glared at her friend, ready to strike again. The two were lounging around Corrie's room after a long shift at the Tipton. With his dirty blonde hair a disheveled mess, Wes turned to his friend eyes narrowed in anger.

"Core, why'd you do that for?" Wes finally questioned after the initial impact. He was sitting on the floor with his tie undone, jacket thrown off and the sleeves of his loose dress shirt folded to his elbows.

"You're kidding, right?" Corrie frantically questioned from her seat at the edge of her bed, crossed legs dangling over the side. "I talked to Maddie, Wes. You're busted and I want my damn DVDs back!"

"I failed my Lit test and I have a D in math," Wes loftily shrugged, lacking the sincere desperation he wore when trying to sway Maddie. "For the tuition my parents pay, if the school's offering a tutoring program then I'm going to take advantage of it."

"No! The only reason you do bad in school is that you don't try. Maddie's smart but I don't think she can teach you to stop being a lazy ass!" Corrie shouted in disagreement. "Face it. I know you, Wes. You could care less about grades and tutoring. You're going to take advantage of Maddie, my friend, Maddie."

The sight of his jutted bottom lip and large, green puppy dog eyes made her cringe.

"You don't need to be jealous, Core," he mumbled six words that left her beyond irritated. Wes stood from his spot on the ground and sat beside her. Despite the protest and the countless smacks he took to his arms, Wes managed to wrap his arms around her in a tight hug.

"Wes, stop."

"You know I can't stop once I start," he laughed and snuggled against her shoulder though the both of them understood the ambiguity of his statement. "It's the only addiction that isn't killing me."

Her lips twitched. "You mean the hug or ruining lives?"

"The hug," he replied with mock enthusiasm. "Plus, it isn't ruining lives. I'm helping. You know, I don't know if I like the idea of my only best friend dating Trevor. He seems really…slutty."

Corrie couldn't help but giggle.

"I ran into him at the mall," Wes began to explain but stopped when seeing Corrie's stern look. "Okay, so I followed him down to the mall and pretended to casually run into him. We hung out and I introduced him to the Fifth Street Music Shop Groupies. It was like feeding a sailor to the sirens."

"He's a good guy."

"You hardly know him."

"Well, I'll get to know him," Corrie fought back. "Why else would I be in this stupid band?"

"Um, I don't know. The music maybe," Wes quickly replied with a defensive edge to his voice. Corrie sighed and bit hard against her bottom lip, feeling her stomach rumble. Wes looked from her flat abdomen to her face before breaking out in a grin. He hurriedly jumped from the bed and pulled on Corrie's arm with vigor.

"You're hungry. I'm hungry. I say we hit Gino's," Wes exclaimed. He plopped down on the floor and slipped his feet into his loose, high top sneakers. "Is your mom working late?"

Corrie groaned and flopped down against her bed. "When is my mom not working late?"

"Good point. When you do see her make sure to tell her I said hi and I miss her double fudge and caramel brownies," Wes said with a dreamy expression. His mouth was salivating at the thought and his tongue darted across his dry lips. "Um, but if we go you're going to have to pay. I spent my last ten on a CD for your boyfriend."

Corrie grinned. "Aw, that's cute! You bought Trevor a CD?"

"Quit making it sound all gay," Wes scoffed. "Are we going or what?"

"Wait. We need to stop by the bank first. I'm yet to cash my first paycheck and for minimum wage we might have to pass on Gino's and hit up the McDonald's dollar menu," Corrie explained after spying a small envelope sitting unopened on her dresser. She easily tore through the thin paper and evaluated the check within.

Her eyes instantly widened. The bottom of the paper stated how much she had made since starting at the Tipton. This had to be some sort of mistake. She was a candy counter girl. Corrie had never seen such a large sum of money in her life. She wasn't even sure if she could read the number correctly especially with all those zeroes at the end.

Corrie searched the check from top to bottom and realized that Mr. Moseby's signature didn't approve the check even though he was the hotel manager and took care of paying the employees. This check had been specially approved and held the hotel owner's signature.

"Thanks dad," Corrie mumbled beneath her breath. With the check safely in her purse, Corrie grabbed a jacket and was out the door with Wes trailing behind like a faithful puppy. She wore a big smile as she walked down the street, sure that she could get use to this.

…

"You're late, Kingston."

"Did you know that coffee drinkers are statistically shown to be more romantically active that none coffee drinkers?"

Maddie's tired eyes were met by the charming smirk of Wes Kingston who tipped his coffee cup to her. The blonde rolled her eyes, saved the page of her book and shut it before standing. She hugged her books tight to her chest and looked rather indifferent. After a sigh of defeat, she looked over at the teenage boy and raised an eyebrow.

"Are you easily distracted?"

"Is Corrie Santos ADHD?"

"That's a yes," Maddie sighed and took a look around. "I told Sister Bernadette that I'm tutoring you and apparently the library is off limits. Apparently, people have been complaining about you. I swear, if the library had a Wall of Shame, Wes, your picture would be at the top."

"You flatter me," Wes mumbled sarcastically and rubbed the back of his head, fingers getting tangled with the disheveled locks that he had forgotten to comb before leaving the house. "How about we do it behind the bleachers?"

Maddie threw him a look of disgust.

"You're hot and all, sweetheart, but I didn't mean it," Wes defended himself in a tone that was low and sleepy. Honestly, he usually got to school minutes after the homeroom bell rang. Today he arrived an entire hour early. He felt like blowing his brains out. Thank God for coffee.

"You flatter me," Maddie imitated delightfully, almost patronizingly. Wes sighed loudly and took a deep gulp of his coffee, avoiding the proud smile on Maddie's face. "I knew you were lying when you said you wanted a hotter tutor."

"I know my good looks are distracting but you're supposed to be tutoring me, Fitz, not hitting on me," Wes laughed and the smirked returned. Maddie didn't even warn him before walking off to a stone table under the pavilion in the far side of the schoolyard.

"What were you reading?"

"Oh," Maddie mumbled and flashed the cover of her book in his direction. "It's Abrams' Masters of Art series. Van Gogh's my favorite."

Wes scowled. "Van Gogh was a freak. Dude cut off his ear."

"Okay, one, he was having a seizure at the time!" Maddie shouted defensively though Wes tightly cupped his coffee cup and his lips were set in a tight smile. "Two, how can tell me that when you look at a Van Gogh masterpiece you don't feel moved or inspired or something?"

"I do feel something," Wes muttered and Maddie paused for a moment, finding herself lost in his bright green eyes and the sincerity of his chiseled face. Then that damn smirk reappeared and she could already feel her irritation boiling. "I feel like taking a nap."

Maddie rolled her eyes. "I bet you can't name a famous artist to save your life."

"Andy Warhol," Wes shot back and carelessly threw his books onto the table. Maddie sat across from him, intrigued. "Now pop art is the shit and Warhol knew his stuff."

"Campbell's soup cans and bananas do not compare to Van Gogh's A Starry Night," Maddie argued with the shake of her head. Wes studied the passionate young woman for a moment before looking away in exasperation. "That's a fact."

"You're impossible, Fitz," Wes sighed lazily. "I bet you've got no taste in music either."

"I like classical," Maddie pressed, not enjoying his insult. "Vivaldi. The Four seasons is so full of emotion and feeling. You can almost taste and smell the music."

"No. It's all about the Beatles. They were like the definition of perfect music," Wes grinned. Maddie turned up her nose and Wes unexpectedly grabbed her hand, lacing his fingers with her slender ones. He sang, "Yeah, I'll tell you something.I think you'll understand. When I say that something. I wanna hold your hand. I wanna hold your hand. I wanna hold your hand…"

Maddie was momentarily stunned and her breathe hitch high in her throat. She couldn't say a thing and silence settled in. Strangely, it was a comfortable silence between two people lost in a connection. Maddie could feel Wes work the pad of this thumb over her knuckles and made her skin tingle. Their eyes met and all of Maddie's conviction and defenses were gone.

"See. It's magic, right?" Wes asked softly. "Screw this emo junk. Those unenthusiastic melodramatic losers who don't smile with their overwrought lyrics, impossible to hear guitar rifts, skinny jeans and greasy unwashed hair that covers exactly 3/5 of their face at the perfect angle."

"Of course you wouldn't like emo," Maddie said with a smirk of her own, "Jesse McCartney."

"I don't look like him. I don't even know the dude's genre," Wes firmly denied. "Ugh, don't even get me started on the boy bands today. I got into a heated debate with this thirteen-year-old girl because she said the Jonas Brothers are better than the Beatles. I mean really, buy a record, kid."

"Arguing with little fangirls?" Maddie laughed. "That's so pathetic."

Maddie's eyes turned to the stone table and she realized that they were still holding hands. Awkwardly clearing her throat, she squirmed from his loose yet secure grip, breaking the connection. Smiling to himself, Wes leaned back in his chair and reclaimed his coffee cup, taking a long sip.

"I, um, think we should get started," Maddie awkwardly suggested.

"Aw, but we're having so much fun," Wes smirked. "I'd rather keep fighting with you."

"Okay. You can start by explaining to me how you could possibly think the answer to number three was C," Maddie said, ignoring the flirtatious tone to his voice. She fished his Lit test from her binder and dropped it in front of Wes who groaned in protest. "Really, Wes, if you think Mr. Darcy most likely referred to Elizabeth as having been "slighted by other men" because her sister is so much prettier then we'll be fighting all morning."

Wes groaned dully and slouched in his seat. "I can't wait…"

…

Corrie's bottom lip stuck out further than the top and her eyebrows slanted in objection. Parked outside the back of the Tipton at the loading dock was a large Matson truck with the metal backdoor thrown open. Inside were stacks and stacks of brown boxes filled with candy bars and Corrie was instructed to move every single one.

She was already tired after a long day at school and now she had to actually work for once. Corrie stepped into the truck and hoisted the first box up into her arms. She placed the box on a metal cart Estabon had given to her and went back for the next. When she had a stack of four boxes, Corrie pushed the heavy cart to the storage room, unpacked and went back.

After moving what seemed like millions of boxes but was only fifteen, Corrie decided it was time for a break and walked sluggishly through the lobby, ready to take shelter in the staff break room.

"Hey Corrie!"

"Trevor," she breathed when hearing the familiar voice. Quickly wiping the sweat from her brows, Corrie turned suddenly and looked to the revolving doors where a group of loud and rowdy young men were pouring in. He jogged up to her and Corrie's face expressed her confusion. "Wait, I—" she gasped for breath "—thought, um, Maddie said you wouldn't be, uh, around."

"Yeah, I've got this big paper I'm working on and a couple exams," Trevor sighed, a bit worried. "I was locked up in my room, working on my thesis when my frat brothers convinced me to take a break and have dinner with them."

Corrie looked over his shoulder and saw that they had an audience. The older boys were leaning against the banister, watching her and Trevor with encouraging smiles. Corrie giggled softly and waved at the boys whose smiles only grew as they frantically waved back. Trevor seemed embarrassed and tried to draw her attention back to him.

"I knew you were in college being a smarty pants and all," Corrie recalled playfully, "But I didn't know you were in a fraternity."

"Yeah," Trevor smiled almost shyly. "The first time I met London Tipton I told her I was in Beta-Kappa-Delta and she said she was apart of Buy-Lots-of-stuff-a."

Corrie laughed softly, almost nervously. "I thought you said you didn't have any friends."

"I never said I didn't have any friends," Trevor corrected. "I said that I have a hard time making friends with kids my age. I mean, I did the whole high school thing really fast and concentrated on my studies while everyone else was at football games and concerts. Those guys are my brothers. They're all legal and whatnot. I'm the youngest in the house."

Corrie stole one last glance at the frat boys. "They seem sweet."

"You'd be singing a totally different tune if you had to live with them. They're all pigs and jerks. None of them are good enough for you," Trevor told her directly with a confident nod. Corrie was about to question him when his face was overcome with concern. "You okay, Core? You look a little pale."

"Oh, just tired is all," she replied and tried to smile. "I've been moving boxes all afternoon and I've still got a million to go."

"Need a hand?" Trevor volunteered though Corrie quickly shook her head. This was her job and her work. She couldn't have someone else do it for her. "Come on. If I bribe the boys to help I'm sure we'll get it done in no time."

"Trevor, that's really nice of you but—"

"Hey guys! This is my friend, Corrie!" Trevor shouted and a loud uniform 'hi Corrie!' rang throughout the rather empty lobby. It seemed that Trevor had his mind already set on helping her and when he had a goal, he didn't stop till he got his way. "Do you guys mind helping out a pretty lady move a few boxes?"

There was no argument or hesitation. The boys simply charged over, ready for directions.

"You really don't have to," Corrie said guiltily. Still, her feet brought her through the back of the Tipton to where the truck was still parked and overflowing with boxes. The frat boys were following her in a straight line like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs going to work.

"You look like you need a breather and it's an hour wait till dinner anyways," Trevor loftily exclaimed and played with the little plastic pager the Tipton restaurant had given them while they waited. Corrie just shut up and sat on the curb while each boy used their own cart and went back and forth, unloading the large truck.

"So is college really that different from high school?"

"Yeah, I guess," Trevor shrugged, sitting beside her. "I mean, everything's bigger and new and different. It's crazy for the first couple of months, but I mean, you get use to it and you get to seriously figure out what you wanna do with your life. Have you started applying?"

"No," Corrie honestly answered. "I should be. I've been looking around."

"Are you planning on going out of state?"

"Probably not," Corrie answered and there was sadness to her voice. "I want to. I want to go somewhere like LA or Seattle or New York City, somewhere different, you know, but I can't."

Trevor tilted his head in an adorably confused manner. "Why not?"

"My mom would die without me. I mean, it's not like she depends on me or anything. She works so much that I hardly get to see her but…I'm all she has," Corrie softly explained. "If I went away she'd have to come home to an empty house every night. I'd be worried about her. She'd be worried about me. It's just…easier if I stay here. My mom's here. Wes is here…you…you're here."

"That's what I love about you, Corrie Santos. You care so much, more than anyone I've ever know…but in the end it's your life. Just do what's best for you. Me, Wes, not even your mom can dictate how you live your life. Just be you and if your loved ones really love you like you love them, then they'll support you no matter what." Trevor grinned from ear to ear and Corrie looked away, blushing.

Trevor took her soft hand into his and she almost flinched from the unexpected contact. He gave her tome fingers a tight, reassuring squeeze and she was instantly filled with warmth. Corrie could definitely get use to this.

Author's note:

Thanks to Persephone Lemonade and JSquared for reading and reviewing! I love you guys!