~Where have all the good men gone
and where are all the Gods?
Where's the street wise Hercules
to fight the rising odds?
Isn't there a white knight
upon a fiery steed?
Late at night I toss and turn
and I dream of what I need.
I need a hero~
          Bonnie Tyler
*****


Meghan walked along Michigan Avenue in a daze. She had to get out of the house, away from the concerned glances her parents were giving her. She didn't want to talk. She didn't want to tell anyone what had happened. It hurt too much. She just wanted to be alone. To disappear. To forget. And what better place, than downtown Chicago.

She continued to walk. No one even looked in her direction. Maybe this wasn't what she wanted. Part of her was glad that no one noticed her, but part of her wished someone would step out of the crowd and ask if she was okay. Make her feel like someone again, instead of the nobody she'd been the last two days. She needed a hero. A knight in shining armor.

She sighed deeply. How had it happened? What had she done? Deep down she knew why and she knew it wasn't her fault, or could it be? If she'd only done what Nick wanted her to do. But she wasn't ready. She was just 16 and had only been dating Nick for about 3 months. It didn't matter to her that almost every other girl her age in school was sexually active, she'd made a choice not to be. So, Nick had moved on. Meghan had half expected him to, but for him to move on to her best friend, Laine? That had been a shock. Then to find out that they were making fun of her to all of their friends who laughed at her too, left her alone at lunch, and teased and called her names as they passed her in the hallways. That was more than Meghan could stand. It had been difficult enough moving to Chicago from Chaney, Kansas last summer. It had been hard to leave behind friends she'd known all her life to start over in a new city,
with a new school, and having to make new friends. Now she was back to square one.

Her green eyes filled with tears and she tucked a strand of blond hair behind her ear as she started to cross the street, not realizing the sign was flashing a red hand. She thought she heard someone call her name from far away, but surely she had mistaken it.

All of a sudden, a blur of denim and leather grabbed her, and she was propelled into the air as she heard horns honk and tires squeal.

When she landed, it wasn't hard concrete that broke her fall. It was a warm body that smelled of soap and leather. Her face was buried in the hollow of his throat and she inhaled the scent. She knew it was a man by the feel of his arms wrapped around her.

"Are you okay?" he whispered. "Are you hurt?"

His voice brought her out of her fog, and she realized she was sprawled in a very unladylike position on top of a man she didn't know, on Michigan Avenue, in Chicago.

"Oh my God!" she exclaimed as she scrambled off of him. "What happened?"

Slowly he got up and brushed the dirt from his legs, then his arms, then fixed his gaze on hers, causing her heart to skip a beat.

"Well, you almost got hit by a car. Anyone ever tell you to look both ways before you cross the street? Especially this one," he said as he waved his hand in the direction of the street.

"And I'm okay. Thanks for asking," he added dryly.

She was shaking. She could have died, she realized, then wondered if she wouldn't have been better off that way. "You should have let me die."

"Oh, hey now. I was just, uh, teasing about looking both ways. Although you should, but don't, uh, don't cry,"  the stranger said as he patted her head nervously.

"You don't understand. Everyone hates me. My friends all make fun of me and call me names," she cried.

"I wouldn't say they were very good friends then. Sounds like you need some new ones."

"Like you know anything," she said sarcastically.

"I may not know everything, but I do know that anyone who would cause you to wish you were dead, isn't your friend and you shouldn't want to be theirs."

She looked him up and down. "Just because you're old enough to be my dad, doesn't mean you know squat," she hiccupped.

"I remember what it's like to be a teenager. It wasn't *that* long ago. I know it's not easy starting new relationships, letting someone new get close to you, believe me. I know. But, anything can happen. You might actually make better friends. I know there are ups and downs to being a teenager. Plenty of them. And you'll survive them with the right attitude. Something good is right around the corner for you. Just you wait and see," he said optimistically.

Meghan looked up at him and sniffed. He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to her.

"Thanks," she mumbled.

"Meg! Meghan!"

She turned to see Lucas, Kyle and Stephanie running towards her. She was a bit surprised. She had met them the first day at her new school and they had seemed nice, but when she started running with Laine's group, they resorted to polite smiles as they passed.

"Are you okay? We were up there," Stephanie said as she pointed to a third story window across the street, "and Lucas saw you almost get hit by a car. He called your name so loud, it scared everyone in the store," Stephanie relayed as she gasped for breath. "We got here as quick as we could."

"You're the one who saved her. Thanks, man," Lucas said as he extended his hand to Meghan's savior. "I saw everything. That was awesome!"

Stephanie looked the man up and down appreciatively. "It's not armor, but it'll do," she said as she plucked at the sleeve of his leather jacket.

"Howzat?"

"You know. Your knight in shining armor. He's your hero," Stephanie gushed to Meghan.

Meghan blushed and Kyle grumbled, "Oh brother!" and rolled his eyes.

"Oh, hush," Stephanie instructed playfully.

"Meg, you're shaking. Why don't you come with us to Ghirardelli's? A double hot fudge sundae will make you feel better," Stephanie suggested.

"Is ice cream your answer to every problem?" Kyle wondered.

"You got any better suggestions?" she replied.

Kyle shrugged his shoulders as he began to follow Stephanie, who had taken Meghan's arm and was leading her away.

Meghan stopped and turned, then ran back to the man who had saved her.

"Thank you," she said simply as she held out his handkerchief, "for everything."

"You're welcome. Uh, you can keep it."

"Oh, of course." She blushed as she wadded the wet cloth in her hand. "Um, I didn't get your name."

"Gary. Gary Hobson."

"Hi, Gary. I'm Meghan Turner."

He patted her on the shoulder. "You make sure you look both ways before you cross the street from now on, okay?" he said as he winked.

"Hey, Meg! You comin'?" Lucas called out hopefully.

"See? Things are looking up already," Gary said as he nodded his head in the direction of the trio. "You better go. Your friends are waiting for ya."

She sighed, then smiled as she turned and jogged away.

"Wow! What a hottie he is. He can save me any time," Stephanie said as Meghan caught up to them.

"Aah, he's not so good lookin'. Just wait and see how good I look when I'm his age," Lucas joked as he put his arm around Meghan's shoulder.

She looked up at the tall boy who smiled warmly at her. "Why? Why are you...?"

"What? Being nice to you?" Stephanie interrupted. Meghan nodded.

"I always wanted to be your friend. You seemed so nice when you showed up at school this year but then you started hanging around with Laine and..."

"Steph has issues with Laine," Kyle explained.

"I have issues with any girl who tries to steal my man," Stephanie spat as she pulled Kyle closer.

"Rowr," Lucas teased.

"She did that to you, too?" Meghan asked in disbelief.

"I'm sorry, Meghan. I've heard the stuff they are saying about you and just so you know, we don't believe it."

Tears welled in Meghan's eyes, once again. She looked back over her shoulder to see Gary Hobson still standing in the same spot, watching her. He nodded and smiled and she returned it with one of her own.

She had wished for a hero and one had come along, wearing blue jeans and leather. Not exactly shining armor, but that was alright.

Something told her that everything *would* be okay.

the end

Email the author:   darbyross@webtv.net
 

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