Chapter 14

Ella's POV:

It's been three days since I last attended school, three whole days. But today's Friday, the last day of the school week, so I'm going. It's only one day I have to suffer through. I'm not behind either. My mom has been getting my work so I could do it from home.

The shrieking sound of my alarm clock assaults my ears and disrupts my sleep. The blaring, unceasing loudness was a real mood killer. A perfect way to make you miserable.

Rolling over blindly, I hit my nightstand repetitively until my hand landed on the jackpot, turning the ludicrous thing off. I then close my eyes, telling myself I will get up in just a second.

Just a second, second, second.

When I open my eyes again, they just about bulge out of their sockets. It's been forty minutes! Oh my goodness, I swear it was only a couple of seconds, but no, apparently it wasn't.

When I tell you I jumped out of bed, I legit leaped. My feet scrambled across the floor, out of my comfy bed, to the closet. I don't ever pick out my clothes the night before, so I dig through my clothes like a wild woman and pick out a cream sweater and light ripped jeans.

This is why you don't close your eyes, even if you think it's just for a second. Then you become late like me.

I wake Thomas up, but he always gets up at this time, so it didn't mess with his routine like it did mine. After, I muddle to get ready, brushing my hair and teeth, not even having time to eat breakfast.

When I'm finally finished, I wait patiently for Thomas. He's packing his sports bag for football practice later. Thomas is my ride because my mom still won't let me drive.

A series of three knocks sound on the door. Who could that be this early in the morning?

Confused, I stand up and walk to the door skeptically. With a bit of hesitation, I pull the door open, and when I do, I blink to make sure I'm not seeing things. Declan is here, lazily leaning on my porch's wooden railing, with his arms crossed.

His chocolate hair is an array of messy curls on top of his head. He wears black ripped jeans and a black sweatshirt, converse on his feet. As my eyes meet him, I nervously bite my lip. He looks good today, like always.

I totally forgot about him saying he would pick me up.

Now I'm staring, and he has definitely noticed. The smirk plastered on his face was proof. A blush encaptures my cheeks, and suddenly, the floor is very interesting.

"Enjoying the view?" Declan winks, "Don't worry, I know I am."

I glance up into his crystal green eyes in confusion. It takes me a minute to process what he just said. When I do, I look around to see what he's talking about.

Well, that's weird, does he like my house or something?

So I respond with, "Thanks, I like my house too."

Declan throws his head back, laughter bubbling the air. What's so funny? Did I say something wrong? My hands begin to fiddle with the rips of my jeans nervously. I don't know why he's laughing, and it's making me self-conscious.

After a minute, Declan's laughter dies down. Now there's just an amused smirk. His eyes are a light shade of green. "You're so selfless."

My heart skips a beat.

"I was only teasing. I wasn't talking about the house, Ellie. I was talking about you."

My cheeks brighten in color. "O-oh, I didn't, umm t-think--"

"Shh, I know." He chuckles, knowing I'm flustered.

He told me he liked the view and I thought he was talking about the house. I'm so dumb. How did I not know?

"Ella, who's at the door?" Thomas calls from his room.

Oh yeah, I forgot to tell him about Declan bringing me to school. If I didn't, he would think I disappeared or something. "It's Declan. He's umm going to bring me to school, so don't worry about it," I call back.

"Declan?" Thomas says, sounding confused.

Declan's grin widens his width, his eyes watching me. "Yup, see you later, Thomas." I chime, scrambling out the door, not waiting for his response; no need for him to ask questions when I can't even answer them myself.

We walk to the car, me faster than Declan. He takes his time. After my blonde moment, I just want to get out of here.

As I get in Declan's car, I see Wes almost immediately in the back seat.

"Hi, Ella." He greets, smiling brightly.

"Hi." I greet back quietly.

Declan gets into the car a moment after, turning the key to start the ignition. He then begins to drive, staying quiet. He's probably still tired, considering how early it is, and, not to mention, the dark circles rimming low under his forest eyes.

In the back seat, Wes hums quietly, looking out the window. For once, he's just as quiet and content too. So I drift off into my thoughts.

Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to travel the world instead of being stuck in this small claustrophobic town. To wake up in a new place, maybe a city, or maybe even an ocean.

I want to run through fields and feel the heat of the sun on my skin, breathe in the scents of the outside air, and just relish in the freedom it brings.

A new day, a new scenery. Waterfalls, hills, sunsets, anything, and everything. Something unpredictable, something not the same.

A tap on my shoulder has me breaking out of my daze. I glance over at the tapping hand, my eyes moving up to the face it belongs to.

A wide grin sits on his beautiful features. "What's got you so lost in your thoughts?" Declan asks.

"Nothing, just thinking," I reply easily.

Declan shakes his head with a chuckle. "Didn't seem like nothing."

My face heats up in embarrassment. Have I really been daydreaming this whole time? I didn't even realize we were at school. "Where's Wes?" I wonder, noticing he's not in the back seat anymore.

"Way to change the subject." Declan teases before saying, "He already went in. He said he didn't want to miss breakfast."

I laugh at that. Of course, Wes wouldn't want to miss out on food.

Declan and I walk into school side by side, close enough that our arms brush just barely, and when they do, little bumps dot my skin, my arm hairs sticking up straight as a stick.

Every step closer towards those doors gets harder and harder. It's an effort to even think about entering the school. Why did I decide to come today? I should have stayed home one last day.

Whenever I'm absent and then come back, the action of going into school spikes my anxiety to a level higher than normal. It's almost like trying something new for the first time and being super nervous about it. Except the feeling never goes away for me.

When we are right in front of the doors, I stop abruptly, needing a minute. Declan looks at me as I take a deep breath. I don't want to go in there.

"I-I don't know if I can d-do it," I mutter, embarrassed. My eyes trail to the ground, and I stare at the pavement.

Declan's rough, callused hand cups my chin gently, tilting it up so we're looking eye to eye. "You're not alone, not when I'm here, and I don't plan on leaving your side."

I search his honest eyes, "Okay," I mumble.

He releases my chin and takes my hand in his. Just like he said, we walk in together. He's with me. I'm not alone, and that makes me feel better.

We walk together through the halls till the bell rings. As he promised, he didn't leave my side. He brought me to first period and told me he'd be right at the door waiting for me when my class is over.

Declan didn't know it, but that little gesture meant a lot to me.

After every class, Declan was there.

As we walked to class in between periods, he talked to me, keeping my attention on him. When I paid attention to him, my anxious thoughts became zero. He was there taking all my anxiety away like he cast a shield protecting me from everyone else and their stares.

Every so often, he would ask if I was okay and wouldn't drop the subject until he knew I was. And every single time Declan asked, my heart fluttered just like the first time.

*

Declan's POV:

The whole car ride to school, my little Ellie was staring out the window. She wasn't mentally present. Instead, she was completely immersed in whatever her little head was thinking about. Knowing she wasn't worried for once brought a smile to my lips.

I could tell because her eyes shaded a deep blue when she was happy, just the color they are now. Every so often, I glance over at the beautiful girl, admiring the way her long hair fell and the way her hands rested entwined on her lap.

Wes snickers in the back.

"What," I mutter, irritated.

He shakes his head. "Later." He mutters, shifting his eyes from Ella to me.

As I drove, my only thoughts were of the girl sitting right next to me. I couldn't not think about her. She is so oblivious, and it's cute. She has the most adorable facial expressions. Like when she's confused, she scrunches her nose, or when she's happy, her eyes squint, giving her the most breathtaking smile.

Seeing the pictures in her room, she looked different than she does now. In those photos, her smile was a bit brighter, her eyes a bit lighter.

The school comes into view. I pull in and park in my normal spot. Wes springs up almost immediately, saying, "See yuh, can't miss breakfast." Without another word, he gets out of the car and rushes to the cafeteria.

Peering over at Ella, I notice she is still in the same position she has been in the whole car ride. Her head is against the window, shoulder leaning against the door. She's so completely in her head she doesn't even know we're here.

I don't want to bother her, I wish I could just let her relax a little longer, But we're here, so I take my hand and tap her shoulder gently. Her blonde head slowly lifts from the window. Her ocean eyes find mine.

Almost instantly, her cheeks alter in color, gone with the creamy pale and in with the rosy red. Fucking beautiful.

"What's got you so lost in your thoughts?" I genuinely want to know. What took her so far away?

"Nothing, just thinking." She says quickly.

I chuckle, "Didn't seem like nothing."

I watch as her face changes from rosy red to a deep crimson. I love seeing her flustered. It's hella adorable.

"Where's Wes?" She asks.

I see what she's doing. She's trying to get the attention off of her. She hates when the attention is on her. "Way to change the subject." I tease. "He already went in. He said he didn't want to miss breakfast."

Her mouth parts open, releasing a giggle. God, that sound is amazing. When she's done laughing, a bright smile captures her pink lips.

After a couple of minutes, we get out of the car and go into school. We walk silently to the entrance. I notice as we get closer, Ella begins to walk slower, her face tenser. Like every step closer is a real effort. I'm about to reach for the door when Ella physically stops walking.

"I-I don't know if I can d-do it." She whispers, folding her hands nervously.

Her eyes shift down, avoiding my gaze. I hate seeing her like this. She doesn't deserve to feel like this.

I gently take my hand and guide her chin up so her eyes will meet mine. Her once crystal blue eyes are now a bluish-grey. Water brimming in the corners.

"You're not alone, not when I'm here, and I don't plan on leaving your side," I tell her, my voice soft with patience. She needs to feel safe.

"Okay." She murmurs.

I take her hand, a gesture to comfort her so she knows I won't be leaving her side. Our fingers interlace, my hand fitting perfectly into her smaller one. While walking in the school, I rub the soft skin on her thumb in reassurance.

Ella and I walk the halls until the first-period bell rings. I walk her to class, but before she goes in, I pull her to the side. "I'm going to be right here waiting when the bell rings," I say.

She looks up into my eyes, nodding her head. After giving her an encouraging smile, she walked in. I then went to my class.

After every period, I leave a little bit early so I can pick up Ella from each of her classes. The tension in her shoulders has noticeably decreased, and when she sees me after each class waiting for her, she smiles the prettiest of smiles.

After school, I meet Wes and Ellie. I had told Ella I would drive her home.

As I pull up to her house, a feeling of dread sits in my stomach. I don't want her to leave yet. I even walk her up to the door, just to stay with her a little longer. Before heading back to my car, I tell her I'll be texting her later.

Once back in the car, I hear an ear full from yours truly.

"I see the way you look at her." He points out instantly.

In the rearview mirror, I look directly at him before saying, "How could you not." That was my only reply. I didn't care if he wanted to tease me about it. She was worth it.

Edited by @Marilyn_McKnight! Thank you, I appreciate you lots!