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Chapter 22

       "Rex..."

       "No."

       "Come on, man! It's not like anything's going to happen with us there!

       "I said no."

       "But what if she wants to go!"

       My steps faltered just before the turn in the hall that would lead me straight to the bickering Four on the other side. Denton's exasperated voice practically chimed down the emptying hall as my hands clutched tighter around the binders clutched to my chest.

       Were they... talking about me?

       I knew I shouldn't have been eavesdropping, but also knew their conversation would stop the minute they saw me. Maybe they weren't talking about me anyways. It could have been anyone that hung out with them that I just didn't know about or-

       "Rose is not fucking going."

       Whelp, there goes that hope.

       "If you make me say it one more fucking time Denton, I swear to God I will throw you out that window."

       I leaned slowly against the lockers behind me, the corner literally at my side with the four boys on the other, and I couldn't bring myself to walk around it. Rex didn't want me going somewhere with them, and I tried not to let that hurt.

       "God you're so violent all the time!" Denton whined back, and I could practically see his pout in my head. "You need to take a Prozac or something you-!"

       "Maybe we should talk about this later, guys. Rose is supposed to meet us here soon." Trey interrupted the almost-tantrum Denton was about to throw, and I quickly jumped away from the corner like they just caught me listening into the conversation.

       My heart pounded heavily in my chest, and I wasn't exactly sure why. It had been me they were talking about. But—I didn't expect them to take me everywhere with them. They were all friends long before I even knew them. It was okay if they wanted to spend time without me. If Rex wanted to.

       At least, that's what I told the small pang in my chest.

       "I just wanted Rose to go with us tonight! Rex doesn't have to be such a complete dick-" Denton practically shouted anyway, completely ignoring Trey, but I was already turning back down the way I came.

       I should never have eavesdropped on them, and I shouldn't have let whatever they were talking about bother me. It was perfectly fine for Rex to want to do stuff with his friends. It was more than fine. But I really hated how the littlest things with that boy affected me.

       I couldn't face them though. I would be too embarrassed because of the whole 'listening in to their convo' thingy, and my face would give it all away. So, I took out my cell phone and texted a quick message to Trey saying I forgot something at my locker and would just see them at the parking lot after school, before hurrying down the hall.

       I'm not sure if avoiding them was cowardly or not, but I hadn't taken my medicine in days and I didn't want to risk any chance of freaking out in front of Rex. He's already seen enough, I really didn't want him to see anything else.

       I had to take the long way around the school to avoid them and get to sixth period, and I spent that entire time wondering what I could have possibly done wrong. Despite telling myself over and over again that it was normal to want to hang out with just his friends, I couldn't help the feeling that I had done something to upset Rex—and that's why he didn't want to be around me.

       We had been fine that morning, better than fine actually. Ever since last Friday when we went to the diner there was a new air around us. There wasn't really any tension anymore, I found it easier to talk to him, and he even smiled occasionally!

       This was the first time all week that anything was less than—well, awesome. And it was Wednesday! I never thought Rex Turner and I would be good friends, but now that we were it was so surreal it made my head spin. Even though I knew it would never last. My feelings for him were way too strong for a friend, and I would never be able to keep him. Not with how broken I am.

       I didn't deserve him.

       Once I had run those thought so far into my head and they turned into the most ridiculous conclusions, my mind drifted off to what they were planning on doing that night. Where were they even going? What were they doing that Rex really didn't want me to be there for?

       Or, then again, it was probably just the whole 'wanting to hang out with only the boys' kind of thing. Except that overbearing curiosity deep inside my chest had been spiked—and that was always hard to push down.

-&-

       Jason still wasn't back at school, and I honestly didn't know when he would be. Rex had done some serious damage to the guy, and I'm really surprised Jason's parents hadn't come after him yet. I mean, the guy gets a lawsuit filed against him and his dad swings him out of trouble easily—but he gets the crud beat out of him and nothing?

       I tried not to dwell on it too much though. Rex hasn't gotten in trouble—yet—and I'm not terrified to walk the halls by myself anymore. Even though the Four still walk me sometimes. They claimed it was a habit, but I'm not so sure and I'm not complaining. I enjoyed their company.

       Trey had replied to my text earlier with a 'no problem, Princess' and a cute wink-smiley face, but it did little to settle the unease in my chest. Rex hadn't messaged me, though I wasn't expecting him to, and I was actually starting to doubt we would hang out during break-time. If he was mad he wouldn't show up, but I honestly couldn't think of anything I had done wrong.

       Rex had come to my locker the past two days and we spent break outside together, though I wasn't so sure if that was going to be a thing with what I heard earlier. But as I walked slowly towards what I was sure was going to be a heart wrenching sight, there he was, leaning casually against the locker next to mine with his eyes trained down at his phone. I couldn't help the silly little smile that pulled at my lips, or the ease that pushed away the tight feeling in my chest.

       "Hey..." I said softly as I stopped beside him and spun in my locker combo. His eyes flickered towards mine, and those lips of his pulled into a small smile before he put his phone away in his pocket.

       "Hey."

       His voice was deep and dark almost, just like those chestnut eyes staring straight into my own. I opened the locker door, so he wouldn't see the red staining my cheeks.

       "You ditched me earlier." He spoke casually as that large body of his stepped away from my open door and walked around me.

       My eyes widened and snapped to his, my face paling as my heart seemed to drop to my stomach. "No, I didn't! I would never ditch you!" I wasn't sure if it was the complete horror on my face, or maybe in my voice, but Rex let out a laugh—a quiet laugh, but an actual one nonetheless. It made that heat from before stain my cheeks once again.

       "Relax Roza, I'm just messing with you. What did you forget at your locker?"

       "What do you mean?" I asked with a confused little frown as I put my useless binders into the locker. He leaned against the metal cabinets besides me, a dark eyebrow raised in question.

       "Earlier? You told Trey you forgot something-"

       "Oh! Oh yeah! Sorry, I just forgot my binder for sixth period." I let out a very nervous little giggle and kept my eyes pinned to the back of my locker as I fidgetily tried to organize all the junk inside it.

       God, I was so dumb sometimes!

       "Really..." There was no denying the suspicion in his tone, even though I refused to look over at him. One accusing look in those dark eyes would have the truth written all over my face.

       "Yeah—Let's go outside!" I exclaimed a little too excitedly and snapped my locker shut before turning on my heels. "It's beautiful out!" I was so nervous I nearly grabbed ahold of the sleeve of his jacket and pulled him along after me. But thankfully I was able to keep my hands wrapped tightly around my backpack's straps instead.

       Rex dropped the subject, and even let those beautiful eyes waiver from their hold on my face and fell into step besides me. I tried to shove down the relieved sigh that wanted to desperately leave my lips.

       "Are you doing anything for Halloween?" He asked casually as we walked down the hall towards the doors for outside.

       "Uh, no, no I don't think so... Are you?"

       I loved Halloween, but when I turned sixteen Luce said I was too old for trick-or-treating and, well, I didn't really have any friends I could hang out with instead. So, I usually just had Tate take me to Walmart, buy a bunch of candy, then sit in watch horror films all night.

       Rex shrugged and ran that hand through his hair the way he always does, before letting out an irritated sigh. "Yeah, the others want to go to fucking Robert Tranvo's party he has every year."

       "You don't sound excited about it." I teased softly and nudged his side as those dark eyes snapped down to mine. He gave me a soft smile.

       "No, I'm not. Trey and I always get stuck on fucking babysitting duty for his sister Lainy and I always—always end up fighting some fuck."

       "Oh... Yeah, that doesn't sound like fun." And there goes any hope he would want me to be there.

       He always made a big deal about wanting to protect me. If he already had to look after Trey's sister, there's no way he would want to have to worry about me too. Even though I didn't want him to. He didn't have to waste his time like that. I didn't expect to do anything for Halloween anyway.

       "The farthest fucking thing from fun." He grumbled as we finally reached the door that he so graciously held open. I gave him a thankful smile and tried not to make it seem obvious that I purposely brushed up against that stone hard chest of his as I passed by.

       "Though, I would be a lot happier about it if you went."

       "What?" My heart skipped a beat and my eyes snapped to his, though that tummy turning smirk of his was plastered across his perfectly handsome face and automatically made my brain all foggy.

       "The party. Do you want to go with us?"

       "Oh- I, uh..."

      His smirk slowly fell, and that hand once again ran through his dark hair, those chestnut eyes dropping down to the grass beneath our feet. "Unless you don't want to... I know those parties can really fucking suck-"

       "No! No! I want to! Sorry, I was just, uh, surprised. But I would love to go with you guys!"

       He let out a little chuckle, that smile pulling back at his lips as he nodded towards the tree we always sat under. "Good."

        I tried to keep the over enthusiastic joy from my face as I sat down at the base of the tree trunk, though it was a lot harder than one would have thought. Rex invited me to go to a party with him! Well, with all of them, but still! My worry from before over him being mad was completely pushed aside.

       "Don't you have to watch Lainy though?" I asked softly a quiet moment later as we leaned back against the hard bark and watched the sun drift through the leaves above us.

       "Yeah, but it shouldn't be a problem. Trey's there too and I won't have to worry about you." He had closed those dark eyes and tilted his beautiful head back against the tree, his voice almost sounding mumbled as it past his lips.

       "Why won't you?" Not that I was upset about it or anything, I never wanted him to worry about me. It was just the first time I've ever heard him sound so nonchalant about 'not' worrying.

       "Hm, no reason." His voice was getting deeper, and a little more gruff, like he was fighting off sleep. It was one of the cutest sights I have ever seen. "You just won't be leaving my side the entire time." He yawned, crossed his huge arms over that hard chest and then grew silent like I wasn't a giggling mess beside him.

       He didn't want me leaving his side... at a party. I was going to a party, with Rex Turner. Cloud Nine was real. It was a real thing for all the doubters out there.

       "Hey Rose?" He asked a quiet minute later, which made me jump a little since I thought he had actually fallen asleep.

       "Yeah?" I mumbled softly as I flipped through the history textbook I was supposed to be studying. I hadn't read one word in ten minutes.

       "What were you doing earlier?"

       "What do you mean?" I asked on a quiet yawn of my own. School is sooo exhausting, even when I don't do anything.

       "Before sixth period. Why didn't you meet up with us?"

       My heart beat a little harder. "I forgot my binder, remember?" I let out a nervous laugh like earlier and started flipping a little faster through the book's pages.

       "Right, your sixth period binder."

       "Exactly."

       I wouldn't have been that nervous if Rex's voice hadn't been filled with disbelief, and if that buff, muscle encrusted body of his hadn't leaned away from the tree. I could feel those now open dark, chestnut, eyes staring into the side of my face with a look that made me feel about five hundred different things at once. The strongest being a tie between running for the hills and launching my lips at his.

       I forced myself to do neither.

       "That's funny, because I'm pretty sure we left lunch early to go get that very binder—and I watched you put it in your bag."

       My fingers stilled on the old yellowing pages, and I closed my eyes as a long sigh pulled from my lips. Stupid, stupid, stupid, Rose! How could I be so stupid! Ugh! I could have literally said any other binder or book or something!

       "I'm just giving you a hard time, Roza. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. As long as you're alright, and no one was like hurting you or something-"

       "IoverheardyouguystalkingandfeltbadsoIleft."

       Whew, getting that all out in the open felt good.

       "Um, what?"

       My lips pulled into a small frown and I finally forced my eyes up to his confused ones and let my fingers play absently with the ends of my hair. "I- I overheard you and Denton, um, talking, and I felt bad for eavesdropping so I left..."

       It was silent for a moment, just a moment, and I had to drop my gaze to his dark t-shirt, so he wouldn't see the embarrassment staining my cheeks.

       "You heard me and Denton—talking?"

       This time it was I who ran my hand anxiously through my hair before dropping that hand back to my textbook. "Um, y-yeah, and I'm sorry I was listening by the way..." I mumbled softly and kept my gaze glued to the opened, incoherent, textbook.

       I watched from the corner of my eyes as that large hand of his reached up and scrubbed down his handsome face. "You left because you 'felt-bad' for listening to us?"

       "Yeah."

       "Not because of what we were 'talking' about?"

       "N-No..."

       Okay, even I didn't believe that.

       Rex let out a small sigh and leaned more towards me, those dark eyes glancing slowly over what felt like my entire body. He could make me feel hot, confused, embarrassed, and upset all in five seconds.

       "Roza-"

       "It's okay Rex, really. I totally get it if you want to hang out with your friends without me. You don't have to explain."

       "Rose-"

       "No, really! It's okay I promise-"

       "Rosalyn."

       Okay, the full name thing totally caught me off guard, and not in a bad way either. Though, it did have my mouth snapping shut instantly.

       "That is not why I don't want you going tonight. I would rather hang out with you than those fucks-"

       "Don't say that!" I practically gasped and finally snapped my horrified gaze to his, though those dark eyes were already staring at me. "They're your best friends!"

       "And I would rather hang out with you."

       I tried to ignore the way that made my heart try to explode in my chest, and I desperately pushed at the heat staining the back of my neck. I chocked down the hard air stuck in my throat and forced my grip on the textbook to ease.

       "Then why don't you want me to go?"

       He was quiet for a minute, those chestnut eyes locked on mine, and I could have sworn I saw them darken a shade or two. "It's not... It's just not something I want you to be a part of."

       I wasn't sure how to take that tone in his voice, or what exactly it meant. The words themselves hurt, but that soft, almost caring sound of his voice made my heart speed up.

       "Oh, okay. I get it."

       "No, you don't." Dark eyes narrowing, he ran that heavy hand through his hair again before continuing. "And that's my fault I know it is. I just—It's just not a place I want you going to."

       I slowly closed the book and eased it into my backpack before burying my hands into my jacket pockets. "Is it dangerous?"

       He answered without an ounce of hesitation. "Yes."

       "Then why are you guys going?"

       "We always do."

       "What is it?"

       "You don't need to know."

       "Rex-"

       "Seriously, Rose. There's a reason I didn't want that fuck-head bringing it up around you, and why I definitely do not want you fucking going. You don't. Need. To. Know."

       I had nothing to say to that, and I couldn't look him in those dark eyes again even though I felt them staring holes into the side of my face. I bit my lip and angled my head away from him. He was right, I didn't need to know, but that did absolutely nothing to stop that vicious curiosity from before.

       What was so bad that he wouldn't even tell me about it? And why in the h-e-double-hockey sticks did he and the others have to go there?

       The bell that signaled the end of the break sounded throughout the grassy area and saved me from having to say anything in response. I honestly didn't know what I would say. So, instead, I just zipped up my backpack, stood slowly to my feet, and brushed the grass from my skinny jeans.

       Rex didn't say anything either, though I could practically feel the dark, somber, air streaming off him. He followed barely a foot behind me as we walked across the grass and back into the school, his presence like a giant, tension-filled wall behind me.

       He walked back with me all the way to my sixth period, nearly the entire time spent in silence, even when that large, warm hand of his slowly slipped into mine. My heart jumped to my throat, and I could suddenly feel my pulse pounding in my temples, but I stayed silent as those strong fingers slipped between mine.

       He pulled me to a stop outside of my class, that thumb of his slowly stroking the back of my hand. I still couldn't look up at his eyes, even when that hand pulled me closer to his stony chest.