twelve

Background color
Font
Font size
Line height

It's been a week since I did the "disappearing act" during the lunch break. Breanna and I were back on track of driving to school together, because she said that she didn't want to seem too clingy to Luke, but I knew it was for my own sake. She didn't want me to ride with Chris when I wasn't exactly talking to him.

Our report was due another two weeks, and we had done a lot of research work the first day itself. The subtopics were already divided so when I stopped talking to him, I just assumed that he was doing his work, as I have been doing mine.

Rose had the dinner with Smiths' this weekend, and Evan couldn't stop talking about how much Miranda loved his girlfriend. He's happy, it's been evident from that smile on his face and I have been, well, I have been fine. During lunch, Chris stopped coming to sit with us but occasionally Jordan would join in.

They have a match this weekend, so all three of them have been staying back for practices which extend a lot longer than planned. Breanna and Luke have been bickering for about five minutes now while I sigh, eating the fries.

Life without Chris feels like there's a calm around it, but that calm.. is almost turning into boring now. I miss his stupid smirk, and I cannot believe that I didn't realise it earlier that I actually consider him a friend. How fucking weird is that?

"Would the two of you shut up?" Rose says finally, looking at Luke and Breanna.

It should be rude, but it's not. She's friends with us all and that's how we talk to each other. And to be honest, I have been wanting to say that to them for at least five minutes now but then, I didn't want to bring any unnecessary attention to myself.

Yup, her words are still eating me alive like a leech.

"What?" Luke snaps at Rose and Evan glares at him.

"Nicholas Sparks might make repetitive novels, I mean, not really, but it's all the same storyline. Two people fall in love, something happens and they break up, and they either end up together or the main character dies." She shrugs, concluding their argument and I gape at her.

I want to tell her that there's a lot more to Nicholas Sparks' stories than what she just said but I don't want to argue with her, or talk to her at all. Period. I am not sure if anyone has picked up on it, but I have barely said a word or two to her all the week. No, I am not mad at her or anything, I just don't feel like saying anything to someone who has caused this weird insecurity inside of me even though she never intended to.

And I am not holding it against her, because I might have filled into her insecurities as well, since she's dating my best friend and all, but I think it's for the best if Rose and I don't talk. Ever since I snapped at Evan last week, everyone gave me space and he apologised for assuming things and I didn't have the heart to tell him that what he assumed was absolutely correct.

"Now, I have nothing to say to either of you." Breanna sighs, looking between Luke and Rose.

Luke sighs before scooting closer to her, "Alright, I apologise. The Notebook is like the most amazing movie, babe." He says, kissing her cheek and she lets out a smile and I roll my eyes at them.

I feel someone's gaze on me and I look up at Evan who's studying me while I eat my sandwich. It feels like someone is stabbing my heart everytime I look at him and realise how painful it is to be in love with the person who's with someone else.

"You okay?" He mouths and I nod, giving him a small smile before focusing back on my food.

Someone taps my shoulder and I turn around to find a tall blonde standing in front of me, which immediately makes me groan. Well, fuck it! My eyes move behind him and I look at Caitlyn boring his eyes where Finn is standing and I roll my eyes. I can bet my ass that she's the one who sent him here.

"Hey babe." Finn says and I cringe.

Well, I cannot say that Finn is a blast from the past, but he's definitely from the past. In these four years, I have tried to move on from my feelings from Evan which ended up with me being in two relationships, conquest of one in standing right in front of me.

Finn, the ex boyfriend.

"Don't call me that." I say, standing up.

I could have ignored him, but Finn doesn't like being ignored. He's like gum, worse than gum actually, he sticks around a lot more than you need him to.

Almost immediately, Chris and Jordan are at our table and standing beside me. I haven't talked to Chris in a week so I am a little confused as to what's he doing here, but Jordan passes me a nod, which I return. We still have classes together and we have been talking, a little here and there. He's become a good friend lately.

"What do you want?" I ask Finn, focusing my attention back to him and hating that everyone is staring at us in the cafeteria.

God, I hate attention. Earlier I didn't think anything much about it, but now all I can think about is Rose's words in my head and I close my eyes to stop my hands from shaking. But when I open my eyes, Chris' gaze is set on my shaking hands and I pull them in a fist.

"If I say a quickie in the bathroom, would you play along?" Finn asks with a smirk and I glare at him.

"Say that again and see if the game I offer is the one you want to keep up with." I tell him through gritted teeth.

"Who is he, again?" Jordan asks, looking at our table of friends.

I notice that Evan has also stood up and is standing on my right. He's the one who answers in a cold and stern tone, "Her ex boyfriend." He says.

Chris' eyes snap to me, "You had a boyfriend?" He asks and Jordan smirks.

"And here I thought you hadn't even had your first kiss." Jordan jokes and I glare at him, not the time for jokes, you ass!

"Oh, kiss? If anyone here has kissed her would know that she can do a lot more things with her tongue than just kiss." Finn whistles through his teeth and Chris is about to pounce when I grab his jacket, making sure that there's absolutely no skin contact between us. I still haven't forgotten his words about not touching him.

"Don't." I tell him and his cold gaze shifts to me as I let go of his jacket.

"What the hell do you want, Roger?" Evan asks, taking a threatening step towards Finn and the way his hands are turned into a fist tells me that he's a step away from punching him.

The protective streak isn't new in him. He has always been that way, and he almost threw a fit when I started dating Finn two years back.

"Is that a way to treat a friend, Smith? Mom taught you nothing?" He taunts and I hold Evan's wrist to stop him and he immediately steps back. I know he wouldn't go against what I say. Finn finally looks at me, clicking his tongue, "Speaking of Mom, yours contact you yet?" He asks.

And that does it, I step forward and throw a punch at his face and he takes a step backward, holding his nose and before he can even react, I smack him across the cheek. I feel a hand wrap around my waist and a breath hit my neck but all I see is blur as tears cloud my eyes and I hide my face in the chest of the person holding me.

"That bitch!" Finn yells as he recovers and takes a step towards me but Evan immediately steps forward.

"Touch her and you're dead, I mean it." He says in that chilling tone which makes my shiver turn cold.

I can see from the corner of my eyes as Finn gives me a deadly look before storming off. The arm comforting me tightens around me and when I finally focus on the cologne, I realise that it's Chris who's holding me and I immediately take a step back.

He looks into my eyes, confused and I mutter out an apology, "Sorry about that." I whisper and it's as if the meaning behind my words hits him and he gives me a look which only makes my heart break further, because he looks like I just broke his.

"An, you alright?" Evan speaks from behind me and I turn around to face him.

He wipes my tears and I nod, pulling away from his touch and he frowns at me, "I am fine." I say.

Breanna stands up and hooks her arm with mine. "We'll see you guys later." She tells everyone before pulling me out of the cafeteria.

She doesn't say a word as we enter the washroom and she shuts the door behind her. She turns to me and opens her arms and I immediately hug her, crying my eyes out. I am not crying because Finn showed up, I am crying because I was just the centre of attention again, I am crying because the look Chris gave me when I stepped away has my heart all confused, I am crying because every time Evan touches me, I have to pull away in order to not drown in guilt and shame. But, mostly, I am crying because Finn mentioned my mother.

"I am so sorry, Adri." She says and I nod, stepping away and turning towards the faucet.

I throw water on my face to cool down my warm skin and close my eyes, telling myself that I have cried enough this month in front of others. I hate crying, because it makes me feel pathetic. I take in a deep breath and turn to Breanna.

"My hand hurts like a fucking bitch." I tell her and she laughs loudly, taking my hand in hers.

"Let's go to nurse's office, yeah?" She says and I shake my head.

"She's going to put up questions, and I am pretty sure I will get suspended if I say that I punched a student, and also smacked him." I tell her and she thinks about it for a second before nodding.

As if on cue, the door bursts open and Chris enters, a box in his hand and looks between Breanna and I. While she does the same, looking between Chris and I, making me want to roll my eyes but I resist the temptation.

"Luke was looking for you." He tells her and she looks at me, as if asking me if I am going to be okay and I give her a nod.

When she leaves, Chris turns to me. He gestures towards the sink counter and this time, I roll my eyes. The two of us need to stop ending up like this.

"Is your hand throbbing yet?" He asks and I nod.

"Like a fucking bitch." I repeat my words from earlier and he chuckles.

He steps towards me with a hesitant look in his eyes and I gulp. "Is it okay if I apply something on it to help with the pain?" He asks, pointing towards my hands and I nod.

If I hadn't pulled away from him earlier, I am pretty sure he wouldn't have asked for permission. He takes my hand in his and I try not to gasp at the feelings his touch brings to me, even when he's holding my injured hand.

I thought a lot about that this last week, as to why that happens, and the only thing I could come up with was the fact that I find him physically attractive. I don't mind denying the fact that I think Chris is hot, like really hot. So I think it's safe to say that I am attracted to him. Yup, I am a little taken aback by the fact, seeing as to how a month back I disliked his guts so much. But, he has a really hot face, and body.

He pulls open the first aid box and takes out a cream and applies it on my bruised hand, making me wince in pain. His brows are pinched together as he studies my hand, trying not to touch much because it hurts. When he looks up, his eyes meet mine and I don't look away.

"Why do you have first aid box with you?" I ask and he keeps the medicine back in it.

"Basketball." He says and I nod, understanding. He must have game injuries, and it's ordered by Coach to have one in their lockers in case anyone needs it during the practice because usually nurse's office closes by then.

"I am sorry about what happened back there." I mumble and he frowns at me.

"Why are you apologising?" He asks and I look away from his piercing gaze.

"I caused a scene back there," I say and then mumble under my breath, "too much attention."

Unfortunately, due to how close he's standing, he catches it and his eyes meet mine. His hand comes up to rest on my cheek, his palm on my cheek and the heat that radiates off of him makes me close my eyes and lean into his touch.

"What is it with you and attention lately?" He asks, making me snap my eyes open and frown at him.

"W-what?" I stutter, making him scowl. I never stutter like that!

"I never meant to hear it, and I am sorry I should have just closed it as soon as it started but I couldn't help it." He says, pleading and bewilderment takes over my features.

"What are you talking about?"

"The phone call you had with Evan that day, when you were in library. You talked from Jordan's phone and the other day I was trying to prove him a point and wanted to play another recording but accidentally played the recorded phone call. You were so mad at him, and you mentioned something about not wanting attention even back then." He explains and I flinch away from his touch, so he drops his hand altogether and gulps, running a hand through his hair.

"Why in the hell would Jordan record that call?" I ask, trying to wrap my head around it. Honestly, I don't even know how to feel about the fact that both Jordan and Chris heard what I said to Evan. It's not like it was a big secret revelation, but still, privacy would have been nice.

"He has this automatic system in his phone, every call gets recorded." He shrugs and then looks at me, "I swear to God, I never meant to hear a word."

"Why didn't you press end then, when it began?" I ask, shooting up an eyebrow and he looks away.

"I don't know, I couldn't. Curiosity got the best of me."

"Curiosity killed the cat, my dear. So, how would you like to die?"

"Déjà vu." He smirks and I crack a small smile, shrugging.

"It was nothing, nothing I want to talk about anyway. So as long as you don't bring it up, you're forgiven for hearing anything you heard." I tell him and it's only fair since he wasn't supposed to hear it. And I don't want to make a big deal out of this whole thing, so it's better to let it slip.

"Alright then." He nods and sighs. "But, you have nothing to apologise for. Finn is a douche, I would have punched him much earlier, but you stopped me."

I smile at him, "Yeah, I know. I wanted to do the honours myself."

"Was that your first time punching someone?" He asks, trying to loosen the atmosphere and it works almost magically.

I laugh, "Nope, second time, actually." I say and he frowns.

"Wow, you're violent, aren't you? Who was it the first time?" He asks and I roll my eyes.

"Take the best guessing shot you can."

His eyes widen, "Evan?" He asks and I laugh.

"His face is too pretty to be punched by me." I say, grinning and he shakes his head at me but I continue, "Finn, it was him the first time as well."

"He's a douche. Why the hell did you date him again?" He asks.

"Wanted to move on, the guy made me laugh, felt good so gave him a chance. He definitely didn't break my heart when he cheated, but he definitely hurt my pride. So I hurt his face."

He studies before letting out a chuckle, "You're definitely not living upto the expectations I had for you." He tells me and I grin.

"Like I always tell you, Jay, it's all a part of my charm."

"Why do you call me by my middle name?" He asks, and I shoot up an eyebrow.

"Why do you call me by my middle name?" I shoot back.

He chuckles, "Touche."

The door to the washroom opens and Evan steps in, immediately coming to hug me and I sigh in his embrace. I told myself that I am not going to cry anymore, so I am sticking to that. No more crying, at least not when anyone is around.

"I wish you would just let me punch the life out of him." Evan says and I give him a small smile.

"And the risk the chance of you ending up in jail? Not worth it." I shrug and he sighs, tightening his hold on me.

"You stubborn child." He mutters before parting away and his eyes search my face and I want to look away but I know I can't. "An, what he said about your.." he trails off and I hold in my breath, "You know he's a douche, right? Promise me you wouldn't think about it." He whispers and I look over his shoulder.

Chris looks uncomfortable and when his eyes meet mine, I am not sure what he sees but he gives me a simple nod before clearing his throat, "I'll be outside." He says and I give him a thankful nod for giving us the privacy.

As soon as he leaves, I turn to Evan, "Ev, what he said only brought back the thoughts I have been trying to repress from so long. You and I both know how well that's working out for me." I sound so agitated.

He runs a hand through his hair, "I hate her, you know I hate her so much. She has no idea what she's missing out on." He cups my cheeks and rests his forehead on mine and for a second I want to forget that he has a girlfriend.

I want to press my lips against his and find the relief that I so badly need, and something only he can provide. But I close my eyes as I feel his breath on my lips and I know he's aware of how close we are, because his breath has turned shallow and I painfully open my eyes.

"Hating her isn't going to do anything, Ev." I whisper and he nods, his hands moving to my neck and I move to rest my head against his chest. It feels so right, but so wrong at the same time. "I love you, Evan." I whisper, because this is the only way I can ever confess out my love for him without him taking it the other way.

"I love you too, Adrianna." He says and I want to cry at how beautiful my full name sounds when he speaks it.

There's a knock on the door but Evan doesn't loosen his hold on me when Chris peeks his head in and looks at Evan and I, clearly pissed about something, "Dude, your girlfriend is coming this way." He tells him and Evan nods, taking a step back and I flush, using my hair to hide my cheeks.

I don't even know where my spectacles are, I lost them the moment I had tear filled eyes and removed them spontaneously. I look up at Evan and he's looking at me with pure concern so I stretch up a smile on my face.

Chris is now standing by the door and when Rose comes in, he steps inside as well. Her eyes meet mine and she gives me a look that I have come to despise. The look of pity. It actually makes me want to pity the person who's giving me that look, because they don't know how awful the person on the other end feels about it.

"You alright?" She asks and I nod, giving her the same smile I just offered Evan, but unlike him, she buys it.

She steps forward and although she's invading my personal space right now, I don't point it out. Her arms wrap around me in what is supposed to be a comforting hug and I hug her back.

I hear Chris snorting and when my eyes meet his, he's glaring at Rose, but doesn't say a word when he looks at me glaring at him. Rose steps back and soon, the girls washroom is filled with Jordan, Breanna and Luke.

"Okay seriously, why the fuck did you date that douche?" Jordan asks, sitting by my side on the counter.

I shrug, "He kissed nicely."

I feel at least two people glaring me so I avoid them and focus on Jordan, "Babe, kiss and nice don't go in one sentence. A kiss should be intense and make you feel

You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net