"Hayley!"
I kept my gaze straight ahead, not even thinking of a glance backward.
"Hayley!"
Just ignore her.
I was a mere few meters away from my next classroom when I suddenly heard a rush of light footsteps following my trail before I was roughly snatched away by a strong grip on my wrist. I tried to pry my arm away as best I could, but knowing Mel, she would be hanging off of a cliff over a chasm or an endless abyss and she would still be gripping onto the rock. People could even use her hands as handcuffs, even, if possible.
Before I knew it, I was being pulled towards the row of lockers opposite to the doors and was faced with a grumpy-looking Mel, crossing her arms at me and wearing a scowl on her face.
"Can't you just leave me alone for one second?" I snapped angrily at her and was about to turn and walk away when she grabbed my hand again, forcing me to stay put.
"I can, but I won't," she replied, wearing an annoyed look on her face as she rolled her eyes at me. "C'mon, Jake's a decent guy. And you're already friends with him—well, to a certain extent anyway. Why can't you just give him a chance to let him into your life? You can't just have me tag along with you wherever you go just because I'm your friend, you know—not that I mind, but... I'm worried about you."
"And that's the problem," I scowled and clenched my jaw. "You can't keep pushing people at me, Mel. I don't need any more friends than I already have, and I certainly do not need some guy constantly hovering over me and following me around like a lost fucking puppy, alright?"
She began to glare at me. If I was some math nerd or some other wimp in school, I would've freaked the hell out and bolt right out of there without a second look back and with my tail between my legs. If I was myself—and I should be—I'd glare back at her.
This time, however, I simply rolled my eyes and sighed.
"Well, you can't stay single and not ready to mingle for the rest of your life. As your social-butterfly guardian angel, I see to it that at some point in the future, I will be standing by your side, as your bridesmaid, as you read your vows to whoever it is that will be your future groom, and exchange rings and be officially pronounced as 'husband and wife.' I don't care if it will take place in a church, or even a cemetery like the freak goth you are, but I will make sure that it happens."
"Then you're fighting for a lost cause—a fruitless cause because my mission is to see that it never happens at all." Without any other words being said, I immediately turned my heel away from her and practically stomped my way to my next class like I was Bigfoot or something, suddenly feeling worse than I was when I first got out of the cafeteria.
I mean, don't get me wrong; I appreciated all the help that Mel has given to me all this time, to the point that I was thoroughly surprised that she's still even my friend, even up to this point, after all the shit I've given to her.
I managed to snag my seat in the back of the class again, just in time as my Biology teacher, Mr. Vaughn, strutted in with an entire stack of papers that even he struggled to carry inside, before setting it down on top of the table with a loud thump.
I groaned inwardly. It was going to be a long day.
I didn't see either of them again until lunchtime.
All throughout the class, I could only watch as each second ticked by, staring at the clock and calculating how much longer I needed to remain in this hellhole until I get to escape back to the sanctuary that was my home. One of the teachers, who surprisingly noticed my presence, remarked on how anxious I was for the end of class, taking it personally as an insult and gave me a warning, with the reason of 'unacceptable behavior' in class.
I couldn't imagine how I would actually land myself in detention from the 'unacceptable behavior' of staring point-blank at the ticking machine above the whiteboard.
Of course, I wanted to avoid Mel for the rest of the day—thank Heavens that I only had two lessons that day shared with Mel—but I couldn't shake off the new kid since he was in almost every single class I had in school. The tension was unavoidable; my spine shivered whenever I felt him staring at my back, and whenever I got the excuse to glance over my shoulder, he would look away and cover up the look of curiosity he wore on his face a second before his hand or book blocked it.
And the whole time, the only question I had was: Why?
Why did I have to make myself seem 'special' even though I wasn't—and still not? Why did Melody—that little, redhead midget bitch—have to make everything so awkward by setting up 'ground rules' for him to 'follow', just because of her stupid vendetta against her own sister?
Why did I have to be the only one different around here?
Naturally, I was attempting to avoid him, too, until someone stopped me just as I walked out the doorway. I turned around to see him, looking concerned for a stranger he'd only met today.
"Hey," he greeted, breaking into a short grin, which quickly disappeared, probably because of the poker-face I constantly wore, even despite my inner troubles. "Look, I've got nowhere else to sit with—and I won't even think of taking the risk of sitting with the jocks or whatever. I mean, you're still the only person I know here."
"Well, Mel's waiting for you," I replied, trying to keep a monotone voice. "Just go ahead and leave without me. And don't bother to save me a seat because I'm going nowhere near there."
I turned around and began to leave when I heard his voice behind me.
"Hey, I'm sorry if whatever I said earlier offended you, but I really didn't mean to. I meant it when I said that I can handle myself just fine, but I don't mind having you guys as friends. You don't seem as bad as they think you are—or as you think you are."
Hearing this, I stopped dead in my tracks and clenched my jaw, but resisted the urge to let my emotions show.
"You don't know me... Jake..." My voice was starting to crack, and I had to swallow the lump forming in my throat as I continued, "So don't act like you do."
"I do know that you're troubled," he stated bluntly, regardless of what I'd just said. "And you don't fit in here—I mean, that much is kinda obvious. Pretty much like me, so if anything, I'd be honored to have an outsider show me around here because outsiders are always the one with the second perspective."
"And yet, you're just one second away from making your way to the cafeteria where all the supposedly-single-minded people are. How ironic."
"Is that an invitation, then?"
I finally turned around to face him, in the midst of complete disbelief and saw the blank look on his face that somehow confirmed his almost unbelievable words.
"You're kidding, right?"
His lips curved to form a smirk. "Do I have to repeat myself?"
"Tell me why are you doing this, again?"
I tore the sandwich diagonally in half and offered one portion to him, which he graciously accepted with a small nod as a thank-you.
"You invited," he said, smiling at me as he took a bite before he turned back to the scenery before us. "I accepted."
I shook my head but was silently smiling underneath. And to think that people would think twice about inviting someone to their private 'thinking corner' during lunchtime.
It wasn't really 'private,' though, considering how it was just under the lonely oak tree beside the school, looking out to a couple of wooden picnic tables and the parking lot. But it was situated perfectly that the building looming over beside us gave us the perfect shade, and it was hidden enough from plain sight that most people, excluding the school's groundskeeper, overlooked this place whenever they would guard around these areas. Thank god for the school having a back door, too.
"Are you sure you'd rather be here than mingle with your future friends?" I questioned again, probably for the millionth time that he got bored of it already. "Because hanging out with me will just give them a negative impression of you."
"I'd rather stay here than be there, anyway," he answered, his voice sounding distant. "It's been barely a day and you forgot the fact that I have gone through this process before. I spent my freshman year in a school halfway across the country, my sophomore and junior years in the school right across the state, and now my last year here. I've gone through the first day of school in three different schools now, and that is just high-school alone."
I nearly choked on his words. "Why do you move around a lot, anyway?"
"My mom... she has never gotten an actual, stable job," he murmured faintly. His eyes didn't meet mine when I looked at him this time, too. "If our rent is up, we have to move anyway."
He suddenly reached for something in his bag, and as I watched his every movement cautiously, only to see him pulling out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.
I let out a scoff, and shook my head, earning his attention and a look of confusion.
"Why? What's wrong?" he questioned, popping one in his lips, right above his lip piercing.
I only glanced back momentarily. "What is it with guys and thinking that smoking cigarettes is cool? And with the piercing, too. What—don't tell me that you have a tattoo somewhere, too."
"I do, actually," he replied with a half-grin. "But I got it for other reasons—those other reasons being that I was drunk and it was my birthday. The smoking, though—" the lighter flickered and out blew a flame, which he brought near to the end of the cigarette, "—is just a de-stressing method."
I found myself smirking every bit of the way, and laughed. "You know, I was half-expecting you to be all 'Augustus Waters' and not light the cigarette as a proof of a metaphor, but I guess not."
He raised both eyebrows at the mention of the character, rolling his eyes but grinning. "Oh god, don't tell me you're one of those hopeless, love-sick idiots who think that their supposed 'Prince Charming' has a captivating smile, one leg, and growing cancer."
"I'm not," I reassured, leaning back onto the bark of the tree. "I'm not even looking to find my Prince. I've been through the ups and downs of a relationship, and I can safely say that I do not want to go through that ever again."
"Neither do I. It's always after you reach the peak of the mountain when everything goes tumbling down, and it's either one party gets hurt, or both will."
We grew silent right after that, leaving me to ponder his words for the second time. In my instance, only one got hurt, and I assumed it would always be that way, considering how I've seen many people—in television and in reality—going through fights and divorces after swearing to each other that they would remain together after xxx amount of years. Someone even said to me that love is like a dance; you're having the best time of your life while it lasts, but what happens when the song stops?
I didn't want to know, and I hadn't planned on finding that out, either.
"I take it you don't want to find your 'Damsel-in-Distress'?" I inquired.
I studied his face carefully as he answered, "It's not that I don't want to find her. I just think that maybe she's been in another castle this whole time. The time comes when the time comes." He paused for a moment before adding, "I'm just not going to pretend that I'm a f*cking smartass who's constantly showing off his one metallic leg that can't get past airport scanners."
I held the laugh back, but let out a snicker.
Lunchtime seemed to end far too soon, even though it was a full half-an-hour that I got to spend laughing and smiling genuinely for the first time in the whole damn semester, I think. It was like I just took a refreshing shot of alcohol that brought me back to my senses and made me want to step on the dance floor all over again.
And that was something, considering how I only went to a club once and just waited on the sidelines, watching Mel dance her way from guy to guy.
We both snuck back into the building undetected, and simply merged back to the crowd while going our separate ways. Even so, I still had the smile playing on my lips, which I wiped off my face the instant I entered the classroom, knowing that the others would probably question and make fun of if they knew.
I might've been trying to push him away, but the least I could do to avoid getting him in trouble with them.
"Mom! I'm home!"
I threw the door shut and carefully took quiet steps forwards. The living room seemed empty, unusual for a Monday—my sister, Gwendolyn or 'Gwen' as we liked to call her, would normally be found sprawled across the worn-out couch in our living room, watching that weird cartoon she liked with a bunch of colorful, unrealistic-looking ponies. Today, the entire house was as silent as a mouse hole.
"Mom?" I peered over to the doorway that led to the kitchen, expecting her to be there. When I didn't get a reply, I made my way over across the room and into the kitchen, and that was when I heard the faint sound of sobbing. Glancing over to the island counters, a middle-aged woman sat on one of the stools with a hand covering her face, sobbing and hiccupping uncontrollably.
I cautiously approached her, touching her gently on the shoulder being already enough to startle her when she finally noticed my presence. Her eyes were a pale red, tear stains covering both of her ruby cheeks.
"Oh my god, Mom!" I exclaimed. "Are you okay?"
She swallowed hard, brushing herself off and wiping the last of her tears away. "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Fine."
"Are you sure?" I asked again, staring at her with concern.
"Of course, sweetie," she repeated before she cleared her throat. "It's just... your grandmother has to delay her flight until next week. Um, how's school today?"
"It's... fine, too, I guess..." I stammered. Judging by her actions, she was undeniably lying, but I didn't want to push her any further, nor did I have the guts to, anyway.
"Where's Gwen?" I questioned instead. "And Dad? Shouldn't he be home by now?"
"Ah, um..." She glanced around nervously. "Gwen just finished her soccer tryouts today, so your father went to pick her up. They should be home any minute now."
I nodded slowly, forcing myself a smile as I turned around to exit the kitchen, only to be called back by her.
"Hayley? Aren't you going to eat dinner?"
I chewed on my bottom lip but didn't face her. "I, uh, have a ton of homework to do. Maybe later, alright?"
I lied so many times that it came out as smooth as ever. Probably.
"Okay, honey," she then said. "Just don't forget that you need to put some meat on those bones, okay? You've slimmed down a lot these past few days."
I nodded anyways before quickly disappearing upstairs and into my room—well, the room that I shared with Gwen as well. It wasn't that big, either; we had a bunk bed so that both of us could sleep inside the tiny room, with only one dresser in beside the door, a wooden desk and chair on the far side of the wall opposite to the beds, and one nightstand, which I threw my bag up against before plopping down on the lower bed that I owned all to myself. The wall right beside me lined up with a few posters of my favorite bands, and I bet Gwen's side had a bunch of her drawings—if one considered a bunch of colored scribbles as drawings—pasted up to the wall.
I sighed staring at the bare wood above me, wondering about all the possible reasons why Mom had been so upset earlier when my phone suddenly beeped and buzzed from inside my bag. I begrudgingly took it out of the side of my bag, expecting it to be either a text message or missed call from Mel, only to see that it was from Jake. It nearly slipped my mind that we exchanged numbers earlier during lunch.
From: Jake
I forgot to thank you for inviting me to lunch.
Ahem.
Thank you, ma'am, for your impromptu invitation out for a delightful meal.
That is all.
I laid my head back down to my pillow, staring at the wood above me again, but this time, I held my phone to my chest. Shaking my head, I picked up my headphones again and blared the song I was listening to earlier in Homeroom, slowly falling asleep with the smile playing on my lips.
ns 172.71.254.59da2