Always You(9)

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Paige glance at me, then whisper something to her sidekick, Deena. They both giggled. I forced myself not to react. As much as I pretended I didn’t care, it still hurt. Nobody wants to be the outcast.

You don’t wake up in the morning and think to yourself, “Gee I hope they’ve vandalized my locker again today,” or, “I hope they try and frame me for cheating on another test.” I have no idea what I did to make Paige hate me so much, but whatever it was, in her mind it must have been big.

The rest of the period went quickly. I suppose time flies when you’re not really listening. There were perks to repeating my senior year. Well, I wasn’t really repeating, I guess. After the accident, it took me a long time to recover—both physically and mentally. Some things that were covered here I’d already covered in my old school, and some things I hadn’t. It all depended on the syllabus. Either way, it would help me get the grades I needed to secure my place in prelaw at Boston University, and it meant I could graduate midyear.

The bell sounded, scaring the daylights out of me. My heart was still pounding as Mr. Reid dismissed us. As I packed up my things and began to walk out, he called me over.

“Wrenn, can I see you for a moment?” he asked casually. I nearly fainted.

Calm down, Wrenn. He probably wants to tell you off for not listening in class.

I smirked at Paige, who was giving me a death stare. I watched her flounce out of the room, knowing I’d probably be paying for that later.

Approaching the desk, I waited as he reached into his briefcase and pulled out a DVD. He handed it to me and I took it curiously, my fingers brushing past his as they wrapped around the hard plastic casing.

Holy shit.

I forced myself to focus on the DVD and not the electricity pulsating through my veins from his touch. Did he feel that? God forbid if he ever actually touched me—I’d probably orgasm on the spot. I studied the cover of the DVD.

Dawn of the Dead

“Ah, this is the one you were talking about?” I asked, suddenly excited. I flipped it over to read the back.

He nodded, his eyes studying my reaction.

I grinned, secretly happy that he had remembered me.

“If you can handle this one, then I have a few others that are pretty good too.”

I raised my eyebrows at him. “You think I’m going to hide under the bed or something?” I teased him. “All I watch is horror movies, Mr. Reid. I’m pretty sure I can handle this little thing.” I winked at him.

He laughed, running his hand through his hair, that beautiful smile appearing on his face. Ugh, he was making me weak at the knees.

Wrenn, say something else! I opened my mouth, and then closed it again. Great, now I look like a freaking goldfish.

“Okay, well, we’ll see. I mean, this makes The Birds look like a comedy.”

“Uh-huh,” I said, still not convinced. I pushed the DVD into my backpack and smiled at him. “Well, thanks. Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow at my aunt’s?” I said, raising an eyebrow.

“Maybe,” he murmured, holding my eye contact.

***

“So, what did he want?” pressed Kassia.

I laughed. I was barely out of the door when she pounced on me.

“Did you see Paige? Pissed off, is all I can say. You better watch your back.”

“He just wanted to see how much of the syllabus I’d already covered in my old school,” I fibbed. I didn’t like lying to Kass, and I wasn’t even sure why I did. All I knew was that I felt like I wanted to keep our little connection to myself—for a while, at least.

Kassia looked disappointed. “Is that all?” she said, glumly.

“What were you expecting? That he swept the junk off his desk and threw me down?” I snorted.

Kass grinned at me. “Well, I like that idea. Not only the idea of him doing that to you, but me doing that to you. Or maybe both him and me.”

I shoved her playfully, knowing she was messing around. She had a girlfriend, Trina, who she’d been with for the last six months. Trina didn’t go to Tennerson. She went to a public school in town, which was part of the reason Kass didn’t live on campus this year.

Kass’s parents were very cool. They accepted her sexuality, and loved Trina, and me, like we were part of the family. Which felt good. Especially those times when I missed my own family, so much. Layna was great, but she reminded me so much of my mother that when I was at my most down it was hard to be around her. If you’d seen them side by side, you’d pick right away that they were sisters. They had shared the same blonde hair and brown eyes. Both Jordan and I had taken after my dad, and Mom had hated that. She used to say she felt left out, because we all looked so alike.

“Come on. Let’s get out of here. I’ll have you back in time for dinner.” She linked her arm through mine. I nodded my agreement and whipped out my phone to text Layna and let her know where I was going.

As we reached the parking lot, we were confronted by Paige, Deena, and Stacie, all three of them blocking our path. Paige stood in front, hands on her hips, her lip curled up in disgust

“Well if it isn’t the two lesbian lovers,” she sneered, as the other two girls giggled. Apparently anyone who spent time with Kass was a lesbian by association. Kass stepped forward until she was almost nose to nose with Paige.