Fight (#0.5, Fierce Series) (3 page)

I frown. I don’t understand why’s she’s
asking. To me it’s odd someone would even think about it. But she
seems nice, so I give her the benefit of the doubt. I nod.

She sits down beside me against the stall,
her arms almost pushing me aside. We’re both staring at the wall
now. She sighs. I sigh.

“It’s nice in here,” she says.

“Hmhm.”

“No bullies around.”

I smile a little. I didn’t know she noticed.
I didn’t know anyone had noticed. I thought I was the only one who
knew.

“You’re bullied too?” I ask.

She nods. “Sometimes.” She glances at me
and throws me a quick smile. “It’s hard to fight them on your own,
so secret hideouts like these are nice.”

“Yeah … I don’t understand why they do it,
though.”

“It’s because we’re different.”

She takes out her sandwich and takes a bite.
“But I don’t care. I’d much rather be on my own than be anywhere
near them.” She chews so loud she sounds like a horse and the
amount of food she stuffs into her mouth makes me laugh.

“What?” she mutters, her cheeks puffed like a
hamster.

“Nothing,” I say, and I take out my own lunch
and start munching on it too.

It’s the first time I actually feel
comfortable enough to eat when someone other than my family is
around. She doesn’t strike me as the type to be bullied, but then
again, she is kind of odd. Just like me.

“Hey, do you mind if I come sit with you from
now on?” she suddenly asks.

I almost choke on my food. No one’s ever
asked me that. “Uh … sure.”

“Sorry, I don’t mean to be so in your face.”
She chuckles. “It’s just nice to have someone to talk to for
once.”

“
Yeah, no, don’t apologize,” I say. “It’s
fine. I’d love that.”

A broad smile appears on her face.
“Thanks.” She holds out her hand. “Name’s Evie Carder.”

“Autumn Blakewood.” We shake hands, and it’s
the first time I can genuinely say that I’m happy to meet someone
at school. It doesn’t happen often they’re actually nice to me.

♥♥♥

1 year later

Evie and I are lying outside in the grass,
and she
’s reading a
book. I’m checking out all the boys hanging on the school yard, but
I try not to be too obvious about it. I like looking at them. I
know I’ll never get my hands on one of them, but at least I can
enjoy the sight.

I sigh.

“What are you sighing about?” Evie says.

“Nothing.”

She pokes me. “C’mon. Tell me.”

“Oh, just gaping at the guys.”

She giggles. “Why would you do that? You
don’t need them. You’ve got me.”

“You’re not a guy,” I muse, prodding her
back.

“Well, they’re probably assholes anyway, just
like the rest of them.” She continues reading while I continue
staring. Suddenly, one of the guys turns his head toward me. My
eyes widen. He’s glaring right at me. My face turns pale white
before it turns crimson red. I avert my eyes and turn my head,
ashamed, because I know he saw that I was looking at him. I hate it
when they discover it. They always make fun of me.

“What were you looking at, specks?” some girl
behind me says.

Startled, I almost jolt up from the
grass.
I look up and
notice it’s one of the girls from my class, the one who used to
tell me how to dress and what to wear.

“Stop calling her specks,” Evie snaps.

“Whatever,” the girl says. “You were checking
out Dave, weren’t you?”

My cheeks flush. Shit. I got caught. Oh no
…

She laughs. “Aw, how cute. So you
were
looking at him.”

“N-no, I wasn’t.”

“Ha, don’t deny it! I’m going to tell him
right now that specky was checking him out. I can’t wait to hear
what he thinks.” She runs off before I have a chance to stop her,
let alone say something.

“Oh god …” I mutter. My worst fear is coming
true. What will she tell him? What will he think of me? I’m sure
they’re going to tease me with it, just like they have before.

“What a bitch,” Evie says as she gets up from
the floor.

“I don’t want to be here …” I mumble,
scrambling up from the floor.

The girl is already
next to Dave, talking to him loud and
clear, and everyone around him is laughing. Then they look at me.
Crap. I’m too late. Oh god, the humiliation.

I freeze when Dave walks toward me.

“He’s coming here.”

“What? Who?” Evie says, slamming her book
shut.

“Dave!”

“Oh, you mean that guy you were looking
at?”

“Yes!”

“Just play it cool. He’s a shithead
anyway.”

“No, he’s not.”

She frowns while getting up from the ground.
“Don’t tell me you actually like that dude?”

“Well …” I chew on my cheek. I feel really,
really exposed right now, and my thoughts are all over the place.
My body is heating up like a radiator as Dave approaches.

“Hey,” he says.

I blink a couple of times, trying to get it
through my head that he’s really talking to me. “H-hi.”

“Heard you were checking me out,” he
says.

Oh god, oh god, oh god. What the hell am I
supposed to say to that?

“Uh … N-no, I wasn’t, I—”

“
You don’t have to lie.” As he leans in
closer, I hold my breath. “I know it’s true.”

My mouth jams shut as I feel caught in the
act. Oh god, what will he do now? Will the entire school know?
Everyone will make fun of me. This is a nightmare.

“Don’t worry,” he says, placing a warm hand
on my shoulder. His fingers gently curling around my arm spread
goose bumps all over my body. I’m getting all tingly just from his
touch.

“Could we talk? After school?” he asks.

“Yeah, sure!” I say, a little too
enthusiastic.

“Great.” He winks, setting my heart on fire.
“See you later then.” And then he saunters off, leaving me
breathless, waving at him from a distance.

“Seriously? You’re kidding me, right?” Evie
says. “That guy?”

“I like him …” I murmur under my breath,
still delirious from what just happened.

“Are you really sure you want to meet up with
him?”

“
I want to know what he wants to talk
about. I can’t
not
go.”

She sighs. “Fine. I guess I can’t stop you,
but please, be careful. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Thanks,” I say, and together we walk back
into the building.

Chapter 4

Ruined

I feel like I’m on cloud nine as I walk
outside with Dave. We’re walking to his home, avoiding eye contact.
I wonder if he’s as into me as I am into him. Maybe that’s why he
wanted to talk when he heard I was checking him out.

My eyes are on the street the entire time,
because I’m too much of a coward to actually look at him right now.
As my eyes wander off in this epic moment of self-doubt, I spot two
guys sparring with each other on a patch of grass. One of them
seems older than the other, but they both look alike. Both blond,
well built, sexy as hell, and amazingly flexible as they throw jabs
at each other and avoid punches. They’re training.

When one of them glances my way, I’m
mesmerized by the color of his eyes. Flaring, grey eyes glare at me
for a second before he continues with his fight. I avert my eyes,
trying not to look stupid as I was watching them.

“
So, I get that you kind of like
me?”
Dave suddenly asks
with a smile.

I’m ripped from my thoughts
immediately.
I blush,
biting my lip because I’m too afraid to answer. The consequences
would be too big.

“
It’s okay, you don’t have to answer me. I
know it’s true. And it’s okay.”

“It is?”

“Yeah,” he says, laughing a little. “You’re
not the first.”

“Oh … yeah, I guess.”

“But that doesn’t mean I don’t like it,” he
muses.

My heart stops, hearing that.

“Look, I’ve admired you ever since you
started following the same classes as I am.”

My jaw drops.

“And I couldn’t believe that you were
checking me out.”

“What?” I stammer.

He grabs my hand. “I like you.” He turns
me around toward him and raises an eyebrow. His hand comes up to
cup my chin, which feels out of this world. He’s touching me, and
I’m getting tingly all over the place as he leans in. He’s getting
closer and closer, his eyes half mast, his lips puckered,
persuasive, about to kiss me.

Oh my god.

I struggle to latch onto something, but
when I do, it’s his shirt. His lips are on mine before I have a
chance to react. I’m stunned, my body shivering as his mouth locks
onto mine. I can’t believe he’s kissing me. It feels so weird, so
wet, and yet so freaking awesome. I can’t get enough. It’s so
different than what I thought it would be. It’s my first kiss, but
it’s perfect.

As he lets go of me I’m still shaking on my
legs.

He chuckles. “I have to go home now, but
I’ll see you soon, okay?” Dave waves as he walks away, and I’m
trying not to look like a fool who just got her first kiss. I’m at
a loss for words.

Did this just actually happen? He really
likes me!

I think I almost jumped up and down there,
but I manage to stop myself before I make a complete fool out of
myself.

When I arrive home, my mom and dad are
sitting at the table. The stern, hopeless look on their faces
concern me.

“What’s up?” I say, as I throw my bag in a
corner.

“We just got a phone call from the doctor.
Your mom has to be taken to the hospital in a few days.”

“What?”

“She’s been having a lot of serious symptoms,
lately, you know that.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t think it was that bad,” I
say.

My mom sighs, looking down at the table. I
realize I’m being incredibly insensitive, so I sit down and grab
her hand. “Sorry, mom.”

“I don’t want you to worry, honey. We just
wanted you to know.”

“I know, mom. It’s gonna be okay, right?”

She sucks on her lip. “I hope so.”

The mere fact that she isn’t certain about
it, sends shivers up my spine. She’s always been certain things
will be okay. Even when were at our lowest point, without enough
money to even pay the bills or get some food on the table, she’s
been hopeful.

But now, it seems like all of that fades
away in comparison to what’s going on now. My mom might be sick,
and I have no idea what’s wrong with her, other than that it might
be really bad. And if it’s bad … our money issues will only get
worse.

♥♥♥

A few days later…

I’ve been trying to take my mind off my
mother’s hospital visit.
I made a ‘will you be my boyfriend’ card for Dave
yesterday. After our kiss, I really got the courage to finally go
after what I want in life, instead of wasting all the
opportunities. I’m going to give it to him today in class. Anxious
doesn’t even describe how I feel right now, sitting behind my desk,
waiting for the teacher to disappear so I can give it to him.
Blowing off some steam by sighing loudly, I shift in my chair as
the teacher goes for a drink. Dave’s sitting only a couple of
tables away from me, so now’s my chance.

I get up from my seat and walk toward him,
my legs shaking underneath me. Every time I look at him I get
butterflies in my stomach. The kiss we shared is still swirling
through my mind, making me deliriously happy.

Standing in front of his table, I mentally
prepare myself before handing him the card. With quivering fingers
I let it go as he looks up at me with a confused look on his face.
His eyes dart down to the card and for a moment my heart stops.
What will he say?

A smile forms slowly on his face, his eyes
glistening from amusement. Then suddenly, loud laughter escapes his
mouth. It becomes louder and louder as he taps the card and beckons
his friends to look at it.

“Oh my god,” he says, “Look at this.”

His friends start laughing too, and a flush
spreads across my face. I don’t understand why they’re
laughing.

“She’s asking me to be her boyfriend?” he
asks, laughing out loud, completely ignoring the fact that I’m
standing right in front of him.

“
Pathetic!” one of them yells.

I frown. “What?”

“
Oh honey,” Dave says, a pitiful look on
his face, “You didn’t actually think I wanted to be with someone
like you?”

“What do you mean?” I say, tears welling up
in my eyes. “You kissed me.”

“That was all for fun.” He laughs. “You
really don’t get it, do you?” Suddenly, he rips the card to shreds
and throws the paper in my face.

“
It was a joke. It was all a joke!” he
yells, laughing hard.

Everyone in the class is looking at me, my
face red from anger and shame. Tears stream down my face. The guys
grab pieces of paper that have fallen down to the table and throw
them at me again. My heart shatters, visibly, as I cry my eyes out
and run out the classroom. Some students follow me to the door,
laughing the entire way, laughing at my misery.

Storming to the bathroom, I slam the door
behind me and lock myself inside a stall. Emotions overwhelm me as
I fight desperately to control this mess. I can’t handle the
negativity, the hurt, the pain of betrayal, and the mere fact that
I was used for their amusement. Dave tricked me into thinking he
liked me so he could make a fool out of me in class. He knew I
would do this. He knew girls like me fall head over heels in love
with guys like him and do stupid things like give him a love
note.