Fated Dreams (Book One In The Affinity series) (14 page)

“She cut your
hair? What a bitch!”

I smiled at
him, appreciating his reaction. “My mom took me the next day to a salon and had
it styled, and I never returned to that school. I still keep in touch with Ryan
every once in a while, but I’d just rather forget my time there.”

He gave me a
thoughtful look. “I’m sorry you went through that, Sarah.” He leaned in to kiss
me. “Is that why you’re worried about Logan?”

I simply
nodded, hoping to end the conversation.

“Don’t worry,
I’m here now, no one will mess with you.” He wrapped his arm around me, and in
the safety of his strong arms, I believed him.

The lights went
down, and the movie started. It was good. I enjoyed watching it with Lucas,
holding his hand.

When it was
over, I was thankful we were able to duck out without seeing Stephanie and her
friends again.

Lucas dropped me off outside my house, and
after a long kiss, I waved goodbye and let myself in. The house was quiet and
dark. The only light came from the small bulb above the stove. The smell of
garlic still lingered in the kitchen.

It was after
eleven; everybody must have gone to bed. I tiptoed up the stairs so I wouldn’t
wake anyone.

The sound of
Alex’s music playing quietly told me that he was still awake. When I walked
past his room I heard the clicking of computer keys.

I knew that the
excitement I felt over Lucas would keep me awake, so I crawled under my covers
with
Pride and Prejudice
—I still hadn’t finished it for school—and fell
into the world of fancy balls and corsets as Mr. Darcy admitted to Elizabeth how he felt for the first time. I loved this book, but when the words started to
blur, I closed it with a sigh, turned off my light, and waited for sleep to
take me.

I was about to open my car door the next
morning when Lucas pulled in behind me.

He rolled down
the passenger window and called out, “Hey, cutie, want a ride?”

I smiled, very
happy to see him. “Sure.” I abandoned my SUV for his sports car, opened the
door, and stepped inside.

“How are you
today?” he asked.

“Fine.” I
stuffed my bag in the backseat beside his as he pulled onto the road, and
headed in the direction of school. “You seem in a good mood.”

He grinned. “I
am. I had a great weekend.”

“What a
coincidence, so did I.” I leaned down to turn the radio up as one of my
favorite songs came on. “I’m surprised to see you this morning. You didn’t tell
me that you were picking me up.”

“I wasn’t planning
to, but when I woke up, I missed you.”

I gave him a
timid smile. “Me too.” My voice was softer than I had intended, but I suddenly
felt shy, which was ridiculous after the weekend we had spent together.

The short ride
to school was quiet. An air of awkwardness had fallen upon us that hadn’t been
there the last few days. Maybe it was because we were suddenly back to reality,
and facing everyone at school.

We arrived just
as the bell rang, walking side by side to the front doors. I kept my hand in my
pocket. I wasn’t ready for all the gawking stares I knew we would receive if we
held hands. He gave me a quick kiss, and we headed to our separate lockers.

“How was your
weekend?” Derrick whispered once I sat in my seat for English. Miss Reynolds
was gathering some papers, so she wasn’t paying attention.

I turned
around. “Good, how was yours?” I asked.

“What? That’s
all I get? You told Emma all the juicy details, and I get ‘good’?” He sounded
irritated.

I laughed.
“You’re a guy, you want details, ask Lucas.”

He was about to
argue when Miss Reynolds started the lesson. Facing the front, I heard Derrick
grumbling behind me.

In music class,
we continued practicing our short, emotional pieces. I was playing mine when
Miss Fitzgerald stood beside me.

“Let me guess.
Happy, right?” she said, and I nodded. “What were you feeling when you composed
it?” she asked.

I blushed.
“Nothing special,” I lied.

“Ah…a boy. Most
music is created with the opposite sex in mind.” She smiled and patted my
shoulder. “You’ve done really good work, Sarah. I can’t wait for everyone to
hear it.” She walked away, stopping beside Sam Portman who was playing the
guitar.

After my second
class was over, I headed to my locker. Lucas was there waiting for me. “How was
your morning?”

“Long, how
about yours?”

“Same. What do
you want to do after school?”

“Why don’t you
come over to my house and hang out.” I opened my locker door to stuff my books
inside.

“I’d love to.”
He leaned in to steal a kiss.

I gazed around
to see if anyone had noticed, and sure enough, Kendal Morgenstern was standing
at her locker across from mine, smiling at us and whispering to Jade Davis, her
best friend. I shook my head in an attempt to forget about it. So what if
people stared and whispered behind my back. I was with a great guy, and he made
me happier than I ever imagined I could be.

With my
newfound attitude, I took Lucas’ hand and pulled him to the lunch room.

We walked into
the noisy cafeteria, hand in hand, which earned more stares and whispers. I
ignored them and followed Luke to the lunch line. “So what do you want? I’m
buying.” He leaned in close, his head almost touching mine.

I shook my
head. “No, I’m buying this time. You paid for me the last two nights. Please,”
I added when he was about to refuse.

“Fine, but just
this time.”

“Good, what do
you want? I’m having French fries. I’m in the mood for something greasy.”

He placed two
orders of fries and a cheeseburger on a tray. I reached over and pulled two
sodas from the mini fridge. After I paid for our food he whispered, “Thank
you!” I nodded my head and squeezed his hand.

Our usual table
was almost full; there were only a few spots left on the long benches that sat
on either side of the table. All of my friends were there, including Pete and
Cory. Kyle and Andy sat on the end, and we sat down beside them.

“Sarah, you
realize since our table is now overloaded with guys, we’re going to have to sit
through endless discussions about sports,” Emma said, her face troubled,
leaning around Kyle to look at me.

I laughed. “And
action movies.”

She grinned.
“And the worst, chicks and babes!”

“Hey! It’s
about time the power shifted to the male gender at this table. Do you realize
how much I know about makeup, waxing, and chick flicks? It’s not natural!”
Derrick shook his head with disgust. He sat on the other side of Emma; I had to
lean over the Formica table to see him.

“Well, that’s
what you get when your best friends are girls,” Emma said, leaning in to give
him a quick kiss on the lips.

“Yeah, dude, we
thought you were gay,” Andy said to Derrick.

“Not that
there’s anything wrong with that,” Kyle added, leaning over to steal a fry off
of Lucas’ plate. Lucas tried to smack his hand but missed. Kyle grinned as he
chewed the fry. “

Emma almost
spit her drink out of her mouth as she started to laugh.

Derrick’s eyes
were as wide as saucers. “What? Why?” he demanded.

Kyle answered
after he finished chewing the stolen fry. “Like she just said.” He pointed to
Emma. “You’re best friends with two chicks.”

Derrick became
very defensive. “I hang out with Pete and Cory all the time.”

“Yeah, but not
as much as with the girls,” Andy added, while trying to stifle a laugh.

“I knew he
wasn’t gay,” Pete defended Derrick from where he sat, across from his friend.

“How?” Andy
asked. He wore a smirk on his face.

“He never hit
on me, and no one can resist me.” He leaned back in his chair with an arrogant
smile.

All eyes gaped
incredulously at Pete. Was he serious?

“Do you think
I’m gay? I turned you down,” I asked him, to bring him down a peg.

Lucas glanced
at me curiously. “He asked you out?”

“Yes, a few
weeks ago,” I told him, placing my hand on his.

“But you were
pining for Lucas,” Peter said to defend himself. Of course, I had to be
interested in someone else, or I would want him.

“Oh please, she
turned you down because she didn’t want to be part of your harem, I believe
were her exact words.” Emma waved her pizza at Pete.

Kyle turned to
Pete and asked, “You have a harem?”

Peter grinned
mischievously and nodded.

“Nothing wrong
with that, my friend.” Kyle held his hand out across the table for Pete to bump
his fist. From there, the topic turned to chicks and babes.

I ignored them,
focusing on Lucas, squeezing his hand.

“You want to
come with me to get my books? Then we’ll head to your locker?” he asked me.

I nodded as
thoughts of stealing a few private moments behind the bleachers or in the
janitor’s closet popped in my head.

“We’ll see you
guys later,” Lucas said as we stood up.

I waved to Emma
as we weaved through tables and teenagers toward the cafeteria doors, dumping
our paper plates in the garbage on the way out.

The rest of the
day flew by. In my last class, I was told the vice principal wanted to see me.
With my stomach twisted in knots, I walked the empty corridors, taking the long
way to the office. The idea of making my mother wait was humorous to me. I
wasn’t exactly nervous about being summoned; it could be her asking me to bring
Alex home, or to make dinner tonight. It could be anything, even the missed
classes on Friday. That explained the knots. The heels of my boots clicked
against the tiled floor, echoing loudly through the empty halls.

Just as I
stepped in front of the office, Jackson Marks pushed through the wide office
doors. His hands smacked the glass with a loud crack. He scowled at me as he
stomped away. I wasn’t surprised by his outburst. The guy missed three days a
week and slept through most of his classes. I smiled as I watched him turn the
corner, and then took a deep breath before pushing the door open.

The heat was
the first thing I noticed every time I walked in through these doors. For some
reason, it was always hot in here, no matter the weather outside. It was
probably intentional, to make students uncomfortable while they waited.

“Hi, Miss
Hawkins,” I said to the secretary sitting behind the front desk. “Mr. Hammond
told me to come here, is there a problem?”

She was wearing
a pink blouse; her red hair was piled on her head in what looked like a
bouffant. “I don’t know, honey, they don’t tell me anything.” She smiled
widely, showing bright white crooked teeth. “Just sit down in the chairs over
there, and your mother will be right out. It’s your first time being called
down here, isn’t it?” When I nodded she added, “Don’t be nervous, I’m sure it’s
nothing.”

I thanked her
and sat down on one of the chairs she pointed to.

A few minutes
later, the glass door creaked open again, and in walked Lucas.

Oh crap, we
were here about Friday. I had naively hoped since she hadn’t mentioned my
missed classes all weekend that my mom had forgotten about it. Apparently not.

He looked in my
direction and came to sit beside me. “Friday?” was all he asked.

“I don’t know.
I haven’t gone in yet, but what else could it be, since we’re both here?”

“Sorry, I shouldn’t
have made you skip. I keep forgetting your mother’s the vice principal.”

I was about to
tell him that it wasn’t his fault, but Miss Hawkins interrupted us. “Sarah,
Lucas, you can go in now.”

We both stood
up and slowly entered my mother’s office. She was sitting at her desk, which
was located in the center of the small room. There was a shelf filled with
books in the corner by the window. On her desk were pictures of Alex, Dad, and
me.

She looked up
from some papers and gestured for us to sit down. “Well, you probably know why
you’re both here. You skipped afternoon classes on Friday. I can’t overlook
this just because I’m your mother.” She glanced at me. “I understand the
reason. But you should have brought the situation to me.” She paused.

Lucas took the
opportunity to defend me. “Mrs. Samson, it was my idea to leave school. I
dragged her away. If I hadn’t insisted, she wouldn’t have left.”

She looked at
him with her teacher stare, as I called it—her eyes in slits, her mouth in a
scowl. The look could silence a screaming baby. “Did you put a gun to her
head?”

“Of course
not.” A look of complete shock crossed his face.

“Then she’s
responsible for her own actions.” She paused again, and then sighed heavily,
placing her hands flat onto the desk. “I have no choice but to give you a
warning. If this happens again, you will be punished.”

Lucas looked
surprised. I wasn’t; she didn’t fool me with this vice principal act. “Now go
back to class before you miss something.”

Luke stood up
first, and as he turned around heading for the door, my mother winked at me.
When Luke turned back around, her face sobered. “Remember, kids, next time, you
won’t get off so easy.”

Out in the
hallway, Lucas turned to me. “What just happened?”

I shrugged. “We
just got away with ditching class. She was acting tough and all, but she only
did that so no one would think she was giving us special treatment.”

“How do you
know?”

“I’m the vice
principal’s daughter. Remember, the rules are, if you get caught skipping, it’s
an automatic detention.”

He smiled and
simply said, “Cool.”

After school, we went to my house, where we
both made dinner for my family. My mom grilled Lucas about growing up as a
twin, and what the two of them had in common, while my dad interrogated him
about our trip on Friday. Fun was had by all.

I was a little
relieved when I closed the door behind him. We both had homework we needed to
do.

“Sarah, why
don’t you practice for a while, you don’t want to get rusty,” my mom said as I
watched Lucas’ car pull away. She was sitting at the dining room table glancing
at what looked like report cards.

I turned away
from the window. “I practice in music class every day, remember?”

“Yes, but it
wouldn’t hurt to get some extra playing in.”

“Fine, I’m
going,” I grumbled, walking down our dark stairs to the basement rec room. The
room was small; the rest of the space was taken up by the laundry area,
storage, and my father’s office. There were a few old pieces of furniture, and
a small TV.