Authors: Isabelle Rae
Will walked in and I dropped my eyes quickly, pretending to
look through my bag for something as I blushed like crazy. My heart stuttered in
my chest. I heard him laugh so I looked up just as he bent down picking
something up; he threw a Malteaser into the trash with a grin on his face. He’d
obviously missed some when he cleaned up, there were a couple scattered around
the floor.
Bless him he never was too good at tidying up!
I laughed too
which made Olly look at me like I was crazy. I noticed that he was sitting
quite far away from me today, his hands firmly on top of the desk. Will’s
little lecture about him pawing me in his class had obviously had the desired
effect.
“Okay guys, so there’s another assembly for seniors again
today so we only have class until half past two. I was going to start something
new today but because we won’t have very long, how about a pop quiz instead?”
Will offered, smiling.
“What the?” I cried shocked.
No way. I’m not prepared for
a damn pop quiz! That’s totally not fair!
Will laughed. “What the… what, Miss Henderson?” he asked,
smirking playfully at me.
“A pop quiz, seriously? Aren’t we supposed to get notice
before these so we can study?” I whined, trying the begging face that he used
to say made me look cute.
He smiled and shrugged. “Well I guess this is an unannounced
one. We’ll see how hard you guys have been trying over the last couple of weeks.”
I groaned and put my head on my arms, trying desperately to
remember everything Nick had taught me in the last couple of weeks. I at least
had to do better than the last little quiz he set where I got everything wrong
and he’d suggested that I get a tutor. I heard Will laugh and a piece of paper
being put on my desk so I raised my head to look at him. He smiled his little
smile that somehow always made me feel like I was the only girl in the world. I
sighed dreamily as I thought about him just holding me again, just a little hug
or holding my hand, or something.
The test wasn’t that bad actually. Nick did a really great
job tutoring me on all of this stuff, and although I knew I didn’t get
everything right, I knew I hadn’t failed completely which I was happy about. At
two thirty we all made our way down to the hall for assembly. I sat on one of
the seats at the end; I knew what this was about, the trip out with the money
that we had been awarded. The voting had taken place on Friday so they were
probably going to announce what we were doing.
I sat there nervously chewing my lip, listening as Principal
Sherman was droning on and on about the options and how proud he was that we
had done all of the volunteer work in the first place and how marvellously it reflected
on the school. I crossed my fingers and prayed for anything other than paintballing,
which wasn’t my thing at all. If it got voted in then I’d just fake an illness
or something. I would rather stay at home than run around getting shot.
“Okay, so with an overwhelming number of votes, the activity
that eighty-three percent of you all voted for was…” he paused for dramatic
effect, and I felt my heart sink with every passing second. “Paintballing!”
The whole hall erupted into cheers which drowned out my
groan. A quick glance around the hall showed that it was only me and the group
of cheerleaders that weren’t pleased about it. They were all screeching in a
high pitched voice about their manicures and how the paint wouldn’t be good for
their extensions.
Wow, I can’t say I’m very happy about the company in my
little ‘I hate paintballing club’.
“Bet you’re pleased about that, huh?” Will whispered in my
ear. I jumped because of how close he was to me.
I turned and groaned. “I don’t want to go freaking paintballing!”
I whined, pouting.
He laughed. “Aww, poor baby. You never know, maybe you’ll
like it. I know I’m going to enjoy it!” He grinned happily.
He’s going?
“Are you going too then?”
He nodded. “Chaperoning,” he confirmed. “I got to vote too. I
think it was my vote that swung it.” He winked at me before smirking at walking
off. I chuckled, watching him walk away.
Nick was practically jumping up and down with excitement. I
laughed as he picked up Amy and spun her around making her scream and giggle. I
smiled. It probably wouldn’t be as bad as I imagined, but if it was I could
always fake an injury or something if I totally hated it. At least my friends
would enjoy it, and I could sit on the sidelines and watch. It wasn’t for
another two weeks anyway so at least I had a lot of time to prepare myself for
it!
When the assembly was done everyone skipped off, talking
excitedly about the trip. All I could hear were people talking about how
‘awesome’ it was going to be. Awesome my ass, this was going to be torture, but
at least it pleased my friends. Amy and Nick were still fooling around like
little kids, laughing. Nick looked so happy that it made my heart ache. I loved
seeing him happy. Since his mom died I went to great lengths to make him smile
that broadly, but it didn’t happen terribly often, especially not around the
anniversary of her passing.
An arm slung around my shoulder so I turned quickly to see
Olly grinning from ear to ear. “Hey you. Are you ready to come watch me swim?”
he asked.
Oh crap, I forgot about that. Wow, another hour of fun!
I plastered on a fake smile. “Sure.” I nodded. He smiled and started leading me
off in the other direction from my friends. “Wait a sec I just need to tell Amy
that I don’t need a ride.” I shrugged his arm off and went back to my group,
with Olly following behind me like a little lost puppy.
Amy smiled as I got over to her. “You’re so pissed about this,
right?” She laughed wickedly.
“Well, I’m none too thrilled with the thought of running
through the woods and hurting myself, then getting shot with paintballs that
apparently bruise when they hit you,” I admitted, frowning and pouting like a
child.
Nick burst out laughing. “I forgot you’ll probably break an
ankle with all that running and we’ll have to carry your butt to the hospital!”
he teased as he grabbed my waist and lifted me over his shoulder.
I squealed, giggling breathlessly. “Put me down!” I cried,
slapping his butt, laughing like crazy.
“Nick, take your fucking hands off of my girlfriend!” Olly
growled.
Nick shifted my weight on his shoulder but didn’t put me
down. “Oh calm down, Olly, you’ll burst a blood vessel,” he teased, laughing.
I tried to look round at Olly, but I was facing the wrong
way so all I could see was Nick’s back, feet and the floor.
Is Olly being
serious? He’s actually jealous of Nick touching me again? Oh my God, this has
got to stop. He’s going to drive me crazy with all of this possessive nonsense!
“Put her down, now!” Olly ordered.
I could feel the anger boiling up inside me. I was not being
told what I could do and that went for my friends too. I had been dating him
for exactly a week but even then we weren’t even speaking this weekend so it
was more like five days, and he thinks he can speak to my friends like that?
Has he lost the plot?
“Put me down, Nick,” I instructed, trying to push myself up.
He immediately pulled me down into his arms and set me on my feet.
I looked at Olly warningly. I didn’t want to have this
argument in front of my friends and embarrass him so I’d just wait until we
were on our own before I let him have it. I put my hand on his chest and pushed
him back slightly, he was standing too close to Nick for my liking. The angry
look on his face was a little scary and I didn’t want them fighting or anything.
He frowned and took my hand off of his chest, interlacing our fingers as he
stepped back, pulling me to his side possessively.
I turned in Amy’s direction, noticing that she was frowning
at Olly. “I’m going to watch Olly swim tonight so I don’t need a ride, Amy.
I’ll see you guys tomorrow, okay?” I smiled reassuringly at both Amy and Nick.
Nick looked really annoyed and was glaring at Olly. I shook my head discreetly
telling him not to say anything about it, I needed to take care of it, and I
didn’t want him involved.
He sighed and nodded, looking away, frowning. “Yeah, see you
tomorrow,” he muttered.
“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather come home with me?” Amy
asked, putting her hands on her hips as she frowned at Olly a little harder.
“I’m sure,” I confirmed. “Olly and I have something to talk
about.” I raised my eyebrows in explanation. A smile pulled at the corners of
her mouth, she obviously understood that I wanted to give him hell for that
little stunt.
“Right, well I’ll pick you up in the morning,” she replied.
I nodded and smiled before turning back to Olly and
motioning with my head that we were ready to go to his stupid swim meet. Once
we were out of the hall and on our own, I pulled my hand out of his grasp
angrily. “What the hell was that?” I cried, throwing my hands up in
exasperation.
His eyebrows knitted together in confusion. “What? Oh come
on he had his hands all over you! Am I just supposed to let that go?” he asked
angrily.
“Heck yeah you’re supposed to let it go! Nick and I are friends,
nothing more. For goodness sake, Olly, this is pathetic, and you need to grow
up! I won’t have this kind of stuff keep happening all the time, you need to
trust me or there’s no point in starting anything!” I almost shouted.
His frown deepened but he didn’t say anything for a few
seconds as we just glared at each other, neither of us wanting to back down. I
refused to be the one to break the silence. I hadn’t done anything wrong. He
needed to accept that Nick and I were friends long before we went out, and I
wanted to keep it that way.
After about a minute he sighed heavily and looked away. The
thrill of victory coursed through my veins. I always backed down in these types
of situations; I never won an argument like that, so I was more than a little
proud of myself.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything about it,” he
admitted grudgingly.
I shook my head. I was still angry with him so I wasn’t
letting him off the hook that easily. “No you shouldn’t. Nick and I are
friends. You either accept that fact or don’t, it’s your choice.” I shrugged,
crossing my arms over my chest defensively.
He nodded and stepped forward, bending slightly so he could
look into my eyes. He plastered on the little lost boy face again. “Sorry,
Chloe. I’m such an ass; I shouldn’t keep taking my insecurities out on you.” He
reached out and brushed my hair behind my ear lightly.
“You’re damn right there, and it’s not just me you need to
apologise to,” I said sternly. I wasn’t just conceding because he was doing the
face, if he wanted to try and be with me then he actually needed to try.
He frowned, his jaw tightening slightly but he quickly rearranged
his expression and smiled. “Yeah, I’ll speak to Nick tomorrow or something and
say sorry.” He gripped my waist and pulled me closer to him, pouting at me.
“Don’t stay mad at me. I’m really sorry. Forgive me?” he pleaded as he looked
into my eyes.
I sighed in defeat and nodded.
Damn it, why can’t I grow
some balls and just say no to people once in a while?
He had one last
chance, and that was it. As soon as he screwed up, that was it, we were over. No
one could accuse me of not trying to get over Will; I was trying my hardest
that’s for sure.
“Olly, I won’t put up with it again. You need to stop with
the being possessive stuff, I mean it,” I warned. He smiled and nodded, inching
his mouth towards mine. I gasped when I realised he was about to kiss me on
school grounds.
Is he freaking serious?
I put my hands on his chest and
pushed him away from me. “Again? For goodness sake we’re at school and got into
trouble for that this morning!” I cried in disbelief.
He rolled his eyes. “We’re in a deserted hallway, Chloe; no
one would have seen it.” He gripped my hand and pulled me towards the pool. I skulked
behind like a spoilt child. He walked me to the poolside seats before going to
get changed into his swim stuff.
The swim meet was boring. I vowed that the next time I had
to subject myself to this I would make sure that I brought a book or something
to read. I was so bored that I even contemplated reading ahead in my calculus
book in preparation for my next class.
I let my mind wander to other places and was happily
daydreaming about Alex Pettyfer when I felt the row of seats that I was sat on
move. I glanced to the side to see that Will had sat down in the seat next to
mine. He wasn’t looking at me; he was watching the swimmers with a mock
interested look on his face. I chuckled, wondering what he was doing here. A
smile pulled at the corners of his lips as he finally turned to look at me.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Same as you.”
I laughed. “You’re watching your boyfriend swim?” I teased.
“Which one is he? Do I know him?”
He grinned and pointed to one of the guys who were just
about to dive in. “That one, the one with the nice ass and lickable chest,” he
joked in a camp voice, making me giggle hysterically.
We sat there laughing for a couple of minutes which gained
us glares from the swim coach, probably because we were disrupting his practice
or something. I tried not to look at Will because every time I did I started
laughing again.
He leant in closer to me. “You know, those speedos don’t
leave much to the imagination. Your boyfriend looks like he’s a little cold,”
he joked, chuckling darkly. I burst out laughing again and quickly put my hand
over my mouth to stifle the sound as I gained another glare from the coach. He
grinned wickedly at me. “Maybe I should offer him a pair of my socks for next
time you watch so you’ll be more impressed,” he whispered. I slapped his arm,
biting my lip so I could stop laughing. I knew he was only teasing though, Olly
hadn’t gotten out of the water yet so neither of us had no idea if he looked
‘cold’ or not.