by Raathi Chota
Lana
I sat opposite Blake as we waited for everyone to take their seats. I glanced down to where his hands were to see that they were bruised. After he beat the crap out of Parker, we decided to ditch the period and make out behind the school. A few people saw us, but we didn’t care; it was a way to relieve the stress. I looked at him and mouthed a thank you. He nodded. I noticed Benny walk past me with a sad smile. I stared at him. He walked behind me to sit in his assigned seat.
“All right, class, listen up!” Mr. Gorton exclaimed as he clapped his hands. “Austin, get off your phone.” I turned to see Austin’s grin as his head lowered.
“I’m not on my phone.”
“Don’t lie to me. Nobody grins like that,” Mr. Gorton muttered as everyone laughed.
“Are you even suitable to be our teacher?” Kelly asked.
“Why’d you ask that, Kelly? I speak to everyone like this so they’re comfortable, because I know that none of you like school.”
“I’d rather be in Mrs. Singleton’s class than be here,” Kelly hissed as she stood up.
“You’ll be doing everyone a favor,” Melissa stated as Austin got up too.
Mr. Gorton mumbled something, but I didn’t hear it as they walked out of the classroom. As he handed out booklets, Liam rushed in with an exhausted look. Mr. Gorton gave the boy a questioning look as he walked to his seat.
“I was jus—my grandma—she wanted a foot massage, so I gave her one. Then I got ready for school, and she asked me again because she forgot I gave her one, so yeah, that’s why I’m late.” Liam chuckled.
“No need for an explanation, Mr. Sanchez. An apology would’ve been sufficient,” Mr. Gorton said as he gave Liam a weird look.
“We’re writing an essay!” Aidan groaned as he looked at the paper.
“I know, right! It looks like I’ll be reading essays next weekend,” Mr. Gorton mumbled as he leaned against his desk.
“Yes, Mr. Halls?”
“How long must this essay be?” Carter asked as I read through it.
“Well…it doesn’t give the word count, but just imagine it as a woman’s skirt,” he said as he looked at Carter. “Long enough to cover everything but short enough to keep things interesting.”
The guys in the class laughed as the teacher smiled. I rolled my eyes and pulled my skirt down because I noticed Blake licked his lips in my direction.
After we took notes for another half an hour, the bell rang. Everyone got up to go to his or her next class. Blake and I walked out of the class together, but I heard Mr. Bronx call Blake. I held my books in my hand and watched as Mr. Bronx approached us in the middle of the hallway. I felt something dig into the back of my skirt, and I whipped my head around to see Blake. Once the hallway cleared, Mr. Bronx looked at us. Blake’s finger was still in my skirt, which Mr. Bronx noticed, then awkwardly coughed.
“I guess we need to play more of Griffon’s Games, huh?” He chuckled as Blake let go of me.
“What do you want?” Blake asked, and I nudged him.
“Blake, you barely show up to my class, you don’t fill in the answers for the pop quizzes, and you disrespect me,” Griffon started. “You’re barely passing my class, and I don’t want anyone to fail. Even Liam and Aidan are doing well since I help them in Study Hall, but you…” Griffon trailed off, and I imagined being in a room with Liam, Aidan, and a very frustrated Mr. Bronx. “So I spoke to your mom.” I noticed Blake’s jaw clenched. “She agrees that you need a tutor.”
“I want Lana,” Blake stated, and Mr. Bronx laughed.
“That isn’t your decision to make. Carter already agreed to help you.”
“I want Lana,” he repeated with an emotionless look.
“Well, too bad, you’re never gonna get her,” Mr. Bronx stated as they stared at each other. He was a bit taller than Blake, but with the looks on their faces, I knew they were trying to scare each other. “Just for these next few weeks before finals, Blake. Then you won’t have to worry about me if you graduate. That’s a big if.”
“Fine, whatever,” Blake muttered, then took my hand and dragged me down the hallway before I even looked at Mr. Bronx.
“Why do you hate him so much?” I asked as he pulled me to our next class, which was Photography.
“I don’t hate him. I just don’t like how he teaches. He irritates me and acts intimidating.”
“He’s always been intimidating.”
“Yeah, intimidating for you, and it’s weird.”
***
After school, I got a ride with Carter to Blake’s house. He didn’t want Carter to tutor him without me. I didn’t know why, because I’d be a distraction. We sat in the kitchen by the island. Carter was next to me while Blake was opposite us. Blake wrote answers while I worked on my laptop. Carter had his arm around my chair as he scrolled through his phone.
“I fucking hate equations!” Blake snapped as he threw his pencil on the table. Carter and I got a fright and looked at him.
“Dude, you’re not bad. You know all the equations for Mechanics. Now you need to know Electricity, Waves, and Optics.” Carter shrugged as he took Blake’s book and observed it.
“Yeah, once you know all of that, it gets easy,” I admitted.
“I’m not stupid! I see what I’m doing!” Blake exclaimed as he hit his books. “It’s just…I don’t want to do it.”
“But you have to. How are you gonna graduate and get into college?” I asked.
“I already have two colleges waiting for me to make my decision and I’m pretty sure I’ll pass if I don’t get one thing,” he emphasized.
“Just do the questions, dude. I saw that chick Katherine Taylor at Jaden’s party. She came over last night.” Carter smirked, and I rolled my eyes. The last name Taylor rang a bell. At Thanksgiving dinner, with Mr. Bronx and Dad, they spoke about a Misty Taylor and how hot she was. She had five kids, and maybe Katherine Taylor was one of her children.
“How is she?” Blake asked as he studied me.
“Is that even a question? We did it over and over, all the time.” Carter laughed, and I noticed Blake’s grin.
“All the time, huh?” I blurted out. Carter turned to me with a questioning look, but I looked at my laptop. He nudged me with his knee; I ignored him. Carter continued to do it, and I nudged him too. Blake seemed unaware of us since he was in broad focus. My thigh got numb, so I raised it. He didn’t notice and nudged me again, but this time harder…
“Oh, shit, sorry! That is not how I wanted to slam you there,” he exclaimed, since his knee was still near my inner thigh.
“Yeah, because you do it all the time, huh?” I stated as I put my leg down, but his leg was still by me, so my leg was on his thigh. Blake gave us a questioning look but shook his head as he continued. Carter raised a brow at me, and I smirked. Since our legs were all over each other and our shoulders touched, I snuck my hand to his thigh that was under mine. His eyes widened as he awkwardly coughed, then looked down to his books. With my right hand on my laptop and left close to Carter’s thigh, Blake didn’t notice anything. My hand moved closer until I felt something hard. My eyes widened, and I bit my lip to prevent a laugh.
“L-Lana?” Carter exhaled deeply as Blake looked at him. “Can I search something on your laptop?”
“Sure.” I smiled. Carter turned it to him and typed by my notes. I read what he wrote, and my eyes widened.
I’d do you right here right now on the island, Lana Willson. Fucking stop.
I lightly chuckled as I took the laptop and typed a response back.
Oh, but I do it all the time.
As he read the text, I lightly patted his boner, then removed my leg from his thigh. I got up and washed my hands in the sink. Heaven knew how many girls touched his jeans. Carter smirked at me the whole way as I walked back to my seat. Mrs. Gunner entered the kitchen in a maroon Bodycon dress and black heels. Her hair was up in a tight bun, which brought out her hoop earrings.
“Mrs. Gunner, you’re lo
oking stunning tonight.” Carter let out a low whistle.
“Yeah.” I smiled as Blake turned to her.
“Thank you, Carter and Lana.” She smiled.
“Where you going?” Blake asked as he eyed his mother suspiciously.
“Out with friends, Blake Monroe Gunner. I barely get to do that since I have two sons eating the whole time, so I have to work hard,” Mrs. Gunner replied.
“Momma, you know I don’t like my middle name,” he groaned as Carter and I snickered.
“It was your great grandmother’s name, Blake!” she exclaimed, then took something out of the fridge.
“Yeah, yeah. What is that?”
“Since I made your red velvet peppermint swirl brownies the other day, Axel told me to make his favorite. Pumpkin and cream cheese muffins!”
As soon as those words fell from Mrs. Gunner’s mouth, Carter and Blake turned to me. Out the corner of my eye, I saw Axel enter the kitchen with Scruffy. Once Axel spotted me, he smiled and raised his arms.
“Pumpkin!” he cheered and walked toward me. He saw his mother, then the muffins. “I wasn’t finished…pumpkin! And cream cheese muffins!”
“Mm.” Mrs. Gunner pursed her lips. Axel took in the appearance of his mother, then squinted his eyes.
“Where are you going?”
“Ask your brother; I’m going,” she muttered, then walked out of the kitchen. “And Axel, don’t eat all of those muffins! Share with Lana, Carter, Blake an—”
“Got it, Momma!” He cut her off.
“This is magnificent,” Carter moaned as he ate the muffin. I took one, and so did Axel, but he fed it to Scruffy. Once he finished, he put the leash around his neck, then petted him.
“You’re finally walking the dog, huh?” Blake asked.
“I always do!” Axel pouted, then looked at Scruffy. “Come on, Scruffy, they don’t like our company. I’m sure the bitches at the park will.”
I laughed as he walked out with Scruffy. Blake and Carter finished their session an hour later, and Carter offered me a ride home, but I declined. I helped Blake clean the kitchen, then he’d take me back. I closed my laptop and got ready to go when I heard Blake approach me. I spun around, and he pushed me against the counter with his hands firmly placed on my hips. I held onto the table for support as he looked at me.
“Let’s get one thing straight. If we’re gonna do this, we can’t see or do other people,” Blake said as I stared at him. “That Katherine Taylor chick called me twice, and I told her I’m off with someone way better. So it’d be nice if you don’t think twice about one of my best friends,” he grumbled. “Got it?” Blake lifted me up. I nodded, but he shook his head and laughed. He placed me on the counter and pressed his forehead against mine. “I know you, Lana. You’re sneaky, and so is Carter.” He kissed me. The first kiss was short yet sweet. I looked down at his lips because I wanted more, craved more, and it was as if he read my mind. His tongue slipped inside my mouth. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my body against his. I felt his arms wrap around my torso protectively. He lifted me up again, and I instantly wrapped my legs around him. Blake pushed me against the wall, and I picked up that he was trying to get to his room, but we continued to kiss. Kiss, feel each other, and wanting to rip each other’s clothes off and take out our frustrations on each other. Take out everything that had happened for the past few months and…have fun. He pulled away and placed his hands under my skirt, then squeezed my ass. As he walked down the hall, I gripped his hair and kissed down his jawline. We entered his room, and he kicked the door closed. Blake laid me down on the bed, and I kicked off my boots as he turned around. As he went to his speakers, I glanced around his room. Everything was so neat and in place, completely different than mine. While he had old CDs on his shelf, I had books cluttered everywhere. I turned back to see him pull off his shirt and turn on the speakers. He plugged in his phone, and I bit my bottom lip as a heavy rock song played. He hovered over me and left a gentle kiss on my lips. I placed a hand on his cheek and looked into his brown eyes. They seemed darker than usual, yet so engaged. I saw the hunger in his eyes as he looked at my lips like Carter did the other morning. He placed his hand under my thigh and turned us so that I was on top of him. I straddled him and took off my sweater, then the tank top, which left me in my red bra. I placed an arm on either side of him and pressed my lips to his. Blake’s hands were all over me, by my sides, up my back, and down the backs of my thighs. I pulled away and looked down at my skirt. I pulled it down by my thighs and saw Blake sit up. He spread his legs so that I’d sit on the bed. He pulled my skirt off and tossed it aside, then he took his jeans off and smirked down at me. A grunge song played as I laid on the edge of the bed. Blake hovered over me and buried his face in the crook of my neck. I felt his lips against my skin as I rolled my eyes back. I tried to run my hands through his hair, but he gripped my hands and pinned them against the bed as he pressed against me and kissed my neck. My heavy breaths turned into moans as I tried to touch him, but his grip tightened on my hands. He came up and pressed his forehead against mine. He finally let go of my hands. He ran his fingers through my hair as we continued to move against each other. I wanted to do it, and I could tell he did too, but something held us back.
“Dude!” someone yelled, then banged on the door. “Blake!”
“Fuck,” Blake muttered as he got up. I pouted because the person ruined the moment. I got up, and Blake threw my clothes at my face. I gave him a questioning look as he put his clothes on. I got dressed as Blake turned off the music. Once I was done, I casually sat on the bed as Blake opened the door.
“Dude, what the fuck, are you dea—oh, hey, Lana!” Keene exclaimed as he looked at Blake with wide eyes, then me.
“Hi, Keene,” I mumbled, then stood up.
“What are you guys—oh!” Keene beamed as he looked at us, then wiggled his brows.
“No,” Blake and I said in unison.
“Come on, Lana, I’ll take you home,” Blake added as he grabbed my hand. He took me out of his house so quick that I didn’t even get time to say goodbye to Keene.
***
School was weird; Blake avoided me most of the time, so I hung out with Miranda and Marcus. I didn’t know what happened to the whole group; it’s as if when two people fought, it affected everyone. I sat at our regular lunch table since Benny got invited to sit with Britney.
It was the last period, which was Physics, and I walked down the hall. As I turned the corner, I felt someone grip my arm and push me against the wall. I groaned, then glanced up to see Blake.
“What do you want?” I asked, then pushed him away.
“Look, I’m sorry for yesterday. It’s just…Keene doesn’t know what we’re doing, and I’d like to keep it that way,” Blake whispered as his eyes softened.
“Yeah, I get it,” I whispered, then looked down.
“Here’s your laptop,” he said, then gave me my bag.
“Thanks.” I took it. Blake cupped my cheeks, then put a strand of hair behind my ear as I looked at him.
“I just want to kiss you right now,” he whispered, then looked down the hallways. There were barely any people since everyone had gone to class.
“Blake, we ca—” He cut me off and kissed me. I stood on my tippy toes to deepen the kiss. His arms wrapped around my waist to keep me in place as his tongue ran across my bottom lip. I heard footsteps behind us, and I pulled away to see Ethan stare at us. I forcefully pushed Blake’s arms off me and backed away. I continued to walk since the second bell rang; I heard Blake’s footsteps as he caught up with me.
“Hey, are you okay?” he asked and entwined my fingers with his. I let out a sigh, then turned to look up at him.
“Blake, how long is this gonna go on? Or when is it over?”
“When Nielson learns to man the fuck up,” he answered without hesitation.
“I-I don’t get you. First, you admit your feelings for me, then you want to make him jealous, yet y
ou also want to get me out of your system. I feel bad because you seem fine with everything,” I mumbled. Blake let out a sigh and stopped us. He placed his hands on my shoulders as he stared at me.
“Look, I’ve realized that he makes you happy. For the past few weeks, you haven’t smiled. It’s the fake smile because you try to hide the fact that you miss him. I see it in your eyes how jealous you are of Britney. I see how he makes you happy, how he makes that smile reach your eyes. I don’t know how he does it even though he’s just going to hurt you, but you see the good in him,” he said, then walked. “Besides, I’m all right. It was just a little crush. Now I get to make out with you until he mans the fuck up.”
“Just a little crush…” I whispered to myself, then strolled behind him. Everyone piled into the class, and I sat next to Melissa. While I opened my books, Melissa elbowed me. I turned to her, and she pointed across the room. I followed her gaze to see Britney next to Liam, where Kelly sat. Poor Liam. “Why is she here?”
“Since Kelly and Austin moved to another Physics class, Britney moved in here,” Melissa replied as I stared at her. She looked around the room, then in my direction, but waved at Benny, who sat behind me. I huffed and folded my arms as I turned to Mr. Gorton, who wrote on the board. Once the class was settled, he gave us the work. We answered questions, and I’d glance over to Blake. He looked like he knew what he was doing since he had his headphones on while he worked. The rest of the period was spent in silence as everyone else did his or her own thing until Ethan walked into the classroom with a sorrowful look. I raised a brow as Principal West walked in too. Mr. Gorton stood up, and my eyes widened when I saw Detective Kale step in. The whole class went silent as we stared at the men in front.
“Sorry to disturb your teaching, but Detective Kale here needs to talk to some students, and he says it’s urgent,” Principal West said.
Mr. Gorton leaned against his desk while Detective Kale scouted the classroom. I felt Aidan kick my chair, and I looked up to see Blake and Carter stare at me. “There’s my favorite delinquent.” Detective Kale smirked as he looked at Blake. Blake’s jaw clenched as he glared at Detective Kale. Principal West raised a brow, utterly oblivious to the situation, while Mr. Gorton cleared his throat.