Hello, Honeybee

by Caity H.

  “I'm Olivia to everyone else. Honeybee to him,” I corrected, pointing towards Lex, who had come up to stand next to me. His eyes stopped on Desmond, a glare forming. Is he always angry at someone?

  “Hey, Lex,” Desmond spoke, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “Desmond.” Lex held his glare.

  I looked between the two of them, some untold tension in the air. “How do you two know each other?”

  Desmond glanced at me. “Soccer.” His was voice tight.

  “Des here has been trying to take over for me since the beginning of the season. Haven't you?” Lex seethed.

  “I wouldn't call it taking over. I'm trying to help the team.” I looked between the two of them in confusion, wincing when Lex’s hold on my arm tightened. The anger directed toward Desmond was unintentionally coming out at me.

  “The team's fine,” Lex snapped.

  Desmond rolled his eyes. “I'm just trying to help.”

  “You're trying to take my spot as team captain.” Lex’s hands curled into fists.

  “It would help,” Desmond said, a smug grin on his face.

  “As if.” Lex grabbed my arm, pulling me away. “Don't get hit by a truck, Des.”

  “Same to you,” he called cheerfully. “Bye, Olivia.” As I was being pulled by Lex, I waved goodbye.

  “Don't talk to him, Honeybee,” he told me, pulling me toward the parking lot. Where are we going?

  “And why not? He seems nice enough.” I nearly stumbled over the curb. Lex didn’t hesitate, or help me right myself. He just continued to stride toward an unknown destination. “By the way, where are we going?” Why were we even talking? We hadn’t spoken since the kiss. Maybe our messed up relationship really didn’t affect him the way it affected me.

  “I’m taking you home. It is way too hot for you to walk.” Well isn’t that thoughtful. “And he’s not nice. He's been trying to get my spot as team captain since school started. Don't let the voice fool you, just because he's got an accent doesn't mean he's better.”

  “But–”

  “No buts Honeybee. He's not good enough to be team captain.” We got to his car and he unlocked the doors.

  “Are you threatened by him?” I cooed, grinning at the idea. I slipped into the car, leaving my door open to relieve some of the stifling heat.

  He scoffed. “Yeah right. Desmond has nothing on me.”

  “I'll be the judge of that. You guys have a game this Saturday right?”

  “You can't come if you're going to judge me, Honeybee,” he mumbled, searching his pockets for something.

  “Yes I can. Besides, I've seen soccer movies. It seems to me that Italian's are always good soccer players,” I mused, twisting the end of my hair around my finger.

  “That's profiling,” he said, looking around the car.

  “No it's not,” I said in a sing-song voice. The sun glared brightly, warming my skin. I pulled on my sunglasses, watching as Lex went through his backpack.

  “Yes is it.”

  “What are you looking for?” I demanded to know, snatching my purse away from his hands as he went to look through it.

  “My phone. I know I had it.” He raised his eyebrows, his shoulder propped up. He was acting like I should’ve known what he was doing.

  “You probably left it in the locker room or something.” I said, trying to think logically.

  He sighed. “I'll be right back.” He opened his car door and started back towards the school.

  After about five minutes of waiting, I began wondering if he was ever coming back. I was about to call him when I heard chanting coming from the school. I was able to make out the word ‘fight’. My pulse quickened and I hurried from the car, reaching the school yard moments later. I gasped at what I saw.

  Lex and Desmond were rolling around on the ground, throwing punches and kicks left and right. Everyone was watching or encouraging them. I rolled my eyes at the immaturity of high school students.

  Where was someone in charge when I needed them? Did teachers and the principle care at all that two of their students were fighting on the front lawn in the midst of a growing crowd?

  “Lex Diamond!” Cassy shrieked. Lex had a hold of Desmond's collar and had his fist about ready to hit him in the face again. “Stop it this instant before you both get suspended. Graduation is two weeks away!” Her words brought a pause to the chanting and the fight. The two boys glared at each other, neither willing to be the first one to step back. “Lex,” Cassy seethed, glaring him down.

  Lex lowered his fist and pushed Desmond away. I wondered what had happened to make them break out into a fight. The crowd dispersed and almost everyone left. I noticed Desmond spit out some blood. A few cheerleaders went to help him. Cassy took one look at Lex, apparently decided he was fine, and walked away.

  It surprised me that she didn’t seem to care that he had just been in a fight. Weren’t girlfriends supposed to worry about that kind of thing? Lex had a bloody lip and a few scratches. When he saw me, a grimace passed over his features. “I told you to wait in the car.”

  “No you didn't,” I retorted.

  “It was implied.” He rubbed his jaw, wiping blood away from the cut on his lip.

  “Not the point,” I muttered. “What the heck just happened? You leave for two minutes, and a fight breaks out?”

  “It’s not a big deal,” Lex insisted, walking past me. I followed after him. “Come on. Let’s get out of here before one of the teachers shows up.”

  We got back to his car and headed home. The ride was quiet, wind whipping my hair around. Lex had turned the radio on, and sunglasses hid his eyes. I had no idea what was on his mind.

  He parked in his driveway and turned the car off, but made no move to get out. Deciding he was taking time to think about something, I grabbed my bag and started to open the door.

  His hand caught my arm. “Wait.” I paused, turning to look at him. His eyes still stared ahead, dead of emotion. “We need to talk about something.” He let my arm go and returned his hands to the wheel.

  I gulped, taking my hand off the door. “What?” Were we going to talk about the other night? It seemed like a lot of our conversations revolved around his kissing me.

  His jaw tightened, hands gripping the wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white. “I…I didn’t mean for this to happen.” Dark eyes peeked at me a millisecond before turning away.

  “I don’t understand,” I breathed, dropping my bag to the floor again.

  He slid his hands from the wheel, his arm moving to rest on the back of the seat. If he moved much closer, his fingers would brush across the skin of my neck. “I’m sorry… about the other night.” His jaw clenched again, like he was fighting with himself. “I shouldn’t have kissed you, again.” My chest constricted, and no words would come out; not that I had any idea what to say. “And I’m sorry you saw the fight today. It seems I can’t control myself lately.” He leaned his head back, eyes closed.

  My breathing was shallow, and I couldn’t describe the feeling I was having. It was a mixture of butterflies that had undoubtedly turned into zombies and were thus wreaking havoc on my insides.

  I felt sick. “Lex, I…”

  He shook his head, leaning up. “Don’t say anything. Knowing you, you’ll find a way to apologize or justify my stupid, impulsive behavior, and I’m not looking for that. Just know I’m sorry, and it won’t happen again.” He turned toward me, eyes full of sincerity. “I promise.”

  My breath seemed to rush back in when he got out of the car. My chest heaved up and down, trying to regain a sense of stability. Pushing the door, I left the car and headed across the street, his words playing over in my head. Was it a good thing that he would never kiss me again? It was. So why did I feel so sad?

  Chapter Fourteen – Friendly Fighters

  A horn outside made me hurry out of the kitchen. “Bye, Mom!” I called, moving out of the door and heading toward Bethany’s car. Lex was across the street, throwi
ng his things in the back of his jeep. He lifted a wave in acknowledgement. I smiled before hopping into the car.

  “About time, I’ve been ready for ten minutes,” Bethany mumbled, backing out of the driveway. “I can’t be late again. Knowing my luck, I’ll get caught this time.”

  We were pulling into school a few minutes early when someone honked behind us. I turned, seeing Jeremiah send a wink Bethany’s way. She replied with a glare, pulling into a parking spot. “I seriously can’t stand it. He’s become even more of a nuisance now that I’ve hardcore rejected him.”

  “Poor dear,” I murmured, grabbing my bag.

  As she exited the car, she huffed, mumbling something about me being inconsiderate to her feelings. I grinned, moving inside the school. The heat inside the building almost outdid the heat outside. The bodies clustered together, each moving slowly to their destinations.

  Bethany stopped inside the door and stared with dead eyes at the crowd in front of us. “I hate high school.”

  “One more week,” I murmured, giving a small smile of encouragement.

  “If only words were enough to suffice,” she sighed, saluting before heading off. I smirked and moved through the mass of students. They laughed, making jokes to each other as they went. A group of guys tossed a football toward their teammate, one of which ran into me. I stumbled to the side, glaring as he retreated toward his friends, oblivious to the person he’d just run over. I hate high school, too.

  When homeroom rolled around, I wasn’t excited. I was even more upset when Lex walked in. His face lit up in a mischievous smile as he bee-lined my way. I noticed the light bruising and split lip, marks from the fight with Desmond.

  Lex smiled. “Hello, Honeybee.” I raised an eyebrow when he dropped his things on the floor, slipping into the seat next to me. “It’s good to see me.”

  “What?” I twisted my neck to look at him, an eyebrow raised in confusion.

  “I’m voicing your thoughts,” he supplied, pulling out his books, resting his legs on the edge of the table. I’d never realized how long his legs were, but I supposed being a soccer player, having long legs helped somewhat. “You shouldn’t stare, it’s not polite.” Heat spread across my cheeks. He chuckled lightly.

  “Aren’t you in the wrong row?” I mumbled, pushing my glasses back up.

  He shrugged, glancing at the back of the room. “No, I’m right where I want to be.” Why did he have to be so confusing? It was exhausting.

  “Are you now?” I breathed, crossing my ankles. He nodded, and looked like he was about to reply when someone cleared their throat in front of us. Looking up, I felt relieved. It was like manna from heaven. “Bethany!”

  “Hi,” she said curtly, glaring daggers at Lex. He gasped, holding his hands out in question. “What are you doing here?”

  “Why are you angry that I’m here?”

  “We both know who you are, therefore my caution is completely understandable,” she retorted. “Besides, that’s my chair. Move along, now.”

  “There isn’t assigned seating in here, Bridges. It’s first come, first serve.” He glanced around the room. “There are plenty of other seats. You should go find one before the old lady gets in,” he suggested. Almost on cue, the sound of clicking heels penetrated the hallway as Mrs. Bitsley parted the crowd. Being the principal’s wife, everyone moved out of her way for fear of being wrongly imprisoned in detention.

  “Seriously, Lex. Move.” Bethany’s glare seemed to blaze with annoyance the longer he stared up at her, a smirk painted across his face.

  “Lex,” I mumbled. He glanced sideways at me, but didn’t reply.

  Mrs. Bitsley’s plump form walked through the doorway, her once dark hair dusted with gray was tied in a knot on top of her head. Her floral dress was blaring with bright colors, dark frames resting on her nose. Her dark eyes immediately picked up on Bethany’s still standing form. “Ms. Bridges, please take a seat,” her voice was rough from years of smoking. Bethany sent one more glare at Lex before taking one of the seats behind us. I sighed, denying the urge to slam my hands on the table in protest.

  Mrs. Bitsley turned to the papers on her desk. She also taught one of the foreign languages and was probably grading papers. The rest of the class settled into quiet chatter, working on different things to pass the time.

  I turned around in my seat to look at Bethany. She took a break from burning holes in the back of Lex’s head to look at me. “I hate him,” she mouthed, rolling her eyes.

  I laughed, and nodded my head. My agreement was a contradiction to how my heart felt every time I caught a whiff of his cologne, or saw his face light up with a smile. I couldn’t ignore the spark of electricity that went through me whenever he brushed by, or the way my breathing became rapid and shallow when my thoughts wandered to our shared kisses.

  Sighing, I groaned internally for letting my thoughts focus on Lex again. I needed to get away from him, focus on other things for a while. I glanced at Bethany. “I think I should move to Mars.” My words quieted when I noticed the way Lex’s ears tweaked back at the sound.

  “What about me?” She feigned hurt. “I suppose I would have to stay here alone?”

  I shook my head. “You’d come, too. No way would I leave you here alone. You’d get bored without me,” I predicted with a grin.

  “That’s true. Plus, there are probably a lot of alien boys up there. I might fall in love,” she reasoned, weighing the pros of moving to Mars with me.

  “Do you think alien guys are cute?” I asked with a grin.

  She giggled and pushed my shoulder. “Honestly, you’re such a child sometimes.”

  “It's a valid question. Are aliens cute or not?” I really was curious now.

  She slapped my shoulder. “Shush, it's not a valid question at all.” She glanced at the front of the class.

  “It will be when I move to Mars,” I murmured, feigning superiority.

  “You're moving to Mars? And you didn't even tell me?” Lex mocked.

  I sat up and glared at him. “I wasn’t talking to you, so buzz off.”

  “That's what you do, Honeybee,” he chuckled.

  “Quiet.” The word was spat at us from the front of the class. Mrs. Bitsley glared at the three of us, her eyes narrowing in on me. I wanted to throw my hands up and demand what I had done, but that would only further enrage her.

  Lex grinned at me, noting the way I was singled out. “You’re such a bad kid, Bee.”

  “I am not!” I stated a little louder than intended.

  “Ms. Martin,” Mrs. Bitsley seethed, glowering at me. Seriously? Was she blinded by Lex’s good looks as well? Or did she have something against me? I frowned, sitting forward in my seat, arms crossed.

  Lex stretched his arms out, hiding a yawn behind a hand. “You’re cute when you’re angry.” I willed my cheeks to hide the blush I felt. He leaned closer. “And even cuter when you blush,” he whispered, his lips brushing my skin.

  In retrospect, I shouldn’t have been blamed for what happened. It was a knee-jerk reaction, shoving him as hard as I could away from me. I didn’t expect to be so strong and send him flying from his chair onto the floor, where he would accidentally send one of the potted plants toppling over.

  A few of the girls in the class bolted from their chairs and rushed to Lex’s aid, while Mrs. Bitsley huffed, leaving her chair to come stand in front of me. I shrunk back in my chair, willing her to have momentary brain damage and forget what had just happened.

  “Ms. Martin, that is quite enough! You’re interrupting class, and beating up fellow students!” Behind me, I heard Bethany choke on her laughter.

  I bit my lip hard to keep from chuckling with her. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Bitsley, it was an accident I swear–”

  “Go to the office.” Her cold words sent a shiver down my back. The office? I gulped. “Now,” she said the word slowly, dragging it out so the whole class could hear her words. I picked up my bag and left the room, stealing a glance back
at Bethany, who sat rigid in her chair. She looked worried. She wasn’t the only one.

  I cringed when Bethany slapped my shoulder in shock. “You got detention?” she demanded to know as we walked to the Detention hall. Hall. Not just room, hall. How many rule breakers did we have in this school?

  “Yeah. I called Mom and left her a message telling her what happened. She'll probably have a decent amount to say when I get home. And I texted Ryan. He's meeting me around six instead of five.”

  “Well at least he still wants to go out with you. After all, you are one of the bad kids now,” she joked, trying to lighten the mood. “Come on, it's not so bad. It's just one day. Don't stress it.” She smiled.

  “I’ll try,” I said. We stopped outside the Detention hall. She wished me good luck before heading home. I took a deep breath and walked into the hall.

  One of the teachers was sitting at a desk in the front. There were papers all over his desk, and a coffee cup in his hand. I glanced around and saw scattered groups of students doing homework, throwing paper airplanes at each other. The fact they looked like they weren’t having a horrible time really messed with my preconceived notion of what detention was like.

  I stood still, not knowing what to do. This was my first time. The teacher looked up and saw me standing there. He waved me over. “Are you looking for me? Or someone in detention?” He thought I was lost?

  “No, I'm here to serve my time,” I murmured gravely. “I've never had detention before, so I don't know how this works.” My cheeks were probably rosy with embarrassment.

  The teacher almost laughed. “Well then, welcome to detention. I'm Mr. Lowch, though the regulars here call me Jay. Just take a seat wherever, you can do homework if you want. But, as you can see, most of the kids just sit around and wait. It's too bad you did something bad alone. It's more fun for the kid's to do stuff together so they can talk about if in here after they’re caught. ” He smiled.

  I was almost sad that I'd been such a good student. Mr. Lowch seemed like a nice guy. Plus he was so laid back, it seemed like detention was no big deal at all.