In the Heart of Forever

by Jo-Anna Walker

  Rave handed me my phone and I curled my fingers around it. Our fingers lightly touched, sending a jolt of electricity down my back. My cheeks heated and I looked up into his green eyes.

  His lips turned up at the corners. “Do you need to hit your locker?”

  I nodded and stood, flinging my bag over my shoulder. We headed out of the library and without saying anything, Rave followed beside me.

  Our shoulders brushed as we walked down the hall. His jaw was tight, set in a hard line. He looked mad. When he looked down at me, he smiled, his eyes softening.

  We continued making our way down the hall, when a commotion erupted in front of us. Rave grabbed my arm, saving me from almost getting tackled by some guys from the football team.

  “Sorry Jesse,” one of the guys, Alex Rowan, called out. He was the only one that was nice to me besides Jake.

  “Assholes,” Rave muttered.

  My books fell out of my hands anyways, but that was better than getting run over. We knelt down together, picking up my things. Rave held my bag and books in his hands and stood up.

  “Thank you,” I held out my hand for my stuff, rising to my feet.

  “I got it.” A small smile splayed on his lips. He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, sending shivers down my back.

  My heart swelled at the gesture and I took a deep breath. I couldn’t control the feelings that were racing through me. It was intense and powerful. New.

  Students milled about as they walked to their classes. Some looked at us and others snickered, pointing in our direction.

  We ignored them. Rave more so than me. I didn’t know how he did it. I went to school with these kids for the last several years and sometimes it was impossible to ignore them.

  Teachers stood outside their doors making sure everyone got to their appropriate homeroom.

  My locker was in the same hall as our first class, so we wouldn’t be late too much.

  Rave leaned against the lockers, holding my bag and books in his arms.

  My heart thumped and it took me three attempts to get my door unlocked. He was way too distracting.

  Finally getting the metal door open, I grabbed the bag, got what was needed for class and placed it in my locker. We headed to our homeroom and sat in my usual spot, with Rave sitting in the desk beside me. I looked at him, wondering why he didn’t sit at the back like he usually did.

  His eyes flicked to mine. He winked and back at Mr. Deel.

  I shrugged to myself and noticed Rave didn’t have any books or paper or anything with him. I handed him one of my notebooks and a pen. He took the items, smiling warmly at me.

  My heart fluttered and stopped when the Triple M’s walked into the room. They noticed us sitting beside each other instantly and giggled, obnoxiously.

  I leaned my head down and tried covering my face with my hair but that didn’t help.

  “Wake up on the wrong side of someone else’s bed, four eyes?” Melanie asked. She always started the name calling and the other two always followed suit. She was the meanest one. The one I had to watch out for.

  God, I hated this school.

  “So now we have him carrying our books for us do we?” Melissa added.

  Rave glared at them. They must have seen him carrying my things for me as we walked down the hall. Or their little spies told them.

  The girls walked by me and sat in their usual spots behind my desk. No one ever sat in those seats except for them. It’s like they sat there to deliberately harass me.

  “So Rave,” Melanie cooed. “I see you’re getting to know our girl here.”

  Our girl? Oh God, this could not be good.

  Rave didn’t answer but I noticed his jaw tensing.

  “You know. I think you and Rave would be cute together. Just think of all the Emo babies you could have,” Miranda joked, making the other girls snicker.

  Anger burned in my belly but I wouldn’t let them get to me. I wouldn’t.

  “Aww…don’t cry. I’m sure Rave could make you feel better,” Melanie said, suggestively.

  I spun on her, rage and fury flowing through my body. “Shut the hell up. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Her eyes widened and then she smirked.

  I turned back around, crossing my arms under my chest.

  Tension rolled off of Rave so thick, you would need a machete to cut it.

  “Alright class, please turn your text books to chapter five,” Mr. Deel said, beginning his boring History lecture. I liked him as a teacher and as a person but this subject put me to sleep. The only time I enjoyed it was when we got to read a novel having to do with history.

  “Psst, hey four eyes. Won’t Jake get jealous?”

  Fury tore at my bones, from the nagging questions she was asking me. “No because we’re just friends. That’s it.” I didn’t know why I even bothered but I felt the need to defend us.

  “Right. Cause we all have friends who warm our bed at night.”

  My cheeks heated with rage at what she was suggesting.

  “Melanie, do you have something to share with the class?” Mr. Deel chided.

  “No, sir,” she quickly said.

  “Good, now pay attention,” he turned back to the board as the girls giggled.

  I sighed and crossed my arms under my chest when a folded up piece of paper landed on my desk. I quickly grabbed it before Mr. Deel noticed and opened it discreetly under my desk. A picture of a person in a straightjacket looked up at me. An arrow pointing to the drawing with the caption, Mental Case – Melanie, above it.

  I had to stifle a laugh and folded the piece of paper, sticking it in my notebook. I smiled. “That is an understatement,” I whispered.

  A deep chuckle sounded from beside me.

  And even though I had sworn off becoming close with anyone ever again, a little part of me—deep in the recesses of my soul—jumped with glee.

  Chapter 5

  When class ended, Rave walked me to get my books. I had forgotten something for my next class. Maybe I was the mental case as well as Melanie.

  He leaned against the locker as I went about my business, grabbing the right binder for my next subject.

  “I’m sorry about the Triple M’s,” I said while putting my stuff away.

  He raised an eyebrow. “Triple M’s?”

  “Yeah, that’s what they call themselves. Melanie, Melissa and Miranda. They started that in the fifth grade and it kinda stuck.” I shrugged, closing my locker.

  “Well that explains a lot,” he mumbled.

  We headed to the Chemistry hall and I turned to him. “Don’t you have class?”

  “Yup,” he answered. Our shoulders brushed every so often, even with the halls cleared out. I wondered if he felt the connection between us too.

  “Shouldn’t you be headed there then?” I hugged my books to my chest as we walked down the hall.

  “Probably.”

  I rolled my eyes at his one worded answers. “You don’t have to walk me to all of my classes, Rave.”

  He placed a hand at the small of my back, guiding me the rest of the way. “I know.”

  Yay for two words. “What’s your next class?” I asked, ignoring the tingle that spread through my body at his soft touch.

  “Math.”

  I frowned. That was on the other side of the school. He would be late. “Rave, you…”

  He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear again and smirked, heading down the hallway to his math class.

  I stood there, dumbfounded and watched him. Well that was odd. The light touches from him meant everything to me. Even though I hardly knew the guy, I wanted to spend as much time with him as I could. I wanted to get to know him. Learn what made him tick. Hear about his life. Where was he from? I had a feeling that we had more in common than I thought. The only person that I felt comfortable with was Jake but he was my friend. With Rave, I wanted more.

  Rave reached the end of the hall
and before he rounded the corner, he looked back at me. Even though he was several feet away, I could sense his smirk, making my heart flutter. Oh man, I had it bad for him.

  “Miss Dawson, are you joining us in class today?”

  I turned to Mrs. Harrison’s voice, my cheeks heating. “Yes ma’am. Sorry.”

  “Good, well come on then,” her rounded frame waddled back into the room and I followed behind her.

  I headed to the back of the classroom and sat beside Jake. He looked at me with warm brown eyes and I smiled.

  “How’s it going, Jess?”

  I placed my books on the table in front of us, opening my Chemistry book. “Alright, I guess.”

  “Everything okay?”

  I sighed. “No.”

  Jake placed his hand on mine squeezing it gently. “Anything I can do at all, please let me know.”

  A hard lump formed in my throat at his thoughtfulness. “I will,” I whispered.

  He removed his hand and cleared his throat. “I’ve seen you with that new kid.”

  My eyes glanced up to his. “So…”

  “I’ve heard rumors.”

  “Since when do you listen to rumors?” I asked.

  He shrugged. “I’m not saying I listen to them but they’re kinda hard to miss. Even the teachers are talking about him, Jess.”

  “Well I’m sure the rumors aren’t true.”

  “Are you friends with him?”

  My skin tingled, remembering the tender touch of Rave brushing my hair behind my ear. “Yes, I am.”

  Jake didn’t respond and I looked up at him. His back was stiff as he roughly pulled his books out of his bag.

  I frowned. “Jake?”

  His gaze met mine.

  I held back a gasp at the cold dark look staring back at me. Unease settled in my belly and I looked away.

  A hand landed on my knee making me jump.

  “I like you Jesse,” Jake whispered in my ear.

  I grabbed his hand and pushed it off of my knee. “Jake, stop.”

  He placed his hand back on my leg, digging his fingers into my skin.

  I whipped my head around and glared, pushing his hand away. “What the hell is your problem?”

  His eyes darkened. “You’re going to the dance with Rave, aren’t you?”

  I opened and closed my mouth. I hadn’t really thought about it. “No…I don’t know…he hasn’t asked me.”

  “If he does, you’ll say yes.”

  “Why do you care? We’re friends Jake.”

  “I like you.” His eyes warmed.

  “I like you, too.”

  “No. I like you, Jesse.”

  My heart thumped against my chest at what he was saying. “Jake, please. You’re my best friend. Don’t…”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Don’t what?”

  “Don’t ruin it.” I abruptly raised my hand, stopping Mrs. Harrison mid-sentence.

  “Yes, Jesse?”

  I swallowed hard as the eyes of my classmates turned to me. “May I be excused? I need to see the nurse.”

  She nodded.

  I quickly grabbed my things, ignoring Jake’s scrutiny. I couldn’t believe him. What changed in the last couple of days? Maybe Jake was jealous of Rave.

  I headed down the aisle and organized my papers in my hand while Mrs. Harrison went with on with class.

  As I approached the door, my feet hit something hard and I went flying. Landing hard on my palms and knees, sharp pain shot through my limbs. My papers, bag and books flew out of my arms as an eruption of laughter sounded around me. My chest tightened as people continued to laugh at my very public tumble.

  Hands grabbed my arms, helping me to my feet. “Are you alright?”

  I looked up at Mrs. Harrison through cloudy eyes and nodded. I dashed out of the classroom, heading for my sanctuary but not before I noticed Miranda smirking in her seat. Looks like Melanie wasn’t the meanest one after all.

  Practically running into the library, I slowed down to a walk as Mrs. Johnson looked up at me from her desk. “Everything alright, Jesse?”

  I nodded, forcing back the fury that had buried deep in my belly.

  “Why aren’t you in class?”

  “Not feeling well,” I grumbled and hurried to the back of the library.

  “If you need anything, let me know.”

  I called out a thank you and headed to my favorite corner. Mrs. Johnson was wonderful that way. She didn’t ask questions. She knew I was supposed to be in class but didn’t press or ask why I wasn’t.

  After placing my bag in the corner, I walked down the row of books, lightly grazing my fingers over the hard and soft copies.

  I closed my eyes and took a couple of steps, letting my fingers stop on a random book. It was a game I liked to play by myself. I opened my eyes a moment later and smiled when I had stopped on a mystery about a diamond thief. A favorite of mine. I pulled it from the shelf and sat in the corner. After stretching out my legs in front of me, I saw Rave standing a couple feet away from me.

  “Hi,” he murmured.

  “Hi yourself,” my heart thumped hard in my chest and my body relaxed at the sight of him.

  He sat down beside me and grabbed the book from my hand, looking it over. “Why aren’t you in class?”

  “I could ask you the same thing,” I countered, pulling my phone out of my bag.

  He smirked. “Touché. I hate Math so I said I needed to see the nurse.” He reached for my phone and scrolled through my playlist. “You have some really good songs on here.”

  My cheeks heated. “Thank you. You’re the first person to see it.”

  “Good thing there’s no embarrassing songs on here then.”

  I laughed and sighed. “I was asked to the Valentine’s Day dance by a friend.”

  A low sound erupted from Rave. Did he just growl? I shook my head and continued. “It…uh…weirded me out so I said I needed to see the nurse too.”

  “What friend?”

  “Jake Porter. It was odd. He asked me a couple of days ago if I was going and I said that I wasn’t sure. But today…”

  “He asked if you would go with him.”

  I nodded.

  “You should go.”

  I looked up at him and frowned. “I’m…I don’t want to go with him.” I want to go with you.

  “Do you want to go?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  Rave didn’t say anything else about the dance and continued searching through the playlist. He didn’t mention how dark some of the songs were or how heavy and loud. He stopped on a song and hit play, putting an ear bud in his ear. He handed me the other one.

  I took it from him and did the same, closing my eyes. I leaned back against the wall, letting the slow beat of the music wash over me. Something warm and soft touched my hand.

  Rave’s finger rubbed against the side of my hand.

  My heart sped up. The attraction that bloomed between us was overwhelming and it took me off guard. I never had a boy show any interest in me at all, besides Jake.

  I pulled the bud from my ear and looked up. “Rave.”

  His jaw tightened but stared straight ahead. “You relax me, Jesse.”

  My heart gave a start at his quiet admission. “You…you relax me too.”

  His body relaxed beside me. “I like you.”

  My heart swelled and I opened my hand. “I like you too.”

  “What happened?” he asked a moment later.

  I looked down at our joined hands and saw the small band aid I had placed on my palm last night. “I…I fell in some glass.”

  He scoffed but didn’t ask any further questions and ran his thumb over the band aid.

  Did he know I lied?

  He placed our hands back on the floor in between us. A moment of silence passed over us.

  I didn’t know how or why but I knew at that point that this boy understood me. He was the first person at this school besides Jake to not tease m
e or make fun of me. Probably because he wasn’t from around here. But now Jake was acting weird. Was he jealous?

  I released Rave’s hand and grabbed my journal and a pencil from my bag.

  “You like to draw?”

  I jumped as his hot breath caressed my neck and turned to him. His mouth was mere inches from mine but he was looking down at my journal. Our eyes met and he smiled, looking back down at the book in my hand.

  I followed his gaze and cleared my throat, ignoring the flutter in my stomach. “Yeah, just tulips.”

  “They’re perfect.”

  My heart lifted at his compliment.

  “Hey, there you are.”

  I jumped at the sound of Jake’s voice. He was standing in front of us with a scowl on his face. Oh yeah, definitely jealous.

  “Hey.” I frowned at Jake’s cold stare. I pulled the ear bud from my ear and rose to my feet. I felt Rave come up behind me and I looked up at him. I saw the same hard expression in his eyes. “Uh…Jake, this is Rave Black. Rave…Jake Porter.”

  “Yeah, I know who he is,” Jake snapped.

  “Okay…well…” I looked between the two guys. “I’m gonna head to the cafeteria. Are you having lunch with me today, Jake?”

  “What’s wrong?”

  His eyes darkened. “You need to stay away from him. He’s trouble.”

  My cheeks heated, embarrassed for Rave. “You don’t even know him. Let’s go have lunch.” I placed a hand on his arm but he pulled away.

  “I’m not hungry.”

  “Jake, why are you acting like this?”

  His eyebrows narrowed. “He’s the reason why you don't want to go to the dance with me.” Suspicion coated Jake’s features.

  “What are you talking about? I don't even know if I’m going. That's why I didn't say yes to you.” It wasn’t his business anyways.

  “There are some stories going around about him. He’ll hurt you Jesse,” he accused. "And if you didn't want to go to the dance with me, you should have just said so instead of lying to me."

  "I'm not lying. Rave hasn’t asked me. We can all go as friends. Have a good time." I felt Rave step up closer behind me. I could feel the body heat coming off of him. Usually, it would have bothered me, someone being in my personal space but at that moment, it seemed like he wanted to protect me. I looked up at him.

  His eyes darkened as they bored into Jake’s.