"So why are you so dressed up?" Terrance slured into my ear. I felt sick. I stopped messing with the door and pushed his arms off me.
"I'm going to school moron." I said with venom. I then went back to the door and unlocked it finally.
"Come on sissy, let me give you a ride. You don't want your dress to get dirty do you?" He said.
"Sorry already got a ride." I said with a smug tone.
"Who? Whit him that Levi boy? He's just playing you once he gets some he'll throw you in the dust." He said. A opened the door and said,
"First of all... I'm not your sister. Second I'd rather walk. Third the saying is 'leave you in the dust' so get it right." I then smiled at him and shut the door. I tried not to laugh at his face, but e looked so stupid! I was in a good mood again. I walked don the street wen I saw Mikes feed truck right on time. I started running, but stopped when the truck stopped and backed up. Mike smiled at me when I looked at him in confusion.
"What's wrong girly?" He asked me.
"Nothing I was just expecting to jump on like I always do." I said. He laughed and said,
"So was I , but then I saw how gussied up you look. So just hop in for today alright?" He told me I smiled and then walked over to the passenger side. I could just imagine how Jericho would react. I rolled my eyes at the thought.
"So why do you look so nice? What no sneakers?" He scoffed. I blushed. Was I really so over dressed? I've been dressing like this for about a week now.
"I just felt like doing something different." I said with a shrug. Mike scoffed and nodded and me while he said,
"Whatever you say ,kid." Under his breath. The rest of the ride was silent until we drove up to the school.
"Alright little one, where here." He said as he pulled the car to a stop. I looked out the window of the car to try to find my new found friends. I turned back to Mike and said,
"Thanks, Mike." As I gave him a hug. I then opened the door and slid my self out of the car. I walked towards my friends when I say Ashlin's blond mass of hair. I came up behind them and said,
"Boo!" Ashlin jumped and turned around to look at me.
"Oh my god! You scared me so bad- Oh my God You look so cute!" She shrieked and brought m into a tight hug. I tried not to seem awkward and laughed when she hugged me. We all herd the rev of an motorcycle and turned to see Jericho pulling into the parking lot with Tyler tailing not far behind him. Jericho took of his helmet and smiled at me. I waved at him. My breath caught when I realised he was walking towards me. Suddenly Tyler pushed him out of the way and ran up to me and hugged me. He threw his arms around me and hugged me tightly against his chest. I looked at the others for help but they all just rolled their eyes.
"What are you doing?" Jericho yelled at him. Tyler- being Tyler- laughed and said,
"I called first hug!" He shouted at him. Jericho's face twisted into a ... well a "not so happy face". He stormed up to Tyler and ripped his arms off me and pulled me away from him. He then wrapped his arms around me and rested his head on top of mine.
"Hey." He said.
"Hey." I said back. He pulled back and looked down at me and smiled.
"You look nice." He said. I averted my eyes in an attempted to hide my reddened checks, but of course failed.
"Thanks." I said quietly. We all cringed when we heard a loud squeal. I turned to see a girl, named Lilly, running towards us. She came up to me and smiled and looked me up and down.
"Oh my god , Amy!" She squealed. I looked around at my friends and they had clear annoyance on there face. I could tell that Lilly was a sweet girl ,but she was fake. She wanted to be someone else. But that didn't change the fact that her voice was like nails on a chalk board.
"It's Avery..." I said under my breath.
"Oh sorry!" She laughed.
"I just came over to say that you look really cute!" She said with a smile. I smiled back at her. Besides her voice, Lilly was a pleasant girl... the one I didn't like was the one that followed. Taylor walked towards us with her arms crossed and her glare focused on me.
Jericho wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled towards him, as if preparing me for the blow. Taylor stood in front of us and her eyes narrowed at Jericho's arm around me.
"hi." She said in a warm voice. Her eyes focused on me still. That oh to familiar feeling of being in the spotlight settled in the pit of my stomach.
"H-hi." I said nevously. Taylor smirked at my reaction.
"Avery- right? That's you name?" She said- more like sneered- to me. I nodded my head not trusting my voice to speak.
"Do you think I could talk with you?" She asked me. I didn't know how to reply. The aura swirling around her told me to not trust her and stay away.
"go paint your nails, Taylor. She doesn't need your threats." Ashlin snapped at her. Taylor's head snapped in her direction.
"What the hell yo bitch! God, why do you hate me? Huh? I wasn't going to threaten her! why don't you share with us why you thought that!" She yelled at Ashlin. When her attention was diverted from me a relaxed some what. this was why I stuck to myself... the "bimbo drama" as Ashlin calls it is to much to worry about.
"Gee... I don't know why I thought that! Maybe it has something to do with the fact your an evil, selfish, lying bitch!" Ashlin yelled at her. Taylor gasped and the tears started falling down her face. Ashlin rolled her eyes.
"Oh my God... Really? Is that your only response? Someone tells you the truth so you break down in tears hoping for some sympathy. Suck it up you wuss. You've got a vagina- you can hold in those hormonal emotions as long as you want." Ashlin sneered at her. Taylor whipped her eyes and then turned back to me. Her glare pierced thought me. I didn't have time to react when she raised her hand and it connected with my cheek. That's when I saw it. I saw her entire life, and I saw why Jericho broke p with her.
I snapped back to reality when I heard,
"You whore! I'll slap you so hard you'll need a jaw replacement!" I looked over to see Allen and Tyler holding Ashlin back. I shook my head at her outburst, but in some ways was grateful towards her.
"Ash, It's fine." I told her. She stopped thrashing and looked at me. She then tore away from their grasp and huffed.
"I'll shill hex her in my sleep." She grumbled. I scoffed at her.
"Well, if you don't mind... I need to go to my locker.” I turned, and made my way to the school. As I walked towards the school, I heard heavy footsteps behind me and knew who it was. He slung his arm around my shoulder, but I shrugged it off. I heard him sigh and then he firmly grasped my hand. I then tried to pull away from his grasp, but his hand constricted around mine.
"Jericho... what are you doing?" I asked him.
"Holding hands with my friend." He said in an innocent tone. I shook my head.
"Friends don't hold hands." I told him.
"Well you’re my friend, and I'm holding hands with you ... so therefore they do." He stated. I tried to pull away from him, but I failed again.
"Jeesh Jer, could you let me go?" I asked him. He scoffed and shook his head at me. However, he never met my eyes.
"Nope." He said popping the 'P'. I let my hand go limp and decided to let him have his moment. I was about to walk around the corner, but was quickly yanked back by Jericho.
"Ouch!" I yelled when he pulled back on my arm. I turned and glared at Jericho.
"What was that for?" I asked in a harsh tone. I then noticed he was not staring at me. He was staring down the hallway, and his sights laid on a certain object. I slowly turned my head to see what he was staring at. When I saw what he was, looking at my blood ran cold.
Butterflies
I stood there frozen. It felt as if everyone within a 10-mile radius was gossiping about me. However, in reality, the only ones who were gossiping about me were right in front of me. There at the end of the hallway stood Taylor, Maverick, and Terrance. They talked in low voices with serious visages. They all turned to look at me.
I felt the bile form in my thro
at start to form.
"Sense when were they friends?" I asked Jericho. He slipped his arm around my waist in an attempt to comfort me.
"I don't know." He said as he ushered me away. When we were out of there sight, Jericho rested me against the lockers. His face came down close to mine and I could feel his breath. I stared into his teal eyes with flakes of green and blue in them.
"Avery, listen to me. I don't know what they are doing, but if any of them come over to your house...go into your room, lock your door, and don't come out until you know they're gone. Do you understand? Better yet text me or call me and tell me what's going on. I just want to know your okay." I could feel my cheeks heat up from his words. Then Taylor's face invaded my mind and I felt guilty. I know knew why they broke up. I looked down at the floor.
"What's wrong?" He asked me. I shook my head. I did not want to tell him out of fear that he might go back to her if he found out.
"Avery, tell me." He said in a compelling tone.
"I saw why you broke up with Taylor. I saw it when she slapped me."
"So why is it bothering you so much?"
"Because I know that you think she cheated...she didn't. She was forced to." I told him. Realization dawned on him followed by grief. I knew it... he still felt for her and he was going to run to her now that he knew the truth. He shook his head and then locked eyes with me.
"I don't care. Taylor is selfish. I feel pity for her, but what's done is done. Avery, I like you not Taylor, and that isn't going to change.” My heat skipped a beat hearing him say it. I had always known what he felt for me, but I was not sure if I felt the same way. However, I knew one thing... I hated Taylor so hearing him say that he favored me made me happy, and I could not help but smile.
"I know you do, but it’s not like we’re dating..." I said in a tiered voice. He rested his forehead on mine and caressed my face in his hands as he said,
"I plan on changing that." I was going to say something but the bell rang, and he pulled me along saying that we needed to get to class.
After science class, I walked away with an unpleasant scowl on my face.
"Come on, Avery talk to me." Jericho whined to the twentieth time.
"Dude, she isn't going to budge." Tyler said. I was mad at him because he had decided to sit behind me in science, and the entire time he played with my hair, and to make things worse he kissed me! Well- not on the lips... on the neck but that's worse! A boy had asked me if I wanted to be his lab partner for the day, but Jericho- being Jericho- came up behind me, wrapped his arms around my waist, and kissed my neck... and I accidentally moaned. I just wanted the ground to swallow me whole! All because he was letting, his "Mr. Hyde" show. I really did hate it when he was sweet on moment and the next he was an ass.
"Avery, I really don't see what the problem is. The kid was practically eye raping you!” He yelled. I turned around, and looked at him with a mortified look on my face.
"You did not just say that." I said in a disgusted tone.
"But he was!" He yelled. He really does not understand.
"The point is that I'm pretty sure that everyone in that room now thinks we’re dating! That's the point! There was no need to do that!" I yelled at him. He put his hands in his pockets and looked down at the ground.
"It's not like that's a bad thing..." He mumbled under his breath. This boy is impossible. I released a frustrated groan and walked away to the girl’s bathroom. I heard Jericho call my name, but I never looked back at him.
I turned on the water on and splashed some on my face.
Jericho
My mind always seems to wonder back to him. He was a good friend, and I did not want to lose that. Did I like him? I was not sure. I was attracted to him, sure. However, I was uneasy at the thought of being with him. I have seen the girls that he dated. He dated pretty and tall girls like Taylor or even Ashlin. He liked the girls that were athletic and perfect in every way. I did not want to be compared to that. I had learned to push all emotions towards Jericho away. Besides, look at me. I was a girl that could see dead people.
However, another part of me made me unsure of my emotions. I already know that he likes me so why not give him a chance. For instance in the Hindu culture it is a rarity to marry for love, instead they marry for security and then learn to love their partner. Maybe I should do something similar? I could not believe I was even thinking like that! Learning to like him? How shallow was that? I mean sure he was good looking, sweet, thoughtful, good with kids, smart, rich, funny, athletic, and he has made it clear he likes me. However, that would not be fare! To either of us! However, what if he gives up on me and then started dating another girl? How would I feel?
The intense feeling of lose answered my question. I looked at myself in the mirror. I had already let my walls down when it came to him, and I was starting to think I need to let them down even more. My eyes drifted to the corner of the mirror, and I almost jumped out of my skin. Angela stood against the tile wall with a smug look playing on her lips. I turned around to face her. However, she was not the only one in the room.
"What do you want?" I asked Taylor. She crossed her arms and stuck her nose in the air, while never taking her eyes of me. I will admit that Taylor was intimidating as heel, and her cold stare always scared to no end. However, no matter how much she scared me I was never going to let her know that.
"I was going to say that to you." She said in a warm voice. The simple sound of her voice scared me. Terrance and Maverick were terrifying as well, however, there was no place I was safe from her. The difference between her and the other two were that she had no fear. If she wanted to hit me, she could. If she wanted to follow me into the locker room, or bathroom she could. The saying "girls are viscous" was all to true.
"Taylor, don't patronize me." I said harshly. She pulled her lips back in to a cruel and ugly smile. She was about to show her true colors.
"I'm glad you said that. Now I can get to the point." The tone of her voice made me want to vomit. However, I stood my ground. I narrowed my eyes at her and locked my knees. She smirked and said,
"Why are you hanging around Jericho? He seems nice, but he's not." She told me bluntly. I tried to read her emotions but something was off. It was as if she wanted to seem angry, but she was happy at the same time. Was she forcing herself to feel a certain emotion? From what Angela had told me, this was impossible.
I scoffed and said,
"Of course he seems like that to you." I narrowed my eyes at her. Her sickening smirk and choking perfume suffocated me.
"That didn't answer the question."
"It's strange how I don't need to answer."
"I think you do." She practically snarled.
"Not to you. What sane person you answer to you, the ex-girlfriend? Whatever I say to you you'll just twist to make me sound like I'm the one attacking you." I hissed at her. My fists curled into too tight balls.
"You do have to answer to me."
"And why's that?" I cocked one of my eyebrows up at her.
"Because you’re right. I can twist your words. I could run and tell your mommy that you have been snooping around. I wonder what they'll do?"
"I don’t need your threats, Taylor." I snapped at her.
"Why are you going to cry?" she teased and she swayed her hips in a playful way.
"No. Just stop." I said as I closed my eyes.
"Not until I get what I want. I don't want Jericho. I want to hurt him." My eyes shot open and I stared at her in shock.
"So why tell me." I shouted at her. She smirked at tilted her head to the side.
"Let me ask you this. Do you know? About his big secret?"
"You haven't have you. Well when you do, you will end up like me. He will whisper sweet words to you then leave you when you need him. He is not a caring person. He'll just fuck you and just leave you. He'll leave you-"
"I don’t want to hear it." I cut her off. I glared at her and crossed my arms across my chest. Why would
I want to hear his secret from her? If he wanted me to know, he would tell me. Unfortunately, for me this pushed her over the edge. In two swift steps, she made her way across the small bathroom and pulled my hair. I let out a shriek of pain as she pulled my hair tighter as if she was going to scalp me. I pulled and tugged at her hands, but every time I did, her grip became worse. She pulled my head up next to lips and whispered,
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