by Karla Luna
Dammit, he was just my type but he needed to stay away from me, especially Zavier. If he wanted to hurt him again, he’d have to pass through me first.
“Oh come on, it was clear in your eyes that you wanted me just as badly as I wanted you.” I rolled my eyes as he hummed, which sounded so much like a moan to me. “Don’t deny it. It turns me on. A lot.”
I scoffed and grimaced as he chuckled once again at the other end of the line. But this time – for some reason – I felt my heart speeding up.
So without any more stupid hesitation, I hung up on him and blocked the number. I was sure, however, that he’d somehow find another way to call me, just so he could bother me. He really wanted me to commit murder, didn’t he? Surely he knew I wasn’t afraid to.
Groaning, I jumped on my comfy bed, trying hard to sleep and get the image of Mister Bad Boy out of my head. But it was hard to, even when I tried thinking about the adorable boy in the room right next to mine.
How the hell was I supposed to get Davne away from me, if I was actually becoming attracted to his stupid stubbornness and cockiness?
Don’t be fucking stupid, Evelyn. He almost cost Zavier his life tonight.
16: Her First Kiss
•Zavier•
It was Wednesday morning and images of what happened yesterday were still flowing around my head, haunting me.
Evelyn kissed me. She actually kissed me.
And now it was extremely awkward for me, even though I might’ve not shown it much. I was glad she didn’t even mention it yesterday. But here, being in the car with Jesse (Evelyn took her motorcycle), it was still pretty hard to forget all about it. He was asking non-stop questions, including how I honestly felt about the whole thing. He even mentioned how he was most likely the next one, which means Evelyn only had him left to kiss. I just shook my head at his crazy assumptions. Evelyn would never kiss him, right? She wasn’t just out to give free kisses.
But she still stole my first kiss. No, no, no… I mean, I knew she was just trying to help me and all but… oh God, why did this have to happen? Was I overreacting? Was I being stupid about this? Should I just, oh I don’t know, be glad that Evelyn had kissed me and helped me finally get it over with? I really wanted to ask her if I sucked at kissing, even though it was just a little peck – in which I completely froze up from extreme shock and surprise.
Shaking my head again, I got out of the car once we got to school, and looked at my reflection on the passenger side window, right when I closed the door shut. My hair was its usual mess, and I was completely fine with it. I also had my red Beats hanging around my neck, the ones Mom had gotten me last Christmas. Sometimes I used them during passing periods, study hall, or when I’m in the library, usually to drown out the noise all those crazy kids, who acted as if a party was going on all the time, make. It was just annoying.
I then noticed that my hickeys, plus the bruises from my first fight, were already beginning to fade. And luckily for me, my mother never noticed them. She almost did, though, a couple of times.
Yes, I felt guilty for lying to her, but wasn’t this for the best? So that she wouldn’t freak out and ship Evelyn away? I wasn’t changing because of her. I knew I’d never let someone change me, especially into a bad person.
What was I talking about? She was a bad person, yes. But she wasn’t really a bad person, if that even made sense at all.
She was caring and protective deep down, plus she was a fun and wild person that didn’t care about what others thought of her. I really respected her for having those qualities. I still had no idea why she needed help from my mother. Sometimes, people were simply misjudged.
“Hey, Zav!” Looking up, I saw a guy from my English class walking over to me. He had a crease on his forehead due to the harsh sunlight coming from behind me.
“Uhm,” I paused, as I quickly turned around to see if he was actually talking to me. I knew I probably wasn’t the only Zavier around here. “Yeah?”
The guy bit his tongue, and threw his thumb over his shoulder to point at the front of the school where everyone was either lazily or happily walking in. You can probably guess who were actually smiling at the thought of going to school.
“Uh, Evelyn’s lookin’ for ya.” And with that, he jolted off to his group of friends, as I frowned.
Why was she telling someone, to tell me, that she was looking for me? She could’ve texted, or even called.
Oh no, was she breaking up with me?
Wow! That was melodramatic, Zavier. Yeah, she was ‘breaking up’ with you when you never even had a relationship with her to begin with!
Well, breaking up as friends, I guess. Did she finally decide to leave me for Davne? Just thinking about it made me want to puke in that lovely bush right over there.
Shrugging my shoulders and shaking my head, I decided to text Evelyn, to see why she was looking for me and where she was.
If she was looking for me, it was best to tell her exactly where I was. I had to be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous about seeing her. It was still awkward between us. Did I mention I hadn’t even properly looked at her or even made eye contact since the you-know-what?
Well, when I did (or was very close to), I would immediately look away. And now that she wanted to talk... well, I knew it was going to be hard not to look at her.
Me: Where do you want me to meet you?
Evelyn: Room 320.
I frowned at her extremely quick reply.
Last I checked, Room 320 was an abandoned chemistry room that many claimed was haunted or something. I didn’t believe the stories, and I was curious as to what Evelyn wanted me for, in that particular classroom. But I still remembered we were keeping our distance, so I guess she was just keeping it ‘on the down-low’.
I shrugged and walked inside the school, heading for the classroom, which was on the third floor. Once I was right in front of the door, I saw no light at all, so it made me wonder if Evelyn was just pulling a prank on me or something. You know, to lighten up the mood between us a bit. But before I could leave, the door quickly opened, and a hand shot out to grab my collar. It yanked me right inside and I felt my heartbeat going a hundred miles per hour against my ribcage.
Oh no, what if it wasn’t Evelyn who sent me that message, and the guy that told me about her wanting to meet me, was just a part of a gang waiting to trap me and…
Okay, deep breaths, Zavier, don’t freak out. Just don’t, it makes matters worse for…
“Zavier!”
Lord Jesus, take the wheel!
“Zavier!” Suddenly, the lights turned on and I saw Evelyn’s beautiful angelic face staring back at me with concern and a slight frown. “Calm down, it’s just me.”
She let go of my collar and turned around. I tried to compose myself and act normal.
I cleared my throat and sniffed. Just act natural. “Uh, what’s up?”
“Just…” She started, as she walked around a lab station where a couple of old, shattered glass tubes lay. “I wanted to check up on you. I would’ve ridden with you guys this morning, but Drake gave me that beautiful bike for a reason.”
I nodded and swallowed hard as I scratched the back of my neck. She was now inspecting a large piece of glass as if she wasn’t afraid that she’d break it. But I was afraid she’d cut herself and or come after me with that thing.
Nah, she wouldn’t… do that…
I coughed loudly and her eyes immediately looked up. She sighed and set the glass down very carefully. At this point, I was blushing, just remembering our little kiss. But it was no big deal, right? It was my first kiss, but it wasn’t really a kiss, so to speak. So why was I acting like this?
“You seem tense,” she commented, starting to walk towards me like I was her prey. Oh shut it, Zavier! “Are you okay, teddy bear?”
“Uh shh… u-um, yeah… yeah, I’m t-totally fine! As fine as can be!” Once I blurted out the last part, I facepalmed myself, but all she did was giggle and it echoed th
roughout the room.
I really loved the sound of it... if we weren’t in this creepy room and it didn’t sound like she basically wanted to kill me!
“You sure are.” Just as she said that, she had the nerve to wink at me, and I realized how flirty she really was.
I had to watch what I said though. Because when I was around her, it was like I said things before I thought about them first. She was really doing something to me, wasn’t she?
“But really, I’m worried about you.”
I swallowed hard again and nodded, looking down to distract myself by playing with my hands that suddenly got cold due to the slight chill in the room. But Evelyn didn’t seem bothered by it one bit, and she was wearing a tank top and some shorts.
“I-I could’ve been better.”
She pursed her lips and nodded. “Look, I don’t want things to be really awkward for us. That kiss that we shared…”
“W-what kiss?” She raised her eyebrows at me. “Oh, that kiss! Oh that was nothing, just a-a kiss, right? No kiss, kissing is for couples, and people who like each other kiss, and it’s just two person’s saliva mixing together and…”
“Zavier, Zavier.” She came to cup my cheeks so that I could stare right at her big blue eyes. “Please, calm down, and let me talk. Keep that cute little mouth of yours shut, all right?” I slowly nodded and she let me go. She turned and started to examine the old things placed on the lab stations, as if they were the most interesting things she’s ever laid eyes on. “I don’t want us to act differently, is all that I’m saying. I’ve been telling many, many people that I’m not dating you at all and some actually seem to believe me.” She bit her lip, making me think she might’ve been lying right now. “But whatever. Fuck! Sorry! I forget you don't like me cursing but it’s practically in my nature, so I can’t just stop it. Fuck whatever people think. I never cared and neither should you. We’re friends, and we’re here for each other, right?”
I slowly nodded and she gladly continued. “Therefore, we should be able to stick together. And the kiss we shared… well, think of it as a little friendly gesture.” All I did was continue to stare at her, taking in every single word. “I wanted to help you and you were having a massive panic attack. I honestly hated seeing you like that. I was just scared.”
I shyly looked down while playing with my fingertips. Her concern is proof that a bad girl wasn’t always bad. She made bad decisions, yes, but not when she tried to save others. She could be caring deep down and it wasn’t like she was completely fearless. It felt nice, knowing she actually cared about me, the nerd boy.
“Thanks, Evelyn,” I said, my voice cracking a bit due to my shyness around her. Hey, I got comfortable around her, but I was still nervous at times. It was possible, especially after that kiss we shared. But like she said, it was just to help me, and it did help me. I should just stop thinking about it.
All she did was nod and look around the room while tapping one of the tables with her long nails.
“W-when was your first kiss?” My eyes went wide at that, and I even turned my head away from her, blushing yet thanking the heavens above that there was hardly any light in here for her to see my redness. But it wasn’t like it mattered – I blushed all the time.
Seriously though, why did I just say that and why didn’t I even think about it first!? See what I mean!? She was doing this to me!
“Oh…” Evelyn smirked as I slowly looked towards her again. “You’re seriously asking me that?”
“I, um… I guess…?”
She laughed while walking closer to me. “Okay, you Curious George.” That’s when she grabbed a stool and sat on it. She was way shorter than me because of it, and her face was probably up to my chest or lower, but I stayed standing. Was she seriously going to tell me about her first kiss? Yes, I was curious, but was she really going to tell me just like that? Not even asking why I asked? Oh well…
“It wasn’t really all that special. It was in the 5th grade. This guy and I hit it off, and we were casually at the back of the school, just chit-chatting about sweet nothings.” She scoffed and rolled her eyes at that, but there was still humor in her tone. “He was always nice to me but I didn’t feel anything for him at all. Although, he was a great friend. So we were just talking and I was up against the wall… then boom!” That caused me to jump since she unexpectedly clapped her hands right in front of my face. “Someone hit him in the back of the head with a soccer ball, football… I don’t know what exactly. For all I know, it might’ve been a freakin’ tractor judging by how hard it hit him. And the thing was, he was right in front of me. So when it hit him, it caused him to stumble closer to me and land his lips right on mine. We stayed like that, eyes wide with pursed lips for what,” she frowned and checked her invisible watch, “… seven, six seconds?”
I laughed and looked down. Wow, once she said the ‘boom!’ part, I thought he just went right in and kissed her. But someone hit him and it was basically an accidental kiss. Who would’ve thought? The very image made me laugh. That must’ve been an awkward kiss for her. Were all of her kisses awkward? I was curious about that as well.
“That, my dear teddy bear, was my very first kiss.”
“Okay,” I said between chuckles. Then I noticed she was staring at me with gleaming eyes. What was she up to? Every time she looked at me like that, I knew she was going to do something. I didn’t know what exactly, but... I knew it was definitely something.
“Wanna know the story about my first tongue kiss? Let’s see…” She seemed deep in thought, when suddenly, she snapped her fingers as if a light bulb had gone off at the top of her head. “Ah yes, it was late November, and his older brother had just embarrassed him by telling me he had a small…”
“You know what?” I interrupted, starting to walk backwards with a fake smile, as I pointed my thumb over my shoulder, indicating that I was leaving. “I think class is about to start…” And with that, I was off.
I did not need to know that story.
•Evelyn•
At lunchtime, I walked to our usual table and saw Ethan throwing pieces of carrot at Jesse, who caught them with his mouth. Well, he tried to, at least.
After Zavier left me in that abandoned chemistry room, I just stayed there for a bit before I decided to leave for class as well. We were in History class when he looked at me and blushed when I winked and smirked at him.
He seemed a bit nervous and shy since Joss was seated right next to him. I inwardly laughed as he kept stealing glances at her. Oh, how I wondered what it would’ve been like if she had actually remembered that party. I didn’t think they talked properly since then. I mean, they did have that one Mathletes meeting, but I wasn’t even awake for half of it (or any of it, really). By the way he was looking at her though, I know he felt awkward.
I just hoped he didn’t feel awkward about our kiss – or our peck, so to speak.
I wanted to know how he really felt about it though. Did he like it? Would he want to kiss me again? Even though he looked calm, maybe he was angry that I had stolen his first kiss? It wasn’t really a kiss anyway. He could still go out and kiss Joss. I could see how much he really liked her, and he had known her all these years. I wanted to help him finally make a move after so long… but, on the other hand, I also didn’t want to help him.
He wasn’t mine, but I kind of wanted him to be alone… or with me? I don’t know. It was stupid of me to even think that way.
I never thought a girl like me and an innocent boy like him could mesh well, no matter what I heard. I believed people like us should stay apart. We were really just friends and even that was weird. The whole thing just didn’t sound right to me.
What if I wanted to do something illegal? (… which I almost always did.) But what if he wanted to – oh, I don’t know – play checkers or some shit like that? I couldn’t picture us doing either of that together.
Fuck, what was I thinking? I probably was just starving right now.
&
nbsp; Putting my bag down next to Ethan, since I trusted that fucker more than Jesse, I strolled off to get my lunch. I kept an eye out for Davne, but he didn’t seem to be here today, which made me extremely happy. I was feeling weird toward him and it was pretty hard to explain, too.
Now, he and I did fit together like a puzzle. We were the same, yet different, if that made sense. When I first met Ian and Darrel, they were annoying assholes. But we got along since what they did was so much fun. They were fun bad boys, which means they weren’t so serious all the time. I hated it when people were too serious. You have to learn how to laugh at the world, people!
I then laughed at myself and grabbed my lunch. After paying and walking back to our table, I noticed Zavier seated at the far end of it, studying away, or so it seemed. I knew he was nervous again because his right foot was frantically tapping against the floor.
Jesse threw him a piece of food, and that was when Zavier looked up at him, annoyed. “What do you want?” he asked, just as I came and sat down next to Ethan.
“Hey, guys,” I said, though I only glanced at Zavier. “What’s up?”
“The guy is acting weird,” Jesse commented, while looking at Zavier with a slightly disgusted face and crossing his arms over his chest.
“How am I acting weird? Me studying and reading is being weird?” Zavier asked. “If anything, it’s normal.”
“Yes, but,” Ethan paused to stand up and reach forward to grab Zavier’s textbook. Then, he sat back down and closed the book to show us the front cover. “You only read a Health book when you want to avoid something.”
Zavier reached forward and snatched the book away from Ethan’s grasp. He narrowed his eyes at him and then opened the book up to a random page. “That’s not true. I like reading about…” He took a look at the page he opened up. “… male genitals.” He pursed his lips as if it weren’t a big deal. But we all continued to stare at him with raised eyebrows.