Living for the Music

I grabbed Seth’s hand as we made our way towards the lunchroom. “I’m scared,” I whispered.

He squeezed my hand comfortingly. “Don’t be. I told you, it will be fine. Trust me.”

I nodded, taking a deep breath as we made our way towards the table. Mara had packed us both lunches, so we didn’t even need to wait in line. The regular group was sitting at that lunch table, carrying on as if nothing – no one – was missing.

Nicole spotted me first. “Sophia!” The table fell silent as everyone turned to look at us.

I swallowed hard. “Hey.” I made my way around the table to my regular seat, avoiding looking at Aaron. To my surprise, Nicole stood up and gave me a huge hug before sitting back down.

“Where’ve you been?” she asked as I pulled out my lunch.

“Sick,” I replied. It wasn’t the true answer, but it was the best I could do for now.

“That sucks,” Nicole groaned sympathetically.

I nodded, unwrapping my sandwich and taking a bite. Nicole leaned in closer to me and spoke softer so no one else could hear. “What was up with Aaron and Seth on Thursday? I mean, everyone heard about the fight. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”

I tensed slightly, but caught sight of the smile playing around her lips. “You really want to know?”

She frowned slightly at the sadness in my voice, but nodded. “I’ll tell you later,” I muttered. It didn’t matter. She wouldn’t believe me anyways.

“Hey, Soph.”

I nearly choked on my food when I heard Aaron’s voice. I didn’t think he’d… Seth was right there! Hadn’t he learned…

Aaron continued, oblivious to my whirling thoughts. “Are you okay?”

I nodded robotically, not meeting his eyes. I could feel Nicole watching us curiously – heck, the whole table was watching us. We were the freak couple, who went from loving each other to hating each other over the course of the weekend. Or was that normal these days?

“I have your backpack," he informed me, as if I haven't already put that together. "Your jacket, too. Sorry I didn’t get it back to you sooner.”

I took another deep breath and looked up to meet his eyes. Of course, I couldn’t read them. At all. Really, the only person I could read was Seth. Aaron seemed happy enough, but then again he normally did. Did he want to get back together with me? Was he really going to just accept this?

“That’s okay,” I whispered.

“You can give it to me after sixth hour,” Seth suggested. “I’m giving Sophie a ride home, so I could get it to her.”

“Nah, we can stop by my locker before fifth hour and I’ll grab it for you. That’s cool, right, Sophie?”

I nodded quickly. No! my brain screamed. I don’t want to go anywhere with you!

You’re in school. What can he do to you?

You mean how much can he beat me up before the administration interferes?

I stood up quickly, making my way over to the trash and throwing away my sandwich baggie. I could have – should’ve – waited until I was done eating, but I needed a break. I needed to get away from Aaron and his mind games and…

“Are you okay?”

I nodded automatically, but Seth saw right through me. “You don’t have to go to his locker, or anywhere. If you want, I’ll walk to fifth hour with you. Or we could go home, blow off the end of the day-”

I shook my head. “You’ve missed enough school, Seth. I’ll be fine. It’s just Aaron.”

Seth looked like he was ready to go onto a rant on what “just Aaron” could do, but I stopped him again. “And it’s only an hour. I promise I will be okay, and then you can protect me in science.”

I forced a weak – fake – smile onto my face. I knew he could see right through it, but he put up with the façade for my sake. “Let me know if he bothers you. At all. Okay?”

I nodded. “Thanks, Seth.” And I actually meant it. For once, his over-protectiveness was comforting, not limiting. He nodded once, clenching his jaw, before making his way back to the table. I lingered for another minute before I followed him, sliding back into my seat.