Living for the Music

I was quiet for the rest of lunch, carefully making myself invisible again. When the bell rang, I stood up and grabbed my backpack before making my way through the crowded hallways. Aaron caught up to me quickly, weaving his way through the people to walk next to me. Before I knew quite what was happening, we ended up by his locker.

He spun the dial quickly, popping the metal door open as he turned to look at me. “Everything has changed now, huh?”

I looked away, down the hall, before looking back at him and nodding. “Yeah.” I was surprised to hear my voice crack, but Aaron didn’t seem to notice.

He nodded thoughtfully, pulling out my jacket and handing it to me. “So it wasn’t just Seth? You really want us to… break up?”

I nodded quickly, before I lost my nerve. “I can’t handle it, Aaron. Sometimes you’re a great guy and it’s awesome, but other times-”

I forced myself to stop before I began spilling secrets in the middle of a school hallway. “I can’t handle it,” I repeated.

He nodded again, slamming his locker shut. “Okay.”

“Okay?” I repeated, beginning to feel a bit like a parrot. “You’re not… upset?”

“Are you kidding? I’m completely pissed off. I want us to be us again. But if you don’t want to… if you’re going to keep running to Seth every few minutes…"

He clenched his teeth, and I could tell that he was barely holding in his anger. I was quiet, not wanting to push him. I didn't think he'd actually try anything in the middle of the hallway, but I wasn't going to push it.

He took a deep breath and reached into his locker again, pulling out my backpack and handing it to me. "Let's get to class," he said roughly.

I nodded, throwing the bag over my shoulder, and let Aaron lead the way up the stairs.