How to Date Alexis Brighten

“Brighten! Wait up!” Daniel called after me. As soon as Mr. West had dismissed the class, I’d made a dash for the doors. Fletcher’s words had really hurt me and I felt like bursting into tears. I hated that Fletcher had gotten to me. That I’d let him in far enough for him to completely destroy me.

I stopped walking and waited for Daniel to catch up. I swallowed the lump in my throat and blinked over and over, in an attempt to stop the tears from falling. I would not cry in front of Daniel Harper.

“Why’d you take off like that? I thought you said we’d talk,” Daniel said when he reached me. I looked up at him and tried to put on a brave face. I had a feeling I’d grimaced instead, and judging by the look on Daniel’s face, I had.

“What’s wrong with you?” The way he said it sounded almost accusatory, but the second he looked me in the eye, his face softened. His smirk disappeared. He placed a hand on my shoulder and brought his other hand to my face to make me look at him.

“Hey, what happened?” He asked me in a soft tone. Who was this guy? He certainly wasn’t the Daniel Harper I thought I knew.

“Fletcher,” I choked out. Daniel’s face hardened, his lips forming a tight line.

“What did he do to you?” Daniel asked me through clenched teeth.

“Nothing. Don’t worry. I can handle this on my own,” I muttered, breaking free from him and crashing through the doors to the aquatic centre and into the hallway. I folded my arms over my chest and walked quickly, keeping my eyes trained on the ground, not daring to look at anybody else.

I heard them break out into whispers as I scurried past. Apparently, my little ‘moment’ was big news. I scowled to myself. Did these people not have anything better to do?

“Alexis! Wait!” I heard Daniel’s voice drift up the hallway, silencing the observing students. This only made me quicken my pace. I broke out into a run across the parking lot, sprinting for the Jeep, and the feeling of safety I felt when I was inside it.

Inside the Jeep, I locked the doors and grabbed onto the steering wheel. I was gripping onto it so tightly that my knuckles had turned white. I looked out the front windshield and noticed that everybody was looking my way. They were probably trying to catch a glimpse of my little ‘moment’ to tell their friends. I sighed and released my grip on the steering wheel, leaning back in my seat and closing my eyes.

Three sharp taps on my window caused my eyes to fly open in shock, as I jumped in my seat. I looked out the window to see Daniel’s face. He kept knocking on the window, clearly insistent. He was still in his board shorts and his hair was wet. I rolled down my window slowly.

“Alexis. Please, just talk to me. I’ll kill him if you want me to,” Daniel said, his eyes earnest.

“I thought I told you that I didn’t need a hero, I don’t need anybody!” I yelled at him, but my voice cracked, the first tear rolling down my face. I furiously wiped it away with my hand.

“You’re a liar!” Daniel screamed back at me.

“I’m a liar? What about you!?” I retorted.

“You’re lying to yourself, Alexis. You’ll go crazy if you keep it up!” Daniel said, looking me in the eye.

“And what would you know? Why do you even care!?”

“Because I freaking like you, okay?” Daniel screamed back at me.

I fell silent and stared at him, dumbfounded. When I didn’t say anything, Daniel sighed and leant against the Jeep, banging his head against the window frame. His cheeks began to redden in embarrassment.

“It’s not like I planned on this,” he said softly. “And just so you know, you’re a pain in the ass.”

I snorted. I actually snorted.

Daniel looked up at me, the smirk playing on his features.

“What’s so funny?” He asked, his smirk turning into a wide smile. “You don’t think it’s possible for someone to like you?”

“Oh, I know that it’s possible,” I said cockily, my mouth pulling up at the corners, begging me to let a smile escape.

“You’re so full of it,” Daniel said with a laugh.

“So are you!” I shot back at him.

Daniel smiled and shook his head, looking down at his feet.

“What?” I asked him.

“We’re a mess,” he said with a chuckle.

”We aren’t anything,” I reminded him, raising my eyebrows.

“We’ll see,” Daniel said with a smirk.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“You’ll keep,” Daniel said with a smirk, swaggering back into the school to change into his clothes. I caught myself staring at his low-rising board shorts and quickly looked away, but not before I heard Daniel’s laughter fill the parking lot.
______

I sat in the Jeep for a while, trying to process what had happened between Daniel and I. As I replayed the scene in my head, I couldn’t help but smile, remembering how embarrassed Daniel had been. I shook my head a let out a small laugh, before finally putting the keys in the ignition. The stereo roared to life as the engine started, the sound of Static Exchange filling the car. Chills ran up and down my spine as I listened to the song playing. It was a lot edgier than anything else on the CD.

She knows that he’s trouble,
A rebel without a cause.
She’ll keep coming closer,
She’s begging for more.

He’s bringing her in,
She shouldn’t stay.
He’s going to win,
She can’t stay away.

I turned off the stereo quickly, shaken by the lyrics of the edgy song. As if on cue, I saw Fletcher stride into the parking lot, put on his helmet, and take off on his motorcycle. I put the Jeep in gear and took off after him. I had to find out what was up with him. So, without rationally thinking it through, I followed him.

No one broke me and got away with it.