Distorted

I had been late meeting Kendall after school, but when I stepped out into the parking lot and looked toward my car, I was met with a surprise.

Kendall was perched on my car, head tilted back as she laughed. But who she was laughing at was another guy.

I stopped and craned my neck to see if she’d notice me. It didn’t happen right away but when it did, her eyes widened and she slid off the hood and beckoned me over. I walked toward her, trying to ignore both the stranger’s gaze and the sudden spike of jealous that stabbed my gut.

“Hi,” Kendall said cheerfully. “Christian, this is Jude.” She indicated between the two of us, all smiles.

Jude turned his head in my direction, his deep green eyes sizing me up, and then his lips spread into a slow smile.

“Hello,” he said, nodding. “I’m sorry if I’ve interrupted something. I was just getting to know your girlfriend since I’m new. She’s quite lovely.”

“She’s not your type,” I heard myself say. I glanced at Kendall but she hadn’t appeared to have heard me. If she did, she was doing me a favor by ignoring my words.

Jude made a noise in the back of his throat and looked back at Kendall. He didn’t say anything, just handed her a piece of paper and walked away, but not before purposefully knocking shoulders with me.

“Jerk,” I said, glaring at his retreating form.

Kendall cleared her throat.

“That was a little rude, don’t you think?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “He’s new and you probably just made him feel like absolute shit.”

“I made him feel like shit? Kendall, he was practically drooling in your goddamn lap.” I nearly shouted, but stopped and lowered my voice. “Look, I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t be getting this upset.”

“It’s not like we’re together or anything,” she pointed out. “So you need to stop being so jealous and overprotective for nothing.”

I frowned, realizing he was right. I sounded like a fucking child, wanting something I wasn’t getting. I ran a hand down my face and groaned.

Her hands came to rest on my shoulders, even though I couldn’t see her. Her hands wrapped around mine and pried them away. I looked into her golden eyes and managed a smile.

“Even though you were being a dick,” she said, smirking, “I guess it’s nice to have someone standing up for me.”

I grinned at her, leaned forward and pressed my mouth to hers. She didn’t do anything to push me away, only surprised me by wrapping her arms around my neck and pulling me closer. She smelled like strawberries and vanilla.

“So,” I muttered, “wanna go out with me then, Scott?”

I know she hated when I used her last name, but if she was mad she didn’t express it. Instead she broke away from me and said, “What could it hurt?”

As we stepped away from each other and got into my car, I felt a chill run through my body. As Kendall settled in the passenger seat, I looked around the parking lot. It was mostly deserted, except for a few people. Among them was a pair of eyes, dark like the forest, staring straight at us.