When Did Your Heart Go Missing?

Frank's eyes drooped close and he groaned. I bit my lip. I hated to see him in pain.

"I'll be right back, okay?" I said softly.

"Don't leave me," he whispered.

I sighed and repeated, "I'll be right back."

I stormed down the hall, resisting the urge to cry or find Rodney and his idiot friends and kick them all where it hurts. I walked into the girls' bathroom, quickly pulling down some paper towels. I wet some of them and quickly ran back out.

When I got back to Frank, I fell to my knees and wiped his face with the wet towels.

"God," I breathed. His eyes were still closed. "Why'd they do this to you?"

"I...don't know," he said.

I dried his face and the floor with the dry towels. Then I reached for his lip, making to see if I can tell if it'd get infected, but Frank grabbed my wrist. Gently.

"Thank you," he said.

"Sh," I said. I felt an urge to just cry. Frank opened his eyes, allowing me to see those pools of hazel again. He smiled. That bright smile and those bright eyes forced me to mirror his smile. I knew he was smiling for my benefit. I inspected his lip.

"It doesn't look too bad," I said, picking up his lip ring and cringing at the blood as I wiped it away. "I-I think it'll be f-fine."

"I don't deserve this," Frank whispered.

"No one does," I say.

"No. That's not what I mean. I don't...I don't deserve you."

I gaped at him. "What?"

His smile grew larger. He brought his hand to my face. "I don't deserve you, Layla. You...you care so much. And I've treated you so badly. I'm so sor-"

"Don't say it," I said softly, smiling. "I would never stop caring about you and I wouldn't care if you weren't worth it. Of course you deserve it."

Frank grinned. He seemed better now. Like...saying that somehow made him feel better-

The bell rang.

"Frank!"

Remi...

We looked up. Here comes the blonde bitch now.

"Oh my gosh, Frank!" she gasped. Really. Remi talks like that. "What happened to you?!"

Perfect timing, Remi. Anything else you wanna interrupt today? A wedding ceremony, maybe?

I helped Frank get up. He kept clutching his stomach.

"Nothing, it's nothing," Frank said. He glanced at me before Remi pulled him away.

"Has Layla worked out her...issues?" Remi asked Frank in his ear, just low enough to be considered a whisper but loud enough for me to hear it.

"Yeah," Frank said with a smile. "Sure."

"Well, let's go! Don't wanna be late for class!"

Frank shot me one last smile before being pulled away by his bitch of a girlfriend. Maybe there is hope after all....

Or not.

"Bob, Layla's going to get in even more trouble if she's caught," Kelsey whispered harshly to her boyfriend. "Maybe she should go back to class."

I sighed. At the beginning of the year, Frank was part of this. But he didn't meet up with us, so...

"She's not scared," Bob harshly whispered back. "Right, Layla?"

I shrugged. Frank and I hadn't really talked after that whole debacle in the hallway. He'd gone from looking at me like his worst enemy to ignoring me almost always and occasionally saying hi when necessary. Improvement, I suppose.

"I said, 'Right, Layla?'" Bob repeated a little bit louder this time. I smiled. It would've been much more fun with Frank, but...

"The underclassmen cause mischief again!" I said. Kelsey and Bob laughed.

"You do know Frank's gonna be there," Kelsey said.

I do now. Thanks for the perfect timing, Kelsey.