Chapters On A Page

The week sailed by almost as if it wasn't even happening. I smoothly got out of spending time with my father by reminding him I had to work and my sisters were home by nine that night. The next day at school played out just the same as my first two. Except that I spent third period reading and only reading, and seventh period talking to Kara. At lunch, I finally got to meet Stacey, who was the last part of James's group of friends. She was also in my seventh period, but she didn't seem to take a liking to me as quickly -or at all- as the others and therefore ignored me. It seemed wherever I went though, Dominic was there. Walking with me in the halls or passing by and screaming hello, sitting close in lunch or on my desk in physics. I passed this off as taking an interest in something new, me being that something. There certainly couldn't be any more to think about it. Jack got me to play badminton on Wednesday and sat with me in the bleachers on Thursday and Friday. Lindsay and I even spent fourth period talking with Rian. But I didn't even attempt to talk to Alex, and he didn't try to talk to me. I didn't take it personally.

It rained Friday, and it wasn't just sprinkles here and there coming out of a thin layer of light gray clouds. Most of the day, thick dark clouds bore down and let out a steady rainfall without ceasing. I spent the majority of the day staring morosely out the window in every one of my classrooms that had one. Walking to and from school had already become a habit because it was convenient. I hadn't expected to have to find an alternative way home so soon, especially since it had only been threatening rain that morning and I was able to leave the house without a worry. I asked a few people if one of the buses took a route close to my house, but it was sounding more and more like there wasn't one that dropped off closer than three miles away. Desperate, I found myself heading to the office after saying goodbye to Kara at the end of the day, thinking that maybe they would have a bus schedule so I could get home before the building was completely empty.

Being the last day, it was only noon when the final bell rang. Everyone had rushed out of the rooms and the building faster than normal despite the pounding rain. Only a few people stopped at their lockers, either picking up the book bags they hadn't needed or forgetting that they hadn't needed to stop at all. I didn't anticipate seeing any of the few people I was starting to get to know here. But when I was almost to the office, the windows with the open blinds in sight, someone grabbed my arm. I whirled around, wondering why anyone would feel the need to grab me so suddenly instead of simply call my name. I had the urge to hit them, honestly. The person I saw though, my forearm still gripped gently in his fingers, was Alex. The nasty words I wanted to spew at his abrupt action melted off my tongue, disappearing altogether.

"I was calling your name. Were you ignoring me?" he wondered, looking as if he was prepared to walk right off if I told him I had been. I didn't particularly like to see him so unsure of what he was doing, just because I learned he wasn't usually one to do that thanks to the conversation at my house.

I thought a second, and realized that I had been so focused on finding a way home that wouldn't result in my drowning that I probably hadn't heard him. I couldn't even recall hearing the few slamming lockers I'd witnessed being shut. "I wasn't ignoring you," I shook my head. "Just praying that the secretary has a bus schedule or something. Maybe a kind heart and an offer to leave work to drive the new girl home," I told him, looking over my shoulder. The woman in question was at the windows, lowering the blinds for the summer.

"That's why I was calling your name," Alex claimed, bringing my attention back to him. "Walking or riding your bike are obviously out of the question. You need a ride." It was a statement, not a question. It was that clear to others that I was desperate.

I nodded anyway, mostly because I would have liked it better had it been a question. "I kinda do," I admitted, sighing in defeat. The front door of the building was much further down the hall, but when I turned around again I could make out the dark sky through the glass. Hopelessly, I willed the rain I knew was still coming down to stop, just long enough for me to step onto my front porch. I turned back to Alex again, knowing it was useless to even think about any other way home. "We haven't even looked at each other for three days though," I reminded him. Now I wanted to hit myself. This was my only option right now and I was trying to talk him into simply turning around and leaving me to fend for myself.

He chuckled, finally appearing to realize he still had my arm in his hand and letting it drop. He shoved his hand in his pocket then, gripping around something that lay inside. "That's because I figured you were still pissed at me," he informed me, and began to lead the way down the hall, opposite from where I had been headed. He pulled his hand from his pocket, revealing that it was his phone he had been holding onto. I wasn't sure if he was checking the time now or hoping for someone to call with a task to free him from what he was volunteering for.

I shrugged at both his excuse and my thought process. "Like I said: it really doesn't matter to me. We're five-by-"

"Five?" he guessed, grinning over at me at cutting me off as he shoved his phone back into the pocket of his jeans. I'd only said this once in front of him, but apparently it'd been unusual enough to catch his attention. "What does that mean, anyway?" he asked as we turned a corner into the hallway that led to the cafeteria.

"It's kind of another way to express how everything's fine," I explained with a shrug. "I dunno. I stole it from a show and it's just been something that stuck with me and I continued to say the past few years," I said, feeling myself blush at how idiotic it might sound. It had become the norm for me, so I didn't hate it. But that didn't stop me from thinking others probably thought it was weird.

He nodded in amused understanding but didn't say any more on the subject. "Well, I'm more than happy to bring you home to prevent you from having to face that," he stated when we came to another set of doors that led outside. He looked through the glass and up at the sky as if to examine every drop that came from the clouds. It wasn't even coming down as hard now, but it was still enough to make me shiver. "Ready?" he asked, focusing back on me, one thick eyebrow raised with a smirk on his lips. Slightly scared by how excited he appeared, I turned my gaze to the precipitation outside to assess just how bad it would be. When I decided that it wasn't going to do much to prepare me, I turned back to him already nodding and hoping it said now or never.

With one last smile my way, Alex threw open the door he stood in front of and ran out into the rain. Without a second thought, I followed right behind him and sprinted over the concrete of the sidewalk right outside the doors. Thinking on my toes, I slipped my purse off my shoulder and grabbed it in both hands to hold it over my head, knowing the contents would stay dry. As we dashed through the back parking lot, I barely felt any drops hit me. But I knew that would change soon. I had no idea where his car was parked, having not seen it when I glanced out the door, so I stuck close to him in hopes he remembered exactly where it was located. It felt like much too long -but was probably only a solid thirty seconds- to reach the car. I didn't blame him for letting himself in first since I would have done the same thing. That didn't stop me from cursing him slightly until I could slip into the passenger seat.

I breathed out in relief as we both sat back in our seats, trying to calm down from our run. I lowered my purse to the floor, and then wiped my arms clean of all the water that clung to me and dried my hands on my jeans. My shoulders were soaked and dark spots dotted the rest of my clothing but I thought I had made out relatively easy. The sound of the rain hitting the roof and the windshield filled the car, instantly joined by my giggling. "Let's never do that again," I declared, looking over at Alex behind the wheel.

He laughed, shaking his head. "I wasn't planning on it, but maybe we should do that everyday," he stated sarcastically through his chuckles as he stuck the key into the ignition. "This better not be what the entire summer is like though," he said, leaning over the steering wheel to look up at the sky once more through the windshield. His expression was much like I imagined mine had been while I had been walking down the hallway to the office. Desperate that today's weather wouldn't define his next three months of freedom.

"I'm sure tomorrow's going to be nothing but sun," I assured him, because an entire summer of rain had to be impossible and was just a ridiculous thought. He simply nodded, clearly hoping I was right, before he started the car. "Good news though," I announced once he pulled out of the space. "I don't have work until four, so you don't have to wait around to bring me." After last time, I was sure he wouldn't even feel like he needed to. But I didn't want him to feel obligated to ask either.

He snorted lightly, a smile forming on his closed lips. "That's probably good. I'm supposed to meet everyone for pizza at one, and Lisa'll be pissed if I'm late," he told me, knowing I would figure out that everyone meant the other three-fourths of the band and all their friends. He seemed a little somber at the mention of his girlfriend's name though.

I couldn't say why, and I wasn't about to ask. I had had enough insight into his relationship to last me a lifetime; I didn't want anymore so soon. "Well, tell that fucker I call my cousin to give me a call tonight, will you?" I asked him playfully, really only expecting him to chuckle. If I really wanted Zack to call me, I could demand it of him myself. But Alex nodded and promised that he would. I was sure I wasn't dreaming up that he was acting a bit strange and disconnected now. Even if we hadn't pulled into my driveway when I opened my mouth to question it, I wasn't sure I would have wanted to push the words out of my vocal cords. He only pulled in far enough to line up with the front of the fence, presumably so I could go through the gate instead of wasting time climbing. "Well, thanks for saving me from having to walk home in a river," I gushed some, my fingers on the door handle.

It took him a second, but he forced another smile on his face and he turned in my direction. I barely knew Alex, but I wanted him to stop acting like I had just told him his dog died. I knew he could be a lot happier than he had been during our last few encounters. For everyone's sake, I hoped his mood would be as sunny as the weather tomorrow. "Any time, Val," he replied, and it seemed like I was getting a preview of the mood I was crossing my fingers for for him.

I smiled right back before turning and opening the door, slipping right outside. Standing in the rain, I spun back around to grab my purse. "Guess I'll see you…" I trailed off, gripping the strap of my bag in both hands. I had been about to say tomorrow but then remembered that we didn't have school until the end of August. Who knew when we'd actually see each other again. "Around," I finished after what I hoped was only a quick thought. He nodded in agreement, his grin still in place, and waved as I shut the door. I took maybe two seconds to wave back through the window before I faced away from him and ran to the gate.

It only took me a few seconds to reach the safety of the porch but by that time, Alex had already driven off. I shook off the slight awkwardness I had felt since we'd left the school and continued on into the house. The door was already unlocked, so that meant my sisters were home before me. I spotted Kaylee on the couch when I stepped into the house and noticed she was watching cartoons as I slipped my shoes off. She barely paid me any attention, but I stepped up onto the floor behind the couch and ruffled her hair. Her giggles made me smile but I continued on my way to go upstairs. As I suspected, Lilah was in her room, door closed and music blasting. If I thought she would talk to me, I would have headed that way first. Knowing she wouldn't even look up at me due to her teen angst-y attitude as of late though, I went right to my own room. There waiting for me, as I knew he would be since there was nothing of interest to eat in the kitchen, was Murph.

He was sprawled out on my bed, his head propped on my pillow as he, once again, played with one of my cameras. "I didn't see your car out there," I stated, pointing toward the window as I paced over to the bed. I plopped down next to his torso, kicking my shoes off to land on the rug in front of the nightstand. I lay back then, resting my head against his stomach before he had a chance to scoot away.

"I parked across the street," he replied, and I could tell he had lifted his head enough to look down at me. Without warning, I heard the click of the shutter and knew he'd taken a picture of me. Normally, I would have flipped out and playfully punched him, but it just wasn't in me currently. "I wasn't sure what time mom was coming home, so I didn't want to block her spot. I see that you aren't drenched to the bone," he pointed out, shifting under me. He sat up a bit and I heard him set the camera between my alarm clock and lamp.

Half of my body was hanging off the bed, but I still managed to turn on my side and simultaneously curl into a ball. He lifted the arm farthest from me and attempted to wrap it around me somehow, but instead settled on resting it on my hair. "A friend brought me home," I told him, closing my eyes while I snuggled into him.

Thanks to being right up against his chest, I could feel the intake of breath that he held. "Would that be the same friend that drove you home the other day?" he wondered, sounding strangely bitter.

I didn't even want to know why. Sometimes he just got irrationally protective with the other girls and I, and it was something I now tended to ignore. "Wow, you've started to pay attention to all those phone calls with Gwen, Nic, and I!" I exclaimed sarcastically, not even bothering to open my eyes to roll them at him. "Maybe it is. What does it matter?" I inquired. For the first time this week, I was thankful for the higher temperature of the second floor of the house because my wet shirt was able to air out while I lay there without making me want to cuddle any closer to my best friend to warm up.

He growled in frustration, and I had to resist the urge to shoot up. He had no reason to be frustrated with our three minute conversation. "I don't normally have a problem with Alex or any of those guys. But I do know how he is, V, and I don't want him using you," he expressed, sounding like he was trying to convince me of something that I couldn't even see.

I finally did open my eyes and I even sat up, slowly so as not to appear as annoyed as he was making me. "Well, Russell, you and his girlfriend would get along just fine. You both think I want to get on him. She didn't know me though. You do," I spat, unfolding my limbs and standing up. So I didn't look annoyed, but I wasn't doing too well holding the anger back. This wasn't too surprising. I loved all three of my best friends like we were all a part of the same soul, but Murph and I were the ones that butt heads the most when it came to confrontations. We were just most often on opposing sides of the soul.

He sat up as well and pushed himself against the headboard. Before I stomped off to sit in the window seat, he looked almost apologetic. "You don't want to date him?" he mumbled. It was easy to tell that saying it made him realize how asinine it sounded.

"Of course not," I responded immediately, making it full of disgust. It wasn't exactly how I felt, because I didn't find Alex repulsive. But I also really did not want to sleep with him and it seemed like this was the one way to convince Murph of that. I pulled my legs up onto the bench, crossing them in front of me at the same time I crossed my arms. "And I'm pretty sure he doesn't want to date me, either," I added for good measure. How did a simple slew of rides turn into hidden meanings for people wanting to have sex?

He sighed and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. "I'm sorry, Val. Ten years, and I still don't know how your crushes work… or who they are," he admitted a little bashfully. "I really don't want you to get hurt though with someone who's only looking to make his girlfriend jealous while they're apart. You're my Val and no one else's, damn it!" he joked, pointing a stern finger at me as if he were actually scolding me. It wouldn't have really had an effect on me even if he was, to be honest.

I did chuckle though, shaking my head. "And the girls. I'm pretty sure they'd fight you if you claimed complete ownership," I reminded him. Of course it could be resolved this quickly and easily. Because we saw differently on a lot of things and fought about them, we also knew how to make up without a problem. I let my arms drop back to my sides, resting my hands atop each other on the spot where my legs met. "Thanks for bringing Lilah and Kay home, by the way," I said, to which he nodded to say you're welcome. "Are the girls coming soon?" I questioned, and then turned to look out the window as if they would magically be driving down the street at that exact moment.

"They were stopping by Gwen's to get stuff for tonight, so they should be here soon," he answered, lying back down. He folded my pillow, cuddling it into the right shape for him. "I hope you get to leave work early or something tonight. Our celebrations should never be put on hold," he claimed, and I couldn't have agreed with him more.