It Started With a Whisper

"You don't have a boyfriend, right?" Daniel asked as he walked me to Calculus. My thoughts gravitated toward Mr. Franco, and I shook my head to rid myself of those thoughts. That shouldn't have even been the direction I went in. If anything, I should have thought about Brandon, but it was almost as if he was a non-factor in my life now. I opened my mouth to say no, but it seemed as if luck just really wasn't on my side today.

"Aria, I need to talk to you." Why? Out of all the moments he needed to talk to me, why did it have to be now?

"Can it wait?" I asked, turning to my psychology professor. I hoped he would get the silent hint I was sending him. I could feel Daniel's eyes on the back of my head.

"No." He crossed his arms over his chest, and I knew he meant business, but I didn't understand what he was upset about. I hadn't done anything wrong. I sighed and turned back to Daniel smiling lightly at him.

"This'll only take a minute." Though I had a feeling it was going to take a lot longer than that. He nodded once, and I walked over to Mr. Franco, taking a few more steps away from Daniel was standing so he wouldn't hear us.

"What is it now? I thought I said nothing was wrong," I whispered/yelled. I didn't have much time before I had to go into math, and I didn't want to keep Daniel waiting long.

"What did you tell Amelia?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"I haven't said anything to Amelia. I told her to leave me alone after class. Why? What happened?" I just knew she opened her mouth and said something she wasn't supposed to say. That was the only explanation for why I felt like I was being scolded right now.

"She barged into my classroom and demanded to know what I had done to make you upset. She said you've never told her to leave you alone before. She's under the impression I said something to make you mad." I sighed loudly and rolled my eyes.

"She was the one that made me mad. I'll straighten it out. I'm sorry she bothered you." I tried to walk away, but his fingers closed around my wrist, and I felt electricity run through my arm. I gasped and bit my lip, looking up at him.

"Aria, are you sure you're okay?" I could see his concern for me, and that only made me feel worse for the way I was acting. What the hell was wrong with me?

"Yes, I'm fine, Mr. Franco. I promise." I smiled lightly at him and pried his fingers from my skin, making my way back over to Daniel. He didn't look all that amused, and I was a little nervous for the question that I knew was bound to leave his lips.

"I'm guessing I just got my answer to the boyfriend question?" I laughed awkwardly and shook my head.

"No. That's not my boyfriend. That's my psychology professor." His eyes widened a little as he stared down at me.

"You guys seem a lot closer than most professors and students." I bit my lip. I didn't know how to explain that without making it sound really wrong, but I had to think about it. Not everyone was as crude as Amelia. Maybe Daniel wouldn't take it the wrong way.

"He got me a position volunteering at the hospital. He knows I'm pre-med." I hoped that would suffice, and it seemed to. I glanced down at my phone, seeing that it was time for me to head inside, "Alright, well my class is about to start. Thank you for lunch." I said, smiling up at Daniel.

"You're welcome. Will I get to see you again?" He had that same hopeful look in his eyes as when he asked me to go to lunch, and I couldn't say no. Not that I even wanted to.

"Yeah. I'm just not sure when. I'm scheduled to work at the hospital for the next couple days, but maybe we can do something this weekend?" Despite the fact that I already had enough to worry about, I wanted to see Daniel again. He was really fun to be around, and he took my mind off of all the drama with Mr. Franco and Amelia. Not to mention Brandon hadn't even crossed my mind the whole time we were out, and that was something that was new to me.

"Of course. I'll call you?" I nodded and watched him walk away before going into my classroom. I took my normal seat in the back and hoped that class would go by faster than normal. I had a bone to pick with Amelia.

"I'm feeling a little under the weather, so I'm releasing you guys early. Finish sections four and five for the homework. I'll see you guys Wednesday." I thanked the Lord that I only had to stay for twenty minutes and nearly ran to Amelia's class. I knew she would be getting out soon, and that was her last class of the day. She walked out, and the smile she had on her face faltered a little.

"What's up, kiddo?" She asked, falling into step with me as I led her away from the building.

"Look, I don't know what your deal is, and I don't know what you said to Mr. Franco, but I'd appreciate it if you left that situation alone. You're making a big deal out of nothing." She shook her head at me, like she couldn't believe what I was saying to her.

"I don't understand. You're telling me that I'm making a big deal out of nothing, but if it's nothing, why are you both so defensive about it?" She had a point, but I wasn't going to let her get off that easy.

"Because God forbid someone hear you talking about that nonsense and he gets fired and I get kicked out of school. He's a teacher, Amelia." I was hoping she understood me, but when she shook her head again, I knew she didn't. She wasn't going to let this go.

"You seriously don't see it, do you?"

"What is there to see?!" I was growing frustrated with her. I didn't understand why this was so important, why she was pushing this so much. She knew the consequences if anything were to go down, but it almost seemed as if she didn't even care.

"Aria, Mr. Franco is into you. It's really fucking obvious. I don't know if you just don't want to see it, or if you're too stupid to notice, which I highly doubt because you graduated with a 4.3 GPA. I'm not telling you to jump his bones....Okay, that is what I'm saying, but that's beside the point. You know me. I'm not trying to pressure you into anything. I'm just trying to get you to see what's right in front of you." I hated the fact that my anger and frustration was wired to my tear ducts, because I wanted nothing more than to cry in that moment. Why couldn't she just let it go?

"Honestly, Amelia. There's nothing to see. Mr. Franco is not into me, and I am not into him. Even if we did like each other, nothing could happen, so would you please do me a favor and just let this go?" I begged. I never begged for anything in my life, but I was really tired of talking about this. I just wanted to go to school in peace.

"Fine, Aria. I'll let it go." Knowing Amelia, she was lying through her teeth. I could only hope that she would just keep her comments to herself.

"Thank you."

"Yeah yeah. I'm going out with the boyfriend. I'll call you later." She kissed my cheek and disappeared, leaving me to walk to my car by myself. Once I was safely inside my vehicle, I took a deep breath and rested my head on the steering wheel. Today had been too hectic for my taste, and I prayed that Brandon wasn't sitting on my couch when I got home. He was the last person I wanted to deal with today, but like I stated earlier, luck just was not on my side. The minute I walked through the front door, I would pushed into the wall and I could feel Brandon's lips on my neck. I sighed and pushed against his chest, trying to get him off me.

"Brandon." He wasn't listening, so I pushed hard, causing him to stumble back a few steps. I shut the front door behind me and slid my shoes off, walking over to the couch.

"What the hell is your problem?" He plopped down on the other side, staring over at me like I had two heads. I didn't deny him sex often. It was an amazing stress reliever, but I just wasn't feeling it today. Or maybe I just wasn't feeling him anymore. I didn't know which one it was, but either way, he wouldn't be getting laid tonight.

"I just had a long day, alright?"

"Well let me relax you." I could hear the smirk in his voice, and I shook my head.

"I'm not in the mood, Brandon." He was angry. I could tell by the way he got off the couch.

"You're never in the mood anymore, Aria. What's your problem? I thought things were good with us. Are you fucking somebody else?" I laughed bitterly. Of course that would be the first thing he assumed. He had some insecurities he needed to work out before he got a proper girlfriend. I couldn't handle this anymore.

"No, Brandon. I'm not having sex with anyone else, but unlike you, I go to school. I don't get to sit on my ass all day and do nothing. I don't have millions of dollars to just blow on anything and everything." I actually did, but he didn't need to know that, and if he found out, my argument would completely collapse on itself.

"Are you calling me lazy?" I rolled my eyes and stood up. I didn't have time for this.

"Get out." I pointed towards the door, and he stared at me in disbelief.

"Are you serious right now?"

"I'm very serious. Get out, and leave the key." I didn't want to deal with his bitching anymore. I didn't want to deal with his anger because he thought I was fucking other people. I didn't want to deal with him assuming things all the time. He acted like he owned me, and I was tired of it.

"If I leave, I'm not coming back."

"Good!" He was surprised that I was so serious, but he took my key off of his key chain and tossed it in my direction.

"Thanks." He slammed the door behind him on his way out. I had every intention of changing the locks in the morning. Just because he gave back the key he had with him didn't mean there weren't copies of it somewhere. I just hoped he wouldn't turn into some creepy stalker. I fell back onto the couch wondering where it all went wrong.