Hold My Heart
Alex
The next morning, I rushed to get ready to that I could look perfect when Vic arrived to pick me up. He had been giving me rides to and from school ever since we started dating. He wouldn't even let me ride the bus anymore. I didn't mind it too much though, since that just meant I got to spend 20 extra minutes with him.
"Hey, babe," he greeted me as I hopped into his car. I smiled.
"Hey." Vic leaned over the seat and pulled my head forwards, pressing his lips to mine. I pulled away and giggled.
"Come on, let's get to school," I said.
When we arrived at school, there was still about 15 minutes before we had to get to class, so we walked extra slow through the hallway. I was very tempted to hold his hand, but we were trying to keep the relationship quiet, and that would make it pretty obvious.
"What are you doing after school?" he asked. I frowned for a moment as I thought.
"Uh, nothing, why?" I replied.
"You should come over so we can hang out," he said as we reached my locker. I smiled. The only time that I had been to Vic's house was when he saved me from the movie theater, and we hadn't spent much time hanging out then.
"Yeah, that'd be fun," I said. Vic flashed me his perfect white teeth.
"Great. Can't wait," he said with a wink, and then disappeared down the hall. I felt a twinge of anxiety in the rising in my chest. What if he tried something with me again? I still wasn't ready for anything more than kissing, and I hoped that he would remember that. However, I did want to spend time with him since the only time we see each other during the day is in first period.
I spent the rest of the school day anticipating the afternoon. Vic wouldn't stop subtly flirting with me all morning, and I couldn't wait to get out of this place. All I wanted to do was sit on Vic's bed and cuddle and talk like a normal couple. It sucked that we weren't able to tell anyone about our relationship, but it did add a feeling of secrecy that was really exciting.
I walked into my sixth period science class, thankful that the day was almost over. There was only one more hour until I would be able to be alone with Vic, and that thought had kept me motivated all day. I almost didn't notice when Jesse got up from his seat and plopped down into the one in front of me.
"Hey man. I haven't talked to you in a while," Jesse said.
"Yeah, sorry, I've been getting rides to school with Vic," I replied casually. I didn't want to let on about our relationship, so I had to act like we were just hanging out as friends. A lot.
"Yeah, um, about that. There's something you need to know about Vic," Jesse said with a frown. I was suddenly a little bit nervous. He wasn't going to tell me some crazy story about how Vic murdered someone, was he?
"What is it?" I asked. Oh God, please don't let me be dating a psycho.
"Well . . . has Vic mentioned a guy named Alex before?" he questioned. I shook my head. The name didn't ring a bell. Jesse continued.
"Well, last year Alex and Vic were best friends. They were together all the time, like, inseparable. Then one day out of the blue, Vic just freaked out on him and beat him up. No one knows what happened. Alex's family moved to London after that so we never saw him again, but everyone kind of stayed out of Vic's way. They still do. I guess everyone just kind of saw him as a loose cannon, not really someone to get close to," he said. "I just don't want you two getting close and you end up getting hurt. Physically or emotionally.
I processed all of this information. What would this Alex guy have done to make Vic so angry? He surely had a reason. I had never seen him get angry, not once.
"Well, you don't have to worry about me. I'll be fine," I replied, even though I wasn't sure that was true.
"Look, Alex would have said the same exact thing. But his best friend beat him up so badly he had to be taken to the hospital. I think you should stop hanging out with Vic, for your own safety," Jesse urged. I frowned.
"I'm sure Vic had a reason to do that. I'm not going to stop being friends with him because of something in his past," I said. I was starting to get a little annoyed. I was glad that he had told me, but I wasn't going to completely ditch him because of that. He was my boyfriend after all, even if Jesse didn't know that.
"Kellin, I'm serious. You have to make a choice: his friendship or mine. If you choose me, which you should, don't ride with him this afternoon. Find me on the bus. If you choose him, then go with him," he said as the bell rang. He quickly got up and moved to his seat across the room.
I was confused as to why Jesse wanted me to take such drastic measures towards my relationship with Vic. I understood why he didn't want us to be friends, but to completely cut him out of my life? I didn't see why Vic's past with Alex had anything to do with me. Wait, was there any chance that Vic and Alex could have been boyfriends? Jesse said that they were friends, but maybe he didn't know everything. He obviously didn't know the whole story as to why Vic hurt him. What if Vic really did just have anger issues or something and had freaked out on him for no reason? Does that mean that Vic would hurt me if I angered him?
One hour later, I was walking out of the school building, thinking about Jesse's offer. It was a total dick move making me choose, but of course, it was out of good intentions. I had made up my mind.
"Hey," I said, smiling.
"Hey!"
"Hey, babe," he greeted me as I hopped into his car. I smiled.
"Hey." Vic leaned over the seat and pulled my head forwards, pressing his lips to mine. I pulled away and giggled.
"Come on, let's get to school," I said.
When we arrived at school, there was still about 15 minutes before we had to get to class, so we walked extra slow through the hallway. I was very tempted to hold his hand, but we were trying to keep the relationship quiet, and that would make it pretty obvious.
"What are you doing after school?" he asked. I frowned for a moment as I thought.
"Uh, nothing, why?" I replied.
"You should come over so we can hang out," he said as we reached my locker. I smiled. The only time that I had been to Vic's house was when he saved me from the movie theater, and we hadn't spent much time hanging out then.
"Yeah, that'd be fun," I said. Vic flashed me his perfect white teeth.
"Great. Can't wait," he said with a wink, and then disappeared down the hall. I felt a twinge of anxiety in the rising in my chest. What if he tried something with me again? I still wasn't ready for anything more than kissing, and I hoped that he would remember that. However, I did want to spend time with him since the only time we see each other during the day is in first period.
I spent the rest of the school day anticipating the afternoon. Vic wouldn't stop subtly flirting with me all morning, and I couldn't wait to get out of this place. All I wanted to do was sit on Vic's bed and cuddle and talk like a normal couple. It sucked that we weren't able to tell anyone about our relationship, but it did add a feeling of secrecy that was really exciting.
I walked into my sixth period science class, thankful that the day was almost over. There was only one more hour until I would be able to be alone with Vic, and that thought had kept me motivated all day. I almost didn't notice when Jesse got up from his seat and plopped down into the one in front of me.
"Hey man. I haven't talked to you in a while," Jesse said.
"Yeah, sorry, I've been getting rides to school with Vic," I replied casually. I didn't want to let on about our relationship, so I had to act like we were just hanging out as friends. A lot.
"Yeah, um, about that. There's something you need to know about Vic," Jesse said with a frown. I was suddenly a little bit nervous. He wasn't going to tell me some crazy story about how Vic murdered someone, was he?
"What is it?" I asked. Oh God, please don't let me be dating a psycho.
"Well . . . has Vic mentioned a guy named Alex before?" he questioned. I shook my head. The name didn't ring a bell. Jesse continued.
"Well, last year Alex and Vic were best friends. They were together all the time, like, inseparable. Then one day out of the blue, Vic just freaked out on him and beat him up. No one knows what happened. Alex's family moved to London after that so we never saw him again, but everyone kind of stayed out of Vic's way. They still do. I guess everyone just kind of saw him as a loose cannon, not really someone to get close to," he said. "I just don't want you two getting close and you end up getting hurt. Physically or emotionally.
I processed all of this information. What would this Alex guy have done to make Vic so angry? He surely had a reason. I had never seen him get angry, not once.
"Well, you don't have to worry about me. I'll be fine," I replied, even though I wasn't sure that was true.
"Look, Alex would have said the same exact thing. But his best friend beat him up so badly he had to be taken to the hospital. I think you should stop hanging out with Vic, for your own safety," Jesse urged. I frowned.
"I'm sure Vic had a reason to do that. I'm not going to stop being friends with him because of something in his past," I said. I was starting to get a little annoyed. I was glad that he had told me, but I wasn't going to completely ditch him because of that. He was my boyfriend after all, even if Jesse didn't know that.
"Kellin, I'm serious. You have to make a choice: his friendship or mine. If you choose me, which you should, don't ride with him this afternoon. Find me on the bus. If you choose him, then go with him," he said as the bell rang. He quickly got up and moved to his seat across the room.
I was confused as to why Jesse wanted me to take such drastic measures towards my relationship with Vic. I understood why he didn't want us to be friends, but to completely cut him out of my life? I didn't see why Vic's past with Alex had anything to do with me. Wait, was there any chance that Vic and Alex could have been boyfriends? Jesse said that they were friends, but maybe he didn't know everything. He obviously didn't know the whole story as to why Vic hurt him. What if Vic really did just have anger issues or something and had freaked out on him for no reason? Does that mean that Vic would hurt me if I angered him?
One hour later, I was walking out of the school building, thinking about Jesse's offer. It was a total dick move making me choose, but of course, it was out of good intentions. I had made up my mind.
"Hey," I said, smiling.
"Hey!"