Smile Again

Chapter 22

Before I  go to sleep that night, I take one of my shirt and a pair of scissors. I cut the shirt a little less than halfway up, to form my own crop top without having to buy one. I try it on before I go to bed to see how it looks and if I did it correctly. 

"Looking good, Delia." I tell myself and then go to bed. 

The next morning I put on my shirt and a nice pair of ripped jeans. I put my hair into a high ponytail and put on some light makeup. I'm grabbing a Monster when Nathan texts me that he's picking me up for school. I text back alright and go wait for him in the living room. He's getting out of his car when I walk out the door. He notices me and just stares at my outfit. I snap my fingers to make him come to again and he blushes embarrassedly. 

"You look nice," He says shyly and opens up the passenger door for me.

"Thank you." I respond and put my seatbelt on. 

"I think you're breaking the dress code though," He says as he starts the car. "You could get suspended or have to put on different clothes."

"Oh well. Does it look like I care?" I joke and he laughs. We make it to the school on time and he parks in the back of the school. I'm about to get out of the car when he grabs my arm. 

"I wanted to ask you something," He starts and I nod, "Why...why did you kiss me on the cheek the other day?"

"Oh, because you put up with me over the weekend and were just generally nice to me." 

"What do you mean 'put up with you'?" 

"Well since I was being bitchier than usual and more rude, you kinda calmed me down so I didn't kill no one. So it was my way to say thank you."

"Oh, but it was understandable for you to be moody than usual with all that happens to you once a month. I know I would be probably a big crybaby if it happened to me."

I laugh, which makes him smile. "Yeah, I think all guys would be."

"How are you feeling today?" He asks suddenly, looking intentionally at me.

"Much better, actually. I took a couple pain relievers and brought some, so I should be good to go." 

"Okay, I was just wondering."

"It's all good. It's cute how you care so much about me. We should really get inside so we aren't late." I get out of the car and so does Nathan. I can tell again that he's blushing but I don't mention it. The bell rings as soon as we get in the school so we rush to his locker where his buddies are. I quickly throw my bag in his locker and tell them good bye. I hear them in the distance messing with him and just smile to myself. I'm getting a lot of stares from everyone in the school, even though most girls where this type of outfit everyday. I guess it was just unusual for a girl like me to wear it. I almost make it through my math class when I get called down to the office again. 

"What the fuck did I do now?" I mutter to myself and head to the office with my things.

I head into the office and the secretary points me into the direction of the principal. I sit in front of his office and ask him what I did this time. 

"I've been getting some complaints of your outfit, Ms. Delia." He states.

"What's to complain about it?" I ask.

"It's showing to much skin and it's distracting to the boys. It goes against the dress code."

"Oh, I'm sorry I'm distracting the boys when they have enough power to not look at my stomach. It's not my fault they're staring at me." I defend myself.

"I'm going to have ask you either go home and change or put on one of the shirts I provided."

"This is so dumb. Is this why you called me down before my lunch?" He nods at me. "I guess I'll go home and change." 

I text Nathan and ask him if he could drive me to my house real quick. He meets me outside the office and we walk to the back of the school to his car. I notice Amelia and them whispering in my direction but I just ignore it. 

"I told you you were gonna violate the dress code..." Nathan says as he hops into the car. 

"Well, I thought people would be mature enough not to care about seeing a smidge of my stomach."

"Some people have some nerve, you don't really notice it." 

"Yeah well, I have to change at my house so let's head there." He drives us to my house and I step out of the car. "You know you can come in too,"

"Oh, okay. I just thought that..." He trails off and follows me inside. I head upstairs to my room and throw my shirt off to the side whilst Nathan goes into the bathroom. I find a perfectly normal shirt and throw it on and head back downstairs. He's in my kitchen now, grabbing something to eat. He sees me and hands me a fruit cup, just like he's eating. He spills a little bit of the juice on his face, and I grab a napkin and carefully wipe his face off. 

"Thank you," He smiles and I blush.

"No problem. You have really pretty eyes." I say and pull away from him. I could get lost in his light blue eyes, they remind me off a summer's day. Everything about him is so pretty, his hair and how it falls gently on his face; how he's starting to get light freckles from the sun always being out, his lips and how they would perfectly fit against mine... 

"Delia?" He snaps me back into reality and gently moves me out of the way to throw his trash away. 

"Sorry," I say embarrassed. We lock eyes and slowly move in to kiss each other but get interrupted by his phone ringing. He answers and then hangs up.

"Holy shit, we're late for school!" We rush and head out the door to his car. He drives fast but carefully back to the school and we both rush to our classes. I make it just in time as the bell rings. 

The final bell rings and I head to Nathan's locker to grab my things. I beat them all there and hear Kasey talking to them.

"...I'm just saying, you should do it before someone else-" He stops as soon as he sees me, clearly I'm not suppose to hear what he has to say. I brush it off and wait for Nathan to grab his things so he can drive me home. We make it back to my house and he walks me to my door like a gentleman. 

"Thanks for the ride home," I tell him. 

"Yeah no problem. I'll pick you up tomorrow if you want?"

"That sounds nice," I smile and awkwardly pat him on the shoulder as a good bye.

I head into my house and watch him drive away. I head into the my room and drop my phone in realization: I've started a liking to Nathan.