𝐍𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐀𝐌𝐄

|𝟏𝟎| 𝐑𝐞𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐞

This is weird. I feel like I'm experiencing one of those moments that make you reevaluate your entire perspective on somebody. It's like I'm meeting a whole new person.

It's Wednesday and currently day two of Paisley's in-school suspension, as far as I know. Her mom doesn't seem to be too fond of her at the moment. But then again, who would be if their kid broke their best friend's nose in the middle of a school day without any explanation?

The two women have been avoiding all interaction. Well, Paisley has been avoiding all interaction. Tina, on the other hand, has been staring her daughter down, observing her every move. She's seemingly prepared to call her out on any of her moves, be them right or wrong, Mrs. Garner has auto-ambush enabled.

Paisley stabs her fork into her eggs and shovels the forkful into her mouth, stealing a glance at her mom through her thick eyelashes. She visibly flinches when her and her mother's gaze-- or rather glare, in Tina's case-- meet.

I look up at my mom who chews tentatively on the piece of bacon between her acrylic nails like she too is being watched. She clears her throat, trying to suppress the smile that threatens to reveal itself to the rest of the table.

"So, Paisley," Frank starts, setting his fork down on the plate before him, "What's your plan now that you're out of ball?"

His step-daughter clears her throat, finishing off her breakfast and standing up, "You're the last person I'd talk about this with, Frank."

"Paisley," her mother warns, her sharp jaw clenched and fists balled.

"What? He's a misogynistic, sexist bastard that would much rather see me in the home economics classroom than on the court."

Frank doesn't react to Paisley's words, instead, he picks up his fork and continues to eat his breakfast.

I furrow my brows at him. He's not even going to deny it?

"See?! He doesn't even deny it!" Paisley exclaims, expressing my very thoughts. I stand up, rounding the table. I place my hand and the small of her back, resulting in a shiver to wrack her spine. I usher her toward the stairs and then up them.

When we reach the top step she yanks my hand away from her skin. "Don't touch me," She growls, her face almost red with anger.

I throw my arms up in frustration, "Now you're back to hating me?!"

"I've always hated you. Never stopped, probably never will," she narrows her eyes at me like I just said the dumbest thing a person could. She shakes her head at herself, looking down at the floor and crossing her arms. "But thanks, I guess."

I nudge her, "Awwww, see you are a little softy for me."

I watch as a scowl makes a way onto her face as she looks back up to meet my gaze.

"Watch me push you down the damn stairs, Kamden." She says through her perfect teeth, moving down the hall. I watch her retreating figure, biting down on my lip to suppress the smile that tries to make its way onto my face.

Stop, you hate her.

But we're making progress-

You hate her.

I descend back down the stairs, deciding I've wasted enough time staring into space.

After I grab Paisley's plate, and my own after hers and put them in the sink, I thank my mom for the breakfast.

I'm pulling the strap to my backpack over my shoulder when I hear light footsteps make their way toward me. I turn around just in time to see Tina smiling up at me.

"Is it alright if Paisley catches a ride with you to school today, Kam,"

Oh, Paisley will be thrilled.

She says it more like a demand than a question so I nod, offering a tight-lipped smile.

"Paisley!" I yell up the stairs. "I'll be in the car!"

A door slams from upstairs and I flinch. She must be seriously thrilled about this.

But then again, she doesn't know what this is.

The front door flies open not even five minutes after I get in my car, an angry-looking Paisley charging towards it.

She rounds the car, opening the door to the back seat open before sliding in.

"What are you doing back there?" I sigh, throwing my head back in annoyance.

"I want to be as far away from you as possible," she claims, crossing her arms and slumping into my backseat. "Also, your car is comfy." She grumbles.

"Thank you." I chuckle, pulling out of the driveway and zipping out of the neighborhood.

I like driving to school. It's like going for a morning run without actually running. It wakes me up in a way nothing else can or probably ever will.

I think I'm kind of looking forward to seeing Sky today. It's not the kind of "I wanna see you" you feel when you're friends with somebody, but also not the kind of "I want to see you" you feel when you want to see your girlfriend.

For a while, I've been feeling like a dick for just going into this without feelings. She's amazing, and I'm finally starting to see that. Lately, I've been looking forward to seeing her smile and hearing her laugh.

I know that you can't force feelings, but I'm not sure I have to. There's obviously something there, even if I'm not sure what that something is.

Never did I think that I'd start liking the girl I like's best friend. It doesn't make sense to me. At least not yet.