the way you'd love her

F I F T E E N

BELLE

I was fuming, seriously.
My arms were crossed over my shoulders, and I faced towards the window. There was a permanent frown on my face, and not even the excitement of the first day feeling could turn it upside down. Dylan was a girl. Oh, but not just a girl. No. Dylan was an effing model.

The girl had to be at least six feet, with long skinny legs. I bet she didn't even know what cellulite was. Her breasts were perky, and her stomach completely flat. I mean, you only see girls like that on magazines. Especially with her sharp cheekbones and face shape. Talk about good genetics. Her hair was straightened down to every last strand, and it was the prettiest strawberry blonde color. It matched her bright green eyes perfectly. She was perfect. And I was jealous.

This is who Gage was with all week. This is who he was ditching me for. Great. That was a boost of confidence, definitely. I furrowed my eyebrows and clenched my jaw. I just don't understand how he couldn't mention he made a new friend. How did he even meet her? Did they fall in love with first glance? I sighed heavily, not bothering to be quiet. The music was blasting, and nobody was speaking. Good.

We pulled up into the school and I frowned. This beautiful girl didn't do anything to me. It was Gage. He was the one keeping secrets. When I referred to Dylan as a guy, twice, he didn't bother to correct me. Jerk face. The second he parked the car, I opened my door and swung my bag over my shoulder. The music stopped, and he came over to my side before Dylan could get out of the car.

"Belle-"
"I'm almost late for first hour." I said to him calmly. Dylan stood behind him a second later. She looked confused. "I gotta go, but it was great to meet you. You're super pretty." I said to her, trying to sound nice. I feel like the jealousy was dripping from my tone. I added a forced smile. She smiled back big, and she looked relief. I guess she caught onto the awkward tone in the car.
"Thank you, sweetheart. Maybe I'll see you in a class later." She offered. If Gage hadn't lied to me, I would've stayed and talked more. I would've compared schedules and shown her where her classes were, even if it made me late. But he did lie.

I nodded, then glanced at Gage for a second. He looked guilty as she took his hand. He tried to make eye contact with me, but I walked away before he could. I guess he got a new girl friend. Why wouldn't he tell me? I tell him everything. A wave of hurt washed over me.

Things had been weird at the bonfire, with how close we were, but I had basically forgotten about it. Was he still weirded out? Because I was tipsy and horny. That's the only reason I had my legs wrapped around his torso, which was as hard as a rock. It was the only reason I kept fantasizing about what it would be like for us to make love, and how he would feel. I bit my lip in embarrassment. I couldn't stop thinking about Gage in a sexual way, and it was ruining our friendship right in front of my eyes.

Maybe it's good that he got a girl friend. I could get the dirty thoughts out of my mind. Was Dylan his girlfriend? She didn't introduce herself as it, but she kissed his cheek when she entered the car and I saw him blush. Why was I feeling so jealous? I huffed and went to pull in the door, when it was opened for me. I turned to see Miles.

"Hey Miles." I smiled softly. He looked cute. Maybe I should be having sexual desires about him, instead.
"Hi Bels. Haven't seen you in a while."
"Yeah, I'm sorry about that whole bonfire thing and leaving without saying goodbye. I'll bring you your hoodie tomorrow."
"No worries. It looks better on you than it ever did on me." He smirked and I laughed, for real.
"You're such a flirt." I rolled my eyes playfully.
"Only for you, Belle. I wanna take you out."

I widened my eyes with surprise. Then, I smiled. This is exactly what I needed.
"I want you to take me out." I said, trying not to cringe at my lame attempt at flirting back.
"How does tonight sound? I don't mean to be eager, but I just want to see you."
"I can do tonight. What did you have in mind?"
"It's a surprise. See you in gym." He winked, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear. I blushed at his touch and watched him walk off.

"The fuck was that?" I heard from behind me. I furrowed my eyebrows and turned around to see Gage with his arms crossed against his chest and his jaw clenched angrily.
"What?" I responded with attitude.
"I said, what the fuck, was that? Why the hell did you just let him touch you like that?" Gage stepped closer, pulling that same piece of hair that he tucked in, out. I squinted my eyes at him in disbelief.

"Don't touch me, jerk. What do you care for? You're living a whole secret life without me, anyways." I snarked back at him as the warning bell rang. We had three minutes to get to class.
"Stop being so dramatic." He rolled his eyes.
"Don't tell me how to feel! You have a whole girlfriend. Seriously?" I stomped my foot.
"So? Am I not allowed to or something?" He stepped closer to me, and I could feel my heart racing. I didn't know what I wanted to do more, slap him across the face or kiss him furiously. Ouch. He just admitted they were dating. Slap.

"I never said that. I just don't get why you not only hid her from me, but lied to me about it." I stepped closer, daring him.
"Why are you being such a bitch about this?"

My jaw dropped as I took a big step back. Immediately, I saw the regret and guilt in his eyes as he tried to grab my arm.
"Wait, Belley-"
"Screw you." I spat, walking away with my English book in my hand.

I was going to History, but there was no way I was going back over by him. I cant believe he called me the b word. He knows how I feel about swear words, because of my dad. He used to cuss at my mother everyday and it made me hate them. I blinked back the tears, not wanting to think about my deadbeat father as I walk into my first class of senior year.

I took a seat next to Didi, who had saved me the space. She smiled excitedly and smothered me with a hug and compliments the second I sat down. After practically snoozing through my first period, I smiled at the thought of art next hour. I enjoyed art, it was so fun to paint and draw. As I stepped out of the classroom, Gage stood by the door.

"Belley, fuck, finally. I cant-"
"I'll catch up with you later, Didi, okay?" I smiled at her. She looked back and forth from Gage to me and could sense the tension. She gave me a hug and nodded. I watched her leave, then I turned to my locker. Gage followed me.

"Belle, I'm so sorry. I'm so so so so sorry. Seriously. I didn't mean to swear at you like your....I just didn't mean to swear at you. I was just angry because of-"
"Whatever, Gage."
"It's not whatever."
"What do you want me to say!" I looked at him, then set my lips into a tight line when I realized I was being loud. "Look, it's fine." I looked him up and down, barely recognizing the guy in front of me. "Catch you later." I said under my breath, walking away without giving me the chance to respond.