Storms

Chapter Five

It had been only a few weeks after the incident in the courtyard, that Jack had all but vanished. The day after, he'd simply showed up to a couple classes, refusing to speak a word to even his friends, before ditching for the rest of the day. The rumor around was that he'd stroll off campus through the front doors, straight to his truck and sit in it with the seat down, have himself a smoke, and pull out when he was finished with his cigarette.

Another rumor flying around was that he'd somehow managed to get himself involved with one of the local street gangs and he was going through some top secret initiation process. Keaton didn't believe a word of it. She'd watched Jacks attitude towards things falter after his argument with Khalil and it seemed that he was just kind of stuck in a rut, but the reasoning behind it was still a mystery to her. He hadn't even seemed phased after the near fight, so it had to have been something else outside of school that made him stop showing up.

She'd tried to get information from Johnson, who he'd been closest to, but even he had no idea what was wrong with him. She'd called his home number that she'd been forced to look up in the school directory, and nobody answered. It worried her that he stopped coming, and that maybe he wasn't going to show up anymore, that he'd dropped out.

Almost a month later, he appeared out of the blue and all but blew the halls away. It seemed as if he'd picked up an entirely new attitude, and it radiated from his pores in such a way that the girls who'd been so keen on avoiding him were now drooling over him just the same as the girls they'd made fun of the first day he'd arrived.

A cocky smile was situated on his cherry red lips and Keaton couldn't help but feel annoyed by it. Whenever he walked past her, he acted as if she was just another girl just the same as the first day. He flirted with everyone that had female genitals, even some of the teachers, and it made her sick to her stomach. She knew that her and Jack hadn't been much of anything from the beginning, but she hoped he would at least treat her the same as before he left. But maybe they just weren't meant to be.

As Keaton sat with her usual group at lunch, she noticed that Johnson was having a heated discussion with a boy named Samuel Wilkinson who was part of the basketball team. The pair kept glancing at her, a sensual smile radiating from Sams lips as he looked her up and down. A knot formed in her stomach when he rolled his eyes, stood up and made a bee-line straight for her. The whole lunchroom seemed to grow silent as he placed his hands down on the table beside her lunch with a beautiful smile on his face. She couldn't deny Sam was in fact attractive in almost every aspect known to man, but his reputation as a play boy made her attraction for him almost completely invisible.

"Hey Keaton," he chirped.

"Hello Samuel." she smirked. His nose wrinkled in discuss at the use of his full name.

"Please call me Sammy."

"Alright, Sammy, what is it that I can do for you today?"

"Well, I was wondering if you'd maybe want to go on a date with me this Friday?"

The whole lunchroom gasped at how blunt he was, and a blush crept up both of their faces. She noticed that Gilinsky had paused mid-bite, waiting for her answer. Sammy seemed almost nervous, as he waited for her response. The thought of a date with him did seem almost pleasing, and it would help her get her mind off of Jack for a bit.

"Sure, okay."

A sigh escaped his lips as he leaned down to plant a kiss on her cheek before whispering in her ear, "I'll pick you up at 7."

With that he sauntered away, the cheesiest smile on his face as he sat back at his table. The boys all gave him incredulous looks as he went back to eating his pizza as if nothing had happened. The lunchroom buzzed with talk of a new possible couple, and a lot of the whispers seemed almost angry. A mixed couple, a black girl with a white boy, Sammy with Keaton. Keaton watched as Gilinsky stood, tossing his food in the trash and angrily stomping out of the lunchroom. Her eyes then shifted over to Khalil, who also held an angry expression on his face which was directed at her.

That's when she realized just how complicated her acceptance had made her situation.

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At the end of the day, Keaton stood at her locker, stuffing books into her book bag to study for the night. As she leaned to place the last of her books inside, the locker door slammed shut and she was met with a pair of black converse. She looked up to see a seething Gilinsky, his eyes boring into her soul.

"What?" she snapped as she zipped her bag shut and stood up to her full height. Even though he was much taller than her, she didn't feel intimidated in the slightest.

"What the fuck is your problem?" he hissed, following her as she walked outside towards her car in the back parking lot.

"My problem?! What the hell is yours?"

He grabbed her wrist, spinning her around to face him.

"Don't you walk away from me. And don't you talk to me like that."

"I'm not yours to control Gilinsky. Besides, who are you to come at me when you haven't spoken to me in almost a month?"

"I've been pre-occupied."

"Yeah, shagging every sophomore, junior, and senior you can get your hands on."

Anger filled his features and he pushed her between the bushes and up against the back wall. He had her pinned, his legs on either side of hers and his hands pinning her wrists to the wall. She was in no way in any pain, but the fact that he had his hands on her made her want to punch him.

"Don't you dare come at me with that. You don't know half the shit I've been put through since I last spoke to you. I doubt you even care since you've been shacking up with Sammy apparently."

"You know what Jack? You didn't even date me, hell you don't even have any form of feelings for me whatsoever so you can't make a call on who I do and don't see. If you wanted a chance to be more than friends with me, which by the way I barely see us as friends now, you had that chance. You left with no contact, didn't even bother trying to make it known that you were still in town or even alive! Get out of my face with that 'You don't know what I've been through' bull."

His eyes grew wide, no girl had ever spoken to him like that. He bit his lip,closing the space between their chests. He could hear her breath hitch in her throat, and he leaned down to where his lips brushed against hers. He looked her directly in her eyes, letting out a low sigh and allowing the smell of cigarettes and mint to fill her nostrils.

"I'm sorry."

With those two words, his lips brushed against hers almost as if it were the wind itself that had spoken them. He carefully closed the gap between them, his arms wrapped around her waist as he tucked his head in the crook of her shoulder. He held her tight, breathing in her scent. She sighed, rubbing his back gently. Was this kid crazy or what?