Falling For The Nerd

No one can harm you.

Monday I headed to school in high spirits. I couldn't wait to see Melissa again. We couldn't meet on Sunday because she was helping Remy pack. Remy was going to move to New York in a few weeks so that she could live with Mike, who had a job there.

I walked into the school and everyone fell silent for a minute. I ignored everyone's stares and headed towards my locker. Unfortunately, Anneliese was waiting for me there. "Hey Derek!" she said in the same nasal tone. "I just wanted to let you know that I had a great time last night." she giggled and walked away. What? I looked around and people were whispering away. I spotted Jake and Leo standing nearby and I walked up to them.

"What the fudge is going on here?" I demanded angrily. "Dude, you're the one who spent the night with Anneliese, don't chew our heads." Jake said. Leo nodded and said, "Yeah. I thought you were serious about Melissa." "I am! What rumour did Anneliese spread now?" I was extremely frustrated. "You promise you are not being dishonest to Melissa?" Leo asked. "I swear on my life I did not do anything of that sort" I said. "Anneliese said that you took her to that French place for dinner and then took her home. In short. For more details, contact the girls bathroom." Jake said. "No way." I said and looked around for Anneliese, but I spotted Melissa at her locker.

She saw me at the same time, but ignored me. She pulled out some books and began to walk away. "Melissa!" I called out. I needed to talk to her, let her know that the rumours were not true. However, I lost her in the crowd of students. I cursed under my breath and walked towards my homeroom.

I did not see Melissa the rest of the day. I went over to her table during lunch, but her friends said that she was stuck with a teacher and she would be skipping lunch. I kept a look out for her between periods,going past her locker even if my classroom was the other way. She was avoiding me big time.

I saw her when school ended. I was leaving the school after practice and I saw her at her locker. I walked upto her and grabbed her arm so that she couldn't run away. "Why are you avoiding me?" I asked. "No particular reason. Please let go of my hand Derek." Melissa said in an eerily calm tone. "I need you to know that whatever Anneliese has said is not true. She's spreading lies." "I know that you did not take her to dinner." Melissa said. "You do?" I asked, confused. "Yeah. Mike took us out for dinner to the same restaurant. I didn't see you there, so I know you didn't take Anneliese out to dinner." she stated calmly.

"Then why have you been avoiding me?" I needed to know. Melissa saw something and stiffened. She spoke in a low and urgent voice.

"Listen to me Derek and do NOT interrupt. The reason I have stayed away from you is because I have been threatened. It's not a small threat, she's threatening my future, my acceptance into the college of my choice. I have worked very hard for this and she can undo all my hard work in the blink of an eye. I don't regret what happened between us, but I'm sorry. I need this. I can't give you up, I am being forced to. I'm sorry about this, but leave me alone from now on. Find someone else Derek." Melissa's voice went down to a whisper as she spoke.

"Who's doing this to you?"I asked, seeing that she was very close to tears. I pulled her closer to me and she whispered, "Anneliese Walters." Melissa pulled away, gave me a small smile and left.

I watched her leave when someone spoke from the end of the corridor. "I'm glad to see you've gotten rid of her." Anneliese said. I almost growled in anger as I turned to face her. "What did you say to her?" It took all my energy not to wipe that annoying smirk off her face. "My daddy is on the board of the college the nerd wanted to join. All I had to do was tell her that daddy could reject her application if she did not give you to me. And it was so easy. Now you're all mine." Anneliese purred as she ran her down my arm. I pulled my arm away and growled, "You'll pay for this Walters."

My anger was visible on my face because her confident expression faltered. I began to walk home and she called after me, "You would rather have her than me?" "Yeah!" I called back. I already had a plan for revenge brewing in my mind.