Mend a Broken Heart

Chapter 3 - Date

As I made my way to the canteen, my arm was suddenly grabbed and I was swiftly pulled under the staircase. At first, I was shocked and confused, until I saw that it was Bolton and had to fight the urge to roll my eyes. He had a massive smile on his face, and I wondered what could've made him so happy, apart from seeing my absolutely gorgeous face, of course. He leaned forward to kiss me, but I dodged him. It was kind of awkward, but I played it off by taking his hands in mine.

"What's up?" I asked.

"We're ditching last period. And lunch time," He grinned, and I raised an eyebrow in confusion. Don't get me wrong, I wanted to ditch, as it would make my journey to exclusion much quicker. But I didn't really want to ditch with Mr Clingy, and I didn't even know where he wanted to go or why.

"Um...why? And where?" I asked, and Bolton winked cheekily.

"That's for me to know and for you to find out. It's a surprise, yeah? So you in?" He replied, his face beaming. I wanted to say no. But bunking off could be my fast pass to exclusion. And so, as much as it pained me, I agreed. I'd be able to break up with him soon, and that thought actually kept me going.

Lunchtime came, and Bolton was waiting for me outside my classroom when the bell rang. He took my hand in his and lead me out the school gates. He wouldn't tell me where we were going, but I didn't have very high hopes. Bolton acted like a chav at school. His idea of a perfect date was probably chucking stones at cans or sitting on a bench drinking alcohol. I wasn't looking forward to this at all, but I knew it was what I had to do to get out of Waterloo Road. We arrived at the park and went over to an ice cream van. Bolton insisted I choose whatever I wanted, so I used it to my advantage and chose the biggest ice cream I could. One scoop of chocolate, one scoop of cherry, and one scoop of salted caramel, in the largest sugar cone possible, with chocolate sauce, sprinkles and two flakes. I could see the regret in his eyes, but I didn't care. He was the one who said I could have anything. This way, not only did I get to spend Bolton's money (which his snotty mum probably gave him - so double win), but I also got to eat ice cream for the first time in years. I couldn't exactly remember when I last had ice cream, but I knew it was a long time ago. I savoured every last inch of it, and it wasn't until I finished that I noticed Bolton was smiling at me.

"What?" I frowned, shooting him a glare.

"Nothing. Just...you've got ice cream on your face," He smirked. I rolled my eyes and rolled down the sleeve of my cardigan to wipe it away, but before I got a chance Bolton wiped it away with his own sleeve. Confused, I pulled away from him.

"Why...?" I trailed off, not really knowing what to say. Things got awkward really fast. Bolton cleared his throat and turned on the bench so he was no longer facing me. I looked down at the ground, twiddling my thumbs.

"Can I ask you something?" He asked suddenly.

"Sure," I said plainly, hoping it wasn't too much of a personal question. The more I kept private - the better. The less he knew, the easier it would be to cut him off when the time was right.

"Why did you go for the biggest ice cream possible?" He asked, and I felt my shoulders relax.

"Go big or go home I guess," I shrugged. But Bolton wasn't happy with that answer.

"No, but...the smile on your face when you ate it...anyone would think you'd never had ice cream before," Bolton grinned, turning back to face me again. I turned to face him too, even though I didn't want to. I had to make him believe I liked him as much as he liked me. But as I thought this, I wondered...why? Why did it matter? He seemed to like me enough, why not just dump him already? My stomach started to knot as I thought about it. Usually, I would've broken up with them by now. Why was I still with him? Was it just to spite his mum? To make him love me so that breaking up with him felt even better? So that I could use him to get myself into more trouble at school?

"No, I have, I just haven't had it in a long time," I replied, "Why do you like me?"

"Woah, you don't hold back, do you?" Bolton laughed, "But seriously? You're hot, you're not afraid to get in trouble, you're brave, confident, and...I don't know, I just liked you from the moment I saw you. And when you kissed me I just thought 'wow, this girl knows what she wants' and I really liked that about you. You're not scared to go after what or who you want." I felt my cheeks flush red as he spoke, but I didn't understand why. Countless guys had told me the exact same things before, and yeah they all gave me a confidence boost, but I never felt very different. With Bolton, it was like he made me feel special. And I liked feeling special for once.

"You know I'm a slut, right?" I frowned, and Bolton laughed again, "I'm serious. I've been with a lot of guys."

"So what? I've been with quite a few girls myself. As long as you're only with me right now, that's fine," He shrugged. He stared at me intently for a moment, before reaching out with his hand and moving my face towards him. Usually, I'd pull away from him, not wanting to be so close to him all the time. But it was different this time. He leaned in and kissed me, sending shivers up my spine. The good kind. I didn't want the kiss to stop. What was wrong with me?