Sunflower With Red Drops

10.

   I walked into class and found a cold bubble tea on my desk. I automatically grabbed my drink, smiling, excited to discover the flavor. But before I could even have a look at the packaging, it was taken away by Cyrus who was standing behind me.

   'What's that?' The question was hiding more than curiosity but before I could argue, Ty answered the question.

   'We don't know. She's been receiving gifts since last week. In her locker or waiting for her at her usual seat in class.', while Ty and Cy were conversing I was trying to get my bubble tea back from Cy's grip and even though we were approximately the same size, I just couldn't get it from him.

   'And when were you two going to tell me? For real, it's weird and pretty intrusive. Someone got into your locker Lily.', I finally got my drink in my hands and was now sitting down on my chair looking down in front of me, saddened by the fact that Cyrus was babying me.

   'But the person's just being nice. He offered me a plushie. It's adorable!', Cy sighed loudly and took his usual seat on my right facing the waiting teacher. I decided to be a helpful student and, for once, participate during the French lesson. I didn't really have a choice, even though I liked debating with Cy, it was no use talking when he was upset. The only solution was to let the steam clear out and he would eventually come around himself to discuss the issue. I had plenty of time to waste because I didn't have my coloring book, I turned to Ty but he was actually studying. Eric, who was friends with Cy and Chad, was asleep, so I just had to wait for the next class to start. I was looking around studying the faces of my other classmates when I suddenly fell on a familiar face that I normally avoided. It was bruised and his lip was cut. My eyes widened and I couldn't take them away. After a few seconds, his eyes found mine and he froze. His friends were continuing their conversation but he was intrigued by my sudden interest. Cy turned to me, frowning when he saw me looking intensely at the back of the class but his frown intensified when he saw the boy. His hands brushed mine in a move to bring me back to earth.

   'You okay? Did Monty do something to you?', I smiled ignoring his questions, and intertwined our fingers to let our hands swing together. I was shocked by Monty's injuries and for a few minutes couldn't stop thinking about his bruised cheek.

   During our break, we sat outside on a table to chat with the rest of the group. I was sitting in the middle, Cy facing me. I had my headphones on and was not so discreetly searching for Monty in the crowd, his injured face still stuck in my head.

   'What do you think she is looking for?', while I was deep in my own world, the group was worried to see me so out of character.

   'I think she's looking for Montgomery.' There was a long silence.

   'Why though? He's a piece of trash, she's like a ray of sunshine', Tyler was now pretty uncomfortable with the sudden change of conversation. I was still deep in thought, totally oblivious of the conversation going on around me.

   'I think she got pretty shook up by the state of his face. She's been quite preoccupied since she saw him in French this morning.', Eric sighed and sat down.

   'Would it not rather be because of the little tantrum you threw about the gifts this morning?' The whole table turned to Cyrus and he tried to hide his blushing.

   'Nope, it's not. I apologized.', Mac gasped.

   'You apologized?!? Wow. Impossible, this girl works wonders on you.' The whole table broke into laughter and that's when I tuned back in and took off my headphones to actually listen to the conversation.

   'What's going on?', Cyrus was not so happy so I assumed that the group had made fun of him. The only person other than me who was not laughing was Ty. He seemed really uneasy and stressed out. I stood up and asked Chad to get my backpack back.

   'I'm gonna buy a donut at the cafeteria. Ty wanna come with me?', he agreed and we were now walking down a quiet hallway.

   'You okay Ty?' He suddenly looked up and we locked eyes. His eyes suddenly widened and a weird smile appeared on his face. I nodded, deciding not to push him for an answer.

   'I heard you joined a club?', I smiled innocently at him, changing the conversation.

   'Yep. I joined Hands Off Our Bodies.', he chuckled awkwardly, expecting questions. But I simply smiled naively and took his hand to drag him into the cafeteria.

   'Do you like waffles because I feel like they always get soggy too quickly?', Ty nodded and I bought a strawberry donut and waffle. We sat down next to the door of our next class, eating our food and chatting about what happened the night before at Cy's.

   'So you befriended his father and danced with him? How in the world did that even happen?' I laughed and explained the situation.

   'And Cy and I watched Edward Scissorhands but I fell asleep before the end.', Ty choked on his waffle.

   'You slept with Cy?', I took the last bite of my donut, looking at Ty without understanding his sudden surprise.

   We sat down in class and before Cy or Ty could sit down, the teacher rushed in and stopped everyone. He made everyone stand at the back of the room while he explained the new project which was a mix of history and art. I clapped excitedly and grabbed Cy's arm tightly.

   'We are gonna paint.', 'Nope, you are gonna paint. I have like zero skill in art.', he cracked a smile and I frowned.

   'But I wanted to have a painting session with you.', I whispered, pouting and he gently patted my head. The teacher explained the instructions. The art teacher joined the class to explain her part of the project and after a quick 20 minutes, he announced a horrifying part.

   'We chose to impose who you'll work with.' A few complaints were heard, tears started to feel my eyes and my grip on Cy tightened as my plan crumbled to the ground. The teacher projected the list and I immediately searched for Cy's and Ty's name. I discovered with dread that they were already paired with someone else. A tall girl tapped on Cy's shoulder and he offered a last squeeze to my hand before leaving me with Ty who was chatting with a tanned girl who I recognized as Justin's girlfriend. For the first time, Ty was at ease with a girl other than Mac so I decided to leave the two alone. I was so upset by the sudden change in my plan that I simply sat in the first row and waited silently playing with my keychains.

   Minutes later, I felt someone tall sitting on my right. I heard a deep sigh and a paper appeared in my hands. I was still sulking and apparently my partner didn't like it.

   'Stop it. It's annoying.', I looked up, surprised by the voice. My eyes met with a bruised jaw and a cut lip. I heard a gasp from the end of the class and turned to see Ty terrified by the fact Monty was sitting next to me. I crossed eyes with Cy and they widened at the situation I was in.

   'Your boyfriend's not happy to see me.' The bell rang the next second and I saw Cy abruptly stand up, followed by Eric and Chad, the three trying to go through the crowd of students exiting the class.

   'You should go. I hate when guys make a scene.' He stood up and left immediately.

   'You could just do the project on your own.', I sighed and looked up at Cy who had his arm around my shoulders.

   'I'll just ask Zach for his phone number. Don't worry about it.', Ty seemed more and more uncomfortable with the subject and while Cy was rumbling about how much of an ass Monty was, I couldn't take my eyes off Ty.