take a chance

chapter 3

For the rest of the week, I stayed as far away from Shawn as I possibly could. I got to school half an hour early everyday so I wouldn't bump into Shawn as I was entering my first period class. I ate lunch in the girls' restroom so Laur could have him to herself in the cafeteria. I began taking the bus to school, so I wouldn't see Shawn in the parking lot. All was well, at least for Laur. She had what she wanted: Shawn.

For days, Laur tried to get Shawn to hang out with her. Everyday, he came up with an excuse. "I have a doctors appointment," he said on Tuesday. On Wednesday, he told her he felt sick. On Thursday Shawn had "baseball practice". Finally, on Friday, Shawn had run out of excuses.

I was eavesdropping on their conversation after school, by the lockers.

Laur was batting her eyelashes at Shawn. "Let's go to the Pickering Town Center today Shawn!"

Shawn looked around nervously, "Oh, um, I have plans today, sorry Laur."

Lauren narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Who do you have plans with, may I ask?"

Shawn looked trapped like a deer in headlights. "Haha that's a good question, um," he stuttered.

Suddenly, he turned around and made eye contact with me. I could almost see the lightbulb go off over his head. I felt like I was in an action movie; everything was in slow motion, and I got a dreadful feeling. I knew what he was going to do next, and I couldn't stop him.

"I'm hanging out with Lindsey today," Shawn said with a triumphant grin. I ran around the corner, terrified of Laur's reaction. Why would Shawn use me as an excuse to not hang out with Laur? Was I just an excuse to him?

I peeked around the corner. Laur was standing there with her mouth open. This was the first time a guy had brushed her off for another girl. It was a new experience for her. Laur's expression went from shocked, to confused, then angry.

Then, when I was half expecting her to start screaming at Shawn, her face went calm. Deadly calm. I knew that face. It was her I'm-going-to-ruin-someone's-life face.

Lauren smiled and said, "Ok, you two have fun!" Her saccharine smile scared me. I knew she would take out her anger on me, not Shawn.

When Laur left, Shawn walked over to me. I was still paranoid that Laur would come up behind me and strangle me. "Why did you do that?!" I hissed at him.

Shawn laughed, "Why? Do you not want to spend time with me?"

"Shawn, Laur is going to kill me."

"Why?" Shawn was puzzled.

"SHAWN YOU'RE SO DUMB SHE LIKES YOU," I yelled at him.

He just smiled and said, "So? Just because she likes me doesn't mean you have to avoid me forever."

Shit. He noticed that I'd been avoiding him.

I just rolled my eyes. "Laur always gets what she wants ok? Don't question it."

"Well maybe it's time we changed that."

I was surprised. "We?!" I said, "there is no 'we'. Lauren is my best friend and she likes you. Now she probably hates me because she thinks I deliberately made plans with you. Thanks a lot Shawn, that's great."

My little rant did little to phase Shawn. "So, since we supposedly made plans, where are we going to hang out now?"

I groaned. Nothing I did was going to make him leave me alone. "Alright, we can hang out. But I've been bussing to school, so you're driving."

Shawn smirked arrogantly. "And you've been bussing to school because...?"

"I, uh," I had to make something up. It's not like I could tell him it was because I didn't want to see him in the parking lot. "I've been trying to save the earth, y'know? Gas pollutes the air. Public transportation is so much better."

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Whatever you say, Linds."

When we got in the car, I said, "It's your turn to pick somewhere to go."

Shawn grinned. "I might know a place."

He drove to a remote parking lot. "Get out," he said, "We're going on an adventure."

Shawn took me by the hand and dragged me into the forest behind the parking lot. "Um, Shawn do you know where we're going?"

"Yea, of course. I went here everyday this week when I was hiding from Laur."

I couldn't help but laugh. Shawn really didn't like her.

After many twists and turns, and the occasional tree branch in my face, we came to an old, run down bridge.

"Here we are," said Shawn, "no one ever comes here, it'll just be us."

For some reason, "just be us" sounded very intimate to me. I wasn't sure if I liked it or not.

We sat down on the bridge, our legs hanging over the side. Underneath the bridge was a coursing river. We sat side-by-side, and for a second, I forgot about Laur. I wouldn't worry about her until Monday. For now, I could just enjoy this pretty scenery, sitting next to a cute boy. Life felt good.

A gust of wind blew over us, causing the bridge to sway. I got nervous and said, "Are you sure this bridge can hold both of us? It seems kind of broken."

Shawn wasn't scared. "We'll be fine."

I had thought of something. "Why do you keep avoiding Lauren? She obviously wants to hang out."

Shawn shrugged. "I know people like her. I know she's not the type of girl I would go out with. Besides, I'm interested in someone else," he yawned.

"Really, now?"

Shawn closed his eyes. "Yea, it's you," he said, right before he fell asleep.

I sat there on the bridge, next to a slumbering Shawn, thinking about what he had said. All I could hear was the rippling currents of the river below us.

Did Shawn really just tell me he liked me? Maybe he wasn't thinking straight. I mean, he did look pretty sleepy. How could he like me; we'd only known each other for a week. This was the second time we hung out. I came to the conclusion that what he said was a mistake. Perhaps I had imagined it. Maybe he wasn't thinking clearly when he said it. Either way, I didn't think he liked me. There was no way.

My endless pondering was interrupted by Shawn's mumbling. He tossed and turned next to me.

He kept saying "no, don't hurt them," and "mom and dad," in his sleep. Shawn looked distressed, so I decided to save him from his nightmare.

I shook him until he came to. "Wake up, sleeping beauty," I smiled at him.

Groggily, he said, "How long was I out for?"

"About 10 minutes," I told him, "You were talking in your sleep."

"Really?" he asked, "What was I saying?"

"You said something about your parents, and said 'no, don't hurt them' over and over again."

Shawn's face was drained of all color. He frowned, and said, "Don't tell that to anyone, please."

"Why? What's wrong Shawn?" I was confused. He had gone from happy to upset in a matter of 3 seconds.

"Nothing, I'm fine."

His behavior was so bipolar. I was surprised. This was the first time he'd ever been rude to me. Did I do something wrong? Did I have food stuck in my teeth?

Shawn brushed the dirt off his pants. "We should get back. It's getting late, come on, I'll drive you home."

I was preparing to stand up, when I heard a click behind me. I knew that sound, I'd heard it countless times on police shows. It was the sound of a gun being cocked.

A voice that I'd never heard before said, "Don't move, honey, or I'll blow your head off."