Broken Promises

Chapter III

I woke up the next morning with a bright smile on my face. Today was the start of a new week. Today, I was going to enjoy a blissful day with no Vincent. How did I know I wouldn't see him? Because I hadn't seen him at school since he arrived and I doubted that would change today. I hoped. 

It took me a while to make my way to school, mostly because I had to walk. In the rain. For 20 minutes. On a Monday morning. I would really have to ask someone to tow my car from the ditch it was still sitting in. I would've asked Ryan for a lift, but I felt guilty for always bothering him and I felt like an inconvenience.

The moment I walked into the large school building, my heart sank as reality hit me. My group of friends, who would usually greet me at my locker, were nowhere to be seen. I had guessed that they had already known about Blake cheating, but now my suspicions were confirmed. My so-called friends were just as bad as Blake, if not worse. They should've warned me. They could've said something.

Opening my locker, I stared at the group picture of my friends that hung on the inside, along with a small circular mirror and a Polaroid of me and Blake smiling brightly with no care in the world. Tears pricked the corners of my eyes as I tore the Polaroid down and ripped it up, watching the tattered remains fall to the floor.

"It seems that Mondays affect some people to a whole other level," a faintly familiar voice chuckled from behind my opened locker. I closed the locker and my eyes widened in surprise and confusion as they landed on a certain wavy-haired boy.

"Ash! What are you doing here?" My eyebrows rose in anticipation.

"I just transferred here from California," he began, grinning like a mouse that had just found a block of cheese with no trap, "and then I saw you walking down the corridor and I couldn't believe my luck."

My eyebrows creased back down in confusion. "What luck?"

"That I already have a friend here, and I don't need to bother looking for any more," he winked, before linking his arm with mine. "Now, tell me Ror, where is math?"

With that, Ash and I were off on a tour of the school which consisted of him making frequent comments like 'people normally do that in there?' and whispering his suspicions on who, he thought, were most likely to be secret criminals. It proved to be an entertaining morning.

***

Half of the day had already gone by and I had barely thought about a certain green-eyed Italian thanks to my new friend. It turned out that Ash and I had similar schedules which meant I had a partner in most of my classes. 

The lunch bell – which could be heard by even the deafest of people – rang, ending the painfully long lecture my history teacher, Mrs Hodney, was giving about the French Revolution.

"Remember kids, that there is... oh... excuse m–" Mrs Hodney attempted to tell the rush of students heading to the door. After she realised that she wasn't going to be able to dish out any homework, she gave up, shaking her head in defeat. 

Swiftly leaving the classroom, I turned around to find Ash and slammed straight into a hard wall. Wait, not a wall, a person. A very tall person.

"Oh! I'm so sor..." My words died out as I looked up and met with the same emerald-green eyes that had been haunting me for the last 24 hours. "You!" I pointed an accusing finger at Vincent as I slowly backed away.

"You've missed me have you?" He smirked, taking slow steps in my direction. 

"I– uh... Well– Of course I haven't missed you," I huffed as I came to my senses, searching frantically for Ash in the large crowd of high-school students making their way to lunch. "Why are you here?"