Yellow Roses

Chapter 25: Ava

As I put on my gym shoes in the locker room, I thought about how Saturday night went. Me and my friends almost got arrested, and I was so desperate for a way out of my mind that I tried cocaine. What the fuck is happening?

As I left the room and lined up with the rest of class, I noticed Seth on the opposite end looking straight at me, this fucking guy.

"Alright, today we're going to focus on cardio. But first, I'd like to start with stretching and a good warm up." Mr. Balding yelled. "Pick a partner to do this with for the next 20 minutes."

My stomach dropped. I have no idea who I'd even pick, I don't really talk to anyone in this class. Nobody except Seth. Fuck, now he's walking over here.

"Got a partner in mind?" He asked slyly as he approached me. I nervously laughed.

"I figured maybe you'd pick one of your bros to hang out with. Why me?" I asked harshly. He gulped before walking towards a spot across the gym, to which I followed.

"Well, you're following me over so, you were saying you don't want to be my partner?" He asked. I felt my face get red.

"Don't be silly. I'm walking around to see who else is available." I responded. Just then, the teacher blew his whistle and demanded us to start our stretching routine.

"Guess you're stuck with me afterall." He giggled. I rolled my eyes before stretching my arms.

"Listen, I sort of..." Seth said as he trailed off to bend over and stretch out his back. "I kind of like you, in case you couldn't tell. I was hoping maybe I could get you to respond back to me on Instagram, but that never happened, so here is the confession."

I scoffed. "As if. I'm not sure why you'd be interested in me, I hardly want to be around you."

He stopped stretching and lowered his head. "Ouch, that's sort of a low blow Ava. You could have just said no."

I also stopped stretching and felt terrible. "I'm sorry." I responded back quietly. "I'm just emotionally available at the moment. Plus, your friend group isn't exactly one I prefer to hang out with."

Before he had a chance to respond, Mr. Balding blew his whistle. "Ava Lanchester! Seth Reynolds! Get back to your routine. I haven't seen any sit ups yet either."

I rolled my eyes again. "Sorry sir, we'll get back to it."

I sat on the ground and layed on my back, dreading Seth holding my feet down.

He crouched down in front of me. "I'm confused." He said as I sat up, then back down. "You were hanging out with us briefly at the party, you walked away with Derek. He told me you weren't into him, so I thought maybe I'd give you a shot instead."

I felt sick to my fucking stomach. I sat up and pushed him off of me. Luckily the teacher had his back turned, helping a different pair of students.

"He said I wasn't into him? That's fucking right." I nearly yelled. "And so much for the bro code Seth, even I know to never fuck around with your friends' women."

He regained himself and sat across from me. I was trying to keep my tears back.

"You weren't his woman, and he's hardly my friend. In fact, I don't like him most of the time. We only hang out here and there because of the football team. Your hostility won't scare me away." He responded before the teacher looked back over at us.

Mr. Balding was heading towards us. "Do I need to send both of you to the principal's office for refusing to participate? One more hiccup and you're separated for the rest of the school year." He said before walking away.