A Tale of Wild Roses [ROUGH DRAFT]

Chapter 29

It was a miracle that Angel's parents bought the sick card long enough for him to stay home for nearly a week. He couldn't face Oliver, or his friends. Especially not Adrienne. What if he tried something again? Going back to school was the last thing he wanted. He despised it like he never had before, but eventually his mom forced him out of bed for his first day back. "Mamá, por favor. Don't make me go back!"

"You're going back, Angel Romero. You've spent long enough in this bed." If he hadn't been dating a guy, could he have told her about the break up? Would she understand? Probably, but she would definitely force him to go to school anyways. Pretending to be sick was the best option, even though it was surprisingly difficult to keep pretending.

Angel dragged his feet against the sidewalk, pulling his hood further over his head. Lucia gave him a weird look as he hopped in the car. "You look like shit." Good thing their mom hadn't gotten in the car yet. "Lucia! I didn't feel good for like a week, what did you expect?" She shrugged, and looked out the window. The weather seemed to be matching his mood that day as the rain poured down. The patter of water droplets against the window eased his nerves a bit, until his mom started blasting music in the car.

He rushed out of the car as soon as he could, quietly replying to his mom's "I love you" before she sped off. Angel shuffled his feet, nervous for school to start. He made up most of his work online but there were a few assignments and quizzes he had to complete in person. That wasn't what was making him nervous for once, everything that had happened lately was overpowering that.

He tried to push the feeling of dread aside to keep himself from panicking. Once the first bell rang he got inside as fast as possible, he bustled past the crowds of kids. Some noticed him and said hello, others glared at him. It was probably Leo and Alexander, but he hadn't gotten a good look at them. Angel's first period felt like hell especially right at that moment. He'd have to sit in a classroom with Adrienne. Sure he had changed his seat, but the thought of being anywhere near him freaked him out. Angel took his seat as the second bell rang. To his relief, Adrienne wasn't there. Maybe he'd get lucky and he'd be absent.

Unfortunately, he showed up during the middle of class. Apparently he had a doctor's appointment. Angel could feel his shoulders tense up as he walked past him. He dared to look behind him to find that Adrienne was staring at him. He shifted uncomfortably, his thoughts racing. There was no way he could focus on algebra now. Not when Adrienne was there.

After class ended, Angel gathered his things as quickly as possible. He was about to walk out the door when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He practically leaped away at the touch, turning around frantically. Angel expected it to be Adrienne, but instead it was a girl with golden blonde hair. "You forgot this." She extended her hand. "Oh, right. My pencil. Um, thanks..." She smiled sweetly. "I'm Cameron. Nice to meet you."

Before he could reply she walked out the door, looking back at him just once. "Who was that?" Angel startled at the sound of his voice. "I don't know. Leave me alone." He rushed out of the room before Adrienne could say anything else.

Angel wasn't in the mood to do anything in gym class, and he surely didn't want Oliver to see him, so he hid under the bleachers when the teacher wasn't looking. He needed time to process first period. Time to himself. He sat on his friends, scrolling through Twitter. Angel was counting down the minutes until he got to leave. When there were only five minutes left, he took his airpods out to let them charge.

He hadn't realized, but Andrew was approaching him. "Hey, what're you doing under here? I think the teacher might have marked you absent." Angel looked up to see his friend standing above him. It was a funny coincidence, they were wearing very similar hoodies. Angel laughed for the first time in a week. "Bro you stole my fit." Andrew looked at his clothes and back at Angel. He laughed nervously. "Oops."