F4

Ch. 25

During English, neither Joanne and I spoke to each other. Even during our partnered project, we didn't speak. Of course, she wanted to, but I pulled away each time, letting her know I had no interest of speaking to her whatsoever. When the final bell rang, I quickly gathered my books and made a straight beeline for the door. I packed up my bag and left, not bothering to attend the after school math tutoring. 

Walking home was something I never did the entire year. It was about a 40 minute walk, but I didn't want to call my parents to pick me up when they were busy picking up Jonathan and at work. As I was passing by a cafe, I suddenly craved a nice cup of hot mocha. Rubbing my hands together, I went inside. 

"One hot mocha latte please."

I told the cashier. 

"Another one for me too."

A deep voice said behind me. I spun around to find a tall blonde figure in a black trench coat. Chris. 

"That will be $9.50."

The cashier said. 

"But-" 

Before I could protest, Chris ripped the $10 bill out of my hand and handed it to the cashier, smiling. 

"What the fuck was that?"

I glared at him. 

"You can't buy me one mocha latte for everything I did for you?"

He asked, sitting down at the nearby table.

"Sit."

He said. At first I hesitated, but I sat down in front of him, eyes fixed on the wooden table. Why was he talking to me?

"I tried to find you at school, but Joanne told me you left early."

He explained. Joanne. It was always Joanne. Did he find me to talk about Joanne?

"What do you want exactly?"

"I just wanted to talk to you. I didn't get to talk to you in a while. Actually, I couldn't."

He said, taking off his gloves. 

"Is that your excuse?"

"Wow, someone must be mad that I couldn't talk to them. You're cute when you're mad."

He smiled. I felt my cheeks flush red. 

"The witch has cameras installed everywhere in school. She doesn't trust me, so she keeps an eye on every one of them and makes sure Joanne is the only one I talk to. Also resulting the forbiddance of being able to communicate with you. She also has an eye on my social media and everything."

He sighed. 

"I was going to talk to you at the party yesterday, but you left early. Disappointingly. I had a special place I wanted to take you. You know how hard it was to make sure that place didn't have any cameras installed by my mom?"

I looked up at him. What was he saying? Was he saying he had a special place reserved for me?

"Why DID you leave early yesterday? Did something happen?"

He asked. I shook my head. 

"Okay...then..I might as well tell you what I wanted to tell you yesterday then."

"Two mocha lattes!"

The barista called, and I stood up to get them. I placed the mocha in front of him with shaky hands. 

"I actually have to go. My parents are waiting and I can't be late."

I told him, half truth half lie. I didn't want to hear what he needed to say to me. It was probably going to be the same thing Joanne told me. That he didn't want me. Before he could say anything, I exited the cafe and continued down the lane. I was hit by soft snowflakes which had just began to fall. 

"Shit."

I was going to look like a snowman when I got home. The only day when I forget an umbrella. 

"Hey, Stacey!"

Chris called. I groaned and pulled over my jacket fuzzy hood. I walked through the snow fast, or at least the fastest I could. 

"Stacey."

Chris got a hold of me. I dropped my mocha. 

"Let me go!"

I said, yanking my arm out of his grip. 

"Stacey, why won't you listen to what I need to say?!"

Chris snapped. 

"I don't want to! I don't want to hear your stupid babbling about Joanne, or your mom making sure you guys are going to get married, or any of that stupid shit!"

I glared at him through the snow. Snowflakes were starting to pile on top of his head. 

"You were thinking that I was going to say that to you?"

Chris said, evil smile growing on his face. 

"Y-You weren't?"

"Not even close."

I stood there, looking at his blue mischievous eyes. 

"I need to talk a lot, so can we get out of this snow first?"

He asked, covering his face with his hand. I nodded. The closest place nearby was a gazebo in a local park, which was pretty small. At least it blocked the snow. Chris shook the snow out of his hair. I pulled down my hood. 

"What do you need to say to me?"

I asked. 

"Clearly you're having a misunderstanding of me and Joanne. And also, you're jealous. Don't deny it."

He said, smirking. I missed that smirk. 

"My mom hasn't let me move an inch from where I am with Joanne. Trust me, I got into a lot of fights with her on purpose and attempted to break up with her. My mom just comes in and fixes it. I think she's set on getting us married after college."

I looked down at my shoes, discouraged. 

"But that doesn't mean I love her."

He said. I looked back up again to see him looking down at my eyes. 

"My mom told me she would destroy everything in my path if I were to step out of her plan. If you were on my path with me, you would get hurt. So I acted like you didn't exist. She's leaving to Italy for a business emergency for at least an year now. I have space, and I finally have time to talk to you. I don't believe in arranged marriage, like my mom does. I want to marry someone I truly love, not someone I'm set up with."

He said. Puffs of smoke came out of his mouth in every sentence. 

"I love you Stacey. I loved you ever since."

My heart pounded as he spoke. He just told me he loved me. Chris Starworks loves me.

"Chris..."

Nothing would come out of my mouth except his name. Before I could think of anything else to say, he leaned down as he tilted his head. As his lips touched mine, I felt the world stopping around me. The snow fell slowly, and no longer looking like a blizzard. He cupped my face with his warm hands, making my body no longer feel cold. What seemed like forever ended as he slowly pulled away. 

"I wanted to do that for so long."

He whispered, forehead still against mine. I opened my eyes to see his blue eyes closer to me than ever. 

"So have I."

I smiled. He embraced me in the hug that I had craved so long. His hands were softly stroking my hair as I breathed in his cologne that still lingered on his coat. This feeling would be unforgettable.