There's a Place For Us (Complete)

Part 9

I. An Exquisitely Tragic Love Affair

(Part 9)

Tuesday came and went, as did Wednesday. Isabella and Adam continued the tutoring in secret, but ever since Monday night, Drew hardy talked to Adam. 'Real mature' Adam thought.

They were walking to class together in silence. People started to notice how they weren't joking around or cursing loudly. People started to talk.

Isabella was walking towards them, and Drew noticed. "There's your girlfriend," he snickered. Adam didn't respond. As she passed them, Adam once again gave her a small smile. She didn't turn her head away this time and the corners of her eyes crinkled in an almost smile.

Drew stopped in his tracks, only then noticing that everyone else in their group was trailing behind them. He almost never noticed they were behind him. Adam was his main buddy, but not anymore.

He faced Adam, causing a traffic jam in the halls. "You think you can do this... and still be who you are. Still hang with us..." Drew shook his head, unbelievingly. "Well you can't," he said quietly. He looked around at the crowd that had been formed. He turned to talk to them.

"This guy, right here!" he shouted to them, pointing to Adam. "We're done. You wanna be a freak? GO BE A FREAK! Cuz I frikin' don't give a damn." Drew smiled wickedly. "I guess people have to change," Drew continued to the crowd. "Most people change for the better, but Adam Green... he can change for the worst..."

With that he stormed through the crowd, with the rest of the guys following. Adam was left standing there as people started to flow through the halls again, snickering and laughing as they passed him.

Adam walked to his class, ignoring the comments of "freak" and "loser." He sat down at his desk.

Having forgotten all about the test he had today, he pulled out his notebook and did a little last minute studying. "Look, he's already turned into a freak... Man, it happens so suddenly," kids whispered. He rolled his eyes. If he was being honest with himself, he wasn't that upset about what had just happened. Maybe, just maybe, he enjoyed being a freak more than a popular.

Isabella was walking to the tutoring room after school had ended. She went through the side hallways, or the "make-out hallways" as they were called by the students. And she passed plenty of people making out intensely.

She passed one couple, and the guy was touching her butt and pulling at her skirt.

Isabella couldn't have run away fast enough, for she knew what was coming... She slouched in the corner of an empty hallway.

She was there again. At night. It was dark. So dark she could barely see ahead of her. The moon was her only guide. She felt their touch, and their pull. Her bare pockets rubbed against her skin. She could smell it again. The musty air, thick with mold. She felt her heart beating faster than it ever had before. Isabella let out a scream as she once again lived through the moment when he had pulled out a knife and advanced towards her.

She covered her eyes. When she opened them again, the memory was gone. She shivered and walked unsteadily to the classroom. When she walked in, Adam could tell that something had happened. She sat down, said a short "hello" and took out her books.

"Umm," she said awkwardly. Adam looked up, extremely surprised. This was the first time Isabella had initiated conversation. "I heard about what happened today. With you and Drew," she said slowly. Adam nodded his head. "I just wanted to say thank you... for standing up for me." She hesitated, "but I don't need a friend Adam; I've got myself." He nodded his head and didn't say a word about anything she had just said to him.

"I had a test today. So I was studying for it.... they said I was a freak...." "How was the test?" she asked, ignoring the main context of his comment. "It was pretty good. Not too hard," he said. "Good," Isabella said shortly. Adam took his pen in his hand and said, "alright! What are we learning today?" She looked at him and realized who she was talking to again. For a second there, she had been talking to him almost like he was her friend. But he wasn't. She had no friends, and of that she was almost glad.

She once again guarded herself from him, making sure she didn't say anything she wasn't suppose to say and making sure she didn't expose any emotions she didn't have to.

He saw it happen. Her eyes got colder and her back straightened. Almost like she would fight if she had to.

Afterwards they walked out together, something that had become a habit, even if they walked in silence. Adam started walking to his car, then decided otherwise. He turned around and said something that changed the dynamic of their relationship forever.