Mine

Chapter Three

The next morning Damian got himself up as he did every single morning, being sure to be as quiet as was physically possible. He really didn't want to wake his dad up. He wasn't sure what time the older man had gotten home but he guessed it wasn't until early that morning.
He made himself a bacon roll and pocketed his new phone before he went to catch the bus to school. He sat on his own at the back of the bus for three stops before he was joined by the Forsyth triplets who filled three of the four seats beside him.
There was another stop before the girls joined them but at the same stop he saw her. The girl he hadn't been able to get out of his head last night. The girl he had dreamt about. The girl with the pink pixie cut.
He ended up watching her as she boarded the bus and took a seat near the front. He watched as she ruffled the hair of the boys she sat behind. He watched as they both shrugged her hands away.
"Who's that?" He asked Esther as he finally tore his eyes away from the girl and turned to his best friend who had made the triplets all move up one seat to sit beside him.
"Who?" She asked as looked up and away from her phone where she'd obviously been texting some nonsense because when Damian looked at the screen he only understood two words of the conversation. Did girls have their own code or something now?
Esther followed his gaze along the bus for a moment before she turned back to him. "The dancer chick? I think her name is Astrid."
Damian nodded slowly, knowing that Esther didn't just think that the girl was anything. Damian had been best friends with Esther long enough to know that the redhead knew everything about everyone that was worth knowing.
"Why do you want to know?" Esther asked after a little while more of her rapid texting.
Damian shrugged slightly. "I dunno." He said quietly as his eyes found the girl again. "I sorta knocked her over yesterday. Never got her name." He never thought to ask for her name.
Esther visibly rolled her eyes and looked back to her phone. "She's a second year, D." Her tone was slightly warning. A tone Damian didn't really appreciate. What exactly did his best friend think he was planning?
He let out a slow sigh as he leaned his head back against the headrest. He wasn't planning anything. She was loud and slightly rude. And a kid which he now was not. He closed his eyes tightly for a moment.
He knew all of this and yet he couldn't seem to get Astrid off of his mind. She may have been rude but she had also asked if he was okay. No-one really ever asked him if he was okay. Even Esther rarely bothered.
He sighed again and ran his hands over his face as the arrived at the school. He waited until everyone else got off before he bothered to move himself.
She was waiting for him, leaning up against the railings of the bus bay with one hand on her hip and long legs crossed over one another.
"So..." She said slowly as Damian tripped over the final step. "You were watching me while I was on the bus..." Her tone wasn't accusing like he'd have expected it to be. No. Her tone was more factual than anything else.
Damian gave her a small nod as he righted himself. "Uh - yeah. Sorry." He apologised as he shrugged his backpack up onto his shoulders.
Astrid smiled at him. It was a genuine smile as far as Damian could tell. "Don't apologise." She told him, her voice a lot more gentle than it had been last night. "I'd be looking at me too, if I could."
Damian couldn't tell if she was joking or not so he opted for a light laugh in reply.
"I'm Astrid, by the way." She told him as she uncrossed her legs and stood up properly.
"I know." Damian said before he could stop himself, but he quickly followed it by "I'm Damian."
"Ass!" A voice in the distance called out and Damian watched as the girl's eyes flickered to her right where a lanky boy was stood. "Are you coming?"
Damian's eyes were back on the girl. Part of him hoped that she was going to join her friend but the other part was selfish and wanted to know more about her.
He was pleasantly surprised and surprisingly pleased when she waved her friend off and the two watched in silence as the lanky boy walked away.
"How - um - how are your hands?" Damian asked after a moment. He normally was happy enough with silence but for some reason, today he felt like he needed to fill it.
Astrid looked down at her palms as if she'd forgotten about the grazes which still marred them. "I think I'll live." She said as she looked back up at him and stuffed her hands into her pockets, practically mirroring his own stance. "I'm sorry for getting a little worked up."
Damian blinked as he heard the apology, wondering what exactly had warranted it or was this just more pity for the weird boy most people tried their best to avoid?
"It's okay." He said quietly as he bowed his head slightly and turned away. He didn't need anyone's pity.
He started walking away and was once again surprised by the pink-haired girl as she fell into step beside him.
"Where are you going?" She asked asked and Damian thought he heard a sort of hurt tone to his voice.
He tried to shake it off as he replied. "I'm going to school, Astrid."
There was a sigh to his left where the girl was. "Okay. Right, well, I guess I'll see you." Her voice was small and totally not the same as one he had heard coming from her yesterday but he didn't stop to check if she was okay. He just headed straight to his friends.
By the time he reached Esther he had lost Astrid and as he glanced over his shoulder he couldn't even see her or her lanky friend in the crowds of other students.