Finding Claire

Chapter 3

I heard the chair next to me scrape real loudly and then a big woosh as the body plopped down. It took me a second to recognize who it was and I flinched away, looking up and scrunching my nose.

"Please don't tell me you are going to go all Twilight on me. I'll rather be on your end since I AM the guy." Nathan said with a wink and my frown disappeared. I rolled my eyes and smiled faintly as I shook my head.

"Why are you sitting next to me? Your friends are already whispering," I murmured and he turned around to see the group I was talking about. Gabby was the sole cheerleader in the classroom, but Nathan wasn't the only Athlete. Richard -Gabbys boyfriend- Xander and Daniel were there too and they were all looking over at us, each of them with a sour look on their faces. As I locked eyes with Gabby, she gave me a death glare and I looked away, hiding behind the body next to me.

"So? They have enough people at their table. Besides you look kind of lonely back here."

I was alone. I sat at the very back in the corner by myself while everyone else sat on the opposite side of the room, as if I had a disease or something. Even the nerds sat away from me. But when it came to group projects, that's when it sucked ass. I was always the one left out and when I slowly made my way across the room to join my group, the entire time I would just sit there and pretend to write down words as they did everything. No one talked to me but when the teacher came around, they would act all happy and ask me questions.

"I like it back here. Besides no one likes me."

"You can't see shit back here!" He laughed and tried to look over the pole that was right in front of him. The reason why I was sitting in the left instead of right side of the table.

"Well that would be the pole right in front of you," I laughed and he stared at me. I cleared my throat and looked down at my books, feeling a blush creep up my cheeks.

"You should laugh more often. You have an amazing laugh," he whispered to me just as the teacher got started.

What? Huh? What?

I couldn't pay attention to anything she was saying. My brain was trying to absorb what he had just said, but it did not want to.

Did he just give me a compliment? Me? The freak? Me? Why? No one liked me. No one talked to me. This was his first day here and he was already talking to me like I was his best friend.

I moved my chair as far away from him as I could and looked down at the book we were reading. I couldn't let this boy into my life. I didn't know how to make friends or even how to make small conversation. The few words we had spoken before just came out without thoughts and it surprised me I could do that, but I knew it wouldn't happen again. That's why I had no friends and any reasons not to go to the Halloween Bash -there was literally a flier on the pole in front of us. It wasn't until about another month from now, but no one cared. Anyone who was everyone was going and I had to lie to my parents. I told them I had no date and that I didn't know how to dance so what was the whole point of going. They just shook their heads and said that if I changed my mind, to just tell them.

With a loud sigh, I crept down on my seat and tried my best to pay attention, but with no success. When Ms. Hoff called me to read, I mumbled the first sentence before she stopped me and made Gabby read the rest. She read the entire passage with a smirk and when she was done, she turned around to stare at me, her eyes clearly saying "take that!"

I crept down on my seat even more as the bell rang and everyone began to stand up. I twirled my pen on the table and only looked up when I sensed that Nathan was standing there.

"Um I believe the bell was your cue to run away. You are affected by my stench right? Or did I read those books wrong?"

"You read the Twilight series?" I chuckled and he blushed. Why was I even talking to him? Shouldn't I be running? I wanted to, but somehow, I felt.... weird. Almost if I was.... safe.

"Hey. My little sister has the whole series! She took them to our camping trip last year and I didn't have anything to read. Don't judge a fan!"

"Team Edward or Team Jacob?" I laughed as I stood up. He shook his head as he laughed out loud and held the door open for me.

"I'm not telling,"

"I have a feeling you are Team Edward," I whispered at him. He tried to get closer to me so he could hear better but I just cringed away and he sighed. I sighed too and turned the corner, losing myself in the crowd for a second before he found me again. "Why don't you leave me alone?"

"Because we have the next class together? Besides I don't know where I'm going and I don't want to look like an idiot walking..... around..... hey we are walking around in circles aren't we?"

I smiled and bit my lip. Our English class was right across the corner on the upper floor from our Math class and I hated being early. After the first bell rang, I would start to head upstairs and walk in just a minute before the last one rang.

"That's just plain evil. Making the new boy late on his first day of school."

This time a giggle escaped my lips and people around us turned around to stare. I clamped my mouth, blushed and ran up the stairs with him trailing behind me. He didn't stop laughing until we reached the door.

I went to my usual spot and of course he followed me there. I groaned. "Why can't you leave me alone? You said you were going to leave me alone if I helped you. I helped you, now do the leaving part!"

"I can't. You are just a funny person to hang out with. I will make you my friend even though you don't want to."

"I thought we were friends," I joked and his eyes widen. I shook my head and mumbled, "I'm just kidding. You don't want to be my friend."

"Why not?"

"Just cause. Now please leave me alone." I half slammed, half dropped my head to the table and hid. I couldn't wait until this day was over so I could go home and cry.

"You know you can't hide under your hood. I see the real you so it's pointless to hide."

I didn't even respond. I just closed my eyes and didn't look up until the bell rang and the teacher started to talk.
He didn't even speak to me for the rest of the class and I was glad. When the bell rang, I quietly got up and walked away, leaving him sitting there, his stare making holes in my back. I walked in straight into Government and just sat down, wishing time would fly by so I didn't have to be in this place anymore.

Before I even knew it, I was walking out of Economics and finding myself sprinting to my car so I would not be bothered. I was almost to my destination until the voice I was hoping I would never hear again yelled out my name.

"Hey! Claire wait up!"

Shit.

I froze for a second and groaned out loud. Without even thinking about it, I gripped my bag and ran straight to my car, bumping and pushing people out my way. There was a lot of cursing and even people pushing back, but I somehow managed to get to my car without losing anything important. I pushed the key into its hole seconds before my foot pressed the petal and I squeal out of the parking lot just as he arrived four cars from where I was.

Last thing I saw was his shocked face.