The World and Her

i. broken trust

He was doing it again.

Cara clenched her hands a little tighter around her pencil and shifted in her seat, suddenly feeling too warm in her black hoodie and patterned tights. She surreptitiously glanced over her shoulder and -

There. One row over, two seats back. Deep brown eyes blinked back at her. She turned so quickly that her long bangs hit her in the eye. She payed no mind to it, only blowing it away, still embarrassed at being caught.

But, no, why was she embarrassed? She slapped her red cheeks with both hands and huffed, angry for one reason or another. He was not getting to her today.

The sudden shrill sound of the bell resounded in the small classroom, signaling the end of the day, and Cara closed her eyes tiredly. Almost instantaneously, students were shoving each other in an effort to get through the small doorway, drowning out the voice of their math teacher, futilely reminding them to finish the homework assignment.

Cara stayed back, standing when the last few stragglers pushed through the doorway. A slight shuffling to her right told her she wasn't alone like she thought.

In the corner of her eye she saw a boy with black hair and big brown eyes grinning at her and cringed as he flung a strong arm over her shoulders like they were old friends.

They weren't.

She moved forward abruptly and his arm slid off but he was undeterred. "Ready?"

Cara sighed, then nodded almost reluctantly.

He took her hand this time and, before she could protest, was diving into the mass of students crowded in the hallway. He led her through tight spaces, both of them bumping into hard bodies and huge backpacks, his hand hot and clammy in hers. Before long they reached her locker and he waited patiently as she took out her textbooks and put them in her backpack. She zipped her backpack up.

After a moment, she zipped it open again and discreetly slipped a small container of salve into the front pocket. Slamming her locker shut, Cara turned around only to find the boy talking to a pretty brunette with dark red lipstick, the former gesturing wildly and laughing gleefully. Cara took her chance and slipped away.

It was a nice, cool day outside and the wisps of clouds up above posed no threat of rain. A breeze blew Cara's long bangs across her face and she allowed herself a smile. She was halfway across the street when she heard the tell-tale sound of footsteps pounding the pavement and getting closer. She sped up slightly.

A deep chuckle and suddenly the world was flipping upside down. She stared at the dark red cloth on his back and was sure her face was slowly turning that color as he carried her upside down across his back, his hands clutching the back of her knees and thighs securely. Her heavy backpack flopped and bounced against the back of her head.

"Jupiter." Her voice was stern. "Put me down."

"Aw, but this is fun," she could hear the smile in his voice and imagined his chocolate eyes full of mirth. "Besides, you were going the wrong way. Your ride's this way," he reasoned, and proceeded to carry her to the school parking lot. She crossed her arms awkwardly and wondered what the (many) people they were passing by were thinking as they saw the resident Homecoming King carrying the antisocial misfit of the school like a sack of potatoes. After a second, she decided she didn't care.

Jupiter didn't let her down until they were right beside his car - an expensive, dark blue Mercedes SUV. It beeped once, twice, then, like the gentleman he was, Jupiter opened the passenger door for her.

"My lady," he bowed. She rolled her eyes before climbing in, already feeling uncomfortable amidst the nice leather decor and glinting  silver dashboard.