I Was Saved... by the Jerkface

Butterfly Kisses

{Annabelle}

I slouched against the cold brick wall, grateful for its support. Without it I surely would have been laying in the grass right now.

He loved me.

Now, some of you might be thinking, But they say that to each other all the time now?

Well, yes, we have been saying it on rare occasions when the time is right. However, to have him say it to someone else solidified it in a way. Because he admitted it to Andy, it had to mean he really did, right?

There was a small, giddy smile that seemed attached to my face, and it wouldn't go away.

I snapped out of the bubbly world I was in, realizing that I was very very late to my next class. I was tempted to just spend the rest of the school day out here with Blake, but I knew he would probably get mad at me for eavesdropping.

Speaking of which, I didn't know how I was going to slip past them without them seeing me. It didn't matter which way I walked. Any path I took towards the main building would easily be seen by them.

I took a deep, steadying breath. Well, here goes nothing, I thought hesitantly to myself.

It had been at least five minutes since he'd admitted to Andy that he loved me, so maybe they wouldn't think I had been spying on them. I tried my best to prep myself before walking across the grass. I would be an actress – if they asked me if I heard anything, I'd be as innocent as a little puppy.

Out of my peripherals, I saw Blake look up from the ground at me, clearly not expecting anybody, much less the subject of his conversation, to appear.

"Annabelle!" I heard him shout, and I acted as surprised as possible to find him sitting there. Strangely enough, while I had been zoning out behind the corner, he had put out his cigarette. Note to self – don't mention anything about cigarettes, otherwise he'll know you were spying.

"Blake, hi," I greeted, looking around as if I didn't know why he was out here. "What are you doing?"

"Just chillin' out here with Andy," he told me as I got closer to them, motioning to the kid beside him. I could tell by his tone of voice that he still thought I was mad at him. Well, I was – but less than before. He had explained to Andy – and through Andy, me – why he wanted to go back to Oklahoma, and I guess I understood more or less.

"Hey," Andy greeted, nodding his head. He was staring at me, and it was pretty awkward, although I understood why he was staring at me with such intensity. He was trying to figure out what was so special about me, and why I affected Blake so much.

Well, once he figured that out, he could tell me – because I had no idea.

I smiled hesitantly at him. He had put out his cigarette too, and although they both tried to hide it from me, I could smell the stench of freshly smoked cigarettes on their clothing – and I wasn't even that close to them.

"Speaking of which, why are you out here?" Blake asked, and my heart went into overdrive. Crap, what was I going to tell them?

"I... I had to go back and get something from the... uh... locker room," I said lamely, crossing my fingers for dear life that they believed me.

Blake looked skeptical, probably because I was fumbling with my words. "For twenty minutes?" he asked, looking down at his phone to check the time.

I surprised myself by sending him an easy and slightly sheepish smile. "Yeah, well. Who wants to go to math, right?"

Andy let out a bark of laughter, letting me know he was agreeing with me. Blake seemed to ease up as well, and allowed a small grin.