Knowing You

Chapter 5 - This Means War

I try to say something, but I can barely even form a coherent thought right now, let alone speak.

Everything Hunter's been saying about how much trouble this school merger could be for us, all the reasons he was so worried - I guess I never really understood what he meant until this moment.

This moment that won't seem to end where some other girl is kissing my boyfriend.

After what feels like forever but was probably less than a second, Hunter grabs the girl's arms, pries them from around his neck, and forcefully pushes her off of him.

He looks furious as he runs his jacket sleeve over his mouth, vigorously trying to wipe off the remains of her lip gloss.

"What the hell, Nicki?" Hunter says.

She steps back, a satisfied smile on her face. "I know, I know, you hate PDA, but I couldn't help it," she says, biting her lip. "I missed you."

"Yeah, well, the feeling's not mutual," Hunter says. Apparently satisfied that he's wiped away any remaining saliva, he lets his hand fall to his side. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

She shrugs. "Just picking up where we left off," she replies. "How long's it been anyway? A few months?"

I look to Hunter, eyebrows raised, waiting for an explanation.

"More like a year," he tells her, before turning to me with apologetic and panicked eyes. "It's been over a year, I swear."

"Too long then," she replies, looking Hunter up and down in a way that fills me with a kind of possessiveness I didn't know I even had. "You know," she tells him. "We could always skip first period and find somewhere private to.. catch up."

Hunter shakes his head. "Not even if you paid me," he replies. "I have a girlfriend now, Nicki, and I know you knew that. Don't play dumb."

She lets out a short laugh before seeing the look on his face and realizing he's not kidding. Her face falls, eyes growing wide. "But.. but I was your girlfriend!" she says.

Clearly, someone's not used to rejection.

Her shrill voice carries through the hallway, and everyone in the general area pauses to stare. Embarrassed, she quickly composes herself, flipping her hair over her shoulder with a smile.

She takes a step towards Hunter. "Come on, baby," she says. "Whoever this girl is, you don't seriously think she's a long term thing, do you?"

Hunter gives her a hard look, and I can already see the anger rising in his eyes. "Watch it," he says, jaw tight, like he'd hit her if he could.

Too bad she's a girl, and he can't.

I probably could though.

She's starting to look like she might actually try launching herself at him again, and instinctively, I step forward to block her path. If she tries that again, I swear to God, she's going to wake up on the floor.

Finally, her eyes meet mine.

For just a second, she tilts her head to the side and looks confused almost, like she didn't really notice I was here until now. Then she smiles at me - a hollow, empty smile with more condescension in it than a thousand insults.

That's when I realize that of course she noticed me. She probably knew exactly who I was before she even pulled her little stunt.

She just didn't care.

At this point, I'm tempted to start a fight right here in the middle of this hallway. Unfortunately, it looks we're already going to be late for class, and I really can't afford that kind of thing on the first day.