Beginnings and Endings [complete]

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty

You know how you feel when you just get together with someone? How you're so, so, so, so happy and giggly and bubbly about everything? You think every cloud has a silver lining, and the sea is different shades of blue, and stuff like that, exceeding the insecurity of the start of a new relationship.

Then when you have to be away from him your heart sinks, because you guys just got together after spending so much time with each other and now you have to stand two weeks distance.

It was like that, with the damn midterm holidays. As if to compensate, we met up on both Facebook and the virtual reality game that was the first thing we found in common with each other, Runescape. He was Deathgrim43 and I was HellRider98. Yeah, I was half Goth...

It didn't compensate the way I thought it might, I still missed him, and it worsened the first time he said 'I love you'. But when we got back to school, he definitely made up for it.

Naturally, I was all shy and nervous everytime I saw him, not sure whether I was supposed to go up to talk to him or not, and yet really wanting to. Half the time our conversations were awkward, not because we didn't know what to talk about, but because we just weren't sure how to react to each other yet. Oh, the setbacks of a sudden relationship.

I'd been taking the back staircase up to the top floor where the junior classes were, the one behind the auditorium, when I saw him heading down. "Dom," I called softly, looking down over the railing.

He looked up, and caught my eyes, smiling, all but running back up the stairs to meet me. I had to look up at him - why was he so tall? - and blushed furiously. This was stupid, I was supposed to  be the badboy bitch!

"Dom," I began shortly, but he moved behind me and put his arms around me, pulling me towards his body and forcing me to drop my bag in the process.

This would be a first, I thought, turning red at an incredible rate. I've never been in a boy's arms like this before. I didn't really mind though, as I held his arm. "At least we have this time," he said softly into my ear, making me shiver, but in a good way.

I nodded, dazed, as I let the emotions take over. We were like that for a while before he let me go, and he walked back down with a smile and a whispered 'I love you'.

"Adrianne, can I talk to you for a while?"

Johnson's voice called out to me from across the class, and I detected a warning tone instantly. Crap, now what? I shut my Math book and made my way over to her casually with a neutral expression. The first day of school, when she'd come in, we were cool. A month later, less so, and every consecutive month after that. She was a bitch, and when I found out what she did to Dom, she is now Queen fucking Bitch.

"Yeah, 'cher?" I said, dragging a seat and sitting down opposite her. Mel was next to me - I think they were talking about something to do with Mel's public speaking competition - until I arrived. "What's up?"

"I heard some things from Ms. Philomena from camp," she began slowly, zipping up her pencilbox. "Is it true?"

"Well, 'cher, that depends on what you heard," I replied, shrugging. Mel shot me a warning look but I ignored it. This hatred for her had shot up to maximum.

"About Dominic Wood?" she answered suggestively, giving me that stupid smile of hers that made me want to hit her.

"Dominic Wood?" I repeated bluntly, raising an eyebrow. "What did you hear about me and him, that we hooked up over camp? Pfft, 'cher, please. I think we both know I have better taste than that."

I meant it as a sarcastic joke, but even though my face didn't show it, she seemed to accept my answer, even when Mel sighed in relief. I glared at her, and she looked at me apologetically as she got up and followed me back to my place.

"What did you tell her?" I asked calmly, getting back to my work as Mel carried her Geo over to my place.

She seemed to panic, and I wanted to tell her to calm her tits, but I wasn't in the mood for it. I think she was scared of my temper. But then again, everyone is.

"I didn't tell her anything!" she justified, eyes wide. "She questioned me first, and I said nothing, they're just friends, but she was persistent, then she called you."

Not sure what to answer, I kept quiet. The next time Mel continued, her tone set me off. "Look, I know Johnson can seem all motherly and everything, and she shaded me when people were saying I was Dom's next target, but please be careful around her. Okay?"

I looked up to see her worried expression, and grinned childishly. "Aren't I always?"

When I relayed that same story to Dom one morning, he didn't say anything for a while, and he looked worried. I don't really know how, but we started meeting up early in the mornings at the back staircase, because we both came to school about an hour before it was supposed to start, and practically no one was around.

Two days more, we'd be officially together for a month, and I was happy; the only thing that worried me was Johnson's sudden interest in us. "Dom?" I said quietly, nudging him. We were both seated on the stairs, and I was pressing against him slightly as he leaned against the wall. "Are you okay?"

Slowly, he nodded. "Worried about what she might say. I don't want this relationship to turn out like Carrie's and mine..." He snuck his right arm around me, and pulled me closer. "We have to be careful," he stated matter of factly as if it wasn't obvious.

"Of course," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, I saw his eyes light up and a familiar grin flash, even in the dark of the shadows. He lifted his other hand to finger my chin gently, staring me in the eyes. "I love you, you know that?" he murmured.

I just smiled; my alarm had been set off when he touched my chin, but I was used to it after his doing it so many times, I stopped thinking he was going to kiss me. That is, until he leaned forward and touched my lips with his.

Hi :) the link at the side is Runescape. I'm not asking you to play, just showing you what it is :)

Harry Shum Jr. as Shaun --->