Bullied

Chapter 8

Luke, true to his word, walked me home. My dad wasn't there, thankfully. So, I didn't have to worry about that drama. I wasn't sure I wanted to introduce him to my dad just yet. I wasn't sure how I felt about him aside from the small little crush I had. Small? I told my inner voice to shut up, but it just continued to taunt me. You have got it bad, you know that? Of course, I knew that, but I was in denial. What was the harm in denial? Don't say it. I already know. It's big trouble to remain in denial. I know this, but I am not ready to admit certain things to myself, okay? Don't judge me.

"Ready to walk in nature?"

"Not really."

"Come on! Get excited. Walking is fun."

"I'm more excited about reading than I am by the prospect of sweating."

"Sweating releases toxins though, that's a good thing."

"I prefer to hold my toxins inside, thank you very much."

He laughed at me, like always, but not in an asshole kind of way. He was just the kind of guy that laughed at almost everything. He was so happy it was annoying sometimes. I was the complete opposite of him. He was extroverted and I was introverted, he liked the outside and I liked the inside, he laughed and I scowled. I really didn't understand why he was friends with me. We were so different. He didn't like me asking him why he hung around me so much though. It set him off into a weird angry rant. It was the only time he ever showed any sort of negative emotion. He never would explain why it made him so angry for me to ask him those questions. It was intriguing to me.

"You're one strange chick sometimes."

"That's what I've been told. Personally I think everyone else is the strange one though."

He just grinned. I love his smile. Stop it! He threw his arm around my waist, but I shrugged it off.

"I don't really like to be touched."

"Okay. Fair enough. You'll have to explain that to me someday though."

He wasn't pushy in the way he asked me things, which was so refreshing. I really appreciated the fact that he respected me when I said no. Most people just kept pushing and pushing and pushing, which got on my nerves. It was like he knew me, even though we were just starting to get to know each other. I knew his birthday (December 12) which made him a Sagittarius. I knew that he loved alternative rock music and skateboarding. I also knew his favorite color (white) even though he never really explained why it was his favorite. Was white really a color? Or was it the absence of color? I couldn't remember the lesson I had once had in art class about the spectrum and what each color represented.

"So, where are you dragging me to today?"

"We're going on a 5 mile hike. I mentioned that, right?"

I balked at him and my legs turned to jelly at the prospect as I froze in the middle of the street.

"Kidding. Totally kidding. Dude, learn to take a joke."

"Jerk."

I smacked him in the arm, which made him chuckle.

"You hit like a girl."

"I am a girl."

"Case and point."

"Seriously, shut up."

I laughed first this time. Somehow being with him made me laugh. I didn't know what it was or how to explain it. It's called happiness dummy. I guess It had been awhile. I couldn't remember the last time I laughed with my dad or anyone else for that matter. In that instant I realized that I had been suffocating in my old life. It seemed like a lifetime ago, but in reality it had only been a couple of weeks. Where had the time gone? He was like an angel of sorts, rescuing me from potential disaster. Don't be dumb. My inner voice could be really annoying sometimes. I wondered if she was right or just afraid. No clever remark there huh? Yes, I am aware that my inner voice was just my subconscious, aka just another part of me, but sometimes they seem like a completely separate thing. You know?How had I become so lucky to have someone who brought such joy in my life.