Learning To Fall

nine

"He's so mysterious, like does anyone actually talk to him?" A preppy voice says from behind me.

I was sitting in my newly bigger AP English class and eavesdropping on Cecily and her little group's conversation about Michael.

"I don't know, but it's kinda hot." Cecily says, and I roll my eyes. If only she knew what Michael thought of her. Speak of the devil, I think as Michael walks in.

It was a shock to see him actually early. He walks over to the seat on my right, and I can hear Cecily huff. Calum almost starts laughing, I can hear him snicker from his place on my left.

"So, how many Pokémon did you catch yesterday?" He asks me in a low voice, and I smile without realizing it.

"About fifteen," I answer. "You?"

"I have you beat, I actually got out and caught twenty," Michael smugly responds. I laugh.

"Well, I would've caught more if Calum drove slower," I accuse, looking over at Calum, who had his nose in The Maze Runner, by James Dashner.

"It's not called speeding, it's just called convenient driving," Calum answers, causing me to roll my eyes.

"I'll be sure to tell that to the police officer who gets me for speeding," Michael says, Calum and I chuckle. Cal puts his bookmark in his book, and puts it in his bag.

"So, you guys nervous for the letters to start?" He asks, scooting his chair in to the table.

"Not really," Says Michael, who now has his phone out. He was waving it in weird ways, so I assumed he was playing Pokémon GO.

I don't get to say my reply, because I get distracted by Luke coming in. He had stubble and his blonde hair was messy and not in his usual quiff. He still made me get butterflies whenever I saw him, and I hated it.

"Look what came out of the trash," Michael scoffs, and I smile over at him.

He never failed to amaze me, but I heard Cecily huff from behind us. Luke comes down our row, and we make eye contact as he passes. I can feel Calum tense up next to me.

"Hey Celi," Luke greets in his deep Austrailian voice. I resist the urge to roll my eyes. Not only did I find her annoying, but also that stupid nickname. Call it bitchy, but I had every reason to hold a grudge. I don't hear Cecily's reply, because Ms.Monroe comes in and starts the lesson. It doesn't take long before she's handing out slips with people's names on them.

"You're kidding me," I hear Jade, one of Cecily's friends, sigh. I stop unfolding the piece of paper with the person's name on it to listen.

"What?" Chloe, the other friend, asks.

"I didn't get Clifford," Jade whines, and I see Michael's cheeks turn pink from the corner of my eyes. I pretend not to notice.

"Did any of you get me?" Luke asks, and they all murmur a 'no.' My stomach knots again as I open my scrap of paper, praying that I don't end up with Luke. I take a deep breath before looking down at my paper and another one comes out of me as a sigh of relief. In fact, I'll admit my heart skips a beat when I see the name printed.

Michael Clifford.

>>

"So, who'd you get?" Calum teases as we walk to the lunch line. I try not to let him see my face, so I turn away to face the front of the line.

"No one, loser," I laugh, shaking my head. If he knew I got Michael, he wouldn't shut up about it. "Who'd you get?" I ask, turning back to face him.

"The person I hoped I'd get," He smiles. I raise an eyebrow with a smirk.

"Do you have some secret crush on one of Cecily's witches?" I tease, and he folds his arms.

"Who, like Chloe Zhang? That was one time in sophmore year, Andy. And Jade Flanagan's head is too far up her-"

"Hey, Cal. Andrea," Cecily greets out of nowhere, stepping in front of us. I hated being called Andrea, and she knew it. Of course she'd be this petty.

"Hey Cecily, how's failing math going? Or is Luke still doing your homework?" I sass, deciding to be petty too. Her and the henchwomen roll their eyes.

"Just tell me if you or the Asian one got my Luke," She snaps, and I roll my eyes.

"None of us want or ended up receiving your precious Lukey. And Calum's maori, you'd know if you'd actually gotten your head out of my boyfriend's ass last year." I counter.

She huffs and folds her arms. I resist the urge to reach out and break her nose.

"Get over it. Stop holding onto things, Andrea. I was doing you a favor. He was only dating you because he pitied you. I mean come on. He's smart, talented, attractive. And your idea of fun is staying in and watching Netflix. When was the last time you even had a boyfriend before Luke? Oh, right. You never had one. Wanna know why? It's because you don't belong in our world Andrea. You never did," Cecily says, and somehow it finds a way to hurt me. He was only dating you because he pitied you, he was only dating you because he pitied you. The statement repeats in my head like a mantra. I don't even hear Calum tell them to leave. I don't hear him ask me if I'm okay, but I know he's doing it because his brown eyes are full of concern. The only thing I hear is her statement playing like a record inside my head.

You don't belong in our world. He was only dating you because he pitied you.