Wrong Impression

23. The Real Tom

Angie slammed he locker shut, gritting her teeth. It shouldn't be a surprise. It wasn't. She suspected Collins would find ways to further ruin her life, to humiliate her. And he'd done it. A surprise test, and a series of questions directed at her that she couldn't have answered that fast even if she'd studied that chapter properly.

But with the dance competition and the knowledge that the next test was far away, she hadn't bothered. So he'd managed to get the whole class to witness that her latest F was well deserved. Since the last test was multiple choice again, she was sure another F was heading her way. And she would officially flunk biology.

She'd thought about it long and hard. She had two years left until graduation, and if she won the trial against Collins, all the Fs wouldn't matter. She could start clean and retake the class and everything would be alright.

Plus, she had other reasons to be happy.

"Angie, I lo--"

If only she hadn't screamed like an idiot and let him finish. But it had taken her a few seconds to register what he'd said, excited as she was by the results of the competition. And by the time it came through, it was too late.

I love you.

Was Tom really about to tell her that he loved her? Could she be that lucky? He'd said she already knew, and in the heat of the moment, she really thought she did. But now, in the cold corridor of the school with the clouds still looming above like the harbingers of the apocalypse, she realized she needed the whole phrase to cling to.

Doesn't matter. He'd say it tonight. He'd kiss her tonight. They'd go on a real date with flowers and dinner and walks in the park. And it was the only thing keeping her sane now. That and the five hundred dollars hidden in her room.

Yup, things could be worse. And still she couldn't help shaking with anger at what had just happened.

"Hey, Angel, you okay?"

Angie jumped and turned to Lily who stood behind her with a pile of books in her arms. She seemed oddly worried and Angie wondered how pissed she actually looked.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Collins just really pissed me off."

Lily's posture relaxed and she somehow managed to balance her books in one arm so she could place her other hand on her jutted hip. "Well, apparently Collins has been pissing off a lot of people lately."

"Tell me about it," Angie mumbled. "Vengeful asshole."

Lily giggled, but suddenly spluttered. "Vengeful? Angel, do you know something about why Collins has a broken nose?"

Angie stared for a moment as she realized that she hadn't told anyone about it except Tom and Kay. Because of what Tom did, people were so enthralled with the actual punching that they never put two and two together. No one in school knew it was her Collins was harassing. By the time they'd started to wonder who Tom was talking about, she'd been able to slip under the radar.

It hadn't been intentional, but she was grateful that no one was pointing and asking questions. But Lily was her friend.

"I..." She hesitated a second. "I'm sort of the reason he has a broken nose."

"Ohmigod!" Lily dropped her books and hugged Angie tightly. "I'm so sorry! Why didn't you tell me?"

Angie fought the impulse to push her away, but the hug felt very awkward, especially with Lily's massive chest pushing against her stomach. "I just didn't want to make things awkward. And it's a very uncomfortable subject." Kinda like this hug.