Him & Her

Ch.26

Ch26

At lunch that day, Elizabeth sat with Henry and Brandon at their table. Cole and his so called 'friends' sat at the opposite side of the cafeteria, like nothing had changed during winter break.

Elizabeth snuck a glance at Cole. He was picking at the food in his plate, not really listening to his friends talking. He really did look devastated... No. She commanded herself, your not supposed to be feeling sorry for him. Your mad at him. Cole looked up from his plate and Elizabeth looked back at Henry and Brandon before Cole could spot her staring at him.

"And so then I blasted its head off." Henry laughed.

Brandon smiled, "Awesome. I don't think I have that game."

"It's actually pretty old." Henry said. He looked over at Elizabeth who seemed to be lost in her own little world. "Hey, Elizabeth, do you like to eat penguin meat?"

"Mhmm." Elizabeth nodded, her eyes looking across the cafeteria.

"Oh, do you?" Henry snickered.

"What about polar bears?" Brandon snorted, "Those are really good."

"Uh huh." Elizabeth mumbled.

"Oh please, everybody knows humans taste the best." Henry laughed.

"Ya." Elizabeth said.

Brandon laughed out loud. Henry gave him a high five.

Elizabeth finally snapped back to reality, "What?" she asked the laughing boys.

"Elizabeth, you just said that you liked eating penguins, polar bears, and fellow human beings." Henry replied, smiling.

"What? That's crazy!" Elizabeth said.

"That's what you said." Brandon leaned back in his chair. He held up his hands, palms out, as if he was presenting a new invention. "Cannibalism." He said.

"Hardy har har." Elizabeth said, "Don't make me kill you both."

"I rest my case." Henry said.

Suddenly a voice cut through all the conversations in the cafeteria.

"Hey! Everybody shut up!"

Elizabeth's head snapped over to where Cole stood on one of the tables, hands raised for silence. The whole cafeteria quieted down. Elizabeth's heartbeat picked up when Cole looked over at her and her face burned red as everybody else turned to see who he was looking at.

"Ok...um..." Cole looked around the cafeteria at everyone waiting for him to say something. He looked down at Dixon, who smiled up at him, biting into a sandwich. Then he looked back at Elizabeth.

"Ok ok." Cole wrung his hands, "Yesterday I said I didn't like Liz. But I was...lying. I was-lying."

"What?" someone called out.

"Who's Liz?" Another person asked.

"Just-just quiet down! Let me start over!" Cole said.

Elizabeth's heart was just about to burst from her chest. Cole walked across tables and jumped from one to another until he stood right in front of Elizabeth. Dixon's sandwich had dropped from his hands. Everybody watched in complete and utter silence.

Cole knelt down until he was looking into Elizabeth eyes, blocking her view of Brandon. She sat paralyzed, Henry stared open mouthed, Cole smiled.

"I love Liz." he said it so smoothly, so freely, like he said it everyday like people say good morning. But it wasn't that simple, and he had to understand that.

"Are you kidding me?" Dixon suddenly stood up and pounded his fist on the table, "You have got to he joking!"

Cole glanced at him, "Actually I-" suddenly his eyes widened and he put a hand on his stomach, like he was going to be sick.

"Uh, you ok?" Dixon asked.

"I- I'm gonna throw up." Suddenly Cole jumped off the table and ran down the hallway, away from the still stunned cafeteria.

Elizabeth didn't know how to react. What had just happened? Her view of Brandon cleared and she saw him, looking as stunned as Henry.

Suddenly, Dixon's sharp, bark of a laugh echoed through the silent cafeteria. It went on for a long time and some people laughed along nervously.

"What?" Brandon spoke up for everyone there.

Dixon laughed hard, "Man, Cole was joking! That was the bigger prank I have ever seen him do! Of course, it all makes sense now! The thought of loving Elizabeth makes him sick!" he burst into laughing fits, and this time everyone else joined in.

Elizabeth stood up, her chair falling to the ground behind her. Cole looked serious, but Dixon seemed convinced. Her head hurt and the laughing wasn't helping her.

"Hey, Elizabeth, you ok?" Henry asked.

"No." she said, "I haven't been ok since the day I met Cole." she walked away from the cafeteria and towards the bathrooms. Cole better be barfing his stomach out, or she would kill him.

•••

Elizabeth reached the bathrooms and put her ear against the boy's door. She couldn't hear anything from inside. He could be in another bathroom, Elizabeth thought, or he could be in a stall and she couldn't hear him. She left the door and walked to the next closest bathroom. She leaned against the door again and listened. Nothing.

Elizabeth was just about to head back I the cafeteria, pretty sure that he was faking all along, when the door opened and she stumbled back. Cole stepped out, looking pale and tired. He froze when he saw her.

"Are...you ok?" Elizabeth asked.

"I...felt like I was gonna throw up, but I didn't." Cole said. Then he groaned, clutching his stomach, and leaned forward.

Elizabeth put a hand on his shoulder, "You didn't go to the doctor's, did you?"

Cole smiled up at her, "How did you notice?"

Elizabeth pulled her hand away, remembering why she was here in the first place. "So."

"What happened when I left?" Cole asked.

"Dixon and the whole cafeteria now thinks your faking and that...liking me makes you sick." Elizabeth said, she didn't know how Cole said love so easily.

"No." he groaned, "That wasn't supposed to happen." he looked up at her, "What about us?"

Elizabeth sighed, "I don't know Cole, I guess I just need more time. I need to believe you won't do something like that again."

"What else do you need? I've tried begging, and I showed everyone that I love you-"

"Stop that!" she yelled.

"Stop what?!" Now Cole was mad.

"Stop saying that you love me! Because you obviously don't know how strong that word is!"

"You're wrong!" Cole stood up straight and grabbed her arm, "I know exactly what it means and how strong its meaning is. The problem is you don't know how much I love you! And you're to afraid to admit that."

Elizabeth tore her arm free, "I don't know if you're saying the truth or not."

"No, you don't want to believe me anymore. You're afraid." he said.

"You were the one who was too afraid to say that you 'loved' me in the beginning! So don't judge me." Cole remained silent and Elizabeth walked away from him, wishing she had never come to find him.