The Witch Prophecy

Chapter 5

Luckily, I had morning math class to myself. Well, not counting Taylor. She was another one of my best friends. After rushing into the classroom just before the bell rang, I plopped into my seat next to Taylor. She greeted me with a huge smile. "Hey Katie! How was your weekend?" She asked. She was texting underneath her desk. To her boyfriend, I presume. "Hey Tay! Mine was good. How about your's?" I asked, trying to act like nothing was going on. I sat on my shaking hands so she wouldn't notice them. She finally looked up from her texting and acknowledged me. A frown came on her face. "What's wrong? You're never this cheerful in the morning. Everything all right?" She asked, a mix of suspicion and concern in her voice. "Yeah! Everything's totally good. A-ok!" I plastered a fake, but bright smile on my face. I could tell it wasn't working.

"Don't play that crap with me, Katie. Come on. You know you can tell me," She said, putting on her puppy dog face. Taylor had long brown hair, with brown eyes to match. She was a healthy type of skinny. When she looked at me with that face, I couldn't resist. So I told her everything. From the whole Brian thing, even about my bad feeling. She was quiet for a long time after I finished. Her face betrayed no emotion at first, but then a slow, sly smile spread across her face. "I knew you and Brian would get together one day. You two are perfect for each other. And as for the feeling....honestly, I don't know." She whispered all this to me since class had already started.

I nodded, already deep in thought. Could the feeling be of warning? Or does it relate to Brian? I shook the thoughts from my head and got started on my homework. I'm sure it was nothing.

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The rest of my morning classes went by in a blur. And when the bell rang to go to lunch, the feeling of dread that had been building up all morning washed over me. I knew I was going to be bombarded with questions from Brooke. But was Brian going to talk about what happened this morning? I walked slowly to my locker, trying to buy as much time as possible before the inevitable. I dumped my books in my locker and, with a sigh, I slammed it and turned around. Only to be stopped by Brian. "Hey," He said quietly. He was staring at me intensely. "Hey..." I muttered. I wouldn't meet his gaze. He was about to speak before Brooke came up to us. "Hey guys!" She exclaimed. She looked at me intensely. I knew she wanted to know what was going on. But how was I supposed to explain it if I don't even know?

Brian muttered a hello, but didn't take his eyes off me. I smiled at her. It was fake, but it was the best I had. Her frown deepened, but she quickly replaced it with a smile. "Caleb wanted to sit with his buddies today, so I'm all your's!" She said squeezing my arm. Hard. I knew she had probably told Caleb to eat with his other friends so she could have a chance to assess the situation concerning Brian and I. I nodded and let her drag Brian and I to lunch. It passed awkwardly. Brian ate in silence, glancing at me every now and then. Brooke kept up constant talk, trying to get rid of the awkwardness I assumed. Taylor sat with her theater buddies, but shot me a smile from across the room every now and then.

I knew Brooke was dying to know what was going on with me and Brian, but she never got a chance to ask since Brian was right there. Lunch ended and I muttered goodbye before running off to class.

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 I had all of my afternoon classes with Brooke and Taylor, except for 8th period. I shared that one with Autumn. She was another one of my best friends. I hadn't known her as long as Brooke and Taylor, but we were still close. The day past agonizingly slow, and Brooke had a never ending line of questions about me and Brian. Did he make me feel fluttery inside? Did he look at me with lust in his eyes? Was I attracted to him? I told her I wasn't sure of what I felt toward him. Which was the truth. I had a mix of emotions going through me. Attraction. Embarrassment. Confusion. Mostly confusion. Why was Brian suddenly interested in me as more than a friend? I was puzzled over all of it, and I couldn't wait to get to the property and clear my head from all this weirdness.

The final bell couldn't come soon enough. When it did finally ring though, I raced to my locker. Leaving Autumn behind. I slung my book bag over my shoulder and walked away from my locker into the sea of students wanting to get their weekend started as soon as possible. I was almost to the door when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around and was nose to nose with Brian. He was so close that I could smell his mint toothpaste underneath the smell of his cologne. He had a small, almost shy smile on his face. He pointed to the door behind me and grabbed my hand, leading me to it. His hand was warm. It felt right to hold his hand. Easy. Once we were outside and out of the mob of teenagers he let go of my hand. I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. "Can I have a ride?" He asked having to yell over the sound of everyone else.

"What's wrong with your car?" I asked, not realizing I sounded rude. He raised an eyebrow and smiled at me, amused. I blushed crimson. "It's in the shop because the brakes are squeaking," He explained. I nodded and we walked toward my car in silence. Brian lived in a small house within walking distance of mine. He has lived with his mom since he was five, when his dad walked out on him. His mom was usually drunk most of the time, so Brian did a lot around the house. On the car ride to his house we talked about nothing more than the weather and homework. When I pulled up in front of his house, I didn't turn the car off because I was expecting him to jump out of the car and check if his mom was somber. Instead, he stayed where he was, staring at me.

I stared straight ahead, my cheeks coloring from his intense gaze. Eventually, I cut the engine. I swallowed my fear and turned to him, my face emotionless. "What's going on, Brian?" I asked, not able to contain the question any longer. He stared at me blankly. "What is with the almost-kisses and intimate moments? Why do I feel this way?" I sucked in a gasp and bit my lip. That last question wasn't supposed to come out. He raised his eyebrows and his lips twitched at the corners, begging to smile. Luckily, he was smart enough not to. He took in a breath and opened his mouth, as if to say something, but closed it again. Suddenly, he leaned closer to me. "I-" He was cut off by my phone ringing. I jumped at the sudden noise and fished around in my purse to find it.

When I did, I put it to my ear and pressed talk. "Hello?" I said a little agitation in my tone. I was just about to hear what was going on with Brian and then this happens. "Katie sweety, we need to leave. Are you almost home?" My mom asked. "Yeah, I'll be there in a minute," I replied before muttering goodbye and hanging up. I looked back at Brian, but he was looking out his window, away from me. "You should get going. I need to check on my mom anyways," He said quietly. I just stared at him for a moment longer trying to determine what he was thinking, but after a moment, I gave up. "Okay." I whispered. "Thanks for the ride," He said before hopping out of the car and slamming the door. He waved at me before heading inside his house. I basically sped to my home. I refused to let myself think about what was happening between me and Brian. I wanted to get to the property as soon as possible so I could clear my head in the forest. So everything could be normal, at least for a couple days.