The Play

3

Skylar

The final bell rang, and I slid out of my seat. I slipped through the hallway crowd and shoved my books in my locker. A vanilla fragrance hit me as Gabriel approached me, weaving through the swarm of students almost effortlessly.

"Are you coming to Tyler's birthday party?" Gabriel ran a hand through his platinum blond hair.

"Of course, he's like my brother."

"Are you going to invite Damian?" Gabriel smirked.

"Why'd you say his name like that?"

"Like what?" He smiled. "Oh, there's Kris. I have to go but don't forget to invite your boyfriend!"

"He's not my..." I trailed off when I realized he was too far away to hear me. It was pointless anyway; my friends were convinced we had a thing for each other. That couldn't be further from the truth. It could never happen-- our parents were married.

My phone vibrated. Speak of the devil.

"Why are you calling me?"

"Thanks for the concern," he said, the wind messing up the audio. "I need you to pick me up from school."

"What? I thought your dad was getting you."

It wasn't unusual for him to randomly cancel plans. He wasn't exactly dad of the year. We weren't close, but I didn't need another dad. Mine was gone.

"He had a meeting. Are you coming or not? It's starting to snow," he said.

"Yeah, I'll be there," I bit back a smile. He's such a baby.

I exited the school building and headed for my car. Flurries cascaded from the sky, only to melt once they touched the ground. School traffic sucked, but it didn't take too long to get to the fancy private school Damian needed to attend.

My chest tightened when I spotted him waiting for me up front alone. His dirty blond hair was ruffled and looked fluffy. His puffy, powder blue coat made him look silly.

"I'm freezing. Turn the heat up." His face was pink from the cold.

"Hm, I don't know. The car gets too stuffy." I followed the line of cars heading for the main road.

He didn't say anything. He began breathing on his hands to warm them. I rolled my eyes and turned the heat up all the way. I fought the urge to smile as I drove out of the school lot. The only noise in the car was the sound of the windshield wipers and the song playing in the background.

"Skylar," Damian said. His amber eyes locked on his hands.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think we'll still talk when we are grown-ups?" He looked at me. There was no trace of amusement on his face.

"I don't know," I said.

The light turned green.

____

"Weren't you two grounded for partying?" Teresa crossed her arms.