The weekend had come and gone. I walked into school with my head down. I had to talk to Dan. I had to apologize. I had so many things I wanted to tell him. I didn’t get the chance to. As soon as I reached my locker, an arm was slung around me. I looked up into Alex’s eyes.
“Alex, hey! What are you… what are you doing? Here. At my locker.” I glanced around me. Sure enough, all eyes were on us. I didn’t like this one bit. Sure I wanted some popularity. But I just wanted enough to get me up a tier or two on the social class list. I did not in any way want to be the center of attention.
“Just thought I’d walk my girl to class,” he smiles. His girl!? My stomach lurched. Oh, this was not good at all. Alex’s arm left my shoulder for a brief second so I could grab my books. He led me down the hall. As luck would have it, Dan and Phil were walking towards us. I could still feel every eye in the hallway on me.
“Hey guys,” I smiled shyly at them. They would have walked right past us if I hadn’t said anything. Phil did a double take. He looked from Alex to me. Dan’s focus was solely on Alex. He watched as Alex’s arm fell from my shoulder and around my waist. I felt Alex pull me closer ever so slightly. Dan gave him the most vicious look before turning and continuing down the hall, Phil looked after him and frowned slightly.
“Uhm… hi Y/N. I’ve gotta go. See you later,” Phil said. He was awkwardly shuffling his feet. He glanced at Alex again before hoisting his bag up on his shoulder and going to catch up with Dan.
“Those were your friends, right?” Alex asks me.
“Yea… I think,” I mumbled the last bit. I turned around sadly and continued to my class with Alex by my side.
The rest of the day wasn’t any better. I ate my lunch in the library alone, as usual. I half-expected Dan to randomly show up and either demand I come eat in the cafeteria with him and Phil, or that he should join me. Neither happened. I had a free period right after lunch, then English with Dan. I wanted to ask him how his monologue presentation went. Something was telling me I wouldn’t be able to.
What was worse than Dan avoiding me was that Phil was. Phil’s my best friend. He’s practically my brother. He’s never ignored me before. And quite frankly, this hurts like a bitch. I feel lost. I’d go to Phil in these situations, just to talk, but I can’t. I don’t particularly like this feeling. Not in the slightest bit.
I gathered up the trash from my lunch and tossed it in the trashcan I’d dragged over to my little nook. I looked out the window. The students that had chosen to eat outside were gathering their belongings and preparing to go to their next class. I saw Alex tossing a football around with some of his teammates. I looked away from the window sadly. I’m probably the only girl in this school that’s bummed to have a date with the quarterback. I cross my arms over the table and rest my head atop them.
The thought of just calling off the date was ever present in my mind. That would probably go badly on my end though. One thing I’ve learned from cheesy movies is you don’t cross the popular kids. I’m clearly too cool to take advice from movies.
I arrived to my English class fairly early. I chose a seat in the back knowing that’s where Dan would go. Or so I thought. He walked into the classroom and we almost immediately locked eyes. He frowned slightly, shaking his head, and chose a seat by the door. Dammit. I lean back in my chair and sigh, defeated.
If you ask me what happened during English, I wouldn’t be able to tell you. I’ve never been so unfocused in my life. Who knew a boy I’d met just a few days ago could have my emotions going like this? As soon as the bell rang I jumped from my desk to try and catch Dan.
“Dan! Dan, wait!” I grab onto the sleeve of his hoodie, stopping him temporarily. He sighs and turns towards me.
“I have to get to clas, Y/N,” he says not looking at me.
“We’re going to the same place,” I remind him. He sighs again and starts back down the hallway.
“C-can we talk please?” I ask, struggling to catch up with his long legs.
“About?” he mumbles. I grab his arm again and pull him to the side.
“Dan, please,” I plead.
“What, Y/N? What!?” he raises his voice slightly, “What do you want me to say!? Congratulations on bagging the quarterback? Because I honestly don’t give a fuck. Do you know how hard it was for me to ask you out? I thought… I thought…” He lets out a breath and shakes his head. He laughs slightly, “You know what? I doesn’t matter. Have fun at the fucking dance.” He brushes past me, disappearing into the rush of students trying to make it to class on time. I don’t realize I’m crying until the tears fall from my eyes. I use the back of my hand to roughly brush the tears away. The late bell rings and I’m left standing in an empty hallway.
“Fuck this,” I mumble to myself. I turn around and make my way to the front of the school. I’m not going to stay here only to be ignored by the only friends I have. I’m not going to stay here and feel sorry for myself when I’m only trying to fix things. I’ve never skipped school before, but I guess there’s a first for everything. Lately, my life has been full of firsts.
I didn’t bother stopping at my locker to grab my bag. I just hoisted my books higher in my arms and walked out the front door. Which, quite honestly, was a mistake on my part. I was too busy thinking in the moment to actually think about what I was doing. This rush of emotions and adrenaline was powering me. I don’t remember my walk home. I just remember walking out of the school, then everything gets hazy, and suddenly I’m walking up my doorstep. That’s when I realize I don’t have my keys.
“This is karma telling me I shouldn’t have skipped,” I huff. Luckily, there is an alternative method to get into my house. Well, there are two actually. I can either climb a tree and stumble into the attic, or breakdown the basement door. I go for the door. Mainly because I don’t want my neighbors questioning why I’m breaking into my own home. Also because it’s already partially broken, thanks to some undercover agent game Phil and I played when we were younger. He told me he could pick locks. I was dumb enough to believe him, and I ended up getting in trouble for it.
“I’m going to have to explain why this door is even more broken now,” I sigh. I set my books down on the steps, then fling all my weight at the door. It swings open. The deadbolt is now completely off the door. Oops. I went back outside and picked up my books. I closed the door as best as I could. I ended up having to push a box in front of it to keep it closed. I made my way to the main floor and collapsed onto the kitchen floor. All the adrenaline was gone, leaving a sad and confused girl.
