Dancing with Danger

CHAPTER NINE: Sinking Ship

Chapter Nine: Sinking Ship.

We didn't talk all day, I thought as I walked home alone. I felt bad at the start of the day, thinking I betrayed him for walking with Gabe. I couldn't even tell what exactly I was feeling while I walked home, after seeing him with another girl for the first time. It felt weird and at the same time, I felt as if I didn't have the right to feel a thing considering he found me walking with another boy. Charlie must have been asking himself the same question, who was he and what was he doing walking me to school; the same questions I wanted to ask him. Who was she and what was she doing waiting for him after class? But Charlie and I were not in a specific place where I could ask him these things even if he kissed me.

I didn't want to go straight home just yet and I decided to spend just a couple of minutes in the playground. This playground was usually empty at this hour. I sat down in one of the swings and swung myself slightly with both my feet on the ground. I kept arguing with myself whether I should ask him or not and I kept telling myself that I wasn't in that place nor would I want him to think that I assumed the right to question him for these things. The thing is, I had absolutely no idea how much he liked me. Even if he said he's crazy about me or how I'm consuming him, these things are so easy to say, he could always lie about it.

"Hey," a voice interrupted all my thoughts. This person stood right in front of me but I had been looking down that the first thing I saw were blue and yellow sneakers.

I looked up and saw Gabe, his face illuminated even in the darkness of the night. He had this endearing smile on his face that, for a second, took me away from everything I saw thinking.

"Hi," I said, standing up immediately.

Gabe made his way to the swing next to me and sat down, making me sit right back down.

"What are you doing here?" he asked me while he held on both chains.

I shrugged with a smile. "You know, just hanging out."

"For nothing?"

"For nothing," I said, smiling at him.

He chuckled. "You know, I called your name, like twice or thrice and the only time you responded to me was when I was standing right in front of you," Gabe said with a smile that made his teeth shine.

"Oh? Oh my God, I honestly didn't hear you!" I exclaimed. I honestly didn't.

"It's okay, you must be thinking about something," he said, placing a warm hand on my shoulder.

"Yeaah," I said, prolonging the word. "School stuff, you know?"

"Is it hard being a senior?"

I laughed a little. "You would know, would you? Considering you're done with it," I said. It was a good thing that I was able to think quickly, of the reason why I wasn't able to hear him at all. "Well, anyway, what are you doing here?"

"On my way home," he replied. "Then I saw you."

"Where were you coming from?"

"Part-time job," he answered. "I'll bring you one time, before you even ask what I do."

I smiled. Despite what I saw a few hours ago, I realized that this little conversation made a big difference on how my night was going to turn out. I wanted to thank Gabe, just because, but I couldn't, afraid he'd ask what for.

"Did you see?" Megan asked as soon as she caught up with me while I walked to our school building.

"See what?" I asked back.

"Ira!" Megan whispered. "The girl Charlie was with yesterday!"

"Yeah, I saw. You know her?" I asked Megan. I had to stop walking to pull her to a corner so we could talk.