Repaired

Chapter Two

Anabelle

Ray and I talked for most of second period, receiving some disapproving looks from Ms.Bradley, but she didn't say anything so it was alright. When the bell rang, we exchange phone numbers, and he smiled.

"What is it?" I asked him. "Nothing." He said, giving me a smirk. I looked away, feeling myself starting to blush. I walked out of class, to where Cole was waiting for me. He looked beyond annoyed.

"Cole, what's wrong?" I asked curiously. He shot Ray a disapproving look as we began walking, before finally answering me. "Nothing, Belle. Just tired." He said, adding an obviously false smile. I decided not to push the issue, and so we made our way to lunch with Bianca and Cole.

All was quiet during lunch. As usual, Bianca made sure to tell us all about her adventures in science. Supposedly, her teacher lit a student on fire by accident. However, Bianca had been known to fabricate details of a story to seem more interesting.

I decided to go to class earlier than usual, so Cole walked with me. Cole was my best friend, and he was also a grade above me. Admittedly, he was really good looking. He had curly, blond hair and the most handsome blue eyes I'd ever seen. Despite his looks, though, he was one of the kindest people I had ever met. I had always just assumed that he was just that type of person.

I waved goodbye to Cole as I walked into my class, and unfortunately, I walked into someone. I said sorry, and to my surprise, it was Ray.

"Hey sweet heart. Looks like we're in the same science class." He said, the same smile on his face as before. I smiled back, before I made my way to my seat and sat down.

The rest of the school day dragged out to be as bland as possible, but at the end of class Cole, Bianca and I decided to go to the café down town and relax, since Cole was finally able to drive without an adult in the car.

I noticed on the way that, though he kept his usual relaxed demeanor, Cole was stressed out about something. I tried a few times to ask him what was wrong, but every time I asked, he smiled and told me nothing. When we sat down, Bianca went to order our drinks for us.

"Cole, look at me. I'm serious." I said. "What's wrong? And don't tell me nothing. I know you better than you know your own damn self." He looked a little annoyed with my persistence, so I reached over the table and placed my hand on his arm. He relaxed a bit, and was about to answer when Bianca arrived with our drinks.

"Here you guys go! Vanilla lattes for all!" She said, bubbly as always. I took my hand off Coles arm and took a sip of my drink. I listened to Bianca talk for a solid half hour, before Bianca's mom showed up to pick her up and bring her home. I went to call my dad to pick me up, but Cole stopped me.

"I have my lisence now, Belle. Let's go for a drive to the beach." He said, a real smile finally placed on his face. I nodded, happy that he was finally calm. After I let my dad know what was happening, we got in his old pickup truck and blasted a green day mixtape all the way to the beach.

Cole parked, and turned the truck off. "What are we doing?" I asked, confused. "I thought we were just going for a drive?" Cole smiled and got out, so I did the same. "I want to show you something." He said, gesturing toward a bundle of trees a little bit down the beach.

We started walking, and when we arrived, I was even more confused. Somehow, someone had built and disguised an entire house inside a small forest, with there being a space to still see the beach. Mind you, it wasn't very big. There were chairs out front, so we sat down.

It was almost sunset, and the golden light on Coles face made me feel butterflies in my stomach. He was so handsome. But I knew he didn't like me back. We're best friends, after all. I forgot about the butterflies for a moment, but they soon returned when Cole started speaking.

"Belle, you know I'll always protect you, right? I mean, not that you'd really need it. I'm just saying that I'll do everything I can to make sure you never get hurt. I care about you, a lot." He said, his voice soft and kind, almost sad. I smiled. My eyes remained on the sunset, but my mind was on other things.

It was just about 8:30 when the sun was just about down, so we made our way back to the truck. Cole drove me home, and when I checked my phone, I had two messages from Ray, both him just saying hi. I texted him back, but by the time I had finished eating and was ready to go to bed, I had gotten no reply. I forgot about it and went to sleep, my heart still beating wildly from what Cole had told me earlier.