No Strings Attached

Chapter Three

A/N: Zayn Malik for Jared Stuart. Yum, I know.. I just love Zayn's face. ♥ Vas happening. Here's chapter three.

Chapter Three - Christine Walt

The day came to an end and I was nothing but joyous about it. The students seem to agree with my mood and escaped the room as fast as me.

"Whoa there, cowgirl." Jared chuckled, "You dropped these." Handing me papers. I frowned. Trash. I shoved it away and shook my head.

"I don't need those, 'kay?"

"Uh, maybe not. But do you want your test papers in Trig with your name on it to be lying randomly on the floor?" It's his turn to shake his head. "Oh and then, maybe, Mike will pick 'em up and see that you are hopeless with numbers. I don't think that's a turn-on for him."

Uh... Well... I thought they were trashes. Scratch papers. Not my failed Trigonometry  test papers.

I took it and stuffed 'em in my bag. "Yeah, you're right..." Feeling down because of my status in Trig. Why do I suck in Math?

"Besides, you can always review those. For the finals."

"Are you kidding me, Jared? You said it yourself. I'm hopeless when it comes to Math! What on earth can I learn from my test papers?"

"Nothing. But you have me. I can tutor you, you know." Jared slung an arm around my shoulders, grinning. "Trust me. You'll ace Trig. Just let me teach you."

I stared up at him, shocked. "You serious? You'll teach me?"

"'Course. Why do you seem so surprised?" His brows crinkled in confusion. I shrugged and smiled. "I thought what you said earlier was a joke."

He raised an eyebrow. "You take my jokes so seriously but when I say something that's meant to be serious, you take it--"

"...as a joke. I know." I finished for him.

He rolled his eyes. "Come on. Let's get you home." Opening the car door for me, I got in, seeing Mike's blond hair. His back was facing us and I ducked, hiding behind the car's dashboard. Secretly, I observed him... until I heard somebody clearing their throat.

Oops. Not again. I mentally scolded myself. Note to self, be sensitive.

I straightened up, grimacing.

I heard Jared chuckle but I kept my eyes on the road. I don't want to see his expression. His eyes might... give the hurt away.

* * * *

After dinner, I logged on to Twitter. I typed my first tweet for the day... 'Good evening. T'was a long day. Trig's as usual... H-E-L-L. Sooo embarrassed.'

A few seconds had passed and there was a new tweet. '@ChristineWalt hey i saw u talking w/ mike awhile agooo ;) tell me all abt it! x' The tweet was from Steff. Mike's younger sister.

'@Steffilicous zip it. twas nuthin. we just ran into each other.. i'm a klutz, you know me...'

'@ChristineWalt ohh boringggg! alright then..'

I frowned at my followers. Last time I checked, it was 476. But now, it's 478. Two new followers, huh? And I gaped at the screen. Unable to believe what I'm seeing, I clicked the name and his profile loaded.

Mike Saller - Senior & livin' the good life :)

My heart jumped with joy. Mike Saller's following me on twitter. I can die now.

I grinned like a cheshire cat and tried to calm myself. Get a grip, Christine. But I'm human so I reached for my pillow, buried my head on it and screamed.

"Hesh fahyowing miiiii!" I shrieked and lifted my head up to breathe. Feeling the blood in my cheeks, I stood up and ran around my room. Dizzy, I sat down on my bed. Smiling like an idiot.

I breathed in and out for a couple of times and propped myself infront of the laptop. I looked at the second new follower. Karen Adams. Huh. I don't know any Karen Adams in any of my classes. Adams... Adams...

I tried to search my brain for anything that's related to a Karen Adams...

Karen Adams - If I can't have you, then nobody can. Howdy babe. ;)

Hm, her description is creepy. Though, I know it's a harmless cliche quote found on the internet. But I still don't know her... So, I looked at her icon and recent images.  Well, she goes to our school and her face is somehow familiar... Pretty cute.

I sighed and let it be. It's not a big deal anyway. I logged off and checked my mail. Mmh, facebook updates, yadda yadda, nothing interesting... I checked my spam and scrutinized the screen.

There's a new spam message and I opened it.

It's from an unknown sender. The message gave me the creeps.

'STAY AWAY FROM HIM AND IF YOU DON'T I'LL DO SOMETHING UNIMAGINABLE'

My eyes widened and I blocked the sender. What the actual hell? Who's 'him'? There are a lot of guys in my life. Well... That's not what I mean but... Is it Jared? Mike? Scott? George? Peter? Leo? Lance? Kyle? Ian? Ace?

I laughed without humor. Come on, Christine. Don't take it so seriously. It's a prank. Nothing. You're too... gullible. Yeah, that's what I am. Gullible.

After a while, I closed my laptop and reached for my Trig homework. I bit my lip and looked at the time. 7:15 pm. Uh huh. Still early. I might as well make Mr. Stuart useful. Grabbing my phone from my bedside table, I texted him.

'Hey, can you help me with my hell homework? -C' I press sent and a few minutes later.. 'I'm outside your house. :p -J'

I smiled as I went downstairs.