Poison

Chapter 50

I walk outside the doors of the school hall with a racing heart as other students run past me screaming profanities while throwing their belongings in the air. My eyes fail to find Nate or
Emily, so I lean against a locker close to the entrance and wait with vigilant eyes for one of them to show up.

My eyes catch David who is leaving with a bunch of guys who are laughing at the top of their lungs, his eyes accidentally land on my own stopping his own laughter. He says some rushed words to them before jogging over to me cautiously.

"How was it?" I ask leaning on the metal as he runs his hand through his hair that grew out quiet a bit.

"Good actually." He says with a warm smile. "My dad got me a tutor and I have a lot of free time now, so I think I'll get into some university. You?"

"Good." I say returning the smile, he opens his mouth to say something but Emily's voice cuts through the air as she runs out the hall with a dazzling smile.

"I'll see you around Andy." He says fading into the crowd before I could respond. My attention is redirected to Emily as she hugs me tightly forcing a smile onto my lips.

"I'm guessing it went well." I say chuckling slightly as she pulls back, with her hands still gripping my shoulders.

"Far from it, I definitely failed!" She says with a wide smile while my eyebrows knit together in frustration. "Don't look at me like that, I can barely pass a maths test and I'm expected to ace the fucking SATs. How about no."

"Em.." I start but she places a finger on my lips stopping me.

"It's fine Andy, I never wanted to go to university. I'll be perfectly happy in our little town taking over the family biz." She says with a smile that's meant to comfort me but only worries me instead. I just nod to avoid a full scale argument and look back towards the open doors to find a few people strolling out.

"He was one of the first out." She says suddenly making me frown. "Call him."

I don't ask any questions as I search through my bag for my new phone before dialing his number which I'd somehow learnt by heart. It rings a few times making my worry grow as it goes to voicemail. I knew he said he'd check the letter after the exam but I thought he'd take me with him or at least say something to me first. Emily rubs my shoulder before indicating to me that she had to bolt, I nod as she runs down the now empty halls. I call Nate's phone again but after a few rings it goes to voicemail. I keep ringing as I speed walk through the halls, I wouldn't be seeing until graduation night. It was summer for us but I couldn't celebrate like I'm sure Emily, David and all our classmates were surely doing right now, Nate took precedence in my mind and I could only think about finding him.

Walking out through the back parking lot, I walk through the partying crowds and head to the back where I find David talking to Nate. I stop in my track as I watch the two converse for the first time after everything that happened with Emily. It had been weighing on Nate not being able to talk to his best friend and even though what he did to Emily was wrong, I often encouraged him to speak to David. They were best friends long before us and I didn't want it on my conscience that he lost his best friend because he sided with Emily which was truly commendable. The two share a laugh switching from their serious expressions before Nate's eyes dart over to me, the fill with joy as he motions me over. David says something to him before hug quickly and David slips into his car, driving away after giving me a wave.

"Hey." He says hugging me, pressing a kiss to my forehead before digging into his pocket and taking out his phone. "Someone's been blowing up my phone and I ha-......why were you calling me so much?"

"Couldn't find you." I say with a weak smile before tiptoeing and giving him a quick kiss that makes him hum in delight. "How'd you do?"

"We'll have to wait for my results and see." He says wiggling his eyebrows while I frown. "What about you?"