Paper Cuts (COMPLETED)

Chapter Thirty-Two: The Story of Us.

"Hey, slut!" said the acne-covered face of a year nine as I pushed open the door to the school. He smirked and lingered, waiting for my response. I matched his smirk and kept walking.

"Hey, spot-face!" I mocked, and ran up the stairs to the table area. Harry was the only one there, and I checked the time. It was almost half eight.

"Where's Matt and Shiloh?" I said, and Harry looked up with a raised brow that said 'do-you-really-want-to-know?'

I shuddered and sat beside him, "Never mind. Ew."

"How are you?" said Harry. I shrugged, pulling out my textbooks.

"You have study first?" Harry nodded. "Awesome."

"Hello? Are you going to answer my question?" Harry pushed.

"I'm fine!" I protested with a laugh, "Why are you so desperate to know?"

Harry squinted at me, not convinced as I gave him a reassuring smile. "So what I heard this morning about you and Will is wrong, then?"

I stiffened, "What did you hear?"

"That you got back together," he said, trailing off to make it a question. I frowned gently.

"I don't know," I said, "I don't really think we got back together as such."

Harry shrugged, "Whatever you say. He seemed pretty happy at football this morning, though."

I smiled, "That's good."

Another thought came to my mind then. "Hey, didn't you say something about having a welcome party for Shiloh?"

"Even though we're in the last semester of our final year? Yes."

"To show we love and appreciate her as our friend," I recited, from when he'd told me a couple of weeks ago.

"Yeah, I'll have it in the first week of April," said Harry.

--

"So," Shiloh said, pulling me aside after History. "Details. Please."

"Why is everyone so curious?" I said, sniffing a laugh, "Nothing really happened."

"Okay, then," Shiloh said, with a suggestive smirk. I gave an exasperated sigh.

"Seriously! Okay, we made out. Is that what you want? Honestly!" I shoved her and she laughed.

"Alright, I won't ask," she said, and walked off to her next class. I shook my head as I watched her go and laughed into my locker as I pulled out my Physics books. A freckled hand pushed my locker door closed, and I jumped back and out of the way. James grinned at me like a wolf does at a sheep, and I cringed inwardly.

"Hey gorgeous," he said hungrily. I stepped back, hitting my locker. "Miss me?"

"Don't you have a girlfriend?" I said, looking around for said girl. If Thea saw me again... I shuddered. The rumours had only just fizzled out.

"I don't have to," he said, prowling closer with a crooked-tooth grin. Thea could do way better than this guy. "Not if you don't want me to."

I screwed up my nose and put my hand against his chest firmly, "Thanks for the offer, but I'll pass."

I pushed past him and walked swiftly to the stairs to get to my physics classroom before the next period started. What was that? That party had been months ago - what could he possibly want now? I shrugged to myself, brushing it off.

After school I walked home in warm sunshine that dappled down through the white blossoms onto the pavement. A car pulled up beside me, and I turned my head to the side, pulling my headphones from my ears.

Will rolled down the window of the car. "Want a ride?"

I smiled gently, uncertain exactly of the dynamic between us. I stepped off the curb to open the car door and slid inside. He looked at me with an equal amount of uncertainty as his car chugged on the spot.

"Hi." I said, and turned away to reach for my seatbelt, grateful to break the awkward silence.

"Hi," said Will, and offered a small smile. We drove off.

"You passed my house," I pointed out quietly, but Will seemed unfazed.

"Is it okay if I take you somewhere?"

I nodded, and something inside me fluttered against the walls of my stomach.

I screwed up my nose, inhaling deeply as I squeezed my eyes shut and sneezed. When I opened my eyes, a bottle of nasal spray sat in Will's soft palm, and I looked up at him.

His forehead was creased in a gentle frown of concentration as he focused on the road, and I couldn't help but smile. I took the bottle from his hand, and he slowly drew it back to rest on his leg, but I reached my other hand across and lightly slid my fingers between his. He didn't flinch, and it didn't feel uncomfortable or awkward.

We stayed that way as he drove me into the city, and it was the most normal I had felt in a long time.

--

"Last night was," Will searched for a word and chewed on his lip. "Overwhelming."

I raised my eyebrows, "Overwhelming?"

"No, no - not like that," he said, beginning to get flustered, "I mean a good overwhelming. It was like everything I'd been worrying about since we broke up just... went away."

I nodded, "Yeah." Will scuffed his shoes on the ground.

"What do you want to do?" Will's voice was strained, anticipating my answer. It was a different question in disguise - he was really asking: "Do you still want to be with me?"

We were walking down a path in a small park, where only a pair of women had walked through five minutes ago. I stopped, my hand unconsciously going for his. Birds sung in the trees above us as golden light shone dancing rays of sun on the dirt path.

"I love you," I said. Will squeezed my hand and I laughed airily, feeling as though I could blow away in the breeze.

"I love you too," he said, and I reached up to wrap my arms around his neck. He slid his arms around my waist, and I breathed in the scent of him - a faint tang of cologne mixed with the smell of fresh dirt and peppermint. I rubbed my thumb up and down the edge of his shoulder blade as the rest of me trembled. I had never felt so right than when I was in his arms, moulding to his body so comfortably.

I was home.