The Bad Boy BxB

Regrets (9)

"Good morning; happy Friday," I heard my daddy singing as he gently shook my shoulder, pulling me out of a lovely dream about Caleb. "KK, wake up.."

I made a soft moaning noise to let him know that I was awake, but not ready to get up.

"Aiken," he stressed, sounding more serious, "Wake up, sweetheart..."

I went to make another noise, a little louder in case he hadn't heard the first time, but, before I had the chance, I found five large fingers wiggling against my belly.

"Daddy! Stahap it," I giggled, much more alert and now swatting at his hand. "I'm up! I prohohomise!"

Chuckling, dad let his hand slow to a halt before leaning over to kiss me good morning. "Your alarm didn't sound," He told me, "You're going to have to get ready a little faster, today."

"Good morning," I greeted, happily waving when I saw Caleb. To my dismay, he looked around and made an urgent face that reminded me to knock it off. He didn't want to be seen around me, which came as no surprise. We weren't friends and we hadn't actually hooked up at the party. We shouldn't have any connections, any reasons to know each other. What would he ever tell his friends? He told me he's not great at keeping secrets from them. He feels too guilty when he tries. Oh, he's a sweetheart... "Sorry," I mumbled, earning a tiny smirk and wink from him. His 'hello' to me. 

The classes taking place before lunchtime just about flew by - not that I was able to pay much attention. I was too busy paying attention to Caleb. I was thinking. Remembering and daydreaming. Wishing, hoping, longing. I knew my crush was growing out of hand, but I couldn't help it. Caleb is just too amazing not to lo- like! Like! I meant like! I was not just about to drop the L-word for Caleb! No way!

At lunch, the arrangement could not have been any more fortunate! Maybe today would be my lucky day. You see, having no friends, I'm stuck sitting where others aren't, so my options can be quite limited. I'm not typically near people I know or would ever talk to. Today, however, was different. Today, it was the table beside Caleb's group of friends to be empty for me.

"Ooh, that girl ... piece of work ... got together ..." That was the extent of what I heard from Caleb's friend, Matt, as he blathered on about some 'hot chick' he met last month. I was paying minimal attention to the meaningless words erupting from the bonehead's mouth (don't tell Caleb I said that); there was something much better to focus on. My wonderful little victim, Caleb. He just had this aura around him of totally uncaring and free; it was a delightful change. If only I could do this to him... 

"Hey, you know, you guys remember that chick, Shauna?" Another one of the boys asked, receiving a chorus of murmurs as a response. He continued by sharing the story of how they went from a one-night-stand to a real couple, which quite excited the crowd. "Thank god for that party of yours, dude," he joked, tapping Caleb on the shoulder.

"Hey, speaking of that party," one of the other boys said in a less excited tone than moments previous, which calmed the others significantly. "What was up with that weird dude with the camera?"

My heart sank in my chest all the way to my stomach. I knew people talked about me behind my back, but Caleb was a part of this group. Did that mean he might, as well? Oh, how I hoped not... He's my only chance at having a high-school sweetheart... He would be my only prom dance - I wouldn't have cared if it was in a back alley just to escape the school's watchful eyes as long as it happened... Being alone on prom night is not fun. I would know; I've already been through it once before.

"Yeah, I remember that kid. He's a freak. I'm in his second class," one of them said. He sure wasn't lying... Only, he doesn't really know I'm a freak. Only Caleb knows that...

"Why did you even invite him, dude? He just went around making a movie of everything. What the hell was that about?"

I would have liked to say that Caleb defended me or, at least, didn't join in with their cruelty, but, I figured, he was being honest. He was just with his friends; why would he lie to them? Though, what he said... "I was feeling sorry for the little loser! The kid's got no friends, and it's no wonder why."

Good to know, I thought, looking for my escape. There! There was a crowded path to the main door; perfect for slinking out un-noticed by Caleb. I collected my trash into one tall pile to hide my face from anyone who might bother to look at me - though, I doubted it. No one ever takes notice of me. Besides, I could just tilt my head up a little and no one would notice. I'm that tall. I just couldn't let anyone see me cry.

Caleb

"Hey, I'll be back," I told my friends in excusing myself to go take a leak. I took my headphones off my ears and left them around my neck, walking slowly and just taking in the music. I love my friends, but it gets a bit much having to lie to their faces so often. I mean, I don't hide much, but I hide often. Always the same things. It's getting so annoying. If only I was just different...

I was a little taken aback when I went inside the washroom. I could see one of the stall doors was locked and I could hear something that sounded suspiciously like crying - sniffling, gasping, the occasional whimper... It ceased, for the most part, the moment that the guy knew I was there, though. I felt bad; I wanted to make sure they were okay. But I'm Caleb. I couldn't. Not since I didn't know who it was.

I... Did my business, pretending to be totally oblivious of the guy by pretending I was too involved with the music and left the poor boy to his lonesome. But I promise I'm not that heartless. I went to the end of the hall and waited round the corner so that I'd be able to see him when he left. If I could tell who it was, maybe I could make the time to talk to him. I hoped so. I would feel so guilty, otherwise. 

I watched in my little corner spot for a few minutes, keeping track of every face that went in so to not confuse the crying boy with someone else. I had to wait for five, maybe ten minutes. My friends were going to be curious... But that didn't matter, right now. I mean, what if it was... No. Not even going to say his name.

It was a while before I saw the backside of a boy who hadn't entered the washroom after I had left (and not too bad of a backside, either...). I peeked past the corner carefully, just barely far enough to be able to see him, so that he wouldn't notice me if he turned, which he did. He was coming this way, in fact. I had to make my quick escape. Though, no matter how quickly I went, I had seen his face. It would take me forever to stop seeing it. His puffy eyes, his red nose, the tear stains on his cheeks... I knew he wasn't always treated the nicest, but he'd never been broken before. I had never seen Aiken cry.

I felt awful. I had a good guess of the reason for Aiken's heart-wrenching expression and large tears. What's worse was how he refused to look me in the eye for the rest of the day, if he could help it. And when he couldn't... The poor boy showed me the most heartbreaking sad puppy face I'd ever seen - each time being a little worse than the last. It got so bad that I couldn't possibly let myself ignore it. It was the only thing I could think of from the second I got off the bus home. Though, due to my own stupid... Everything, it took me an hour to make my move. A simple text.

Hey, is everything okay?

Aiken never replied.

1m 1d (F) June 1