It Was Him

Ch.3: How Cute

The next day at school, I hadn't expected anything different. Kacey met me outside on the courtyard in front of the school when I got off the bus. We sat down on the benches off to the side like we always did before the bell rang that signaled the beginning of first period.

But what I saw as Kacey and I sat down on the cold, grass-green benches was something that I hadn't seen coming.

When Kacey finally noticed that I had stopped listening to her rant about how we get too much homework, she trailed off and followed my gaze over to Seth.

He was with a girl over on the other side of the courtyard.

But it wasn't just any girl. It was Rachael Leeman, the Queen Bee of Grants High. And she liked to make sure she was the center of attention at all times.

What better way to do that then throw yourself at the new, very hot bad boy that everyone was talking about?

"Well she got over Ryan fast," Kacey remarked. I laughed in agreement.

Ryan Wells had been Rachael's boyfriend for two years, before their breakup recently.

They were the perfect couple. They had practically been Grants High royalty. Until Ryan had that embarassment last week when a freshman geek kicked his butt in front of everyone.

His and Rachael's relationship went downhill after that because he was falling out of his popularity.

It became clear that Rachael was only using him to become more and more popular. When he failed, here came Seth, the hot bad boy that everyone was talking about.

Rachael saw the opportunity and pounced. She broke up with Ryan and by the looks of it is now pursuing Seth.

I rolled my eyes. "What an attention hog," I scoffed.

Rachael was now lightly laying her hand on Seth's chest and leaning upwards to whisper in his ear.

What a cringe-fest.

I had to look away before I lost what little breakfast I had eaten. It seemed like Kacey felt the same.

*

"How was school, honey?" Mom's voice cut through the silent atmosphere of the dining room.

I stopped mid-chew and blankly stared at her.

"Why don't you ask Zack? I'm sure he has a much more interesting answer," I mumbled through my mashed potatoes.

I hurriedly shoveled more food into my mouth so that my mom wouldn't try to get me to talk.

I couldn't explain it completely, but something felt off about today. I felt slightly depressed but I couldn't exactly pinpoint why.

And I knew that if I told my mom this, she'd either think that I was lying and demand to know what was wrong, or she'd pry for more details to see if she could figure out what was wrong.

I just wasn't in the mood. I know my mom only acts that way because she cares, but I didn't even know what was wrong with myself, so how would she help?

Mom could see that I wasn't having it, so she eventually gave up and started talking to Zack. My dad on the other hand was not going to give up that easily.

"Sweetie, are you sure everything's alright?" He asked. "Something seems off about you today."

I swallowed my bite of steak and looked him in the eye. "Everything is fine, Dad. It's just highschool, ya know?"

He didn't look convinced, but he didn't push further. "Alright. Just know that you can always come to me and your mom for anything," he reminded me.

"I know, Dad. I love you," I said.

"Love you too, sweetie," Dad said, throwing a smile my way that crinkled the edges of his eyes.

The rest of dinner was like any normal night. After I finished, I went to my bedroom to work on what homework I had left.

Just as I was putting my pencil to the paper, I heard a knock on the door.

I jumped. "Oh, um, come in," I called.

I looked to the doorway to see who it was. Zack walked in and strolled towards my bed.

He sat down next to me. "Hey, sis," he chimed. "Anything you wanna talk about?"

I glanced at him and then back to my homework. "Nope, I think I'm good," I said, hoping Zack would take the hint.

He didn't. "You know, I saw Seth with Rachael today too," he began.

My jaw dropped as I turned my gaze to my brother. "You seriously think that's what's got me in this mood?"

Zack smirked. "No, I seriously know that's what's got you in that mood."

I scoffed, but he ignored me. "Stells, I just wanna tell you right now that Seth is not the guy for you."

I rolled my eyes. "Like I care."

"But you do," Zack countered. "Sis, I could tell just by the way you looked at him the other day that a part of you, no matter how big or small, likes Seth."

He turned me so I could look him straight in the eye. "And that same part of you is what's hurting so badly today, right now."

I rolled my eyes again. "Whatever, Zack." I turned back towards my homework and tried to focus.

"You know it's true," Zack sing-songed while elbowing me.

I blushed and grabbed my pillow, swinging it around to smack him in the face.

Zack caught it just in time, laughing. "Trying to use my tricks against me, huh?"

He started to tickle me until I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe. "Zack, stop it!" I managed in between bouts of laughter.

"Alright, I'll let you get back to your homework," Zack resigned.

As he walked out the door, he whispered, "You know it's true," before winking and closing the door behind him.

Maybe I didn't want to admit it to myself, but I think I actually did like Seth. Even after such a short amount of time together.

But I didn't really even know the guy.

I should get to know a guy before I decide to have a crush on them, I thought to myself matter-of-factly.

Yeah, yeah, whatever.

Right at that moment, my phone chimed with a text.

~

So sorry for the wait! I've just been so busy with school, and homework, and blah.

But after long last, I present to you Chapter 3! Let me know what you guys think in the comments :)

Who's texting Stella? Who are you guys shipping? Jk, it's probably too early for that lol.

If you enjoyed...
☆|V O T E & C O M M E N T|☆

Love you guys!
-R.J. ♡