Breaking The Mirror [Edited And Complete]

Secure

"Is that right?"

"Yes," I take a deep breath. Finally. It seems that Lauren Patterson is just a bit dumber than I expected. I'm practically skipping the rest of third period, staying here to help her with this stuff.

"Yes!" She pumps her fist into the air, "I got it!"

"Yes," I nod and she looks at me, still blushing.

"Thanks so much," She grins widely. "Do you wanna hang out sometime?"

That's a yes or no question, and yet I don't know what to say. 'Yes' would be a lie. 'No' would be terribly rude, although it expresses my thoughts on the matter quite straightforwardly. 'Hang out' means a date, and this girl has a crush on me. I'm not completely stupid, I can tell. I just don't know why. She's never even talked to me before. Girls are so weird.

"Er...I'm busy on every day but Wednesdays," I try. She lights up, though. That's not the reaction she's supposed to have.

"That's tomorrow!" She beams, "Where do you go on your free time? A movie?"

"I –um –go to the bookstore and meet some friends..."I say hesitantly. Why do I feel like I'm burying myself deeper into this?

"Which one?"

"Lakeside..."

"Oh! That's just around the corner!" She stands up and gathers her books in her arms. Then she leans over and kisses me on the cheek. Again. "See you tomorrow!"

Then she runs out of the library.

Why do I have absolutely no idea what just happened?

Damn.

I should've just said no.

-

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asks again and I smile up at him. I'm sitting on my bed and he's in the doorway to my room.

"I'm fine!" I say, wiping away my tears. Dad had done something new that day, when I'd broken a plate while washing the dishes. He'd ripped my shirt off, removed his belt and used it as a whip. It was the most painful thing I'd ever experienced.

"No, you're not," He shakes his head and comes in and shuts the door behind him before coming over and standing beside my bed. "You're bleeding something awful."

"I...I'll be fine...w-why do'ya care, anyway?" I mutter softly, "I'm...I'm not worth anythin'...I'm...I'm nothin'..."

"Don't you ever say that," He whispers and gets onto his knees so that he's at eye level with my six-year-old form. "You are a special, special boy, Jayden. I like you. I care about you. I don't think your nothing. I want to spend time with you."

"Y-yeah?"

"Yeah."

I gasp and shoot up in my bed, sweating.

-

I haven't seen Seaton in almost an entire week. Not that I care. I'm just thinking about anything else besides where I'm walking to and who I'm going to meet there. The Lakeside bookstore's in view and my stomach plummets. Suki and Linda are going to freak when they find out I 'invited' a girl.

In a good way.

Which is bad.

I open the door and she's already there, and apparently, she drove home in her tiny little blue Punch Buggy to change before she met me here. Her bright red hair is in a ponytail and she's got on the shortest skirt I've ever seen. It looks like a frilly belt. She looks at me and grins. She looks like those girls on the cover of Seventeen and Cosmo Girl that I've seen on the shelves in the teen section.