The New Kid

Chapter 9- The World Works In Mysterious Ways

A lot of people looked at me weird after the dance. I understood why they did though. My mind was swimming with unanswered questions.

"So, you almost kissed Jessica, eh?" Savannah asked me at lunch.

I nodded sadly, "You mad at me?"

Savannah snorted, "Of course not! I'd rather see you kissing her than Cameron. God, I hate him."

"Why do you hate him?" I asked.

"Well, it's not really my place to tell you Jess's secrets," Savannah said.

I shrugged my shoulders. But then Savannah sighed, and told me, "You see, Jessica's put a lot of trust and faith into Cameron. He's been her first everything: first love, first kiss...first time," Savannah began.

I choked on my water. A tinge of jealousy burned in my heart.

"Anyways, the reason I hate him is because he's using her just for her body. You heard what Cameron and Drake were fighting about. Most of the people here know about what's going on except Jessica. Don't you dare say a word about this, new kid. She should find out on her own terms."

I cocked my head, "Aren't we hurting her more by not telling her?"

"Look, I don't know. I'm just frustrated about this. I just hate how Jessica can't see that he's using her. It's so aggravating, Scott."

We finished our lunch and walked around the hallways again. In the social studies hallway, we saw Jessica sitting in a desk outside by herself. She just so happened to turn and look directly at us.

"Scott! Hey! I want to talk to you," Jessica whisper-yelled.

We walked over to her. She was halfway finished with a world history test.

"Look, about last night Jess, I'm-" I began.

"Don't apologize. I understand. We were in a moment and I guess we just couldn't help ourselves. You can dance like hell though, wow! You were really good," she replied.

I blushed. None of my friends had ever complimented me on my dancing before.

"Why thank you. You did good, too," I replied. We both laughed lightly and looked at each other. Her eyes told me she looked sadder than she had been in a while.

"I think you and I can come to an understanding," Jessica said, "After all, it was just a dance."

"But the question is that does Cameron know about what happened?" I chimed in.

Jessica looked down and sighed, "Yeah, he knows. He's mad as all hell, Scott. I'm worried for you. I've seen what he's capable of. He's sent people to the hospital because guys talk to me or look at me." Tears started welling in her eyes. "I'm stuck. That's all I've ever been is stuck. I don't know what to do about this relationship anymore."

Suddenly, she shot up out of her chair and bear-hugged me, crying onto my left shoulder. My heart felt a little heavy when she hugged me. I felt awful for her. Maybe some girls liked how a guy was overly defensive for her; Jessica didn't want or need this.

"Look at me, Jessica," I said. She moved her head and faced me. "Whatever decision you make about this relationship won't matter in the future. Listen to your heart. It'll make the best decision for you."

Jessica smiled, the tears ceasing to flow. "Thank you, Scott. I may have known you almost two weeks, but I feel like I can tell you anything. You're such a good person and a better friend."

That word, "friend". I hated it sometimes whenever it came to my crushes. I wished it were more. She wiped a tear from her face, "I'd better get back to this test. I'll see you later." She sat back down in her chair and Savannah and I walked down the hall. Suddenly, Savannah kissed me on the cheek.

"That's for being a good person," Savannah said. I looked at her funny and she laughed, "What?"

"A kiss on the cheek?" I said. She walked in front of me to the point my back was against a locker. She put her hands on my chest, "You wished it were more?"

I could tell where this was going. I just simply rolled my eyes and smiled. I grabbed her waist tightly and pulled her into a kiss. It took her by surprise, but she followed suit. I got lost in her strawberry scent. She pressed her whole body against mine. I prayed that no one would come down this hallway and find us. Although, I was kind of confused as to why she was kissing me. This probably didn't mean anything. We continued making out for what seemed like 5 minutes. She broke off the kiss and looked at me, gasping for air.

"Goddamn, you're one hell of a kisser," Savannah said.

"Same with you," I replied.

She continued breathing heavily, "So, why'd we kiss?" I asked.

"Eh, why the hell not? I haven't kissed anyone in a long time. I figured you'd break the spell."

I nodded. Surprisingly, I didn't feel a tinge of disappointment.

"I don't care if you tell Drake. Just keep it a secret from Jessica and everyone else, okay?" Savannah asked.

"Yeah, no problem," I said.

She smiled, and walked away. I hadn't been kissed like that in almost two years. It was kind of odd how she only knew me for almost two weeks and just up and kissed me like I'd known her forever. The world works in mysterious ways.