Raven

~ Chapter Nine - Raven ~

What. The. Fuck. A love song?! A fucking love song. God help me please, I definitely need it. I sigh and sink deeper into my seat. I feel my phone buzz and I take it out of my pocket. Willows contact info appears on my screen and I giggle.

"I feel sorry for you girl"

I sigh and begin texting her back.

"So do I" Believe me, this is not going to be good. I feel Theodore turn next to me, and I look up to see him smirking at me. He chuckles and I place my head on my desk and groan.

"Why, why, why?" I whisper to myself and lightly hit my head on the desk.

"Whoa there, we don't want to mess up that pretty little head of yours." Theodore places his hand on my shoulder, and I can hear the smile in his voice. I lift my head and glare at him.

"You are not helping." I hiss.

"Calm down princess, this will be more fun than you think."

****************************************************************

"How is it with Theo so far." Willow giggles when I groan into my hands.

"Well, imagine hell, then triple it, add in a few venomous snakes and a girlfriend who hates me...
Ya, it's worse than that." Willow giggles at me.

We were heading out to lunch when Willow stops abruptly.

"You know, I've only heard one of your songs." She smiles at me.

"What are you thinking?" I say, mildly frightened.

"Well, there are a few perks of having a father who runs the music department." She grins, "Follow me." She takes my hand and pulls me back toward the music rooms.

"Won't we get in trouble for this?" I ask, only slightly worried for my safety.

"They only let juniors in the computer rooms and the seniors get the rest. So technically only if we get caught." She grins evilly. Ok, now I'm really worried about my survival. I never pray, however right now I feel like I should be on my knees hoping my limbs aren't going to be ripped from my body. No exaggeration. None the less I smile and only half willingly follow her to the music department.

We reach the first room in less than two minutes, and Willow opens the door, which, to my surprise, is unlocked. Willow heads straight to the rack of instruments and retrieved a large oak colored guitar.

"Here, play." She points at me and I chuckle at her.

"As you wish your highness," I bow with a giggle. "What do you want me to play?" I ask and Willow bites on her lip as she contemplates.

"How about the one you were playing in the tree?" She raises an eyebrow and I nod my head. I began plucking the strings, my long fingers precise and fast. I begin singing the lyrics, my foot tapping the rhythm quietly. There was a sudden but soft knock on the classroom door, making both myself and Willows heads' spin in the direction of the door.

"Sorry to intrude ladies, but I need to talk to dear Feathers here for a moment."

"I don't want to talk to you, Theodore." I sigh.

"It's about the project." He smirks.

"Fine. Speak." I place the guitar in the stand and cross my arms over my chest.

"Can we go somewhere in private?" He asks, looking over at Willow.

"No," I say, placing a fake smile on my face. "Speak, or piss off, Theodore."

"Fine little miss stubborn." He chuckles, and I raise my eyebrows. "Okay, okay, I was just wondering if you were free Friday afternoon."

"Why?"

"To work on the project. You can come to my house." He smirks at me and I hear Willow snicker behind me.

"Uhh no. We can go to the park."

"Okay, it's a date." He smirks as he turns to leave.

"Wait, no," I say and he stops.

"What?"

"It's not a date," I say. He walks out the door, chuckling to himself.

"I swear, if he smirks at me one more time, I'm going to stab him." I turn when I hear Willow laughing.

"Sorry I can't be of more help." She says through her giggles.

I groan and slump back into the chair. Willow glances at her watch, frowns, and looks back at me.

"We should probably go before a teacher turns up." She says, and I nod. I rise from my seat, but before I can take a step, my foot catches on the chair leg, and I fall flat on my face. Willow and I burst into laughter, with me still on the ground and Willow doubled over, still sitting on her chair.

*** ** * ** ***

The rest of the day was as uneventful as any other, and the bus ride home was boring. By the time I got home, it was almost dark, and the clouds fill with reds, oranges, and the faintest hints of blue.

Greeting my father, I walk to the through the kitchen to my bedroom, grabbing a red apple on the way. Landing on my bed with a thump, I retrieve my laptop from my bad and place it on my bed. I type the password and open a new tab in Google. I open the Facebook application and click on

"Recent friend requests."

Without accepting the request, I open Theodore's profile. His profile photo is - as expected - of himself, trying somewhat successfully to flex his muscles. I have to admit he's attractive. Not in a way that would make me swoon like almost half of the student body, an exception that can only be extended to the straight males, gay females, and sane human beings such as myself.

Other than his profile photo, there isn't much in his Facebook profile. A few photos out with his friends, his school, home, and interests, and what surprised me the most, was a beautiful group of photos. Some were images of him and what looked like a possible little sister, while my obvious favorite was one with him and his guitar in a beautifully sunlit attic room. I smiled to myself, thinking about how incredible it would be to be in such a pretty attic with a guitar, a book, and a nice cup of tea.

"Raven, dinner." Dad's call breaks me from my train of thought, and I close my laptop screen, and quickly change into tracksuit pants and a jacket. Before running down the stairs to get food, I groan to myself as one crucial thing finally hits me.

"I have to write a love song with Theodore Gray."

Gulp.