That Night

Chapter Five

I sat in History that day with a throbbing headache, most likely due to the several beers I had consumed the night before. Yes, I got drunk with my friends on a Thursday night, knowing very well that I had school the next morning. But it was Gordon's eighteenth, so I had a solid excuse. I didn't get drunk that often. No, I found it much more enjoyable watching my friends act like idiots rather than acting like an idiot myself.

"Oh, shoot!"

I turned to my right, a smirk playing at my lips despite my sour mood as the quirky girl from yesterday spoke to herself. I watched as she shrank in defeat, frowning down at her blank notebook.

"Need a pen?" I guessed, raising an eyebrow.

She blinked back at me, a smile forming on her rosy face. "I left my pencil pouch at home," she explained, shrugging sadly.

Pencil pouch, I thought in amusement.

"Well that's quite a shame," I mocked lightly, leaning down and fishing a spare pen out of the depths of my backpack. "But it seems to be your lucky day."

Grinning, I held the pen out to the beaming girl, only to jerk it away just before she could grasp it.

The poor girl looked baffled at first, but when she realized that I was only teasing, she giggled, "Oh, you!"

I chuckled at her, placing the pen in her hand before leaning back again.

"Thank you," she said gratefully.

"Keep it," I told her as she dated the top of her page.

"Oh, no, you don't have to–"

"Please," I interjected. "You still have six more classes to get through, and I really don't think you'll be able to get by without taking notes."

I surprised myself by how sincere my voice sounded, even if it had started out as a joke. Strange...

If possible, her grin widened, and her crystal blue eyes gleamed with joy. "You are a lifesaver!" she proclaimed, holding up the pen as proof.

I merely waved my hand, dismissing her compliment and focusing again on the lesson, my headache forgotten.

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I rolled over in bed, buying my face in my pillow, yanking my blanket over my head, and forcing myself back to sleep.

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It was Monday when I realized I hadn't learned her name, and for some reason, I felt a pressing need to find out.

She came in that day totally glowing, wide smile, bright eyes. She hadn't been walking with anyone, she wasn't looking at her phone, and for goodness sake, it was a goddamn Monday. She had absolutely no reason to be that happy.

"Hi," the chipper girl greeted me as she sat down, hair wrapped up in a bun as it had been every other day.

I smiled back, watching as she went about her everyday routine: taking out her books, opening to last night's homework, flipping to a blank notebook page, dating the top right corner – all the while seeming lost in her own world. It was astounding how organized she was.

"You never told me your name, you know," I said suddenly, causing her to flinch.

"Hey, Dash," a girl, Noelle, cooed over me as she walked by my desk, briefly drawing my attention away from the wide-eyed girl beside me.