Head Over Sneakers | on hold

[ 2 ]

MORNING CAME FAST and I detested the thought of having to go to school only to face the bane of my existence—Devon Hunters. Even his name caused my insides to churn in the most horrible way.
"Mike!" I shouted, turning to face the door to my bedroom, my sulking features intensifying the second the door had swung open with a bang, revealing my brother and a toothbrush hanging out the side of his mouth.
Raising a brow as if to say 'Yes, what is it that you need?' I groaned and settled deeper into the comfort of my pillows. "I feel sick. I don't think I should go in today." My voice was soft and I made sure to lower it as much as I could to add a sickly effect.
Mike's brows furrowed and he strode across the room, bent down by my side and raised his hand. He placed it upon my forehead and rested it there for a few seconds.
Plucking the toothbrush from his mouth, a few splatters of mint toothpaste mixed with his saliva splattered across my cheek and I shrieked in annoyance.
A knowing smirk stretched across his lips. "You're perfectly fine! I know exactly why you don't want to go in."
He chuckled and rose to his feet. It truly amazed me how he was as tall as a tree and I couldn't even reach the height of his chin yet. Returning my attention to his words, I groaned.
"Come on, Sis. He only jokes around, it's harmless teasing. You can't miss school because of him, that's so dumb!" His assurance wasn't very assuring since I still felt the exact same as I did seconds seconds prior to his attempted words of reassurance. But he sort of had a point. Why should I pause my life because of him!
Springing out of bed, I outed Mike from my room and leapt into my closet, picking out a pair of leggings and a baggy jumper. I let my hair down purely because Devon knew the only time I had it up in a pony tail was when I was playing sports or I was stressed/agitated. All sports were cancelled for the week, so he'd know my hairstyle had something to do with him.
I winced at the thought. How pathetic could I get...avoiding a hairstyle for the likes of Devon Hunters? I shook my head and gathered my hair up into a pony tail. I don't give a crap what he thinks! I wouldn't give him that satisfaction of knowing his presence irked me.
Brushing my teeth and packing my bag for school, I followed Mike to the car and we both set off, the cold breeze of autumn causing the leaves to dances around like ballerinas on stage.
Slamming the door shut on arrival, we made our way into the building through the large swinging doors at the front, our bags resting on our shoulders and our sneakers squelching against the freshly mopped grounds.
Turning the corner, I took a few steps forward and made contact with the lock of my locker. Applying the combination code, it clicked once and fell into the palms of my hands. I picked up a few books and shoved some away.
Slamming the door shut, a frightened yelp escaped my lips as I came face to face with eyes that belonged to the devil himself.
"Devon, what the hell?!" I yelled at him, shoving his shoulder harshly and his only response was to grin like the Cheshire Cat.
Of course, the force of my shove affected him in no way at all.
His deep brown eyes brightened and a sinful grin hung from his lips. My eyes narrowed into thin slits, my body becoming stiff and rigid the longer I stared up at him. "You didn't have much to say to me yesterday, Ace." At the sound of the nickname that he had for me, I rolled my eyes.
"Ponytail."
I rose a brow, confused.
He reached out and his fingers curled around my ponytail, yanking with a gentle but firm force, not enough to hurt me, but enough for me to feel it.
My cheeks heated up and I shoved him away from me, pulling the band firmly form its place that kept my hair up. Of course he remembered. My hair fell in waves over my shoulders and down my back.
Sidestepping him without a single word, I set off into a swift paced walk.
And of course, he followed. I knew he wouldn't leave me alone without an answer, so I spoke up. "Your presence agitating me shouldn't come as a surprise."
A series of rich chuckles were followed by his overly dramatic actions. Stopping in my tracks, I looked up to meet his amused eyes.
"I don't have the energy for this." And then I was off again, turning the corner into class and groaning when I noticed him catch up to walk through the threshold of the same room, right by my very side. He was like a cold that I simply couldn't shake off.
Grumbling words of discontent underneath my breath, I slammed my bag onto the mahogany desk and I watched the way Devon's brow lifted in amusement.
My lips pursed, my thin fingers  gripping the edges of the table as if my life depended on it whilst I attempted to hold in the outbursts that begged to be released.
I wouldn't give him a reaction. I wouldn't give him a reaction. I would not give him a reaction. I chanted the words inside my head and I felt my grip begin to loosen as I calmed down my breathing and focused on anything else but the devil who'd conveniently choose to sit next to me.
Class had begun and keeping my gaze fixed on the teacher, I didn't let it stray, not even once. When it was time to copy answers down, I picked up a pen and my wrist began to move, the words suddenly appearing on the page and forming sentences.
"Hey. Psst!" Grinding my teeth together like a mortar and pestle, my jaw tightened. Taking a cool breath, I turned to peek at Devon, waiting for him to speak up so that he could finally leave me alone again.
"I need a pencil." Blinking thrice, I wondered why the stupid boy had shown him to school without the right stuff, but I was far too agitated to even go down the path of asking, so I left things how they were and handed him a spare pencil that I'd always kept in the side pocket of my bag.
Thanking me with a grin, Devon's brown eyes lit up and his crimson lips parted as he scribbled down notes into a single sheet of paper.
   Crack. I cringed at the echoing sound of the pencil lead breaking under the harsh pressure of Devon's hand. I refrained from loosing my cool once again and simply fished into the depths of my bag for a sharpener.
   Handing it to him with a brisk look that screamed 'I know what you're doing'.
   Devon smirked even more and began to sharpen the pencil. "Whoops." I dared not to look for I knew I'd definitely end up in a raging fit.
   But my restraint was running thin like fine silk, and I couldn't help but peek through the corner of my right eye.
   Sprawled across his desk was a litter of sharpening, crushed lead and sprinkles of dust. The sharpener itself was snapped in half and the whole edge of the pencil was nowhere to be seen.
   "You idiot!" I yelped.
   I didn't care that I'd drawn the attention of the whole class to the both of us.
   "What the hell did you do?!" Devon burst out laughing and I couldn't help but angrily reach out and smack him lightly across the back of his head.
   He tilted his head to the side and cheekily winked.
   Then, a presence made itself known, clearing their throat and drawing my eyes to the awaiting figure. "This whole time the two of you have been whispering and disrupting my class, rather rudely. It's the second day back and I will not allow anyone to drive me as crazy as I've been last term. Now the both of you, leave!"
   Mr. Lincoln's eyes looked as though they were about to pop out from their sockets.
   I could see the steam that simmered above his squeaky clean head and at the sight of the shiny surface I'd wondered whether or not he polished his head. I groaned at the silly thought and after sinking into my seat.
   I scrambled to my feet and grasped all my things, a sullen look flashing across my features.
   Storming out of class like a girl on a mission-which I was; attempting to put as much distance between Devon and I as I possibly could.
   That became a challenge when I noticed how he was hot on my heels, calling out to me, amusement lingering within his tone. "Oh come on, Ace, stop being so moody. Loosen up." He jokes.
   With furious brown eyes, I stopped mid stride, the soles of my sneakers squeaking against the waxed floors as I spun around to face the devil.
   His thick brows shot up to reach the sky and the curve of his lips grew bigger as he watched me under humoured eyes. Crossing his arms over his chest, he stared down at me, awaiting for my outburst that was moments away from becoming unleashed.
   Pointing an accusing finger at him, I cried out. "All you ever do is torment me and I'm sick of it! Whilst you were away, my life was bliss. Now your back out of the blue and I hate it. But not more than I hate you." My chest rose up and down in anger as the words were spat from my mouth like poison.
   Devon's amusement dimmed for a mere second but it was back before I knew it. In that very second I missed the tiny glint that flashed across his eyes before the mischievous glimmer had reappeared again. I almost felt bad. Almost.
   "You don't mean that, Ace." He shook his head and watched me with serious eyes, the smirk across his lips remaining.
   A thick silence enveloped the two of us and as I stood in the silent hall, I felt suffocated and wished to be relaxed of the discomfort. A series of coughs escaped my lips as I cleared my throat and blinked thrice, clearing my fury blazed vision. "Don't follow me." I warned him and stormed away, taking the shaken atmosphere away with me as it drifted away like ashes from a fire.
   This time, Devon didn't come after me and I was glad.

—