The Secrets We Share

THREE

Dawn

"Die, you brain-hurting textbook!"

Bang.

"Die, you stupid fat sports bag!"

Crash.

"Go kill yourself, you heavy, back-breaking school bag-"

Snap.

Crash.

"STAY IN THE DAMN LOCKER YOU-"

"Umm... Aria? Are you... okay?"

"Okay? Are you insane?"

I poked my head around the block of metal lockers and tried- and failed- to hold in my laughter.

Aria crouched on the ground, clearly in the middle of packing her pencil case. Her heavy school bag was sitting- more like squashing- her head, and she was looking at me like I was the insane person.

"Aria, you aren't in the right place to call me insane. You look like a person who's been squashed by a-"

"I KNOW WHAT'S ON TOP OF MY HEAD, THANK YOU VERY MUCH! NOW STOP STARING AT ME LIKE AN ICICLE AND HELP!"

"I'm not an icicle," I sniffed as I dumped the bag into her locker. "Goodbye you... tree."

Ugh. My offensive terms weren't offensive at all.

I stormed around the corner, but I hadn't gone two steps when I heard a crash that was significantly louder than the first.

I sighed, bracing myself. Three, two, one...

"YOU COULD'VE CLOSED THE LOCKER DOOR, DAWN!"

"Oops," I said sweetly.

*

noah

As soon as I walked through the classroom door, I spotted Dawn and Aria punching each other playfully. I couldn't explain why my eyes were drawn to her, but there I was, tuning out my friends and their attempts to talk. 

I wondered how Dawn would react to seeing me on the weekend- silent? Acting like it had never happened? What if she'd already told her friends? Would they tease her? Was that why Aria was punching Dawn when I had walked in-

Stop it, I told myself. There was no need to get worked up when you didn't even know what had happened. 

"Settle down, class." The teacher hurried through the doorway, a stack of books and papers in her hand, and the class instantly quieted. 

Then Dawn turned in her seat to watch the teacher and caught my eye. 

A soft tinge of red highlighted her cheeks as she held the stare. But she didn't break it like some other annoying girls, who would lower their lashes and blink innocently so that they seemed to think it told me that I had control over them. 

The corners of my mouth turned up in a knowing smirk, and she flashed me a quick smile, which looked a little wary, then focused on the front. Beside me, Jason was giving me a weird look.

"Shut up," I whispered before he even opened his mouth.

He put his hands up. "I wasn't going to say anything!" He protested. 

I raised an eyebrow. "You just did."

"Oh, give me a break."

*

Dawn

What was he doing? Smiling at me like... I don't know. Like he was saying, "Remember me? The library?"