Head In The Stars

Chapter Eleven

Tuesday morning. Blah.

I roll out of bed, turning my alarm off. I yawn and walk over to my closet. I grab a pair of black leggings and a long, grey t-shirt. I throw my hair up in a bun and walk out to the kitchen.

I glance up at the clock to check the time before realizing it doesn't matter, I no longer have to give Dallas a ride. Jenny has that covered.

I make myself a mug of hot chocolate and plop down at the kitchen table. I'm absentmindedly stirring my drink when Hunter saunters into the kitchen. His hair is wet and messy from the shower and he's only wearing jeans.

"Why are you drinking hot chocolate at the end of May?" He asks me.

I look up at him. "Why do you eat ice cream in the winter?"

He shrugs and smiles. "Point taken."

I smile back before concentrating on stirring my drink again.

"Where's Dallas?" Hunter asks. I look up at him so abruptly, I hear my neck crack. "That kid is usually here by now. Come to think of it, he hasn't been around here at all lately."

I closely observe my brother. So he doesn't have anything to do with Dallas ignoring me. I don't know if I should be more upset or relived that Hunter didn't scare him away.

I choose to be more upset. If my brother didn't scare him off, he's doing this on purpose.

"I don't know," I mutter. "I really don't care either."

"Avril," Hunter says and I can tell older brother mode is being turned on. "Are you okay?"

I sigh. Would Hunter understand? What if I told him everything?

I look up to say something but just as I open my mouth, Hunter's phone rings. He walks out of the kitchen without a single word, pressing the phone to his ear.

I stand up, put my mug in the sink, and walk to the front door. I throw on some ankle boots, grab my bag and run to my Jeep. I speed off towards school.

Another great day.

--------------------

I sit down in science just after the bell rings. I only had a spilt second to throw my shit in my locker and grab my books. I risked being late for avoiding my friends. I can't deal with them right now.

Dallas doesn't even acknowledge me, which I'm perfectly fine with. He has his own textbook now and just uses it to text behind. I can only imagine what him and Jenny are talking about.

"Avril," Mrs. Smith says. "That was a close call."

I smile apologetically. "Sorry."

I hear Dallas snicker but I don't dare look over at him. Instead, I engage myself in a conversation with Thomas.

"You're funny, Avril," Thomas says, laughing at a snide comment I made about Cassidy West's purple hair and red glasses matched with her pale skin.

"No," I say. "That was mean. I'm just stressed out. Sorry about that."

Thomas looks at me. "Borderline," he says.

"Borderline mean?" I ask.

Thomas nods. "Yeah but still funny," he says. I smile at him.

"Thanks," I say and bite my lip.

I think about Teagan's and my conversation about Thomas. He's cute. Really cute.

"No problem," Thomas replies. He smiles, looks at the ground and then looks up at me. "Would you like to, um, maybe hang out sometime?"

I freeze and Thomas's face falls slightly. I feel myself blush. The bell rings before I can answer. I watch everyone leave.