Cheyenne: The Art of Love and Jealousy

Chapter Eight: Because I Love You

The knowledge that Cheyenne Brooks and William Dunn had become a couple spread throughout the school like wildfire. The only time they were ever seen alone was between classes and during brunch. Cheyenne still liked to have the ten minutes to herself under the pine tree. Jason and Jeremy were fine with the new development between the two of their friends as long as Cheyenne and William didn't start making out in front of them. But the dynamics of the four-person group didn't change. They all sat eating, laughing, and talking about everything just like always. The only difference was Cheyenne was usually leaning against William while he had his arm around her waist.

After school, William and Cheyenne hung out for an hour doing homework and talking before he had to go to work. William helped Cheyenne with her math and Cheyenne helped him with his English. William found English to be Cheyenne's best subject because she picked up his homework easily even though she was three grades below him.

"How did you get so good at English?" he asked her one afternoon.

"Books," she replied. "Growing up, if I wasn't outside climbing trees, playing in the dirt, or hunting for snakes, I was in my room reading anything I could get my hands on."

"You were a weird kid," he had told her with a teasing smile.

"I still am," she said, sticking her tongue out at him.

As Cheyenne finally got used to the idea of being someone's girlfriend, she noticed she was getting weird stares from, not just girls, but guys too. One day, while William was home sick with a cold, Cheyenne asked Jeremy about it. It didn't bother her, but she was curious all the same. Jeremy explained that everyone on campus knew who William was so they were probably wondering how the two of them ended up together. William was the guy no one would cross because of his history of fighting.

Suddenly alarmed, Cheyenne asked about it and Jeremy told her about the fights he was in when he was younger. William would never get into trouble with the law because he was only protecting those who could not protect themselves. Jeremy told Cheyenne about an incident during William's freshman year. A couple of seniors from another school were picking on a middle school kid in crutches. They had taken away his crutches and knocked him down, making him cry. William had seen the whole thing and ran over to help the kid up. The seniors started having a go at William, telling him to mind his own business, and they knocked the kid down again. William knocked them both out cold with two hits each.

Half the school had seen what happened, and the police were called, William was cuffed until someone showed the police a video of what happened and they let him go. The parents of the kids didn't press charges and since then, no one has tried to even tiptoe across the line if they knew William was anywhere nearby. Then Jeremy told her that the stares she was getting would wear off eventually once people found something new to talk about.

"How could he do so much damage?" asked Cheyenne.

"He's trained in mixed martial arts and boxing," said Jeremy. "He also lifts weights every morning before school. He's strong and he knows exactly where to hit to cause the most amount of injury."

It was getting colder outside. Winter had arrived and Cheyenne had traded her lightweight clothes for her heavy sweaters and scarves. Her winter coat made its way to the front of the closet, while her summer jackets when it the back of the closet with her pellet guns.

It was the Friday before winter break. As Cheyenne was getting ready for school she decided she was going to dress up. She slipped into her dark skinny jeans and put three layers under a pink sweater. She braided her hair into a crown braid that circled her head, put on her gold chandelier earrings, and added the finishing touches: black cowboy boots with pink detailing and a black leather jacket to match her boots. Just before she grabbed her new leather backpack (she didn't want the rain to soak through her denim and lace backpack) her mom tapped on the door and came in looking surprised.