The New Kid

Chapter 24

I plop down in my seat in English class, and Christian is waiting for me with a quick kiss. I didn't even check to see if Clara was watching. I was tired of her wanting to stir up drama.

"Hey, Avalon, you okay?" He asks me, in a concerned tone. 

I turn in my seat to face him even though Tuckett is already lecturing on chapter nine, "Sorry, I just almost got into a fight with Brock."

His face turns concerned and then suddenly, angry. "What? What happened?"

Clara leans way forward in her seat and interrupts our conversation. She pipes up and goes, "Looks like your little girlfriend doesn't know how to stay out of trouble, Chris."

We look at Clara simultaneously and both say, "Shut it, Clara."

She makes a stink-face but shuts up.

Tuckett turns toward the class from her chalkboard writing, "Does someone need to be dismissed from class to go to the principal's office?" We zip our lips.

Christian leans forward, his lips brush softly against my ear. "You're gonna have to tell me more about it after. No one messes with my tough girl."

...........................

When class is over, I tell Christian what Brock had said and my reaction to it. I thought about leaving out the part where Monty saved me and not him, but I had to tell him the full truth or it would weigh me down. "Christian, the part I haven't told you yet is that Monty pretty much rescued me. If it weren't for Monty, who knows what Brock would have done. Force me to kiss him? Hurt me? Just keep humiliating me in front of everyone in the hall? I don't know. I barely know what he's capable of."

Christian makes a face and I've never seen him look so furious. I get a little worried because he hasn't said anything to the second half of the story.

I follow his angry glare and see why. 

He's staring at Brock and his buddies. They're all standing outside the bathroom waiting for the bell to ring for class. I see Christian tighten his fists at his sides and he starts walking angrily toward Brock. "Whoa, no you don't, bud!" I stand in front of Christian, holding him by his shoulders. "What happened to take the high road? Keep the peace, revenge isn't worth it, all that jazz?" Christian looked down at me with his fiercely green eyes. I search them, trying to understand where this is all coming from. His anger seems pent-up. 

His muscles relax when I kiss him. He kisses me back, deeply.

"Alright, you have a point. But Brock, if he does or says anything to you again, you let me know."

 We keep walking past Brock, who's chuckling with his friends about his latest stupid joke. I don't think he noticed that Christian had been glaring at him the last few minutes.

Christian purposefully doesn't make eye-contact, though Brock looks at us walking by, holding hands. Brock is chewing on a toothpick and I can feel his eyes tracing my body. He twists his face into an eerie smile. What a scumbag.