Life of the Party // GD

ten

It's been almost three weeks since the party and I've been surprisingly successful in my quest to avoid Grayson. When he sits near me, I refuse to interact, and when I pass him in the halls I pretend like he's not even there. It was a lot harder at first but it's gotten less and less difficult and soon it'll be as if that night never happened.

At least, for me - hopefully he's not sharing in my blissful ignorance of that party having ever existed.

"For the students who aren't finished, you'll have to stay after the bell for as long as it takes you to complete the test." 

Shit. I completely zoned out and forgot the last two questions. Anxious to get home, a kid asks if he can finish tomorrow but he's refused.

Even worse. Is keeping kids from their homes on a Tuesday evening really this guy's primary interest? And when will I ever need trigonometry, anyway?

I finish the test about 25 minutes after the bell, but thankfully I don't need to go to my locker before heading home. After school here can get a bit dicey, too, and I would not want to get caught up in that.

Walking down the hall to the main doors I feel a sense of pride. After everything I've been through I'm finally getting that real new beginning I've needed for so long. 

Finally I can put all my demons behind me.

Before I turn the corner, though, the creak of a door opening stops me in my tracks and I freeze. 

Calm down, Lucia. It's just the janitor.

Not wanting to show that I was scared I pull out my phone, pretending to be lost in my Instagram feed until I hear footsteps pass me or that door close - whichever comes first.

But I don't hear either. 

I turn around slowly, my phone now back in my bag, only to face the one person I'd like to see the absolute least right now.

Grayson. Of course.

Suddenly he grabs my wrist and puts a hand over my mouth, dragging me towards the closet with a sense of urgency before shutting the door behind us.

"What the fuck?" My hand collides hard with his shoulder and he winces, but this time it's without that big front of cockiness that I've become so used to.

"We need to talk."

"What's there to talk about?"

"I think you know full well." At this point Grayson's trapped me between his body and a corner, his hot breath inches from my face. After a brief moment of hesitation I duck under his arm and towards the door before I do something I'll regret.

"Wait," Grayson reaches for my chin, tilting it to him. "Don't go yet. Please."

I sigh begrudgingly. Don't do it, don't do it.

"I'll give you five minutes."

Fucking idiot.

"Thank you, god," Grayson runs a hand through his hair, stepping further into the closet. I drop my bag and lock the door before following him; wouldn't want anybody finding us like this and getting the wrong idea.

"I just think we should really talk about what happened at the party," He begins. "I mean, it's been weeks and we still haven't spoken!" He looks so stricken that I almost feel bad. "What happened to everything you said? Everything we did?"

"Look, it just wasn't that important!"

"Lucia, we had sex." I suck in a breath. Hearing him say it out loud, hearing it come from his lips just makes it that much more tangible, and I begin to feel myself falling down a tunnel I really shouldn't. "And by the way you were so prepared for it," he smirks and I roll my eyes, unable to hide my blush, "it seemed like it mattered to you."