Hit Like A Girl

30

I sat there awkwardly, turning my own attention to my poem and tried to deduct what could be making her act this way. It couldn't be to do with me, I was sure I hadn't done anything to upset her. Maybe something happened between her and Cleo? Unlikely though, Cleo never fell out with anyone. Maybe Ty had said something about Mark after I'd asked for his number.

Panic lurched my stomach, if that was the case, then perhaps it was my fault... But Ty wasn't stupid enough to do that, he knew to keep his mouth shut when it mattered, especially when it meant I'd kick his ass if he didn't. So it couldn't be that. Maybe it was something to do with Jason?

I shifted in my seat, unsure of what to say. I didn't know how to properly comfort or reassure people - as I'd never had anyone do that for me. I usually dealt with things by myself. And dealing with things usually meant lots of alcohol or a punching bag.

But I had no idea of how to make Leana feel better, or even get her to tell me what was wrong. Nothing was ever wrong with Leana, she was always smiling and happy.

That thought alone gave me enough of a push that I found myself asking her, "How was lunch?"

Leana glanced up from her page, finally acknowledging me and gave a little shrug. Her eyes were still dull, contrasting with her light blue blouse and bright yellow skirt that only Leana could pull off.

"Fine." She cocked her head at me, eyes sparking as though recalling something, "Where were you by the way? I didn't see you at all in the canteen."

I tried not to laugh, recalling exactly what I'd been doing during my lunch break. But I didn't try hiding a secretive grin as I pretended to go back to my work, "Oh, I was busy on a project."

"A project?" Leana seemed to catch the irony in my tone, scanning my face for a clue. "What kind of project?"

This time I couldn't stop my chuckle, "You'll see."

She eyed me wearily, a ghost of a smile finally emerging on her face. "Okay."

Just then, one of the girls from the table beside us leaned over to catch Leana's eye when the teacher turned away to his computer.

"Hey, Leana -" She rasped across the tables. "I saw the pictures from last night. You looked amazing!"

My friend beside me immediately stiffened and said nothing, offering a little smile before turning back to her work. I caught the girl's eye, Jasmine, who looked just as surprised at Leana's reaction as I felt.

Jasmine silently raised her brows at me in question, but I could only shake my head. I had no idea what was going on.

But before I could ask what was bothering her, the bell went for the end of class and Leana got up from the table, clearing away her books without a word.

I could only do the same, watching her in complete bewilderment, trying to find what was bothering her in her face but she gave nothing away. Instead, she just brushed her long golden hair out her face and hung her bag over her shoulder, giving a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"See you tomorrow, Evie." She chirped in her usual happy tone, as though there were nothing wrong.

"Yeah..." I frowned as I watched her stride out of the class room without another word, clutching the handle of her bag tightly with a fist. There was something up, but she clearly wasn't going to tell me what it was.

Worry had the delight and satisfaction of my revenge turn sour and insignificant as I walked out of my English class and following the bustle of student to the front gates of the school. It was an emotion that I hadn't felt in a long time. Concern for someone else - someone that wasn't my mother that is. And it still was just as unpleasant as I remember.

What could be wrong with Leana?

But I was prevented from worry over her any further as I walked out of the school gates and along the school wall, I turned the corner and was suddenly slammed against the crumbling brick.

The air whooshed out of my lungs and I let out a grunt, blinking as the brightness of the sun glared directly in my eyes, silhouetting the tall broad-shouldered figure that was holding me in place with painfully strong hands.

A low familiar voice growled and sent shivers across my skin, "You think you're clever do you?"

"Well yes I do actually," I replied snarkily as my eyes finally adjusted onto Jason Blake's perfect face glaring down at me with his usual intensity.

His eyes were almost black as he loomed over me, his hands digging into my arms like a vice. He looked like he'd been fuming. His hair was all messy like he'd been running his hands through it and his eyes darted across my face as though he were debating if it was ok to hit a girl.

He shoved me harder against the wall and I let out a hiss. "This isn't funny, you psycho - you fucking broke my phone!"

I couldn't hold myself back any longer. It started as a quite shaking of my shoulders, still pressed up against the wall - but then it burst out of me. Loud cackling laughter right in his face, the force of it so hard that my knees buckled so that Jason was practically holding me up.

He went on, as if his anger couldn't keep him quiet, "I got sent out of class because my phone kept on ringing, and then about a thousand messages started popping up all at once - from people I don't even know. And then it just stopped, it's frozen now - I'm going to have to get a new number now because of you!"

The news of this didn't help his cause at all, as it only served to make me laugh even harder. It had worked even better than I could have imagined. For what I had stuck up all across the school and on the toilet cubicles - was Jason's number followed by the message: ATTENTION WANTED, JASON BLAKE IS AVAILABLE. And it had worked.

I knew my face was red from the force of it and to make things worse, tears were now starting to gather in the corners of my eyes. But I couldn't help it, it was too much.

Another fit of laughter had Jason finally releasing me and letting me crumple on the ground against the wall, my arms limply curled over my stomach as I closed my eyes and laughed.

I could feel Jason still standing there, silently watching me in frustration, until eventually I heard a feint noise joining the sound of my laughter.

I opened my eyes, still chuckling, to see that Jason was no longer snarling - but he was smiling, albeit reluctantly, and he was... he was laughing.

The sight made me pause and stare at him. He just shook his head at me, still smiling and laughed again in defeat, the sound low and rumbling. A genuine smile this time, that lit up his face and made him look rather handsome for once. The sight of it made me smile as well.

Our eyes met and we laughed again, no longer hostile. Those bronze flecked eyes held mine for longer than they needed to and seemed to convey the same thought that I had.

Truce. For now...