The Way I Loved You.

The Way i Loved You, C3

Chapter 3

Scarlet dash out of the font door, wearing a faded, wrinkled sweater which she had carelessly left out several buttons that it looked uneven on both the sides. Her arm was stuffed with stacks of papers and chemistry books as she desperately trying to tie her shoelace with a single hand while balancing an old denim bag on the shoulder.

She almost lost her balance when Nick bent down on one knee and slapped her hands away with an amused look on his face. He then started untying the hideous mess of tangles on her converse.

Scarlet pouted in annoyance as Nick cheerfully untangled her shoelaces --- she might be clumsy, but she wasn't retarded. "I could totally handle it by myself, you know." She pointed out with a lift of her tiny chin, and a laugh escaped from Nick's lips.

"Yeah right --- sometimes I don't even understand how you survive for seventeen years with this amazing grace of yours." Nick retorted, laughing as he stood up. There was the familiar smirk on his face again, the way he does it every time he teases her.

"Oh yeah? I am totally capable of taking care of myself, alright." Scarlet said and almost tripped on the porch steps, but Nick caught her in time. He rolled his eyes. "Yes, perfectly capable." He snorted and let go of Scarlet, who went red and ignored his comments. She stomped away furiously, probably to the bus stop.

Back when they weren't going to Stonebrook High, they used to ride bikes to school, daring each other as they raced to the school every morning. But Nick's parents had decided Stonebrook High was too far --- well, not like Scarlet was capable of waking up early, anyway. So they had decided to ditch their bikes and took the bus like other kids in the neighborhood.

Nick was laughing when he jogged a little to catch up to Scarlet. He just enjoyed taunting her, to see her yelling at him every time. The Nick would always laughs in pleasure, knowing that she would forgive him sooner or later. He tapped her lightly on the shoulders and said, "You know I'm just kidding, Scar."

Scarlet stuck a tongue out at him and got onto the bus, sitting down on her favorite seat next to the window. Nick never understands that --- because to him, all seats looked the same in their gray old leather cushions with rusty frames that were supposed to be silver many years ago. He shrugged and sat down next to her, and soon the bus started moving.

Nick took out a book and started flipping the page thirty six, where he had left the bookmark at before going to sleep last night. He started skimming through the paragraphs --- reading was his favorite thing to do on the bus. The bus was boring, usually crowded with gossiping, giggly girls and loud guys, and sometimes that just reminded him of how much he missed riding bikes to school. At least it was fun, with Scarlet.

His mind drifted to the old days when he felt a sudden light weight against his shoulder, but he didn't have to look to know what it was --- Scarlet. He turned his head slightly and there she was, her head on his shoulder as she held on to an opened chemistry book. Nick smiled and took the book, putting it on his lap, suddenly feeling sorry for lying to her.

He settled the stacks of books on top of the chemistry book before turning back to her again, doing it as slow as he could so he wouldn't wake her up. Her long, brown hair was glistening under the sunlight, casting shadows on her faded sweater. Nick noticed the buttons and frowned slightly, sometimes he wondered how Scarlet would survive alone in this world, without him.

He started unbuttoning and re-buttoning them, revealing the pale camisole underneath that was pressed tightly against her pale fair skin. And for some reason, he stopped and stared... until strangely, his heart skipped a beat.

What the hell am I doing?

Nervously he buttoned up the sweater for her and turned away, determined to keep his mind on his book for the rest of the ride. Maybe he didn't get enough of sleep that he started imagining things. Maybe it was just…Hormones.

Probably.