It's Harder Breathing Next To You

14

I was nervous, to say the least. I was weighing up the pros and cons of starting something with Vic and now I was in my math class and I still haven't come up with a decision yet. I wanted to say yes, but it was so risky. This is Vic Fuentes we're talking about. He's the most feared person in school. I'd be stupid to say yes. On the one hand, he's shown this caring side and he makes me feel better about myself. Then again he's also proven he can easily make me feel terrible within seconds.

I put my head in my hands and gripped my hair. As if math wasn't hard enough, now I have to deal with this too. At least I haven't seen Vic so far today, which is a good thing because I have no idea what I'm going to say to him. The bell rang signaling the end of class. I still had another three classes until I technically had to see Vic, but I knew his style by now though, so I wasn't surprised when I walked out of the class room and he was leaning against the lockers opposite me. My eyes connected with his. He was just looking back at me with that unreadable, emotionless face which I've come to loathe. I hate not being able to tell what people are thinking.

For a second I considered ignoring him, but I knew I had to talk to him sometime. This would be so much easier if I could make up my mind. I was frozen in my place in the middle of the hallway with people bumping into me as they scurried along to their next class. I looked at some of the people passing by. Some of them gave me a look of sympathy. They probably think Vic is out to get me again or something. Eventually the halls cleared out and we were left alone.

"Hi." I was the first one to speak. My voice was soft and quiet. It was kind of awkward, until he finally smiled.

"Hey." He chuckled. Now that we were alone, his usual demeanor was gone and he relaxed. He came over to me and took my hand which wasn't holding books and we walked down the hall together, him going a little faster than I was. He led me into a bathroom and after checking it was empty he turned to me, still holding my hand.

"So, last night." He hesitated. "Did you think about what I said?"

"Kind of." I shrugged.

He led me over to the bench and took my books off of me. He threw them on the counter and turned me so my back was against it. He put both of his hands on either side of me and stood close so I couldn't escape. My hand instantly felt lonely without his. That doesn't sound like the thoughts of someone who was going to reject him.

"Talk to me." He ordered.

I looked away from him as nerves took over once again. Here's the thing, I've kissed a boy before, once, that's it. So everything that's happening right now is completely new to me. I've never had someone actually want something more with me. And I've never had a boy have this kind of effect on me, you know, the one where his mere presence makes it so difficult to breathe.

"Did you decide?" He asked.

"No." I said, almost laughing. "I can't decide. You're just so..."

"I'm so..." He urged me to go on.

"Confusing." I said, looking at him again. "You keep doing stupid things to hurt me and I just...I don't know if I can trust you"

He smiled and lightly bit his lip. Wait, I say I can't trust him and he smiles? He moved even closer towards me, pressing his body against mine. If he's trying to make me even more nervous then he sure as hell is doing a good job of it.

"Babe, I'm standing awfully close to you right now and I see no signs of that adorable, frightened look in your eyes. So you must trust me at least a little bit." He said. My face flushed the second he called me babe. I hated that name, but I loved it when he said it to me.