Noticing You (On Hold)

Chapter 14

<longer chapter than usual...a lot happens>

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[Fey's POV]

I looked at him, shocked. First he says yes to her then this? I tried not to let the hurt show on my face.

"Bye" I managed to choke out as I hastily grabbed my books, not meeting his gaze. I felt the tears begin to well up in my eyes as I hurried out of assembly to get away from him. It's your own fault. I thought angrily, brushing the tears away, the light spitting of the rain dotting the pavement. Who am I compared to all those other girls like Shinae? No one. I thought bitterly. I should have never believed that he would ever want me. Just as assembly had ended I watched pretty Shinae saunter up to him and ask him out. Did what happened at his house mean nothing to him? He, without hesitation, had replied 'Sure' and then she had kissed him - how I envied her, even if it was just a peck on the cheek - before running off to her giggling friends.

I hurried along the path, cutting across a familiar track and slipped between the hedges to a small, secret garden closed off by the walls of surrounding buildings. I sighed in frustration and dumped my books down on the worn wooden bench, rubbing my temples. Life was so confusing. I propped my chin up on my knees and drank in the surroundings of my familiar haven.

Around me, the flowers that had once been contained in an orderly fashion of neat squares had erupted into explosions of colour with the plants creeping into every nook and cranny they could find. Fat fuzzy bumble bees buzzed lazily around, gathering nectar from the brightest flowers while busy ants trooped into cracks in the old slabs of concrete that had given way to various mosses and grasses; even a small tree had managed to push its way through. Birds of all colours chirruped to one another in the tree above me and the place was bathed in a green glow. I had stumbled upon this place while playing a game of Tiggy months ago. About to be cornered by Elliott,Henry and Jake, I had frantically dashed for the only remaining exit - up onto the roof of a building. Scurrying up the drainpipe, I had managed to swing myself up onto the roof of the girl's toilets just as Jake and Mayo came into sight. Panting, they had looked left and right but failed to notice me crouching, watching them from above. As they sped off in other directions, puzzled, I crept around the edge and was about to drop down onto a well known shortcut when I spotted the small clearing a little way off the path. Dropping down silently, I realised I would have had no idea the garden was there unless I knew exactly where to look. I crept through the hedge that lined the narrow dirt path and slipped out the other side, marvelling at the innocence of the place. It looked like it was old and forgotten, a place left untouched by the modernised building of the rest of the school. After some exploring, I had discovered a worn bronze plaque screwed to the seat on which was engraved in a fluid script, 'In Memory of Alfred'. After a brief trip to the principal's office where I ninja-ed behind the desk, opened the filing cabinet, snatched a file and shot out before Mrs Hockey had any idea what had happened, I had discovered he used to be a gardener at the school. Since that day it had become my designated place for thinking or when I just had to be alone, away from the hustle and bustle of school life. Occasionally I had even escaped to the haven during classes. Jake always covered for me, and eventually I had told him about this place, though he often let me go off on my own. Sighing again, I closed my eyes and let my mind be washed away by the sounds of the clearing.

"What's wrong?" I fell off my bench at the sound of another human voice; no one had ever come down to the garden except Jake and I that I knew of. Will came out from the shadows.

"Will! What are you doing here!? You scared me half to death!" I said warily, too muddled to be angry.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to." He sat down on the bench next to me and looked so genuinely sorry I decided not to punch his lights out.