Strained

Chapter Six

I shut my locker and headed for first period. My feet dragged the whole way. It had been two days since Daniel and Erik's incident at lunch. Yesterday had been awkward with both of them. Daniel and I hadn't spoken a single word yesterday, but I wasn't complaining. Erik apologized yesterday, telling me he hadn't meant anything.

I knew he meant well. Plus, he was dating Sage, so it wasn't like he was jealous or anything. Daniel, on the other hand, hadn't said anything to me. Part of me was glad, but the other part -- the hurt part, wanted an apology. He had really hurt my feelings and worse, he made me doubt myself. I didn't want to do that again. 

My date with Jamie had helped solidify my feelings. It built off the assurance I felt. It was magical without the magic. It was interestingly mundane and I was eating up every second. Unfortunately, he had to have an early night since he had class yesterday. Jamie had class four days a week, which I thought was awesome, but he assured me it was sufficiently difficult. 

We talked every day, but it wasn't the same as seeing him every day. We had been spoiled the first three months of our relationship by being stuck in hotel rooms and the car together. We had gone from spending every second of the day with each other to seeing each other a couple of times a week. It was rough, I'll admit it. All of that paled in comparison to when Jamie and I hung out. It was worth the weight.

Also, I think it helped our relationship's pace. I had wanted to take things slow from the very beginning and Jamie had been all for it. I did like having my time with my friends at school, then I spent my time with Jamie. It was a juggling act at times, but I thought I was doing okay. It also helped that Jamie was so carefree. He didn't worry about Daniel or Erik, he trusted me. Granted, he didn't know about my past with Erik, he knew Daniel and I had dated.

When I got to class, Daniel was waiting at our table. He flipped his copy of Wuthering Heights over and over again in his hands, like a nervous habit. I sighed and kept moving forward. Daniel didn't fidget, so something was obviously bothering him. It wasn't my place to know that anymore and I shouldn't have felt so obligated to help him, but he was my friend. I set my book bag down and awkwardly turned towards him. His brown eyes widened in confusion.

"Hey," I started out. "I don't expect you to apologize, so I'm just going to forgive you," I blurted out before he could say anything else. 

"Why? Not that I'm not appreciative and I am sorry. We got carried away and I-- I'm sure Jamie is a nice guy." I knew it hurt him to say that. It meant a lot to me that Daniel was trying to be more mature, especially about me dating someone else. 

"That's what friends do," was all I said. He nodded and we moved on. Just like that, the awkwardness dissipated. We spent the rest of the time working on our book review. Daniel had made a decent dent in the book, so we were able to get a lot done. It was nice, talking and joking around with Daniel. Of course, we had to keep our distance, but it was really nice. 

"Can you just please hear me out?" Kate begged, causing me to gnaw on my bottom lip. I was desperately trying to pay attention, but she wouldn't let me. I wasn't like Kate, I needed to listen in class and study afterward. I didn't have a photographic memory as she did. She adjusted her glasses and went back to breaking me down. "It's worth a shot. We owe it to the Cursed Ones and ourselves to try again. Why are you being so resistant?" This made me groan in despair. I set my pen down and swiveled towards her. 

"I'm done trying, you can do whatever you want," I replied flippantly. 

It was all Kate could talk about -- trying to break the Curse again. As if, failing once wasn't enough. She was like a dog with a bone. I knew she wouldn't stop until I agreed, but I was stubborn too. Maybe it was the Scorpio in me, but I didn't want to do this all over again. I would let her try and convince me a little longer.