Black & White

2: But a dare's a dare

''There you go!'' The nurse smiled, patting my plastered knee. The freshly cleaned wound screamed in agony as she did so, making me tense up. I had to force myself to bite back a harsh remark. After all, I was a nice girl in everyone's eyes.

''Thank you'' I smiled through gritted teeth.

''Be more careful next time, Tina'' She sighed, putting away the various pieces of equipment she had taken out. I nodded in response, quietly getting up off the uncomfortable examination bed.

''I'm serious, darling. This is the 8th time this month...'' Her voice sounded stern and disapproving. Oh, how cute! She thinks I come here every time I get beaten. Who's gonna tell her how many times I just went home after an encounter with Tom or Lindsay?

It made me angry that she thought it was my fault, that she was too blind and too gullible to see the actual situation, that she didn't even try and figure out what was going on. Maybe if someone tried, maybe if an adult cared enough to find out what was going on...

''I can't do anything about it, Linda. I guess I'm just a clumsy mess!" I shrugged, smiling politely at her worried expression.

The middle-aged nurse shook her head, chuckling lightly.''You never fail to surprise me with that non-stop positivity. How can you be so cheerful when you're this clumsy?'' She asked, handing me a bottle of water and a leaflet about getting enough sleep. Oh wow. That wasn't a hint at all...

''I don't let the little things upset me!'' I winked and headed towards the door.

''I wish I could use some of that positivity'' She chuckled, just as I left her office. I wish I actually had some of that positivity.

As I walked down the hallway, I couldn't ignore the eerie silence around me. It felt incredibly strange to be out here all alone. Everyone was in class, as they should be, making me the only person wandering around. I felt as if I were in a horror movie. Any moment now, someone would jump out from around the corner and kill me.

Come to think of it, I wouldn't mind if they did.

Joke.

That was a joke.

I quickly opened my locker to reveal the chaotic mountain of textbooks almost spilling out. I fished out my History textbook, breaking a nail in the process.

"Oh pooh!" I hissed, staring at the now crooked nail.

Suddenly, I heard voices coming closer. It was obviously Tom and his buddies. No one other than them, and the cheerleaders, was ever this loud and obnoxious.

I ran as fast as I could in the other direction of the hallway. Which was pretty convenient, because history class was that way anyway. I looked back to see if they spotted me, only to smash my stupid face right into someone's rock-hard chest.

Oh, how typical.

I fell backward onto my butt with a loud thud.

''Watch where you're going, White'' The guy said, his tone wasn't angry or even annoyed. He actually sounded incredibly chill, to my surprise. I looked up to see who it was and my heart stopped immediately. Ok not literally, but it skipped a beat for sure.

Austin Black, king of all bad boys, stood right in front of me. In front of me, a mere peasant.

''Is that an invitation?'' He asked blankly.

I raised an eyebrow, clearly confused.

What invitation? What is he talking about?