KISS: Casablanca High School

Ch 97: Don't Slip Away (Paul)

Today had been a bad day, but on the bright side, Ava had promised me she'd go off campus with me during lunch. It had been ages since we'd had a date and I was really, really looking forward to it. But I still couldn't shake the feeling something was wrong between us.

And it only got worse at lunchtime.

"Hey sweetheart, you ready? Where'd you want to go?" I asked, slipping an arm around her waist as we walked to my car. She shrugged, not bothering to look up from her phone. "Oh I dunno, I figured we could see where Gene and Christie were thinking about going then we could decide," she said carelessly.

I bit back a sigh, unlocking my car and throwing my backpack in the trunk. "Oh, I didn't know they were coming," I said under my breath. "Huh? Oh, yeah I invited them, I hope that's okay!" Was it? No. But not like I was gonna say that to her. "Yeah of course, that's fine! Hopefully they hurry up and get over here though so we can leave."

Christie got there first so the three of us stood around chatting for a bit until finally Gene walked over, giving me a smile. "Hey Paul, where you gonna take us?" he asked, sliding into the backseat without waiting for a response, Christie close behind. Since none of them had any requests and I was starting to get annoyed with the whole situation, we went to McDonald's.

Gene and Christie sat on one side of the booth while Ava and I sat on the other side. I tried to hold Ava's hand but she shifted it away. Face burning, I just settled for placing a hand on her thigh. "Paul, you ready for the physics test?" Gene asked. Letting out a sigh, I shook my head. "Not even close, man. I've got no clue how to do rotational motion and at this point I'm just accepting that as fact and preparing for the F."

He laughed, subtly shifting a bit closer to Christie. "It's not gonna be that bad. I'll help you run through it when we're back at school." "I know I'm not in your AP physics class but I'm floundering in CP, you mind if I join in on the tutoring session?" Christie asked, giving Gene a brilliant smile.

Face almost as red as his cast, he nodded eagerly. "Yeah, of course! I'm sure you guys are learning pretty much the same thing and if not I'm sure I can still help you go over it!" Christie giggled, patting him on the shoulder. "Thanks big guy. You better be able to help, my grade's riding on it."

"Yeah tell me about it," I muttered. We continued to eat our lunch and engaging in pretty mindless chatter before all of a sudden the table shifted and Christie's cup of water ended up spilled all over her lap.

"Oh damn I'm so sorry!" Gene cried. "Damn, that's my fault, I'm really sorry! Let me grab you some napkins or something!" I watched him desperately try and help Christie dry off before shooting a glance at Ava, frowning at the cold look in her eyes. Gene didn't need to be the one apologizing, he didn't do anything. I could've sworn I saw Ava kick the table. "Don't worry about it! It was an accident and it'll dry off! Besides, you probably just knocked it over because you're not used to your cast!" Christie said cheerfully, accepting the napkins and doing her best to dry herself off.

Ava's hands only balled into fists, which I'm sure was a sign of something, but I was clueless as to what. So I just sat back and watched Gene fumble about trying to help Christie while apologizing frantically and doing my best to ignore Ava, who was seething beside me.

Finally I rose to my feet, grinning. "We've got five minutes before the bell rings, we might as well head back now. I'm not trying to be tardy." Gene nodded, helping Christie to her feet while still apologizing, making her laugh even more. Ava still didn't say anything as we headed back to school.

I let Gene and Christie out as he went with her to her car to see if she had a change of clothes before turning to Ava. "Hey, are you feeling okay? You seem upset. Did something happen?" She let out a sigh, giving me a smile. "Just tired, you know how it is. Now come here, give me a kiss for good luck on my test next period."

With a smile of my own, I kissed her on the lips and stepped out of the car as the bell rang, grabbing my backpack and my bag and heading for PE, still unable to shake the feeling something was off. I guess I must've looked upset because Eric raised an eyebrow as I walked into the locker room.

"What, you hear we have to run a mile today or something?" he asked, sitting up on the bench. I shrugged, pulling off my polo shirt. "Nah, just feel like something's wrong with Ava, but who knows." "Aw, that sucks. I'd offer some advice but I mean like Carrie's been my only serious girlfriend so I don't have much experience. Also we do have to run a mile today," he said, stretching.

"Perfect," I mumbled, pulling my hair back into a ponytail and staring at my reflection in the mirror.

Maybe there wasn't something wrong between us. Maybe there was just something wrong with me.