drowning | ruel van dijk

thirteen

KATE

nervously playing with the hem of my t-shirt, i get up from my seat in the back of the study hall classroom and head to talk to the teacher in the front, who's lazily leaning back in his office chair.

i can't make out the teacher's face, but as i trek through the dead silent room, i actually realize that he's sleeping.

i contemplate whether i should wake him up to get permission to leave early, or if i should just slip out without telling anyone.

the second option definitely seems better, so i quickly and quietly run back to my seat, grab my bags, and tip toe towards the classroom door.

right before i turn the handle and rush out, i make a slight glance back around the room to see if anyone is watching.

everyone in the room is either sleeping or on their phone, so when the coast seems clear, i push down on the handle and step out into the hallway.

it's almost as if the school is abandoned; no students are talking, no staff patrolling the hallways.

only me and my plan: escape.

i should be used to this.... i've snuck out of places before...

when i was with him.

catching myself, i shake all the jumbled thoughts about owen aside. i need to focus.

picking up speed, my legs carry me through the halls until the lights illuminating them get dimmer and dimmer. my plan is to escape out of the hallway that no one really uses; you know, the one that's like a ghost town when compared to the rest of the school.

i think i hear someone's footsteps following behind me, but i don't look back.

before i even know it, i stop short at the end of the dark hallway and stare at the door that leads outside.

all i have to do is push it...

if i only just push it... i'll be out. i'll be with ruel.

so that's what i do. i push it open.

the rush of cool, morning wind whips through my hair, and i realize just then how much i've been sweating.

basically sprinting around the back of the school to my car, i fish for my keys in the depths of my backpack and unlock the car with shaky hands.

things like this— skipping school— used to come so easily to me.

but things have changed.

speaking of changing, once i step into my car, i duck down and exchange my sweaty t-shirt for a clean crewneck, which i just so happened to have found in the back seat.

after i text ruel that i successfully made it out of school, i drive.

i drive as quickly as the speed limit in a school zone lets me, and i think i make it to the beach in record time.

i have no clue what ruel has in mind to do at 10:30 in the morning, but i'm all for it.

anything with ruel, i'm down for.

since i've skipped class so many times last year, i shouldn't expect my stomach to fill with butterflies or my hands to shake.

but this time my stomach does flip, and my hands do tremble.

this time... ruel is involved.

i guess being with him, texting him, or even just thinking about him gives me all of those side effects.

the side effects of love.

thinking about ruel the entire time, i step out of my car, toss off my shoes to the passenger seat, and head down to the beach.

even though it's still only the morning, the sun beats down on my face and body, making me almost regret changing into a thicker crewneck top.

i've already walked down the whole beach and made it to the water, so when i don't find ruel after a more few minutes i shoot him a quick text.

me ~ i'm here. where are you?

almost immediately after i hit send, i feel a rough touch graze the top of my right shoulder and spin me around.

could that be ruel? it doesn't seem like...

i don't even get to catch up to my thoughts before i'm fully spun around and i see him.

owen.

"surprised to see me? we used to always sneak out of class last year".

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oops sorry for not posting earlier, i think i'm like a few hours behind. anyways... how's everyone doing? i've had a lot of fun writing this story, but i'm not sure when to end it lol. more chapters to come, though. enjoy the lil cliffhanger sorry!