What The Future Holds - The Next Generation (One Tree Hill)

Chapter 6

Tree Hill High, Cafeteria

The next day I was sitting in the cafeteria, waiting for Sawyer, with whom I had made an appointment to meet here after school. She had texted me that she had finished her poem and wanted to give it to me. But I had been sitting here for fifteen minutes and she still wasn't there. When I suddenly heard a laugh, I looked up and just saw Davis kissing a girl with long blond hair before he walked into the cafeteria, looking for a seat. He'd quickly found a replacement, I thought bitterly as I felt my stomach clench painfully. The day before it had been a brunette with whom he had made out in public. Simply disgusting! My mother had been right to warn me about him. He really wasn't good for me, not for anyone. I rummaged around in my school bag and pulled out a book that I opened and pretended to read. But I couldn't concentrate on a single sentence. I just couldn't forget what had happened the day before. I cast a furtive glance over the edge of my book and reflexively held my breath as our eyes met. I quickly lowered my head again, but it was too late. He already got up and, to my great shock, actually approached me.

"Hi!"

"Hi!" I replied shyly as I felt my heart beat faster.

"May I sit down?" He pointed to an empty chair.

I nodded uneasily and moved to the side.

"Are you here alone?"

Did he want to make friendly conversation, or why did he even talk to me? It was the first time he talked to me at school. So far I had always thought he was afraid to bring his good reputation as 'bad boy' and 'womanizer' in jeopardy when he talked with us boring girls. Apparently, that had changed since yesterday. I cleared my throat before answering. "Not quite," I replied. "I have an appointment with Sawyer."

"What are you reading?" He asked, reaching for the book.

"Inorganic chemistry," I replied dryly. "I'm telling you it's incredibly entertaining." I rolled my eyes ironically and felt how my pulse speed up as he grinned.

"Yes, I can imagine. I had that last year, too, and it almost messed up my grade point average."

I looked at him in confusion. Was he here to talk with me about chemistry? If I didn't believe one thing, it was this. There had to be another reason why he had come to my table. "What do you want, Davis?" I asked him point-blank.

"I didn't tell Jude," he said after a moment's hesitation.

"What could you have told him?" I asked, frowning.

"Maybe that you were in my room with a bag full of condoms?" He said and grinned nonchalantly.

My heart literally skipped a beat. He had searched my purse and had found the condoms? Oh my God! How embarrassing! "You... you were snooping around in my bag?!" I blurted and looked at him horrified.

"I thought there was something important in it," he defended his act. "Your door key, for example. Then you wouldn't even have the chance to unlock the door."

"You had no right to rummage in my stuff!" I blurted out, glaring at him angrily. "That's none of your business!"

"You're so upset because your little secret has been leaked," he said mockingly.

"My little secret?" I echoed confused.

"You wanted to sleep with my brother, right?" He said matter-of-factly.

I felt my cheeks turn red. This wasn't the right place to discuss things like that and I didn't really want to explain such intimate details to Davis. "Like I said, it's none of your business."

"Jude is my brother. So it is my business," he insisted stubbornly.

"Are you worried about his well-being?" I sneered.

"I only know his attitude," he said casually. "Unless, he changed his mind. But I don't believe that."

"What attitude?" I asked frowning. What did Davis know about Jude, which I didn't know?

"You never talked about it?" He asked in disbelief.

Gradually, my patience was at an end. "What the hell are you talking about?" I blurted out uncontrollably. As he moved closer to me I had to force myself not to flinch.

"Jude wants to save up for the girl, that he intends to marry," he whispered softly. "And I think you're a little too young for that."

I turned my head so fast that our heads nearly collided. Our eyes met, and I struggled not to drown completely in his dark brown eyes. Our lips were only a few inches apart, and I saw something flash in his eyes that I didn't know how to interpret. Reflexively I closed my eyes and waited with a beating heart what would happen next. But nothing happened. When I opened my eyes after what felt like an eternity, the place next to me was empty. Davis was gone. I took a few deep breaths to get my racing pulse back to normal speed. I had just recovered a bit when I saw Sawyer enter the cafeteria. She waved to me and then sat down, smiling.

"Hey Lyddy! I'm sorry I'm late," she said apologetically. "I had to stay a little longer to write off a homework assignment."

"It's fine," I mumbled, trying to forget what had happened with Davis before.

"Here is the poem."

Mechanically, I took the envelope and shoved it into my schoolbag.

"Thanks for doing that. By the way, I know now when the farewell party will take place."

"What farewell party?" I stammered, lost in thought.

"What's going on?" Sawyer asked, frowning. "You are totally out of it. Did you have trouble with Jude?"

I looked at her in confusion. "What? Um... no."

"Oh my God! You did it, didn't you?" She gasped excitedly.

I thought about what Davis had told me. Suddenly everything made sense. I now understood why Jude always had rejected me when I wanted to get more intimate. I wasn't the right girl he wanted to marry. I expected that the thought would have hurt, but to my biggest surprise I felt relief.

"Lydia?!"

I blinked twice to wake up from my daydream. "No," I said quickly. "We decided to wait."

"Thank goodness!" Sawyer breathed a sigh of relief. "You are still too young for that."

I looked at her indignantly. "As if you would wait if Justin wanted you," I said, rolling my eyes. "I get dizzy when I think about how fast you would lose your virginity."

"Shh!" She looked around with embarrassment. "Not so loud! I don't want others to know."

I was beginning to get fed up with her hopeless crush on Justin Baker. "God, Sawyer, it's no use to lurk around him all the time," I said, annoyed. "Either you are actively doing something or you are leaving him alone and forget him." The moment I uttered the words, I realized that I felt the same way about Davis. I had to tell him what I felt instead of running away from him and my feelings. And I had to end things with Jude, too. I had suddenly realized that I didn't love him the way I should. I picked up my school bag and jumped up. "I have to go now," I said. I could still feel her questioning gaze as I headed for the exit and then left the cafeteria.