~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Scuse the Mistakes. I hope i got them all this time.

Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Knock! Knock!

I tore my gaze away from the TV and the obviously scripted reality show it was playing, and I stared at the door, confused. Grandma Aggie was at work, and I hadn't been expecting anyone. I pushed myself up from the couch and padded out of the living room and down the hall to the front door.

I unlocked the door from the inside and pulled it open slowly to find Norah and Colby standing on my doorstep. "Can we come in?" Norah asked.

"Yeah," I replied, a bit confused as to why Colby was with her. I just stepped back and let them in, and then directed them to the living room. I entered behind them and sat down on the armchair while they settled on the couch.

"When were you going to tell me you are such a badass?" Norah blurted, just as I was opening my mouth to ask why they were here.

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. "I assume you're talking about what happened on Monday," I said, and she nodded. I let my head fall back on the chair and groaned audibly.

Grandma Aggie hadn't stopped reminding me about that all week. She'd hounded me about writing the apology letter, which I'd done as quickly and with as little words as I could. Petty, I know, but I didn't want to dwell much on the incident.

Grandma Aggie also couldn't seem to look at me the same way as before, which was actually pretty upsetting. It was just one punch, and I was already a criminal who was going to end up selling drugs, getting into fist fights, and being sent to jail multiple times.

I had no idea how Griffin felt about what had happened. Suddenly, I was a lot happier that Colby had come over with Norah, since he was Griffin's best friend. I could try and pry information, as pathetic as that sounds.

"How did Griffin react when he heard?" I asked, trying to seem as calm and cool as possible.

"He laughed, actually," Colby replied, smiling at the memory. "I mean, he felt bad for Kaia, but he thought the whole situation was hilarious."

Okay, that was a bit reassuring.

"She has a black eye," Norah said, a bit too excitedly.

"Really?" I asked, "Like, is it really noticeable?"

"Yeah," Colby replied, "I think she's been trying to cover it up with makeup, but it wasn't really working for her."

I giggled at this, which was actually the first time I'd laughing about punching Kaia in the face. I wasn't proud, but now, I was a tiny bit amused.

"Speaking of Griffin, what happened between you two?" Colby asked, and my smile immediately dropped. I glanced at Norah, who shot me an apologetic look and then smacked Colby in the shoulder. "What was that for?" He cried, rubbing his arm.

"I told you not to ask about that!" Norah declared, shoving him.

"What did Griffin tell you?" I questioned urgently, praying that he hadn't said anything about my past to anyone. That wasn't something I wanted other people to know. I never pegged Griffin as someone who would do that, but I didn't know if he'd felt betrayed enough to spill the beans.

"He just told me that you guys had had a fight, and that he needed a break to figure out what the hell was going on," Colby answered simply.

"A break?" I echoed, confused. Griffin had told me that he couldn't be with me, but he told Colby that we were on a break. I didn't want to get my hopes up, I really didn't, but after that, how could I not. Maybe, just maybe, Griffin still cared enough about me to give us another chance.

I started to ask Colby more about what Griffin had said, but the sound of someone entering the house stopped me. I looked towards the doorway of the living just in time to find Grandma Aggie walking in.

She looked from me to Norah to Colby, and then finally back to me. "You're suspended, Sawyer, which means no friends." Grandma Aggie looked at Norah and Colby and said in her sweetest grandma voice, "I'm going to have to ask you guys to leave."

"Of course," Norah replied, slinging her bag over her shoulder. She grabbed Colby's hand and said, "I'll see you next week, Sawyer." I nodded and smiled sadly as Norah dragged Colby out of the room, and a few seconds later, I heard a car start and pull out of the driveway.

I glanced over at Grandma Aggie, who shook her head at me and walked out of the room towards the kitchen. As I watched her go, I threw my hands up in the air. Honestly, I'd had enough of Grandma Aggie looking at me like I was some big disappointment. I hadn't been in her life long enough for her to make that decision.

So, I decided to confront her.

I hopped up off the couch and hurried into the kitchen. I found Grandma Aggie putting a kettle on the stove to make tea, and when she turned around and saw me, I said, "I need to talk to you."

"Okay," Grandma Aggie replied, and she sat down and the kitchen table and fold her hands on the surface. "We can talk."

I plopped down across from her and mirrored her own, stiff body language. "I understand that you're angry at me because of what I did to Kaia, but I really don't appreciate the way you've been acting towards me. It was a mistake, and I've done everything I can think of to apologize, but you just won't let it go!"

Grandma Aggie was silent for a moment, and I thought maybe I'd gone too far. My voice had gone from even to shrill and angry in a matter of seconds, and I could've thrown her over the edge. Grandma Aggie sighed and repositioned her glasses on her nose.

"I'm sorry, Sawyer," Grandma Aggie said, completely taking me by surprise. That's not what I expected her to say. "I guess I'm just scared that you're going to go down the same path as your mom, and I've come to love you enough not to want that to happen."

Suddenly, I understood. The only child Grandma Aggie had raised ended up getting involved in the drug world and dying there. Now, with me, she thought she had a second chance, and after I'd punched Kaia, Grandma Aggie felt like she'd failed. Maybe, she was more disappointed in herself than me.

"Thanks for apologizing," I said, my mouth breaking into a grin. "I get where you're coming from, but trust me when I say that I have no desire to go down any kind of path like that." Memories from when my many brushes with my dad's business danced before my eyes, and I cringed.

Grandma Aggie nodded in understanding. I got up from the table and reached over to give her a hug. I squeezed her tightly, and she returned the favor. In that moment, I felt that we'd each reached a deeper level of understanding of each other, and that in turn had made our relationship closer. I pulled away from Grandma Aggie and gave her a peck on her soft, wrinkled cheek.

"I love you, Sawyer," Grandma Aggie stated, smiling.

"I love you, too."

*

Stares.

No words were said, just stares. For the first half of the school day, I heard whispers spewing rumors about how I was in a gang, or how I had gotten kicked out of my last school for assaulting a student who'd given me a weird look. Still, I found those rumors better than truths about my dad's job.

When I'd seen Kaia in homeroom, I saw the black eye Norah had told me about. I will admit, I had snorted into the book I'd been reading. When Kaia and her clones' eyes had set on me, I swear they looked like they were going to sprint across the classroom and strangle me. Instead, they'd just sat down as far away from me as they could.

The one person I actually wanted to see today seemed to be missing. I'd checked every usual spot where I thought I'd be able to find Griffin but with no avail. I had no idea what I was going to say to him if

I'd seen him, so maybe it was for the best until I figured out what to say to him.

Now, I had a free period, and I decided to find the one place where there wouldn't be a lot of people to stare at me. So, I made my way through the vacant halls to the library. I found a table in the back and settled down. I pulled out my overdue math homework and started working on the impossible problems.

I was so immersed in math that I didn't notice the person standing across from me until he knocked on the table. My head snapped up, and my eyes widened.

"Can I sit down?"

"Sure," I replied, trying to keep calm, when inside I was freaking out. Griffin settled down across from me at the table and dropped his backpack on the ground next to him with a muffled thud. "Can I help you with something?" I asked, immediately mentally kicking myself for sounding so stupid.

"I've been thinking a lot since last Saturday," Griffin said, "You know, about what you told me about your dad. I think I had a right to be angry at you for lying, but at the same time, I think I overreacted."

I nodded, his words still being processed in my brain. My hopes rose even higher without my consent, and I replied, "I deserved it. I should've told you, but I didn't."

"No," Griffin said, "You didn't deserve the way I treated you. I think I would've been less angry had I known more, but I think it's also unfair for me to demand to know things that seemed to be really uncomfortable for you to talk about. For that, I'm sorry."

"Thanks," I said slowly. Was this really happening? "I'm sorry for lying and hiding things."

"I forgive you," Griffin said, and he smiled at me with his trademark crooked smile.

We sat there for a few awkward moments, each of us shifting uncomfortably in our seats. "So," I said, breaking the silence, "What does this mean? Are we, like, friends now or something?"

"Well," Griffin said, swallowing and looking nervous, "I was wondering if we could just pick up where we left off." He drew the last word out, like he didn't want the air between us to be silent anymore. Was he saying what I thought he was saying?

"You mean as boyfriend and girlfriend?" I asked, trying as hard as I could to contain myself.

"Yeah," Griffin answered, and then he hurriedly added, "You know, only if you want to."

"Of course," I replied, "I'd love that, I really would."

"You're sure?" Griffin asked.

"Yes," I said firmly, and, to cement my answer, I got out of my chair and stepped over to Griffin. I tilted my head down and brushed his lips lightly with mine.

Damn, how I'd missed these kisses!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

:)

Got a new panic! at the disco CD today!

FAN

VOTE

SHARE

COMMENT COMMENT COMMENT COMMENT