"So, your homework today is page 134, problems 1-20. I want them done, with work shown, and turned in tomorrow. Got it?" my math teacher bores. I'm ready to fall asleep at this moment, and honestly, all I want is my bed, some Oreos, and YouTube, and I will die happy. I'm just begging the bell at this moment to ring, so that the bars trapping us in this hellhole will be lifted and we can go home and live our lives. 

Thankfully, it's not long before my wish is granted, and the sharp ringing of the bell signals our freedom. "Have a nice day," our teacher tells us, and with that, I get up, and sling my backpack over my shoulder. 

Once I do that, Ray gets up, and says, "Sophia, can I talk to you really quickly?" 

I grab my textbook off of my desk, and say, "Yeah, sure." 

Ray throws his backpack over his shoulder, and says, "You've been acting a little bit distant lately. Is everything okay? I just want to make sure that you're doing okay, and you're not mad at me." 

I just take a deep breath, while trying to fight all the emotions boiling inside of me, and say, "Yeah, everything's fine." 

He raises an eyebrow at me, and says, "You sure? I trust that everything's okay back home, but please tell me, are you mad at me?"

I try not to lose my composure and scream, "YES, I AM MAD AT YOU. CAN'T YOU SEE THAT?!" Instead, I raise my head up a little bit higher, and say, "Just ask Pete. He knows the answer to this." With that, I strut out of the classroom, with my head still hung high, and make my way to my locker.

*******

"How was class sitting next to Ray? Did you stab him anywhere with your pencil?" Sonia asks, as we walk to our lockers. 

I roll my eyes, and say, "I don't want to get arrested, Sonia. I didn't talk to him much. He did ask if I was mad at him, so I told him to ask Pete." 

Sonia stops dead in her tracks, like she saw the Slenderman in front of her, and says, "Are you serious right now? You said to ask Pete? Are you mental? Pete's going to give him the Spongebob clip of Sandy denying him and Patrick water and will say that's his answer." 

I raise an eyebrow, and say, "Aw, you watch Spongebob? I guess you and Pete have something in common after all! We're one step closer to your wedding!" 

Sonia playfully raises her fist at me, and then she says, "Give me your calculus book. I need something heavy to whack you with." 

I just chuckle, as I finally reach my locker. I turn the lock, and say, "Come on. We all know that you're going to marry Pete one day. I mean, opposites DO attract." 

Sonia rolls her eyes, and says, "He's too careless for my liking. Do you remember the time he hit the puck into the other team's goal? Three times in a row?" 

I snicker, and say, "Ah, hockey. The only sport where I was good at, and the only sport where you could willingly hit people in the shin and not get suspended over it." 

Sonia scoffs, and says, "I should've taken advantage of that. Man, I regret that now." I take my books out, and start to walk to my car. Sonia follows behind me, as she takes her keys out of her pocket. "But anyways, don't fret too much about it. But I'm sure that Ray is going to sniff this out extremely soon. Because he's not an idiot- unlike what I thought in 7th grade- and Pete is a goof, so he's going to let it slip one way or the other." 

I nod, as I shove my keys in the lock, and say, "True that. See, this is why I never tell Pete about my crushes. Ever." 

Sonia rolls her eyes, and says, "Okay, I think I know the answer to this, but I just want to make sure. Sophia, do you like Ray? Like, more than friends?" I open my car door, throw my things down, and look back at her. I close the door, and lean against the car. "Well? What's the answer? Do you like him?" 

I drum my fingers against my thigh a little bit, and take a few deep breaths. All my feelings are bunched up into an amorphous blob in my heart, making it harder for me to pick which one tells me that I like him. I study the blob a little bit more, and come up with my answer. 

I look at Sonia, whose green eyes reflect the desire to hear my answer, and hopefully, the one that she wants to hear. I take a deep breath, and say, "Yes. I like him." 

Sonia's eyes widen, and with a huge smile, she says, "Finally! You admit it! Holy moly, if you said no, I would've thrown myself off of your roof!" 

I roll my eyes, and say, "You really want your dad to kill me, huh?" 

Sonia pretends to think, and says, "Nah. You're not that annoying. Just don't tick me off." I scoff a little bit, and open my car door again. 

"This is pretty huge. I had a hunch, because I'm that kind of person, but I'm excited for you two. Do you think that you and him will date?" Sonia asks. 

When she suggests that, my mind goes to another place. The thought of Ray and I dating, holding hands, cuddling, and watching funny movies makes me smile, but I know that's far from a luxury, with the reason being something that's far from my control. 

"I'd love to have that, but I can't. I know Ray likes Victoria, and the attraction is mutual. The only thing I want is for him to be happy, and if he thinks he'll be happy with Victoria, then so be it." 

Sonia raises an eyebrow yet again, and says, "I know that. No duh. But the thing is, do you think you'll be happy with Ray, if you start dating?" I sit down in my car, and say, "Maybe. But I guess time will tell."

*********

"You guys have a quiz on Friday. Study, because it's not going to be a cakewalk. I wasn't happy with your last quiz scores. I expect a high average this time. Humor me," my teacher says, as I doodle in my notebook. 

If I'm being completely honest, then I lost track of time a while back, because lectures are never fun. Especially with a teacher whom I'm convinced has a screw loose somewhere. Not long after she nearly bores us to death, the bell rings, and my first instinct is to shove everything in my backpack and drive back home so that I can be reunited with my bed once more. It's a few miles away, but I can hear it calling, "Sophia. I'm waiting for you."

But, before I can leave, Ray turns back to me again. "Sophia, can I talk to you?" he asks. 

I zip up my backpack, and say, "Yeah. What's up?" 

He slings his over his shoulders, and says, "This is more appropriate alone. Shall we?" I nod, and we both stroll out of the classroom to right outside. 

I lean against the wall, slightly, and say, "What did you want to talk about?" 

He rubs the back of his neck with his hand, and says, "Pete gave me a hint about yesterday, and I kind of connected the dots."

I tilt my head to the side, and say, "Ah, smart. Now you know what I'm talking about." 

Ray gives me a slight smile, and says, "I wanted to apologize. Look, I don't know what I was thinking that night, but apparently, Randy had slipped some idiot powder into my water. Either ways, excuses aside, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that to you. I know your weight is something that is not to be taken as a joke, and yet I still did that. I don't know why, but I did, and I'm telling you right now that I'm sorry. I really am sorry." 

I raise an eyebrow at him, while he just gives me an apologetic look, and says, "That wasn't cool. At all. You really shouldn't have said that, Ray." 

He nods a little bit, while looking at his feet, and fidgeting a little bit. I smile slightly, and say, "But, since you apologized, I'll gladly take it and forget this." 

Ray's head lifts up a little bit, and with a smile gleaming in his eyes, he says, "Really?" 

I nod my head a little bit, and say, "Really." 

This time, the smile travels all across his face, and somehow, to mine as well. "Hug?" he asks. 

Without another word spoken between us, I walk towards him, and snake my arms around him, hugging him tightly. He reciprocates that, and I feel like I'm going to melt. Something about his embrace just makes me want to melt into him and into a little puddle. His grip, his warmth, and everything about him is just so comforting. 

Eventually, he lets go of me, and says, "So, how about Pete being a blabbermouth?" 

He walks towards the lockers, while I say, "Pete will always be Pete." 

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Yay for happy endings! I love how forgiving Sophia is. Do you think she should've accepted his apology? Let me know in the comments. 

Surprise, my dears! Since you guys have been such amazing readers, I decided to reward you guys with a surprise chapter! Think of it as kind of a thank you for being such awesome readers. How are you all doing? How is life? I really hope you are having a good day today. Hopefully, this makes your day even better!

Please vote/comment/follow/share/message if you like this story! Have a great rest of the week, and I'll see you all on Sunday with a new chapter of I Never Imagined!

Love you guys,

S.V.T.S