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I made my way down the corridors, clutching my books to my chest. My head which was usually held down was upright today because I was looking for someone. A someone who wasn't Luke.... that was a first.

I got to my locker and put the books inside it and started taking out my history book for Mr. Jefferson's class.

Suddenly out of nowhere, a large spider crawled onto my hands. My eyes widened in fear as panic rose in me. "Ahhh!" I yelled as I shook my hands violently. The thing was huge and scary and refused to move. Using my other hand, I hurriedly pushed it away. I breathed a sigh of relief.

Then I heard it, the silent laughter and whispers of the people around me, whose unwanted attention I had pulled towards myself. My heart clenched agonizingly. Did they think I couldn't hear them?!

I don't care.

I'm stronger than them.

What they think doesn't matter.

Don't be scared.

Don't be scared.

I kept repeating it like a mantra in my head. But as much as my mind tried to convince me, my heart didn't listen. And I was just another coward who followed her heart. And in my heart, I knew the truth.

I do care.

I'm not stronger than them.

What they think does matter.

I am scared.

I am so scared.

"Still terrified of the smallest things I see," a mocking voice said from my side, I turned around to see one of my tormentors.

Maddie...

She was dressed in skinny jeans and a white tank top. She had a mocking smirk on her face.

"I'm glad to know that I'm not that rusted," she smirked and immediately everything fell into place. There is no way such a huge spider had just magically appeared in my locker. She put it there... she had to have put it there.

I wanted to confront her, slap her hard on her face, punch her but I did what I'll always do. I buried the anger deep inside, took a breath to calm myself, sucked in all the profanities and held back from throwing a snarky comment on her face.

As I walked away from there, I felt sick to my stomach. It's been seven years! Seven, long, horrible years. I didn't feel disgusted by her, no I felt completely and utterly disgusted at myself. At my fears, at my timidity, most importantly my weakness.

My eyes welled up and I closed them tight.

No actually, I take back what said, the thing I feel most disgusted by are my own tears.

With that thought, I made my way to the washroom where nobody could see me cry.

He was right. They were all right.

I truly am pathetic.

*****

"You've been awfully quiet, Ally," Luke said for the hundredth time. His usually cheerful face looked serious today.

If Luke could be playful and friendly for one second, he could be mature and serious the next. It was like a switch.

"I'm okay, Luke," I said putting on my most convincing face.

"Can you smell that Ally?" He asked suddenly and I sniffed but came up with nothing.

"Um, no. What?" I ask confusingly because I couldn't smell a thing.

"Bullshit!" he said, and it's coming out of your mouth." He added.

I rolled my eyes at his lame retort.

A voice suddenly called Luke from our right and he looked over to see Brandon, from the basketball team, calling him. "Coach wants us to meet him at the court now," Brandon yelled from almost across the cafeteria. Luke sighed before standing up.

"I'm not gonna let this go, you know that right?" He asked me, or more like told me. I simply sighed and nodded.

'Of course, I know'

I thought to myself as he walked away. I stood up to put the plate in the trashcan. I walked over to the can and put the remains of the food into it. I was turning to go back outside when suddenly an arm snaked around my waist. A scream barely made it out of my mouth when I found myself turned around and staring into somebodies grey eyes. A small sigh escaped my parted lips as I looked into them. My eyes made their way down to his one-sided smirk. He tilted his head to the side as if he was amused.

"Boo," he whispered finally. I shook my head and looked down biting my lip to prevent myself from smiling. I looked back up at him only to find him staring at me already. My eyes then made their way to his shoulder. It was completely covered up by the signature black leather jacket. A frown made its way onto my face. He followed my line of sight and he sighed.

"You're going to insist on seeing it, right?" He asked rolling his eyes.

I nodded, "Yes please," I whispered. I had been thinking about it all night! I had mentally kicked myself for just tying a stupid scarf around it! I should have made sure he bandaged it. There will obviously be blood loss if he hadn't! Knowing him, he wouldn't have done that....

Wait 'Knowing him'? 

For a day... That was enough right..?

He suddenly smirked. "Fine, you can see it," he said nonchalantly. I waited but he made no move to remove his jacket. I narrowed my eyes lightly on suspicion.

"What are you waiting for sugar, you can take off the jacket and see it." He said shrugging his shoulders. My eyes widened at his suggestion.

"I-I- can't... You w-want me t-to what?!" I asked looking no doubt, completely perplexed. His smile just seemed to widen at my incessant stuttering.

"You're the one who wants to see it.." he whispered. My face immediately heated up, what would anybody think if they heard our conversation..? They would definitely mistake it for me asking to see something else. But it was true... I had to see it. I was the only one there when those buff monsters had stabbed him. I should have been more responsible and dropped him off at the hospital. If they had come at him again, he would most definitely not have been able to defend himself. 

Stupid, Stupid me!

"Did you put any dressing on it?" I asked hesitantly.

"Well, maybe, or maybe not. I guess there really is only one way to find out," he said in a fake innocent tone.

Damn it!

I pursed my lips. It was not honestly such a big deal... right?

There is nothing inappropriate here. I closed my eyes tightly, making up my mind. Adrian had somehow managed to pull me behind a pillar where we were actually pretty well hidden from the rest of the cafeteria. I looked up at him one last time with pleading eyes but he just shrugged his shoulders again.

I let out a huge breath. I raised my trembling hands up to the collar of his jacket and held onto it. I looked up at him to see him looking at me with a now serious face. His eyes were daring me to do it.

'Don't you dare be afraid' they screamed. 

Looking down again, I mentally made up my mind for the thousandth time.

'Ok, Ally, take it out like a band-aid.'  I told myself before pushing the damned thing off. I was met with white dressing in the place where I had tied my scarf the previous day.

I couldn't help but sigh in relief. "You put the dressing." I said stupidly.

"Well, I promised a certain special someone," he whispered, looking at me with soft eyes.

I found it amazing actually, how his eyes had almost a mind of their own. They were so easy to read. His body language gave away absolutely nothing but his eyes gave away everything he was feeling. The steely grey shade when he was angry, the softer, dilated one when he was concerned, that glint which appeared in them when he was being playful. It was mesmerizing!

"Thank you then." I replied when I found him staring at me most probably because it had taken me quite a while to answer him.

"Don't thank me just yet, you didn't possibly think I'll do this for free did you?". My blood ran cold at his reply.

I bit my lip hard. I cut back from screaming at him that this was all for his own good. He would have lost a lot of blood if I hadn't bandaged it up.

"You see, I had more work to do yesterday but you kind of forced me to go home, and let's not forget sugar, I really did not want to come to school today, I was actually planning to bunk. I don't fancy slow torture in the name of a physics lecture by Mr. Henderson, you see, but I came just for you," he said as he put his hands on either side of me, against the pillar, effectively blocking me in.

"O-oh." I said dumbly yet again, leaning against the wall behind me.

"And I think you know what I want," he whispered against my ear as an involuntary shiver ran up my spine. What does he mean, I know?!

Uggh, think Ally!

What could he possibly want?!

I thought hard and then it hit me.

My history homework! 

Yup, that's got to be it! 

"Ok fine," I said defeatedly. "Take it," I said begrudgingly.

Adrian froze before slightly moving away. 

"Really..?" he asked tilting his head to the side. I nodded slightly before looking down. His warm breath fanned on my face. I felt him moving closer to me when suddenly a thought struck me. 

"Wait!" I snapped my head up only for our noses to bump against each other. He froze in place immediately.

When the hell did he get so close... Again?!

"What?" he asked narrowing his eyes.

"I can't! What if he finds out?" I whispered. Screw me for being good but Mr. Feilds had the eyes of a freaking hawk, he pried out the people who had copied and he was known to give zero to both parties involved. Nobody dared to copy history homework actually.

"What if who finds out..?" He asked looking genuinely puzzled.

"Mr. Feilds, of course!" I said in a duh tone.

"Mr. Feilds..." He said more to himself than me. I nodded in confirmation. 

He was new so he most probably didn't know Mr. Feilds' reputation with his students.

"Mr. Feilds, as in the history teacher..?" he asked again, looking genuinely confused as to what I was talking about. He must be laughing at how obedient I am.

"Yeah... he can't know about it," I said.

Adrian's confusion seemed to grow. "You don't want Mr. Feilds to know about.. 'this'.?" He asked, emphasizing on 'this' moving away slightly, giving me more space but still keeping me locked between him and the pillar.

I nodded my head. Damn! This guy was slow!

Adrian shook his head slightly as if trying to shake off the confusion. "Wait, why is Mr. Feilds..?" he asked. "Ok, hold on," He said slowly "What exactly are we talking about." He asked.

Okay, I'm plugging all these symptoms under 'dropped on his head too many times when he was a baby'

"About you wanting to copy my history homework of course," I said slowly as if explaining to a child.

For a whole five seconds, he still looked at me pretty much blankly.

"I want to copy your history homework," he said under his breath and I nodded, Didn't he ask me for it himself.

"You think, I want your history homework?" he asked me finally and I nodded. Of course, he did. How many times will he ask me the same damn question. Besides what else could he possibly want from me?

He closed his eyes tightly before shaking his head, when he opened them, I could see that familiar glint in his eyes, that of amusement. He seemed to find me very funny. He pushed himself off the wall and pursed his lips, most probably to prevent himself from laughing, his eyes gave him away though.

"Of course you'd think that I would want your history homework," he said shaking his head.

"You don't... Then what were you talking about?" I asked him with genuine curiosity. 

He stared at me as if trying to see if I was being fake but I looked back at him with complete seriousness in my widened eyes.

He sighed before moving closer to me. "I don't want your history homework sugar but.." he put his hands up brushing a few stray strands of hair from my cheek and he sighed almost painfully. "What am I supposed to do with you?" he whispered. I didn't know what to say to that.

"Well... What did you want then?" I said, my voice breaking in the end.

"I wanted..." he trailed off before looking at me thoughtfully "To see your smile,"

"Oh," I said, not really expecting that nor completely comprehending those last four words. When it finally hit me, what he asked for, saying I was shocked would be a huge understatement.

"Y-you what?" I asked, extremely confused.

"I want to see you smile, better yet laugh," he said giving me a slight smile.

"I-I can't just laugh" I stuttered panic rising in me.

"Is that a challenge?" He asked me raising his eyebrow.

"Look, just take my history homework," I sighed defeatedly.

"So you would rather get caught and get a zero than just smile?" he asked me tilting his head to the right.

Of course, he would ask that. He wouldn't understand, He just couldn't! Me being the cowardly person that I was, I just put my head down, looking at the floor.

"Sugar?" He called but I refused to look up at him. 

Who was he?! 

Why did he seem to care so much?!

Nobody else did!

His warm fingers held on to my chin and he forced me to look up at him. He studied me with hawk-like eyes. "I'm going to make you smile. A proper smile," he said as I just looked at him with pained eyes. "Challenge accepted." he whispered before pushing himself off of me and finally letting me take a breath.

Oh, god! What had I gotten myself into?!

He then held my hand and pulled me out from behind the pillar. "So..." he said. "I'll see you in detention!" he finished with a cheeky smile.

Huh?

Wait, what?!

I then noticed it, something I hadn't seen before.

Oh, holy cheesecakes!

A gasp escaped my lips.

The cafeteria was empty. How long had I been there?! 

How long had we been there? I quickly recollected my schedule.

Crap! English! 

Not again!

I looked at Adrian with a panicked expression but he looked as cool as cucumber. "I'll see you there," he said before darting out.

"Ughhh!" I let out finally.

Damn it!

No, actually Damn him!

.^.^.^.

I'm so sorry for the long wait, you guys! But I sincerely hope you like this!

Please don't be silent readers! I would love to know what you think and constructive criticism is very much appreciated!

Much love, 

Xoxo