Anxiety Attack

Chapter 42

Finley's P.O.V 

Eli made a muffled sound of protest before pushing me away, gently. "What was that?" he asked. 

I blushed. "Well, I wanted to calm you down..." 

"So you kissed me?" Eli's tone is a little incredulous. 

"Well, yeah," I said, feeling myself blush harder, if that was even possible. "It works in the movies." 

"Well, this isn't the movies," Eli said.  

I blinked; that seemed a little harsh. "But..." 

"I didn't mean it like that," Eli said hastily, after seeing my face. "I mean that life isn't really that cliché. In my defense, I did like the kiss." 

I laughed. "Of course you did, Eli, you're a boy. If any girl kissed you, you'd probably like it." 

"Not true," Eli said, looking quite affronted. "I am a one-woman man, thank you very much." 

"Boy, more like it," I teased. 

Eli shot me a look and I scampered away, heading down the hallway. "Wait for me!" he called after me. He caught up to me and grabbed my hand, tangling our fingers together. "See?" he said, using his other hand to point to our hands. "See how it fits? This is proof. We're meant to be together, and no idiot boy will come between us." 

I don't think I'd felt that fluttery inside since Eli told me he loved me. 

...

After the bell rang, finally excusing me from the long, horrible day I had, I was heading to my locker when someone stopped me.  

"Hey, you're Finley Collins, right?" she asked. 

I turned and nodded, feeling rather nervous as I recognized the girl standing in front of me. Her name was Mika and her friend Anna was standing behind her. Mika was popular, at the top of the food chain and she had a reputation for being quite easy to get into bed. She wanted it though, she wasn't a dumb popular; she was a smart, cunning evil girl who knew how to get rid of her enemies, mostly girls who threatened her next boy toy just by using words. 

She wasn't even that intimidating looking; she died her hair from brown to this soft red velvet color and she had multiple piercings in her ears. The only intimidating thing she had was her height, which was a solid six one; she played volleyball. 

"Are you?" she repeated the question. 

I nodded. 

A smirk grew across her face. "What's the matter? Surprised that anyone this popular is talking to you?"

I blinked, slightly shocked on how rude she was being straight from the beginning. What did I do to her.... 

Nothing. At least, that's what I can remember. 

"W-What do you w-want?" I stammered out, clutching my books tighter to my chest. 

Her smirk widened. "Well, a little birdie told me that Eli Sanders is dating you. And that you've got yourself quite the posse of friends. And see, hon, I can't have anyone threatening my status. And, not to mention, I've been after Eli for years-" she paused to flick her hair over her shoulder. "-and he somehow chose you, a small, pathetically quiet girl who freaks out whenever someone talks to her."

I shrank away from them. "L-Leave me a-alone," I stuttered.

Mika's smirk grew. "What's the matter? Is Finley the Freak nervous? Honestly, I'm surprised that you can even talk, I thought you were mute.