FIRST KISS (High School Romance - FYI - In need of redrafting/rewrites)

Chapter Six

Finally, on Thursday morning, Bryce and I had class together. History, with Mr. Matthews. It was first period, so usually we walked there together and took our seats at the front of the class, but today, Bryce was nowhere to be found.

I slunk into the classroom and took my usual seat. I tried to look unconcerned that I was sitting alone, empty seats either side of me. I flicked through the music on my iphone, but it only served to annoy me. There were loads of playlists that Bryce and I had put together for various parties and every track I looked at reminded me of him.

I kept one eye on the door, waiting for him to arrive; hoping beyond hope that he would come and sit by me.

When he came in he was in the middle of a crowd of other students, who entered noisily. Obnoxiously, in fact. Typical cool kids. Bryce glanced over at me, but there was a new wariness in his eyes. For a second I thought he was going to ignore me, but then he smiled a crooked half-smile and came and leant over my desk.

"Were your parents OK?"

"What?" I asked, confused.

"About you being hungover on Saturday," he explained. And then it dawned on me that we really hadn't had a conversation about what had happened since that morning.

"Oh yeh sure. I don't think they even noticed. Did you get your car cleaned?"

He nodded. "Yup."

"I really am sorry about that," I said. "Are you gonna sit down?"

"Are you gonna come to the game later?"

"I told you yesterday that I would. Oh, but I do have rehearsal that might run over."

"But Glee Club was yesterday," he whispered. I was touched that he knew what day I went to Glee Club, but then I questioned myself. A couple of weeks ago I would have been mad if he forgot, and now I was actually commending him on remembering! And he'd whispered it too, like he was ashamed.

"It's for the winter concert. I'm doing a duet with Andrew Phillips."

"Andrew Phillips?" There was a quizzical look on his face.

"Yeh, you know-"

"Bryce?"

Oh god. How had I managed to forget that Taylor took this class too? She was standing in the doorway with one hand on her hip, flanked by Diana and Angelica. She jerked her head, causing her blonde hair to flick from one side to the other.

Bryce and I stared at one another for the shortest of moments, but I saw the way his face moved when she spoke. His eyes twitched and his lips pursed slightly. I held his gaze, daring him to choose her over me, in front of everyone.

"Sorry," he whispered. "Come to the game."

Then he turned away and moved to sit with Taylor. I was livid; it was like he had pulled a band-aid right off an open wound. I felt like yelling and screaming at him. Didn't he get it? Was he trying to make me feel worse?

I had to endure the entire period, watching Mr. Matthews strut up and down in front of the board, but unable to listen to him at all, aside from the few times he actually had to stop the class because Taylor was whispering or stroking Bryce.

"Miss Whitrow, could you please keep your hands to yourself? I'm sure Bryce can turn the pages of his own textbook."

There were giggles from almost everyone in the room, apart from me. It really wasn't funny. She was making Bryce look foolish.

At the end of class I stayed behind, waiting for everyone to leave, so I could check a homework question with Mr. Matthews.

"Do you want us to hand-write the essay in timed conditions?"