Secrets Left Neglected

Chapter 2

HIGH SCHOOL

Caoilainn

"Jenny," I whisper to her. "I can't believe Tadhg saw my intention the other night at the Yule log. I nearly had a heart failure when he read it."

"What did you do?" she asks, grabbing my hands in her enthusiasm for my drama.

I suck on my bottom lip and look around embarrassed. "I ran to the bathroom."

"What?" Jenny asks, shaking her head. "Why didn't you say something to him? Caoilainn, it was Tadhg. He wouldn't of-"

"Shhh," I say cutting her off and leaning forward. "Not so loud."

Fionn and Cian walk by and I turn to smile at them innocently. Jenny giggles behind me. "I don't think they heard us, Caoi," she comments.

I turned to glare at Jenny. "I didn't want them to know what we were talking about."

"Right," Jenny laughs and rolls her eyes. "because no one in our group knows you have a crush on Tadhg." Jenny grabs her Biology copybook and slams her locker door shut. "Just go talk to him. You said you kissed him, right?" I nod my head in response.

"Did he complain about it? You said he looked happy. Come on, Caoilainn. It'll work out great. Just go talk to him."

"Ha!" I said, running my hand through my bangs to push them out of my face. "Look who's talking! You and Walker have been circling each other forever."

"That's different," Jenny says, defending herself.

"Yeah, right." I reply with a sigh.

Still.

Jenny has a point.

"Well, at least Tadhg will always be my friend. At first, he looked a little upset, but then later he didn't seem angry, so no matter what, I think I'll be ok to try this boyfriend thing out. Wish me luck."

Jenny grabs me around the shoulders and hugs me. "Luck, Caoilainn. Luv yah!"

Then she bounces off down the hall towards Cian. He's just shutting his own locker. When it slams I hear her say, "Is Walker here yet, Cian?"

I lift the corner of my mouth in a half smile and move off towards my own first period.

Tadhg

After the kiss over the weekend, I can't stop thinking about Caoilainn. I'm not sure what's going on. On one hand, there's the intention Caoilainn had written for the Yule log.

Who was it about?

I look around the halls and try to picture who she might have a crush on.

At the same time all this is going through my head, I'm stuck on Caoilainn's mouth on mine. It was over so quickly and she ran away so fast that I never got a chance to ask her about us. At first, I was thrilled.

She kissed me!

As time goes by, though, I'm thinking about it more and more. Was that kiss one of friendship or something more?

And that letter...when she kissed me, was she just letting me know we'd always be friends? That no matter who she dated, she'd always be there?

I'm more confused than ever.

I know exactly what I want; her.

Does she feel the same way, though? If I ask, will it make things weird between us if she doesn't?

Damn it. I wish I had some answers.

As I walk down the hall, I see Jenny and Caoilainn at their lockers. Before approaching, I hang back behind a building pillar to see if I can overhear their conversation. They look intense. After this weekend, I admit I'd like to see if she brings up what happened. Maybe I can gauge what is going on this way.