My High School Life [Rewritten - Ongoing]

27. [Isabella]

Everything was a mess. Avoiding Thomas was like avoiding sleep. You couldn't. He was literally everywhere. Because of that, I kept our conversations to a bare minimum. I only spoke to him if it was about our project. Since it was due soon, we were forced to stay together. But, I made sure to avoid eye contact at all cost. I knew the moment I looked into his eyes, everything would crumble apart.

     If only he didn't kiss me like that . . . everything was going perfectly fine. Why did he have to ruin everything and do that? The way Amanda explained it, it was so simple. So, why did I feel something when he kissed me? Why was my heart beating a million miles a minute just thinking about that kiss? Why did I feel so guilty? Why was he affecting me so much? Why? This isn't suppose to happen. I wasn't suppose to feel anything. There's no way that kiss meant anything to me. No fucking way.

    I just needed to focus. Focus on the plan. Focus on all the things he did and said to you when he knew you as Isabella Ace. If he knew the real you, there's no way he would've been that nice to you. He's only being nice to you because you're skinny now. He's just pretending. He doesn't like you. So, that get through your fucking brain, Izzy. You know what he's capable of. Stick to the plan, and crush him.

    I nodded. Everything I'd done up to this point was because of that. To crush Thomas Reed and to get my revenge—Little Beauty, you're so cute.

    I shook my head. No. He didn't mean those words.

    Isabella, you and my brother are so perfect for each other. I hope you take good care of him!

    I chewed on my lips, remembering what Megan told me at her birthday party. She didn't know, no one knew. Maybe, maybe I should stop this. Is this even worth it anymore? Am I really doing the right thing by continuing this?

    "Ugh. This sucks!"

    "Isabella," Mr. Jacob yelled, ending the mini rant with myself. Crap, don't tell me I said that out loud? "Please don't say 'this sucks' to your classmates while they're trying to present. Harsh words will not be tolerated in my classroom. This is your first warning, one more and you're going straight to the office." Oops. Guess I did.

    I grimaced, sinking in my seat. "Sorry."

    "Don't apologize to me, apologize to your classmates." He pointed at them.

    I peeked in the direction Mr. Jacob was pointing towards. I can't believe I did that. "I'm sorry."

    They both shrugged their shoulders, going back to their presentation, but I could tell they were both annoyed with my 'opinion'. Truth is, I couldn't even tell you what part they're on, let alone criticize their work. I don't even remember the presentation starting.

    "What's wrong?" Thomas asked. The heat from his hand slowly creeped into my consciousness, and I pulled away, his touch burning me. He was too close—way too close for comfort.

    "Nothing."

    "Izzy," he sighed. I could tell he was finally getting fed up with my short responses. I'm surprised he tolerated it for this long. "You'd been acting strange all week. Seriously, what's wrong?"

    "I'm fine."

Lies.

    "Right." I waited for him to continue talking but he never did. When I looked at him from the corner of my eye, he was back to facing our classmates. As their lips moved, his stayed closed.

    I gulped. Oh God, his lips.

The very lips that touched mine not too long ago. The same lips that brought back a million memories in a split second. I could still remember how they felt against my own. When he kissed me, my body lit on fire and ignited a feeling I never felt before. After that, my mind fell into an unconscious state of intoxication. But, it was those exact same feelings that woke me up. The warmth that spread throughout my entire body scorched my insides, and charred what was whole. His kiss became an inferno that blew up. It was a mistake. Something that should've been avoided.