Destined

Chapter 12 - Want You Back

"Hi." said a deep, husky voice.

I looked up from Paranolmacy and saw Austin smiling down at me. I smiled instantly and replied

"Hi."

"Can I sit with you?" Austin asked and pointed at the empty seat beside me.

"Oh, yeah. Sure." I said and Austin placed his bag on the table and sat beside me.

"Were you late too?" Austin asked.

"Umm yeah. I was a minute or two late." I said. Then I added

"How about you?"

"Two hours." He smiled proudly.

"Two hours? Are you kidding me?" I said loudly and then I noticed the couple staring at me. I looked away immediately in embarrassment.

Austin simply laughed.

"It's ok. They're not looking at you now." He assured.

I sat back straight and placed my bagpack right in front of me, hiding my face.

"Why were you so late?" I whispered to him.

" I just woke up late." Austin said and yawned.

His yawn was so cute I couldn't stop myself from giggling.

"What?" Austin asked.

"Nothing. I guess you're still feeling sleepy aren't you?"

"Yeah. I just want to go to bed now."

"By the way who is your class teacher?" I asked.

"Ms. Julia. She's new." Austin stated.

"Oh. Then I don't know-"

"Alright students. The Late Detention Class is over. I hope you've learnt your lesson. Do not be late the next time." Mrs. Dabney said out loud as she closed her black notebook and inserted it into her bag. She gattered her stuff, stood up, gave each of us a final look and left the classroom.

"I don't think I've learnt any lesson to be honest." Austin said.

"Yeah. Me too." I laughed as we grabbed our bags and stood up just to find ourselves looking directly at the couple. They were kissing! Oh-khay. I turned away and found Austin looking at me.

Awkward.

We both looked away. I could feel my cheeks get warm but I started to walk towards the door and Austin followed me.

"Uhm Austin, could you wait for me over here? I'll be right back." I said.

"Yeah sure." He said.

I placed my bag on the floor and ran for the washroom. I stood in front of the mirror and fixed my hair. Yep, hair was in place.

I stepped out of the washroom and bumped hard into somebody.

"Hey! Can't you see while you're walking?" I asked in annoyance and looked up at the person.

Max.

He turned around and faced me. The scowl in his face vanished as he looked at me and then came a smile. "Sorry sweetheart." He said and left.

I stepped back into the washroom and locked myself in. I leaned on the wall and covered my face with my hands and tried to slow my breathing.

After a few seconds, I unlocked the door, got out and looked at the mirror again. I sucked in a big amount of air and breathed out. Good. Feeling better now. I stepped out of the washroom again, this time unfortunately and thankfully Max wasn't anywhere in sight.

I walked toward Austin. He was carrying my bag. I smiled at him and took my bag from him.

"You alright?" He asked.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" I said, trying to sound normal.

"I don't know. You look kinda pale." He said.

"Oh. I'm fine. Let's go." I said as I wore my bagpack.

We walked out of the school. Not even a single student was in sight.

Outside our school, there were a few benches and as the benches came into our view, we heard some boys from our school talk very loudly. They were making a lot of noise and we both turned our heads to see who they were and guess what?

The boys were Max and his friends. I stopped walking and so did Austin. Max was talking to one of his friends and suddenly he turned his head to see me. He grinned at me but later his lips turned into a thin line when he saw Austin beside me.

"You alright?" I heard Austin ask and I looked away from Max. I started to walk again and Austin followed. We didn't talk much, we simply walked.

"Austin, I'm too tired to walk. Can we just take the cab?" I asked.

"Uhm . . . yeah. Sure." was all Austin said.

We stood in the taxi stand, waiting for a cab to arrive in complete silence. I stared at the road. Buses and cars drove past us in full speed.

"What are you thinking?" Austin asked.

"Nothing." I said, my eyes fixed on a spot on the road which was continuously being run over by vehicles.

"Why are you even thinking about him?" Austin asked later.

I looked at him. How did he know?

"Who are you talking about?" I asked, pretending that I didn't know who he was referring to.

"You know exactly who I'm talking about Alicia." Austin said as he slipped his hands in his pockets. He was staring at the road. His hair was in a messy quiff as the wind kept on blowing it.

I looked at my hands and bit my lower lip. I now realized that I want him. I want Max. How could our two-year-old relationship just end? My eyes started to water and I bit my lip even harder, trying my best not to cry.

"Why even think of someone who makes you sad? Why not think of someone who makes you happy. For instance your mom, your brother, your friends Maria and Jess-"

"You." It slipped out of my mouth. A few seconds later, I realized what I said and immediately looked at Austin. He was still staring at the road, strands of his hair flying over his head but there was an obvious smile on his lips.