Lovely Fellow | 18+ ✓

39. you were a forest fire.

"Hey Opal." Princeton smiles kindly.

"Um hi."

His hazel eyes switch from me to Mark every few seconds. "Opal, would you be able to help me with something real quick?"

Nodding I push my stray hairs from my face. "Sure."

Polli waves her hand, "I could help." She suggests. "I mean if you want."

The smile on his face grows a little bigger and his cheeks flush pink. "That's okay Polli, but thanks for the offer." We walk away from the pair, going to a more secluded area, away from the eyes and ears of others.

"Did you know Mark was back?" He inquires, rubbing his tan face.

Cupping my hands together I shake my head. "No, I had no idea. Nobody mentioned anything. I thought maybe Lucy would have said something. We aren't exactly friends, but she still tells me things."

He tugs on his backpack strings, scanning our area. "Could it be possible Mark told her what happened?"

"It's possible. But I'm not sure there's anyway of knowing." Chewing on my lower lip I huddle into my jacket, closing it completely. "Um." I gulp, tucking my arms in front of me. "Do you know why Koa didn't come to school today?"

Pulling his eyes off of me he continues to check our surroundings. "Yes and no. He had an appointment at one, so he could have come in this morning and left in time for the appointment. Koa doesn't taking appointments lightly. I'm sure Knox had to force him, and some times that can take all day. But no, I don't know why he didn't come to school. Has he not said anything to you?"

"No, he hasn't."

The corner of his lips lift, "I'll beat his booty for you."

I grin, "That's okay Princeton."

Rubbing my arm I watch the forest behind him sway with the breeze. Dark storm clouds roll in, letting down a light drizzle as lighting zaps through the sky. "May you tell him to call me, please?"

A worrisome smile spreads across his face. His head bobs lightly, causing his hair to get in his eyes. He runs his fingers through his hair, raking it out of his face. "Of course Opal."

-

I fiddle with the broken laminate on the table, watching the clouds drench the town outside the diner window. Thunder roars, making the building shake faintly enough to be felt. The smell of ketchup and pickles fill my nostrils.

"Opal."

Turning my head I see Koa soaking wet, heading towards my table. He has the biggest black eye I've ever seen. The right side of his mouth is split open, being held together by stitches. His left cheek is completely black and blue. "Koa what happened!? Are you okay?!"

He pulls off his sopping wet jacket, placing it on the booth next to him. His knuckles and wrist are bandaged up with blood soaking through. "Oh uh, boxing got a little out of hand."

"When was this?"

"Earlier."

I shove my hands into my cardigan pockets, "What time I mean."

"Around twelve this afternoon."

"Are you okay?"

He grabs my hand with his uninjured one, giving it a light squeeze. "I'm fine." He musters up as much of a smile as he can manage.

I huff quietly to myself. I can't help but stare at him. He looks in bad shape. I don't know how he can put his body through all this pain. How does he bear it? I don't think I'll ever be able to understand it. Maybe he likes the pain.

"Opal."

"Yes?"

He raises a brow, his blue eyes staring into mine. "Princeton told me what happened. Did Mark talk to you or touch you?"

"Um, no."

His eyes flick between mine. "Are you sure? Would you tell me if he did?"

"Of course." I bob my head. "I would." Brushing my hair behind my ear I glue my eyes to his poor beat up face. It makes me want to cry. It just looks so painful. "Please tell me what happened at your match for you to end up like this. It looks like it hurts."

A grin stretches on one side of his mouth. He scratches his forehead and clears his throat. "Well. The dude I was up against was mad that I won. He said it was unfair and was being a little bitch about it. Anyways, he came up and tackled me when I was changing in the locker room. Don, the owner of Adrenaline Junkie patched me up. I'm as good as new."

K O A

Opal chews on her lower lip, staying silent. Her pale fingers play with a broken corner piece on the table.
I can tell she's fighting something, yelling, crying maybe. Opals not usually hard to read, for the most part.

"Do you want a shake?" I inquire, pulling my eyes off of her.

She shrugs her shoulders and shakes her head no. "Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure." She mumbles. "But thank you for offering."

I grab the wrapper from her straw, crumpling it and throwing it at her. Her green eyes stare at me, clearly not amused. "Are you mad at me for boxing?"

"No. It's just..." she fiddles with her sweater sleeve. "I'm not mad at you." She clarifies. "It's sad Koa."

"Boxing?"

"No." She sighs quietly, brushing her hair behind her ear. "Your face. I don't mean for that to come off rude. It looks sad Koa."

"It'll heal."

"I'm sorry that guy did that to you."

I wave my hand at her, "Don't worry about it Opal."

"It's hard not to." She admits.

"I know the feeling. I worry about you all the time. It scared me when Princeton told me Mark was back. I started panicking. Hoping that he wouldn't go near you. I wouldn't have been there to protect you. I love you to damn much to lose you."

She blinks a couple of times, fighting her tears. "Then that means you know how I feel about you Koa. That's what I've been trying to tell you. Because I love you too."

-

I have writers block! And it's sucks butts. Thank you for being so patient with me during these long periods without updates. I'm so beyond grateful! ♥️

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