Flash

Ch. 9 - Janitor's Closet

I bite my lip. "So..maybe you do want to miss first period. Come with me."

I don't know where my sudden burst of bravery came from, but I take Peter's hand in mine and tug him behind me. He's really resistant, his feet dug into the ground. I manage to pull him to the destination that wasn't too far away. A janitor's closet.

"Really? A janitor's closet?" Peter challenges, sniffling afterwards.

I pull the string that lights up the small closet. "I used to come here all the time to ditch class."

"With Mason," Peter adds.

"Well..yeah..but-"

He doesn't even listen what I have to say next before placing his hand on the doorknob. I jump to stop him, tugging on his arm.

"Don't."

He stares at me for a bit, just looking all around my face. "Why are you doing this, Grace? What makes you care?"

I take a deep breath. "I honestly don't know. Maybe I feel really bad for you. Maybe I feel guilty about what you've been through the past two years. Maybe I actually just like spending time with you. Because, quite frankly, I don't give a damn that you hate me."

"You think that I hate you?" he asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Well," I pause, "it's kind of obvious."

"You're a little off from the truth," he laughs to himself. He then crouches to the floor before plopping down at resting his back against the shelves.

I follow his act and sit across from him. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means I don't hate you." He takes a Clorox spray off the ledge and starts tossing it from hand-to-hand. I notice how he doesn't look me in the eye. "From what Andrew would say about you, it would be nearly impossible."

I raised my eyebrows in interest. I'm kind of shocked that Andrew never talked crap about me to Peter after what I did to him. But then again, Andrew was far too sweet to do something like that, even to me. "He talked about me?"

"Yeah. I mean, you were his best friend. I heard all the stories." A small smile is placed on his face. "And I'm talking all of them."

I laugh, blush on my cheeks. He tosses the Clorox to me and luckily I catch it.

"That's right. I know about the white water rafting," he says with a faint smile, catching the Clorox as I pass it back.

I cover my face with my hands and let out an embarrassed laugh. "Oh gosh."

"How many points do I have now? Like, thirty?" he questions jokingly.

"Eleven, actually," I correct.

He lets out a breathy laugh. "Someone's keeping track."

"Like you didn't know that," I spit back, blushing slightly.

We continue tossing the Clorox back-and-forth. Peter brings up all the stories Andrew told him about me, each one being worse than the previous. I find myself laughing uncontrollably while Peter just keeps a simple smile. We talk all the way up until the end of first period.

"One day, you're going to fall off your roof and land in a trashcan. I'll witness this. I'll know. It'll haunt you. So, I'd be careful with those stories about me," I warn as I stand up from the dusty closet floor.

Peter smiles, shaking his head as he stands up as well. "I'll keep that threatening comment in mind."

I laugh and open the door. Peter grabs my arm to keep me from leaving. I don't know why my heart rate speeds up so quickly by his action.