Finding You

Chapter 29 - If You Don't Stop Saying Period, I'm Going to Hurt You

I'm walking down the hallway at school, holding a hand to my stomach and praying to God that I don't run into anyone, because honestly, I'm not in the mood to make small talk right now.

I'm late to school today because we had to see Alina off to college again, so I'm already feeling a bit out of sorts. Not to mention, the monthly curse on women has decided to fall upon me this week, which I guess is for the best because at least then it won't be going on during the championships in a couple of weeks, but still, I hate this.

In hindsight, PMS may have had something to do with why I reacted so drastically to Hunter's parents' opinion of me. But can you blame me? My hormones weren't exactly under my control. Still aren't actually, but I've been hanging in there. And by hanging in there I mean, I haven't snapped on anyone. Yet.

After that night, things have been relatively calm for the two of us. The following Monday at school, Sean walked up to me (with a bruise on his head that I can't bring myself to feel sorry for), mumbled a brief "thanks," and briskly walked away. Since then he's kind of been avoiding me like the plague, which Hunter couldn't be happier about. Seriously, the boy's been walking with a skip in his step.

Anyway, as I walk to my locker, my stomach is absolutely killing me. These are the worst cramps I've had in a while. Half the time, it feels like an elephant is sitting right below my belly button, and the other half it's cramping so badly I just want to curl up in a ball on the floor.

I usually cramp for only about two days, and this is the second, so this should be stopping soon. The way things are going though, call me overdramatic, but I'm not sure I'm going to make it.

Once I finally make my way through the halls, I'm not surprised to see a boy with jet black hair leaning against my locker who smiles when he catches my eye. When I reach him, he leans down and gives me a quick peck on the cheek, filling me with warmth, and I manage a small smile in return. Good, at least maybe he can keep my mind off of it.

"Hey," I say as I open my locker door to put my books inside.

"Hey," Hunter replies, before noticing my expression which is somewhere between a smile and a grimace. "Something wrong? You look stressed."

"I'm fine, just tired," I reply with a wave of my hand, and Hunter nods in response. I start sifting through the books for my next class. "So what's up? How's your morning been?"

"Terrible," Hunter complains, leaning against the locker next to mine. "And not just because you were gone either. Seriously, I'm not even sure if what we're doing is math anymore. Mr. Sheffield taught us a new lesson today, and I swear, it's completely useless."

"Did you understand it enough to show me later or do I need to hire a tutor?" I joke, glancing at him as I grab my Spanish book.

Hunter gives me a look. "Mia, we've been through this," he says before gesturing to himself. "I'm a genius."

"Right, I forgot," I laugh, shutting my locker door and hoisting my bag higher up on my shoulder.

"Well, I understood it just fine," Hunter begins, absentmindedly taking my backpack off my shoulder and placing it on his own. I smile in gratitude at his gesture. "But that doesn't mean it wasn't stupid," he finishes as we start to walk down the hall towards our next class.

"Well, what was the lesson?" I ask, wondering what could possibly cause my boyfriend, who seems to sail through school without so much as cracking open a book, to be so annoyed.

"We were working with coordinate points and Mr. Sheffield just kept saying, 'find the period, find the period'," Hunter says, and the smile immediately falls from my face.