A Touch of Grace

[ chapter two: grace-lyn ]

"It's different—," Phoenix attempted.

"Shut up. It's not different at all. You just feel stupid because you assumed I had no chance with him," I responded.

"Grace—," he tried again but I cut him off, growing red in the face from anger.

"I'm going to that party, and I'm going to have a good time with Aaron," I told him and he shook his head.

"Your parents aren't going to let you," he told me.

"They're not going to know about it," I retorted.

"I'll tell them," Phoenix informed me.

"If I get grounded, I'll make sure Leo gets grounded too. I will tell them about every single party he's gone to this past month," I said with narrowed eyes.

"I'm sure he'll be okay with that if it means keeping his sister away from Aaron," Phoenix spoke but I could tell that he wasn't so sure if Leo would give up his freedom to keep me away from Aaron.

"Give up, Phoenix," I hissed. "I'm going."

+ + +

I managed to get Aaron's number later on. To my surprise, he sat next to me in the two classes we shared together, despite the fact that he had two friends in that class who were expecting him to sit next to them. I was extremely happy, especially when I was at my locker at the end of the day and he approached me with a smile.

"Hey," he greeted me. "I have to ask you something."

"Ask away," I told him, struggling to control the nerves in my stomach. He was about to speak but Avery approached us and his eyes widened. She looked at him with furrowed eyebrows before glancing at me.

"We're leaving in a few minutes; there's no cheer-leading practice today," she told me as she went to her locker, which was a few over from mine.

"Okay," I responded, slightly annoyed that she had to step in when he was about to ask me an important question. I turned to look back at Aaron, but he was still staring at Avery. "Aaron?" I asked and he turned to look at me. "You were saying?"

"Oh...yeah, never mind," he nodded as he slowly shook away the trance he seemed to be in. He kept glancing behind me. "I've got to go. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

I nodded but he wasn't looking at me. Slowly, he backed away and began walking down the hall. I furrowed my eyebrows at him. Weird. I slammed my locker shut as I looked at my sister, who was shoving her books into her bag. I stood beside her and she glanced around. "So what did he want?"

"I don't know," I retorted with crossed arms.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked with a chuckle.

"He was about to ask me a question before you interrupted," I grunted.

"He can always ask you over text," my sister shrugged, earning a glare from me.

"I want him to say it in person," I told her. She simply rolled her eyes.

"Okay, fine," she shrugged. "My bad."

"That won't make him come back and ask the question."

"But it will make you shut up," she told me as she opened the door for me. I sighed and exited, glancing at the hallway that Aaron disappeared down.

+ + +

It seemed as if Phoenix was serious about making sure I steered clear of Aaron's party because when my older sister, Avery, was driving us home, Leo leaned forward and looked at me. "You're seriously thinking about going to that party?"

"What?" I asked him.

"Phoenix told me," he bluntly replied. "So you're thinking about going?"

I shrugged. "Maybe."

"Those parties almost always get busted," he informed me with a sigh.

"I still don't know if I'm going. I don't think I will," I lied. Leo looked at me with slightly narrowed eyes.

"Good, I don't really like that kid," my brother noted as he leaned back in his seat. Avery glanced at me out of the corner of her eye and I knew she could tell that I was lying.

Like usual, Phoenix was at my house later on that evening. I was in the kitchen, getting chips, and he walked in, planning on getting a drink. "So, have you decided whether or not you want to go to Aaron's party?"

"I don't think I'm going to go," I shrugged.

"Why not?" he asked with curious eyes. It was obvious that he was suspicious so I had to keep calm and pretend like whether or not he believed me didn't matter.

"Because they get busted a lot, and even my friends said I shouldn't go," I shrugged.

"You listen to them but not me, right?" he asked.

"Why would I listen to you?" I asked him.

He stole a chip from me. "Because...I've been around you for a long time- I'm basically a part of the family."

"Yeah, sure," I nodded.

"Well, Grace, I'm glad you've come to your senses and have decided not to go to the party," he nodded.

"Gracelyn," I muttered as I sat there with my chips. He reached over, attempting to get a chip but I slapped his hand away. That didn't deter him and he made sure to grab a handful. He approached the stairs before turning to look at me.

"Why can he call you Grace but I can't?" he asked.

"Because I like him," I told Phoenix bluntly. He simply stared at me for a few seconds before going back upstairs.