What Love Craves

Chapter 8

Blake

When I got to school, I hoped to see Tabitha before class, but part of me knew she'd be running into History at the last minute. Even though I was disappointed, I couldn't stop smiling because I knew I'd get to see her. Her smile was like a bright light, giving me hope that things wouldn't always be this bad. I sat in my car, glancing through mindless videos on social media, trying to pass the time. 

"Hey, Donovan!" Hunter hollered. I dropped my phone from the thud on the roof of my car. 

"Easy, man," I said, opening the door. "Don't be putting dents on my car." I raised an eyebrow, grabbing my backpack. "You know I can't afford to fix it, let alone get another one." I slung my backpack onto my shoulder, grasping the strap with my left hand. I perused the parking lot for Tabitha's expensive red car. It wasn't the type of car you'd see sitting in the student parking lot of a school, so it was easy to find in the sea of vehicles. "By any chance..." 

"No, man. I haven't seen her yet this morning." Hunter cut me off before I could finish my sentence. 

"Uh..."

"You've got it bad. It's not hard to see." Hunter chuckled, patting me on the shoulder. "It's about time, too." He dropped his hand and waved to a group of girls, staring and giggling as they walked past us. "Have you even talked to her besides a  hi here and there?" He raised an eyebrow, twisting his lips. "Didn't think so." He grasped his backpack strap. "Man, you've got to get over whatever this is and talk to her before someone else comes along and steals her before you even get a chance to ask her out." He nudged me with his elbow. "I'll see you at lunch. I've got to head to class. Mr. Gibson told me I better not be late. Later." He fist-bumped me, then picked up his stride. 

I walked into the school, nodding and smiling at those who said hi to me as I passed by. I managed to get to my locker without a run-in with Harper. It has become a game here lately called "How to Dodge Harper." I was getting quite good at it most days, and then there were days like today when I couldn't escape her if my life depended on it. "Yes...Harper," I sighed, closing my locker door. 

"How did you know it was me?" Her voice was like nails on a chalkboard to my ears. 

I rolled my eyes at my locker. "Just a lucky guess." I exhaled and turned around to face her. She stood before me, twirling her ponytail between her fingers, smiling with a starry-eyed daze. "Harper, I've got to get to class." She dropped her ponytail, letting it fall across her shoulder. 

"Are you going to the party tonight? You know everyone is going to be there." She stepped closer to me. She was having trouble getting the hint that I wasn't into her. "Harper, you and I aren't going to happen." I watched the smile fade and anger set in her eyes. I stepped around her and headed for History, hoping Tabitha was already in class, but deep down, I knew she wouldn't be at her seat. 

"Blake!" Harper screamed, her footsteps thumped the floor. "Stop!" 

I stopped, letting my head fall back, staring up at the cream-colored ceiling that matched the walls. I sighed, letting my shoulders drop. "What do you want, Harper? I'm going to be late for class. That's really going to make me want you even more." I rolled my eyes at the ceiling and lowered my head when I heard her shoes tap the floor right behind me. 

"I hope you aren't wasting your breath on Tabitha. She's not into you." She moved around me, knocking into my shoulder as she headed down the hall, waving to a couple of guys who had hollered her name. Harper was beautiful, but her personality was lacking. 

I shook my head and continued walking down the hall, praying I wasn't late for class. Once I rounded the last corner, my eyes focused on the classroom door at the end of the hall. I thanked God that the door was still wide open, which meant Mr. Austin hadn't walked in to start class yet. I glanced around to make sure no one was walking behind me, then sprinted down the hall to class. I stopped a few feet from the door and walked into the classroom. My shoulders dropped when I saw Tabitha's empty seat. I walked past Sophie, trying to get her attention, but she was too busy watching something on her phone. I took my seat and grabbed my phone so I wouldn't stare at the door. I grabbed my phone, and the minute I started watching a reel, Owen slid into his seat. "Hey,   is she here?" 

"I don't know. I haven't seen her." I pressed the side button on my phone to put it to sleep. "You didn't see her on the way here, did you?" 

"No...Wait a minute. Yeah, I did. I saw her talking to some girl with light brown hair. I don't think the other girl goes here because she looked to be in her twenties." Owen set his things on his desk and sat down. "I'm sure she'll be here. You know she comes rushing in here right at the last minute." 

"You're right. Speaking of girls...Harper caught me on my way to class." I swiped my phone on. 

"Man, she's hot. I can't believe you haven't hit that yet." 

I couldn't argue with him about Harper being beautiful, but she wasn't the one that had caught my eye. "Yeah, she's beautiful and all, but her attitude sucks, man. I don't want some girl who has to bully others to make themselves feel better." 

"Some guys just want to nail it a few times, then leave." Owen shrugged. 

Again, I couldn't argue with him. "Yeah, but I'm looking for more." 

"Hey, I totally get it." Owen held out his fist. I obliged and gave him a fist bump. "Speaking of...." Owen smiled and motioned his head toward the door. "She's here." 

My eyes flashed to the door, and my lips curled into a huge smile the second our eyes met. She didn't have to say a word; just her presence brought such happiness to me—something I'd never felt before with any other girl. She moved with such an elegant grace that would make royalty pale next to her. Her eyes stayed on me until she stood in front of Sophie, and that's when I saw fear flash in her eyes briefly. Her eyes widened as she stood there frozen, unable to move. I couldn't figure out what had scared her so badly; Sophie was sitting at her desk and hadn't said a word to Tabitha. I was about to ask her if she was okay when Mr. Austin told Tabitha to take her seat. She took her seat and continued to stare over at Sophie. It was almost scary how her eyes didn't waver away from Sophie, and any sudden movement would be disastrous for both. Which made me feel on guard, as if I would have to jump in the middle of a girl fight at any moment. 

I tried numerous times throughout class to get Tabitha's attention, but she was either staring at Sophie or writing the notes Mr. Austin wrote on the board in her notebook. I jumped up to say something to Tabitha the minute the bell rang, but she was gone in the blink of an eye. I glanced at Owen, but he looked as perplexed as I did.