The Only Exception

four

"Thanks, Drew. You're the only exception."

He leaned down to give me a little kiss on the forehead, and I thought my heart was going to beat right out of my chest. It was so loud that I was worried he would hear it. We stayed like that for the rest of lunch, just leaned up against each other while holding hands. It was the best lunch period I ever had.

The rest of the day went by quickly, probably because I enjoyed my classes much more now that I sat next to Hunter in all of them. It was the first time ever that I wasn't dying to hear the final bell ring. We said our goodbyes at the door of our last class before I was off to find Quinn in the parking lot.

She was already standing by her car along with a large group of her friends. They were being obnoxious as always, the girls talking loudly and the guys pushing each other and laughing. I was hoping the car was unlocked so I could just hop right in. Walking up to such a big group made me feel self conscious, it didn't help that my face was all messed up.

"Oh perfect! There you are!" Quinn yelled out when she saw me coming. I cursed her under my breath for drawing attention to me. It felt like every single friend of hers looked over, and I could see people eyeballing my stitches.

"We are going to the mall," she told me excitedly, either not realizing or not caring about my current discomfort.

"I don't want to go to the mall," I grumbled as I reached the car door which ended up being locked, of course.

I squirmed under the continued stares of her cheerleader and jock friends as she turned to laugh at a joke Katie made. I pulled on the car door handle a few more times, hoping Quinn would get the hint and unlock it so I could hide inside.

"Hey, I heard Hunter gave you those stitches. Let us know if we need to do something," Jack, Quinn's boyfriend spoke up. The way he nodded his head over at me and stood up with his chest practically puffed out made me roll my eyes.

"He didn't," I hissed. The comment made me angry, but I didn't want to make a scene. If only he was man enough to say those things to Hunter directly. I smirked slightly at the thought of Jack's ego getting knocked down a peg or two.

"I already talked to mom and dad about the mall and you have to go," Quinn shrugged.

I fought the urge to argue with her. I didn't understand why she couldn't drop me off at home on her way, but both her and my parents often felt like forcing me to do social things was somehow beneficial to me. Quinn finally unlocked her car and I was able to get in. I could hear her ironing out the plans and groaned when I realized that the whole group would be going with us too.

Quinn got in the car and started it up. "Quinn, I don't want to go out looking like this," I whined and gestured to my half swollen face.

"Oh, Drew. You look fine! Plus, you should spend some more time with my friends. I think you would like them. I also may know a football player who has a thing for you," Quinn giggled and sent me a wink.

I nearly gagged when she said that as we pulled out of the parking lot. There was nothing I wanted less than to talk to the football players at our school, let alone date one. I wondered which one could possibly think of me in that way when I was anything but welcoming to them. I wasn't mean, I just never really engaged with them.

"I don't want to date one of your friends," I told her bluntly.

"Lighten up, D! I think you would like to have a boyfriend."

I wanted to tell her that I was already interested in someone else, but she might explode or crash the car, and I didn't feel like dying that day.

I left the conversation where it was and the two of us just listened to music the rest of the way there. There was no mall in Roslyn so we had to drive nearly an hour to get to the outlets in North Bend that Quinn and her friends liked.

We pulled into the parking lot at the same time as most of her other friends who carpooled in 2 other cars. Jack and Quinn greeted each other with a kiss as if they hadn't been at school together all day. One of Jack's friends, Frank, came up to me and I instantly knew this was who Quinn meant when she said one of the football players liked me. I couldn't stand Frank, he was easily one of the most annoying, egotistical players I had ever come across.

"Hey Little Carter! How's it going?" He smirked and threw his arm around my shoulder.

I instantly thought back to Hunter putting his arm around me at lunch that day. It had made me feel so warm and safe, but Frank doing it made an uncomfortable shiver run down my spine. I politely ducked out of his grip and gave the least-convincing smile ever, "I'm fine."

I walked away from him and closer to Quinn and Katie as we all made our way into the shopping center. The group split up a bit when we got inside, some of them wanting to go to different stores than others, but no matter where Quinn, Katie, and I went, Jack and Frank followed.

"Oh gosh, look how cute this bag is!" Quinn called out to Katie when we entered a designer store. I walked over too, but only because I didn't want to be left standing alone with Frank who kept staring at me.

"Baby, can I please get it?!" Quinn begged Jack. I cringed as she pulled out the puppy dog eyes and pouted her bottom lip.

Jack winced as he looked at the price tag but reluctantly agreed as he looked back at my sister's face. I wasn't Jack's biggest fan, but it could not be easy dealing with my sister as a girlfriend, so I almost felt a little bad for him.

"Want anything, Beautiful?" Frank came up from behind me and winked. The ever-present smirk on his face made me uneasy. I couldn't pinpoint what it was exactly that made me feel so negatively about him. Maybe it was just his straightforward comments that put me off.

I shook my head and gestured to my well-loved brown corduroy backpack, "Nope I am good with this one."

"Why don't you let me treat you? I'm pretty good at that," Frank said as he leaned in closer, arms crossing over his chest. Seriously, I had never been more weirded out.

"No, thank you," I insisted before moving over to the register where Quinn now stood, bouncing on her toes in excitement as Jack pulled out his wallet to pay for the overpriced bag.

The rest of the shopping trip continued on pretty much just the same. Quinn begged her boyfriend to buy her things, Frank made comments that made me uncomfortable, and I hated every minute of it.

In the last store we went to, I spotted some bracelets in the corner. They seemed to be in a section of handmade goods. The bracelets were woven strings with a few wooden beads in the mix. They instantly made me think of Hunter and I decided I would get him one, just to say thank you to him for looking out for me.

As I went up to pay, Frank of course had to come see what I was buying. He stood a little too close for comfort and it took effort for me to not flinch away when his chest brushed up against my shoulder.

"That's an interesting choice. Knowing who your sister is, I would expect you to pick something prettier," he commented while leaning up against the glass counter. I saw the cashier shoot him a dirty look, probably because she was going to have to wipe it down now after we left.

"It's not for me," I said, my voice tight.

"Who's it for?" He asks as I start to walk away from the counter after paying, stuffing the bracelet in the small pocket of my backpack.

"Hunter," I answered honestly. His face twisted up in disgust and I was mentally kicking myself because I knew he was going to tell Quinn.

"What? Are you dating him or something?" He sounded pissed. Considering I barely knew Frank, I wasn't sure why he was so angry. Sure, if he liked me I could understand a little disappointment, but he seemed to be overreacting.

"No. He's my friend," I said, trying to shut down whatever was happening.

He scoffed before walking off towards the rest of his jock friends. I knew he was going to gossip because that was all these people did and if Jack heard, Quinn would soon know. I was not looking forward to the car ride home.