Love In Destin ✎

43 - end of beginning

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𝑴𝒂𝒚𝒂

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WE'RE BACK AT school, and I'm the happiest I've ever been. Rick's got a little pep in his step and still can't keep his hands off me.

The school's walls are filled with posters about the upcoming summer ball. As the date gets closer, spirits are high, and there's a lot of chitchat about dresses, dates, etc. I wonder what prom is going to look like.

Rick heads to the boys' locker room so I walk toward my locker until I spot Dawn and Damon together. They're talking and then hugging before I can reach them. Damon has his eyes on me, which causes Dawn to turn to see what he's looking at. "Hi," I say.

"I'll see you later," murmurs Damon to her before giving her a peck on the cheek and leaving the two of us to talk.

"Hi," she says, not quite meeting my eyes.

"Dawn I...I know you probably don't want to have anything to do with me, but I'm really sorry about the other day. It just came out. I didn't mean to hurt you."

She doesn't say anything in response and that's my cue to leave. "Maya," she calls before I can fully walk away, "I've had time to cool off. And I guess I blew things a bit out of proportion. I'm sorry I yelled at you that day,"

"You were scared, I get it. Your friends' opinions mean a lot to you,"

"I want us to be friends again. I've really missed you. I'm also missing the others, but they're in the wrong,"

Someone calls out my name, and I look behind me to a glowing Lana. All eyes are on her because she's a beauty to behold. The three of us stay chatting by Dawn's locker until we have to get to homeroom.

When I get to homeroom, I don't find the boys there, and surprisingly, Ruby has shown up. However, she doesn't seem like her usual self. Most of the time, she's up and down everywhere talking, but now she's just silently seated with her eyes cast downward.

I ignore her as I turn my attention to Lana who's sat down in Mark's seat so we can finish our conversation from earlier. She's elaborating on how things between her and James have been going. I couldn't be more excited for her.

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𝑹𝒊𝒄𝒌

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I'm seated with Damon in the locker room during lunchtime. I've left Maya to have lunch with Dawn and Lana while I cool off here.

"Either you tell her, or he does," warns Damon. He gives me a look, and I throw my head in my hands, running them through my hair.

This morning was not a good morning. Just a minute after stepping into the locker room, Brent and his minions cornered me. Spitting bull about how he was running out of patience and so forth and that I needed to end my relationship with Dawn. I was pissed and tired of his pestering, so I was ready to throw a punch.

Damon held me back before my knuckles could meet his face, and Brent and his gang backed off, laughing like this was a stupid joke. Damon sat me down and asked me the real questions about how I feel about Maya, and I gave him a direct answer.

I had to force on a cheerful-looking expression just so Maya wouldn't get the sense that things were off. I didn't need her worrying about me; we were past that.