Off to Neverland

Off to Neverland (7)

I never thought gum could taste as good as it did that day. I had been chewing the same piece Jack had given me at lunch for the rest of the school day, and I wasn't planning spitting it out until I had to go to sleep.

I wasn't obsessed. I definitely wasn't obsessed... I was just happy that someone came to comfort me when I really needed it...

I was so not obsessed. Just... happy.

Yeah, that was it.

The rest of the school day went by smoothly, and I was sure glad for it. I had Tyler in two of my periods after lunch, and then Eli and Jack in the next, and then Chris was in my very last class. So in all of my seven classes, I had at least one Lost Boy. Except for my first period, but I had faithful follower Courtney in it with me, so it really didn't make much of a difference.

I was just glad that Chloe was in all of my classes with me. If she wasn't, I probably wouldn't have been able to make it through the day. Stephanie was in our last four classes with us, and I didn't know if that was something to complain about or be okay with. I hadn't really talked to her that much since that morning, but Chris did say that she was prissy...

I didn't want to think about Chris then. I didn't want to think about the fact that I had been tricked by that jerk. I couldn't believe I actually thought that he was my friend.

Well, I wasn't going to make that mistake again. I decided right then and there that I wasn't going to speak to Chris Woodson ever again, even if his life depended on it. Even if my life depended on it!

But I was sure glad that Jack had come out to comfort me after I had ran out. That was just so nice of him. He had told me that he didn't like people being so scared of him, and it seemed like such a private and intimate thought that I couldn't believe he was actually sharing it with me, a girl that he had just met earlier that day. I sure did feel honored...

But wait. It wasn't like I liked him or anything. The only boy I ever liked was Henry, and since he turned out to be gay that definitely wasn't going anywhere. But did I like Jack? I didn't really think so. I hadn't even known him for a day! But he had saved me from Eli back at the coffee shop and he did leave his friends who were making fun of me just to comfort me...

No, I couldn't have feelings for Jack. It was way too soon for anything like that. I did not have a crush on Jack... I just met him earlier that day! Even though I did kind of meet him weeks before at the coffee shop...

"Where are you going?" Chloe asked me after I had dumped my backpack onto the floor or our dorm before starting off toward the door.

"To visit my friends," I answered, trying to avoid her curious gaze.

"Oh, no you're not. You're not going anywhere until you tell me what happened at lunch today," Chloe told me in a scolding voice, and I hadn't felt like that much of a child it what felt like forever. She was treating me like I was her daughter of something... And I couldn't help but find it kind of funny.

"Nothing happened at lunch today," I shrugged away, but I knew that she didn't believe me. I hadn't ever been the best actress... "Honest."

Chloe rolled her eyes at me. "Yeah, like I'll believe that. I saw you get up and run out of the dining hall."

"You know, I hate that you all call it a dining hall," I began quickly, trying my best to change the subject. "I'm so used to a cramped cafeteria. You guys have so much room in there I swear every student could have their own table to sit at..."

"Don't change the subject!" Chloe squealed, and I could tell she was getting excited now. "I know you're hiding something! What happened after you left? I saw Jack go after you!"