It's a Cruel World, Sir (Student/Teacher)

16 | Aftermath

"That's not the point, Cupcake, and you know it." He stops, blinking a few more times. "Wait, who's Darestin?"

I sigh. "He's the guy I was dancing with."

"You mean the guy that was clearly into you?" he shoots back, still stiff.

"That's not the point here, Calvin," I say, glaring at him when Chase raises an interested eyebrow. "The point is that you and Whit need to get off his back because our random meetings are just as much my fault as they are his."

Calvin holds up his hands in defeat, the spitting image of Darestin, and lets the playful smile fall into place. "Hey, I'm not against the guy—I was just telling you what Whitler's going to say, that's all."

"Yeah, sure," I quip, not bothering to pretend like I believe him. "Let's get back to Leon's truck before they start freaking out."

"Yes ma'am," he agrees, shoving his hands back in his pockets as he turns.

"See you tomorrow," I throw back at Chase, both a warning and promise.

"I cannot wait, Ms. Tyler," he replies, the smirk noticeable in his voice as he bows mockingly.

Instead of commenting, Calvin takes the lead, walking a few paces ahead of me. He said he wasn't bothered, but I don't think he was telling the whole truth, especially since the tightness in his body hasn't relaxed yet, muscles still clearly tensed.

As expected, everyone's gathered around Leon's truck, deep in thought. The scene reminds me of that time in the teachers' lounge: Leon's pacing the length of the truck as Nikki and Whit lean against the driver's door, watching him. TJ and Trent are on the bed of the truck. Trent is leaning on his hands, staring up at the sky, as TJ lays on his lap, playing with the end of his shirt. Interestingly enough, Darestin is behind the two boys, sitting on the toolbox against the back window. It's clear by his expression that he thinks everyone's worry is funny in some way—I can tell by the sparkling silver in his eyes.

As soon as everyone spots us a good half a block away, they snap out of it and rush over—except Trent, who stays exactly where he is, though he does look over at us, and Darestin, who watches with interest.

"Are you two alright?" Leon asks, eyes flashing across us, checking for injuries.

"We're fine, Leon," I say, exasperated. "What's Darestin doing here?"

TJ grins. "Father-dearest here decided to hold him hostage in case Calvin didn't come back with you."

I raise an eyebrow. "Do I wanna know what he was going to do to him if I didn't come back?"

Nikki matches TJ's grin, but hers is sinister, borderline deranged. "Oh, you know, just some fun."

"That's not what we're talking about, guys," Leon reprimands. "What the heck happened to you all? And what took so long?

"Nothing happened, dad," Calvin answers, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "Just ran into a friend is all."

TJ tilts his head. "Friend?"

I roll my eyes, removing Calvin's arm. "He's talking about Chase."

"What!?" Whit shouts at the same time Nikki says, "Aw, man, and I missed it!?"

"Chase?" Leon parrots, ignoring them. "How'd you run into him?"

I sigh for the thousandth time and start explaining what happened, how someone attacked Darestin and what I was thinking as I ran in the opposite direction. I left Chase's revelation out, of course, bending it to make it seem like Darestin was a slow runner and Calvin interrupted us before Chase could do anything more than give me a lecture on roaming the streets at night. When Whit tries to object, I tell her the same thing I told Calvin: it wasn't a coincidence; I went looking for him.