The Summer Of Us (Discontinued)

Chapter Thirty-Two

As she passed us, she blew Tucker a kiss. Tucker simply rolled his eye's, which was when the bell rang. Without saying goodbye, Tucker left for his first class. I don't know why it surprised me so much. We weren't a couple.

Nor do I think we'd ever be....

+++

"So are you going to tell me why your tied to Tucker all of a sudden? Was it a bet?" Cathy pestered.

I shrugged. "We're just good friends is all."

"Oh please." She rolled her eyes. "With the outfit and everything, he's totally got you tied to his fingers like a puppet--"

"Catherine, that's your second warning." Ms. Jenkins eyed her.

"Eleanor, please. Not now." Cathy sighs, ignoring the glare Ms. Jenkins gave her.

"No, I should really be getting back to my work. I'm already way behind as it is." I said. I wanted to laugh at the annoyance building up in her face.  An expression that spoke for itself.

At that moment, my pen dropped from my fingers onto the floor. I reached to grab it, and on my way up. I couldn't help but to glance behind me, which was when I found Thomas, staring right at me.

I needed to thank him. And apologize. I just didn't exactly know when. So I simply smiled and went back to working on my paper.

Ten minutes pass and we turn in our papers as Ms. Jenkins stands in the front of the room.

"Okay, so I've decided that it is time for group projects." The teacher smiles. Cathy and I glance at each other in hope we could be partners. "I will be choosing them of course."

Everyone sighed as the teacher began calling out names for partners.

"...Cathy and Jeremy." The teacher says midway through. Cathy face-palmed, and leaned back in her chair.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." She mutters. I couldn't help but to laugh as I turned back to find a curly-haired ginger kid with a freckled face and glasses almost half as big as his face looking right at her. That must be Jeremy.

"And last but not least, Elise and Thomas." The teacher finishes. "In this group, you will pick a piece from Shakespeare and rewrite it in a different scenario."

I mean, it can't be that bad, can it? It gives me the time to talk to him and such...I guess.

As soon as the bell rang, Cathy and I exited whilst she rambled on about her partner.

"I can't believe she would assign me with that!" She flared her arms in disbelief as we roamed down the hallways. 

"He doesn't look that bad." I shrug.

"Are you serious?!" She exclaims. 

"Yeah, I am. What could possibly be wrong with him?"

"He's like Albert Einstein on crack. One that doesn't even know what a party is." She comments.

I shrug. "Try not to judge a book on its cover. Who knows, maybe you'll end up replacing me with him."

She laughs. "Yeah, and I'll be the president tomorrow."

We both laugh which was when I heard a familiar voice. "Hey."

I looked up to find Thomas. He had an arm sling holding up his right arm over his chest. Cathy looked at him, then back at me for reassurance that she would be able to leave us alone. I nodded and she simply waved and walked away.

"Look, I just want to start out by saying--"

I stop him. "Please, let me apologize. I accused you of doing something you didn't, and I didn't believe you when you tried to tell me. I want to thank you for...helping me out the other day. Who knows what would've happened if you weren't there."

"Elise, I'm so sorry for what happened to that night. If only I would've shown up earlier..." He trails off.

"Stop blaming yourself. It wasn't your fault, if anything it was mine. I shouldn't have been as stupid as to get drunk with a stranger and trusted him." I replied. Obviously referring to Reese whom I haven't seen since that night, which I guess is good in a sense. "Who was that guy? He seemed to know you some how..."

He glanced down at his feet. "Blake and I have history. He claims I slept with his girl at this one party, but I never did. She fell asleep in my bed because it happened to be the place she passed out at. So when he caught us, you could tell he was angry."

"Does she go here?" I ask.

"Elise, she's dead. She died in a car accident the day Blake found her in my bed." He says.

My heart drops for him. "Did you know her?"

"Not personally, but she was a nice girl. Really nice. She happened to be Tucker's best friend." He explains. Wait, I've heard this before.

"What was her name?"

"Her name was Hanna."

Gulp. "Oh."

"Did you know her?" He asks.

"No, but I heard Tucker mention her name. Guess I didn't know the full story."

"No one does. Hanna...she was a mystery." He says, which left me curious, but I decided not to ask about it. "So, about that project..."

"Yeah, I guess you could come over and we can work on it." I shrug as we continue walking. 

He glances at Tucker who was conversing with Ethan and Jay, but staring right at me. "Yeah, I don't think that's the best idea..."

I laugh. "Yeah, probably not."

"How about at the game tonight?" He suggests. 

"Don't you play in it?" I question.

He shrugs. "They haven't let me ever since I hurt my arm."

I just then remembered about the arm sling. "I'm sorry." Are the only words I manage to say.

"Don't be. I enjoy watching football just as much as I do playing it. Plus, coach insists I show up to every practice and game even though I can't participate in it."

"Oh then, I guess." I shrug. I mean, it wasn't a date, was it?

"Okay, great. I'll pick you up at 7 then."