The Mistake

Losing It

"Sam?" A voice called, and my head snapped up. "Do you have your work?"

"Yes." I croaked and grabbed the folder with the printed 10 page essay from my backpack in one clumsy move.

"It's your turn." She gestured at the front of the classroom. I froze. I couldn't move. As each strained second on the clock ticked, more pairs of judging eyes roamed over me. I could feel them burning holes into me.

Please, Sam. Stop embarrassing yourself, I pleaded. It's not a big deal, just do something. Anything!

"Miss Rosewood? We're waiting." She crossed her arms and huffed.

"What are you doing?" A voice whispered sharply to me from behind, and I recognized it after the words were out. I turned around, hoping Nick wouldn't catch the sheer terror in my eyes.

I scolded myself when I sucked in a silent breath as soon as I saw him. His brown tousled hair was in waves and perfectly untouched. I had already admitted he was handsome, but he had never been so close, and I watched his sharp jaw in awe. He had thick eyelashes, they were the type of lashes that could make girls jealous. But the thing I noticed the most were his eyes; two blazing hazel eyes. Spiked, warm brown fringed with smooth green. His face was set into a calm expression, with confusion slightly tainting his face.

They say the eyes are the window to the soul. But his masked something, something he hid from view so expertly you wouldn't even know there was something there. A second later, I avoided his intense gaze and looked somewhere else. He may be handsome, but I wasn't going to be enchanted by someone like him. He was dangerous, and that was what I least needed in my life.

"I- I can't." I whispered. His sharp stare wasn't helping very much either. He looked taken aback and irritated. Without hesitation, he reached over and yanked the folder from my clutch.

He walked in smooth movements to the front of the classroom while I sat there. Some girls who were on the verge of falling asleep were wide awake now. "The Mk2 grenade in World War 2." He started calmly.

I breathed in relief, but feeling pathetic at the same time. He was taking my spot. Maybe he really did care about his grade, because I wasn't going to be able to stand up there and talk in front of everyone as he so easily did. Not today.

Twenty minutes later, I had come to the conclusion that my pills were definitely not at home, or here. That only left one place, and I hoped to God I was wrong. My stomach churning, I walked towards Nick, who was getting a notebook out of his locker. His cold eyes flickered over me when I got closer, but drifted back to his locker a second later. "Need something, stalker? Or are you just going to keep staring?" He said in a bored tone, there was not hint of humor behind those words.

It was hard to get the words out with the way he was with me. His way of treating me like crap was slowly searing into my brain, and I didn't want to be used to that. "I think I forgot something at your place."

He pondered for a second, and shifted his body around to face me, head cocked in amusement. "Really?" He said. "What'd you lose?"

Damn it. I hadn't thought that through. I couldn't tell him they were pills, and I scrambled for something in my head.

"Earbuds." I blurted out without thinking. The way he was staring at me made me on edge and I just said the first thing that came to mind. It was believable at least, right?