Safe and Sound (Watty Awards 2012).

Chapter Six.

"So, I hear Madeline is in your English class. You like her, don't you?"

I nodded my head in answer as we approached Sophie who had her hands on her hips and a pissed off look on her face.

"Finally!"

She cried dramatically, flailing her arms through the air for a moment before letting them drop to her sides.

"What were you guys talking about?"

Sophie asked, falling into step on my other side as we walked down the road. I opened my mouth to speak, but Charlie answered first.

"About how Jenny's a bitch and how your brother likes the new girl, Madeline."

I smacked Charlie upside the head, glaring at him.

"What, it's true!"

He insisted, rubbing at the back of his head. I turned to look at Sophie.

"Ignore him. He's being a twat."

Sophie laughed softly, raking her hands through her dark hair and pushing it back from her face. She stopped walking for a moment, moving around us to stand on Charlie's other side rather than beside me.

"So he likes the new girl, huh?"

"Sophie!"

I exclaimed as Charlie laughed and nodded his head in answer.

"Yep."

He turned his head to look at me.

"Like I was saying before...So, Madeline's in your English class, right?"

I nodded my head reluctantly, mumbling a quick 'yes'.

"Did you get to talk to her? Oh, and what the fuck happened to her face? I saw her at lunch time when we were playing football and she looked proper messed up."

I held up one of my hands to stop him from asking anymore questions as both him and Sophie looked at me intently.

"Yes, I got to talk to her; Mrs Johnson assigned her the seat beside me. I don't know what happened to her face. I asked her but she didn't want to tell me."

I recalled the heartbreaking look on her face as her big eyes had filled with fear and uncertainty before she had mumbled 'nothing' and looked away from me. Charlie snapped his fingers in front of my face, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"Helloooooooo?"

He said slowly, talking to me as though I was some kind of retard.

"What?"

"You were in your own little world there. Sophie asked if you were going to ask her again."

I looked across at Sophie and shrugged my shoulders.

"I don't know. Maybe. It's probably a sensitive subject so I don't want to push it."

Sophie looked at me, an expression of surprise flitting across her features.

"You like her, don't you?"

"I only just met her!"

"Doesn't matter 'cause you liiiiiikkkkeeeee her!"

She began to do this really strange dance, shuffling her feet like some sort of hobo. Charlie burst into laughter and I followed suit as Sophie continued making a fool of herself. She was one of those kids that was confident and didn't care what other people thought of her. She didn't care that people were watching her right now as she fist pumped the air, hopping around like a bunny.