She Wears Toms, He Wears Converse

Chapter 4

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Let me paint a review of how my fifth period went. I remained utterly silent; I nodded a few times to show Har that I was listening. I got six glares... Wow, shocker and, I'm scared to go to my locker. I've avoided going to my locker all day but, there's a book in there that I need. At least it's Friday. I want to be happy. I really do. There's a fair tomorrow, but, for some reason, I couldn't bring myself to smile. I've lost interest in so much. With each step that I took closer to my locker, the fear became that much more unbearable. I opened the door as quickly as possible, got the book and four new notes that were waiting for me. I didn't bother to read them yet. I just shoved the new four in my math book with the others, which makes for a grand total of eight. Now I had to avoid Carter. I quickly leaped down the stairs and hurried to the door. I heard a loud booming noise behind me, but it didn't stop me.

"ASTRID!" Someone called. Well, my attempt to go unnoticed failed. I stopped and took a deep breath.

"I forgot my skateboard, walk with me?" Carter questioned. I waited for him to catch up before continuing on my way home. I remained silent, just like in art class.

"What's wrong?" He asked. If I didn't even tell Aiden why in the world, would I tell him?

"Nothing," I answered while smiling at him.

"We both know that that is bullshit." He whispered.

"What?" I inquired.

"Nothing." He mimicked my tone with one of his smiles.

"Don't you imitate me, Carter Daniels," I told him playfully.

"I wouldn't even think of it, Astrid Linnea." He responded.

"Going to the fair? He questioned, changing the subject.

"Yeah," I answered.

"What day?" He asked.

"Tomorrow," I replied. The corners of his lips tugged upwards into a smile.

"Me too. See you there, unless you're one of those girls who can't go on the zipper." He said. I let out a laugh.

"Why the laugh?" He inquired.

"I'd like to see you try and get me on any ride other than the zipper," I answered. The corners of his mouth tugged upwards, revealing his perfect teeth that seemed to compliment his wonderful smile. His smile was contagious. You know when someone laughs, and you can't help but chuckle as well just because their laugh is hilarious well, his smile made me want to smile.

"You enjoy thrill rides?" He questioned.

"And you think I ask a lot of questions... But, yes, of course, they're the only enjoyable rides." I replied.

"Well, then, I'll be seeing you tomorrow. Maybe we should exchange numbers so we can meet up?" He offered.

"You aren't getting my number that easily," I told him.

"How am I going to know where you are?" He asked.

"You'll find me," I responded.

"I have a feeling you'll hide from me..." He stated.

"I won't," I reassured him.

"Prove it," Carter told me.

"If, for some reason, I forget, you'll find me with Aiden," I said. With every word that came out of my mouth, I saw a wave of sadness crawl across his face. Great, aren't I just the best person ever? I hurt two people in one day with my words when I didn't even mean to. He hid his misery in an instant, and, at that moment, that's when I wanted to get to know Carter.

His fake smile could fool anyone except for me. I guess you have to know what it's like to fake a smile to be able to tell if someone's smile is fake or not. There was something Carter was hiding, and it made him intriguing. For some reason, I find myself drifting closer and closer to this mysterious boy. This can end in one of two ways... one hurt, two happiness.

I whispered a subtle 'goodbye' since my head was enveloped in new thoughts. I trudged towards the door, reaching into my bag for my math book. Curiosity always gets the best of me, and I know that I shouldn't even look at the letters, but I believe everything that's written on them. Some people think that when I don't accept compliments that it is for attention but, honestly, I hate compliments. Whenever someone says something like "You're pretty," I don't believe it for a second and, I never will. Even if I say, "Thank you," I'm thinking, "How do you think that?" or "You're lying." But what startled me was when I couldn't find my math book. Was it in my locker? Did someone else find it? Better yet, did they read the notes?

Carter's P.O.V

My mind was filled with thoughts; I assumed the worst. I hate to admit it, but I felt a little bit jealous that Aiden gets to spend every waking moment with her. They could pass as a couple... I wanted us to be that close. Is life ever fair? I stumbled up the stairs to my house but realized I had an object in my hand when I tried to open the door. It was a book that fell out of Astrid's bag when she was running out of the school. Shit. I meant to hand it to her. It all came rushing back to me, that's why I called her name in the first place. There's something about her. I completely forget my surroundings and thoughts when I'm with her. Oh well, I'll give it to her at the fair tomorrow.

I took my laptop from my room and began to turn it on. I threw the book on my bed but, when the hardcover textbook collided with my mattress, a few papers fell out. I let out a sigh. Great. As quickly as I could, I picked up the documents, but, just as I was about to shove them in between the cover and the pages, thick black writing caught my eye. I read the words written on the papers. "Fat," "Worthless," "Outcast," and "Ugly." Then I saw four unopened notes. I was hesitant at first, but I found my fingers fumbling with the seal.

"Stay away from Carter!"

"You wonder why you weren't noticed before? You're worthless. Carter is the only reason why people realized that you're breathing."

"Maybe you should stop eating."

"You should wear makeup. You might actually be pretty."

I sat there completely speechless. I didn't know that she was bullied. Even worse, she's bullied by people who seem so nice. Well, at least I understand why she hates talking or being around me. She's so good at hiding her emotions... She's just like me. How interesting. Everyone deserves a reason to smile and, I'm determined to be the reason for the smile that can light an entire room.