Jamie, meet Dylan. Dylan, meet Jamie

Chapter Seven

I winced as I pressed a wet paper towel against my stomach.

        The pain wasn't so bad, but it was uncomfortable. I checked on my stomach in the school bathroom's mirror. It was empty so it gave me a chance to escape the questions about my reddened stomach and for me to mend it on my own. I tossed the paper towel in the trash and pulled on my half-dried shirt and buttoned it up. I had washed the coffee off, but it still had a semi-dark stain in the middle of it, but I buttoned my blazer so it would cover it up.

        I walked back to Chemistry class and retreated to my desk, trying not to make eye contact with Dylan, who I could sense looking at me from the corner of my eye.

        "Don't be such a drama queen," I heard him whisper to me. I exhaled in exasperation and didn't reply. "Watch the attitude," he whispered again. I didn't so much as flinch. I was so sick of him.

        "Hey, are you listening?" he asked again, a bit louder this time. I nodded for him to see.

        "Good."

        "Dylan, Jamie, everything alright?" Ms. Paisley said as she paused to see what we were up to. It was all Dylan's fault.

        "I just wanted a pen," Dylan lied, and Ms. Paisley went back to the lesson. "Do I have to do everything, Jamie?" he replied to me. I shook my head and gripped the edge of the table in irritation. I wanted to choke him so bad.

        "Good."

*

 I enjoyed two classes without Dylan's presence before lunch, and I was waiting for him in the cafeteria at our regular table. Travis and his friends had long forgotten about me, and I was quickly replaced by a junior who was a new member of the basketball team. I watched them mess around with each other at their table, and I wished I had stayed with them, even it meant faking a friendship.

        "Hey," Sarah said as she sat at my table. I smiled and greeted her back. I hadn't talked to her since the party, and it was pretty awkward where we had left off. Plus, with the incident and Dylan's insanity, there was no time to think of what to say to her.

        "So how was the party?" she asked as she took a bite of her fry. I tried to move away the scene of the accident in my head, but it taunted me and I forced myself to fake enthusiasm.

       I wanted to scream my heart out and beg her to believe me and not Dylan about the incident, but instead: "It was pretty cool, but we left early anyway. How was it?" I asked her as I swirled a fry in my ketchup, trying to leave in the incident in the back section of my head.

        "Yeah I wondered where you guys went," she said as she combed a hand through her hair. "So where's Dylan?" she asked me as she looked around. That was all she had to say to me before she moved to Dylan, and it hurt me for some reason; like Dylan was dominating my life.

        I shrugged. "He went to get him something," I said.

        "Oh, well you guys are welcome to sit at our table, we figured you two needed some expansion," she said with a shrug.

        "Where are our manners?" I heard Dylan say as he placed his tray on our table, and I succeeded, as usual, at containing my distress. "Of course we'd love to join you," he told Sarah with a wink. She blushed, and I lowered my head upon her reaction, and she left our table to return to hers.

        "Just do me a favor," he told me. I looked up, and I automatically felt beads of sweat form on my forehead. "Stop acting like a drama queen and eat your burger. If you think not eating's a cry for help then you're busted," he said as he pointed at my uneaten plate. I gulped; I hadn't thought of it that way, as I had simply lost my appetite. He was watching my every move. My fingers shook as I picked up my tray and followed Dylan to Sarah's table.