When Mr Popular meets Abby Hart | *COMPLETED*

Chapter Thirteen: People can change

Hey everyone, sorry I haven't updated in a while but I had my last term of highschool ever and I was super busy. Anyhow that's all over now so I shall be free-er (is that a word?) to write more. :) By the way it would be awesome if you guys could check out a short film I made recently on youtube, the link's in the comments. But enough discussion - here's Thirteen! :)

Chapter Thirteen: People can change

On my way into school the next week, I was approached by Owen. We had spoken over the phone after our night out on Saturday, and so far so good. Owen didn't seem like a bad guy at all - nothing like Hunter had seemed to make him out to be.

'Hey," smiled Owen.

I smiled back, "Hey."

Owen went to hold my hand and I flinched, finding something else for my hand to do and putting a loose strand of hair behind my ear. I could feel Owen looking at me as we continued walking through the school hall.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

I glanced at him, blushing slightly, "Nothing I just, well I still don't really know you that well." I have to admit, things already seemed to be moving pretty quickly with Owen.

"Well, you can get to know me then," he replied suggestively. "Maybe we could... go out again. There's a party coming up this weekend."

I felt the sudden urge to think of my parents. Two weekends in a row of 'going out'? They wouldn't take this very well. I wouldn't take this very well. Every time I came back to school I felt like I was getting more and more behind in my work. I still wanted to go to university, so it wasn't like I could exactly just drop everything all together, give up on my schooling life. That wasn't like me at all.

"Maybe," I replied.

"I can pick you up," Owen replied almost instantly.

"...I don't know."

"And I'll drop you home whenever you want."

I reached my locker and opened the lock before turning back to Owen. Just as I was about to reply, I locked eyes with Hunter for a second as he walked by with some of his friends. I stared back at Owen, "I guess...maybe. I'll see, okay?"

Owen's phone beeped and he looked down at it before looking back up at me, "Alright. Well I gotta get to class, tell me when you can come." Owen then left and I felt the need to sigh to myself as I collected my books from my locker for my first classes. I shook out any wavering thoughts from my head and walked to class briskly.

English had ended and I had officially survived a whole five hours of endlessly boring classes and nonchalant lecturing from teachers about where my marks needed to be in order to get into the courses and universities I wished to be in next year. But the hard thing was, I wasn't entirely sure what it was I wanted to do next year. With the fear that the current year would eventually pass by in what seemed like a second, I began to feel anxious, unhappy, stressed and frustrated all at once. And now I had one more class left to end the day. Science.

On my way to class, I decided to take a stroll to my locker and see if I had any tic-tacs left, or mints... I couldn't exactly remember which of the two I had. I opened my locker. It was the latter. Tossing a few mints into my mouth, I then decided to take a walk over to the drink fountain and get a drink too and maybe after that I could take a walk outside. Anything to prolong getting to science would be great. Finally, after what barely felt like minutes, I decided to go to class. Abby would be wondering where I was anyhow.

I opened the door. The teacher was facing the board, writing something down for the class to copy (even though no one in the room was actually copying down the note). I casually walked over to my desk until I heard a voice behind me.

"And where have you been Miss Power?" asked our teacher.

I cringed inside and slowly turned around to face him, ignoring the stares headed in my direction. "I, uhm, forgot my textbook, sir," I lied, holding up my textbook.

"It took you thirteen minutes to get a textbook from your locker?" he asked.

Rather than answering his question, my mind found itself contemplating the fact that he had actually counted the minutes it took me to get to class. I mean, 'thirteen'? Usually someone would round off to like ten, or fifteen or something.

"Miss Power?" asked the teacher more sternly, snapping me out of my ever present thoughts.

I blinked and stared over at him, "Yes - ah, I mean, I'm sorry sir, it won't happen again."

He gave me one final stern look before turning back around to the board.

I turned to walk back over to my desk. It was official. Sir hated me.

I sat down in the empty seat between Hunter and Abby, placing my bag down under my chair. I breathed out and leaned back in my chair.

"Where were you?" whispered Abby.

"I went to my locker and then I got a drink."

"Seriously? But you're always on time," replied Abby.

"Well, I don't know, people can change you know," I snapped.

"Fine," said Abby raising her hands in surrender, obviously sensing the frustration in my voice.

I went to open my book and then searched my bag for a pen. Great, I had somehow managed to lose my pencil case and all the pens in it. I sighed again before Hunter slid a pen across the desk to me.

I looked at him.

"Take it, I don't need it," said Hunter, not looking at me at all.

"Surprise surprise, you actuallly brought a pen for once," I said before taking the pen and writing the date at the top of my page.

"What do you know? People can change," he replied.

I didn't say anything more to him for the rest of the class. As soon as the bell went, I slid Hunter back his pen across the desk then slung my bag over my shoulder and left with Abby.

When I got home that night, I recieved a facebook notification from Owen inviting me to the party which was to be happening on the weekend. I clicked on the facebook event and went for a scroll down the list of names of people who would be there. It was pretty much all the popular kids from my school, plus a LOT of other randoms from others schools who I didn't know. I continued scrolling until I got to one certain name. 'Hunter Ryan'. Abso-freaking-lutely wondeful. Hunter would be there, again. I suddenly felt a weird, slightly sickening feeling in my stomach that I couldn't explain, then I closed off facebook and lay down on my bed. I was beginning to wonder what I was getting myself into. Wondering what I was doing - why I was doing what I was doing. Why is it that we always seem to (well me anyway) contemplate life once we lie down in bed, ready to go to sleep? Who knows. All I know is there was no way I was getting much sleep tonight.