In Real Life ✓

35. I Came Out To Have A Good Time And I'm Honestly Feeling So Attacked

I was not looking forward to going back to school.

The fact that my revelation had received (mostly) positive reactions on Twitter didn't mean it would go just as swimmingly at school. There would probably be drama. People would be discussing old Tweets, even if they'd been deleted, and they'd give me looks. Oh, they'd look...

The prospect of all that attention sounded so bothersome that I figured I might as well pretend to be sick or something, and I might have even gotten away with it if my parents didn't know what I'd done on Thanksgiving. Mom soon came with her horns and talons and breathed her scorching fire because 'education, Eve', so I got out of bed and dragged myself over to Dad's car.

"Why am I bringing you to school when I don't have work today?" he grumbled as he turned the key in the ignition. "Driving for nothing..."

"Because I am your daughter, Dad. And Mom forced you."

"Oh, right."

We sighed at the same time.

Eventually, he asked, "Will you be alright?"

"Yeah, I'll be alright. I've got Tamara and Leslie."

"And Gilbert."

"Yeah, and Gilbert..." I repeated softly.

It was a little awkward between us now. After he'd returned from the bathroom, he wouldn't even look at me. It was so stupid. And I had absolutely no clue what was going on inside his head, either, because he avoided the subject with a vengeance and then left! What was I supposed to do with that? I mean, normally, I'd just let it go, because there was really no need to talk about things that weren't a problem, but if he was going to be all weird about it, it made me feel like we were... doing something wrong? Up until now, we had never had awkward moments like this, and I hated it. I liked that we were always casual. This was not casual.

I sighed to myself, staring out of the window like the moody teenager I was, and before I knew it, we were at the school. It was like my dad's car had transformed into a limousine overnight with the way everyone was pointing in our direction and murmuring amongst one another. It was ridiculous. I doubted everyone even knew who I was before today, let alone that this was my dad's car. All it took was one person; rumors spread like a virus.

"All right," Dad said, turning around in his seat to look at me over the top of his backrest. "This is it, Evie."

"Yup," I muttered, clutching my schoolbag to my chest. "Wish me luck, Dad."

"Good luck."

And then I got out of the car.

I wouldn't have been surprised if everyone started running up to me, but that was fortunately just a nightmare that I didn't have to experience in real life. The only thing they did was stare. They stared like I'd risen from my grave like Michael Jackson. I all but ran into the building and hurried over to Leslie's locker, finding refuge with my friends. Tamara was grinning when I slumped against the locker next to Leslie's and asked, "Having regrets?"

"Not yet," I admitted, avoiding the gazes of the people in the hallway that were shamelessly looking at me by focusing on the floor instead. "The staring sure is weird, but nobody has said anything so far."

"Well, I'll say something," Leslie said. "That video was wild."

"Yeah, I know," I groaned. "Gilbert posted it before I could stop him."

"It was funny."

"Speaking of Gilbert... have you guys seen him?"

"Not yet," Tamara replied, shrugging.

"Let's go to class, guys. I don't wanna be late," Leslie said, already walking off without waiting for a reply and I quickly went after her. I didn't want to find out what would happen if I stayed somewhere on my own for too long. I really didn't feel like dealing with their questions and all that crap. If they wanted their questions answered I could do a Q&A or something.

The first thing I saw when I entered the classroom (other than like thirty stares) was Gilbert... in the back of the classroom... staring down at his desk. What the hell was up with him?

I slid into the seat beside him and said, "Hey."

"Uh, hi," he replied.

"Can you, like... stop acting weird?"

He raised his face to the ceiling to let out a sigh, before whispering, "Sorry."

"Can we talk about it later, please?"

Finally, he turned to look at me. "Okay."

Before I could reply, some guy yelled from across the classroom, "Hey, Eve, could I get your autograph?"

Oh, God... Already?

"Hey, Lawrence, could I get your mouth sewn shut?"

A bunch of people started laughing, but they immediately stopped when our teacher walked in, who gave me a look that told me students weren't the only ones in the school who knew about DukeCockroach. It wasn't an awed look, though. He looked annoyed. Great.

My reputation precedes me...

I got more comments throughout the morning, but nothing was as bad as lunch. When I took a seat at a table with Leslie, Tamara, some of Gilbert's friends and Gilbert himself (who was still just as quiet), the entire cafeteria was buzzing. I knew Tony and the others wanted to ask me questions as well, but they never got the chance to. Someone I'd never expected to come talk to me of their own accord had done just that and sat down right beside me.

"Hello, Felicia."

"Hello, Duke."

A/N: The full title didn't fit. Again. I'm honestly feeling so attacked right now, Wattpad.