And Then There Was Vince

Chapter 7: Let's Not Shoehorn The Romance

My last two classes went about the same as the first. I doodled in the margins of papers and daydreamed about everything and anything under the sun. History and Biology? What were they? I couldn't wait to leave for the day and go home.

My phone buzzed in my pocket as I sauntered through the hallway, startling me out of a daze. I took a peek at it secretly, hoping to not get it confiscated.

"Just want to walk back together after school?" Was the question it posed me, coming from Vince's new contact entry.

Shit. I had allowed myself to forget that I had somewhere to be after classes. Wallowing apparently wasn't an option for me that day. I fired off a quick explanatory text to mother before messaging him back.

"Sure," I replied, begrudgingly. "I'll wait on the wall at the top of the stairs."

Vince and I met exactly where stated, me perched like a bird in a tree.

"All set, then?" He asked, holding a hand out as if to help me.

I propelled myself off of the ledge, landing steadily on two feet and ignoring his outstretched arm.

"Yeah, let's go," I said, adjusting my book bag on my shoulders and springing off down the stairs.

He shuffled up beside me as I continued.

"Did you enjoy your lunch today?" He asked.

I couldn't tell if he was teasing me, genuinely curious, or just being an asshole.

"It was delicious," I deadpanned. "Like a pile of dog shit baked in a summer sun for 12 hours and drizzled with cat puke."

"Oh come on, the food here isn't THAT bad."

"The students are, though," I mumbled, keeping my eyes fixed on my feet at the ground. I figured that was an appropriate answer to every possible meaning behind his question.

I don't know why it happened, but I started to feel overwhelmed.

I wondered what we looked like to passing students. We were two teens walking home together, only falling short of a couple's rumor by the fact that we weren't holding hands.

Why did that make me feel so insecure and embarrassed? Was Vincent really the worst person the vultures could pair me off with?

No, that wasn't my problem.

    My problem was that those rumors would even be able to circulate in the first place. Previously, Ashley would have been there batting them down.

    But now, there was no one to protect me. I would just drown under everyone's hearsay, probably weighted there by Ashley herself.

    It was only me now.

    "You should really sit with us on Thursday," He said, sounding as if he'd picked up on my melancholy. "At lunch I mean."

    I couldn't even mumble an answer, I was fighting so hard to keep everything inside.

    "I can't really do much for you tomorrow since our lunches are different," He continued, "But you don't have to sit by yourself all the time,  you know."

    I started tearing up at his offer. He was being kind to me, which felt so foreign after the events of the past week. I didn't do well bottling things up for so long, and burst at the first sign of warmth.

    By the time we set foot off the school grounds, tears were openly streaming down my face. I don't know if he didn't notice it, or if he was just being courteous enough not to bring it up. Regardless, we walked in silence. No jabs or jokes from his end, and no sobby, weepy expulsions from mine.