I quickly moved my arm behind my back but Dylan promptly snatched it back.
He breathed heavily as he held it close to his face for inspection.
"It's nothing," I muttered quickly, "I just bumped it on a door."
I could tell my story was pointless because his face clearly showed that he didn't believe me.
"Yeah, and I hate basketball," he said sarcastically.
I sighed, and avoided Dylan's gaze as he tried to look me in the eyes.
"Far out Soph, just tell me what the fuck happened," he demanded angrily.
I groaned. Honestly, why couldn't Dylan just let it go?
"Fred justgotabitmad," I mumbled, not really formulating the words.
Somehow though, Dylan heard what I said and I watched his eyes ice over.
"So this is his hand mark?" he asked lowly.
"Yeah but Dylan please just forget it, seriously. Michael already punched him," I begged desperately.
Dylan looked up at me, "Michael was there?"
"Well no, but he came out as it was happening and told Fred off. So you don't need to do anything," I added.
Dylan nodded, and I knew he wasn't going to take my advice.
"I'm going to call Michael," he said, as he left the room grumpily.
Far out, Dylan was so freaking over protective sometimes.
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I walked into school the next day, only to be greeted by a few people talking to me in an English accent. News travels fast in a small school.
Emma walked up to me just as another boy in our grade was saying goodbye to me in an English accent.
She sniggered and raised her eyebrows, "Look what you got yourself into!"
I groaned and rolled my eyes, "I didn't mean to! It just came out like word vomit," I muttered hopelessly.
Emma grinned and shook her head, "Honestly Soph I don't know what I'm going to do with you."
Emma and I headed into school together, but we were distracted by yelling over in the court yard.
I looked over and saw Dylan shouting in Fred's face. Fred had a bit of a black eye and bruised nose from where Michael had hit him yesterday. I quickly muttered to Emma that I would explain what was happening later as I stopped to watch.
"Fucking touch my sister again and I'll get the entire basketball team on you," yelled Dylan as Fred looked around helplessly for someone to come to his aid.
A crowd was gathering and I knew this wasn't going to end well. And then, Fred did something I least expected he would do.
It was almost in slow motion as I watched him raise his arm and punch Dylan in the face. I gasped, and immediately ran to them before Dylan could hit him back. Fred had barely affected Dylan, and I knew Dylan's punch would be a lot stronger. The rest of the basketball team had stepped up behind Dylan, so now it was about 8 against 1.
Jacob had rolled up his sleeves and looked like he was getting ready for a fight.
"Wait, stop!" I called out as I finally came up to them.
"Soph stay out of this," muttered Dylan as he took a step towards Fred.
"No, Dylan please you'll get suspended!" I exclaimed as I tried to push him away from Fred. But it was useless, because Dylan was a lot bigger than me.
In the midst of the almost fight, Fred still looked cocky and he had the nerve to wink at me as I tried to get Dylan to step away.
Dylan, of course, saw this wink and this only fuelled his anger.
And then, thankfully as if out of nowhere, Michael stepped forward and put an arm around Dylan's back.
"Bro trust me, it's better just to let it go," he muttered in Dylan's ear.
Dylan, taking a while to absorb Michael's words, slowly nodded.
He furrowed his eyebrows at Fred and said lowly, "If you even think about touching my sister again I swear to God I will make you regret it."
Fred simply smirked, flipped Dylan off, and walked away.
Jacob called out some curse words at Fred, and Michael patted Dylan on the back.
"Trust me man, I don't think he'll do anything again," said Michael.
Dylan simply nodded and walked off with Jacob, who was clearly upset that there hadn't been a fight.
Michael looked at me, "You okay Soph?" he asked genuinely.
I shot him a smile and nodded, "Thanks for stopping Dylan."
He grinned at me and flipped his hair slightly, "No problem. He called me last night and he was so angry that I knew something like this would happen."
"Yeah he wasn't very happy last night," I muttered, remembering how angry Dylan had been.
"Sit with me in homeroom so you don't have to sit near Fred?" Offered Michael as we headed into the school and I accepted his offer gratfeully.
I couldn't help but realise how thoughtful Michael had been lately. I had always thought of him as the senior, who constantly annoyed me and played pranks on me... but lately he was making me realise that he was actually a really great guy.
As we were walking, Michael randomly grabbed my arm where the bruises were still evident.
"They're uh going down," I muttered awkwardly as he gently held my arm. I realised that I had goosebumps and I wondered what the heck was wrong with me? Why was I feeling this way towards Michael?
He smirked at me and raised an eyebrow when he realised and I blushed - trying to look away.
"Aw you're cute," he said in his husky voice with a cheeky grin, which only made me blush even more.
I felt like a freak, but I was secretly thinking...Oh my God Michael Edwards just called me cute.
He chuckled when he realised that my cheeks were still pink, and he threw an arm around my shoulder into a sort of side hug.
He brought me close to him as we walked to homeroom and I couldn't help but notice that he smelt like his Ralph Lauren cologne. Which smelt amazing.
A few people shot us weird looks as we walked through the hallways, because I knew that we looked kind of like a couple. They were probably wondering why one of the most popular seniors in the school was with a random little freshman.
When we walked into homeroom, Fred was already sitting in his seat looking smug. Michael pulled me protectively closer as we walked by him, and shot Fred a death glare. Emma looked at me curiously as I walked past where all the other freshmen were sitting. I mouthed to her that I'd explain later.
Unsurprisingly, Jessica didn't turn up for the entire homeroom. She was probably at the mall getting her hair or nails done or something. From what I'd gathered, she was still convinced that she and Michael were one day going to get back together. The other day, I'd watched as she tried to feed him food from her plate at lunch. He had simply turned his head and pretended she wasn't there whilst she pouted unhappily.
Homeroom ended and Michael and I walked out together, only to find Fred waiting for us outside in the hallway.
Michael moved me slightly behind his back and took a step towards Fred.
"I thought I told you not to talk to her again," he said quietly.
Fred raised his eyebrows and looked around Michael so that he was looking me in the eye, "And I thought you told me that nothing was going on between you and Michael?"
I swallowed nervously, "That's because nothing is going on."
Fred looked at me coldly, "So that's why I always see you together?"
I couldn't think of a response. I don't know why Fred was making me so nervous. It was almost as if I was scared of him after yesterday.
"What part of don't talk to her didn't you understand?" Asked Michael furiously to Fred.
A teacher walked past and stopped to see what was going on. Noticing her, Fred shrugged his shoulders and muttered 'whatever' before walking off.
Michael turned around to face me, and I looked around so that I could avoid his gaze.
"What was he talking about Soph?" Michael asked me softly.
I shrugged, "I don't know. He has some weird idea that I was cheating on him with you," I admitted.
Michael furrowed his eyebrows thoughtfully, "hmm" he observed - not really saying anything on the matter. Well that was helpful.
"Um yeah," I added awkwardly, not really knowing what else to say. Far out, I was such an awkward person sometimes.
We stood staring at each other for a while, and I cursed myself for nothing of something to say to break the awkward silence. Thankfully, the second bell for class rang, meaning that we would be late if we didn't leave now.
Michael and I said goodbye to each other, as we walked off in opposite directions. I watched him walk away in his black skinny jeans and white v-neck, and I noticed how defined his arms were as he slung them along his side.
And then, I realised.
I, possibly maybe definitely, have a crush on Michael Edwards.
Oh Fuck.
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For the rest of the day, that was literally all I could think about. It consumed me. How on earth could I like Michael in that way? There was no way in Hell that he would ever feel the same about me.
Maybe I just liked him because he had punched Fred for me the other day?
Yeah, that was probably it. I convinced myself that I just liked what he had done. That's what the attraction was.
At lunch, I explained to Emma exactly what had happened the past few days with Fred. She was furious, and stated that if he ever hurt me again she would personally cut off is balls. Charming. I did however, leave out the way I was currently feeling about Michael.
You don't like him, I thought firmly throughout the day.
Regardless, when I got to musical rehearsal, I was still kind of fidgety about seeing Michael.
He walked in casually, and he grinned when he noticed that I was already there. I gave him what I hoped was a normal smile when he sat down next to me.
"Dress rehearsal is next week," were the first words Grace said when she strolled over to the piano.
I gulped nervously. Dress rehearsal meant the kiss. On the lips. With Michael.
Was God trying to torture me?
Surprisingly, Grace had managed to round up about 15 people to star in the musical as extras - something she was thoroughly excited about.
"We're going to do an amazing musical this year!" She exclaimed for like, the zillionth time.
Today, we were going to be practicing scenes with the rest of the cast. The one we would be practicing mainly was one of Megan and Jordan at school, hugging, with the rest of the school reacting weirdly because they were such polar opposites.
I sighed silently. Of course todays rehearsal had to involve touching. Oh well, at least this would prove that I didn't actually like Michael in that way.
We took our places on stage, with the other cast members surrounding us.
Michael made a funny face to me as we waited, and I couldn't help but giggle slightly. He really was cute.
BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT I LIKE HIM.
Grace called action, and the extras made weird faces as Michael and I stood on the stage staring at each other.
Almost agonisingly slowly, Michael pulled me into his tight embrace, and the extras reacted in shock. I hesitantly wrapped my arms around his back, and breathed in his scent as I did so. Damn you Michael for smeling amazing.
Grace clapped from the sidelines, assuring the extras that their reactions were perfect.
And then she turned to me and Michael, and said bluntly, "You two have the most perfect chemistry for these roles."
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AUTHOR'S NOTE
Hope you enjoy the update! :) Please leave some feedbacks to make this story grow thank you xx