Allie turned around and saw Mark grinning. His grin was nothing like Nick's grin. Nick's grin always made her smile. Made her feel different. Mark's grin was completely different. It made her feel uncomfortable.
"So what about that number?" Mark asked once more.
"Fine. Just don't call me tonight."
"You're going to give me your number but I can't call?"
"Just don't call."
Mark took a sharpie out of his pocket and handed it to her. "Right it on my hand."
Giving Mark her number was like cutting off all of her hair. It made no sense. When Allie wrote down the seventh number she realized that this would make it seem like she was over Nick. That she had moved on. And to her that was the worst feeling in the world.
She gave the pen back to him and looked at him.
"Why can't I call?" He asked.
"Because I don't want you to."
"Why not?"
"I'll see you tomorrow, Mark." She dropped the conversation and walked into her house.
Allie woke up to the sound of her annoying alarm. She turned it off and got out of bed. She slowly stumbled to the bathroom to take a long, warm shower.
A few minutes later, she was back in her room picking out the clothes she would wear. She picked out her favorite jeans. The ones that had two holes where her knees were. She also picked out her favorite shirt, a plain black V neck that hugged her waist tightly.
When she felt she looked her best, she grabbed her purse and her bag and rushed down stairs. She stopped at the front door and picked up her shoes. She went outside and sat on the first step and put them on. She stood up and waited for her friend, Katie, to pick her up.
About 5 minutes past and she was there. Allie walked towards Katie's car and got in. Lily and Tiffany, her other friends, were sitting in the back.
"Morning, Allie." They all said.
"I'm so not looking forward for where today brings me." She said, shutting the car door.
"Why?" Lily asked.
"Okay, I'll tell you guys if you promise not to tell anyone. I mean anyone." She looks back at Lily and Tiffany after eyeing Katie.
Katie started driving when they all promised not to tell anyone.
"Well, last night when I was walking home from the beach, I ran into Mark."
Katie slammed on the breaks causing all the girls to fly forward.
"Katie, what's your problem?" Tiffany yelled.
"Sorry guys." She chuckled and started driving again.
"Anyway," Allie continued. "You guys he asked me out."
They all held onto their seats to prepare for Katie to slam down on the breaks again.
"Ha-ha very funny." Katie rolled her eyes.
"He did what?" Lily asked.
Tiffany looked at Lily and said, "He asked her out."
Lily gave her a blank look.
"You need to listen, Lily." Tiffany added.
Allie and Katie laughed.
Katie parked and turned off the car when they reached the school parking lot. Allie was dreading the moment when she first walked into the school doors. She knew what her answer would be to Mark. She opened the door of the car and got out.
"Allie," Lily said while getting out of the car too. "What are you going to tell Mark?"
"I'm not sure yet." She lied.
"But you told him that you'd give him an answer today. You don't have an answer. What are you going to do?" Lily panicked.
"Lily! Calm down. I'll come up with something. Don't worry, okay. Calm yourself."
Tiffany and Katie laughed, then they all started walking towards the school side by side.
Allie could feel eyes glaring over to there direction once the four of them walked through the main doors. Just because someone walked in, everyone had to look and see who it was. It made her very uncomfortable.
She looked around hoping she wouldn't see Mark. She wouldn't mind of she saw Nick. She wouldn't mind at all. As long as he didn't talk to her.
"I think we have to go to the office to get our locker numbers, guys." Lily suggested.
The four agreed and made their way to the office. On the way Allie got a glimpse of Mark. He was talking to a girl. She had long, red, curly hair and she was very slim. Mark was oblivious to Allie though. She rushed the four of them to the office just in he decided to look up to see her.
None of their lockers were beside each other. Allie's locker was downstairs, but Lily's, Tiffany's, and Katie's lockers were upstairs but separated.
"This sucks." Tiffany complained, looking at the piece of paper in her hands.
"I know. Our senior year is going down hill already." Katie added.
"I'm going to go find my locker." Allie said while walking down the hall. It wasn't that bad, she thought. It was just lockers. They would still see each other. They had classes they could be in together and even lunch.
The others agreed and went to their lockers also.
Allie walked down the hall looking at each locker on both sides of the hall.
Looking for the locker #148. She was walking by numbers 125, 127, and 129 when a familiar voice came up from behind her.
"Having trouble?"
She looked around. There stood Nick.
Allie's heart raced. She felt her face become hotter. Instead of giving in to the smile that wanted to so badly wash over her face, she rolled her eyes and kept walking on to find her locker.
"Allie?" He followed behind her.
She ignored him.
"Look at me." He said.
Allie looked at the locker numbers again. She was getting closer to hers. Nick followed her the whole way until she reached it.
"Can I give you something?" He asked.
She looked at him like he was weird for asking a question like that. She started to open her locker when he started searching for something in his pocket.
"Just don't smack me or anything." He stepped back a little and grabbed her hand toput a piece of folded up paper in it then turned to walk away.
She watched him disappear around the corner then started to unfolded the piece of paper.
Dear Allie,
I know that you hate me now more than ever and I know you think it's my fault. We''ll it kind of is, because I went out with Megan and that didn't help us at all. To be honest, I'm thinking about breaking up with her. I used to like her and I don't know why I ever did at this point. I can't stop thinking about you. I sounds bad but I've tried so hard to get you out of my head. So I figure maybe you belong there, but the problem is I don't have you in my heart anymore. Not the way that I want. Meet me outside by the tree during 1st lunch. I'll understand if you don't show up.
Nick
Allie folded up the note and put it in her back pocket. When she shut her locker, she turned around to see that Mark was standing behind her.
"Hey. What were you reading?" He asked. He obviously didn't get to read over her shoulder since he just showed up.
"Nothing." She moved away from him a bit.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah you just scared me."
"Sorry didn't mean to." He rubbed his hand up her arm.
"I know it's okay." She lied trying not to look disgusted.
"Have you thought about if you want to go out with me?" He moved closer to her.
"Uh, yeah I have actually."
"Really and what will it be? Yes or No?" He asked.
Right when she was going to answer him, the bell rang for their first class.
"Sorry, I'll tell you later." She smiled while walking away.
"Wait, Allie. What's your first block?" Mark asked.
"Speech." She answered, not interested to find out what his was.
"Really? That's my first block too." He smiled.
"Oh great." She put a fake smile on that could fool anyone only if they were dumb. Mark bought it. She could never pull her fake smile off in front of Nick.
"Tell me now. What's your answer?" He asked once more.
She took in a deep breath. This was it. Her answer would show that she was over Nick. "Yes," she said slowly, wishing that she hadn't.
Mark smiled, putting his arm around her shoulder. "Let's go to class."
She didn't like it instantly. Mark was putting most of his weight on her. How hard was it to put your arm around a waist instead of the shoulder?
After there first class ended, Allie was happy. Mark wouldn't stop giving her sexual looks. She was very disgusted. 'What a jerk.' She thought. 'Why am I even doing this?'
But she knew exactly why she was doing this. Everything eventually went back to Nick. Just to make him jealous. To piss him off.
Mark went to his 2nd block after hugging Allie roughly, transferring the smell of smoke to her shirt. Her favorite shirt. She looked down in disgust.
She hurried to the bathroom and covered the smell with some perfume she had in her purse. When she was finished, the tardy bell for her next class rang. She threw the perfume back in her purse then ran out of the bathroom. The next thing she knew, she laying on the ground; bottom sore and everything blurry. She looked around and realized she had bumped into someone.
Of course that someone had to be Nick.
"What are you still doing out in the hall?" Nick asked, helping her up.
"Bathroom troubles."
"Um," A chuckle slipped out before he could hold it back.
"Perfume troubles, Nick." Allie shook her head.
He smiled, knowing what she was trying to say.
"I need to get to class." She started walking away.
"Wait." He stopped her.
"I have to get to class, Nick!" She yelled. It echoed through the halls.
Nick stopped and went to his next class, feeling a little dumb and hurt.
When the bell rang, Allie quickly left the classroom and went to her locker to put all her books away. She turned around to see Mark walking towards her.
He leaned against the locker beside hers and moved closer to her until his stomach was touching hers.
"Mark, stop it." She said in a serious voice. Her voice was so low it was almost a whisper. Plus she felt a little embarrassed he was acting like this in front of a lot of people walking up the hall.
Mark just laughed at a joke that was never made.
She backed away from him a little bit then he stopped his fit of laughter.
"When are you going to let me kiss you?" He asked, pulling her closer to him again.
Allie gave him a fake smile then looked away from him.
She saw Nick walking up the hallway in their direction. He was holding Megan's hand, probably walking her to her locker. She looked away from Nick and Megan when she felt Mark run his hand up her thigh. "What are you looking at over there," He said, looking to where Allie had been looking a second ago.
Nick glanced over and saw Mark. He gave him an awful look. Mark gave him an awful look right back. Then Nick looked at the girl he was standing with to give her the same look.
But when he saw that it was Allie who was standing there his face changed. Confusion? He wasn't sure what to feel. Protective? No. Anger. Megan kept pulling him along, not noticing the tension. Nick couldn't look away from Allie. 'What the fuck was she doing?' He thought.