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I knew something was wrong when Grace didn't respond to my messages over the weekend. On Monday, she came sulking into school, the same, sad expression on her face that she had the day I first met her. The frown I was hoping I would never have to see again.
She just ignored my questions, or gave me one worded answers. I couldn't tell what was wrong, even though I wanted to know desperately. I couldn't bear to see her upset, and if I found out the root cause of it, maybe I could help.
But I couldn't get anything out of her. It was obvious she didn't want to talk about it, so eventually I let it go, not wanted to be annoying. I had a mental debate over whether or not to keep asking, because girls are weird. Sometimes they act like they don't want you to worry, when they secretly want you to.
But Grace eventually asked me to shut up so I did.
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"Did you see Chelsea in eighth period, dude? She should wear yoga pants more often, hot damn."
I nod my head, barely listening to Luke's daily run down on the girls he thinks were attractive. He continues to blabber on while I shove my homework into my backpack.
I turn to him. "Maybe you should see if a girl has a personality before trying to tap her." I snap, annoyed by the little routine. "Besides, don't you have a girlfriend?"
He stops mid sentence. "What's got you in a pissy mood?"
"I'm not in any kind of mood." I argue, slamming my locker shut. I hear something fall inside.
"I think whatever just broke in there begs to differ." He remarks, shutting his own door, but more gentle than I did.
I run a hand through my hair. "It's Grace. She's been ignoring me all week. Avoiding me too, but I don't know why." I lean against the set of lockers, discouraged.
He shrugs. "I don't know, girls are so hormonal."
"It's not like her. She was fine after we hung out on Saturday."
"Oh yeah," Luke snaps his fingers. "I saw your picture. You're so fucking cheesy, but it's okay because you guys aren't bad together."
I give him a side eye. "I'm still struggling to get her attention though. I try and be obvious, but it does no good!" I let out a deep sigh.
"Look, if you want to talk to her, I saw her going into the music room on my way back from practice." Luke says.
I nod my head. "Okay. I'll talk to you later."
"Bye," He says as I start to walk off. "Oh, and grow
some balls and ask her to the winter formal already!"
The winter formal.
Of course! How could I forget about that! It's only three weeks away, the night before we're let out for Christmas break.
I grin to myself, knowing it's the perfect opportunity. I think about all the possible ways I could ask her as I turn the corners of the hallways, making my way to the music room.
But all of my thought processes are cut short when I hear a soft voice singing a melody as I put my hand on the door handle.
I peek into the little glass window of the door, spotting the back of Grace's curls as she sits on one of the band chairs, strumming a guitar.
"Lately colors seem so bright, and the stars light up the night, my feet they feel so light, I'm ignoring all the signs-"
She sings these words so carelessly, so beautiful, and I can't help but try and find the hidden meaning behind them. Because Grace is the type of girl to sing something she can relate to.
"I crave us hugging. Yeah I stay stubborn. 'Cause I can't admit that you've got all the strings and know just how to tug them."
I feel lost listening to her, standing still, not wanting to interrupt her, and wanting to hear even more.
"I think I'm in love again, yeah you're in my head. I didn't think it could be true, then I knew that it would be you. I think I'm in love again."
I can't help a smile creep on my face. The lyrics, maybe they don't mean a thing. Maybe they mean nothing at all.
But something tells me they do. Just a bit.
I open the door once she stops singing, peeking my head in.
"Knock knock." I say, shutting the door behind me, not able to hide the smile on my face.
Grace turns around, cheeks a little red. She opens her mouth to speak, but then closes it, pursing her lips. She spins her chair around to face me as I take a seat across from her.
"So," I say, trying to break the silence. Things don't seem as normal as they used to be, like something is wrong. "What are you working on?" I say, deciding not to bring up the song I heard previously.
She shrugs. "A song for this Friday," She says. So far, she has performed 5 times, and each time I say she can't get any better. But then she does.
"What are you thinking of doing?" I ask, silently hoping she'll do the same song.
She bites her lip, looking down at the guitar in her hands. She plucks a few chords. "Um," She stutters. "Anything could happen by Ellie Goulding."
I take a deep breath. Of course she wouldn't sing the song I just heard. I got my hopes up. It's probably just one she heard on the radio or something. I'm too quick to jump to conclusions.
"Can I hear what you have?" I ask.
She nods. Starts to quietly play her guitar. "Stripped to the waist, we fall into the river. Cover your eyes so you don't know the secret. We held our breath to see our names are written, on the wreck of '86 that was the year I knew the panic was over."
She stops singing, and finally makes eye contact with me.
"It's really good, Grace Baker."
"Thanks, Isaac."
Her big green eyes stare into mine. Mesmerizing, distracting me to the point where I don't even know what to say.
I would give anything to kiss her right now.
"I'm sorry, that I haven't talked to you," She says, breaking the silence, pulling me back into reality. She sets her guitar down, placing her hands in her lap. "This week has just been really rough."
I shake my head, reaching forward and grabbing her hand. I give it a small squeeze. "Grace, I'm here for you no matter what. You can always talk to me."
She gives a side smile. "I know." And that's all she says.
I decide not to push it, letting go of her hand and leaning back, satisfied that she speaking to me again.
"I'd love to hear more of that song." I tell her.
She beams, starting to pluck her guitar strings once again.
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(3:56 p.m) New Message from Grace Baker
Grace: Hey
Grace: Can you come pick me up? It's urgent
Isaac: Sure thing. Where are you?
Grace: I'll be waiting on my front porch.
Grace: You don't have to come to the door. I'll come to you.
Grace: Hurry.
Isaac: I'm leaving right now. What's the rush?
Grace: Please...just hurry.
Isaac: Okay. Be there in 10.
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Sure enough, as I pull into Grace's driveway, there she is, waiting on the porch. A big scarf is around her neck, shielding part of her face as she hurries down the walkway. I unlock the door for her and she fumbles in.
"So, why am I–" I start.
"I'm getting a cat." She says.
I just look at her.
"Im honored that you thought of me in the midst of your grand idea, but shouldn't you go with your dad?" I ask.
She shakes her head quickly. "No. I'd rather go with you," She fastens her seat belt. "The pet store is across the street from the grocery store."
I nod my head, putting the car into reverse and pulling out. "Speaking of your father, when will I get to meet him?" I ask. I wasn't sure if I should ask her father before inviting her to the dance, if he was old school like that.
"Um," She turns on the heater. "Soon I guess. He is busy, looking for jobs and all."
I nod my head in understanding. "Alright. So, a cat huh?"
She nods her head excitedly. "I've wanted one my whole life. And I finally have enough money for one. They're so cute."
"Not as cute as you," I glance over, smirking as she slaps my arm.
"You just can't pass up an opportunity can you?"
"Nope." I answer, chuckling.
The car ride fills with Grace talking all about how much she loves cats, and her fantasies of owning one as a child. She tells me that her mom was allergic to cats so she could never get one, and how she had a stuffed animal of a Persian cat that she would take care of instead.
I gladly listened, smiling the whole way at her voice and happiness. It was nice to see her like this, not the mopey girl that was at school all week. I still can't help but wonder what was wrong, and why she wouldn't tell me.
We pull into Petsmart, and Grace eagerly hops out of the car before I even stop the engine. It's so cute, like watching a little girl go to the candy store for the first time.
And once we walk inside and reach the cat cages, her face lights up even more. Most of the felines are sleeping, and she takes her time looking at each one, reading their information, and asking to pet one.
The fourth cat is a baby, with gray fur and small black streaks. He's on his back, swatting at a feather hanging on a string, twisting his body around and biting at the feather.
"Look, Isaac!" Grace says, even though I'm already looking, pointing and resting her hands on the glass. She turns to the sales clerk. "Can I hold him?"
She nods, going to the back and opening the glass cage, taking the kitten out and handing him to Grace.
"Hi mister," She whispers, cuddling the small animal in her hands. He just lays on his back, staring at her with big blue eyes. I can't help the smile curling on my lips.
"His name is Romeo." The woman says.
"Romeo," Grace repeats, gently petting his petite head with her forefinger. "He's so sweet." She giggles as he starts to swat at one of her loose curls.
I notice that Grace has taken her scarf off now, revealing a red line across the side of her neck. It looks like a pretty deep cut, with dark blood dried at the top and around the edges.
I gulp, as it gives me an uneasy feeling. It's the second time I've seen Grace with an unexplained injury. The first was the black eye, which she assured me was just an accident in which Jane elbowed her in the eye. But this cut looked fresh, like it had happened only an hour or two ago. Could it have something to do with Grace's hurrying messages?
She snaps me out of my thoughts, turning to me, smiling wider than I've ever seen her. She rocks the cat gently in her arms, and my heart melts a little at the sight of the girl I adore with one of the cutest animals known to mankind.
"I like this one." She says.
"Me too." I grin, stepping forward and gently rubbing the little guy.
"Payment is two-fifty, plus one hundred for shots and other necessary payments." The woman says.
Grace nods and places Romeo into the little carrier. "Not a problem." She pulls out her card, handing it to her to scan.
"You'll need to also but supplies. Litter box, food, appropriate toys."
She nods again, taking her card back. "That's fine. I can go grab some right now. Be right back."
I follow Grace as she scurries off to the cat section of the store, first taking a look at the dry food.
"Which do you think will be best?" She asks, weighing two bags of food in her hands.
I shrug. "I don't know anything about cats," I admit. I look behind me at the toys hanging on hooks. I pick out a blue feather that looks like the one Romeo was playing with in his cage. "Hey, he may like this."
Grace gives an agreement nod and I hand her the item, placing my hands back into my pockets. "Grace," I start, trying to rack up the courage to ask her to the dance. It's not like I'm asking her to marry me, why the hell am I so nervous?
Oh yeah. It's because I am asking my beautiful crush to the dance when she only thinks of me as a friend.
"Mhm," She replies, scanning the nutrition labels on one of the food packages.
"I was wondering if um, um," I stutter. Shit, get yourself together! You're acting like a pussy.
She looks up at me, and her deep green eyes don't help my nerves as she waits for me to say something.
"Do you wanna go get ice cream tomorrow?" I blurt out randomly, mentally scolding myself for not saying what I was supposed to.
She lets out a small laugh. "Sure. I love ice cream," She places the food into the shopping cart along with a litter box. "Let's go get my cat!"
I nod, still mad at myself for not being a big boy and asking her to the formal.
I'm just scared she'll say no.
But then a thought pops into my head. How to guarantee a way that Grace will go with me, and that there won't be any complications.
I'll ask her dad for his blessing.
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Hi everyone! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I am trying to update as quickly and efficiently as possible. The only thing I have to say is; I am going to be on summer break VERY VERY SOON! That means more frequent updates, yippee! please vote and comment and share! Love u. xox