This wasn't supposed to happen, but now I have no choice.
"Holly... Holly..."
There was someone calling my name. But who?
Drop your guns or she gets it.
Do it!
I gasped. Pain. There was so much pain.
"Holly!"
My eyes snapped open and I shot up in bed, sucking in quick breaths of air. A light snapped on and piercing grey eyes met my gaze. Chris put a hand on my neck and pulled my head into his chest, shushing me. I closed my eyes, trying to calm my breathing.
"It's okay," he cooed.
I gripped the front of his t-shirt with my shaking hands. "Mr. Heywood."
He squeezed me tighter. "It's okay Holly, you're safe. I'm here."
I listened to the steady sound of his heartbeat, feeling myself calm down. After a couple moments I relaxed my grip on him and slumped further into him with a sigh.
"Was it Shawn?" he asked quietly.
"Mikey," I mumbled.
"It's been awhile since you've had a nightmare about that night," he commented, pulling away from me a little. "Did that talk the other day scare you?"
I shook my head. "No, that's not it. I wasn't scared. But maybe it's because I haven't thought about the gang in awhile..."
"That's how it should be."
I bit my lip. "Do you think something might happen? You know, because of the appearance of Isaac?"
Chris frowned at me. "Professor Grimaudo, you mean?"
"Chris, really."
"No, I don't think so. Everyone's locked away, Holly. They aren't getting out for a long time. Not Shawn, not Mikey. We're safe."
"Safe," I repeated, but felt a sense of foreboding. Something was going to happen. I could feel it.
Chris put his hands on my cheeks, forcing me to look at him. "Just forget it. You know I'd never let anything happen to you. I'd rather die before involving you with anything dangerous ever again."
"I know," I responded with a tired smile.
He kissed me softly and drew me closer to his body, enveloping me in his warmth. "Now go back to bed. You have class in the morning, don't you? Have to get up bright and early."
"Not as early as you," I teased.
"So you say. But I know you're going to get up and shower with me."
I blushed, trying to push away from him. "I will not!"
He chuckled and held me firmly. "We'll see about that. Goodnight, Holly."
"Night Chris."
"And Holly?"
"What?"
"I love how you call me Mr. Heywood when you're scared. It's cute."
I flushed deeper and pinched his side. "Goodnight Chris."
When Chris got up to get ready for school a few hours later, he forcibly dragged me to the shower with him. I grumbled and complained, but followed him in anyway. After he dried off and dressed himself, he made me breakfast before kissing me on the cheek and heading off to work.
As I watched him leave his apartment, I wondered when we'd started acting like a married couple.
I finished off the last of the waffles he made (perfect and fluffy like usual) before going to his bedroom to find an outfit for myself. After stripping out of my pajama shirt I stepped in front of the mirror, checking out the scar on my stomach. It still stood out clear as day on my pale skin. I frowned a little, prodding at it. It hadn't hurt in months, but it was still weird.
Turning away from the mirror I grabbed a shirt at random and threw it over my head. What was I worrying about? I had just had a nightmare. It didn't mean anything.
Upon arriving on campus, I came across Lexi and Lance, who were acting all lovey-dovey and couple-y by one of the main buildings. I tried to sneak by without them noticing, but Lexi's head snapped in my direction right before I passed their line of vision. "Holly! Hey! Over here!"
"Hey guys," I greeted, walking over to them. "How was your summer, Lexi?"
"Excellent," she responded with a blinding smile. "Especially since I spent a lot of time with my perfect boyfriend."
Lance grinned at her. "How sweet."
"You two will have to meet," Lexi told him seriously.
My jaw-dropped. What the hell? Lexi was two-timing Lance? I stared at Lance, expecting him to look pissed, but he was still grinning at Lexi in his love-struck way. When Lexi noticed my expression she laughed.
"What?" I demanded.
"That was a joke, Holly," she told me. "I promise Lance is the only man on my mind."
Lance nodded. "That's right."
"Right," I responded, frowning a little bit. Yes, Lexi was a nice person, but I still wasn't sure about her. She seemed to genuinely like Lance and Lance obviously liked her, but... maybe it was just a best friend thing to be wary significant others. Like how Lance still treated Chris the same way as he always did.
"Is something wrong?" she asked suddenly.
I blinked. "Huh?"
"You look worried about something. Are you okay?"
Her concern surprised me. She actually sounded worried about me. Smiling now, I shook my head. "Nah, just a little tired. Chris made me get up with him this morning."
She smirked at me. "Oh yeah?"
I could feel my cheeks warming at her sly expression. "D-don't give me that look. He was just being a pain."
"You two are so cute together," she gushed.
"Cute s'not the word I would use," Lance muttered.
I shot him a dirty look. "Shut up, Lance. I'm going to class."
"Bye Holly!" Lexi chirped. "Don't hit on too many teachers!"
Taking a deep breath, I somehow managed to stay calm. Lexi was a good person. She just needed to think more before she spoke. Or acted. Or breathed.
My classes flew by. Jeremy was suspiciously absent from Spanish, so it was uneventful. The class let out early, so I wandered down to the cafeteria to grab a snack before class. After selecting a fun-sized box of Captain Crunch and a carton of milk, I headed to one of the checkout lines.
"Holly?"
Hearing my name, I turned to see Isaac standing in line behind me. He gave me an awkward smile. "Uh, hey."
"Hi," I responded, smiling back at him.
"How has your day been?" he asked.
I put my items on the counter and the cashier rang me out. "Boring," I said, paying for my food. "Ready to have fun in Home Ec."
He laughed quietly and paid for the sandwich and soda he was holding. "Don't have high hopes. We're not making anything too exciting today."
"That's okay. My friends are in the class so it automatically makes it fun," I responded, heading to one of the empty tables.
"Mind if I sit with you?" he inquired.
I shook my head. "Nope."
"So you know Jeremy," he said, taking a seat across from me. He grimaced a little. "I kind of get the feeling he doesn't like me anymore."
"That's not it," I told him, grinning. "Jeremy likes you a lot."
Isaac smiled at me. "That's a relief. You two seem like good friends. How did you meet?"
I hesitated. To tell him the truth, or make something up... "Mutual friends," I finally said. It was sorta the truth.
"That's nice," he responded, trying to open the bottle of his soda. After a moment of straining to twist it open he gave up, pushing it aside.
I reached across the table and twisted it open for him. "Here."
He blushed. "Thanks... That was a little embarrassing. They're screwing those tops on tighter and tighter."
"I think you loosened it enough so that I could open it," I told him to try to make him feel better. Now I almost had a little pity for Jeremy. If Isaac was this weak, I could only imagine the trouble he had gotten into in the gang...
"You know, you look really familiar," Professor Isaac started, leaning closer to me. "Have we met before?"
I shook my head immediately. "No way. I'd remember your face."
"Hmm... you'd think I'd remember a face as cute as yours."
I looked up at him, taken aback by his compliment. Was he flirting with me? He seemed to realize what he said and he quickly looked away from me, tensing. I adverted my gaze as well, staring at the floor awkwardly. Not good. Not good.
"Do you think I'm cut out for this?"
"What?"
Isaac rubbed the back of his neck. "Being a professor. Do I look the part? Am I okay in class?"
Why was he asking me this? I frowned at him. "I think you're doing a good job. Everyone seems to like you."
"Thanks," he responded with a warm smile. "My family didn't really think I'd ever do something with my life. I... was a bit of a rebel when I was younger."
I ducked my head, hiding my smile. He considered being in a gang being a bit of a rebel?
"Sorry. I'm talking too much. And to a student, too."
"No! It's okay," I responded quickly, shaking my head. "I don't mind."
Isaac gave me an amused look. "Teacher's pet?"
I blushed. "That's not it!"
"I'm kidding," he chuckled. "Thanks, though. I'm not too great at making friends. I guess I feel more comfortable with you because you know Jer."
"Were you two close?" I asked.
He nodded. "Well, this is all just my opinion, but I considered him my best friend. He helped me out a lot when I was younger. There was this other guy too, Chris. But he was abusive and scary."
My eyes nearly bulged out of their pockets. "What? Abusive?"
Isaac titled his head at my reaction. "Uh, probably not as severe as you're thinking. He just punched Jeremy all the time."
"Oh." Well, some things don't change.
"We weren't really friends. But I looked up to him. He was really strong. And a great leader."
Good thing Chris wasn't here. His ego didn't need to be inflated anymore than it already was. "He sounds... interesting."
"He and Jeremy are really good friends. Jeremy never talks about him? Or anything about him...?" Isaac stared at me, as if gauging my reaction.
I figured he wanted to know if I knew about the gang or not. Deciding it would be best to feign ignorance I shook my head. "Nah, not really... I mean, we talk but... err... mostly about school?"
Isaac raised an eyebrow. I cursed myself, feeling my face redden. Why did I have to be such a horrible liar?!
"You blush a lot," Isaac noted.
"Yeah, it's a bad habit," I muttered.
He laughed. "Actually, it's cute." Then he froze. "No wait, I didn't mean..." He looked like a deer caught in headlights.
Although I grimaced inwardly, I smiled outwardly. His awkwardness was endearing. A sudden thought hit me. Was this how Chris felt when I acted like this in front of him? No wonder he loved teasing me!
"What are you two doing?"
Turning around in my seat, I saw Jeremy coming toward Isaac and myself. His timing couldn't be any more perfect. Isaac must've though so too because he eagerly waved Jeremy over. "Jeremy!"
Jeremy narrowed his eyes at us. "Isaac. Holly."
"H-hey Jeremy..."
"Am I interrupting something?"
"No!" Isaac and I denied immediately.
Jeremy pursed his lips at Isaac. "She's too young for you."
Isaac stammered and shook his head and I gave Jeremy a dark look. First of all, he had to go and make it more awkward, didn't he? And second of all, I was not too young for Isaac.
Not that I was interested.
At all.
He was cute, but definitely not as cute as my boyfriend. Who I loved. So there was no need for Jeremy to act so defensively.
"Hey, what happened to your arm?" Jeremy suddenly asked, tone now turning to concern.
Isaac gave him a blank look. "Nothing?"
"Don't give me that. I can tell you hurt it. You do that injured bird thing you usually do when you hurt yourself."
I watched the pair with interest. Jeremy actually sounded serious. This happened once in a blue moon.
"I just bumped into my door," Isaac mumbled, quickly standing up from his seat. "I've got to go get ready for class. I'll see you two in a bit."
Before Jeremy could say anything else, Isaac escaped from the cafeteria, abandoning the last part of his sandwich. I raised an eyebrow at Jeremy, who shook his head and sighed. "I hope he's not doing anything dangerous..."
"Aww, you sound so concerned!"
"I am not!"
I grinned. "You're like his older brother, aren't you? Huh, Jer?"
"Holly, keep this up and I'll tell Chris he was flirting with you."
"He was not!" I denied quickly. Too quickly.
Jeremy's jaw dropped. "He was? What? I didn't even know Isaac knew how to flirt! This is new!
"Jeremy, we were just talking—"
"Tsk, tsk. Topher definitely won't like this."
I glowered at him. "Don't say a word! It was nothing! He was just asking questions about how you and I know each other."
"Did you tell him you know about the gang?"
I shook my head. "Trying to have a normal college life, remember?"
Jeremy snickered. "Yeah. Normal. Because it's totally normal to be dating your old high school teacher and have a college professor interested in you."
"Jeremy!"
"Okay, okay. I won't say a word. But Holly?"
"What?"
"Break Chris's heart and I'll break your neck."
I stared at him, shocked.
The blonde grinned back at me. "It's long over due, but everyone has the best friend warning."
"I'd rip my own heart out of my chest before breaking up with Chris," I snapped at him. "I love him, Jeremy. It'd take way more than a cute guy to end our relationship. Like the end of the world, or something."
Jeremy gave me an impressed look. "I was just teasing you, but aww, you love Topher so much. That's adorable."
Blushing, I crossed my arms over my chest. "O-of course I love him."
He wrapped his arms and me and hugged me tightly. "I really missed out! You're too good for him! I should've kept you for myself."
"Hey— break Casey's heart and I'll break your face," I warned teasingly.
Jeremy let go of me and fell back a little. "She'll probably be the one..."
I frowned at Jeremy's sudden silence and turned around to look at him. His face was neutral. "Jeremy?"
"Ah, nothing," he said, shaking his head. Then he plastered his happy-go-lucky grin on his face. "Shall we go to class?"
"Um, yeah..." I trailed off, furrowing my eyebrows. Was something happening with Casey and Jeremy? There couldn't be. They were perfect together. They were perfectly fine last week. There was no way their relationship could be rocky...
I gulped. That's right. Feelings could change as quickly as the tide.
_______________
Action next chapter. Action action action I'M SO EXCITEDDDDDDD.
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