"You ready for this?" Landon asked as we walked inside the school with Iliana Monday morning. I was confused by his question and gave him a funny look.
"What are you talking about?" I asked him. He wrapped an arm around my waist as we walked down the boring white halls. The only colour provided was from the posters and our silver lockers. The rest of the hall was fairly boring.
"Him," Landon said while nodding slightly to our left. I looked and saw Daxton with an angry face. I moved closer to Landon and Iliana mimicked my movements to make sure I was kept in between them. I could feel the anger and it had me on edge.
"I can't do this," I whispered in Landon's ear. Everybody was staring at me, judging me. I needed to get away. My fight or flight instinct kicked in and I took off running out of the school doors. I heard laughter behind me as tears blurred my sight. My sneakers hit the ground hard as I ran down the street and to a small park just down the road.
When I reached the old park I climbed up the swing set pole and sat on top of it. My shoulders shook slightly with a sob as I let the tears fall. Those people were judging me though they never knew my story. They would know what Daxton told them about our breakup and what they saw themselves. The anger and hate directed towards me from Daxton made me shake with fear. His anger was equivalent to my mother's. It frightened me.
"Ebony?" I looked down and saw Landon looking up at me. His hands were on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. "Will you get down here? I can't climb up there."
"Just so I can be laughed at? No thanks." I wiped at more of the tears trailing down my face. I wasn't usually this weak towards people. When I was around Landon though, my vulnerability shone through.
"What's the worse they can do Eb? Laugh at you? Make you cry? It just shows that they have nothing better to do with their time. People pick on people they know are stronger than they are. So all you're doing up there is giving into those jerks." Landon was finally standing straight and with a grimace he began trying to climb up to where I was perched.
"Are you seriously going to haul your fat body up here?" I asked with a shaky laugh. He grinned at my attempt to be funny.
"I am not fat. And if that's what it takes to get you down then you best believe I will."
"Okay, okay I'm coming down. Don't hurt yourself."
Once I reached the bottom he pulled me into a giant hug and kissed the top of my head. I felt bad for making him worry about me. It was obvious he cared. I decided to open up more to him in that moment.
"I used to cut myself," I whispered to him with tears in my eyes. I didn't want him to think any less of me. I wanted his attention and affection. I needed it at this point. He and Iliana were all that were holding me together.
He pulled back and grabbed both my wrists before rubbing his thumbs slowly along the scars. His eyes never left mine as he just ran his thumbs over them again and again. I was afraid of his reaction. Thoughts of him leaving me for being too weak filled my head. He was only a friend but it was a friendship I wasn't willing to lose.
"You're beautiful," he said. "These scars show how strong you are because you clearly haven't done it in at least a year."
"It's been about that," I whispered before tears began falling again. His reaction was not what I expected and it was confusing me. It made me wish he had yelled and gotten angry. This calm acceptance was unusual. He stared at me before swiping his thumbs under my eyes and removing the salty tear tracks.
"Why don't you and I go back to that hell hole and show those people that nothing can keep you down?" he asked me as he took off his black sweater and put it around my shoulders. I stuck my arms through it as the soft wind swept through my thin baby blue sweater. The coldness sank through my jeans and touched my legs.
"Let's go," I said with a smile before he crouched down with his back to me. I hopped up and he gave me a piggyback all the way to the school.
"We're here," he sang in a creepy voice.
"I don't think I can do this," I said as I got off his back.
"Just wear my sweater and nobody will bother you," he promised.
"And why is that?" I asked as we walked through the front doors for the second time that morning. The halls were clear of all people as it was halfway through first period.
"It says my name on the back."
I laughed and checked the back of his sweater. Sure enough 'Landon' was written in big white letters across the shoulder blades. It further proved my theory that he was in love with himself. When I told him so he scoffed and pinched my cheek before taking off to his first class.
When I entered my first class of the day everybody looked up at me. My eyes were no doubt red and puffy and I was drowning in the warm sweater. Iliana rolled her eyes and pretended to shoot herself while I was lectured on being late. With a grin I made my way to my seat and dropped down beside Iliana. She smiled encouragingly at me and handed me a copy of the notes.
"Thanks," I whispered.
"What are friends for? How are you feeling?" she whispered back.
"I'm a bit better. You and I need to have a girl night tonight. I'll kick Landon out for the night."
"You are so blind," Iliana said with a tiny smile. "You do realize that sweater has his name on it right?"
"Yes I know. And what do you mean I'm blind?"
"You two! Silence when I'm teaching!" the old crone standing at the front of the class yelled. I chuckled behind my hand and began taking notes where Iliana left off. It would be a long first class.
When the bell rang Iliana and I parted. She had to go out of town with her mother for an emergency. It was disappointing but her mother had to go take care of her grandmother who had fallen and hurt her leg.
It sucked that she would be gone for two weeks but we were having a girl night as soon as she got back. I walked out of the classroom and to the library for my free period. Landon was sitting in one of the huge leather chairs with his book in hand and papers spread on the arm of the chair and the blue carpeted floor around him. With a smile I snuck up behind him and covered his eyes.
"Ebony I know it's you," he said. I could hear the happiness in his voice as he pulled my hands away from his face. With a laugh I went to sit beside him in another huge leather chair and pulled out my math homework. I had a huge test coming up and it was freaking me out more than it usually did.
"Landon?" I asked tentatively. I didn't want to disrupt whatever he was working so hard on. He needed his good grades to become a paramedic.
"What can I help you with oh light of my life?" he asked with a grin on his handsome face.
"Do you understand this sinusoidal stuff?" I asked. He stood up and walked over to crouch at the arm of my chair.
"What don't you understand?"
"Well if it's cosine how do you know if there is a reflection or not?"
"If it starts at a minimum then it is a reflection."
"Thanks Lan. What are you working on?"
"Biology course work. I need to write a paper explaining some things in genetics. It's pretty boring actually."
"I'll let you get back to it," I replied with a grin before going back to my boring homework. Sinusoidal was a weird word. It was a random thing to think about but it was true. It was a very weird word to say.
"Don't I get a good luck kiss?" he teased as he walked back to his seat and began scooping up his scattered papers.
"Go kiss your reflection."
"I already have!" he exclaimed before going back to his paper.
At lunch Landon was chasing me with a paper airplane through the cafeteria. We were getting a lot of weird looks as I ran by laughing. Landon sped after me with his airplane in hand. He had gotten it in his head that it would be fun to chase me around the blue and white cafeteria while claiming I was King Kong and he was going to take me down.
"Landon what is wrong with you?" I yelled as I dove behind some poor freshman. She shrieked and quickly moved out of the way as Landon ran at me. He finally caught me and grabbed my waist while stabbing my head with the airplane.
"You two know everyone is watching right?" Daxton hissed as he passed us.
"Let them stare," Landon declared as he took my hand and began spinning me in quick tight circles. To me he whispered, "You ready to show them what you've got?"
"Let's do it," I replied. "You won't get in trouble will you?"
"None at all. I scheduled this with the principal this morning." he said while nodding to the door where the principal stood. "What song?"
"Just Keep Breathing by We The Kings. Follow my lead?" I asked him with hope in my eyes. I didn't want to do this alone.
"Always," he replied before taking my phone and jogging to go put it in the sound system. The music began playing and I began dancing. Landon spun me in circles when he came back and we danced together before he backed off to let me show off some of my acrobatic skills. I did a back flip before running forward and doing a front flip over a crouched Landon.
When the song stopped a few minutes later the teachers were clapping along with some students while others were astounded. Landon and I bowed before he and I went to get my phone from the sound system. His arm was wrapped around my waist and we were laughing together.
"That was amazing," he said while grabbing my phone and handing it to me.
"Thank you," I said before kissing his cheek. He looked down at me and smiled affectionately.
"What do you say after school you and I go get a movie to watch?"
"Sounds perfect."
"That's only because I will be there."
"You're part of it," I admitted before winking at him and quickly walking away. My face was a bright red as I escaped from the teasing that was sure to follow.
After school Landon and I went to Wal-Mart to pick out some movies and things to do. He hadn't teased me once about what I said. I was willing to admit that I may have had a small crush on him. Maybe it wasn't just a small crush though. He was a good guy.
"What do you want to watch?" he asked as we browsed the entertainment section.
"Can we get Despicable Me?" I asked as I spotted the movie with the other family movies.
"Whatever you want," he replied with a grin. His hands were shoved deep in his pockets and he was watching me as I raced around and looked at more movies.
"Warm Bodies and The Perks of Being a Wallflower sound good as well?"
"Well at least it isn't mainly romance movies," he teased. "Let's go look around some more."
"What else do we need?" I asked him.
"How about some groceries and proper sheets for me?"
"Fine," I sighed with a fake frown. He nudged me with his shoulder and laughed at me.
"Smile lovely girl."
"Careful Landon, I might begin to think you like me."
"You wouldn't be wrong then," he replied while looking sideways at me as we walked through the busy store to the bedding section. He began looking through everything until he found a set of dark grey sheets and a matching duvet.
"You want me to go get you a cart?" I asked him. He looked at me and then nodded.
"If it's not too much trouble for you," he teased.
"I'll be back in a moment," I replied while handing him the movies. I quickly went to get a hideous blue cart and returned quickly. He threw his stuff in and then put the movies in before picking me up and dropping me on top of it all.
"Don't you look cute?" he cooed as he began pushing the cart.
I hissed in annoyance and pushed myself out only to land on the ground while Landon howled with laughter. With a grimace I got to my feet and rubbed my now bruised hip. Landon stopped laughing when he noticed me rubbing my hip in pain.
"You okay?" he asked while lifting up his sweater and my shirt to see if there was a bruise.
"I just fell a few feet onto my hip. What do you think?" I hissed.
"Don't be cranky. When do you work next?" he asked. He pulled my clothing back down and wrapped an arm around my shoulders and led me to the food aisles.
"I had to quit. It just wasn't working out well. I'm going to have to find some other way to make money."
"My mother owns that dance studio you are so fond of sneaking in. She might let you teach a couple classes on Sundays. You'd make about four hundred a month or more depending on the number of classes you teach."
"You'd do that for me?" I asked as I grabbed fruits and vegetables.
"Why not? Mom would love a new teacher and you are more than qualified."
"Thanks Landon."
"You start this Sunday," he told me an hour later when we were back at the apartment. He put the food away while I put his new sheets under the coffee table.
"You talked to your mom?"
"Yes. You will be making fifteen dollars an hour and teaching six classes that are each an hour long."
"You're amazing," I said before giving him a hug. He kissed my forehead before shoving me away so he could get changed in the washroom while I went into my room to get changed. I put on a pair of grey plaid pajama shorts and a black tank top.
I washed my face and tied my hair into a ponytail before going out with a pillow and blanket tucked under my arm. With a sigh I fell on the couch and put my pillow against one of the arms. I tucked my bare legs under me and covered myself with the thin blanket. Landon came out wearing his glasses and black pajama pants with a red shirt on.
"What do you want to watch first beautiful?" he said with a grin. The muscles in his back flexed as he crouched and grabbed the movies.
"How about The Perks of Being a Wallflower?"
"Sure. Scoot over," he said before physically moving me so he was sitting against my pillow. He pulled me into his side and grabbed the remote before starting the movie.
"Did you mean it before?" I asked quietly as the commercials for other movies played.
"Did I mean what?" he replied without looking at me. He skipped the ads and pressed play.
"That you liked me?"
"Maybe," he whispered teasingly. I punched his side before settling under his warm arm and draping the blanket over his legs as well.
I was quiet as the movie played. It was incredibly interesting and entertaining. Landon stayed awake through the whole thing. He almost looked like he enjoyed it. When the final credits were rolling I got up to brush my teeth while he put in the next movie.
"I have a question," Landon announced as I walked back into the living room with minty fresh breath.
"What would that be?"
"Am I adorable?" he said in a baby voice while sticking his bottom lip out. I laughed at the big goof ball and sat on the couch before lying down on my side. Landon frowned at me and sat on the ground in front of my head. I absentmindedly flattened his hair softly.
"Is the door locked?" I asked after we watched the final movie and I got ready for bed. We had school the next morning and it was around two in the morning.
"I'll lock it before I go to sleep. I'll take Iliana's bed while she's away."
"Thanks Lan. Night."
"Night Ebony."
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A/N: Isn't Landon awesome? He is really good to her. Do you guys like Landon or are you hoping she will still get back together with Daxton? Let me know down below.