Edited
First of all, I'd just like to give a super huge shout out to @katelowans , @alexisblackmon26 , & @Jess71914 for voting! It means the absolute world to me and I could not thank you all enough!!!
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Autumn and I sat in class side by side, as our Calculus teacher wrote problems on the board for us to finish. For the most part, the atmosphere of the room was fairly quiet, that is until we broke up into partners and worked on the problems together.
"Okay, can we just talk about Friday night?" Autumn asked, desperation in her voice.
Even though Friday night had been one of the best nights of my life it had also been one of the most disappointing as well. Because after Aiden had spilled his beer all over Evan, I never got the chance to talk to him again.
I sighed. "What about it?"
"You talked to Evan! Like an entire conversation! Is that not a big deal to you?!"
Now that she had explained it out loud, I couldn't help the small smile that began to form on my face. "It was kinda nice," I smiled, before a frown replaced it as I remembered what happened, "at least until Aiden spilled his beer on him."
"Wait, what? You didn't tell me that!"
"Everything was going great, perfect even. First, we bonded on our mutual distaste for drinking. Then, we somehow started talking about Aiden. And then ..." I looked at Autumn, the smile on my face only growing, "... he called me beautiful, Autumn! And said that he missed talking to me!"
Autumn squealed and I swear people were probably thinking she was mentally challenged. We looked around for a second, before lowering our voices.
"I told you! I told you he's never stopped liking you!"
Despite Autumn's statement and everything that Evan had revealed to me, I still wasn't convinced. Even though I was beyond ecstatic that he had called me beautiful ... I still wasn't convinced. Anyone can call someone beautiful, but that doesn't mean they like each other. That's like saying that a girl who compliments another girl likes her.
That's obviously not true.
I shook my head as I looked at Autumn.
"You still aren't convinced." she said, and it was more of a statement than a question.
"No."
Just as she was about to open her mouth again the bell rang, signaling the end of the period and the beginning of lunch. I quickly gathered all my things, Autumn following quickly behind me as we made our way through the crowded halls and to the west side of the building. I tried to keep to the right side, against the lockers, but people kept pushing me from behind.
"Can't you walk any faster?!" some kid yelled from behind me as I looked at Autumn.
"I can't make the traffic go any faster!" though I'm not sure if I was saying it to the kid behind me or to Autumn.
I heard the boy behind me groan in frustration, but before I could get another word out, I felt his forearms shove into my backside, before toppling forward. Autumn tried to catch me before I could fall face first onto the ground, but I was instead, caught by someone else: Evan Andrews.
"Woah!" he said, quickly grabbing my waist before I could fall face first on the ground.
I felt my breath catch in my throat as his hands held my waist, the tingles from his touch causing my stomach to flip upside down multiple times. Had Evan Andrews really just saved me from toppling to my death? I had a feeling that if he held me longer I'd probably melt in his arms, so thank God when he finally guided me to an upright position.
My cheeks were burning red as I took in his appearance, which was nothing short of amazing. He wore a pair of regular khakis, along with a gray V-neck sweater, a plaid button down underneath, and a pair of black converse sneakers. His button down was neatly tucked into his pants, just as it usually was. It only made him look that much more handsome.
"Nice catch slick!" Autumn smiled, bumping his shoulder with hers in an attempt to break the ice. Meanwhile, all I could do was just stand there like an idiot, smiling with tinged cheeks. Why the heck can I never speak when he's around?
"No problem!" he laughed, looking down at me as we stood in the middle of the crowded hallway, people groaning and shoving as they made their way around us.
He looked like he wanted to say something to me because he was about to open his mouth, but then his eyes flickered to someone off in the distance and he quickly closed it, simply smiling politely at me, before turning and walking away. No words were exchanged between us, not even a hello or a goodbye. Nothing.
I furrowed my eyebrows as I stood there, dumbfounded. What was that all about? I thought after everything that had happened at the party things would be different between us. I thought we'd finally stop playing this stupid game of cat and mouse all the time. The maybe things would be different. We could at least friends—talk to each other more.
But I guess I was wrong.
"I thought you said things were great between you two? What was that all about?" Autumn asked, adjusting the strap of her shoulder bag as we continued through the hallway.
I furrowed my eyebrows, my eyes wandering around the hall, spotting Aiden's tall head of brown hair. He seemed to have been watching me with a strange look in his eyes. Some emotion that I couldn't place, but it was gone as soon as I'd seen it. In fact, he quickly looked away from me as soon as I'd spotted him.
"I don't know," I whispered, all the hope that I'd gathered washing away as quickly as it had come.
Autumn and I headed to the cafeteria, taking our usual seats at our usual table just like every other day. And just like every other day it was only the two of us there, eating our packed lunches from home, but after what had happened with Evan I didn't have much of an appetite. Instead, I grabbed my planner out of my backpack and skimmed through it to see what was on the agenda for the week. It was then that my eyes landed on the words written out for me on Friday's date.
AP Bio Unit Exam over Protein Synthesis/DNA Replication.
"Oh no!" I cried, grabbing my head with both hands. I wasn't prepared at all for this test, especially considering that I'd been so wrapped up with Evan, tutoring Aiden, and other classes. I had completely forgotten about it.
"What is it?" Autumn asked.
I looked at her with a look of panic in my eyes. "I have an exam in AP Bio that I completely forgot about! And I still have to tutor Aiden and go home and cook too!"
It's official. I was stressed.
"Calm down, Emery, you still have the entire week ahead of you. It's plenty of ti—!"
Autumn was interrupted by the same dark-haired boy who always seems to pop up in the wrong place at the wrong time. I think he has a knack for that, or maybe he just does it on purpose.
He took the empty seat next to me, placing his tray down next to my sprawled-out Biology book, with its highlighted lines and scribbled on pages. I furrowed my eyebrows as I watched him make himself comfortable, not once noticing the entire cafeteria watching him, along with the rest of his friends.
Was this going to start becoming a daily thing?
I watched as Blake came around to the table, his eyes fixed on the empty seat next to Autumn like he was debating whether or not he should take it, but one look from her and he decided otherwise. Riley and Carter took the same seats.
Aiden furrowed his eyebrows as he saw my Biology book, along with the highlights and notes. "What's all this?"
"AP Bio," I answered, "I have an exam on Friday."
"You take AP?" Carter asked as I nodded and he winced. "It's ruff, I'm in it too. Not a fan."
"Me too," Riley jumped in, taking a bite from some of her chicken nuggets, "it's awful. There's too many things to remember."
"Tell me about it," I muttered.
"What'd you end getting on that last test?" Carter asked. "I practically flunked that one."
Most of the entire class had flunked our past unit test, considering it was the unit over the human immune system. I barely brushed past that unit with an A.
"I think I got a 90," I scratched the back of my head.
As soon as the words came out of my mouth, Blake started choking on the drink he had in his mouth which just so happened to be Coca-Cola. And before anyone could even get a word out his drink sprayed out of his mouth like a mento geyser, all over Autumn's favorite outfit.
I slapped my hands over my mouth, turning to Aiden who looked back at me with an oh-crap-he's-about-to-die look, which I was totally in accordance with. Autumn was gritting her teeth together, staring at Blake with an absolute murderous look in her eyes that even I was scared for him.
"Oh shit," he whispered, his eyes as wide as saucers.
She honestly looked like she was ready to murder him.
She stood up slowly as the four of us watched, completely and totally scared for Blake's life.
"I'm going to fucking maul you!" she yelled as Blake took off, before she raced off after him. I honestly didn't even want to know what was going to happen with them.
Carter snorted in laughter. "I bet she wishes he'd been sitting next to her then."
Okay, I couldn't help but laugh at that one.
A little while had passed by and Autumn and Blake still hadn't returned, which didn't really worry me because I knew she could hold her own. In fact, I was actually okay sitting here and chatting with Carter, Aiden, and Riley. They really weren't as stuck up and prideful as everyone says they are.
As I watched Carter and Riley flirt with each other I couldn't help but feel envious. It was obvious that they were in love with each other, and I admired that. I only wish Evan could look at me the way that Carter looks at Riley. It's funny. I never thought I would be envious of Carter.
I looked away, before feeling a bump on my shoulder from Aiden's direction. "How come you're not eating?" he asked, concern laced in his voice.
Concern? Aiden Parker... concerned?
"I can't eat when I'm anxious," I replied, appreciating his concern, but also feeling a bit embarrassed as I looked away, avoiding his gaze, but catching someone else's instead.
Evan.
He seemed to be staring at Aiden and I with a frown on his face, maybe even a hint of...worry? What could he possibly be worried about, it's not like I'm going to fall in love with Aiden or anything of the sort. Apart from his worry though, he also looked concerned. Like he was afraid for me or something.
When Evan finally caught my eyes, though, I sent him a smile, but to my dismay he didn't return it. He looked around at his friends, before getting up and walking over to the lunch table where Gabby sat. I felt the smile slowly wipe off my face as I watched him smile at her, meanwhile she placed her perfectly manicured hand on his bicep smiling up at him as well. They exchanged words that I couldn't make out, before she stood and followed him out of the cafeteria, hand in hand.
There were no words to describe the immense amount of pain that I felt in my chest. Tears filled me up, almost like I was ready to burst. I felt them stinging at my eyes, threatening to spill, before I quickly stood, gathering my things.
"I have to go," I whispered, not waiting for anyone's reply.
I heard Aiden call after me, but I just ignored him, running to the bathroom before anyone could see me crying.
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Again I just want to thank @katelowans , @alexisblackmon26 , & @Jess71914 for voting! You all are truly a blessing and I can't thank you enough for your support! It's wonderful to know that there are people out there who actually enjoy my writing.
On another note though, I feel like I need to address this since I forgot to in the last chapter.
I in NO WAY encourage any type of eating disorders or anything like that. Eating disorders are a VERY SERIOUS illness that not only need to be recognized, but also need to be treated correctly. So please, if you have or have had an eating disorder in the past please don't keep it to yourself. Please find the help you need and deserve, so that you can take care of your health.
IF ANY OF YOU ARE SUFFERING FROM AN EATING DISORDER AND JUST NEED SOMEONE TO TALK TO PLEASE DON'T HESITATE TO PRIVATE MESSAGE ME. ITS SOMETHING EXTREMELY SERIOUS THAT NEEDS TO BE HANDLED WITH THE UTMOST CARE!
On that note, I'm sorry if the subject matter of eating disorders bothers you or makes you uncomfortable, but it's something that lots of teenage girls go through, and it's something that is part of Emery's past.
Anyways though, I hope you all are enjoying the story! Please, please, don't forget to vote and comment! I'm in the Wattys and it'd be super awesome if you all could help me win!!!!
Also I just wanted to let you all know that I'll be changing my update schedule. So, instead of updating on Mondays I will now be updating on Fridays. That being said, that means that this week you all will you get a DOUBLE UPDATE , because that's only fair since I'm changing my schedule again, which is also the reason I'm splitting chapter nine into two parts.
Until Friday :)
- Katy