I was waiting at the bus stop the next day, but I didn't see Hattie or Marcus. I wasn't too surprised that Hattie wasn't there; she'd sleep in until 2 o'clock in the afternoon if she was allowed to. But where was Marcus?
The bus pulled up and I still hadn't seen either of my friends. I was a little worried, but I figured they were probably fine.
When I finally got to school, Marcus was already at his locker talking to Alice. How the hell did he get to school before me?
I walked over. "Hey guys? What's up?"
Marcus looked up at me. "Oh. Hey Paige."
I was a little taken aback. He wasn't on the bus and all I get is a hey? "Um, hey? Why weren't you on the bus this morning?"
"Oh, I, uh, was driven to school today," Marcus replied. He closed his locker. "Anyway, see you in Science."
Alice and Marcus walked to Science together. I stood there for a second. What just happened? Marcus seemed like he actually cared yesterday. He had been really nice and sweet and funny. And now everything was exactly the way it was before.
'Well not exactly the same,' I thought to myself as I finally started moving again. 'This time he's not being annoying or using nicknames.'
I closed my locker and felt something warm fall down my face. I quickly wiped the tears away and walked into my Science class with my head down. Why was I this upset about it? Didn't Marcus and I agree that this was how it was going to go?
Shit. Did I actually miss him?
I sat down and Marcus didn't even acknowledge my presence. He just kept talking to Alice. I was going to try to talk to Marcus about our deal when I saw Alice's face. She was blushing like crazy, but I had never seen her so happy. My words died in my throat and I started writing random stuff in my notebook to look like I was busy. Busy doing anything other than using the hand that wasn't writing to wipe away my tears before they could fall on the paper.
Where was Hattie when I needed her?
Probably in bed, but still. Why couldn't she be here for me right now? I needed someone to talk to help me understand what was going on. Did I really care about him that much? Or was I just hurt by how quickly he forgot about me when I hadn't forgotten him. Ugh. I never should've let him help me. Getting beat up by Chase would've been better than this.
I think at one point Alice and Marcus got in trouble for talking during class, but I don't really remember. I was too busy mindlessly writing everything the teacher said. It distracted me from everything going on.
When class ended, I grabbed my stuff and pretty much ran out the door. I knew I was acting really immature, but I couldn't help it. I mean, after spending so much time avoiding him because of a number, I finally realized that I actually enjoyed spending time with him.
'Too late now,' I thought bitterly. 'I doubt he ever really cared about me.'
I spent the rest of the morning trying to overlook the fact Marcus hadn't made eye contact with me once. Even before when I thought I hated him he payed more attention to me. Even though he didn't look at me, I didn't miss the look in his eyes. He was lovesick. And I only needed one guess to figure out who he liked.
Alice.
It made sense. I mean, he probably only started being nicer to me to get on her good side. And when I told him yesterday that she liked him, he figured he didn't need to keep up the act anymore. I can't believe I ever trusted him. I still missed him though.
When lunch finally came, I saw Hattie and Alice already sitting down. They both waved at me. "Hey Paige!"
I plastered a smile on my face. "Hattie! Nice of you to finally join us."
Hattie groaned. "I only woke up twenty minutes ago, can you believe it?"
"Well, I could say no, but then I'd be lying," I teased, sitting down next to Alice, so I could see Hattie better.
That's when I heard, "Hey ladies. Paige, can you scooch over so I can sit next to Alice?"
"Actually, I do mind," I answered, my response coming off a little cold.
"Come on Paige, you can just sit next to me," Hattie said.
"Yeah, besides, you're the one who told me I could stick around," Marcus pointed out. "What gives?"
"Forget it Marcus," I whispered, my voice refusing to get any louder. "It's over. Go away."
"Paige, wait," Marcus pleaded. "What's going on? Are you alright?"
"I just want things to go back to the way they were before!" I cried, grabbing my lunch and heading over to the trash so I could throw it away and run to the bathroom.
The way they were before. When I didn't realize I like you.
"You don't have to be so rude Paige!" Alice defended, crossing her arms and glaring at me. "I mean seriously, did you really just use him as a bodyguard and that you don't need him anymore, you're getting rid of him?"
"You are acting a little ridiculous," Hattie added. "Why don't you just sit down-"
"I'll see you around," I said icily, cutting Hattie off. I left and locked myself in one of the stalls and cried until lunch was almost over. I then started walking to Social Studies so I wouldn't have to pass any of them in the hallway.
I just wanted this day to be over.
A/n-Teenage drama. Loads of fun when it isn't happening to you. Thanks for reading, next chapter will be out soon!