(Keegan's POV)
I waited anxiously all weekend for lunch on Monday. Lunch was when I would see her. Lunch was when I would ask her about Preston. My chest squeezed painfully at the thought that Preston was her son. The guys threw me comforting glances all throughout the day. Gregg told the others about everything. They promised to go with me. So when the lunch bell rang, I waited until Caroline was seated with her friend before I walked over to her table and sat beside her. All the guys filled the other seats on the cafeteria benches. Caroline and her friends looked at us confused. In fact, the whole cafeteria was looking at us.
"Hey there, cupcake," Nick said suggestively. I wanted to rip his head off. I didn't even realize I was growling until I saw Caroline's face widen in shock and Nick slink back. I stopped growling and acted as if nothing happened as the guys talked with her. I wasn't really paying attention. I was thinking about the question I was about to ask. It quieted as Caroline drank her water and I saw my opportunity.
"Your son was really cute last night," I blurted before I could stop myself. I wasn't expecting her to spit water all over me.
~
(Caroline's POV)
Have I mentioned that I hate Mondays? My weekend was spent taking care of Preston while Danny worked, as always. I didn't mind it at all, but Monday morning, I was ready to rip someone's head off. I don't look horrendous when I wake up, my hair is silky and pretty much stays the same. I just thank the heavens I don't drool or snore; I learned that much from sleeping in class. My routine is not to talk to anyone until lunch on Mondays, unless I absolutely have to. And I do just that.
"Morning sunshine," Stacy joked at me from across the table. I only glare at her and reintroduce her to my middle finger. Just because I'm talking to people, doesn't mean I'm in a good mood yet. I fork some salad into my mouth and lean against my hand. "Are you going to try and talk to Brighton again today?" she asked. That only earned her another glare. She only laughed at me.
"She's got a new potential bae," Mariana smirked, bumping my arm. I felt a leg brush mine and a ting shoot all the way up my core. I sat up straighter as my eyes snapped to the culprit. I inched away from him lightly only to be pushed against him again as the rest of his posse showed up to sit at my table. We got weird looks from everyone in the lunch room. I mean, if some of the most popular guys in school and the hot new guy sat next to three volleyball dorks, I would stare too, but the boys went on as if they didn't even notice.
"Hey there, cupcake," Nick smirked suggestively. From beside me I heard Keegan... growling?
The fudge?
When I looked over to him though, his face was calm and the growling stopped but Nick slunk back; obviously taking the hint.
"Hey Holloway," Trevor smiled sweetly. I only blinked at the guys sitting around my table. Mariana and Stacy were confused as well. Well, Stacy was hitting on Gregg, but you get the point.
"Wait, you guys know who I am?" I asked curiously. They all howled in laughter, earning a lot more looks. Most of the looks were from the jealous girls but whatever. I turned and was faced with Keegan's nervous gaze.
I'm sorry, wait, what the hell was Keegan nervous about? He was freaking royalty.
I sighed and dismissed the thought—and the boys' laughter—as I took a sip of my water. I loved water; it was seriously some hydrating stuff. I practically gulped down the whole bottle.
"Your son was really cute last night," Keegan said bluntly. I couldn't hold back the water as surprise registered on my face. I spurred most of the water out of my mouth as my head snapped to Keegan, soaking his head, hair, and shoulders in the process. I choked on what was left. I coughed as I looked at him wide eyed. The other guys were literally rolling on the floor, holding their stomachs as they howled in laughter. When I could finally breathe again, I looked straight to Keegan.
"I'm so sorry," I said. I grabbed his arm and tried to ignore the tingling sensation running through my hand. I stood and dragged him along behind me. I knew I couldn't actually drag him, but he followed me obediently anyway. I know it was just water, but I felt bad. I also felt like I needed to get him out of there. I dragged him into the girls' bathroom and he didn't resist. It was like he was blindly following me. I grabbed some paper towels and went to dry him off.
"You're too tall," I said, a little frustrated. He smirked lightly at me before he leaned against a blank wall and slid down until he was sitting. I dabbed the water off of his face and pressed the dry towels against his shirt to try and soak up some of the water. I sighed and sat next to him as I continued dabbing him. His eyes closed and he looked peaceful but there was a hint of hurt behind it.
"That wasn't my son," I said softly as I tried to dab more water out of his shirt. I think we both knew it was a helpless attempt, but neither one of us wanted to move. His eyes opened slowly as he looked at me. I dropped my hand and sighed, running my fingers through my hair and biting my lip gently as I looked away from him.
"What do you mean?" he asked. My eyes flickered over to his truly curious face before I sighed.
"I'm only 18, why would I have a toddler? Preston is my brother's son. Well, I'm practically his mom, but he's not my biological son, but he is my nephew... and that was my brother you saw with us," I explained. His eyebrows scrunched in confusion.
"Where is Preston's mom in all of this?" Keegan asked. I looked down at the crumbled napkins in my hands and sighed.
"She left my brother, Danny, to deal with Preston on his own," I answered softly. Keegan touched my arm gently. Fire shot up my arm, but when I looked at his face, it held nothing but sympathy.
"I'm sorry," he said genuinely. I shook my head as a soft smile played at the corner of my lips.
"Don't be. I love that kid," I said. I bumped his shoulder lightly with my fist before I started dabbing him again. "I'm sorry about spitting all over you. I can't imagine how attractive that looked on your end," I joked. His hand was still on my arm.
Trust me, I noticed.
"I don't think anything could make you unattractive," he muttered quickly. My eyes shot up to his as he blushed lightly. He averted his gaze and shrugged a little. My ears were hearing things. That was the only excuse I could come up with.
~
The next day, I was anxious for lunch. I knew exactly why too.
Keegan.
He was all I could think about lately. I wanted to get to know him. I wanted to get inside his brain and learn everything. I wanted to crawl under his skin and stay there. My leg shook nervously as I waited for the bell to ring to signal the start of lunch. I stared at the clock; watching the time tick away. As soon as the bell rang, I jumped up and grabbed my bag. I packed my lunch today, so I went straight to my table. I pulled out my lunch bag and started dumping its contents on the table. Stacy and Mariana slip into their seats at our table.
"Damn, what's gotten into you?" Stacy laughed. I couldn't very well say that I was waiting on Keegan because I needed his touch, his voice, his face, his everything. I wondered briefly when I got psycho-stalker on the poor unsuspecting kid. I just wanted him to hold me and never let go.
See? Psycho.
Stacy and Mariana went on about some party that was going to happen this Friday. I could care less. My attention snapped to one of the cafeteria entrances where Gregg was. I smiled lightly to myself. Keegan wouldn't be far behind. Sure enough, he was through the door next... with Natasha hanging off of his arm. It felt like my heart stopped. Natasha was on the volleyball team with me. Everything about her was fake. I never really got along with her in the first place, but now...
I hated the bitch.
Gregg saw me and smiled as he started heading towards me. Before, I was excited to see Keegan, but now I was dreading having to sit through a whole lunch period listening to him and Natasha flirt and touch. I looked down at my lap as Gregg took the seat on my left and Keegan on my right. It didn't go unnoticed that Natasha planted herself on Keegan's other side; practically sitting in his lap. Asher, Nick, and Trevor filled in the rest of the seats at our table. My friends, John, Stacy and Mariana, all greeted them. There were less looks today from the rest of the cafeteria. I flinched away from the butterflies running amuck in my stomach. I tried to ignore the shocks of pleasure running up my leg from where Keegan's jeans were brushing against mine. Keegan smiled at me sheepishly; like he'd just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
"Hey Caroline," he greeted. I narrowed my eyes at him. Was he serious? He goes on saying that he's attracted to me, makes me feel some kind of way, makes me excited to see him, only to rub his girlfriend in my face?
"Oh, Caroline, hey," Natasha said as if she didn't see me sitting there until now. Her hand rubbed up Keegan's arm. I wanted to rip it off. I watched as each perfectly manicured, candy-colored nail moved up his chest then back down his arm. How dare she touch him! He was mine!
No he wasn't.
I took a deep breath to calm myself He wasn't mine. He was someone I could possibly be friends with, but he wasn't mine; not in that way. He said a few nice things to me and I let my imagination run wild. Us being together was never even a possibility. Natasha always got what she wanted... and she had Keegan.
"Caroline, I see you've met my boyfriend, Keegan," she smiled indifferently. Keegan's eyes shot to mine as he blushed. He kind of reminded me of a shy young boy. I wanted to hug him and tell him that everything was going to be okay, but that would be weird. I shrugged and turned back to my turkey salami sandwich.
"Yeah, we've met," I said. I sounded bitter. That's not the way I wanted it to come out at all; although I did feel that way. An awkward silence fell over the table as I ate my lunch quietly. Well, everyone else was quiet while Natasha rambled on about something. I sighed ad decided to tune her back in. It didn't sound like she was talking about Keegan anymore.
"... so when we get married, I decided that I'll change dresses for the reception," she said. I choked on the chip I'd just stuck in my mouth. Gregg pat my back gently. I'm glad it was him. It wouldn't have helped to situation any if Keegan was touching me. I gained control over my wind pipes again and drank some water. Natasha continued on as if nothing happened.
Selfish bitch.
I let out a sigh of relief I didn't even know I was holding as the lunch bell rang. I quickly stood and rushed off to my next class.
"See you at practice!" Natasha called after me. I walked quickly until I reached the Science wing. I let out a breath and took a step into the classroom. I felt a hand on my elbow and I was pulled out of the classroom and against the wall beside the door. I knew who it was before I saw his face because fire shot through my body. I sucked in a breath as I saw he had me boxed up against the wall. I was aware of how very close he was.
"Caroline, I can explain," Keegan started. I wanted to bash on his face. I wanted to yell at him. I wanted to scream. Instead, I acted like it didn't bother me.
"What are you talking about?" I said, blinking at him. He shook his head at me in disbelief.
"I saw you... I felt you, and you were mad at me. I should've told you about Natasha but it's not what it seems," he tried to explain. I stopped him.
"What you do or don't do on your time is none of my business, really. There's nothing to explain. We're friends, you don't have to explain your girlfriend to me," I said. I was lying through my teeth. I wanted to know so badly, but what I said was true: it was none of my business. Keegan sighed and tried to speak again, but I brushed his arm aside and slipped into the classroom. Keegan slipped into the seat next to me as the bell rang. This was going to be a long class.
~