Katie sat on her bed in the middle of rereading one of her favorite romance novels when her phone buzzed. She was shocked to see the message was from Mattthew. She wasn't expecting to hear from him but she wasn't disappointed by any means. She saw that he sent a picture but it wouldn't load on the home screen. She opened her phone and stared at the gray image and the white loading circle spun.
Her eyes went wide and her heart dropped when the picture finally loaded. She wanted to look away but her eyes wouldn't leave the image.
She wondered why he would have sent her this kind of picture and she had no clue how to respond. She quickly typed 'WTF' and she waited despretty for a response.
Two minutes went by and she got no reply so she called him. Her heart pounded in her chest like never before as let it ring but no one picked up. She was growing more ances yt the second and quickly called back. This time he picked up on the second ring.
"Matt?" Katie asked in a panic. She had no clue what to say to him. "Hey Matt, you there?" She asked when she got no response. Her legs ran up and down each other in nervousness, and honestly she was a little aroused from the intimate picture she received from the boy she was crushing on.
"Ya ya ya, hey." She heard his voice from the other side of the phone. It was quick and nervous, though cute nevertheless.
"Hey." She said a little confused. "So what was up with that pic?" Her heart started racing. She needed to know the answer but was she ruining everything at the same time? Maybe Matt wanted Katie to send a pic back. Maybe this was his way of confessing his feelings to her.
"Ya, that wasn't actually meant for you." Matt said truthfully. He didn't have time to come up with a lie, not anything anything would make the situation better.
Katie's heart sunk and her top lip let go of her bottom. "Oh." To Matt's surprise she sounded disappointed.
"Ya, I'm so sorry." Matt said quickly. "That was actually meant for Lexi." Her heart sunk ever deeper than she thought possible. She heard him mumble something under her breath alone the lines of 'Why would you tell her that?' But she didn't care. Her heart hurt. Physically hurt like nothing she's ever felt before.
"Oh." That was the only thing she could say without bursting into tears. There was a small moment that night where she thought he might genuinely like her. Even with the drama at the end of the night, it didn't change the fact that Matt was going to kiss her. Then she remembered that's what Matt does. He plays with a girl's emotions and can't possibly ever really care for anyone.
There was a long silence and Katie closed her eyes and forced herself to say, "I should let you get back to Lexi then."
"I'm good." Matt said and even without seeing him Katie knew he had his stupid little smirk on. "We didn't get a chance to actually talk tonight."
Kaite smiled and started twirling her hair with her free hand. "Then what do you want to talk about?"
"Tell me everything about yourself" Katie knew she should say no, hang up the phone and go back to her book. She knew he wasn't worth the heartbreak her would inevitably give her, though she couldn't seem to bring herself to do it.
"Okay." And to her surprise she giggled.
They talked all night, smiled and laughed. They didn't get into anything too deep, though the time flew by and it was soon two oclock.
They were both lying in their beds and sleepilly talking to each other about everything that came to their minds.
"Well shit, we have to be up in four hours." Kaite laughed.
"Damn, I guess we should probably go to bed then." Matt yawned.
"Ya, I guess."
They both just layed there, neither one wanting to hang up but knowing they had to.
"Goodnight Mattthew." Katie said softly.
Matt laughed at her using his full name. "Goodnight Katelyn." Matt said back.
Katie laughed and shook her head. "Its Kathrin." She corrected him.
"Really?" Matt laughed. "You dont look like a Kathrin."
"Is that in insult?" Katie grabbed her chest and pretended to be hurt.
"No, definitely not." Matt laughed back. "Its beautiful." He said more softly. "Just like you."
The words melted though Katie and she felt her body filled with warmth. "Your beautiful too." She mocked him.
They both laughed and exchanged their last goodnights.
They hung up the phone and they were both left with their thoughts. Neither one of them could deny their feelings towards each other, though they both had doubts. Katie knew Matt wasn't the type of guy to get into a serious relationship. She knew he would never be able to give her what she needs from a guy. And Matt knew that too. He couldn't get into a real relationship. He would never be able to tell Katie the truth about himself. There would be this constant barrier between them that would inevitably push them apart. He knew when it came down to it he would either way he would end up putting her in danger or hurting her, or maybe even both. He couldn't do that to her, but he couldn't let her go either. He was torn, he knew he should stop anything right now, that is what would be best for her after all, though he was selfish and he knew that. He knew he couldn't walk away from her.
The next morning Katie was ecstatic about seeing Matt in school. She picked out her cutest Star Wars t-shirt and tucked it into a black leather skirt and put on high black high socks. She threw her hair up into a messy, but cute bun.
When she got to school she eagerly walked to Matt's locker, a smiled illuminated itself onto her face when she saw Matt, but in a second it was gone when she realized he was talking to Lexi. She got a little closer and eavesdropped on their conversation.
"Please come with me Mattie bear!" Lexi begged.
"I don't like parties, besides I don't even think I would be allowed to go." Matt told her as he took books out of his locker and shut the door.
"You owe me from last night. That was really uncool." She told him as she walked her fingers up his chest. "I'll make it worth your while." She winked as her fingers reached his head and caressed his check.
Matt though for a second and then sighed. "Alright." Matt smiled at her and then placed a kiss upon her lips. He wrapped his arms around her tiny waist and Katie felt sick. She quickly rushed to class and told herself not to cry.
This is why you don't get involved with boys Katie! How could you have been so stupid? You knew exactly what was going to happen but you got your hopes up anyways. You know he will always pick anyone before he picks you."
She was able to make it to class without a tear escaping. She slid down into her desk and took out her book. She just pretended to read, but the truth was she couldn't read about 'true love' right now.
She saw Matt and Lexi walk in the room from the corner of the eye but she kept her head down. She saw Matt look at her but she refused to look at him.
Matt sat down in the back by Lexi and Katie could hear them talk and laugh. She could only imagine the way he was looking at her, or if he was holding her hand. She wanted to turn around so badly but she knew it would just hurt more so she kept her eyes glued to the book.
"I knew Matt liked her better." Katie jolted her head up and saw her teacher standing at the edge of her desk.
"What?" Katie choked.
"I said, I hope Matt does better." Mr. Lucenzo told her. Katie gave him a weird look and she felt her pulse quicken. "On the test?" He raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms.
"Oh." Katie said with relief.
"Did everything go okay last night?" He asked in a whisper.
"Ya." Katie lied. "It was nothing special, but we both made it out alive, so that is a good thing." Katie kept her voice low and shaky. She hated to admit to herself that there really wasn't anything special going on between them.
He nodded with suspicion and then looked back at Matt who had his hand on Lexi's arm and was laughing. "He's an impulseve asswhole." Katie said and picked her book backup so she didn't ave to continue the conversation. "They deserve each other." She mumbled under her breath.
When Mr. Lucenzo walked back to his desk Kaite quickly turned around and saw them laughing and touching each other. Matt looked up and his eyes meet with Katie's. His expression changed and his smile dropped. He removed his hand from Lexi's arm and looked apologetic. Their eyes stayed locked with each other until Lexi turned around to see who Matt was staring at.
Lexi gave Katie a death glare and hit Matt in the arm, regaining his attention. Katie couldn't hear them but from both of their facial expressions she knew Lexi wasn't happy.
Before they could bicker for too long, the test was handed out and Katie kept thing about Matt. She really wanted him to pass, though she also wanted him to fail. She hated herself for that thought but her heart was hurting and it was all his fault.
The test was five pages long and had an essay at the end. Most of the material was just vocab but there were scenarios and law cases they had to decipher.
For the essay they needed to defend a guy who killed and ate his friend in a life threatening situation. It took the whole class block but all the tests were handed in and chtter filled the room.
The bell rang and Mr. Lucenzo asked Matt and Katie to stay.
Katie's stomach flipped when she made eye contact with Matt. He smiled at her but Katie just rolled her eyes and looked away.
Mr. Lucenzo was finishing up grading the last page of what they assumed to be matt's text. "So?" Matt asked anxiously.
Katie didn't know what she wanted Matt to get, but she crossed her fingers anyways.
Mr. Lucenzo sighed and held out the test. "A perfect score." He smiled.
"Really!" Matt yelled with joy. Katie smiled and felt genuinely happy for him. I guess even after making her feel like shit, she was still on his side. Katie almost fell over when Matt practically jumped onto her and wrapped his arms around her. "Thanks." He told her. Katie pushed away and she saw the confusion in Matt's eyes. "Is everything okay?" He asked slowly.
"Ya." Katie lied and she looked down at her Star Wars t-shirt and twirled the edge of it him her hand.
"Now Matt, this just proves what your capable of. I expect these kinds of grades from now on." Their teacher told them and Matt nodded.
"Yes sir, of course."
Mr. Lucenzo looked between the two and sighed. "So, this little thing between you two isn't over?" He asked and like that katie who refused to make eye contact. "Nope." She whispered.
"What do you mean?" Matt asked.
"Nothing." Katie muttered to the floor.
"Katie." Matt grabbed her hand and her eyes jolted to meet his. "What's going on? What's wrong? I thought we were in a good place."
Katie really did just want to forget about everything, start over and be friends, but she knew she could never be just friends with him. "Nothing." She repeated, only this time a little harsher. "I'm going to be late to class. Good job on the test." She pulled her hand away from him and walked out of the room.
Matt turned to his teacher who was looking at him with a disappointed look. "What?" Matt rolled his eyes. "I didn't do anything I swear."
"Matthew, your a smart kid, but damn, you could be really dumb sometimes."
"I'm pretty sure you can't talk to your students like that, sir." Matt stuck his hand that wasn't holding his books into his jean jacket pocket.
"In this classroom I'm the dictator, I could do whatever the heck I want." He laughed and crossed his arms. Matt laughed too and started to walk out of the classroom. "Not so fast." Matt rolled his eyes and turned around. "Sit."
"Sir, I'm going to be late for class." Matt didn't mean for that to come out like a whine but it did. The reality was if he was late to italian it wouldn't be a problem, but he really wanted to see Katie and continue the conversation she cut short.
"I don't have a second block, and I'll write you a pass, now sit."
"Yes sir." Matt mumbled as he pulled a chair over he sit down.
"Me and Mr. Brown eat lunch together everyday and he just can't stop talking about his new golden boy." Mr. Brown was Matt's gym teacher, and took a liking to him ever scene he broke the school record for pull ups. "I mean when he said the name Mattthew Arrendel I was shocked, I mean how could a skinny little boy like you be the fastest and the strongest in the school?"
"Um, thanks?" Matt said wordly and slid back in the chair.
"I'm not trying to make fun of you kiddo, in fact... I want you on my football team."
Matt's eyebrows shot to the ceiling, "Really? But my feet haven't touched a ball in years." Matt told him in shock.
"Are you talking about soccer?" His teacher laughed.
"Wait, are you talking about American Football?" Matt burst out laughing. "You literally just called me a skinny little boy."
"I know, I would never have dreamed to put someone like you on my team, but from what I heard you might just be a natural." He pulled out a piece of paper out of his desk and handed it to Matt. "Get this signed, and come see me at practice one day, I'll see what you can do and we'll see about a spot on the team for you."
"I don't know sir, I'm not allowed to play contact sports." Matt would love to play football, but Mya doesn't trust him to not suck the blood out of anyone who pushes him.
"Well, take the permission slip anyways. Just In case you change your mind." He held it out farther and Matt took it.
"I'll see what I can do." He said and looked over the form. "Am I done now?"
Mr. Lucenzo filled out a pass and handed it to Matt. "Yes, now get to class." Matt took the pass and headed out the door. "And figure out what girl you like." He called out into the hallway.
"What?" Matt peaked his head back inside.
"You know what I said."
Matt rolled his eyes and huffed as he walked to his class.
Katie looked up from her Itaian textbook to see Matt walking into class. He walked over to the teacher and gave her the pass. They started whispering and Katie tried to hear but there was too much chatter in the classroom. Though she did see her teacher give Matt a wink and Katie's blood boiled. Matt turned around and went to go take his seat and Katie brought her eyes back down to her book.
"Hey." Matt smiled and sat down. Katie just ignored him and tried to memorize different foods in Italian, though she felt his eyes on her and her heartbeat picked up. "What's up with you? Did I do something wrong?"
"Just stop Matt. Everything is fine." She snapped and avoided all eye contact.
"No." He said to her surprise. "Obviously something is bothering you, so just tell me what it is.
Katie took a deep breath and turned to him. "It's not nice to lead people on." She told him.
"What?" his eyebrows moved to the center of his forehead and he practically gasped.
Katie's face turned red. "I mean Lexi." She lied. "She obviously likes you and I know you don't date, so your just giving her false hope."
"What me and Lexi have going on is completely casual. She knows that and is very much okay with it." Matt told her defensively. "Why do you even care? My relationships are none of your business." He was starting to get really annoyed at her, but he was a little flattered that she was clearly jealous,"
"I don't care." Katie snapped. "I'm actually seeing someone, and were going to the bonfire tonight." She said a little smugly.
"What?" Matt yelled, getting a few stairs from students sitting nearby. "Who?"
"Alex." She said simply.
"Alex? What the fuck? Your going out with that tattooed douchebag?" Matt hated the jelessy that he was feeling, though he couldn't make it go away. He hated Alex, and hated the thought of Alex and Katie even more.
"He's not a douchebag. He's actually nice." Katie defended him. "Plus he's super buff, and the captain of the football team." She mocked seductively and bit her lip. "He so sexy." By the look on Matt's face, Katie knew she was driving him crazy. She knew all too well Matt hated Alex, which is why she lied to him about being together with that self obsessed jerk. She wouldn't dream of ever actually getting together with him, she just needed to get under Matt's skin.
"Fine." Matt huffed. "I'm real happy for you two. In fact, Me and Lexi will be at the bonfire tonight too, we could all hang out together." Matt knew how Katie felt about Lexi and he knew bringing her name up would make Katie just as mad and jealous as Matt was. Though he didn't actually expect her to say yes.
"Sounds great," Katie said before she could stop herself.
"Really?" Matt asked shocked.
"Ya, sounds super fun." she loved watching Matt squirm but she was also squirming herself, she knew it would not be that hard to get Alex to go on a date with her considering they have previously dated.Though still didn't mean she wanted to spend time with him.
"Fantastic. We'll see you two there."
"You know you will."
They both turned away from each other and were both thinking the same thing. They knew they were going to have one of the worst nights, though they count help but be the slightest but happy about spendinging time with each other.