then I get so numb with all the laughter,
That I forget about the pain.
-Back To You, Louis Tomlinson and Bebe Rexha
~*~
A gust of wind forced a few leaves to rustle against my ear, making me jump up in fear. I looked around cautiously, hoping
"Dang, it's late," I whispered to myself, checking my watch.
11:00.
Mystery Boy had not yet made an appearance, and I was left standing next to a small tree by the corner of the road, hoping that no one would spot me. I'd been sitting there for almost an hour, having come there early due to curiosity.
Feeling my eyes droop, I let myself lean against the tree and sit down. I closed my eyes, planning to rest for a while.
Fatigue taking over, I fell asleep by the corner of the road.
The sound of a passing vehicle was what woke me up.
As I opened my eyes slowly, I shivered and wrapped my arms around my body. Goosebumps were growing on my arms due to the intensity to of the cold.
Too woozy to think for a while, I lay down with my eyes open and stared at the stars.
And then I remembered.
Jumping up to my feet, I glanced at my watch again.
12:00
My breath caught in my throat as I tried to inhale. This was it. It was Answer Time.
I needed to know who Mystery Boy was. Not because I danced with him but because, and solely because, he ran away. I needed to know why he ran away. Was there something about me that was so unbearable, so . . . undesirable?
My heart rate was increasing as the time passed by. Every minute was harder than the rest.
As I felt a sharp sear of pain in my palm, I pulled it back from the bark I'd been resting it on. I realized that I'd been pressing my hand on the tree in my nervousness.
I sat down again and picked up a leaf, twiddling it impatiently. This went on for a while because then, I was getting extremely impatient.
The minutes went by and soon, a whole half hour had passed. There was no sign of Mystery Boy.
At a quarter to one, I decided that I'd waited enough. He wasn't going to come and that was that. The thought made me sigh with heavy disappointment and squeeze Mystery Boy's iPhone tighter with frustration.
My heart sunk slightly as I walked silently to the next street. My instincts had told me to go there and my mind and heart had told me he'd be there.
That was why I'd learned never to trust my natural instinct.
I slowly opened the front gate and tiptoed to the bottom of the stairs, careful not to make a sound. If my mom had found out that I'd sneaked out late at night, I would be dead meat.
I gasped and held my breath every time the stairs freaked but I managed to reach my room without any terrifying consequences.
The second I opened my bedroom's door, I crashed down on my bed, not bothering to change.
For once, I was too tired to think.
• • • • •
"A letter?" Lizzie's eyes bulged out of her head, her mouth wide open. "You got two freaking letters and you didn't find the heart to tell me?"
"I'm sorry, okay? I . . . " I trailed off, not knowing what to say next.
"Well-" She paused, turning white as if she had seen a ghost. "I gotta go, Cath," she said, turning her face away from mine.
Furrowing my eyebrows in deep confusion, I slowly turned around to see Jason Harley standing right behind me, an eyebrow raised in curiosity.
I took hold of Lizzie's arm and tugged her closer, making sure that she didn't run away. Only then did I even begin to greet Jace.
"Hey, Jace, this is Lizzie," I said, ignoring Lizzie's nudges and pinches.
"Hey, Liz," Jace said, giving her one of his smiles which I'm pretty sure had made her die on the inside. That was the thing about his smiles, they gave this glow to his eyes and the dimples in his cheeks which made girls or boys want to fall at his feet.
"H-hey Jason." Lizzie waved at him and smiled nervously. He raised his eyebrows, obviously confused by her reaction.
"Anyway," he continued, looking straight at me. "What note?"
"This," I said, handing him the pieces of paper which I had secured carefully in a tiny pocket of my backpack. I'd folded each sheet twice so as to not cause any more marks or creases on the thin paper. He took a quick glance at them before returning it all back to me, shaking his head.
"He sent you these?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows. "Really?"
"Really," I replied, hitting him lightly on the shoulder. "And he didn't turn up yesterday."
"That's . . . strange." He looked around him as if he was looking for something before turning back to me. "I'll be right back," he said, his eyes wide with new information.
Then, he left just the way he came. He peeped inside each classroom as he walked by the corridor making many eyes turn towards him in confusion.
"That's weird," Lizzie commented. "What's up with him?"
"He does that sometimes." I shrugged nonchalantly, pretending to have noticed nothing out of the ordinary. "He's a weird guy in general."
I made a mental note to follow Jace later, try and find out what was going on with him.
"That's what I like about him," Lizzie muttered, very softly. "His weirdness."
It was probably not meant for me to hear, but I did, nonetheless. And somehow, it made me smile.
• • • • •
I put my hand on the door handle and slowly pushed it forward. The whispers I'd heard inside stopped immediately.
"Dude, I'll call you back," I heard a familiar voice say and as I walked forward, Jace's face swam into view.
"What's up, Cat?" he asked me, pushing his hands into his pockets.
"What are you doing here Jason?" I asked him, utterly confused. "You're acting really suspicious lately."
"I was on the phone with Zach." He pulled out a rusty old phone and showed me his recent contacts. "Look, if you don't believe me."
"Alright." I leaned back against the table and chewed my lip thoughtfully."When's he coming back? I asked to lighten the mood. "Zach, I mean."
"Two days from now," Jace answered. "Hey." He pulled out a chair and sat on it, turning towards me with intent eyes. "Do you still like him?"
"What?" I took a step back, taken aback by his sudden query. "Uh, no. Why?"
"For example." He banged his hand on the desk as if he didn't know how to put his thoughts into words. "If he asked you out, would you say yes?"
I was about to say, "No," when my heart told me to stop. "Would I say no?" I thought to myself, pondering the question deeply. In short, he was sweet, good looking, he made me laugh and I'd liked him before. "I don't know," I said instead, moving forward to take a seat next to Jace. "Why?"
He immediately stood up, shoving his hands in his pockets again before turning back. "Think about it," was the last thing he said to me before striding out of the class.
• • • • • • • •
That brings us to an end of another chapter! We're already halfway through this book, woohoo!
I can't update thrice a week, it's really hard. So I'll update on Tuesdays and Fridays from now. :) However, since I updated today, the next update is on Friday. Sorry, y'all!
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