Lea’s POV --
Ten minutes until the bell rang and we could all get the hell out of here. I had a truck load of homework to get done. I had tests coming up and exams to study for. All the while, my brain has been in a completely different dimension. It was hard to keep my focus solely on schoolwork and keeping my grades above at least a high B. I guess that’s the price of finding yourself crushing on a guy you’ve barely come to know. It was like freshman year of highschool all over again for me. At that time I had the hugest crush on one of the seniors, his name was Alexander, and he was a straight A student. I only ever talked to him once and it wasn’t intentional. I was told to head over to the class that he happened to be in and ask the teacher if he could be excused for a moment, in the hallway he said to me was, ‘You’re a freshman?’ and I nodded and he said ‘That sucks.’ and we never spoke to each other again.
I guess you could say that was the best conversation I ever had with a senior. However, it doesn’t beat all the talking Jason and I have been doing recently. Kira and I were in the bathroom together, sitting up against the pit in the wall once again. We weren’t in the same class so meeting up wasn’t much of a problem and school would be over in about eight minutes so we couldn’t really get in much trouble.
“So I’m supposed to be hanging with Brody and Ace tonight.” Kira was saying, she was lying on her back, her head propped up on her book bag comfortably. “You want to come?”
“Why would I?” I say. I was seated with my back up against the wall and my knees up but legs spread apart so I could see Kira. My hands were together, holding my phone over my stomach and I glance down at the screen which lit up. “I think it’d make more sense to invite Lana.”
“True but we haven’t hung out, outside of school in like four weeks.” She pouts, raising her chin up and looking back at me. “I miss you!”
“Kira,” I drag out her name and frown sadly, “I miss hanging with you too but Ace and Lana are like...a thing you know?” Kira nods, understanding but she remains with her bottom lip poked out in the cutest form. I extend my hand out and she extends her back in my direction until I grab her fingers and we remain like that for a while.
“Come over my house after school for a bit, I’ll take you home after.” She smiles at me, squeezing my fingers eagerly.
I open my mouth just as the bell rings and the hallways begin to flood with teenagers. I release Kira’s hand and twist my body so that my legs were hanging over the edge of where I sat. Kira sits up, grabbing her bag and tossing it over the right shoulder. We hop off the edge and as I walk towards the door she stops to check herself out in the mirror. Before exiting, she quickly touches up her mascara and applies lip gloss. I roll my eyes and she giggles while pressing her lips together firmly.
My back was killing me from carrying all these books around all day and it would be great if I could just leave some in my locker for the night. Sadly, though, I could not do that since I needed each textbook and notebook to study and do homework with. Oh, joy!
So we skip making a stop at my locker and Kira already had all her things which made leaving school run more swiftly than usual. Outside of school, we walk down the stairs and stand by a tree until the sidewalk was somewhat deserted. I continue glancing at my phone, at the street, at the cars passing and the people strolling past--majority of them being students.
“Lea!” I heard someone call my name. It was too deep to be a girl but it was still unrecognizable.
I turn around to find Liam walking my way, his hand holding the strap of his book bag which rested over his left shoulder. Kira and I exchange awkward glances but thankfully she made no decision to leave me stranded. Instead she steps a bit closer to me but to act as if she wouldn’t pay us any mind, she pulls out her phone and begins to toy with it.
“Hey?” I say and even as the word came out in the form of question my facial expression made it more obvious that I was utterly confused.
“Listen,” He says. His eyes were squinting from the sun and his blonde hair seemed like golden strands or something close to honey. Out of all the guys in my school, he was the cutest and I was one lucky duckling to have had a chance with him, even though I ruined it. “At lunch, I didn’t tell the guys to do that to you.”
“Oh.” I pull my lips into my mouth and look away from him.
I didn’t want to have to reminisce on that. I was so used to the teasing from all his friends and I managed to let it slip my mind. Normally, at lunch I grab my food and head to my seat then I get up and grab napkins and a fork and take my seat again. I guess being around them so long, they caught up to the pattern and decided to tamper with it. So as I was walking with my tray of food, two of his friends walk past me and in the process that smacked my ass. I let it slide but my cheeks were on fire and I just had a feeling that when I got up again to make a trip to get napkins, something would happen. And of course I was right, another one of his friends grabbed my ass and when I smacked his hand he just laughed and ran back to his seat. I felt mortified.
“I’m sure you didn’t.” I cross my arms over my chest irritatedly.
“Lea, I’m being completely honest with you. I didn’t and I even yelled at them after they did it. I know they can get out of hand sometimes.” He was shaking his head from side to side while he spoke. “I’m just apologizing for them.”
I stare at him from the corner of my eye, not knowing if I should take the bait or not.
“You don’t have to believe me. I just thought I’d tell you.” He shrugs and leans forward. I shut my eyes and feel his lips on my cheek, which he kisses softly. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
When I open my eyes, he’s nowhere to be found. I look to my right and the only person I find myself staring at, with wide bambi eyes, is Kira. She was staring back at me, like a deer caught in headlights. Both of us were in shock and truthfully, I couldn’t tell which of us was more confused than the other. I touch my cheek, still staring at Kira and she shuts her mouth, bringing her up jaw which struck the ground right after Liam disappeared.
“Did he really just do that?” I ask, rubbing my cheek and looking at my palm. For some reason I expected a mark from his lips to be there but that’d obviously be weird but how else would I know if what he had done, actually happened. “I’m so confused...what the hell.”
“What the fuck.” Kira had to run her hands through her long hair to bring life back into her entire body. I guess we had stiffened up at the exact same moment. “That’s crazy...”
“I don’t understand.” I lower my hand and lick my bottom lip. “He was nothing like this yesterday.”
“Yesterday? What happened yesterday?” Kira says.
“Well, you know how I went to the mall with Jason?” I begin saying and Kira nods, pushing me to get on with my short tale. “Liam saw me there and he came to my house, like an hour or so before you and Sandrine showed up.”
“Holy shit.” Kira was leaning against a tree now, one leg up against it as well. “I’m guessing he was pissed?”
“He was livid.” I put so much emphasis on the word, “He told me he didn’t want to see me with Jason anymore and he called Jason a crackhead who sells dope and other rude things. And I told him to leave me alone and he said he’s just trying to look out for me.” I stop to shift my weight from one hip to the other and roll my eyes distastefully, “I was so mad at him. And he told me that he better not catch me with Jason again.”
“Wow, why is he being so protective of you now?” Kira questions, staring at the ground. “Boys are so confusing.”
“Yeah, they are and they’re annoying too.” I mutter grimly.
“Well, we should head over to my house now.” Kira beams at me, kicking herself off the tree.
“Um, about that.” I smile at her innocently and her smile instantly fades. “Jason is on his way to come get me right now...he’ll be here any second.”
“Are you fucking serious?” She glares at me, “So that’s why you kept looking at your phone every five seconds? That’s fucking fantastic!” Her voice was the true definition of sarcasm and pure disgust. “So I’m guessing you’re not going to listen to neither Sandrine nor Liam?”
I shrug, feeling as if I were shrinking every time Kira opened her mouth to scold me. I scowl and turn away from her slightly, so that she was so close to my face. Suddenly, I was frightened. I didn’t want Kira, of all people, to be upset with me. She’s my best friend and I need her more than anything but I know for a fact she’d bail out on plans with me to hang with Brody in a second.
A car pulls up besides two cars that were parked beside the sidewalk Kira and I stood on. A black Maserati with tinted windows. Kira stops talking for a second once she realized that something caught my attention. Now we were both looking in between the cars and watching as the passenger window slowly lowered down to reveal the driver.
I should have expected it to be Jason but for some reason I didn’t recognize the car. Anyway, he looks over at us, wearing sunglasses and a ripped jean jacket vest that brought out his broad shoulders. He was chewing something, from this distance I couldn’t see what it was exactly. Kira straightens up and looks at me, her anger fading and replacing itself with good faith.
“Have fun.” She says, her voice was still and dead like a swamp. “Text me.”
I nod and she gives me the quickest hug in the world. It couldn’t even be considered a hug, it was more like a tap on the shoulder or something to that effect. I watch her begin walking off for a moment and then I look over at Jason again who brings his sunglasses up into his hair.
“Are you just going to stand there like a dumbass or what?” He grins at me, flashing his amazingly straight teeth as well.
I fight the urge to smile. Hopefully he had said that on purpose or else that’d be extremely awkward. He happened to say that same exact thing to me the day I made a trip to his office instead of the bathroom. The only difference is; now he said it in a more friendly tone and back then he sounded like a murderer. Eventually, I squeeze in between the two parked cars and get into his car feeling relieved once the windows roll up and the cool air from the air conditioner was refreshing my boiling skin. Once I’m settled, Jason hits the gas and with his free hand his wipe his mouth.
“Where are we going?” I ask, setting my book bag down in between my legs.
He shrugs and looks at me, completely removing all focus from the road. “Anything in mind?”
I didn’t want to touch his face because he’d probably kill me. So instead I point towards the road and he chuckles. I quickly catch how fast his eyes looked me up and down. I sink into the seat and begin thinking of options that would suit the both of us. After about two minutes I feel my stomach growl and I quickly place my hand over it in hopes to block out the noise. My eyes widen and I look out the window next to me, cheeks blazing.
“I’m guessing you’re hungry.” He says and I noticed that this entire time he has not stopped once at the stop sign.
“Yeah, sort of.” I stifle a laugh, “I don’t like the lunch they serve at school, I normally get it for my friends.”
He nods and makes a sharp left, “Well, I know a restaurant we can go too.”
“Are you hungry too?” I ask, “I don’t want to just go for me, it’ll be awkward.”
“I’m not starving but I’ll get something.” He looks at me, “Have you ever been to Qdoba?”
“No, I’ve heard of it.”
He doesn’t respond and I decide to remain in the silence for the rest of the ride.
I supposed we were getting closer because the car was beginning to move slower. The cars come to a stop and we wait for the traffic lights to change. While waiting Jason raises his lower half off of the seat and reaches into his back pocket. I shift awkwardly and my clothes rub against the leather seats, bringing more attention to myself than I was searching for.
“Do your parents know you’re with me?” Jason says suddenly, looking down at his phone.
I wanted to burst out into laughter, like the answer was the most obvious thing in the world. Instead, I keep my face straight and shake my head.
“They’d kill me.” I state matter of factly, “They think I’m with Kira.”
“Well damn.” He chuckles and puts his phone down on his lap to begin driving all over again.
“Yeah.” I wave my hand and look at him, “I’m a rebel now. No big deal.”
Jason side glances at me and see that he was trying not to laugh at me. I could tell he was experiencing second hand embarrassment but at this moment I didn’t mind it. I smile at me and he finally starts laughing, no more words were exchanged just laughter. I liked it this way, though. Being able to laugh at the same thing as Jason, probably for different reasons but we were still laughing.
We reach the restaurant and Jason parks the car a good distance away from it. We step out and shut the doors and I catch up to Jason who began walking without hesitation. Not many cars were parked outside, in fact not many people were driving around. When we walk inside, we find that only two families occupied the entire place. It was pretty empty and there was faint music playing but even that didn’t drown out how quiet it was. I follow Jason’s lead and he finds a table for two by the window a little close to the back.
“We’ll sit here.” He points at the seats and I nod my head. I was going to take my seat but Jason wrapped his arm around my shoulder and led me in another direction.
Since the place was empty we didn’t have to worry about a line. I felt stupid for thinking we’d have a waitress come over to us, I don’t know how I missed the large menus displayed above where the cooks did their job. I was just a walking embarrassment at this point. We stand just a few feet behind the menus so I could get a good view and Jason waits, arm still around me. I’m guessing he already knew what he wanted. I had too many butterflies in my stomach to even focus on the fact that he was patiently waiting for me to make a decision. I bite my lip furtively and he removes his hand from my shoulder; and just when I thought I could relax, he decided to place his hand on my waist.
“Um.” I straighten my back and clear my throat. His hand holds my waist so softly, my head was swimming again. He looks at me, acting completely oblivious to his actions. “I’ll just have a burrito.”
I avoid looking at him to the best of my ability. He let’s me go and steps forward to place our orders. I remain still, hands together and feet together. While ordering, Jason turns around to ask what kind of meat I’d like. I simply say chicken and then wait for Jason to be done. He pays for the food and then turns around to face me again. Cocking his head in the direction of the chairs, he begins walking towards them and I follow from behind. We take our seats and wait, sitting across from each other in silence. I tap on the table, up until Jason looks at my fingers. To avoid him saying anything harsh, I lower my hands onto my lap and sigh.
“I saw your sister yesterday.” He says, sitting back comfortably, as if he were at home.
“You did?” I say, fully interested. “Where? Let me guess, she was with Ace right?”
“Yeah, they were at Scarlett’s house. I was there for a bit.” He nods, “You both act alike.”
“Is that a good thing?” I ask, secretly hoping it was.
“You both ask a lot of questions.” He laughs somewhat.
“So, it’s not a good thing?” I frown.
“Not really.” He grimaces at me but continues to laugh to hopefully lighten up the mood. “It’s understandable so I don’t mind it.”
“It’s annoying too I bet.” I reply bitterly, “I’m sorry. I’ll stop with the questions.”
“I’d prefer all the questions over you being nervous and stuttering.” I glare at him and he simply shrugs his shoulders, “Either way it’s cute.”
I smile bashfully, “You think I’m cute?”
“Yeah.” His tone of voice was so nonchalant and his eyes remained locked with mine.
I was literally beaming on the inside, thank god it wasn't showing. My elbows were on top of the table, hands together and fingers interlocked. I had my face hiding behind my hands but I kept my eyes on Jason, watching everything that he did. Our food is finally ready and Jason stands up, goes to grab everything and bring it back to our table. Grabbing the burrito finally reminded me how hungry I’ve been and I was more than excited to finally eat something. Jason ordered himself a taco salad and in a matter of seconds we were already digging in.
We talk every now and then. I guess we were both too into our food to really strike up an engaging conversation. Besides all that, I was afraid that I’d accidentally talk with my mouth full or spit food out or something. So it was good to eat in silence and just enjoy that for a couple minutes.
“So are you and Lana close?” I guess he didn’t like the silence all that much.
I swallow down and keep my hand in front of my mouth before I open up to answer his question; I was that paranoid. “Yeah, we tell eachother everything.” I look at him, keeping my hand over my mouth and decide to ask a question, even though he made it obvious that it’s annoying. My curiosity always seemed to get the best of me. “What about you? Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
“No brothers.” He replied dryly.
When he makes no motion to answer further I decide to open my mouth again, “Sisters?”
“I had a sister.” His answer was simple and his voice had no emotion.
My eyebrows pull together in confusion, “Had?”
“Yeah.”
“What happened?”
“None of your business.” Now his voice had a sense of anger hiding in it.
“Oh...sorry for asking.”
We were done with our food. I stare down at the wrapper and bite my lower lip. So many questions were forming in my head. I wanted to ask everything but I held back for the time being. Jason crumpled up his trash and got up to dispose of it. I do the same and Jason’s buys us both a bottle of water before we leave. This silence was different from the others. There was negative energy now floating around in Jason and I’s atmosphere. I was more than upset with myself but then again, how was I supposed to know that that question was a touchy subject?
In the car, we sit for a moment and Jason pulls out a cigarette from the pack in his pocket. He places it in his mouth and slides a lighter out of his pocket as well. I sit silently, like a child waiting to be taken off of time out. Jason lights the cigarette and takes a drag of it, releasing the smoke towards the steering wheel.
“Are we--nevermind.” I shake my head and shut my mouth, staring out the window.
“Say it.”
“No, I ask too many questions.” I sigh shamefully, “Just forget it.”
“Fucking say it!” He urges, voice rising to a deathly tone, “I hate when people do that shit.”
I gulp, “I was just going to ask if we were going to your house but then I remembered that I told my parents I’d only be gone for an hour. That’s normally how long I stay at Kira’s...”
Jason considers for a moment, lifting his chin to exhale smoke upwards. “Anything else?”
“What?” His question caught me off guard.
“Anything else you want to ask me?”
“Sort of...” My voice was low from how nervous I was beginning to get.
He tosses the cigarette butt out onto the sidewalk. Once he allowed the rest of the smoke to spill out of his mouth, he starts the car, drives out of the parking lot, and onto the road.
“So is Ace like your best friend?”
“Yeah and Brody too.”
“That’s cool, so they’re like childhood friends?”
“No, I’ve only known them for a couple months but we’ve grown close.” He explains, “I trust them.”
“Scarlett too?”
“Yep.” He says, popping the ‘P’.
Jason pulls up in front of my house and for the sake of my parents not wandering out and spotting me in this car I ask him to park further up and I’d just walk back. Without argument, he drives up closer to the end of the block, far enough so that the fence which separated my house from the neighbors was blocking the view of his car.
“Thanks.” I smile at him and grab the handle of the car door, “I’ll text you later.”
“Oh shit, hold on.” Jason says when I open the door.
My heart fluttered and fell from the center of my chest, into my stomach. I turn around and look at him and notice that he was reaching in the back seats for something. I look back and see a bag, he grabs it and brings it forward.
“You forgot this last time we were together.” He smirks at me, placing the bag into my hands.
“Oh right.” I laugh at my dumbfoundedness, “Sorry.”
I sit for a moment, expecting something more but nothing happens. He makes no sudden moves to kiss me, or even say goodbye. So before the silence dragged out, I get out of the car and shut the door lightly. It was somewhat disappointing. I don’t know why I expected Jason to try again when I know myself all too well. I’d reject him again and getting rejected once is already bad enough, but twice? Forget about it. I just hope I didn’t annoy him to the point where he just couldn’t wait to get rid of me.
As I walk towards my house, I hear Jason’s car driving off. In the driveway I spot my dad’s car, meaning he got home early for once and I wasn’t looking forward to that at all. Inside, my parents were just finishing an argument. I shut the front door quietly and tiptoe towards the staircase as fast as possible.
“Lea Alana Torres, where the fuck were you?!” My mother appears in the main hallway just as I place my foot on the very first step.
“Uh,” I froze in my tracks and I couldn’t find the words I was looking for.
“Get off the staircase and look at me right now.” I could hear her foot tapping on the floor angrily.
I shut my eyes tightly and lower my leg down to the floor. When I turn around, I open my eyes and look at my mother straight in the eyes. Her hands on her hips, eyes threatening to bestow fire upon me. My father appears now but stands in the threshold which led to the kitchen. His eyes were red, he looked tired and worn out but overall he looked infuriated. I hear footsteps upstairs and know that Lana was standing at the head of the staircase, watching closely.
“Did you hear your mother?” He asks, both of his hands were place behind him. “Answer the fucking question Lea.”
My knees were shaking, “I t-told you I’d be with Kira after school.”
“When did you say this? I don’t remember.” Her voice rises and my dad steps out into the main entrance.
“I did tell you!” I insist.
“Watch your tone.” My dad speaks, staring at me with bloodshot eyes.
I keep my mouth shut. My entire body was shaking and my mom walked towards me, grabbing my jaw. I shut my eyes again and she keeps me in her grip, tightening it. Her nails were digging into either side of my cheek. It was as if she were trying her best to force her fingers to cut through my cheeks and connect inside of my mouth.
“Don’t lie to me Lea.” She hisses and her nails were piercing my skin.
Lana runs down the stairs now, yelling for her to stop and to let me go. My mom snatches her hand away from my face and I know she was trying to hit me but Lana stood in the way of that happening. I grab my face, touching my cheeks which were heated from the pressure my mother put against it. Tears sprang into my eyes and I gathered my things.
“This is why I stopped giving a fuck about your damn apologies!” Lana was yelling while I made my way up the stairs and into my room.
I shut the door and drop everything. All I could hear was Lana bickering back and forth with my mother. Tears roll down my cheeks and I wipe them away, subconsciously touching the nail marks that were imbedded into my skin for the time being. Suddenly, I had wished that I had spent another hour with Jason, even if it meant I’d have more than just marks on my cheeks for a few minutes.
Thinking about Jason didn’t really help the situation either. I had annoyed him the entire time we were out together. I bet he’s not even thinking about me right now, he’s probably looking through his contacts and checking for another girl who’d be less annoying and curious. On top of my thoughts of Jason came Liam and Kira and even Sandrine.
My brain was about to explode from all the thinking I’ve been doing in under twenty-four hours.