"Charlotte! Oh honey you did so well! During that song- oh, what was it called..."
I tune out as my parents fawn over my sister. The recital was long and kind of seemed to go on for like, ever, but that might just be because I wanted to get back to my book the whole time. I had to stop right in the middle of a chapter, and since I'm nearing the end, it was getting really important. I am thoroughly convinced that was the worst possible place to have stopped in the entire book.
Anyways.
We get back home, have a late dinner, then go to bed. I would call that a disruption to our usual routine, but honestly, I don't think we have one. As I mentioned: chaotic.
I finish my book on the bus to school the next morning. The main character dies.
Fortunately, Jillian gets on the bus shortly after, so I'm not grieving alone (alone, on a bus full of zombified teenagers who haven't gotten coffee yet) for very long. She sees the book sitting in my lap and slides into the seat next to me, putting an arm around my shoulder for comfort. I lean into her, my gaze fixated on the nasty bus floor. She doesn't try to console me, tell me it'll be alright, or get mad at the book, or ask what happened, or anything. She just asks;
"Do you regret reading it?"
And I shake my head, because even though my heart feels completely broken, I'm glad I read it. I'm glad I got to go on that adventure with those characters, enjoy their victories, laugh with them, and cry with them.
"You should read it," I tell her quietly, and she snorts. It's not hard to hear the clear, if that book made you feel like this then there's no way I'm reading it. I smile a little in spite of myself and slip it into my backpack.
-
As usual, dealing with classes while grieving the death of a character (as well as the end of the book) is not necessarily easy. My friends make it a lot better, though. Jillian gets me a dark chocolate Mars bar from the vending machine after first period, and Gabrielle tells me a joke in math ("Hey Theo, what should you feed a baby parabola? Quadratic formula.").
After a few days, it becomes easier to smile again and (as I seem to find myself doing fairly often) I thank the friendship god for giving me such amazing friends. Honestly, they're incredible. Jillian even stays up until eleven thirty with me studying over FaceTime for a math test that I didn't have time to study for earlier (The Chaotic Rose Family Strikes Again: Charlotte Has A Soccer Game The Night Before My Math Test).
Fortunately, math is after lunch, so we review during that as well. I go into the test feeling confident, and come out feeling slightly shaken but not like I failed.
After our last class is dismissed, I go back to my locker to put away my textbooks and get out my hoodie. I slip it over my head, then finger-comb my hair back to its original position, trying to ease out some of the static.
"Hey, Theo-"
There's a hand on my shoulder, and I know Jillian's going to get shocked even before I hear her "Ouch!" and then receive a slap to the shoulder even though the static is technically not my fault. I give her a meek grin as I turn to face her. "Sorry."
She's scowling. "I hate when you wear hoodies. Why can't you just wear a jacket like everyone else?"
"Because it's not cold enough for a jacket."
"Not a parka! Just a thin jacket, or a sweater. Anything but a hoodie. I always get shocked."
"I like hoodies, though."
"You're a horrible person."
"Aww, thanks, love you too." I close my locker and zip up my backpack, and Jillian rolls her eyes at me again.
"Whatever. Ready to go?"
"Yup." We enter the stairwell and I take extra caution, holding onto the railings and taking deliberate steps so I don't trip and get trampled by the crowd of high school students eager to leave.
"How'd you do on the math test?" I ask her as we let ourselves be pushed outside by the stream of people, before we're finally out of the school and starting towards the bus stop.
She sighs. "I don't know. Seemed horrible, but I could have accidentally gotten a bunch of stuff right."
"That's fair. I feel like that's me with a lot of tests."
"Yeah. Oh, speaking of which, have you started studying for the bio quiz on Monday?"
I stop walking, my eyes widening as my stomach plummets with dread. "Oh no! I knew I forgot something!"
"Don't worry, you've got the weekend-"
"No, but I forgot my bio textbook in my locker, too." I huff a little. "Darn, I'm going to miss the bus."
Jillian gives me a sympathetic look. "Don't worry, just go back and get it. Don't rush. You can catch the next one."
It's not surprising that she's telling me not to run. If I tried to make it back to the bus stop on time, I'd almost undoubtedly need stitches. I sigh a little in frustration, then tell her to go without me and start heading back to the school to get my biology textbook from my locker. On the third floor.
Fortunately, it's easier to climb stairs quickly when there aren't hordes of teenagers. I'm still pushing it a little by jogging on the final steps, but I don't trip (miraculously). I jog down the hallway to my locker, mess up the combination twice before getting it right, grab my textbook, put it in my backpack, then start back. I check the time, seeing that I might be able to make it (in one piece) if I just keep jogging at a nice, easy pace. And then I don't have to wait in the cold for a half an hour while I wait for the next bus.
I get to the final flight somehow without dying, and that's when I see someone standing at the bottom. I stop focusing on being careful for a millisecond, and-
I trip.
For a moment, all my brain can register is sheer panic at falling towards the concrete landing, before-
I stop?
Instead of falling against the hard concrete and potentially getting a concussion and/or a broken arm and/or any other number of undesirable injuries, I've fallen into a person's arms.
The person who was standing at the bottom of the stairs, to be precise. Their embrace is warm and tight and strong, and I look up at the person, wide-eyed and awed, without even thinking about it.
And I find myself looking up into the perfect face of Blair Silver.
Immediately, my brain completely shorts out.
I've never been this close to him, and he seems even more perfect from here. Strong jawline, sculpted eyebrows, dark eyelashes, perfect lips (so perfect. So, so perfect), and calm, hooded eyes, staring right at me. A slight smirk is painted onto his face as he holds my gaze. I may spontaneously die of overexposure to coolness.
After what feels like hours of being held in his arms and literally just staring up into his perfect face (I'm not complaining), he smoothly pulls me upwards, and just like that I'm standing upright again (unfortunately no longer with his arms around me).
He's still smirking faintly- a lopsided smirk, with one corner of his mouth pulled up and his one eyebrow lowered slightly over one eye while the other is casually arched.
"You seem to be in a rush."
I almost have a seizure. He spoke to me! And oh my goodness his voice is low and smooth and perfect and-
A rush?
Oh no- the bus.
I check my watch. If I jog all the way there, I might be able to make it. I look back up to him, eyes wide. "Uh, I- yes, right yes, yes rush yes definitely-" I sound like an idiot, stop sounding like an idiot. "Um... thanks you. Thanks you very. Much. Like, for catching me. And you're right, you're super right, like, about me rushing, yeah-"
He looks almost amused. "Go catch your bus."
I gape at him for a moment. "You're smart, too?"
One corner of his perfect mouth curls up at that, like he can't help it, and he looks so perfect and gorgeous and flawless.
And then I turn and run away.
I don't trip again on my way to to the bus stop, but it doesn't do me any good. I watch the bus pull away from the stop as soon as I can see the stop, which is still a good distance away, so there's no point in running. I sigh and walk the remainder of the way to the bus stop and shove my hands into my hoodie pockets as I prepare to wait the long, cold half an hour until the next bus gets here. I wouldn't have missed the bus if I hadn't tripped on the stairs, or spent so long stuttering my way through a conversation with Blair Silver. But all I can think is that it was worth it.
I'm currently thinking I'll shoot to upload twice a week: every Wednesday, and then on the weekend as well. If that ends up working well, I'll stick to it :)
What are your thoughts on the story so far? What do you think of Theo's friends? How about his family? And Theo forgetting his textbook and then falling directly into Blair Silver's arms? Let me know in the comments!
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