As I stepped out of the car the next day, I was aware of a set of eyes on me. I said goodbye to my mum before she sped off towards the hospital and then spun around to see Dean Stainton leering at me from the school steps. I ignored his attempts to attract my attention, instead concentrating on trudging through the quickly melting slush.

***

“One more time, girls!” Ebony shouted over our heads in lunchtime practice. As it wasn't raining or snowing, she’d decided it was time to take practice outside, much to the dismay of most everyone. I felt the familiar tug of cold muscles being stretched as I kicked my leg up into a Scorpion. I tried to smile through the pain as we skipped and jumped our way through our routine.

The grounds around us were littered with students relaxing during their break. As I was heaved into the air for a second time, I caught a fleeting glimpse of hazel eyes under a mop of black hair before I was spun in the opposite direction. When I’d finished spinning in the air, I looked for those eyes again, but they were nowhere to be found.

“Okay guys, that was pretty good. I'll see you all tomorrow night!” Ebony called as we ended our routine. The cold must have gotten to her brain - getting compliments from Ebony was like getting blood from a stone.

In the changing rooms, I didn't even bother change my clothes. I reached for my blue 'Belleville’ pullover and eagerly slipped it over my head, leaving my skirt to stick out of the bottom. Many of the cheerleaders had done the same thing, deeming it too cold to undress and redress themselves.

I left the gym with Taylor babbling about how awesome Saturday night would be. Charlotte, Ebony and her two cronies joined us soon after. Ebony shot me an evil glare - she was still mad that I'd stopped the fight between the footballers and Gerard. I'd spun her some story about how I hated fighting and how Gerard wasn't worth it anyway. Whether she bought it or not, I didn't know.

When I entered the cafeteria, I saw Gerard in the corner. I glanced at him long enough for him to respond with a wink, then looked away quickly, a blush creeping into my cheeks. Self conscious, I pulled my skirt down a little, unable to hide the smirk that had appeared on my face. Taylor stopped talking briefly and looked at me quizzically, then shrugged and continued with what she was saying.

The bell soon signalled the end of lunch and the students began filing away to their various classes. For me, this meant spending time with my most favourite of teachers - Mr Boucher. As I entered the dull, unadorned classroom, I gave a quick nod to Eve - who returned it politely - and flopped down into my seat in the centre of the room. Boucher came in then, late and looking flustered.

“Today I, er, want you to get into pairs,” he blustered. I immediately began looking around for a spare person to pair up with. When I saw everyone was present, I smiled a little. Grabbing my stuff, I pushed myself out of my chair and idled over to the back of the classroom.

“You’re supposed to hate me, remember?” I muttered as I sat down, and Gerard dropped his smirk into a scowl.

We got to work on our French, hissing it through gritted teeth and glaring at each other. All the while we passed a small piece of paper between us, conversing civilly through the words written on it.

Could you come back to mine tonight?

I pushed the note towards him, angrily reciting the list of companion animals in front of me. As he read my message, I watched him nervously. Finally, he scribbled an answer and threw the paper towards me.

Sure, but why?

I started on my reply whilst Gerard struggled with the pronunciation of almost every word he spoke.

We need to talk about what happened yesterday.

He sighed when he read my response. I was, of course, talking about the kiss. It was the first time I'd really thought about it since it happened; I'd been keeping myself busy and keeping my mind on other things. It made me feel uneasy that neither of us pulled away, and what made it more uncomfortable was the fact that I was glad about it.

I quickly read Gerard’s response - ok - and began to pack away, just in time for the bell to ring.

Charlotte waved at me as I entered my last class.

“One more day, Evie,” she said happily. The only time I ever saw Charlotte awake and attentive in school was at the end of the week. We would often sit and discuss how excited we were for Friday afternoon, our excitement building as we bounced it off one another.

“I'll be glad when it's over,” I sighed weakly, flopping into the seat next to her.

“I know how you feel.” No she didn't. To Charlotte, my week had just been like everyone else’s - a bit dull but nothing to comment on. In fact, my week had been a chaotic rollercoaster ride that needed to end soon or I would probably vomit.

“So, for Taylor's party -" she began her planning, but I cut her off.

“It's a sleepover Charlotte, not a party...”

“Yeah that. Anyway, I've got huge box of booze that needs drinking,” she grinned at me. I laughed; Charlotte was always collecting bottles of alcohol. Her mum would send her to parties with them and she'd forget to drink them, leaving them in her bag. She’d get home and store them away ’for a rainy day’.

Halfway through our plans for the sleepover, my phone buzzed in my lap. I quickly glanced at it under the table, making sure the teacher was preoccupied.

“Who’s that?” Charlotte asked, peering over.

“Oh, just my mum,” I lied, opening Gerard’s text.

Pick u up outside the park at the end of school?

My thumbs darted across the screen as I quickly typed out my reply. When my phone screen was locked and my eyes were back above the table, we continued our sleepover plans.

At the end of school, I deliberately took a while to pack my books away. Charlotte left me after a few minutes, saying she needed to go as her mum was picking her up. I ambled into the corridor after the mass of homeward bound students, taking my time along the corridors towards my locker. Once there, I piled my books in neatly, closing the door and finding Dean Stainton leaning casually against the metal.

I sighed irritably and asked, “what do you want, Dean?”

He deliberated for a moment, smirking as the cogs in his brain slowly began to grind into action.
“I want,” he began slowly, casting - almost nervous - glances at me, “you...to sleep...with me.”

I stared at him, mouth slightly open. I was dumbstruck at his bold request, but I quickly regained my composure and gave him a pitiful scoff, pushing past him. He easily kept up with my pace.

“Why would I sleep with a piece of scum like you?” I said in the most polite voice I could muster in this situation.

“Well...” I could hear the smirk in his voice. His confidence sickened me. “If you want to keep that...thing between you and Emo Way a secret...”

I stopped dead and spun to face him. “What?”

He chuckled, dropping his dumb demeanour and replacing it with his usual sickeningly suave one.

“I saw you helping him last night,” he said close to my ear. All I could do was stare wide-eyed at him. “But don't worry,” he straightened up and grinned at me, “I’ll keep your little secret if you give me want I want.”

“There is no ’little secret’,” I tried, helplessly, to lie, but I knew it wouldn't do any good.

“That may be so,” he crowed, “but I'll be watching you to make sure there isn't anything going on.”

He turned away from me then, stalking down the empty corridor. Before he reached the door, he turned back to me with a smirk on his face. “I'll let you know when I...need you.” And then he was gone.

For a long while I stared dumbly at the door he had left through. I felt my heart beating in my throat and my hands were slick with a nervous perspiration. A buzz in my pocket brought me out of my stupor.

I scooped my phone out of my kangaroo pocket and looked at the lit up screen. One name flashed across it and my face crumpled at the sight. Slowly, reluctantly, I forced myself to press the ignore button and slipped the device back into my pocket.

Squaring my shoulders, I walked out of the school. Dean was watching me nearby, but I didn't gave him the satisfaction of seeing me vulnerable. I smothered my urge to cry and prepared myself for the long, lonely walk home in the cold.

Notes

As promised, here is the next instalment. Enjoy.