I opened my eyes, still feeling rather tired. I looked at the clock in my room to see the time was only three thirty in the morning. I groaned and rolled over to lie on my back, which is when I realized that I was completely naked.

I never slept naked.

I sat up and looked around my room. My clothes were in a heap on the floor, but why? I threw myself out of bed and put on some clothes, but noticed an unfamiliar item on my floor. I hesitantly picked it up; it was a watch – a man’s watch.

Then suddenly, everything that had happened a few hours ago came flooding back to me; Mr Way, Frank and Mikey stopping by for no reason at all, an emotional call from Olivia telling me that Harry had been in a serious accident, me telling everyone to leave, but Mr Way had stayed… And somehow managed to get me to sleep with him.

I dropped the watch from shock – it was HIS watch. I brought my hand to my mouth and ran to my bathroom, releasing the contents into the toilet. I started to cry hard. I wasn’t even sure what I was crying about – was it because my close friend was in the hospital, or because I had sex with my art teacher, the very same teacher who apparently loathed me? Perhaps I was crying for both, but I didn’t know what to do next.

After cleaning myself up, I went downstairs with caution – would he still be here? I wanted to visit Harry and Olivia, but, unfortunately, I would be too distracted to worry about Harry’s health. Instead, I left a message for Olivia, telling her I would stop by in a couple of days, unless there was anything she wanted me to do. I apologised so much for not being there with her.

My hands shook while I sat on the couch; the house appeared to be empty… But I still had no idea what to do now. I wasn’t even going to be seeing him again until after the Christmas break. What would even happen when I do see him?

I hated myself. How could I have let something like that happen? It was so unlike me. Not to mention that Mr Way hated me… and I hated him. Yet… I couldn’t even deny that it was great. Knowing that I had enjoyed it made me hate myself, and the situation even more!

But I couldn’t help thinking about his mouth on mine. He kissed hard, but with so much passion. Kissing had never been like that with my past boyfriend’s. It had been nice and safe with them, but with Mr Way – or Gerard as he wanted me to call him – it was so much better.

Even when we were… together… he was forceful, but caring. It was like he actually wanted me to enjoy myself with him. He held me close to him as I fell asleep on his chest…

By now, paranoia had begun to sink in – what if that was part of his ‘plan’? Maybe he wanted me to feel even more confused about everything.

But would he do that? If he hated me as strongly as I thought he did, would he really use me for sex just to mess with me?

I buried my face in my hands and shook my head, then went back to bed.

.

A couple of weeks had passed since the most confusing day of my life. I still hadn’t found any answers, nor had I heard from Mikey or Frank since that day, which meant I hadn’t seen Gerard either… Calling him by his first name was still weird to me, but after everything it felt wrong to call him Mr Way anymore.

I had been to see Harry a number of times. He was conscious the last time I saw him, but he wouldn’t tell me what had happened to him, though Olivia said something about being mugged. I told them both I would visit again soon, by which time, we all hoped Harry would be back at home, resting.

My parents didn’t change much after their ‘conference’ break. They were still avoiding me, which made for an interesting Christmas day and New Year’s.

I had given up with them. I wasn’t going to find any answers with them – it was Gerard I needed to talk to. I needed to demand answers from him. The thought of seeing him again, however, had my stomach in knots. I didn’t want to talk to him, but at the same time I wanted to know why he was being so awful to me.

So finally, the first day back at school came by, and I had never felt so nervous in my life. When I started my first day here… Well, it was much more nervous than that.

I went in a little earlier than I would normally, because I didn’t want to bump in to any of my friends and explain why I was being distracted. I needed to get this part done now.

I had taken Gerard’s watch with me. All I planned on doing was giving it back – I would confront him another time. I went to his room, and I hoped it was unlocked. I was also hoping he wouldn't even be here yet. I didn't have art today, so there wouldn't have been another time today to do this.

I turned the handle and was relieved to find it unlocked. I stepped inside, hoping no one saw me, and grabbed the watch from my bag and half jogged to Gerard’s desk.

I almost shrieked when I saw him standing on the other side of the room. He had been looking out of the window with his hands in his pockets, but the sound from me caught his attention. I noticed that he didn’t glare at me, but instead looked at me with surprise, “Samantha.”

Not knowing what to do, I panicked and threw the watch at him and ran from his room.

Notes

Okay, so... I've kept you waiting long enough :)