Chapter 5 Five

Chapter 5

One Day Later

Tara drives me to school which is a good thing, I don't think I should be driving if I'm still seeing little green aliens after taking my pain pills.

She arrives at my house twenty minutes before we're expected to be in homeroom. She waits for me to hobble and swing to her car and then she floors the gas pedal all the way, tailgating anything and everything in front of her. The ride is so nerve wrecking, I find myself reaching for the break pedal on my side of the car trying to break for her. Even the aliens are scared!

She drops me off at the front of the school, saving me from unnecessary walking. We say we'll meet back up for lunch. I start feeling anxious knowing I get to see Adam again.

Mrs. Uptite isn't in homeroom yet, my classmates can be heard all the way down the corridor. My eyes collide with Adams before locking on. Butterfly wings tickle my insides the way they do before big competitions. I remind myself he has a girlfriend and break our stare, I work my way towards my desk concentrating on each step.

As I take my seat, I can feel his intense stare burning right through me. Instinctively drawn to face him, I nod a greeting, suddenly too shy to use words. I don't want him thinking I'm ignoring him after all the help he gave me yesterday, it's quite the opposite. I find myself not wanting to stop looking at him. Reprieve from the tension occurs when Mrs. Uptite comes barreling in later than usual. She catches sight of my crutches and motions for me to stay seated during the Anthem and prayer. The aliens are sitting too.

Attendance seems to fly by and the buzzer for first period goes off. I remind myself that he is taken, T. A. K. E. N because I curse that

homeroom is over so quickly and we have to part ways, with such sorrow I add. I glance one last time at him before turning to leave. He is looking at something on his phone. Maybe HE is trying to spend more time in here because I'm here. I hobble out of the classroom first, proud of myself for resisting any and all temptation to spend every last second with him.

Tara and Sierra waited for me at lunch. I take the chair opposite Tara and start eating from her tray. She rolls her eyes, "If you want me to get you food, all you have to do is ASK!"

I laugh, "Thanks, I'll have the same as you." She fakes being annoyed.

Sierra smiles, "I wouldn't be able to use crutches and carry a tray!

Who does she think you are?" Sierra is a cheerleader at our school. She has wavy blond hair that she always wears in braids and the most innocent blue eyes I'd ever seen. She is five foot nothing so she is always the one being thrown in the air during they're cheerleading routines.

"Exactly!" I agree, "Who does she think I am?"

Carter, my exact definition of tall and lanky sneaks up on Sierra covering her eyes. I didn't see what Tara finds attractive in him. I guess I have to know the guy to get it. Tara frequently comments 'I would suck his dick' just to explain how cute he is, but being Sierra's friend, it's totally uncool.

Carter doesn't do anything for me with the exception of his smile, that's nice. His blond hair and green eyes barely distract me from the blemishes the size of moon craters on his face. He gives the word acne a whole new meaning. I can only find one good reason to suck his dick, and that is to stop myself from looking at his face.

She reaches behind her feeling him up and says, "Carter!" He kisses her before helping himself to the chair next to her. I look over to see where Tara is in line, and that's when I start tripping out. ADAM is walking towards us carrying his tray of food. He helps himself to a seat directly across from me, nodding shyly once in my direction before addressing his best friend who is sitting next to him, "Carter."

Tara is heading back to our table, and I catch the wink she sent me

from across the cafeteria. She lays the tray in front of me and then rejoins us. I sit quietly and listen to the play-by-play details of Carter and Adam's last basketball game against Bishop Strachan High School. I catch myself wanting to look at Adam, but I stop myself on more than one occasion.

Whenever I weaken and sneak a peek, I catch him always looking back at me. Once I found him staring passed me and I sensed someone standing behind me. My eyes shifted to Tara who looks at me and says, "Hi Harper."

I turned around to find this beautiful girl standing behind me. Her auburn hair is smooth and silky, catching the light at almost every angle, a shoe in for hair commercials. Her eyes, aren't as perfect because right now they are black with anger. She is holding her books to her chest and tapping her foot impatiently on the ground, "Adam, outside now!" she orders turning around and storming away.

Carter looks at Adam, "When are you going to stop taking shit from her? 'Adam, outside now,'" he mimics.

Adam doesn't budge. His eyes search mine like he's looking for an answer, "You better go," I encourage. He collects his books angrily and goes after her.