He crosses his arms, an amused smirk playing on his face. “I didn’t realize that me mentioning it bothered you so much.”
Sure, he didn’t.
So. Full. Of. It.
“It didn’t bother me,” I lie, tilting my chin up, “I’d just rather focus on right now instead of way back when.”
“Ah,” he responds with a nod, “well, I guess it makes sense that it didn’t bother you…considering you’re the one who broke up with me.”
Focus on right now. Getting caught up in the past won’t do any good. Don’t let him get to you. He’s just being Brayden. You’re over him.
“I’m going to be late for class.” I barely get the words out, fully aware that he’s eyeing me expectantly. “But I’m so glad we got all that cleared up. Bye, Brayden.”
I proceed to step around him, then head straight inside.
And if he was the one calling my name, I most definitely acted like I couldn’t hear him.
——————
He keeps looking at me.
Brayden.
I’m surprised Mrs. Flint hasn’t called him out yet for not paying attention. He’s literally been doing it since class started, and it’s driving me crazy.
It’s also bringing back memories of when we used to steal glances at each other during class in middle school. When we were “together.” Before he broke my heart. Before I broke up with him.
Ugh, how dare he make me sound like the bad guy for breaking up with him! He was the one that ruined our relationship.
Not. Me.
Stop thinking about it.
That’s impossible though.
I might be totally over him, but I’m still mad as heck with how things went down between us. Which is stupid. It was middle school, for crying out loud! Why should I be mad about something that happened so long ago?
I know exactly why I’m mad though. I’m still mad because it hurt.
Was I naïve to think Brayden and I were going to be together forever? Yeah, of course. But I didn’t think he’d want another girlfriend so soon. I didn’t think he’d ignore me after I broke up with him. And I definitely didn’t think he’d move away without even saying goodbye.
All of that just hurt so bad.
The bell rings, pulling me out of my inner-monologue, and I scoop my stuff up before making a hasty exit from the classroom. It doesn’t matter though because he catches up with me anyway.
Why won’t he just leave me alone?
“Megan,” Brayden says, moving to stand in front of me, “I think we should talk.”
I force a slight laugh. “Didn’t we just talk before school started?”
Good job, Meg. Keep it light-hearted.
“Well, I called after you when you were going inside,” he drawls, slipping his free hand in his pocket, “but I guess you didn’t hear me…unless you were just ignoring me.”
He gives me a knowing look, but I refuse to confirm his accurate suspicions. “What is it, Brayden? What did you want to say? Because I don’t have time for this.”
“Relax, Feisty,” he tsks, shaking his head, “I’m not—”
I can’t hear the rest of his words though as I step around him and continue walking down the hallway.
The nerve…
“Where are you going?” he asks, coming beside me once again. “I thought we were going to talk?”
“I’ve told you several times to stop calling me that,” I snap, not bothering to look at him, “and you keep doing it anyway!”
“I’m just teasing you, Meg,” he replies in his typical laidback manner, “it’s supposed to be funny.”
“It’s not funny!” I hiss, turning to face him. “It’s annoying! Do you see me laughing? No. Why? Because it’s not funny!”
I am so sick of him treating everything like a joke.
Instead of saying anything, he just silently stands there, his hazel eyes shifting as they watch me—which is even more annoying.
“What?” I ask with a curse. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I—” He stops and licks his lips, which doesn’t have any effect on me…at all. “Can we start over?”
Wait, what?
“Uh…” I trail off, unsure of how I should respond. “I don’t understand.”
“I know you’ve been pretty mad at me ever since you brought that blueberry bread to my house,” he says with a brief shrug, “especially after you realized who I was, but if we’re gonna be friends—I think starting over is a good idea.” He takes a step closer to me. “So, how ’bout it, Meg?”
Deep down, I feel like there should be something shady about this. He does look really sincere though…
Ugh, I hate making decisions like this!
“Okay,” I find myself telling him, “we can start over.”
He starts to say something, but I hold a finger up. “Except, we’re not doing the whole ‘re-introduce ourselves’ thing, that’s just weird.”
“Agreed,” he replies, that sexy laugh of his making an appearance. “Well, I guess I’ll see you at lunch then?”
Right. Because I’m supposed to be okay with us hanging out and making small talk.
“Yep,” I drawl, failing to sound excited, “I’ll see you at lunch.”
If I don’t completely lose my mind before then.
Chapter 13: Keeping Tabs
Oddly enough, we didn’t see each other at lunch.
As a matter of fact, I don’t think Brayden ever came into the cafeteria—not that I was looking for him, because I wasn’t.
Okay, fine. Maybe I was.
But only so I could prepare myself!
I’m just glad Lora was too busy with studying that she didn’t notice my frantic head-turning. Yeah, she actually used her lunch period for schoolwork. Sure, we chatted a little bit, but she was pretty set on getting extra study time in. And I know exactly why.
She’s already sick of having Holt as her tutor.
The more she studies, the sooner she can
