HATE FALL LOVE

Chapter 7

[BRIANNA's POV]

"Good morning," I greeted a little late, and Dad simply gave me a tight smile before turning his attention back to the newspaper he was reading. Mom kept herself busy walking around the kitchen counter, trying to avoid my curious glances. It was pretty obvious there was really something here. But I did not dare to say anything. I just kept silent until the breakfast was over and I had to share the ride with Dad on my way to school.

As soon as Dad pulled right in front of the campus, he looked at me from the driver's seat and said, "Have fun."

That was what he would always say every time he would drop me off, and I did the same response to him by answering, "Yeah. Drive safe to work, Dad."

I closed the car door as soon as I got out and watched until Dad pulled away and drove straight down the road. I waited for a few more seconds, just standing by the sidewalk, contemplating if I should go inside the school right away. And while I was still thinking about it, the sound of Jess eventually calling me out from the distance immediately pulled me out of the thoughts.

"Hey!" she said as soon as she caught up with me and she stopped beside me, wearing a delighted smile on her face. She looked extremely in the mood and I found that strange, considering that she wasn't really a morning person. I looked at her with a frown on my face and found myself slyly chuckling upon seeing her agitation.

"What?" she quickly questioned when she noticed my incredulous expression. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"What happened?" I asked her back, smirking as we started to walk our way into the school grounds, "You seemed like you finally woke up at the right side of your bed."

"Well... where do I even start?" Jess mused, looking like she was walking on cloud nine, and I was startled when I heard her laughing all of a sudden. I did a double-take as she slung an arm across my shoulders and told me, "Remember that guy who brought me home last Friday?"

I stopped as soon as I heard her mention that. This was all too wrong. Why did she sound like she likes that guy? Was this for real? She never showed any kind of interest in any other guy other than her first love... So why all of a sudden?

Jess looked at me worriedly as she halted in her tracks and raised a brow, uttering, "What's wrong?"

I stared at her with a grim face and warned, "Don't ever associate yourself with that guy again, Jess."

But Jess just gave me a disagreeable scowl and asked, "Why?"

She sounded displeased, and I found that really concerning, so I took a deep breath and admitted, "He's a friend of Kent. Didn't he tell you who he was that night?"

Jess drew out a breath, crossing her arms over her shoulders as she confirmed, "I already know."

"What?" This time, I was the one sounding quite displeased at her answer. "Then you know he's trouble, right?"

"I don't know, Bree. He doesn't really look that way... And he was really nice to me," Jess defended back, and I could feel lips parting in shock when she said that. I stared at her in utter astonishment.

"Don't tell me..." I trailed off, feeling even more worried about finishing that thought as I watched the way her eyes sparkled while she thought of that guy. She can't possibly be...

"Stop," Jess suddenly put a palm up in front of my face, trying to stop me from overthinking about it.

"Hold that thought," she said.

"I haven't reached that point yet, okay?" She continued, trying to make that point clear so I would understand. But seriously, it already looked that way to me. "I'm just curious about him. But I already know it's not going to work out... So, just bear with me here, Bree. It's not like I've really fallen in love."

"You can't ever fall in love with him," I quickly told her in a harsh whisper as I leaned forward and pulled her arm. "Promise me you won't, Jess!"

Jess paused and just looked into my eyes after hearing my persistent favor, and eventually, she gave me a soft smile as she chuckled and replied, "I won't. Don't worry, Bree. I will not let it happen."

"Good." I stepped back and slowly sighed in relief as I closed my eyes for a second. Then, after a moment, I turned to look at Jess again and said, "No matter what happens, you must never do it. I don't want you to get hurt."

She knew about my feelings for Kent and she knew that I have been trying to stop myself to further fall deeper. She, out of all people, understood why I was warning her this. Because, after all, Kent and his friends were not the good choices for a girl to trust her heart with.

It would only lead to heartbreak. And that was what I didn't want my friend to go through as well... Since I already knew how painful it is.

When I first walked into class that morning, a strange feeling immediately greeted me and I quickly noticed a suspicious air surrounding the atmosphere. It was definitely different. I can't really tell, but even though no one was really looking at me, I just had a feeling that everybody's eyes were watching me. I anxiously looked around and found some of my classmates whispering to each other in their own groups. Something was totally off, but I didn't know what it was about and why I was feeling like I have something to do with it.

Until it hit me.

That's right. That thing still happened last Friday night. The "incident" between the senior and Kent and how I had caused it. How could I forget? Most of the people at school were there as witnesses.

Though I'm not exactly sure if it was because of that scene, yet I just have a strong hunch that it could definitely be the only plausible reason for the subtle glances shot my way. It didn't really cross my mind either that it could have gone way worse with everyone knowing about it because I was too busy thinking about how to face Kent again the entire weekend. But it seemed like I had inconveniently put myself as the center of the rumors now. They must have been spreading different versions of what really happened that time and knowing how strange gossip could go around school, I already had a feeling that some of it will be exaggerated and completely ridiculous.

After all, it also involved Kent Knight.