Crossroads: Book 1

Chapter 7

Elena

As soon as the bell rings, like the past two days in human biology, I can't get out of the room fast enough. Whenever he can in this class, Mike keeps making jokes that cause me to blush - every darn time!

At my locker, I switch out notebooks and head to English Literature. Astonishingly, I'm finally able to do all of this without Mike hovering. Why is he acting so protective of me?

I walk into English Lit and see Declan. As he notices me, he smiles and waves. The classroom has three horseshoe-shaped rows of tables and chairs. The smaller row in front - direct view of the podium, with the biggest row at the back, I make my way to the familiar second row. Padding my way over to him, I take a seat between him and another boy who has yet to acknowledge my presence. I've tried introducing myself before, but he only looks at me without expression then turns back to the book he's been reading.

"Hey, how are you settling in?" Declan smiles.

"Pretty well, I guess, thanks," I tell him.

"What do you think of Georgia so far?"

Hmm. So far, it's interesting. Mike sure keeps me on my toes, and no matter how much I try to avoid him, he's always there.

I gulp down the drama that's found its way into my life and say, "It's nice. I love the warm weather."

"I bet." He straightens his spine a bit. "How do you like this class?"

"I'm not sure. Mr. Sullivan seems nice," I say as I inhale the scent of ocean breeze coming from somewhere in the room.

Two days isn't enough time to decide on whether I'll enjoy the class or not, but so far, it seems okay.

"Hey, what's up with that guy that keeps following you around and brings you to school, is he like your boyfriend or brother or something?" his voice is quiet as not to gain attention from anyone.

"No, no, he's neither, and I don't have a boyfriend." I nod my head; why did I have to say the latter? "He's my neighbor, actually," I finish.

"Oh...that's weird," he states.

I nod my head again. "Yep," I say, popping the 'p.'

"Well, hey, if he isn't your boyfriend, would it be okay if I asked you out sometime?" He squeezes his hands together on the desk while leaning into me slightly.

I can feel my cheeks turning pink. I have never been asked out before. So, this is what it feels like. My heart is racing, my palms are sweaty, and my mind is trying to tell my mouth to say something, anything. "Yes!" I finally blurt out. Was that too desperate? "I mean, yeah, that would be fine."

I smile at him, and he smiles back at me. It's a beautiful moment until I hear a deep clearing of someone's throat. My eyes dart around to figure out where the noise came from. I could have sworn I saw Declan glare at someone behind me for a second before he smiles at me then attends to the book in front of him. My chair jolts forward from a force, so I turn around to look at the person behind me for being rude in kicking my chair only to find Mike. He's sitting at a table directly behind me. When did he show up? He has a scolding stare at the back of Declan's head.

"Will you chill out?" I whisper with annoyance as chatter begins to erupt in the room as we wait for the teacher to arrive. His eyes dart to me, and they soften.

Mike leans over his desk and speaks low. "You're not seriously going to go out with him, are you?" he doesn't sound very happy. I am thankful that the rest of the class has drowned our conversation with their own voices, so Declan can't easily hear.

"Maybe. Not that it concerns you." I whip myself back around to face the front of the class. As if on cue, the teacher is standing in front of us all, cutting off whatever comment Mike was going make.

"Hello, class, let's dive right into it, shall we?" We begin to discuss Lord of the Flies as the teacher hands me a book.

At the end of class, this time, Mike gets up and leaves right away. I decide to take my time with Declan. Why would my neighbor even care so much if I wanted to spend time with Declan or not? It's not like Mike wants to ask me out anytime soon.

I can't believe I got asked out in my first couple of days here...

Why do I have to be his only friend? It's a good thing he's crazy attractive; his attitude could use an adjustment, though. Unfortunately, guilt will settle in if I blow him off - all because my dad wants me to be nice to him.

Declan and I exchange phone numbers before he walks out ahead of me. I can't help but smile as I step into the hallway– only for it to be wiped off by Mike, who decided to hide in the shadows to jump out at me, causing a small scream to escape. I smack him in the chest for the scare on reflex.

"Don't do that!" I screech.

He puts his hands up in surrender. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help it. So, you're gonna date Derrick, huh?" he sounds bitter. Why is he acting like this? Has he been eavesdropping?

I straighten up my shoulders and bring my chin up high. "His name is Declan, and yes, maybe. Whenever he'll ask me."

With a couple of long strides, he stands in front of me, causing my body to stumble to a stop before him.

He shakes his head. "I don't think that's a good idea. I don't trust him" He is very stern about it. He stands shoulder-width apart, crossing his arms over his chest to block my exit down the hall.

My eyes nearly bug out. "Excuse me?" I am stunned. I barely know this man, my neighbor, and he's acting like he's a jealous ex-boyfriend or something. I can't put my finger on it, but he's pissing me off, and if I wasn't so livid, I think I might actually be a little frightened. "I don't care if you don't trust him, you don't need to trust him, I need to trust him. So far, he hasn't given me any reason not to. Besides, it could be days, weeks even until he actually asks me. I'll have time to get to know him."

His jaw clenches as his eyes are fixed on mine, unflinching as they pierce into my soul. "You should care what I think. I can read people, Elena. I read people damn well enough to know that he's trouble. Something about him ain't right. You're not going out with him."

"Well, I think you're just paranoid," I snort, cutting him off while crossing my arms over my chest to mimic him. "Why do you even care so much? We just met two days ago." I challenge.

"I'm your neighbor, Elena. Believe it or not - in a small town like this one - neighbors look out for each other, two days or not. You shouldn't date him; you should stop seeing him. I'm just trying to look out for you," his voice sounds irritated at the end.

He has some nerve telling me what I should and should not be doing for only meeting him mere hours ago. I suddenly realize that I need to get to my next class before the bell rings. The anxiety of being late for Calculus gnaws at me to end this conversation. I'm still not sure I believe him.

I close my eyes for a second and take a deep breath before opening them again.

"I appreciate your concern, Mike. But I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself. A neighbor or not, it doesn't give you the right to meddle in my dating life and tell me who I can and cannot date. It's unacceptable and very immature!" That part may have come out a bit harsh, but I continue. "Besides, you don't have to worry too much. My dad has taught me a few moves if I need to defend myself. We can talk about this later if you want, but I need to get to class – so do you." He takes a deep sigh: his shoulders slump a bit.

"Fine," he states with no emotion as he turns to walk away. Rushing to my locker, I switch out my notebooks and go to my next class.

******

The rest of the day, he keeps his distance. Even at lunch, when Declan keeps me company as he has since my first day, Mike sits two tables away from us instead of the table next to ours, which he's occupied before. He never takes his glaring eyes off me.

The same couple of girls visit him to try and sit at his table, but he politely declines them. Meanwhile, I try not to be rude and pretend to listen to Declan as he comments about the stale cafeteria food.

For some reason, I'm pleased that Mike declines those pestering girls. They're dressed in cheerleading uniforms, skirts that are just way too short, but they can wear them because it's their uniform. Internally, I roll my eyes at how desperate they seem; the girls are rubbing his shoulders and giggling way too loud.

He is in every single one of my classes. I've noticed that he never has any books with him. At the beginning of every class, a teacher tries to hand him a book, and he simply declines. How is he going to do well in these classes without any books?

At the end of the day, he takes me home -again - without saying a word. It's awkward holding onto him on the bike - again, especially while giving me the silent treatment. I can't wait to get away from his cold behavior; even the weather decides to take a chilly turn. The sun was out this morning, but now it's overcast. Hopefully, if it rains, it won't be for too long; I can smell the rain in the air.

When we arrive in his driveway, he turns off his bike. Without saying a word, I quietly remove myself from him and place the helmet on the back seat. He sits there for a minute.

"Are you okay?" the words are hesitant as they leave my lips.

"Yeah. Fine. Just giving you space," he says with a cold bite. That isn't exactly what I wanted. I didn't want him to give me space necessarily; I just wanted him to lighten up.

As I try to explain, the bike roars to life again; he turns behind him to remove the helmet and put it in the saddlebag. I try to shout over the roaring of his bike, "Where are you going?"

He shoots me a daggering glare. "None of your concern." Spinning the wheels, smoke escapes the tire's rubber, and he disappears into the cloudy mist.