RUMOURS
524 Words
The next morning, I woke up hoping yesterday had just been a bad dream.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t.
As soon as I walked into Silverwood High, I could feel it again.
The whispers.
The stares.
Students looked at me, then immediately started talking to their friends.
“Why is everyone staring?” I muttered.
Maya quickly walked up beside me.
“You didn’t hear?”
“Hear what?”
She looked shocked.
“People saw you leaving with Adrian yesterday.”
My stomach dropped.
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope,” she said. “And now the entire school thinks something is going on between you two.”
“Absolutely not,” I said quickly.
“Tell that to the rumors.”
I groaned.
“Perfect. Just perfect.”
We reached our lockers when suddenly a group of girls walked past us.
One of them glanced at me and whispered loudly enough for me to hear.
“So that’s the girl.”
Another one rolled her eyes.
“She’s nothing special.”
I frowned.
“What was that about?”
Maya looked uncomfortable.
“Adrian gets a lot of attention… especially from girls.”
“I noticed.”
“Well,” she said slowly, “they don’t like competition.”
“I’m not competing with anyone.”
Before Maya could answer, a familiar voice spoke behind us.
“She’s right.”
My heart sank.
I turned around slowly.
Adrian.
He was leaning casually against the lockers with his usual confident expression.
Two of his friends stood nearby.
“You’re not competition,” he said calmly.
The girls down the hallway immediately started watching us.
“Good,” I replied. “Because I have zero interest in whatever game you’re playing.”
His gray eyes sparkled with amusement.
“You think this is a game?”
“Isn’t it?”
He pushed himself off the locker and stepped closer.
Close enough that I could see the faint scar near his eyebrow.
“You’re interesting, Lena,” he said quietly.
“That’s not a good thing, is it?”
“For you?” he said with a slight smirk.
“Probably not.”
I crossed my arms.
“Why are you even talking to me?”
Adrian leaned down slightly.
“Because you’re the only person in this school who doesn’t treat me like I’m untouchable.”
“Maybe that’s because I’m not impressed.”
His smile widened.
“I noticed.”
Then he straightened and started walking away.
But before leaving, he glanced back at me.
“Oh, and Lena?”
“What?”
“Try not to believe everything you hear.”
I frowned.
“What does that mean?”
But he was already gone.
Maya stared at me in shock.
“You do realize,” she whispered, “that Adrian Black just called you interesting.”
I sighed.
“Yeah.”
“And that’s bad?” she asked.
I thought about the rumors, the attention, and the way everyone seemed to fear him.
Then I looked down the hallway where he disappeared.
“Trust me,” I said quietly.
“That’s very bad.”
- Writer
