Our Roundabout Love

11

Hope POV

I woke up with a weird feeling hanging over me but decided to brush it off, like I normally do with everything. I do my morning routine then I get outside to see Leo standing in front of his car. I look around and my car is gone. What the hell. Now that I think about it Cooper never told me to hurry up this morning. I look over again to see Leo leaning against his car smiling at me. I can only guess because he saw my whole moment of being confused and from what I gather he likes when I'm puzzled.

On another note the morning light made his muscles look so defined and he wasn't by any means a gym freak he was more slim and toned in all the right places. He just looked impeccable. As I look him over I see he was wearing black jeans and another band tee this one was Pink Floyd. He gestures for me to come over to him so I do. Curious as what the day has in store for me

"Where's my brother?" He leaned off his car and came closer to me, staring right into my eyes. This moment seemed intense for no reason. I was expecting him to say my brother died the way he was staring at me.

"He told me to take you to school." I look at him questionably. My brother knows that's a bad idea so the next time I see him he will be getting a fistful. Leo simply shrugged and opened my door. He walks away right after doing so. I find myself staring at his back with a tad disbelief. I quickly shake it off and get in. I didn't put on my seatbelt because as I tried to do so but it locked up on me and decided that it would be better to not try again. He starts the car and puts his arm over my seat to reverse. I sneaked a peak at his flexing arms and to have them this close was pleasant.

"Why are you blushing?" I snapped back into reality and saw him not even looking at me, what an i***t, yes I was blushing but I think he was just messing with me. What he needs to do is focus on reversing without looking so smug with an unnecessary smirk on his stupidly attractive face.

"I'm not." He shakes his head which tells me that he is dropping the conversation. I was glad. I didn't need this i***t knowing that the bare minimum made me blush. I don't think a guy has ever opened the door for me. Granted the guys I am normally with are douche bags but it still was a big deal that any guy went out of there way to hold the door open.

Leo kept talking with no topic in mind just jumping all over the place really but he wasn't entertaining me. No offense towards him I just found myself spacing out more than actually listening to him. I was more interested in the fact that he was so pleasing to look at. I wonder if the girls in his class all hit on him or is he the oblivious type. No, he's not, I can tell by the way he carries himself that he knew he was attractive. Cocky bastard.

"You're being weird."

"If by weird you mean quiet then yeah, I'm just tired." I lied but not really, it took me a while to wake up. And normally my brain just zones in on one thing and today it's this pestiferous boy. He shook his head and started to vigorously run his fingers through my hair as if to wake me up. I immediately moved, swatting his hand away.

"Are you thinking about the kiss thing? Don't you worry. You can lay one on me whenever it's gorgeous." In this moment I wanted us to crash. I had totally forgotten about it. Ugh my brain around him past nine is a no go from now on and the conversation last night was also rushing to my brain.

"Whatever dreamboat." I murmur sarcastically. I'm filled with joy as I see my usual corner so I start picking up my things off the car floor ready to get out. "Bye"

"You know I'm not going to drop you off there." His tone was far different from his usual joking one. it was more serious and nonchalant. I looked at the corner and just stared at it until it was out of my vision. There has never been a day I was not dropped off at that corner. I started to feel like a p********e that owned that corner.

"Why?" He didn't answer, which is one of those things I hated the most about him. "You realize that I'm a problem causer right?"

"I don't care, I think your brother dropping you off is wrong and I already sit with you at lunch and that doesn't cause me problems." I shake my head and shift my body to face him. He was missing the point by a lot and I needed him to understand the validity of this situation he was about to put himself in.

"Okay, the guys who have dropped me off at school in the past I have slept with all of them, that's what it means when you drop me off at school. That I had s*x with you. Cooper isn't being mean he just doesn't want to be accused of f*****g his sister." He stopped at a stop sign and faced me for a long time but just when I thought I would finally break this whole nice guy thing he just shrugged at me like what I said didn't matter. "You're hopeless." I say laughing pitifully into my hands

"I don't care if people assume things about me. And from what I gather neither do you but, if you don't want to then I'll drop you off here because I realize this will affect you more than me, so I will respect whatever decisions you make."

"Do what you want Fretz." I mumbled looking out the window but, I do however try to catch a glimpse of him out of the corner of my eye and I just see him smiling like a kid in the candy store. It was times like this where I wanted to just punch him and I don't know why. Maybe it's because he is too nice or too understanding and that annoys me. "Most people care that I'm a slut why don't you?"

"The people you have messed with in the past don't affect me. And sleeping around doesn't make you a slut it makes you sexually active and that doesn't limit you to one person." I rolled my eyes at how perfect his answer was. Typical.

"So sleeping with fourteen guys doesn't make someone a slut." I dead panned looking at him expecting a reaction from my words that would make anyone I've ever met look at me twice, but he didn't bat an eye, make a face of disgust or turn his nose up at me like I was expecting. He just smiled and shook his head.

"I have slept with girls who can double that number so you're doing some light work and I still wouldn't call them derogatory names. I would love to meet the fourteen guys though, maybe get some pointers." I cracked a smile and laughed at his s****l antics. What a f*****g dork. He pulled into the parking lot after saying that and I hate to admit it but it was a really sweet thing to say. Why did I find that so reassuring and attractive? It's like he knew exactly what to say to get my head to stop turning like a windmill.

"Always trying to flirt with me, dork." I say trying to shake off the fact that he got to me.

"You haven't seen me flirt, Hope, not even close." He's just pulling all the punches today because I felt myself just melt into that stare again. That dominant stare that was begging me to push him over the edge, making the s****l tension in this car so dense that it couldn't be cut with a knife actually not even a chainsaw bearing its chains could slice through it but I had to, I wasn't going to lose to Prince Charming. Not in a million years.

"Did you do that homework assignment you were telling me about?" That sexy gaze in his eyes softened to the light hearted one I was used to and he laughed replying with a simple yes and getting out the car, going around the front to open mine for me. There are those dumb emotions again. But they quickly turn off when I remember where we are. That I'm at school and instead of fourteen guys I'll be accused of sleeping with fifty one now.

He leans into the car hovering right over me "You ready?"

"No."

For some reason he looked shocked at my answer but his eyes went from wide to normal with a kind of look that made him look so delicate in fact it made me feel delicate. "Come on, show me that hard exterior, show me the Hope that doesn't give a shit." I smirked at him and realized that he was right. I'm the same b***h that can spit it right back at them no matter what they throw at me. I pushed him back, stepping out of the car.

"Let's go." The walk to the building was uneventful but it was hard to ignore the stares we were getting were unfathomable. I could see it in just the way these lowlifes were looking at us that they assumed I slept with him. For some reason this sucked more than the other times I had gotten out of the car with guys because Leo was truly just a guy that I hung around with and I didn’t want to bring him down with me. I looked up at him and he looked unbothered in the least.

“What’s wrong Cinderella?” I rolled my eyes. My previous thought seeming stupid now. He’s just fine and for some reason this reassured me that I would be fine too. Soon the eyes became irrelevant and the murmur of their harsh words couldn’t reach my ears. The boy next to me got rid of them because he was all I could focus on.

This feeling that I get when he’s around is dangerous