Chapter 2: Chapter 2

I was overreacting

As I sat in class, I thought on and on about my meeting with Jesse.

He was a natural born flirt, which wasn’t odd considering how many girls he had crawling at his feet, but I realized that he didn’t shine up to that by in any way offering me to take the crying girl’s place with him in the janitor’s closet. He had only asked to help me with my stuff. Not that I would have said yes to the offer anyway, but still. I shouldn’t be so hectic over something that probably didn’t even mean anything.

I bit my lip and sank back in my seat.

Or maybe I could be wrong?

No. I decided. I’m right. I have to be right.

Once the bell signaled the end of the period, I gathered my belongings and walked out alongside Katrina. When she waved farewell and headed off to catch her bus, I huffed at the weight of my textbooks, and made a quick stop at my locker before I could head to my car to leave.

Opening up the cheap, iron door and tossing in the textbooks I didn’t need anymore, I suddenly caught sight of the aged mirror stuck on the door with a cheap magnet on the backside. I hadn’t removed it since my freshman year, so I wasn’t surprised that my reflection in the glass seemed as if I were shrouded in smoke.

I could see my brown hair in it though, and smoothed it out when I noticed strands falling in my face. As I pushed them aside, I noticed the mirror was also showing that my eyes were dark, but I knew they were really a brown-green shade, a hazel color that I had inherited from my grandfather.

I attempted to wipe the mirror with the sleeve of my shirt so that I could see myself clearly.

Then, just as I began to smile at how clean I’d made it—and practically out of nowhere—there was suddenly someone else in the mirror.

Now, I was no physics major, but I know I jumped a good foot in the air when I saw another person in it aside from me. Not to mention I practically yelled like a vulture in surprise, which was kind of embarrassing, but irrelevant when I realized that the face belonged to Jesse. Annoyance settled over me at the sight, just like it had before.

Well, maybe I had been wrong about his intentions after all.

Before Jesse could even begin to talk, I slammed my locker shut—mentally grimacing when I heard a loud clatter of things falling inside—before whipping around to stare him down. “What the hell do you want?” I demanded.

He raised his hands in what looked like a peace offering. “Whoa—hey, I wasn’t doing anything! I just wanted to help you out with your stuff.”

I remained still, glancing around uneasily. “Why?”

“I just want to help.”

“Yeah, I got that, but why?”

“Because…” He gave me a look that made me feel as though I looked crazed. “You look like you can use it?”

Just as I opened my mouth to reject his offer again, a whimper and a gasp cut me off, and I turned over my shoulder to find the source. Sure enough, I caught the eye of the girl in my class who had stormed out of the closet earlier. After bypassing Jesse and I, she started up with the whimpering again, disappearing down the hall while her friends reassuringly patted her back and whispered things like it’s going to be okay and it’s his loss.

Jesse rolled his eyes at the sight, unfazed by her, and then looked back to me—and so help me, he smiled.

I shook my head and resisted the urge to scrunch up my face in disgust, and instead hoisted my bag higher on my shoulder and gave Jesse a tight, forced smile. “I don’t know if you realized this or not,” I told him. “But I came to my locker in the first place to put my things away so that carrying them to my car won’t give me trouble. So no, I don’t need any help.” I decided to be civil for a split second and added, “But thanks.”

I turned on my heel then, and left him standing at my locker for a second time. As I walked, I began to pick up my pace, highly considering just sprinting to my car. With the halls clearing out fast, it wasn’t like I had to worry about running into anyone—except maybe the few people who had halted their departure to actually stop and stare at Jesse and I. I couldn’t really blame them though, since slamming my locker so loud seemed to spur up an audience.

Which was why it was quiet as they watched, making Jesse’s next words easy for me to hear.

“You’re stubborn,” he commented. I looked back at him, only to see he had leaned back against my locker, studying me with his arms crossed. “But I like you,” he continued. “You’re cute.”

There were a million replies that I considered using, although none of which were profanity free. Trying to compose myself, and through gritted teeth, I kept it PG rated and said, “I don’t need you telling me that.”

He smiled then, one of those dazzling smiles that I narrowed my eyes at. I remained watching him as he pushed away from my locker and made his way toward me.

I couldn’t help but note that Jesse wasn’t built like a boxer or probably wasn’t as agile as a soccer player, but the one thing he had going for him was his height, and the way he seemed to use that to his advantage now. I was closer to his height than most girls, but even when he looked at me it was rocket science how he managed to make his dark hair fall in his eyes even when he wasn’t looking down.

His blue eyes shone brightly as he regarded me, and I couldn’t help the scowl forming on my face.

“So is your friend,” he went on, ignoring my response. “Now, what was her name again? Katherine? Kaylie? Karen—?”

“Katrina.”

“Oh—yeah, right.” There was something in his voice that made me believe he had never even seen Katrina. “You don’t happen to have her…” His eyes slowly raked down from the collar of my shirt to the laces of my shoes. “…number on you, do you?”

My fist clenched. “For what?”

His gaze snapped back up to meet mine. “What else? To call her of course.”

“Why?”

“So I could ask her out.”

“And go where?” I didn’t have the patience to include, “A restaurant or your room?”

Jesse tilted his head at my answer regardless, suddenly looking amused. “What’s with the questions? You’re not jealous that I’m asking for her instead of you, are you?”

Images of hurling him into a locker flashed through my mind, but I only scoffed at his implication instead. “I just don’t want my best friend settling for someone like you.”

The cool resolve faded, replaced by what looked like surprise. “Someone like me?” he repeated.

“Yup.”

In a state of defeat that the demons in me smugly smiled at, Jesse sighed and backed away. For a moment, his eyes lingered on the bag hanging on my shoulder, before he rolled them and looked back up to me. “Well,” he said, beginning to turn around. “I guess I’ll see you around, Caitlin.”

I frowned. “It’s Carson.”

“Close enough.”

He disappeared through the crowd that had gathered at the end of the hall before I could say anything else.

For a while, I remained standing there, glowering at the spot he had disappeared. When I noticed the crowd beginning to disperse however, I swallowed the lump in my throat and spun on my heel, heading out through the side of the school to the student parking lot. The scowl I had plastered on my face screamed out to everyone that I was a mental ward escapee, with a knife in my pocket and mindset to kill—which was likely the reason why the crowd around the Porsche parked near my car scattered as I approached.

I hastily unlocked the door of my car and tossed my things to the passenger side, shutting the door as I settled into my seat. As I turned on the car though, I glanced at the students who I scared away, raising an eyebrow at the curious looks they were throwing my way.

I spent a moment trying to relax while the engine revved, but I soon let it go, deciding to higher up the radio to full blast while I seethed. I shifted the gear into drive, made sure not to run anyone down as I made my way out of the parking lot, and headed home.