Chapter 22: Chapter 22

It was bound to snow – sometime today or even any minute. Staring outside the window of my math class told me that much. Though I wasn't fazed by it, because I expected it.

With a few last words on the subject, Mr. Harrison finally established that no one was listening to his lecture. Most of the snobs in the back had their phones out – talking to their friends at a certain level of noise that was getting on my nerves. The few in front were the ones who barely said a word in class – and if they did, it was only on the lesson we were learning, and I admired them because of it.

And I wasn't just saying that because I snuck answers from them on tests.

When the bell rung, I jumped up from my desk at the sound of reassuring freedom. But when I stood up and started to dart for the door, I had forgotten the contraptions I was using, and almost fell over for the hundredth time today.

Snatching my binder off the desk and slinging my bag over my shoulder, I walked out of the class – slower and steadier than I was used to.

The cold wind blasted through the main doors as I opened them, and I shivered from the temperature. I hugged my arms to my chest, ignoring the way my teeth clattered together.

Another noise, other than the purring of engines in the parking lot and my teeth, were my shoes.

I looked down, trying to step more on my toes so that the heel wouldn't make that clacking sound. It was maddening to hear it from the girls around the school – but knowing that I was the cause, was just plain sad.

At the door of my car, I paused at the sight of my reflection. I didn't look normal – or the way I used to. The faint gray eye shadow, the red lipstick, and the way my skin seemed pale in the weather scared me.

Of course, I had never been the 'tan' girl. But...the sight petrified me nevertheless.

As I was about to open the door to my car, a pair of arms wrapped around me from behind.

My breathing started to speed up, and acting out of sheer instinct, I started struggling against the hold. Though there wasn't really much I could do with a pair of heels I could hardly move in.

"Hey, let go!" I was compelled to struggle more, since they obviously weren't listening. "Let go, you creep!"

Out of options, I let myself jerk my elbow back – but at the moment I was about to do some damage, someone caught it on time. Somehow, the way their hand touched my skin seemed familiar. "Now, who ever said violence was the answer?"

My eyes widened. I knew that voice anywhere. "...Jesse, I...I uh—"

He released my elbow, and hugged me to his chest again, automatically making bile rise in my throat. "Shut up, Carson."

Once again, my eyes widened.

What was going on?

Didn't I repel him away? Wasn't this over and done with? Why was he acting as if I wasn't dressed to go pole dancing?

That sounded bad...

But it was true.

"Let go." He must have thought about doing the opposite, since his hold on me tightened.

"Why? I thought this was what you wanted."

Crap.

With a mental slap in the face, I relaxed into his arms – ignoring the clench in my stomach, from allowing him so much as to touch me.

"But, ya' know – I find it hard to believe that's what you really want." I felt the tip of his nose graze the side of my head.

I shut my eyes, resisting the impelling urge to start yelling at him. "It is."

"Really?" His breath blew on my hair, though the cold wind seemed to make me forget the act of doing so in the first place.

With my eyes shut, I nodded more slowly than intended.

"What if I said, I could prove you're faking all of this?"

A part of me wanted to jump out of his arms and at the very least try to get in the car and drive off, but somehow, I had a growing feeling he'd be at my bedroom window if I ran away now.

I had this coming, might as well draw it out.

"I'd say there's nothing to prove."

His hands, which had been intertwined in front of me, broke apart. One had remained where it was, while the other rose up to my shoulder – in a second, I had been twirled around to face him.

In the heels, I half expected to fall, but thankfully, the door to my car was behind me for support.

"So when I do this," he said softly, raising a hand to my hair. He held a curled piece between his fingers, pulling slightly so that I was inclining forward. "You don't think about...throwing me off a cliff?"

I tried to keep a straight face. "No."

"And this?" He let his hand trail down to my cheek, gently continuing to the edges of my jaw, and allowing his thumb to trace over my lips. "Still nothing?"

I shook my head slightly, afraid I'd fall over. "No."

He seemed to be getting annoyed, and let his hand trail down to the strap of my shirt. His eyes met mine. "How about now?"

I would have answered with a simple 'no' again, but after asking, he let one of his fingers loop around the strap, threatening to push it aside. If I hadn't been in the parking lot of the school, I would have punched him by now. But thinking over my whole plan, I had to be okay with things like this – judging by how this stupid scheme was unfolding.

The only thing I was fearful for was that he wouldn't run away from me when I proved him wrong. Basing all of my assumptions on this moment, I didn't even know if he'd scatter off like last time or just continue to follow me around.

With a mix of a soft gaze and a penetrating glare, I answered with pure solemn. "No."

He stared at me for long painful second, before releasing me and turning around to face the parking lot.

By letting my gaze linger on him, I knew he was thinking about something – and thinking about it hard. Hesitantly, I was about to reach for my keys in my bag and open the door to my car – but he shifted his gaze to me again.

"And this?" His voice came out challenging, almost enough to say that he was mad – though his expression countered that, since it almost appeared as if he were amused.

I raised an eyebrow, not understanding.

A gasp escaped through my lips, as he reached forward faster than I could comprehend, and clutched the fabric of my shirt at my waist, and jerked me forward.

An act, especially one as new to me as this, had my heart beating like a madman. Never had I been in such a tight situation.

My fist clenched, so much so that I knew my knuckles had turned white already.

Reminding myself that this was part of the plan wasn't seeming to run through my mind anymore, it seemed as if all I wanted to do was push him away – or possibly even knee him again.

His other hand came up, leaving tingles along the skin of my arm as it did, and found its place at my neck. The grip he held had included some of my hair, though it seemed to be what he wanted, since he pulled me more.

One part of my mind was screaming at me to lean away from him, while the other part was telling me to let him pull me to him.

It was an odd sensation to feel his lips brush against mine – and I couldn't help the strangled sigh I let out at the contact.

I saw a smile form on his face, and I held in the urge to slap him.

"Now?"

Yes. Though, the thought goes past just cliffs. "No."

Surprisingly, I hadn't known where that came from. Inside, I wanted desperately to say what I felt, but in doing that, he'll know I was faking.

And I'd be damned if I let this day go to waste, just for him to threaten me with a few flirty moves. I mean, how would I know if he wasn't just messing around?

He backed up a bit, looking at me questioningly. I could have sworn he looked frustrated, but something...and I didn't know what it was, sparkled the sapphire shade back into his eyes.

Without so much as a warning, he inclined his head forward – not letting me move.

In the spur of the moment, I realized that I had hesitated.

His lips touched mine, or...rather, the corner of my mouth, in my desperate act to turn away at the last second.

It sickened me – just the thought of kissing him. Sure, I might be a weirdo who can't settle emotions or feelings for squat, but kissing Jesse wasn't my priority. Though what made everything complicated was that kissing me seemed to be his.

Seemed to be.

Regardless if I had turned away or not, he still held my neck, and in doing so, he kept pulling me to him – almost refusing to let me get out of this. In my haste to get free, I straightened up and started to push him away.

Finding that it wasn't necessarily working, I soon started to panic. I allowed my hands to settle onto his and pry them off. Realizing I was out of options, I full on shoved him away. My back collided into the door of my car, and he stumbled back a few steps.

My hand involuntarily rose to my lips, feeling the edge where his had touched. Shock written all over my features, my gaze raised up to him. "What the hell was that?"

He smiled, crossing his arms and assuming a stance that made him seem like the victor in this scenario. "You said it was okay—"

"I said I wasn't thinking of killing you while you did that, not for you to actually do it."

A laugh escaped through him. If I weren't in heels that could sprain my ankle, I would have pounced on him by now.

"Then that only proves that you're faking it." His voice came out smoother than I hoped. "If you were one of them, you would have let me."

"You just caught me off guard, is all."

A triumphant smirk took hold of his features, and he started to walk up to me again. "Are you ready now?"

I sank back against the car, horror-stricken. "No."

"And why not?"

Out of responds, I looked around desperately. "Because—"

"You're faking. Give it up, Carson. I think I know how you would act by now."

I narrowed my eyes at him, growing annoyed. "Or maybe, you're just being an idiot and choosing not to believe me, because you're stubborn and don't trust anyone but yourself."

"There you go, now that's the Carson I know – the one who calls me an idiot and likes yelling at me."

"I'm not yelling."

"For now that is..."

My expression fell. "I have to go."

I turned back to the car, pulling my keys out. Once I opened the door, a hand appeared and made it shut again. "You forgot something."

Confused, and angered at his close proximity, I turned my head to get a glimpse at him. "What?"

He didn't answer, though I saw a silhouette of an object, but before I could comment on it – it was thrown on my face, blocking my vision. I stumbled in the heels, trying to find my footing – before just simply grasping the side mirror of the car and yanking the material off.

I held it before me, identifying it as a jacket.

Jesse's jacket.

My gaze shot up and I turned around. I didn't see him, only the few cars that were pulling out of the parking lot.

Finally, I turned to the main doors of the school. Barely reaching his car, he glanced at me with a hint of smile.

I watched as he drove the Camaro off, and after taking an entire minute to swallow my pride, I slipped on the blazer just as he had left school grounds.