28: With A Bang

Another day, another test. Hell.

I only have one more test, one more class, before freedom. I just had to make it through English. I couldn't sit still in my seat as the teacher passed out the final. I'd studied the night before, forcing Oliver to do so as well. He'd been resistant at first, but I have my charms. Okay, I just made fun of him until he gave in.

Since he got caught pulling his prank, he had to spend the rest of the day, and the next two days, drying and cleaning the gym. He wasn't that pissed to have gotten caught though, he was more pissed that it took him three days to finish. Apparently, he's bet Grayson they could do it in two and lost. His fault, he pulled a prank he would obviously get caught for. He literally ran into a pep rally filled with teachers.

I look at the rest in front of me and write my name before looking at the first question.

'What is my first name?'

Oh, okay, I see some of us have given up faster than others. I smile a little and look at the rest of the questions, each one getting stupider as it goes. I can work with this.

Oliver, who's sitting behind me, kicks my chair slightly. I turn around just enough to make eye contact with him and he gives me a wink. I wink back and laugh lightly. I turn back around and continue my so called test. Levi, beside me, hits my arm with his, giving me a look of confusion. He mouths 'What is this?' and I mouth back 'Public Education'.

The whole class finishes the test after about ten minutes. I turn around to face Oliver and he's leaning back in his chair. When he catches me looking at him, a smirk makes it's way onto his face.

"Wanna do something fun?"

"Depends, does fun include leaving?"

His smirk turns into a smile and he gives me a short nod. I smile and go to grab my backpack, but Levi stops me.

"You're gonna leave? With Oliver Grey?"

'Yeah."

He nods, "Use protection."

My eyes go wide at his words of wisdom. I look to him and then back to Oliver. I chuckle a little when I meet his eyes, he already has a smirk on his lips from listening in to our conversation.

"So," I change the subject, "How are we gonna escape?"

"With a bang."

He takes out a popper from his jacket pocket. It looked too small to do any damage so I didn't see how this was going to make a distraction big enough for us to escape.

"Now!"

Everybody pulls out poppers from their pockets and starts, well, popping them. Some people have a bunch of poppers that they pop back to back. George, another football player, pulls out a huge popper that hits him with some recoil when he pulls it.

Oliver grabs my hand when the popping starts and pulls me out of the classroom. We left, unspotted by the teacher. I was wrong, poppers do make a good enough distraction.

Oliver gives my hand a tug, making me stumble forward enough so that I fall in line with him. His hand lets go of mine and he brings his arm up so it drapes over my shoulders. I bring my hand up and intertwine our fingers together before smiling up at him. He smirks back and squeezes his arm so that I move closer to him.

"Told you we'd leave with a bang."

"Technically, it was more of a pop."

He smiles lightly and nods his head.

Example four of why Oliver Grey is no good. He's making me skip class, and I love it. No guilt, no shame.

"Where are we going?" I ask him go break the silence.

We've been sitting in the car for a couple of minutes. Oliver hasn't given any indication that we're leaving the parking spot. He's just been staring out into space for a while.

My voice must bring him back to reality because he blinks hard and shakes his head slightly before speaking up.

"Will you go visit my mom with me?"

My breath hitches when he says that. Today was the one year anniversary of his mother's death. How could I have forgotten? I nod, not saying a word, not giving him a pitiful glance. I doubt he'd want one, he doesn't seem open to empathy.

When we make it to the cemetery, Oliver opens the door for me. The air was noticeably thicker. As we walk towards the entrance I grab his hand, intertwining our fingers with a squeeze. He keeps looking forward, that award-winning still cold face of his already on.

He leads the way through the headstones. Most say that the person who'd passed was dearly loved.

I think back to my mom's headstone that was in this cemetery as well. Her's only saying her name and dates. I never once visited my mother's grave, it didn't occur to me. She'd left me, she'd said goodbye, it was only fair I did too. I didn't hold on, but then again, my mom didn't die from cancer in the loving arms of her husband and son.

"Hey, mom."

I smile as he starts talking and slowly let go of him and back away so he can have a private moment with his mom.

"So, you were right after all," He continues as I walk away enough that I can't eavesdrop.

I start walking around aimlessly, well, I like to think that. But I know there's a purpose to my steps. When I find it, I stop.

"Fuck you," I whisper.

I look at her dirty headstone. Her dates said one thing but to me, my mom died the day my father disappeared. She became a shell of her old self those last few years without him, and she brought me down with her. I'd said goodbye long ago, but I had an urge to talk to her.

I let anger fuel my words, "Guess what, mom? I was strong enough to deal with the mess you made. I'm actually happy for the first time in years," But then my resolve falls, "Mom," I take una deep breath, "Remember when I was a kid and you told me I had a prince charming waiting for me?"

Oliver's footsteps from behind me stop me in my thoughts. He walks up to me and grabs my hand. He looks down and the name, obviously recognizing it.

"Your mom?"

I nod my head but don't dwell on her headstone much longer.

"You," I struggle to find the words I want to say, but Oliver saves me from the trouble.

"She's always been a good listener."

I smile at him and do something he probably wasn't expecting. Something I didn't expect to do either. I hug Oliver Grey. My arms wrap around his torso and curl up to his shoulders. I lean my head against his chest and listen to his heart beat against it.

He stiffens at first, surprised by my sudden affection. He relaxes soon after, reacting to my hug by wrapping his own arms around me. His hands rub my back and his head leans on mine.

I start to feel some thing wet on my head and I hear a quick sniffle. But then I feel the water on my shoulder. There's a rumble in the sky before the rain starts falling faster.

I let go slightly of the hug and look up at the cloudy sky. Then I shift my eyes to Oliver's. His eyes are glassy and his nose is pink. He looks sad, almost broken.

There's another rumble and that's when the real rain starts pouring down.

"Run?" I suggest.

He nods, "Run."

We both kick off running back to the car. Oliver's hand slips in mine and he guides me back to the car.

The rain is soaking us through and it feels like I jumped in a pool of freezing water. When we're safely in the car, Oliver looks at me with a slight chuckle.

"How come you're always wet when you're with me?"

I laugh at his sexual comment and look at him with my eyebrows raised.

That's the Oliver Grey I know.