Chapter 8
Author's note: sorry for not updating in awhile, I've had testing and honestly I didn't know where to go from chapter 7.
After pulling away from Paul's lips, something I found easier said than done, I glanced up at him shyly. I wasn't sure what happened now, was he my boyfriend? Was that just a kiss, what if he didn't want to date me? Nervously clearing my throat, I clambered down from his grip. I could see him watching me curiously as I wrung my fingers together as I tried to figure out where this left us.
"What are you thinking?" My eyes snapped back up to his at his surprisingly gentle tone. "You're thinking really hard," he pointed out as he reached out to smooth the stress fold between my eyebrows. The skin relaxed, warmth spreading through me. I moved away from his touch, unable to think with his hands on me.
"What are we? Does this mean we're..." His eyebrows rose in surprise, "Dating?" I nodded, afraid of his response. "If that's what you want, you could always say no. It wasn't a spur of the moment thing for me though," he admitted, grabbing my hand and leading me back towards the cliffs.
Smiling, I gripped his hand. "It wasn't for me either, I want to date you Paul." He beamed down at me, "So..Liri Young, want to be my girlfriend?" "Yes," I squealed as I launched myself at him, causing his laugh to boom around us on the otherwise silent beach.
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I slammed my locker door shut, only to jump in surprise when I spotted someone behind it. It was none other than my oversized boyfriend. He grinned widely, as usual enjoying scaring me. I swatted his arm, "Knock it off, Lahote."
"Ah, come on babe. You know it's funny, you startle so easy," he chuckled easily. I only smirked up at him, having no retort. "Aren't you supposed to be in Chemistry?" He nodded slowly, pursing his lips thoughtfully. "I am, but I decided to come see you before since Chemistry sucks and I'll be bored until I can see you again," he responded.
"Go, you hellion. Quit being so hard on Ms. Morris, she's only eighty," I teased, pushing him in the direction of his class. He held his hands up in surrender as he laughed. Shaking my head, I turned to leave only to be stopped once more. This time by someone I liked a while lot less than Paul.
Behind me was none other than Bitch herself, aka the girl who tried to talk shit my first day. She had made a somewhat one sided rivalry with me, me being too mature to bother with her.
"Liri, how nice to see you!" I ignored the overly bright tone of voice, knowing full well she hated my guts for whatever unfathomable reason. "What do you want?" Her plastered on smile fell from her face as she scoffed slightly, "So..word is you're dating Paul Lahote." "Does this conversation have a point to it or…?" She rolled her eyes, snapping, "I'm getting to it. The point is you need to stay away from him."
I raised my brows, what were we in a teenage sitcom? "And why is that?" She rolled her eyes once more, making me wish they would get stuck up there. "Because everyone knows he and I used to date, therefore; he's off limits," she explained as if talking to a child.
"Wow, I'm impressed. I didn't even know you knew the word 'therefore'. Thanks for the advice, but I'm pretty sure you're dating past doesn't in anyway effect my own," I told her, enjoying the angry look that grew as I talked. "Look, Bitch. I know you think you're big shit since you're new but you're not. He had me. There's no going back after that, you'll never satisfy him the way I did. You can't even walk right," she gestured at my limp. "Stay away from him or you'll wish you had," she warned as she strutted off.
Tears filled my eyes as the late bell rang. I wasn't afraid of her but her words had cut deep. Maybe she was right, Paul deserved someone who wasn't damaged goods. Grabbing my bag, I drug myself off to class with the pain of self hatred in my chest.
