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Wow, what can I say? Thank you so much for the reviews! Everyone is saying such nice things to me, it makes me feel so very good! Thank you guys so much! And thanks to the reviewer who corrected my horrible French, told you I didn't understand it. Oh well, I won't put anymore French in, so I don't embarrass myself again. Thanks again for the reviews!
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Chapter Three
Ally
By the time French class had ended, Clear felt like she was five years older and none the wiser when it came to another language. She begun shoving her notebooks and newly issued textbook into her backpack so she could follow Alex out of the classroom and hopefully start up a more successful conversation with him. She leapt to her feet, sliding out of her desk and slinging her backpack onto her shoulder, nearly taking out the person who was standing behind her, not that she noticed or cared as she rushed through the throng of students, trying to catch up with Alex and Tod. The boys had been out of the classroom as soon as the bell had sounded, moving like lightning, finally free of the confines of such a horrible class. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Clear wondered if Alex's quick exit had been because of her and quickly pushed those thoughts from her mind, knowing it would not bode well for her to think like that.
Within seconds, Clear was out of the room as well, nearly crashing into the dark-haired jock from earlier, who called after her angrily before going on his way. Weaving around her peers, the brunette breathed a short sigh of relief when she saw the back of Alex's head, which she now knew like she knew her own, after having stared at it for an hour and thirty minutes.
With a burst of speed, Clear easily caught up with Alex and his friend, who were laughing at some memory or other. "Hi Alex." She breathed, attempting to sound normal, which was difficult because it was hard for her to remember to even breathe.
Surprised, Alex turned his head in her direction, raising an eyebrow slightly. He hadn't expected to see Clear again so soon but he didn't let those feelings show as he looked at her. "Oh hi Clear, what's up?" He didn't know if his words sounded lame or forcibly polite but he didn't much care. Even though no girl had ever paid so much attention to him (aside from his mother but she didn't count) and he wasn't sure how to respond and Tod was of no help, snickering almost silently beside him.
Clear shrugged, shifting her backpack as she did so. "I was just wondering..." What? What could she possibly be wondering? Thinking as quickly as she could in such a situation, she reached into her pocket and whipped out her nearly ripped schedule, shoving it to him. "Where Mr. Hill's English class is."
Slowly, Alex took the schedule and unfolded it, glancing at the room number before handing it back to the brunette, who was nervously chewing on her bottom lip. "It's downstairs, next to the library." He told her with a confirmation nod from his friend, who knew the entire school because his brother was a year above them.
"Okay, thanks." Clear mumbled, stuffing the paper back into her pocket and fishing for something else to say to him before she lost her chance. Sadly, wit was not on her side at that moment and Alex spoke first, though it wasn't by way of sparkling conversation.
He stopped walking suddenly and Tod and Clear stopped with him, almost without realizing it. "Well, this is my next class. See you later." He spoke the words to Tod as he slipped through the open door of his class, though Clear quickly made herself believe that they were for her as well.
With a smile on his face, Tod turned to face the brunette, who was gazing wistfully at the boy of her dreams as he took his seat beyond the door. "So, it's painfully obvious that you have a crush on Alex." He said it bluntly, as though he were simply telling her the words to help her out.
Clear, however, didn't appreciate the hand-up and turned to face him, blushing madly. She was about to say something to him, or perhaps beg him frantically to not tell Alex (or to help hook them up, she wasn't quiet sure yet) when a shout cut through the hallway, directed in their direction.
"Wagner, you little shit!" The voice belonged to none-other then Carter Horton, who was shoving people aside as he stormed through the hallway, heading toward Tod, who was now paler then a polar bear.
Clear's eyes grew wide as she looked from the angry jock to the boy beside her, who already looked like he didn't have a fighting chance. "Who is that?" She accented her words as though to let him know that she had seen him before and that little bits of his reputation preceded him.
With eyes wider then hers, Tod glanced at her, tensing, ready to run. "That's Carter Horton, asshole extraordinaire. I guess he figured out that I was the one that wrote 'Carter Horton's a fag' on the bathroom wall." He explained quickly, judging his best escape route as Carter grew nearer.
At the last possible second, Tod bolted tearing through the hallway with Carter at his heels, yelling threats and names at the fleeing Freshmen. Clear frowned, brow knotting, trying to decide what she should do, if anything, about the events; with a shrug, she headed downstairs, thoughts once again drifting to Alex.
* * *
As if her day wasn't going bad enough already, Clear discovered that she had been put into the wrong English class and was sent back to the guidance office to once again to battle with Mrs. Collins.
The brunette practically slung into the office, anticipating the look that the old woman would give her and having thoughts of the woman refusing to help her and forcing her into the wrong English class. When she entered the room, Mrs. Collins glanced up with a smile on her face, a smile that quickly vanished when she saw who had entered her office.
"Miss Rivers...what brings you back here? Decided to take German?" The old woman's voice carried no sense of humor, nor did her face, lips pursed, eyes narrowing.
Clear shook her head, mumbling something about being in the wrong English class, only to be told to sit once again the hard plastic seats while the secretary's crossed checked open classes. Only when Clear sat down did she noticed that she wasn't the only student in the room; she found herself sitting next to Tod, who sported a black eye and a bruise on his cheek.
"Looks like Carter caught up with you." Clear muttered without thinking, not having any intentions of starting up a conversation with Alex's best friend, aside from to beg him to remain silent about her apparently obvious crush.
Tod offered her a slight smile, wincing slightly at the pain it appeared to cause. "Well, he's not running back on the football team for nothing." He told her, adding that he was waiting to meet with the principal to explain his side of the story. "Needless to say, I'm going to leave out the 'fag' part."
With a grin, Clear nodded, feeling more relaxed then she had all day, even around Alex; being around Alex forced her to be more reserved, trying desperately not to do something that would make her look stupid in his eyes. But sitting with Tod, who managed to joke about his own facial wounds, made her feel more relaxed but she still had to remind herself to be careful, since he was Alex's best friend after all. "Well, that would probably be for the best." She told him, staring down at her own feet, the relaxed feeling disappearing when she realized that surely anything she said would be told, later on, to Alex.
Tod nodded once, remaining silent and looking straight ahead. Finally he turned to glance at her, raising an eyebrow as he studied her. "So, I believe we were discussing your interest in my friend before we were rudely interrupted." His words carried a serious tone and Clear looked at him, frowning slightly.
The color returned in full force to her cheeks and Clear shifted uncomfortably, trying to decide what to say. Finally, thinking of nothing else, she grumbled, "Is it that obvious?" She wasn't sure she wanted an answer, but now that the words were out of her mouth, she couldn't take them back.
"To everyone except for Alex, who probably wouldn't know you liked him if you smacked him the face with a two-by-four." Tod assured her, sensing her discomfort. He wasn't sure when he had suddenly gotten so in tune with the fairer sex and decided it was simply those long talks with his mother all those years ago about "treating women right and respecting them." Normally, he would have laughed in Clear's face and told the entire school of her feelings for Alex but he seemed to have suddenly moved past that. It was high school now, after all.
Clear couldn't decide if she should be reassured or disappointed and wondered if knocking Alex senseless with a piece of wood would be what it took to get him to notice her. She abolished her last thoughts, realizing with a smile that he already had noticed her and spoken to her on three occasions now.
Before she could say anything more to the boy beside her, the door to the principal's office opened and Carter Horton stormed out, followed by the principal, who was still scolding the football player.
Carter glared at Tod as he passed, narrowing his eyes at the wiry boy sitting a safe distance from him. "Just you wait, Wagner, I'll catch you and next time, I'll beat your ass." Carter assured, ignoring the reprimands of the principal.
Tod returned the glare, though he didn't pull it off like Carter had done. "Yeah and when you do...it'll be round two in the principal's office for you buddy." Tod muttered lamely, staring at the ground as he realized that his words carried no threat and only made the jock laugh.
After hustling Carter out of the office, the principal turned back to face Tod and motioned for him to join him in the adjoining office. Tod stood and, just before he disappeared into the office, turned back to look at Clear, who was still staring at the floor. "I'll talk to Alex." He assured her, knowing that those four words said a great deal more then he had.
Clear looked up a grinned, realizing that had been the best thing she had heard all day.
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Okay, this is kinda short compared to the other two chapters but I don't know whether to make the chapters long or short so I decided to get in the middle. Also, the title of this chapter is lame but I couldn't think of anything better so...sorry. And, if anyone has any ideas of what they would like to see happen, please include them in your review. Thanks!
Wow, what can I say? Thank you so much for the reviews! Everyone is saying such nice things to me, it makes me feel so very good! Thank you guys so much! And thanks to the reviewer who corrected my horrible French, told you I didn't understand it. Oh well, I won't put anymore French in, so I don't embarrass myself again. Thanks again for the reviews!
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Chapter Three
Ally
By the time French class had ended, Clear felt like she was five years older and none the wiser when it came to another language. She begun shoving her notebooks and newly issued textbook into her backpack so she could follow Alex out of the classroom and hopefully start up a more successful conversation with him. She leapt to her feet, sliding out of her desk and slinging her backpack onto her shoulder, nearly taking out the person who was standing behind her, not that she noticed or cared as she rushed through the throng of students, trying to catch up with Alex and Tod. The boys had been out of the classroom as soon as the bell had sounded, moving like lightning, finally free of the confines of such a horrible class. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Clear wondered if Alex's quick exit had been because of her and quickly pushed those thoughts from her mind, knowing it would not bode well for her to think like that.
Within seconds, Clear was out of the room as well, nearly crashing into the dark-haired jock from earlier, who called after her angrily before going on his way. Weaving around her peers, the brunette breathed a short sigh of relief when she saw the back of Alex's head, which she now knew like she knew her own, after having stared at it for an hour and thirty minutes.
With a burst of speed, Clear easily caught up with Alex and his friend, who were laughing at some memory or other. "Hi Alex." She breathed, attempting to sound normal, which was difficult because it was hard for her to remember to even breathe.
Surprised, Alex turned his head in her direction, raising an eyebrow slightly. He hadn't expected to see Clear again so soon but he didn't let those feelings show as he looked at her. "Oh hi Clear, what's up?" He didn't know if his words sounded lame or forcibly polite but he didn't much care. Even though no girl had ever paid so much attention to him (aside from his mother but she didn't count) and he wasn't sure how to respond and Tod was of no help, snickering almost silently beside him.
Clear shrugged, shifting her backpack as she did so. "I was just wondering..." What? What could she possibly be wondering? Thinking as quickly as she could in such a situation, she reached into her pocket and whipped out her nearly ripped schedule, shoving it to him. "Where Mr. Hill's English class is."
Slowly, Alex took the schedule and unfolded it, glancing at the room number before handing it back to the brunette, who was nervously chewing on her bottom lip. "It's downstairs, next to the library." He told her with a confirmation nod from his friend, who knew the entire school because his brother was a year above them.
"Okay, thanks." Clear mumbled, stuffing the paper back into her pocket and fishing for something else to say to him before she lost her chance. Sadly, wit was not on her side at that moment and Alex spoke first, though it wasn't by way of sparkling conversation.
He stopped walking suddenly and Tod and Clear stopped with him, almost without realizing it. "Well, this is my next class. See you later." He spoke the words to Tod as he slipped through the open door of his class, though Clear quickly made herself believe that they were for her as well.
With a smile on his face, Tod turned to face the brunette, who was gazing wistfully at the boy of her dreams as he took his seat beyond the door. "So, it's painfully obvious that you have a crush on Alex." He said it bluntly, as though he were simply telling her the words to help her out.
Clear, however, didn't appreciate the hand-up and turned to face him, blushing madly. She was about to say something to him, or perhaps beg him frantically to not tell Alex (or to help hook them up, she wasn't quiet sure yet) when a shout cut through the hallway, directed in their direction.
"Wagner, you little shit!" The voice belonged to none-other then Carter Horton, who was shoving people aside as he stormed through the hallway, heading toward Tod, who was now paler then a polar bear.
Clear's eyes grew wide as she looked from the angry jock to the boy beside her, who already looked like he didn't have a fighting chance. "Who is that?" She accented her words as though to let him know that she had seen him before and that little bits of his reputation preceded him.
With eyes wider then hers, Tod glanced at her, tensing, ready to run. "That's Carter Horton, asshole extraordinaire. I guess he figured out that I was the one that wrote 'Carter Horton's a fag' on the bathroom wall." He explained quickly, judging his best escape route as Carter grew nearer.
At the last possible second, Tod bolted tearing through the hallway with Carter at his heels, yelling threats and names at the fleeing Freshmen. Clear frowned, brow knotting, trying to decide what she should do, if anything, about the events; with a shrug, she headed downstairs, thoughts once again drifting to Alex.
* * *
As if her day wasn't going bad enough already, Clear discovered that she had been put into the wrong English class and was sent back to the guidance office to once again to battle with Mrs. Collins.
The brunette practically slung into the office, anticipating the look that the old woman would give her and having thoughts of the woman refusing to help her and forcing her into the wrong English class. When she entered the room, Mrs. Collins glanced up with a smile on her face, a smile that quickly vanished when she saw who had entered her office.
"Miss Rivers...what brings you back here? Decided to take German?" The old woman's voice carried no sense of humor, nor did her face, lips pursed, eyes narrowing.
Clear shook her head, mumbling something about being in the wrong English class, only to be told to sit once again the hard plastic seats while the secretary's crossed checked open classes. Only when Clear sat down did she noticed that she wasn't the only student in the room; she found herself sitting next to Tod, who sported a black eye and a bruise on his cheek.
"Looks like Carter caught up with you." Clear muttered without thinking, not having any intentions of starting up a conversation with Alex's best friend, aside from to beg him to remain silent about her apparently obvious crush.
Tod offered her a slight smile, wincing slightly at the pain it appeared to cause. "Well, he's not running back on the football team for nothing." He told her, adding that he was waiting to meet with the principal to explain his side of the story. "Needless to say, I'm going to leave out the 'fag' part."
With a grin, Clear nodded, feeling more relaxed then she had all day, even around Alex; being around Alex forced her to be more reserved, trying desperately not to do something that would make her look stupid in his eyes. But sitting with Tod, who managed to joke about his own facial wounds, made her feel more relaxed but she still had to remind herself to be careful, since he was Alex's best friend after all. "Well, that would probably be for the best." She told him, staring down at her own feet, the relaxed feeling disappearing when she realized that surely anything she said would be told, later on, to Alex.
Tod nodded once, remaining silent and looking straight ahead. Finally he turned to glance at her, raising an eyebrow as he studied her. "So, I believe we were discussing your interest in my friend before we were rudely interrupted." His words carried a serious tone and Clear looked at him, frowning slightly.
The color returned in full force to her cheeks and Clear shifted uncomfortably, trying to decide what to say. Finally, thinking of nothing else, she grumbled, "Is it that obvious?" She wasn't sure she wanted an answer, but now that the words were out of her mouth, she couldn't take them back.
"To everyone except for Alex, who probably wouldn't know you liked him if you smacked him the face with a two-by-four." Tod assured her, sensing her discomfort. He wasn't sure when he had suddenly gotten so in tune with the fairer sex and decided it was simply those long talks with his mother all those years ago about "treating women right and respecting them." Normally, he would have laughed in Clear's face and told the entire school of her feelings for Alex but he seemed to have suddenly moved past that. It was high school now, after all.
Clear couldn't decide if she should be reassured or disappointed and wondered if knocking Alex senseless with a piece of wood would be what it took to get him to notice her. She abolished her last thoughts, realizing with a smile that he already had noticed her and spoken to her on three occasions now.
Before she could say anything more to the boy beside her, the door to the principal's office opened and Carter Horton stormed out, followed by the principal, who was still scolding the football player.
Carter glared at Tod as he passed, narrowing his eyes at the wiry boy sitting a safe distance from him. "Just you wait, Wagner, I'll catch you and next time, I'll beat your ass." Carter assured, ignoring the reprimands of the principal.
Tod returned the glare, though he didn't pull it off like Carter had done. "Yeah and when you do...it'll be round two in the principal's office for you buddy." Tod muttered lamely, staring at the ground as he realized that his words carried no threat and only made the jock laugh.
After hustling Carter out of the office, the principal turned back to face Tod and motioned for him to join him in the adjoining office. Tod stood and, just before he disappeared into the office, turned back to look at Clear, who was still staring at the floor. "I'll talk to Alex." He assured her, knowing that those four words said a great deal more then he had.
Clear looked up a grinned, realizing that had been the best thing she had heard all day.
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Okay, this is kinda short compared to the other two chapters but I don't know whether to make the chapters long or short so I decided to get in the middle. Also, the title of this chapter is lame but I couldn't think of anything better so...sorry. And, if anyone has any ideas of what they would like to see happen, please include them in your review. Thanks!
