CHAPTER 6

When Rose woke up the next morning, Brianna and Taylor had already left for breakfast. Good, she thought, that would prevent some awkward moments. She had a shower and got ready slowly, glad of the privacy for once. Then she sat in front of the mirror with her makeup bag and went about trying to cover up as many of Drake's marks that he'd left on her as possible. When she was done, she still looked very much beaten-up, but maybe you wouldn't be able to tell from too far away.

She arrived in the canteen and looked around. Shit, she couldn't sit where she normally sat; she didn't doubt for a second that Brianna and Taylor would already have told the other three everything. She scanned the different tables, her eyes resting for a while on the one Drake sat at, but that was out of the question of course. Eventually she walked over to a table with 2 boys and a girl on it. They were in her English class and she got on all right with them. She put her tray down and smiled at them. She could tell they had all noticed her face and were wondering what at happened, but at least they were polite enough not to ask.

"Hey Rose," One of the boys called Derek greeted her. "How come you're not sitting over there?" He gestured over to the table where Rose's 'friends' looked deep in a bitchy chat, probably about her.

"Not that we don't want you here!" Gerald, the other boy added. Rose shrugged.

"We had a little falling out..." She said vaguely, immediately the three kids looked at each other. Nervously, the girl, Sylvie, spoke up.

"Um...is that why...I mean, did THEY do that to your face?" She asked her eyes wide in shock. Rose shook her head violently.

"No, no! I, err, walked into a wall." She said using the same excuse she'd given Nurse Temple. Sylvie looked relieved and the other two seemed to buy it too. Then, much to Rose's relief, the topic of conversation moved on to homework and tests and she could be left alone with her own thoughts.

When Rose had finished her cornflakes she went straight to her first lesson, her dorm did not seem too inviting right now. So that was how she was left standing on her own in the science block when Drake found her. He too hadn't fancied returning to his dorm, just for Caine to laugh at him again. Breakfast had been painful enough, Caine had told Diana everything of course, and the two of them had cooed over him like he was some lovesick puppy. Well he wasn't, he was Drake Merwin, and he did not put up with being patronised. When he saw Rose he laughed, he couldn't help it, she had tried and failed to cover up her cuts and bruises with makeup, but it was still blatantly obvious. Drake loved seeing his handiwork, he felt like an artist admiring his paintings.

"Nice face." He laughed as he reached the classroom door and stood next to her. She gave him the finger.

"Fuck off Merwin." She muttered angrily. He grinned.

"That's not the message you were giving off when you kissed me yesterday."

"I didn't kiss you!" She retorted furiously. "YOU kissed ME.

"Whatever." Drake replied pulling a lighter out from his pocket and playing with it, flicking it on and off.

"You smoke?" Rose asked, raising an eyebrow. Drake shook his head.

"No."

"Then why do you have a lighter?" He shrugged.

"I like fire." He replied, and carried on flicking it on and off, on and off. They stood there for a while like that, in complete silence except for the sound of Drake playing with the lighter.

"So...why so keen to get to biology then?" Drake asked, raising an eyebrow. Rose shrugged.

"Fell out with my roommates." She muttered, Drake smirked.

"About what?" He asked. And then, seeing Rose's face, his smirk grew.

"What?" Rose demanded

"I do love messing people's lives up..." He laughed and as Rose looked at his smug face she felt a surge of anger fill her. She couldn't believe she'd actually fallen for him! Without realising what she was doing, she slapped him across the face as hard as she could. They stared at each other, both shocked, and then Drake grabbed her by the front of her shirt and kissed her hard. Rose was stunned for a minute, then she kissed him back.

"Mr Merwin and Miss Azalea! Stop that THIS INSTANT. No public displays of affection allowed! How many times do I have to tell you students..." They pulled away to see their Biology teacher, Dr Schmidt and the rest of their class all staring at them. Rose jumped away from Drake, turning tomato red, but Drake just grinned.

"Sorry sir, next time I'll display my affection less publically." He said, making Rose squirm awkwardly and their teacher turn red with anger and embarrassment. Then he winked at Rose and went into the classroom, leaning back in the chair on its own at the back which he had claimed as his own. As Rose watched, Taylor shoved past her, fixing her with a death glare as she did so, and then sitting as far away from Drake as possible. Rose sighed as she followed the rest of her classmates into the room, but as she glanced across at the messy blonde-haired boy at the back she couldn't help but smile.