For those of you who don't know; Michelle is a character form another one of my stories, Forgotten. She started out in a small town, and I decided that it would be Sunset Valley. She and Danny used to be friends before Danny stopped talking, and then she suddenly just 'disappeared.'
Chapter 6:
Josh nodded. "Well, you gonna get in the car or what?"
I stayed where I was, crossing my arms over my chest. Why was he being such a jerk? I stood my ground, waiting for an apology. Normally, I wouldn't bother or care, but this wasn't him. I wasn't going to put up with it.
He sighed, rolling his eyes. Michelle chuckled. "I think she's mad at you. If I were you, I'd apologize."
His eyes narrowed. "Why? I didn't do anything. Besides, I'm not doing anything if she can't talk about it."
I bit my lip, choking on tears. He frowned, but didn't say anything. "I think she thinks you're being a jerk, Josh. I really think you should apologize."
"Psssh," Josh rolled his eyes again, sighing in annoyance. "And who are you to 'translate', huh?"
Michelle's jaw tightened and she rolled her shoulders back. "I was her best friend before and after she went mute, so I've known her a lot longer than you have."
Josh's eyes widened and his mouth parted open slightly. Just like that my anger evaporated and my hands dropped to my side. "Really?" suddenly he closed his mouth and his eyes hardened again. "And what does that have to do with me?"
I took a deep breath, biting my lip again so I wouldn't cry. I shoved my hands in my pockets and spun around, stomping to the car. "I should probably go now. Danny! Bye!" Michelle yelled after me. I couldn't turn back to wave at her, but I knew it would probably be the last time I saw her. I wiped a hand under my eyes.
Josh sighed loudly. "Danny! Danny, hold on!" a hand grabbed my wrist and turned me around to face him. I wiped my eyes hurriedly with my free hand. "I'm sorry, Danny. I shouldn't have said anything that smell—it was making me irritable." He shook his head in disgust.
I stared at him confusedly. "Oh, right. You probably couldn't smell it, could you?" he said, gazing somewhere else. I shook my head, wondering what he was talking about, but didn't dwell on it for long. I turned around and walked as fast as I could without running to his SUV. I opened the door to the front passenger side seat, where Levi had already gone to the back and freed the seat for me. I smiled at him as I got in, but Josh was right behind me... I frowned at him to show him that I was still mad, but he did nothing in return.
But just as he was about to put the car in drive, he stopped and sighed. "Danny, I really am sorry. I know I've been a jerk these last couple a days, and I have no excuse for it. All I can say is sorry and hope that you'll forgive me." he glanced at me and pushed the car in drive. I stared at him, and then out the window. I couldn't help but think that maybe he was telling the truth, that maybe he was just having a bad day or something, and I obviously wasn't helping either.
"So, uh…Danny! Hey! Where were you yesterday?" Iya said suddenly form the back, leaning in between our seats.
Josh shot her a glare from the rearview mirror. "Iya! Isn't that exactly what I told you not to ask?" he hissed.
She rolled her eyes and shrugged. "Well, you never told me why." She hinted.
"Yea, well, I ain't telling you now." He hinted right back, shooting a smirk at her.
She sighed, disappointed. "Oh, well, I can just talk to Danny than."
He shot her another glare. "Can't you just get a hint, Iya?" he growled.
She smiled innocently. "I can, but it's much more fun to aggravate you."
This time he turned around to glare at her. "I mean it, Iya. Knock it off." He said in a new, more demanding voice.
She hmphed and leaned back in her seat. "Fine. You're such a party pooper, Josh."
"Yea, well, get over it."
"I'm telling Mom you ordered around Iya with your—" Levi began, but Josh but him off.
"Levi! Enough!" he growled. I looked down out of embarrassment and found Josh's hand lying on the little table in between our seats. I stared at him for a second and then back at his hand. He did that last time. Why was he doing it again? I didn't understand. I thought about yesterday, about how I thought I realized I love him. Could you still love someone when they cheated on you? I stared out the window as I thought about it. If he did it once, he could easily do it again. But why should I care? It's not like he was mine to control. We weren't dating, I shouldn't care. I should be avoiding him. Well, at least if I wanted to live. Of course, I could hang out with him all I wanted just to end this miserable existence of mine. And yet… I had promised him I'd go ad ride with him today after school. And out of all that… what was I most worried about?
I had never ridden a horse before.
Not even on a little pony ride. I don't think I had ever even petted a horse before. Obviously, my parents had never let me get a pet. But of course when Destiny brought home a kitten she had gotten from one of her friends, they let her keep it. I had complained and, of course, got beaten for it. Needless to say, we never saw it get to adulthood. That was the first animal I had ever really met.
Poor thing. Hopefully, Josh's horses would be better taken care of.
Suddenly, I knew what I had to do. I would avoid Josh this entire day until I actually forgave him. Until I knew I could forgive him. But I wasn't in love with him. That was just me trying to believe that someone could actually love me, and in the mist of all the hurt I was feeling and the fact that he was holding me and comforting me when no one else had. And he got a point for that, but he had lost that when he left me. He would just have to make me forgive him and maybe, just maybe, make me fall for him.
Iya's voice brought me out of my thoughts, making me whip my head around to her lightly kissing his cheek. "Bye, Levi! Have a great day!"
He smiled, but his face flushed when he glanced at me. "Thanks. Will Danny be at the house when I get home?" he asked timidly.
Josh sighed, smiling and shaking his head. His eyes seemed bright now and he seemed…happier. "Yea, Levi, she might."
He turned around with his backpack slung over his shoulder and a smile on his face, and dashed into the small building where I went to school. We all smiled after him as Josh shifted it out of park and into drive. Iya suddenly laid her head on the table, staring at me, making Josh move his hand with a confused glance at her. "Iya!" he scolded.
She merely glanced at him and then turned back to me. "He's such a kill joy sometimes, isn't he?"
"Iya! Sit up!" Josh scolded again, trying to glance from the road to Iya and back again.
"Why? This is so much more comfortable!" she smiled, chuckling to herself. "Hey! Can I drive home?" she asked suddenly.
The car lurked forward. "What?!" Josh shrieked. "No! A thousand times no! You haven't even gotten your license yet!"
She shrugged. How she managed to do that, I had no idea. "So? I need practice for my test!"
"You have to drive with a parent, Iya. I'm your cousin!"
"Oh, please, please, please, pa-leeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaassssssss eeee!" she begged.
Josh made a noise somewhere in between a scoff and a sigh. "Fine. As long as you don't kill us."
"Well, then you wouldn't be alive to notice, now would you?"
"Just say thank you."
"Thank you!" Iya shrieked in her most girly, excited voice.
Josh sighed. "I am so gonna regret this," he murmured to himself.
"No you're not." Iya said sarcastically.
Josh leaned back and relaxed in his seat. "I already am," I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing at the two of them. Josh's hand returned to the table, except this time on Iya's face.
She screeched, flinging her arms everywhere and actually punching Josh in the arm. He didn't flinch. "Josh!" she whined. "Get off me! Joshua!"
Finally, he took his hand off her face and she huffed. "You're such a butt-face!" she exclaimed childishly.
"Oh, I'm sorry; did you want that, too?" Josh said, threatening to get up and sit on her. She screamed, sitting up and into the back seat. This time I couldn't help but laugh along with them.
She pushed his shoulder. "Gosh! You're so mean! Ugh!"
Josh just laughed as we pulled into the school parking lot. Iya huffed as she slide out of the car with her books in hand and stomped away from us. He cut off the car and opened the door with his foot. His eyes glanced sideways at me. "I need to talk to you…somewhere else, alright?"
I raised my eyebrow at him, but opened the door slightly. Nodding, he jumped out, and I followed him. The car beeped behind me and his hand lightly touched my waist. I glanced at the front row of the parking lot and caught sight of Destiny and Jake—back together again. Involuntarily, I shivered, and Josh wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him. As we rounded to corner, he stopped and turned towards me. I leaned against the wall as he put his arm above my head. As he tilted his head forward, pieces of hair fell in front of his eyes.
"Normally, I'd just leave you to do your own thing before classes, but I won't do that anymore. With what happened with Jake last night, I'm not taking any chances with you alone near him, alright? I don't trust him, especially around you. I bet you he won't blink an eye at you when you're with me." he said, his eyes searching my eyes.
His hand enveloped mine. "Can you do that?" my breath caught in my throat as I glanced down at our hands and looked back up at him. He smiled when I nodded and entwined our fingers.
Wasn't I supposed to be mad at him? What was I supposed to be mad at him for? It was on the tip of my tongue, but his eyes gleamed as he led me back around the corner and towards the front door. I jumped, gasping as a horn honked in front of us. A tall, beach blond boy slide out of the driver's seat of an old blue pickup truck. Coffeeblue hopped out of the passenger's seat, and I could only assume that the boy was Cormac. He bounded up to us, picking me up and spinning me around. I was too shocked to be scared or even scream, but by the time he set me down, I was laughing.
"You must be Josh's new girl, huh?" he said, smiling and showing off almost perfect white teeth. His eyes were almost the same as Josh's, but they were an icy blue, and therefore not as bright.
Still smiling, I glanced at Josh. He took my hand and squeezed it. I turned back to Cormac and shrugged, blushing just a little. "Ya got a good one here, Josh," he rubbed his hand over my hair, and I ducked, "I think I might just have ta steal her."
Josh rolled his eyes. "Go get your own girl, Cormac."
"Nah," he shook his head, "No girl here appreciates a god ol' country boy. 'Cept this one right here." My breath caught in my throat and I glanced up, expecting to see jealousy, anger, or anything like that. But all I saw was excitement and a glint of a jokester.
"Mhhm…" A familiar, sharp voice said as she approached us. "And who are you?" Destiny sauntered up to Cormac, stopping about an inch away from him, looking him up and down.
"Name's Cormac, how 'bout you?" he replied, smirking. Coffeeblue looked from Destiny to Josh, and then to Cormac. She wrapped her arm around his waist and kissed his cheek. All of us knew that she was just being a sister, but Destiny didn't know. Destiny stepped back, and then glanced at Josh. Seeing our hands together, she scowled, hmphed, and moseyed away.
Cormac locked Coffeeblue's head in the crock of his arm and ran his knuckles around her scalp. "Now what was that for, CJ?"
She pushed away and smoothed her hair out. "I was saving you from countless days of heartbreak."
She rolled her eyes. "Who was she, anyways?"
"That was Destiny, Danny's older sister." Josh said bleakly.
Cormac's eyes widened. "Oh."
"RAWR!" Iya screamed, jumping on Cormac's back and wrapping her arms around his neck. Cormac laughed, holding up her legs that rested on his hips.
"Hey, Grace." He chuckled, balancing her on his back.
She frowned, leaning forward to look him in the face. "Hey, I'm not that clumsy!" Her leg slipped from Cormac's grasp and she screamed momentarily. He laughed again before dropping her. "Haha! You're so funny!" She said sarcastically.
He grinned arrogantly. "Thanks, I know!" he said jokingly.
Iya scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Danny!" she threw her arms around my neck. I pulled back slightly, stunned, but patted her back with my free hand. Finally, she pulled away just as the bell rang.
"Well, we'll see you later, guys. C'mon, Danny, let's get to class." Josh said, steering me away from them and back into the building. The wind was stronger than normal, whipping my hair around my face.
As soon as we got inside, he threw his head back and sighed. "They're so embarrassing!" he exclaimed. I laughed, biting my lip and pushing my hair behind my ear. "So are you coming tonight—I mean, you know, to go riding?"
I blushed, shrugging. We stopped by my locker quickly so I could exchange my books. Destiny, standing by Jake in the middle of the hallway, was glaring at me. I stared at the floor as I closed my locker and started back down the hallway. I watched as a foot was stuck out in front of my feet, but was too slow to act. I gasped as I fell to the floor, pushing my hands out in front of me.
"S***," Destiny growled, "Why don't you save that PDA for the whorehouse?"
"F off, Destiny," Josh snarled, bending down and helping me back up, "What the h*** is your problem?" I gathered my books up off the floor and stared at my hands. Destiny scowled at him, but I dashed off down the hallway, pulling him with me. I heard her snarl curse words at us as I pulled us down the hallway. I let go of his wrist as soon as we turned the corner and stared at the ground he remained silent as we walked the rest of the way to class, but when I glanced up he was grinding his teeth together.
But as soon as we sat down in our seats, he growled through his teeth, "Why do you let them treat you like that, Danny?"
I shook my head, looking away and letting a veil of hair separate us. Suddenly, he pulled out a piece of paper and wrote something down, passing it to me. "Please. I only want to help, Danny," it said. I sighed at it, and then glanced up at Mr. Louis. Of course, he was staring at me, waiting to catch me of all people passing notes. But the bell rang, announcing the beginning of school—oh shoot. I gasped. I had forgotten to do my homework! Just as the teacher got up to put the movie on, I scribbled, "I forgot to do my homework!" on the paper. I pushed it back to Josh and pulled the stack of paper out of my bag. Just as I set the stack on the table, Josh snatched it from me, taking half of the papers and gave me the other half.
"Here. You do Spanish, since you actually know it, and I'll do everything else..." he tilted his head slightly and forced a smile. I frowned, sighed, but nodded. Spanish 4 wasn't all that hard, but it had a lot of homework.
Luckily, we got it all done by the end of class and Louis didn't even notice. I wanted to point and laugh at him; for one of the strictest teachers in the school, he wasn't that good at catching notes. Josh drummed his fingers on the table before saying, "You never answered my question." There was a pause when I didn't answer. "I only have one sister, and she's very young, but I would never treat her like that. I just don't get it. Siblings fight and all, but that is not normal."
He watched me for a second before sighing. "Danny…is something going on between you and Destiny?" I ground my teeth together; it wasn't his business what my home life was. I locked eyes with him just as the bell rung, and he sighed, getting up and walking out without another word. I pushed my bangs behind my ear and draped my bag over my shoulder and followed the rest of the class out of the classroom. I didn't pass Josh on the way, which was alright by me. I didn't like the way he kept asking questions; I'd never had someone actually care so much. He couldn't do anything if he found out, anyways. We're just kids, nobody would believe him. Nobody believed me. So why would they believe him? He doesn't know anything about me, and I know nothing about him. I was the girl in the back of the classroom that no one paid any attention to. He was risking everything in school to talk to me; his reputation, or his future reputation. Popularity is everything to some people, and Josh seems like that kind of person. He's fun, and energetic, and social. He'll talk to you, make you feel special.
And then you find out he's just playing you.
I slide into the seat and pulled out my English textbook to do the sub work on the board. I thought about turning in my homework, but when I saw my name written in Josh's handwriting, I shook my head and figured it wasn't worth it to give it to a substitute.
You think you know him, and then you find out who he really is. I've been laid to, yea, of course, but I thought maybe, just maybe, he would be different. I thought he wouldn't be one to hurt me every time I turned around, and I thought that maybe someone actually cared about me— a guy no less. Okay, maybe he didn't actually, physically hurt me, but I've never had my emotions so stretched before.
I didn't know if I should go home with him, but I wanted to. I wanted to go somewhere else; I didn't want to go 'home.' And the way that Destiny's been lately, I didn't want to come home to whatever she told Dad this time. I knew it probably wouldn't help to put it off, but I didn't want to come home only to be beaten down below everyone else. Josh made me feel…equal, normal even, if that was possible. Which it probably wasn't. But I loved the way I felt when I was with him. The way he made my heart beat rise, in a good way, the way he made my cheek heat up every time he complimented me. The way and the fact that he complimented me when no one else does… it was like nothing else.
But I hated the way he could hurt me so bad without even knowing it. The way my stomach ached when he touched me; I loved it and hated it at the same time. I hated the fact that my heart felt like it was ripping in two when he was with Destiny, even looking at her. I hated that I felt connected to him, that I felt dependent. I felt dependent on him. I've never been dependent on someone. Ever since I could remember, I did everything for myself, and sometimes even for the people I'm supposed to call family. I learned to cook when I was young; probably younger than five. I taught myself to read when I was three, and then afterwards I taught myself to write by the time I was four. I had to in order to read labels and directions. I taught myself numbers and math. Destiny was different back then, and she helped me a little; she was already in school. It started when she was about nine; she started being meaner and meaner, and kept fighting with me, even over the silliest things. Finally she told me that she hated me, and that I wouldn't be good enough for anyone.
And that's what scares me, because I believed her, and I still do.
I used to tell myself that one day, when I was old enough to be legally on my own, that I would met someone. I would met someone nice, and sweet; someone that wouldn't lay a finger on me if I didn't want him to. But now…now I'm tainted. He wouldn't want me if he knew. He might think he might, but if he finds out… he'd leave me in a heartbeat.
But he wanted Destiny. If not for a minute. And she's not a virgin, either, so he might not care about that. But I cared. I cared that I wasn't me anymore. I was someone my father wanted me to be, someone my sister told everyone I was. So maybe, just maybe, he would still want me when he found out that I was ruined.
No—if! If he found out. IF. I definitely wasn't going to tell him, even if I could. I wasn't going to tell anyone. No one would even begin to understand my life. Especially lately. No one would understand. I didn't want anyone to understand, because I couldn't handle anyone trying to comfort me, or tell me it was going to be okay. It wouldn't. My life was ruined. It was ruined by a guy my father sold me to. I was going to go to college as soon as I graduated high school. I was going to find a guy, get my own apartment and marry a great guy that actually loved me. A guy nothing like my father, and everything like Josh. I was going to have kids, and leave my old life behind me. I was going to get over my fears, and my husband would help me do it. I would talk to him, and kiss him. I would do everything with him, and I would love every minute of it.
But that was all gone now. It was almost impossible for me. At this rate, I was never going to get out of the house. He was going to keep me here; against my will if he needed to. I was never going to get out of here, and if I did, it wouldn't be a good thing. I was never going to experience a real life. I was never going to get a job, or have a kid. I was never, ever going to have a normal life. No matter how hard I tried, I would not be able to forget this year, let alone that day. I wanted to look back at my first and smile, but now when I look back, I'll shutter and probably even cry. I'll never live it down, and it's all because of my father. I wanted to know what life would be like without him. What would've happened if he hadn't been my father, or if I had had a different mom, or no sister? What would've happened if I hadn't meant J or Josh? Would the same things have happened, or would Destiny just have kept ignoring me and insulting me behind my back?
Oh, whatever, it didn't matter. What's done is done, and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. There was no point in talking about ifs. It wouldn't change anything, anyways.
I was alert as I traveled down the hallways, glancing from side to side until I came to the last corner until the hall that my locker was on. I glimpsed around the corner, finding Jake and Destiny right by my locker. Of course. I sighed, relaxing my shoulder against the wall and staring at them, willing them to go away.
"They ain't gonna leave, ya know." I jumped, spinning around to find myself face to face with Josh's stunning smirk. "I overhead them talkin'. They're plannin' on ditchin' the rest a the day."
I sighed again, crossing my arms over my chest and leaning back against the wall. He held out his hand, his grin widening. "But I can escort you over there." I couldn't help the corner of my lip tipping up just a little, but I placed my hand in his. His fingers closed around mine and pulled me around the corner. I repositioned the bag on my shoulder and stared at the tiles on the ground as we walked past the couple and towards my locker. Destiny scoffed as I walked by, flipping her hair over her shoulder and leaning farther into Jake.
Josh stood next to my locker as I switched out my books, impatiently drumming his fingers on the lockers. His eyes glared in the couple's direction, almost as if he was asking Jake to make a move. I glanced over my shoulder to find Jake staring back, defensive. He dipped his head down next to Destiny's ear. She glanced to Josh, and then to me, and scowled. "Alright," I saw her mouth. He let go of her hand and turned on his heels, strolling towards me. I stiffened, and so did Josh, standing up straight.
Jake barely glanced at him as he placed his hand on the locker next to my ear. "Here, let me carry those books for you." he said, reaching for the thing in my hand. I tightened my arms around them, gulped, and glanced at Josh, begging him for help.
Josh ground his teeth together, stepping up to Jake. "Jake, leave her alone." He said through clenched teeth. The hallway seemed to fall silent instantly. I glanced around, finding people staring at us, staring at the boys, waiting for something to happen.
For a fight to happen.
It was inevitable, but I knew Jake was just taunting him. "Fight! Fight! Fight!" someone started from the crowd, and soon everyone was chanting it.
Jake smirked as Josh glanced around uneasily, coming to the same conclusion that I was. "What're gonna do about it?"
Josh's eyes immediately locked with his and he clenched his jaw again. "Leave her alone." He repeated, clenching his fists by his side.
Jake straightened, sliding his hand down from the lockers and brushing my arm. Mechanically, I recoiled from him. His eyes connected with mine, and then returned to Josh. "Make me." he said calmly.
I lashed out for Josh's hand to calm him, so he wouldn't throw the first punch, but Jake was already stumbling back into the crowd. "Ooohhh!" the students said in unison as Jake was pushed back into the circle they had made around us. I glanced back at Josh, dumbstruck, to find him biting his lip, his eyes full of regret as he glanced at me.
Surprise filled Jake's face as he rubbed his cheek, pulling his hand back to check for blood. He ground his teeth together, glaring at Josh, his eyes blazing and his fists clenching at his sides. He ran up to Josh and threw his fist, but found nothing but air. Josh had dodged, sliding to the right with his arms crossed over his chest and a smirk plastered on his face.
Jake ground his teeth again, glancing around at people scoffing and laughing at him. His face turned red. From embarrassment or anger, I wasn't sure. He tried again, but Josh ducked to the ground and swung his leg under Jake's, making him crash to the floor with an Uf! Bursts of laughter filled the hall and Jake tried to kick at Josh, but he caught his foot. Jake lashed out with the other, catching Josh's knee with his heel.
He let out a breath and stepped back, releasing Jake's foot. As he jumped up, I could see a bruise forming on his cheek. Good. Now he knows how I feel. But he wore a content smirk on his face, believing he was coming back.
Suddenly, the books were knocked from my hands, falling to the ground. I gasped and glanced up to find Destiny smiling down at me with an evil look in her eyes. She grabbed my hair, making me wince and gasp involuntarily. I tried pulling it back, but the back of her hand slapped my cheek. I stumbled backwards as she released my hair. I felt hands grabbing my back as I fell into someone. I gasped, spun around, and found myself staring into the hazel eyes of a student on the edge of the circle. I didn't bother glancing back to see what was waiting for me; I pushed through the crowds of the spectators, dashing down the hallway. I thought I heard someone calling after me, but I pushed it out of my head.
Thankfully, there were other people in the classroom when I entered. I pulled my bangs behind my ear and ducked my head as I made my way towards my seat in the back. When I reached down for my bag, I realized I had left it where Destiny had pushed it out of my hands. I sighed and bit my lip as I glanced around the room.
Josh entered the room not long after that, carrying my stuff under his arm. He sat down with a deep sigh and slid the things on my desk. He ran a hand through his hair and momentarily closed his eyes. "Sorry 'bout that," he said, shaking his head the slightest. "I couldn't help myself. I can't stand the thought of him touching you like that."
A shiver ran down my spine and I looked away, hating the guilt that flashed through me. Tears threatened to escape my closed eyes, but I took a deep breath and tightened my jaw. It was amazing how much time he could spend with me and yet know nothing about me. How could he not suspect something? But I wasn't sure if I wanted him to. A part of me wanted him to come and take me away from this place, from my family, and this stupid town. But a part of me was scared of change, scared of the real world and what could happen.
Third period, lunch, and Spanish all went by quickly, with me drowned in my thoughts and not focused on the tests that I had missed. I was scared to go to my locker after school ended, but I was determined to go to Josh's no matter how I felt about him at the time. I wanted to see what a normal family was like, what his family was like.
I stuck to the right side of the hallway on my way to my locker, tracking along the wall with my eyes glued to the floor. As I approached the hall filled with lockers, someone blocked my path. I stopped and glanced up at him, giving him my infamous, annoyed look. He beamed at me and slung his arm around my shoulders. "So I got ISS tomorrow…" he said as we began down the hall again, him matching my every step. "What the heck is that? Institute of Silly Strings?"
I giggled, covering my mouth with my hand and pointed across the hallway, towards the ISS room, or In School Suspension. He scrunched up his nose in disgust. "Oh. I like silly string better. I'm gonna stick with that."
I smiled and rolled my eyes. "So you gotta date for the dance yet?" he teased, rubbing my shoulder before dropping his arm as we walked up to the lockers. I put in the combination, opened it, and gave him an 'are you stupid?' look. He laughed, taking my books from me and tucking them under his arm. I shut the locker and gave him a look before brushing my bangs back and starting down the hallway. He quickly caught up with me again.
"No, I'm serious! Most everyone's got a date by now!" he took my hand as we went through the doors, passing Jake and Destiny by her car. The strong winds wrapped my hair around my face and neck as we walked to his SUV, where Iya was sitting atop the hood, talking to some friends who we surrounding her on the ground. Most of them who happened to be guys.
Josh walked up and placed a hand on the hood, tilting his head slightly and smiling. "Hey Iya, what ya up to?"
Iya slid down off the hood, smiling back uneasily. "Oh, uh, hey Josh. "
"What're you doing on my car?"
She flashed an innocent smile. "Waiting for you, silly!"
He gave loud, exasperated sigh. "Did you still wanna drive home?" he said reluctantly.
She brightened automatically. "YES!" she rushed for the door, completely ignoring the guys she had once been talking to. Quickly, they dispersed when they realized they weren't going to get anything out of her.
He turned to me. "So you wanna get the front seat?" he asked hopefully. I gave him a look and opened the back door.
He sighed. "It was a long shot." He mumbled and put his hand on the door knob. I whipped out and took his hand, tugging him after me as I slid into the back seat. "I wish there were more seat belts…" he muttered as we buckled in. Iya slid her hands over the wheel, smiling excitedly.
I glanced at Josh worriedly and he just shrugged. "I told her she could. I told you I was going to regret this…" the car lurched forward, and an angry couple flicked her off.
Iya pouted. "Well, that wasn't very nice!" she yelled, even though the couple was long gone and the windows were up.
Josh leaned forward. "Maybe I should drive. You're not even out of the parking space and you've almost killed someone."
Iya flashed him a glare. "I can do this. Just calm down." She scolded.
Josh sighed and leaned back in his seat. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders again, and I leaned into him. "This is gonna be a long drive."
We got out of the parking lot alive, and without killing anyone else, but the road was a different story. Thankfully there weren't any stop lights in the town, or we might have crashed.
"Iya! You just passed Levi's school!" Josh said, trying not to yell, and glanced back at the school.
"Oh, right, gotta pick him up." She said and did a sudden U-turn in the middle of traffic. Josh and I both screamed and he tucked me into his chest.
"Don't do that!" Josh yelled after we somehow got out alive.
"Right." She nodded. "Got it." She stopped abruptly as we pulled into the elementary school's parking lot. A line of cars were ahead of us, but we slowly inched forward.
"Oh no. you've got to be kidding me, right?" Levi said as soon as he saw Iya in the driver's seat. "I have a test tomorrow. I can't afford to die." He said sarcastically as he got in and shut the door behind him.
"Oh come on! I got us here alive, didn't I?" Iya complained.
"Barely," Josh coughed.
Iya was very nervous at the wheel the rest of the way. She was stiff, with her arms straight out, barely bent at the elbows. But she got us there. Alive, and unharmed at least.
Josh helped me out of the car (which I didn't need, but he insisted). "Well, that's not ever gonna happen again."
"Agreed," Iya and Levi said at the same time as they got out.
Josh laughed and nodded before holding his hand out to me. "Well, this is your last chance. Are you ready?" he smiled.
I bit my lip as I diffidently placed my hand in his.
Well…there you have it! I got stuck on this chapter so many times it's not even funny, but with the help of some friends, I managed to write :D I didn't have time to reread it, so sorry about all the typos and stuff!
Okay, so I've got two questions for you. One: What do you think's going to happen? Two: if you got to ask a question, what would it be?
Review PLEASE! :D
~Anni12