;) Told you guys I'd have another chapter uploaded sooner. Haha, yeah, I just had this huge urge to get another chapter uploaded so for those who are this far in the story will have more to read. I hope you guys are enjoying it so far and don't forget to leave a review, they actually help a lot when writing new material and finding ways to get out of writers block. Thanks again for reading, and as always I hope you enjoy.
-Sofia
Maxine's POV
"It's easy to take off your clothes and have sex; people do it all the time, but opening up your soul to someone, letting them into your spirit, thoughts, fears, future, hopes, and dreams…that's being naked." –Rob Bell
The next morning is like yesterdays. Like any other school day really. Except for the fact that when I open my eyes I feel a warm blush on my cheeks from my dream last night. Angrily, I pick up a pillow from my bed and throw it across the room. I once read online that you dream of certain people because they're thinking about you, or was it that you dream of the person you fell asleep thinking of? I can't remember anymore. Either way I was thinking about Embry in some way. I run my hand through my hair, push the blankets off me, and get ready for yet another day of the rest of my life.
Only 80 more years, that's only, I quickly do the math in my head, 29,200 more days to go, I think and moan as I step into the hot water awaiting me. After my shower, not really paying much attention to what I grab out of my closet, I slip into a pair of skinny jeans and a long sleeve white button up dress shirt with black buttons and a black collar. The sleeves are a little long, so I roll them up to my wrists. Lastly, I slip on a pair of wool socks and a pair of white combat boots with black laces.
My leather jackets lying over my desk chair, so I slip it on, and grab my backpack and lanyard before walking downstairs. My stomach growls with hunger, but I'm not really in the mood to eat anything.
Rose and David are at the kitchen table eating, but I just tell them I'll eat something at school. Rose protests, and when I tell her it's fine, she grabs an apple off the table and hands it to me insisting I eat something. I give her a smile in thanks before heading out the front door and hopping into my car.
Damn the ten minute drive to school. I try everything: turning on the radio to its highest setting, tapping my finger against the steering wheel, making sure I was following every possible driving rule I learned in class, and even trying to eat the apple Rose gave me but my thoughts always would drift back to Embry and my dream.
Sure Embry was cute with his tall, strong physique, and brown eyes, but he isn't my type. He's shy and mysterious, and I need someone like Seth who is outgoing and totally crazy to balance my shy self out with. Being with someone who is just as shy as I am is just going to bring me down back to my old self.
The ten minutes go fast after that and before I know it I'm pulling into the school into the same parking spot as yesterday. I hop out of my car and walk into the school. The environments the same as yesterday and seeing nothing interesting going on, I head upstairs to my locker to get my first half of the day stuff.
I arrive at my locker, open the lock, and try to open the locker door. Once again it doesn't open. Things look hopeless yet again until I remember the technique Seth showed me. Clumsily, I pound my fist against the side of the locker and burst out laughing when the door flies open. A few students look in my direction, and I quickly calm myself down as if nothing ever happened.
I quickly exchange my stuff and jump when someone puts their hands over my eyes.
"Guess who?" The mysterious person says in a voice smooth as honey.
Involuntarily, I reach up to touch the person's hands. There warm and callused and immediately I recognize them from when they were on my wrist yesterday. I laugh and take his hands away from my face and turn around, "Hi Seth, how are you?"
He flashes me a beautiful white smile, "Fine, just fine, how are you doing?"
I shrug, an involuntary smile on my face. It's hard not to smile around Seth, "As good as I'll ever be."
He smiles, takes my hand in his, and leads me downstairs to meet up with his friends, I'm guessing. When we get into the commons we walk over to the same spot where they were standing yesterday.
Jacob raises his eyebrows when he sees Seth and I come up to them, and I soon let go of his hand out of embarrassment when I see all three of them begin to stare. Seth gives me a questionable look before looking over to talk to Jacob. Quil takes his eyes off me to join Seth's and Jacob's conversation, but I can see out of the corner of my eye Embry continuing to stare at me with his beautiful brown eyes. Feeling uncomfortable, I quickly tell Seth that I need to head to class and that I'd see him at lunch.
I quickly walk down the hall to my first hour class and out of the corner of my eyes I can still see Embry look after me until I turn the corner and I can't see him anymore.
The day goes by fast and soon its 6th hour, and I'm getting out of my creative writing class and heading to lunch. So far I'm actually really liking my creative writing class. The teacher, Mrs. Pulaski, is surprisingly really nice. She graduated from a school in New York so she was really happy to see that I came from there. Yesterday she made us write a quick paper about why we took the class and what we expect to learn from it, and today when we got our paper back she wrote on mine that it was really well written and she's excited to have me in her class for the rest of the year. So far one out of two classes I expected to like I actually like.
When I get to the cafeteria I take my usual seat and Seth soon joins me. We eat while we talk and we talk while we eat. He tells me about his classes and which ones are his favorites, and I tell him about mine and how I'm really liking creative writing. Once again he asks me if I want to go to the beach after school, for which I tell him yes. I so far have some homework to do but it shouldn't take me any longer than thirty minutes.
The bell rings, and he awkwardly hugs me goodbye before we part ways. Slowly, I head to my 7th hour class. I walk slower than usual hoping the fire bell would go off, and I won't have to go to AP World History and see Embry.
Sadly, the school isn't big enough, and I promised Mr. Horvitz I wouldn't be late again. Right before the bell rings I walk into the classroom and immediately my eyes connect with a pair of brown ones. It's like he was waiting for me to walk into the classroom. I can see him breathe a sigh of relief as I walk over and take my seat next to him.
Mr. Horvitz gives a hello and immediately sets a worksheet on everybody's table. I grab mine before Embry can even reach for his and immediately begin working on it. Embry grabs his and sets it in front of him but doesn't begin working on it. Out of the corner of my eye I can see him just sit there and stare at me. It's a long assignment, and I would really not like any homework tonight so I don't say anything to him. A minute to bell and he still is staring at me and I've had enough.
"Take a picture it will last longer!" I whisper scream at him so Mr. Horvitz doesn't hear me.
The bell rings, thank God, and I angrily gather my stuff, shove it in my backpack, and walk out of the classroom and down the hall. He once again runs after me, and I walk faster when he catches up to me.
He once again grabs my arm, and I fall against his muscular chest. I push off his chest rather harshly and he grabs both my wrists pulling me to the side into one of the side hallways people barely use. I struggle harder against his grasp and he pushes me against the wall bracing my wrists on either side of my face. I stop struggling and he speaks bending his knee a little so that his face is level with mine. He really is a lot taller than I am, "Maxine, please listen to me," he stares into my eyes, his brown ones meeting my blue ones, "I'm sorry that I've acted so rudely to you. It wasn't right for me to ignore you like that. I just get so nervous around you, around new people I mean, and I don't think about what's coming out of my mouth before I say it."
He gets nervous around me? Why would he get nervous around me?
"That doesn't mean you can just grab me, pull me aside against my will, and force me against a wall?" I yell angrily at him.
"I know," he says lowering his head then lifting it, "this is totally uncalled for, but you wouldn't talk to me no matter what I did. How was I supposed to get you to listen to me?"
Still angry I say, "What makes you think I want to talk to you? Maybe me ignoring you is a sign that I don't want to talk to you. A guy like you never wants to talk to a girl like me. Take a hint!"
"You really know how to hold a grudge don't you?" He says raising an eyebrow, "And what do you mean by 'A guy like me?'"
My face blushes, and I say matter-o-factly changing the subject, "When I have to get to class in two minutes and I'm being held hostage, yeah I know how to hold a grudge."
"I hope you know that I'm not even holding you that hard, you could have pushed me away minutes ago," he says giving me a lopsided grin.
Finally it hits me. He really isn't holding me that hard. Actually his grip has loosened on my wrists tremendously since when he first pushed me against the wall.
Anger flares through me and my cheeks go red. I don't know if it's from anger or a deep blush, "Shut up."
"Now look who's being rude now?" He snickers.
The bell rings, the sound ringing in my ears.
"Great, now I'm late for class, thanks a lot," I say pushing against his wrists, but he still wouldn't let me go.
"Is yourself all you think about?" He asks pushing against me so that I couldn't leave.
"What?" I ask offended.
"Yourself? Is that all you think about? You say 'A guy like me wouldn't talk to a girl like you.' Have you ever thought for a second that 'A guy like me' actually does want to talk to a girl like you? Maybe a guy like me actually really likes a girl like you. Maybe you should give me a chance," He says bringing his face even closer to mine.
Maybe a guy like me actually really likes a girl like you. He likes me? Why would he like me? Why do you care? You just said that he wasn't your type.
The blush on my face gets hotter and my voice cracks when I ask, "You like me?"
He grins, "Why else would I be holding you here against your will?"
That gets a smile out of me and even a little laugh. His face lights up at seeing me smile and a smile appears over his face. He really does have a beautiful smile. When he smiles his eyes light up and it makes them appear brighter and livelier.
He starts leaning his face closer to mine so that are foreheads are touching. My breath hitches in my throat, and I let out a little gasp. Our lips are an inch from touching. He leans in even closer, and I inch my face closer to his. His breath is soft against my skin, and smells like mint. Our lips are just about to touch when someone coughs behind us causing me to push against Embry's chest and he lets me go, taking a step back.
A teacher, one I don't recognize, is standing a few feet away from us, her arms folded across her chest.
"Shouldn't you two be in class?" She asks eyeing both Embry and I.
I nod slowly, too embarrassed to say anything, and she just shakes her head and motions for us to follow her.
We are taken down the hall and to the office where she tells the principal, an older man with a bald head and a pot belly to match about what had happened. He looks mad and disappointed in the both of us and he calls both our parents and tells them of what had happened and that we needed to be picked up from school as soon as possible.
I'm so getting grounded for this.
After ten minutes Rose comes barreling through the office doors, an angry expression on her face. She gives me a look but before she can yell at me the principal, Mr. Sanders, interrupts her, "Hello, Mrs. Felix," he starts to say, and I chuckle because that's not her last name. Rose gives me a look and he continues, "My names Carl Sanders," that gets another laugh out of not me but also Embry and Rose gives me another look, but Mr. Sanders didn't notice it and continued talking, "I'm the principal. I'm sorry I had to interrupt you in the middle of your day but we caught your daughter and this boy together when they should have been in class."
"Please, call me Rose," Rose says extending her hand which Mr. Sanders takes and shakes it, "And I'm sorry that you had to call me. I'm also sorry that Maxine is in trouble already, it really isn't like her."
"I can clearly see that, Rose. I've been looking at her old school records and she seems like an extraordinary student, but it's against school policy to be tardy for your classes. I'm afraid I'm going to have to give her four morning detentions because she was clearly at fault."
"But it wasn't her fault," Embry says quickly, out of nowhere, and the three of us turn our heads toward him, but I give him a look of 'what do you think you're doing?'
He returns my gaze, clears his throat, and says to Mr. Sanders, "I mean…it was my fault Maxine was late. I didn't get the assignment for our last class, so I pulled Maxine aside to ask her for it. She told me she had to go, but I really needed the assignment. I wouldn't let her go and we must have lost track of time because before we knew it the bell had rung and now here we are. It's my fault, not hers."
Mr. Sanders look from Embry to me and asks, "Is this this true, Maxine?"
Embry gives me a slight nod, and I give Mr. Sanders a quick nod back.
"Well then," he says clearing his throat, "It may have not been your fault that you were late but you were still late. I'm still going to have to give you two morning detentions."
I nod and while Rose thanks and apologizes once again to Mr. Sanders I whisper yell over to Embry, "What was that for? Why did you do that?"
"It was my fault you were late, Maxine," he whispers and the way he says my name sends chills down my spine, "I just didn't want to see you in detention for something you didn't do."
"It's not your job to defend me," I whisper defensively.
He gives a slight shrug, "I just didn't want to see a beautiful face like yours in such an unbeautiful place."
A blush comes to my cheeks and before I can respond Rose picks me up by the upper arm and hauls me out of the principal's office, out into the parking lot, and into her car.
"But what about my car?" I ask once I've buckled myself up.
"David will come later and pick it up," she says not looking at me. I can tell she's angry because she starts the car and pushes on the acceleration a little too fast, causing my body to fly forward in the seat. Thank God for seatbelts.
The whole car ride home consists of nothing but silence, not even the radio is on. Only when we get home, and we both step into the house do I finally get the yelling of a lifetime I should have gotten at school.
"What was that about, Maxine? I'm at home spending some nice quality time to myself when I get a call from your principal that you were caught by a teacher making out with some guy! I didn't even know you had a boyfriend? We just moved here."
"I don't have boyfriend, Rose. And we weren't making out," I say shyly, running a hand through my hair.
She looks at me fire burning in her eyes, "Then who was that boy you were-you were so embraced with in the hallway? Was that one of those Quileute boys? Maxine, I told you I didn't want you associating yourself with them. They're not your type."
That's what I thought, I want to say but instead say, "Rose I-" I try to speak but she interrupts me.
"You've been at La Push High School for two days now and you're already in trouble with the principal. What's next smoking in the girl's bathroom? Skipping class to meet up with your drug dealer?"
I roll my eyes at the way she's overreacting, "Rose-" I try again but she interrupts me the same as before.
"You're grounded," she says sternly, calming down a little bit, "and I don't want you seeing those Quileute boys again, especially the one you were rudely making out with."
"His names Embry, for one," I tell her and she gives me a dumbfounded look, "for two, we weren't making out, and for three you've grounded me?"
"Yeah, you come home from school right after school and you don't go out on weekends unless I know where you're going and who you're going out with," she says in the same tone.
"How long do I have to follow these rules?" I ask totally astonished at all of this.
"Until I feel like I can trust you again."
That gets me, "Trust me? You can't trust me?" I yell at her, "So I was caught with a boy, big deal. I get straight A's in school. I've never done drugs, or smoked, or gotten in trouble with the cops. I've given you tons of reasons to trust me in the past and because I've done one thing you don't like that takes away all your trust in me? I can't believe this! You're overreacting, as usual!"
I don't wait for her to respond instead I run upstairs to my room and slam the door shut like a little kid who got their favorite toy taken away. I angrily pace back and forth and after a few moments I decide to call Lilly. She picks up on the third ring, Lilly was never one to pick up right away, and is surprised by my call yet excited to talk to me.
"Hey Maxine, I haven't talked to you in forever. How are you? How's school?" She asks question after question.
"Hey, Lilly. I'm good…kind of. I got in trouble today at school and Rose is making a huge deal about it."
"Oh Gosh," she says, and I can imagine her rolling her eyes, "what did you do, little miss angel?"
"I was caught by a teacher 'embraced' with a guy," I say hesitantly, my face blushing from the memory.
"Damn girl," she says proudly, "Finally! Who?" She says continuing to cheer on the other line.
I laugh, surprising even myself, "His name's Embry, he's a sophomore."
"Embry?" She repeats like she's thinking about if she knows him or not, but I decide not when I hear her say, "Unique name."
"Yeah, he's from the Quileute tribe here along with a few other guys I've met. Three of them total go to my school. One's a freshman and the two other ones are sophomores."
"Ekkkk!" She squeals into the phone, "Wait is that why Rose is mad at you?"
"Yeah, she doesn't want me to associate myself with the Quileute boys. But there really nice, Lilly. Take Seth for example, he's a freshman, and he's super nice, but she thinks they're on drugs and are bad influences because she's heard a few thing around town. Now, I'm grounded until she can 'trust' me again. I've given her a billion reasons to trust me, and just because I've done one thing she doesn't like she doesn't trust me anymore."
She scoffs into the phone, "That's ridiculous, so you broke out of your usual 'Maxine' shell, big whoop."
"Hey!" I yell and she laughs at my reaction, "But that's what I said, expect from the 'breaking out of my usual 'Maxine' shell part,'" I explain, "but she made a huge deal about it."
"Well, you are the only kid she has, if not biologically metaphorically," she continues, "Maybe because of this she feels like she's loosing you, do you get what I'm saying?"
Yes, I think, but instead say, "Who's side are you on?"
"Yours!" She says quickly, "But maybe that's the reason."
"Maybe," I said sadly, pressing the phone between my chin and ear so that I could push my thumbs in my front pockets.
"So," Lilly says happily, changing the subject, "Find any cute girls for me yet?"
I laugh remembering the promise I made her. It seems like forever since I made that promise. I've been so busy with myself that I forgot about Lilly. Maybe Embry was right, I am selfish, "Not yet, but once I find one I'll make sure to give her your number."
"You better," she threatens.
I laugh again and we continue to talk until what feels like forever. We're Lilly and Maxine again like we were before I moved here and it gets me to thinking how much I miss New York and her.
I tell her all about La Push High School and the people that go there. She tells me about school there and all the teachers she came to hate since I left. I cry when she tells me that me going there was the only thing that kept her going to school and dealing with all the teachers and students.
I tell her more about the Quileute boys and send her an email with the link to a few of their legends that I think she may like. I tell her about Seth and how he 'saved' me the first day of school and how we've become close in the past day. I tell her about First Beach where Seth and I hang out a lot and gasp and smack my forehead when I remember that we were supposed to hang out today. He would understand? Would he?
She tells me about a girl she met at some Buddhist store, named Elizabeth, a few days after I left, and how she invited her out for coffee and how they've been on one date since then. By what Lilly tells me about her they seem really great together. They're both into the same bands, music, religion. I'm happy for Lilly but something deep inside me feels jealous that she found someone else in the short time since I left.
We talk till about midnight when she tells me she better get going to bed. I tell her I better get going to bed also because I've got early morning detention. We both say, "Night," not 'Good night'. I don't know it's something weird that Lilly and I do. There isn't a 'Bad night' or 'Medium night', why should we say 'Good night'?
She hangs up first, and only when I hear the sound of a dead phone on the other line do I hang up and get changed into my pajamas. Before I fall asleep I remember that I had homework to do but decide I'll do it tomorrow in detention.
For once insomnia doesn't affect me at all, and I fall asleep almost immediately. My bipolar thoughts don't meet me in my dreams for once, and I dream about no other then Embry. I dream about the way he was holding me and how his body felt so close to mine. I dream about his smile and the way he smelled, like mint, and pine, and cologne. I dream about how we were this close to kissing. How I was this close to feeling his lips against mine. I even dream about the way he defended me in Mr. Sander's office when we were both clearly at fault. He defended me. Though in another part of my dream I dream were kissing, his lips soft against mine. His hands are on my face, his thumbs tracing my cheekbones.
You hear girls talk about how boys break their hearts and keep them up for hours at nights. Who would have known that a boy was the only thing that helped me sleep peacefully at night?
I hope you guys enjoyed that :) We're finally starting to get to the chapters that I've written/edited more recently. Yeyyyy! But that also means that we're starting to get to the end of chapters I have ready to upload. When that happens its probably going to take awhile longer for me to upload anything because I'm going to have to write and edit completely new stuff. As always I have stuff already written, but I still need to add and edit all that and it takes some time and I've been having extreme writers block lately :/ But we've still got some time until then :) As always all my various social networks are on my profile where you guys can check to see what I'm up too. As always don't forget to leave a review, I love hearing what you guys have to say about the story so far :)
Ave Atque Vale
-Sofia