Page 19 of Playing with Fire

Her joke makes Felix laugh even harder. "I'll help you with that," he says.

She gives me a nod before she walks out the door together with me. As I step outdoors, I notice that her cheeks show a shade of red.

"Aww. You made him laugh." I punched her on the shoulder.

She retreated into her car while telling me to stop talking. As I walked to my car, I prayed that I would survive this situation.

Specifically, he survives. The weekend ended as fast as it had started. I left my bed on Monday with the same slow start as usual and made my way to school.

The classes went on non-stop while I heard the teacher's voice fading into my ear. I struggled to keep my eyes open for any of the classes.

The only aspect that felt positive about this was the lack of stress. Jaxon's condition meant that he was not present where he could have been. He wasn't present during any of my morning classes which made me thankful to God because I believed I couldn't manage him.

Lunchtime arrived and I felt three years older. I got up from my desk and made my way to the cafeteria. I removed my bag from my shoulder and placed it on the bench while I started shopping for lunch online. As I waited there, I noticed a flyer posted on the board.

Prom Tickets Now Available!

Shit. The date for Prom came back to me now that I saw it was only a few weeks away. It became necessary for me to choose my attire and determine my date for the event.

The idea of attending Prom had faded from my mind ever since my breakup with Alec.

He's such a dick. Because everyone else doesn't interest me enough I'll either attend by myself or bring Hazel along.

She won't have the option if she chooses to let her "balls" drop and asks the guy she has loved since middle school. I took a deep breath and stepped forward to purchase a cookie and fries before exiting. I wasn't that hungry. After paying for my food, I went back to my seat to view everyone sitting at the table.

Although I must sit next to him for forty minutes, I take my seat and sigh.

I rest my elbows on the table while I eat a fry. Jaxon moves his hand swiftly towards my food tray to snatch some items for himself.

I pushed his hand away while letting out a groan. "Buy your fat ass."

Felix and Hazel across from me shared a laugh about this situation which I found amusing.

They enjoy our bickering. Scratch that—I'm pretty sure they all do.

"What's got you all grumpy?" Hazel asks.

"Alec." I mutter his name with a groan which only adds to my frustration. Before they can answer my question, I blurt out "God, I haven't even seen him today, but he's annoying me."

I coated another fry with ketchup and brought it near my mouth.

A bump to my leg caused my fry to veer off track, resulting in ketchup being smeared on the edges of my lips.

I cleaned off the ketchup smear and ate the fries while Hazel and Felix continued to laugh. I immediately swung my hand to strike Jaxon on the shoulder without feeling any regret.

He keeps his focus elsewhere, yet I figure he's laughing uncontrollably when I hear Elijah chuckle.

My annoyance level couldn't possibly increase. I pay him no attention and refocus on Felix and Hazel who remain absorbed in their dialogue. After a few more minutes of discussion the topic came to an end.

The conversation continued with Felix asking me a question. "Alright, what's going on up there, Ms. Grump?"

"Hmm?" I came back to the moment and understood that I had been daydreaming.

That stupid boy who ended things with me over nothing caused all of it. He's such a–

"You're scowling pretty hard right now, Em. What's up?" Hazel's concern was evident.

"What do you think?" My hands dropped onto the table as my reply revealed my underlying anger. "Sorry," I was quick to apologize. "Whatever happened between you guys?" she asked me. I sighed and rolled my eyes.

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