Page 28 of The Boy I Once Loved

He grins as he bites into his toast. “I can’t help it if the girls all want in my pants.”

“You’re disgusting,” I tell him, frowning. The thought of him with other girls makes me feel sick.

“That’s not what they all say.” He chuckles, and he ducks when I throw a piece of toast at him.

We pull up on the school car park and most of the sixth form kids are hanging out around their cars chatting. My hope of no one noticing that I arrive with Dylan goes out the window when Connor shouts our names from across the car park, just as Dylan is helping me out of the car. Fuck my life!

Connor jogs over, smiling. "Hey, my favourite people. How's the ankle, Ella?"

I wiggle my boot. “Still broken.”

Connor grins. “Come on, we were just about to head inside.” We follow him over to where his girlfriend Aria and two other girls are chatting beside his car.

"Hey, Ella." Aria greets me smiling. "Let me introduce you to Katy and Freya."

“Hi,” I tell the two girls who are observing me intently. The brunette smiles and says hi back, but the blonde girl stares at me.

“Hey Dylan,” she purrs at him, licking her lips as she takes him in.

“Hi Freya, How’s things?”

“Good. I’m having a few people around mine tonight. You should come?”

He grins, “Thanks. We’d love to.”

“We?” Freya asks, looking confused.

“Yeah, me and El.” Dylan takes my bag from me and slings it over his shoulder. “Come on, let’s get you to class.”

Dylan helps me to my first class, which unfortunately has Beth and her cronies in. I can't help but smile at her face when she sees Dylan come in with me. "I'll come to get you at the end of class."

I smile as I take my bag off him. “I think I can manage okay by myself.”

He shakes his head. “I’ll be outside to collect you.”

Class passes quickly, and sure enough, Dylan is waiting with Connor outside for me when I come out. He immediately takes my bag from me and he slings it over his shoulder and Connor takes my jacket and I walk in between them. As we pass people they look and whisper, I turn and look behind me and see a group of girls pointing at me and whispering.

We arrive in Media studies class and Dylan sits beside me, with Connor behind him. Aria walks into the room and drops a kiss on Connor's cheek as she sits behind me.

“Oh, wow!” she exclaims from behind me, and I turn to look at her.

“Are you okay?”

She grins knowingly at me. “Yeah, I’m good.”

“Oookay!” I say puzzled and I turn back to face the front. People are acting weird today.

At lunchtime, I walk alongside Aria to the cafeteria. Connor is bugging Dylan about some movie that has just released. "Okay, I'll go," Dylan says holding his hands up. "But only if Ella does."

Connor looks at me pleadingly. “You have to come Ella.”

“It’s some boring kids cartoony type film,” Aria says, rolling her eyes at me.

Connor tuts and gives her a hurt look. "It is not a kid's cartoon. Some characters are computer-generated." He holds his hands together as if begging. "Say you'll come."

I groan. “Okay, I will come, but you buy me nachos and a hot chocolate.”

“Deal,” he replies, grinning. We reach the cafeteria and Dylan guides me over to their table, insisting he will get me my food. I sit on my own while they all queue up. I see Amber sitting with Josh and the guys and I give her a wave, and she offers me a wide smile and she waves back. My phone pings and I see a what’s app from Uncle Matt. He is checking in to see how I am. Smiling, I text back that I am okay, and he tells me he will ring me tonight. I miss Uncle Matt. He is great to hang out with, and he has been there for me when I wasn’t at my best.

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