Page 83 of Withered

I lean against him and look at him, taking in his features while his eyes remain closed. His long lashes… God!Why do boys have longer lashes when they don’t need them?

He blinks, opens his eyelids, and lets me go. He glares at the people around us, and they scram.

“Let’s go,” he says this, grasping my hand in his.

“Why are people so afraid of you?” I ask.

“I’ve got a reputation to keep,” he answers.Idiot.

I tug at his hand, stop him, and start giggling. He gives me a skeptical and confused look.

“You have my chapstick all over your lips,” I say, gently wiping away the chapstick from his lips with my thumb.

He watches me intensely, his eyes full of desire. Forest green orbs staring right into me. His warm breath fans my thumb as his lips split.

“All done,” I say, and then we walk to our next class.

We’re a few minutes late since we had to stop by our lockers to get our books. Lucky for us, Professor Williams has not arrived.

Whispers break through the class when Jake and I arrive together. One glare from Jake, and they all quiet down straight away.

We settle down, but the people won’t stop looking; their stares make me nervous and uncomfortable.

Jake grunts and shouts, “Don’t you have other things to do than just stare at us?” His voice booms through the class.

Everyone looks away from us and goes about their business. The professor arrives shortly after and begins the class.

In the middle of the class, I feel Jake’s eyes on me. I turn to see him, and indeed, he is staring.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

“You’re oddly quiet. Is it because of what happened earlier?” He asks.

“No. Why would you think that? I got busy solving this.” I say, “They’ll talk about us now and someone else tomorrow.”

“Okay.” He nods, then smirks, “Just a reminder; I’m taking you home.”

“You drove me to school, so of course you are the one dropping me home.” I grin.

After our little encounter this morning, he told me he’d pick me up for school. He left after that, and I got ready. As promised, he did come to pick me up, ten minutes later than my usual time. We arrived at school just before the second bell rang, so no one noticed us.

I almost panicked when the bell went off, but I didn’t get to yell at Jake. This idiot found a way to silence me with his kisses. Because I was late for the first time, the professor let me in. And now, here we are.

Math went well, but nobody would stop staring. I don’t care what they think, or maybe I do. But it bothers me when they gaze. They just stop and stare at me wherever I go, which is a little concerning.

Jake is beside me as I come to a halt at my locker. We have different classes now, so we’ll meet in the parking lot after school.

I meet up with other friends of mine and go to Physics. The lecture goes by in a flash. Emily and Ava are both hilarious and know every gossip story about our school. They sit next to me and inform me of the recent talk regarding me and Jake.

I guess we’re trending right now.Whatever.

I stroll to the parking lot with Ava and Emily. Kristy and Tyler are standing alongside her Honda Accord. We all talk for a while as I wait for Jake.

Tyler notices me and asks, “Rose, where’s Jake?”

“I don’t know. We agreed to meet here,” I say, shaking my head.

Kristy pipes in, “What do you mean by meeting here?”

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