NATE"Hey man," Marco nudges me with his arm, corking me a mischievous eyebrow. "What are you thinking about?""Nothing." I deny, taking a sip of my orange juice, pretending to focus my eyes on my phone lying on our lunch table by the edge of the noisy cafeteria."You are thinking about her again, aren't you?" Jennie teases, wrapping her hand around Marco's arm.I take a bite of my burger, feigning ignorance. "What are you talking about?" "I am talking about Tasha." She throws a fried potato chip into her mouth with her free hand. "You bumped into her this morning. Marco and I saw the way you were looking at her."I swallow down the mashed burger in my mouth, trying to look unbothered. "What do you mean by the way I was looking at her?""Come on man." Marco nudges me again. "We all know you have feelings for Tasha Quinn and that she is the reason why you don't have a girlfriend. You never stopped looking at her in class today, and you do that every single day. Cut the pretense already
TASHAI dash into the female restroom and shut the door behind me, crashing helplessly to the floor. Fresh hot tears stream down my cheeks, and I silently wish the floor would just open up and sink me in. My stomach growls in hunger, but the sound is not loud enough to drown my sobs. They jerk out of me, trembling my entire body, stealing my ability to breathe properly.I know I should be in class now, but I can't bring myself to concentrate on anything at the moment. I am angry. I am sad. I am hungry. I am depressed. In fact, I am feeling all the worst emotions anyone can ever think of right now.My ears catch clinking footsteps echoing down the hallway. My ears register girly giggles from the outside. Judging from the sound of the thudding footsteps increasing and drawing nearer by the second, I can tell that they might be heading towards this restroom.I glance at the mirror from my sitting position on the floor.Fuck. My face is a total ugly mess.I quickly jerk to my feet from th
TASHASchool hours breeze fast like an invisible wind, so fast that I nearly jump out from my seat when I suddenly hear the school dismissal bell ringing so loud. So loud that it subconsciously keeps on reminding me of my punishment waiting for me at the Green Den.I swear I hate that damn place. Everyone hates that place. It is just a silent torture zone.Obviously not having any other options or routes of escaping my punishment, I grab my bag from the floor and stand up from my seat, ready and yet not ready for my journey to the Green Den. Diane looks pretty busy in her new sitting position with her latest vampire friends, chatting happily with them. I hope she rots in hell one day.Flashback: When I got back from the principal's office after receiving my punishment, I saw that Diane had switched her sitting position with someone else. She should thank her stars for not giving her the damn guts to still remain by my side after all she did to me.However, I was shocked to my bones wh
TASHA.Stepping out of the school building, I head towards the green den, my heart skyrocketing, my breaths deepening with each second I find myself getting closer to the massive building. I have never worked or had anything to do with the green den before, but Principal Salazar said some labourers will help me learn what to do there during the one month timeframe of my punishment. To be honest, I hate that I am being punished, but the bitter reminder of WHY I am being punished hits harder than the punishment itself.Reaching the entrance of the greenhouse, I suck in a breath, preparing myself before entering the building. Climbing twisting weeds, shrubs and varieties of flowers greet my presence when I enter. The greenhouse looks like a tall giant wide marquee with transparent glass roof planes that allow the bright light and heat of the sun seep into the greenhouse. The floor is like mowed grass, soft and tender to walk on. Different plants, most of them grown in giant white and bro
NATETasha rolls her eyes at my response. "Someone tell me this isn't happening to me." She groans.I chuckle. "Well, no one can tell you that, especially if it is indeed happening to you."She flares her eyes at me, obviously annoyed, the action making her look more fierce and beautiful. "You like joking a lot don't you?" She snaps.I scoff at her hot tempered attitude, my fingers pushing back my wet hair strands from my face. "Maybe."She fumes out a hot breath, folding her arms across her chest, eyes glaring at me. I resist the urge tempting me to laugh out loud at her annoyed facial expression."Let us get down to business if you both are done arguing with each other." The elderly man says, giving Tasha the flower trimming shears in his hand."I believe your name is Tasha Quinn right?" He asks, stretching the shears further to Tasha."Yes sir." Tasha replies, unfolding her arms. She collects the shears from him, throwing me a quick angry glance before looking away."And you," the m
TASHA.Nate gazes back at me in shock, not saying anything, clearly stunned by my outburst. An outburst that is the obvious startling truth everyone in Westville High fucking knows about.I try to calm my nerves down by taking in a couple of quick breaths, clutching my chest. "See Nate, I am really grateful for what you did for me back there at the cafeteria today, but right now, see the mess that action has landed you into. You are here in this place with me, because of me. You got punished because of my mess, and that is something that makes me feel even more guilty right now."Nate swallows, his jaw working. "Tasha, I defended you back there because that was the right thing to do. No one has the right to hurt you. You are amazing, and that guy Jason is a fucking asshole. I am not going to apologize for what I did, especially when it prevented that bastard from hurting you." He takes in a quick breath, exhaling. "And also, I know I am kind of popular around here, but you do not have
TASHAI step back a bit, getting hold of myself. "I will just be here. Just let me know whenever you are ready to have some snacks.""I will." He skims his tongue over his bottom lip before going back to trimming the flowers, a little portion of untrimmed flowers remaining.I sink back down on the chair and bury my arching sensation into devouring the burger in my hand. This guy is a fucking walking, breathing sinful temptation. A tiny chunk of the burger I am eating mistakenly gets stuck in my throat, forcing a cough out from my mouth. I quickly pull out the bottle water from the souvenir bag, screw it open and take a huge gulp.Instant relief rushes down my throat. I close the bottle and rub my chest to soothe down the burn."Sorry." Nate whispers. I nod."I am done." He announces. I look up.Damn. He is really done with trimming the flowers. So fast."You really did a nice job." I smile, impressed."Thanks." He walks towards a metal crate and drops the trimming shears into it. Afte
TASHAThe soft way his lips move with that statement should definitely not be making me stare at them, but damn this stupid eyes of mine. I rip my eyes away from his mouth and stand up, trying as much as possible not to graze my skin against his bare flesh, leaving him to finish his burger. I turn around and head towards my bag.I should probably leave since we are done for today.I reach my bag and try to calm myself, but it is not working. My heart is beating so fast and hard. I gulp when Nate appears beside me, worsening my racing heart, reaching for his bag that is near mine. His arm brushes against my skin as he takes his bag, our closeness feeling too intimate and too sweet to ignore. I should shift away, but I don't want to. I can't.He brings out his folded black t-shirt. A piece of paper from his bag falls to the ground. I bend and pick up the paper.It is his Maths Test result from the Maths test we did last week in class, and a bold red F is staring right back at me. I wait