Chapter ten

Ashley flipped the novel in her hand to the next page. Frustrated, she slammed it on her table and rubbed her temples. 

"That pervert" Her inner mind fumed. She just couldn't understand why all the students respected him, even Claire. 

She couldn't believe Claire spoke politely to Charles. 

She glanced at her wristwatch. "They should be back already" She thought, peering out of the window to see if they were coming already. 

"Hey" Annabelle gave her a friendly punch on her shoulder.

Standing directly in front of Ashley's table,  she asked, "How do you know Henry?". Her eyes were filled with curiousity.

Annabelle had been in the same class with Henry since they were in junior high school, but they've never spoken to each other before and so, she was kinda suprised when Ashley waved at him in the morning.

"Hmm…….We just met" Ashely made her reply short, thinking it was not necessary to tell her about what happened Last night. 

"Really? And you guys are friends already?" Her eyes almost popped out as she asked. 

"Is it a big deal?" Ashley raised an eyebrow. 

"No, it's just.... We've been in the same class since junior high school and I've never spoken to him before. I guess here's my chance" Her mouth curved into a smile as she spoke. 

Her last statement didn't seem to go down well with Ashley. 

"Are you into him?" Ashley asked curiously. 

"No..... It's just.... Who won't want to be friends with one of the most popular boys in school?" She said and the corners of Ashley's mouth curved into a relief smile. 

"He and Alex used to be bestfriends" She said, pulling out Henry's chair so she could sit. 

"What?" Ashely blurted. 

"You didn't know?"

"How would I? I'm a newbie" She emphasized. 

"Ohh" Annabelle exclaimed as if she just realized that. 

"Tell me about them" Ashley adjusted her chair closer to Annabelle. She couldn't believe that they were friends.

What Claire said now made sense to her and she felt more guilty. They fought because of her, or maybe not. 

"Oh shit" Annabelle jerked to her feet. 

"What?" Ashely gave her a questioning look. 

"I'll see you later. They're back" She said and scurried to her seat. 

Ashley's eyes depicted relief as soon as she sighted them. 

Henry had a band aid at the side of his lips and Alex's hand was bandaged. 

A feeling of guilt washed over Ashley and she dropped her eyes. 

"Are you guys okay?" She asked as soon as they settled down on their seats. Henry nodded, but Alex gave her a look she couldn't comprehend before placing his head on the table. 

"Jerk!" She thought. 

***

The siren blared indicating time for lunch. Ashley closed her book and put it in her backpack. 

Ashley noticed Alex was moody, but she wasn't ready to interfere because he was such a jerk. She wondered if it was the fight that made him so moody. 

"Aren't you going to get lunch?" Ashely asked Henry, who was busy scribbling something down in his note. 

"Just a minute" He said, scribbling down the last word. He closed his book and tossed it into his backpack. 

"Shall we?" He stood up with a smile and Ashley nodded.

Her eyes met Alex's and for some reason, she felt strange. His green eyes felt so familiar. She was sure she had seen those exact eyes somewhere before. 

"Come on" Henry nudged her and she flinched a little. She had been staring at Alex who just looked at her with an expressionless face. He stood up suddenly and Ashley was a bit startled. 

"I hate it when people stare at me" He whispered in her ear. She could feel his breath on her skin. He was so close. 

His green eyes met hers again and she quickly dropped her eyes. 

Tucking his hands in his pockets, he strolled out of the class with Claire running behind him. 

She stood still again, thinking very hard. She was damn sure she had seen those eyes somewhere, but where? 

Henry studied her for a while and wondered what was going on in her mind. 

"Hey" He tapped her shoulder and she jerked back to reality. 

"Yeah yeah, let's go" She said hurriedly. 

"Hey Ash, wait up" Annabelle voice made her stop at the entrance of the classroom. 

As they walked through the hallway, their footsteps clinked rhythmically on the tiled floor.

"What's your name?" Henry asked Annabelle after a long time of silence between them.

He knew her well, she had been the nerd of their class since they were in junior high school, but he never knew her name. 

"Ouch, I'm hurt. I've been in your class since junior high school and yet you don't know my name" Annabelle teased playfully and Henry smiled slightly. 

"Well, my name is Annabelle" She said. 

"And," She stretched her hand for a handshake. 

"It's nice to meet you since this is the first time we've ever spoken to each other" She added. He took her hand and she smiled.

For a second, he couldn't believe she was being so friendly. He, alongside with Alex had always bullied her in Junior high school, but here she was, smiling at him like she had forgotten about everything. 

He felt somehow guilty, but he quickly covered it up with a smile. 

"So, are we friends now?" Annabelle asked.

He hesitated a bit. He just couldn't comprehend why she would want to be his friend after all he had done. Did she have a hidden agenda? 

"I'm Ashley's friend and you're Ashley's friend too. Definitely, we'll become friends right?" She said again. 

"Right" He said, as if he wasn't totally convinced. 

"Enough talk already. Let's hurry, I'm hungry" Ashley increased her pace. She had been thinking of those green eyes and their talk was starting to irritate her ears since she couldn't concentrate on her thoughts. 

As they walked into the school cafeteria, everyone was a bit surprised to see them together. 

It looked so impossible. How could he be hanging out with the nerd and the new badass girl?

Ignoring their stares, they made their way to the counter. 

"Pizza and orange juice" Ashley said. 

"Same here" Henry and Annabelle said in unison and they turned to look at each other. A smile crept on Annabelle's face while Henry had an expressionless face. 

"Let sit over there" Ashley gestured. Annabelle had already told her she didn't like Henry, but judging by the look of things, Ashley couldn't tell if she was telling the truth or maybe she was just trying to hide her feeling. 

As soon as they settled down, Ashley's eyes landed on Alex some tables away. He seemed to be giving Claire cold shoulders. 

She took a bite of pizza and chewed slowly, watching Henry eat at the same time. 

"Damn, he looks cute when eating too" She thought and a smile curled on her lips.

"Two of you should leave now, I wanna eat with her" Someone's voice made her smile disappear. She knew it was Charles and her blood began to boil in anger. 

Annabelle scurried to her feet and Ashley slammed her hands on the table angrily. 

"Sit" Her voice was stern. Annabelle was confused, she didn't know what to do. She couldn't bring herself to disobey Charles of all people. 

Suddenly, Henry pulled her to sit and she slammed her butt on the chair. A look of shock stole across her face at the same time, her heart was racing in fear. 

She tried to stand up again but Henry gripped her hand firmly. She looked at him in surprise and her heart started to race. This time, not because of fear, but something different. Something she never expected. 

Ashley felt a pain in her chest. It was like she had been stabbed in her heart. She knew she wasn't supposed to feel this way but she couldn't help it. They were not dating after all or he never even said he liked her so why was she pained?

 Still holding onto Annabelle's hand, he asked Ashley, "Do you wanna talk to him?"

"No! I don't know why he's disturbing me!" She yelled, feeling frustrated. Her head was muddled up with different thoughts. 

"You heard that Charles, she doesn't wanna talk to you" Henry said sternly. 

Charles got angry. 

"I said I wanna sit with her you guys should leave!" He yelled, attracting the attention of everyone in the cafeteria. 

Henry clenched his fist. Ashley wasn't ready to witness another fight with everything that had happened so far.

"Let's go sit over there" She suggested. She stood up and that was when she saw Henry let go of Annabelle's hand. Her eyes watered. She couldn't believe she was about to cry. 

Maybe she wanted to cry because she was frustrated and not because of Henry or Annabelle or something, she tried to convince herself. 

She picked up her food. 

"Come on" She said to Henry who was still seated. He couldn't believe their lunch was almost ruined by Charles. 

As Ashely made her way to leave, Charles gripped her hand. 

Henry's eyes glowered and in a flash, Ashely saw the color of his eyes change to purple. 

In a flash, the color of his eyes were back to normal. He pushed Charles so hard, he staggered backward and let go of Ashley's hand. 

Shocked, she couldn't tell if it was her imagination. 

Those eyes, the purple eyes, they looked awfully familiar just like the green eyes.