Aryan-Standing in the gym, as I waited, I felt a little uncomfortable. Cheerleaders were still lingering after practice, either talking or coming out to the girl’s locker room. With my hands folded behind my back, I kept to the background, hoping no one would notice me.Kierian hadn’t been inside the locker room for long, so I knew it would take a while before he finished. Quietly walking along the wall, I slipped behind the stack of mats used for training. The stack was high enough that I didn’t need to crouch down.Peeking around the mats, I didn’t see anyone looking in my direction. As long as no one looked in my direction after leaving the locker room, I should be able to remain hidden. Every so often a cheerleader would exit, causing me to hold my breath until they walked off.When I was sure all the cheerleaders had finished showering and changing, my shoulders relaxed. There were a few girls that still lingered in the gym, but after ten minutes I thought I was in the clear. Tu
Aryan-While waiting for Callie to bring the fruit cake, coffee, and sandwiches for Kierian and me, we sat quietly. I wasn’t sure what to say or do. I still didn’t know what happened the night of the party and I kept thinking about the bet.Guilt chewed at me when thinking about the bet since it was just one more thing that I knew I was doing wrong. It was bad enough that I kept my identity from him, now I was hiding the fact I bet Brianna, I could get him to take me to the dance and game. At this rate, I wouldn’t blame him if he hated me, when he learned of the truth.At least Kierian seemed comfortable as he leaned back in his chair and looked around the café. His gaze met mine a few times, but they didn’t linger. The awkwardness that I felt was making me worried I would say something I shouldn’t.“This place is pretty cool. I expected things to get weird with me being here.” Kierian broke the silence.“Weird how?” I shifted in my seat awkwardly as this was exactly how he referenced
Aryan- When we left the café, I thought he might take me back to the school to grab my car, but he turned off the road, a mile from the school. Confused, I couldn’t remember him saying that we were going to be doing anything else. Looking out the window, I couldn’t think of anything that was in this direction that I knew. “What are we doing?” I asked when I could no longer figure anything out on my own. “I am not ready for this to be over, so if you don’t mind, I want to take you somewhere.” Kierian tightened his grip on the steering wheel, making me wonder why he was tensing up right now. “I don’t mind.” I lied. I did mind, but I couldn’t turn him down. Upsetting him was the last thing I wanted to do on top of all the wrong things I was already doing to him. If I could make his time with me a little bearable, perhaps he would let me off the hook a little. I had hoped to put an end to this outing with him, so I could process everything and not live in guilt all day long. Not want
Aryan-My attention stayed on him for a long time, after returning to his side to watch. I didn’t know why, but seeing his eyes narrow on his target, the set of his jaw, the way he turned his body slightly to adjust his stance, and the focus he held as he prepared the dart, made me fall in love with him all over again. Seeing him take this outing seriously, the memory of the bet came rushing forward.I knew that there was no way I could win this bet. If I won, I would want him to hate me. However, if I purposefully lost the bet, then maybe I would have a chance with him. I couldn’t tell him about the bet now, at least not until after the deadline, so he would see that I had lost on purpose.At least, that was the only thing I could think of that might salvage things. There was still the matter that he would hate me for lying to him about who I was. I had to believe that if I proved that everything between us was real, he would understand why I had to keep it from him.It was beyond me
Aryan-I was still reeling about my date with Kierian, the next day as I walked into my first class. Kierian was already sitting in his seat, with a wide smile when he looked up. Moving to my desk in the back corner, I saw a familiar brown paper sack on my desk.Once I sat down, I pulled the bag toward me, while turning it around. The logo of the café I took him to yesterday was on the bag. Tilting the bag so I could see inside, I saw a few pastries that I enjoyed from the café.“Good morning.” Kierian whispered as he leaned across the aisle.“Good morning.” I smiled at him, but not before making sure that Brianna wasn’t in the room.I knew that the more I spent time together with him, the more likely she would learn that we were on good terms. If possible, I was going to try to delay her learning of it. I mainly didn’t want her to cause more problems for me. To my relief, she didn’t show up for class.“Want to eat together today, for lunch?” Kierian asked once class was over, and we
Aryan-After school, I went straight to the football field to do my homework. Instead of sitting at the top like I normally do, I sat on the bench that the football players use, at the edge of the field. During practice, the girlfriends of the football players sat there.While I wasn’t technically a girlfriend, I thought it would be the best way to prove to Kierian that I was all in. There was still the guilt of what I had done to him, up until recently but I also felt guilty for always blowing him off or avoiding him when others were around. It did feel a little weird sitting with the girlfriends, as they kept looking at me and whispering to each other.Focusing on my homework, I tried not to even glance up at Kierian as he practiced. It wasn’t until after I finished that I gained more attention, or at least noticed more. As I was placing my books in my bag, I saw the girls who were sitting on the same bench, staring at me.Trying to ignore them, I watched Kierian as ran across the f
Kierian-Finally, Aryan wasn’t pushing me away any longer. I could see she was still skittish, like she could bail at any moment. Trying to get close to her hasn’t been easy. I didn’t know what it was about her that seemed familiar, other than her name.Although I already established that she wasn’t the same girl I had known as a child. It bothered me last year, but it wasn’t until recently that I was able to approach her. She reminded me of a scared pup, lost in the wilderness, but still strong enough to take care of herself.Since crossing paths with her last year, I have been looking for the opportunity to create a chance to get to know her better. That wasn’t easy either. It seemed like she was determined to keep a safe distance from everyone.Mr. Benson was now my favorite person. When I heard about the assignment, I made sure to get Aryan on my team. Not only to create more opportunities for us but because I felt she needed protection. I didn’t know why she was even at Grandview
Kierian-I finished with my shower before Liam and Sylvie returned. When I returned to the living room, Aryan was sleeping on the couch, in a sitting position. I thought about waking her up, but she looked exhausted.Quietly stepping out of the living room, I went to the closet of my room. Grabbing an extra blanket that I had, I returned to the living room. Setting it aside, I gently helped her lay down on the couch, so she could be more comfortable.After she was lying down flat, I covered her with the blanket. Lowering myself to my knees, I couldn’t help but watch her sleep for a bit. She looked more beautiful now than she did when she was awake. There was a level of vulnerability that softened her edges.At the same time, I could see that the tough demeanor she usually showed was nothing more than a façade. It only made me want to protect her more than I already did. Reaching out, I was just about to touch her face, to brush away a stray strand of hair, but quickly pulled back when