Chapter 6

His angered expression entered my vision and it was at that moment that I would've been happy for the floor to swallow me whole, taking me anywhere other than in front of Josh.

He did nothing but point his finger towards the boy's bathroom, asking the obvious question with his challenging eyes. "I—I—um," my eyes shifted around the corridor, noticing a few more pairs of eyes, watching Josh and I, except that I was still on the floor and he was standing above me, seeming rather unusual from an outsider's point of view.

I was frozen to the ground, with no attempt by myself or anyone to stand back up. "Henry—he—um," the words fell from my lips without a direction in mind, confusing my thoughts even more than before.

Two hands suddenly clasped around my body, hauling me upwards with another person holding onto my shoulder. "Sorry about her," Valentina spoke first, pulling me away from Josh's confusion, "she's having a rough day."

April and Valentina dragged me away from the situation, barely giving me the chance to evaluate what had just happened. I'd narrowly avoided a complete sentence being exchanged between us, mostly because I had been unable to form an actual coherent one.

"Where was Henry when you needed him?" April joked as I regained a sense of myself again, burying my face into my hands at the stupid embarrassment of what I had done.

"Why do you think I was in the boy's bathroom?"

April and Valentina managed to somehow make me laugh again, predominantly about how brainless I had been for stuttering like a fool in front of the one person I owed an apology to. But I'd planned to make sure that I'd stay more vigilant, avoiding him as much as I could. Again.

Unfortunately, I had spent the rest of my day with an unsettling pit at the bottom of my stomach, consciously knowing that today probably wasn't the last time I'd have contact with Josh. And that thought scared me a lot more than it should've.

Once Valentina had dropped me off at home, I was thankful to remember that my parents were at therapy, leaving myself and Biscuit to celebrate the silence around the house.

"I think someone needs a walk," I grinned down at him and ruffled his hair behind the ears, causing a small bark of delight to sound. I tied his collar loosely and attached the leash, following along with him as he led me excitedly towards the front door.

My phone began to vibrate with a call as Biscuit continued to tug me along towards the beach where he could roam freely without having a human attached to him.

"We spoke ten minutes ago, Val," I spoke into the phone with a laugh as I heard the light scoff over the line.

"What a thoughtful way to say hello to your best friend," the sarcasm was heavily prominent as she spoke, causing a small giggle to fall from my lips, "anyway, I called to ask if you wanted to help set up for the party on Saturday."

"What needs setting up?"

"Finn just asked me, and it sounded like a good idea."

"He just wants to see you there earlier, Val. I don't think it takes a lot of manpower to set out a few paper cups around the house."

I laughed as she remained silent, contemplating the actual reason why Finn had asked her to come and set up. "You're right. Never mind. We'll go at the time I said before and I'll leave him waiting," I could sense the smirk across the phone before we said our goodbyes, just as I reached the beach with Biscuit.

Finn was still a complete mystery to me. However, if he was anything like the other guys she had been with, then I knew he was one to fall at her feet for anything she needed. Valentina seemed to have the effect on guys that they were suddenly head over heels for her in a short few weeks, leaving boredom to set in and for her to move on to someone else.

I'm sure she needed someone to keep her on her toes, but I'd yet to see her with someone that was an equal match for her personality.

"Go on, boy," I whispered to Biscuit as if he could hear me and detached him from the leash, allowing him to run headfirst into the water, looking more peaceful than I had ever felt in my life.

The soft sand dipped slightly around me as I sat down against a small tree, pulling my phone from a pocket and turning it on to play a few games that would hopefully keep me pre-occupied until it was time to leave.

The beach was rather quiet, creating a serene atmosphere around me with only a few people walking against the shore, most likely wondering whose lunatic dog was let off the leash to splash around as if he had never seen water before.

"It's ketchup girl, right?" My ears caught the sound of an unfamiliar voice, sounding from behind me.

I hadn't registered that they were talking to me until I finally looked up from my phone at the realisation that I had probably gained that ludicrous nickname from the stupid mistake I had made and couldn't take back.