Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Ella's POV:

Friday. Thank gosh it's Friday.

Friday is my favorite day of the week because that means the weekend is almost here. I decided I'm going to go into school late today, as in right before fifth period. After lunch the day flies by, so why not go in late.

I had my mom wake Thomas up this morning so I could sleep in, not that it really helped. I don't usually get much sleep thanks to insomnia, but it's nice anyway to stay in my comfort zone a little longer.

Fifth period doesn't start till eleven o'clock, so I get out of bed at eight-thirty and make myself breakfast. I pour myself a bowl of fruity pebbles and make myself a cup of coffee. I then take a seat in the living room and eat my breakfast with the Tv on. Flicking through the channels, the only remotely good thing on is Criminal Minds, so I click on it.

In order to get to school before fifth period, I leave the house at ten thirty leaving me enough time to drive there. My mom even wrote a note for me, claiming I had a doctor's appointment so I didn't get in trouble. She is the one who suggested for me to stay home a little longer today, so I didn't pass it up.

Once at school, I park my truck in the back of the parking lot. As I walk to the school entrance, I really take my time. The longer I'm out here, the less time I'm in there. No need to rush when I can hold off my anxiety as long as possible.

At last, I reach the attendance office and sign myself with an unsteady hand. I check my phone and see there is only two minutes before the fifth-period bell rings. So being me, I walk as slow as possible to fourth period hoping the bell will ring before I get there.

Lucky me, because it does.

No need to go to my locker, having all my things, I head to my tree. Since I ate not too long ago at home, I decided not to bring lunch. With no Declan insight to stop me, I happily take my seat on the grass, hoping today will stay stress-free just like my morning.

I should've known it was too good to be true.

"What do you think you're doing?" Declan asks, his voice suddenly breaking through my bubble. His tall figure shadows over me, watching me unimpressed. He came to get me.

"Ha-ha well umm you see, I was uhh..." I sputter not knowing what to say. I'm the worst liar ever and have no believable excuse.

Declan's lips pull into a devilish smirk, "Well, carry on by all means."

"I was u-uh getting fresh air, yeah umm fresh air, yeah..." I mutter, knowing he can see right through my obvious lie.

"Mhm." Declan hum, his amusement clear as day. "Lying isn't nice Lil' one."

I look down, my cheeks flushing scarlet. I don't even know why I tried to lie when I'm not even good at it. Especially trying to lie to someone who made you super nervous.

"A for effort," I mumble to myself. Declan chuckles, he heard my poor attempt at a joke.

Declan and I walk back to the cafeteria and take our seat at his table. Wes is already sitting there eating his food happily. As Wes eats, Declan suddenly peers over at me, looking at the table than me. "Where's your lunch, Ellie?"

"I came to school late so I didn't pack one."

"You can't just not eat Ellie," Declan says softly. I don't know why but that simple sentence makes my heart flutter. Wes even looks at Declan a little bit surprised.

"I know." I say, "I'm really not that hungry."

Declan and Wes share a look and then both look at me. Declan stands up and Wes follows. "Come on I'm taking you out to eat." Declan states.

My eyes widen. "No no, It's fine really, I'll just eat when I get home."

"Declan's right Ella, you need to eat. You're already quite small as it is." Wes agrees.

Before I could protest any longer, Declan grabs my hand pulling me up from my seat, and immediately starts walking to the exit. I glance down at our interlaced hands, my body suddenly heating up. 'Did the temperature just rise or what.'

He's holding my hand and I feel like the world's spinning. Wes is following behind us, not bothering to hide his full-on grin. We reach Declan's black GMC and Declan lets go of my hand to open the passenger door for me. He then walks to the drivers' side and enters. Wes hops into the back seat.

"So where are we going Deck?" Wes asks excitedly. Wes uses Declan's nickname again and I think it's cute.

"I don't remember inviting you." Declan hisses. "And don't call me that."

"Come on it will be fun Deck, loosen up a bit would you." Wes does not let Declan's grumpy attitude ruin his mood. Of course, Wes said "Deck" again to annoy him.

I smile at Wes and he winks at me. From the corner of my eye, I see Declan's face, and let me tell you he doesn't look the least bit pleased.

Wesley sings to the radio all the while Declan holds a straight face, looking very annoyed. We drive for about five minutes and pull into a little diner called 'Joes'. It's right down the road from the school. I drive by this diner every day on my way home from school, but I have never actually eaten here before.

There are only two cars in the parking lot so it's not busy at all. Most people are either working right now or are in school. So it's not that hectic. Declan steps out of the car and Wes and I do the same. Declan and I walk side by side into the diner with Wes right behind us.

When we get inside Declan leads us over to a window seat towards the back. I slide into the booth and Declan sits next to me. Wes takes his seat across from us. That's weird why is Declan sitting with me and not Wes?

I have never been this close to Declan before and he's only a couple inches away. Folding my hands together, I place them on my lap. My hands are all sweaty and I don't want Declan to see how nervous I am.

As we sit and wait, I observe the diner and come to the conclusion that it's a cozy little place. The floors are dark laminate wood and the tables are made of stained wooden slabs. Shiplap goes halfway up the wall, and there's a white brick fireplace next to our booth against the wall.

An older lady in her early forties comes walking over to us. "Hi I'm Melany, what can I get for you today?" She says. Declan and Wes both order a coke and then look over to me.

"Water please," I mumble to the waiter quietly.

The waitress Melany writes our orders down and walks back to the kitchen.

"You're so shy Lil' one." Declan states. Is it that obvious?. I don't know what to say to him so I just give him a small smile.

"Yeah Ellie, why are you so shy anyway?" Wes ponders, using the nickname Declan gave to me.

I feel Declan tense beside me hearing this. Gazing over at him, I see he looks mad. He's glaring daggers at Wes.

Wes seems confused, "What?" He asks. Right as the words leave Wes's lips, Declan squeezes his hands into fists.

"Her name is Ella, use it." Declan spits out.

"Why? You call her Ellie, so what's the problem?" Wes states, lost. He thinks for a second and then smirks at Declan.

"I'm confused," I mumble softly. Why would Declan get so mad over Wes calling me the nickname that he gave me? And why is Wes smirking? At least that question about me being shy was forgotten. I wouldn't know how to answer that.

"Oh it's nothing Ella, it's just that time of the month for little miss Declan over here." Wes laughs drawing out my name. I too laugh at this and Declan glares just glares. I can't believe Wes just said that.

"I should've left you at school," Declan mutters.

The waitress brings over our order. I ordered from the breakfast menu and got waffles with whipped cream and a side of strawberries. Both Declan and Wes got a cheeseburger with fries.

I pour maple syrup on my waffles and then take a bite. My taste buds dance in delight, like heaven in a bite. Definitely a ten out of ten.

Declan gazes over at me, a smile on his red lips. I return the smile, and when I do his hand lifts up to my face. He takes his thumb and rubs it across the corner of my lip. My body freezes like a statue with the unexpected contact. He then brings his thumb down, there's whipped cream on it. His simple touch feels like fire on my face, and to magnify the heat, even more, he licks the whipped cream off of his thumb.

"Enjoying your waffles Lil' one," Declan asks like it was normal to wipe whipped cream off my face and then lick it.

"T-they're delicious." I stutter.

After we're done eating Declan pays and we head back to school. We're going to be a little late for sixth period. I brought it up with Declan because I was a little worried, but he said he would take care of it.

On the way back, I watch out the window my thoughts on Declan. He bought me lunch because he didn't want me to be hungry. That was so sweet of him. Yet here I was trying to avoid him.

We arrived at school and I thanked Declan, telling him how much I appreciated what he did. He told me it was no big deal, but it was a big deal to me.

We part ways and Wes and I walk to sixth period both having the same class, which is Spanish. When we enter the Spanish classroom Wes hands the late pass to my teacher and we take our seat. Wes sits next to me, which I don't mind. He just scrolls through his phone the whole time, not caring what the teacher is saying. I don't blame him.

I'm not that good at Spanish. But in all fairness, I don't pay attention so that's probably why. We started learning a new unit today and I'm currently writing down notes while I eye the clock every couple of minutes. But every time I check it I swear it hasn't moved.

*

It's ninth period and the end of the day. I decided to go to the library again and read my book. I don't have much homework so I don't worry about it. When I get there, I go to the chair I always sit in and take out my book. I try to read my book but can't seem to concentrate. My mind keeps veering back to a certain boy who has somehow stolen my thoughts.

When I closed my eyes I could see his perfectly aligned smile and his stunning forest eyes. I think it's a coincidence when Declan walks into the library fifteen minutes later. He looks around for something, and when his eyes land on me he strolls over. Was he looking for me? When he reaches me I glance up.

"Why aren't you in study hall?" He questions in a casual undertone.

"I wanted to read somewhere quiet," I say honestly.

Declan nods, taking the seat next to me. "What are you doing this weekend?" He asks.

I shrug my shoulders. I don't want him to know I'm probably going to be home all weekend watching Netflix and eating food. It's pretty sad but I do it every weekend. Occasionally I go for a run to clear my mind but that's about it.

Declan grabs my phone off my lap without bothering to ask, and a moment later he places it back.

"What did you do?"

"I put your number in my phone." He tells me like it's no big deal.. I stare at him for a second. He wanted my number?

"O-oh, why?" I stammer, looking down at my suddenly very interesting lap. This way I can hopefully hide the pink blush seeping on to my cheeks. I couldn't read before, and I definitely can't read now.

Declan chuckles at my reaction. "Because I wanted it." He shrugs nonchalantly.

The period is almost over, so I pack my stuff up. When the bell rings, I get up and start walking out of the library and as I do, a hand grabs my wrist halting me to a stop. This is his third time touching me today.

"I'll text you later," he says, searching my eyes. I nod my head. He lets go of my wrist and then walks away in the other direction.

I walk to my truck and drive home. When I pass the diner, I smile. Today was a good day.

Once I arrive home, I quickly do my homework not wanting to have to worry about it over the weekend. So I get it out of the way now. After I'm done with my homework I decided to take a shower to relax my muscles.

After I'm clean, I check my phone. My mom sent me a text saying she has to work late tonight, and I'm sure Thomas is staying at his friends' house. He's always hanging out with his friends on the weekend. So I guess I have the house to myself for the night.

As I watch 'One Tree Hill' on Netflix, my phone goes off. Reaching over to my stand I check my phone. The number is unknown and the text says 'Whatcha doing Lil' one?'

I instantly know it's Declan because he's the only person who calls me 'Lil' one'.