2

Bri

I have always felt different, like I didn't belong. Like maybe I was switched at birth or something. I looked nothing like my parents. My father had light brown skin, dark brown eyes, and black hair. My mother had an olive skin tone, light brown eyes, and dark brunette hair. And then there was me with my pasty white skin, baby blue eyes, and naturally, beach blonde hair. I mean, how does that even happen? My father says I got it from his mother, who passed away well before I was born. And conveniently enough, the only pictures of her anyone can find are in black and white. But even so, I think he is full of crap. Her hair looks pretty well dark, and well, I don't entirely buy it. But they are my parents. Why would they lie about something like this? 

Besides, it's not just with my family that I feel like I don't belong. I never really fit in at school. I was never really picked on or anything like that. I just felt like I wasn't one of them. And well, everyone else pretty well stayed away from me except one. My best friend, my only friend really, and since our sophomore year of high school, my boyfriend. He was the only one to come up to me in kindergarten and offer to play with me. And since then we have been friends, we tell each other everything. We know each other's deepest secrets, fears, pet peeves, loves, likes, hates, desires, and everything about each other. Sure, he could be an ass but wasn't most teenage boys. He played on the football team. He wasn't the quarterback though he wished he was. No, he was one of the guys that ran out to catch the ball and make the touchdowns. I think they call it wide receiver. I don't really care much for the game. I go to them for him but have never really paid enough attention to the logistics of it. I usually sit in the bleachers and sketch the players on the sideline or the spectators actually watching the game. 

I wasn't really friends with any of the other football players, cheerleaders, or girlfriends. But they all seemed to put up with me for Cody. Well, for the most part, some of the cheerleaders didn't care for me much because they wanted to be with him, but he refused to be with anyone but me. I mean, I get it. He was good looking and had an edge to him that hinted at being a bad boy. He had a toned body and muscular arms. And with his olive skin, light brown hair, and green eyes, I could understand why they would be jealous. My parents liked him when we were friends. They didn't love him but would put up with him. My father once told me I needed to stick up for myself with him and said I let him tell me what to do too much. Then when I told them we decided to date, I knew they secretly wished it wouldn't work out and he would be out of my life. But that hasn't happened yet, and because my mom said she didn't want to be a grandma, she took me down and put me on birth control right away. Which came in handy over the summer because we had taken our relationship to the next level and well, let's say if my father ever found out, he would blow a gasket. But I wouldn't have to worry about it much longer. It was senior year, and we were just about halfway through. And my birthday was coming up, and I would be eighteen and legally able to move out. Cody had turned eighteen a month into our senior year, and his parents built an apartment over their garage so he could have his own space. And said they didn't mind if I moved in with him after my birthday so long as we both finished school. My parents, on the other hand, were against it entirely, but after my birthday, they wouldn't be able to stop me. 

Most of my classes consisted of art classes. I had everything set to go to school and become an art teacher. And was excited. Art was my life and all I wanted to do. The only problem was with all my classes but my core classes being art, that meant I didn't see Cody most of the day. We had English first period together and then lunch. And then we wouldn't see each other again until after school. It saddened me that I didn't get to see my best friend all day. But my days tended to go by fast as I got lost in my artwork. 

Because of how my classes were, I usually got to the cafeteria first, but today I was running late. So when I finally got my food and got over to the table, Cody didn't look happy. I sat next to him and nibbled on my food while he ignored me and joked around with the others at the table. Since I hadn't been here at the start of lunch, someone had probably thought they would try their luck and sit at the football players' table. Because of this, the guys probably had to shoo them off. Not that they had to do much more than tell the kid to move, but for whatever reason, it always put Cody in a bad mood if I wasn't there to "reserve" the table. As I nibbled on my fries, I got the feeling of being watched. First, I looked over to Cody to see if he had decided to pay attention to me and was staring at me, but no, he was sitting on the edge of his seat, talking intently with a few of the guys. I looked around, not seeing anyone looking at me at first. But as I scanned back one last time before shrugging the feeling off, I found the person. Well, more like the sexiest guy I had ever seen. Even more so than Cody. He was sitting at one of the far tables with a few other guys. I recognized the others at the table as having been here for years. This muscular, blue eyed, sandy-colored-haired sculpture of a man I had never seen before. Rumor was we had a new student, but I couldn't remember what they said their name was. 

A slap to my leg made me jump, pulling me from being lost in the new kid's stare. "Earth to Bri." I turned my focus on Cody, "sorry, what?" He had decided to talk to me, and I hadn't been listening. Well shit. "Will you be able to get your parents to let you go to a party this weekend?" I nodded," yeah, I got that covered." He nodded and went back to his scheming and back to ignoring me. Sighing, I rubbed my leg where he had smacked me to get my attention with one hand while grabbing another fry with the other. The new kid forgot for a moment. When I remembered he had been staring at me, I looked over to the table he was at. But he was no longer sitting there. I didn't have time to think too much about it because the bell rang, indicating the end of lunch. Cody quickly piled the trash from the table onto my tray, "see you after practice?" I gave him a small smile, "yeah." He kissed me on the cheek quickly, then got up and left with the rest of the guys leaving the tray for me to take care of. I rolled my eyes as I stood up, took the tray over, threw the trash away, and piled the tray up with the rest of the dirty ones. All I had left was my math class, and then I was back to the art room for the rest of the day. 

The final bell rang, and I headed out to the football field, finding a spot to sit in the bleachers where Cody would see me clearly during practice. He was already in a mood. My only hope was he would be in a better mood after practice. I watched most of the practice as I worked on my homework at the same time. I felt like someone was watching me the whole time, but this time I decided to ignore it. I didn't need to get caught staring at the new kid if that was, in fact, who was staring at me again. It didn't take long for me to finish my homework for the day, leaving me time to spare. I sat watching the guys run up and down the field, practicing different plays for a couple of minutes before I grew bored and pulled my sketch pad and a pencil out and started drawing. I didn't pay attention to what I was drawing. I just let my mind and hand work together without putting much thought into it. Before I knew it, Cody dropped his bag next to me and sat down, looking over my shoulder.

"What is that?" I looked up at him and then back down to what I had been drawing and focused on it. It was a rather dark picture with tall trees and bushes, and in the middle was a large dog that looked as though it was about to attack you right out of the drawing. I shrugged, "just something to pass the time." I closed my sketch pad and smiled at him. "How was practice?" He shrugged, "it was alright. Let's get out of here, though. I'm starving." I packed my things up quickly and got up. He took my hand as we walked to his car. 

He drove me home, stopping at one of the many fast food places between the school and my house. He didn't pull into my driveway, though. He stopped at the curb. Once the car was in park, I moved to get out but was stopped when he dug his fingers into my leg. "Ow... Cody, that hurts." I turned back to look at him. The darkness from lunch had returned to his eyes. Instead of loosening his grip, he only tightened it, "Don't be late for lunch again." I nodded my head, tears starting to prick in my eyes. He kept his grip on my leg for another minute before finally letting it go. His hand shot up and gripped my jaw, not nearly as hard as he had grabbed my leg but hard enough to keep me from moving. He leaned over and kissed me, only letting me go when I returned the kiss. I climbed out of the car, throwing my bag over my shoulder. "Oh, and Bri, that new kid is weird. Stay away from him." I nodded and shut the car door, and headed inside. My leg hurt so much. I was sure I had small bruises where his fingers had been.