Chapter 5: MY FIRST

"Hey, babes" Kate screamed. It was Tuesday and Nick and I slept in the lab the previous night. When the janitor came in to open the door, we hid and left the lab after he had gone out. I took a shower at the girl's restroom and got a toothbrush from Nick. I guess Nick went home because I hadn't seen him in class. "Hi bestie," I said surprisingly. I was showing some affection towards Kate, I guess I have become softer. Kate told me of how her Dad and Mum surprised her with a pre-birthday gift by giving her a car. I showed genuine happiness towards her. I was a Lil bit worried about Nick maybe not a Lil but I was really worried. We had a couple of tests during school hours, it was time to go home and I was packing my books, Nick walked up to me.

"Where have you been?" I asked genuinely worried. Kate took the initiative to let us talk and left for home. He looked at me and I remembered our kiss and blushed. "You look pink" he stated. I looked away and tried to remain calm. He offered to walk me home as I'd missed the bus. We kept walking while he explained why he hadn't been in school today. It turned out he was practicing for the basketball semi-final. Why didn't I think of that? I could have checked the sports center before feeling worried about him not letting me know his whereabouts. "So, tell me was I on your mind all day?" he asked, "No, you weren't" I replied giggling.

He walked me home while we held hands without saying anything. "Here we are," I said as I unlocked the door to my house. "Can I come in? I promise to be good" he said with a grin. I let him in while he asked about my parents and I told him I live with my step Mum and my Dad was late and I never knew my Mum. I offered him some toast which we are together. "Lizzy will be home soon," I said. After which, I walked him out of the house, he told me it was nice having a friend he could talk to and he wished we could spend more time getting to know each other. Wow, a friend, a mere friend, is all he sees me as? I couldn't help but think about the word he used in describing our relationship. I tried staying calm because I was overreacting, we only shared a kiss at the lab because we were both cold and he walked me home because I was worried about him. I shouldn't expect more from him, I tried telling myself.

"See you at school tomorrow, babes" he waved as he walked away. "Babes?" Why is he confusing me? Are we an item or do we have a relationship? I pondered. It was a bit hard trying to get myself together. Lizzy came home later than expected, I had prepared dinner but ate little while I stayed in bed feeling down. I made up my mind to avoid any interaction with Nick since my feelings were growing deeply for him.

"Can I sit with you?" Nick asked while he looked at Kate. Kate and I were having lunch at the cafeteria, the day was Friday and the last time Nick and I spoke to each other was the day he walked me home. I had completely avoided him at school, numerous times he tried walking up to talk to him but I ignored him by moving away. "No, you can't sit with us" I responded. "I wasn't asking you" he looked at me disappointedly. "Yeah, sure you can" Kate responded. Kate and Nick continued to have a conversation while I felt completely left out, it turned out Kate's older brother and Nick attended the same school. Kate mentioned that her brother always talked about a basketball pro at school because he was skillful and all the girls fancied him. They both laughed and talked more, I felt like a third party and was jealous so I took my tray and left the cafeteria for the library without uttering a word.

I stayed at the Library and saw Kate's calls without responding. A strange number also called but I didn't respond either. After school hours, I decided to stay back for a bit to avoid running into Kate and Nick. I was certain they would have left so I picked up my bag and walked home. "Would you care to explain why you've been avoiding me?" Nick questioned with a bit of anger. It turned out he hadn't gone home and was waiting for me to walk by. I didn't respond and continued walking, he kept following me. "If you keep following me, I would scream and let everyone think you are a stalker" I rudely said. "At least tell me what I've done wrong, the silent treatment, isn't helping" he pleaded. I couldn't help but feel guilty for making him plead with me. "I'm sorry" I apologized. He further asked to know what was wrong, I told him I was jealous when he talked to Kate at the cafeteria, and he said that was his plan since I've been avoiding him and he needed to get my attention.

"Will you be my girlfriend, Pearl?" he asked. I was shocked but I knew I wanted to be with him. Why did he ask me to be his girlfriend out of the blue? "Are you sure?" I asked confusedly. "If you want to give it some time, it's fine, I don't want you making a decision you aren't sure of," Nick said. Of course, I wanted to be with him, although, it's only been almost a week since we met I had seen him in my dreams and wondered who the mysterious boy was. Without giving it a second thought I moved toward him and planted a kiss on his lips. "I guess that's a yes" he murmured. "Yes", I said confirming that I wanted to be his girlfriend. I walked away from him smiling at the thought of the kiss while he was behind me. I kept walking without realizing he wasn't behind, looking back I saw he had stopped walking, I waved at him and called his name. I ran towards him and lifted his hands while kissing him passionately.