Fifteen

Aiden was there, in my classroom, standing with a big box of chocolates and a bigger bouquet of red roses in his hands, right beside my designated seat. He was smiling and looked at me with so much admiration in his eyes, that my knees nearly buckled.

I could practically hear the lyrics of Wildest Dreams in my head!

That's right. These scenes only happen in movies and cliché teen novels. In real life, a girl like me only gets a cheap box of dark chocolates, a single red rose, and a letter on my desk.

I walked ever so slowly to my seat, careful to avoid eye contact with everyone's inquisitive eyes.

I put my bag down and grabbed the box of chocolates. You can't blame me, people. Turns out that they are not cheap. At all.

I stuffed the single rose and the chocolate box in my bag. Without sniffing it, may I add.

I opened the letter, which was torn out of a notebook. It was nothing extravagant, just simple words. Sure, as hell, wasn't expecting poetry.

Meet me on the benches during the third period.

That's it! Those were the words written on the small letter. 

So damn romantic! I can hear the sarcasm dripping from my words!

Not a clue about who this person was. I didn't even know if the locker-and-balloons guy was the same chocolate-and-rose guy.

The note was simple enough. The benches. The person had asked me to come to the football field; everyone at school liked to call the bleachers 'the benches'. Quite original, I know.

Would it be believable if I said that I wasn't able to concentrate on my classes at all? The only thing on my mind was to fast forward the time and meet this person during the third period.

When everyone would be studying, I would be out having a meet-and-greet session with my secret admirer. When did my life get so exciting?!

Those gestures were so sweet. Though quite simple, they made me feel wanted and cared for. I felt special, so screw me for acting this way. The whole mystery was killing me. I even considered just skipping classes and going straight to the benches and waiting out the whole third period, while sitting on the benches and eating my chocolates.

I had to use my locker at the end of every class which didn't help my case at all. It was just a big reminder of what was waiting for me just before lunch. Rather, who was waiting for me?

People were giving me weird and knowing looks in the hallway and my friends were begging me for details. All this had put me on edge. It got me excited.

So, I don't think anyone would blame me if I told them that I practically ran out of my second-period classroom and instead of heading towards my class like everyone else, I waltzed towards the football field.

I tried not to run in the hallway, but I did. But it was just so hard. I mean, can you blame me for wanting to be on the field as soon as possible? It was not every day something like this happened to me.

Everyone gave me looks like they knew exactly where I was going. And why wouldn't they, nothing was subtle today, not the locker fiasco, not the chocolates and the rose, and certainly not my desperate "brisk walking" towards the football field, in the opposite direction where all of the academic classes were held.

I took a deep breath when I reached the doors that would give me access to the outside world, where in a few steps, I would reach the football field.

I was nervous. I should be, right?! Damn nerves!

My legs felt like jelly and my stomach was trying to make me throw up. In excitement, of course.

I headed towards the top of the bleachers so I could get a good view of the football field and know where the person I was supposed to meet was.

I had made the right decision of climbing to the top of the bleachers because I could see someone dressed in a grey sweatshirt sitting on one of the lowest levels of the benches with their back to me. Waiting for me.

It was a boy because no girl could have such broad shoulders and a muscled back. Don't ask me how I could make out the muscles when this guy was wearing a sweatshirt. I just could, okay?!

At least the 'person' is a 'he'!

I climbed down the steps of the bleachers towards the boy who had so kindly, made me the center of the school's gossip today. His shoulders tensed as he heard me climb down the steps and walk towards him.

I was excited. I was. I didn't expect to run and launch myself in the arms of the mystery man waiting for me, but I did expect him to turn around when he knew I was coming towards him. I did expect him to acknowledge me in some way.

Was he afraid I would just turn back and run for the hills when I saw his face? I mean, he couldn't be that ugly!

I was now standing just behind him. I think this is the point when he gets up and lets me see his face.

He got up abruptly and took a deep breath. I could tell because I could see his shoulders rise, as he took a forceful breath in. He turned around and I found myself having a staring contest with a pair of green eyes. The green eyes which I had no plans of gazing into, anytime soon. Or ever.

The green eyes I had stared into, when I had made out with Harper, the same guy who had, none too subtly may I add, called me a slut and asked me to stay away from him.

Of course! Why did I even expect something else? My life had become a joke recently, all because of Harper, why not call him again to mess it up even more?!

I had to give him credit though. He had balls coming here, stirring up things and rumors like nobody's business when he wanted to do nothing with me. What is this guy's problem, anyway? Was this all a sick game to him?

"You promised me you would stay away from me, Harper. Last night." I folded my arms under my chest, ready to shoot him down once and for all. I gritted my teeth in frustration. 

I was going to need a lot of deep breaths if I was going to talk to him now!

He shrugged and tucked his hands into his blue jeans. "I couldn't stay away." I can smell bullshit from a mile away, boy!

How could he just shrug, as if what I asked him was of absolutely no consequence?

And what does he mean by "he couldn't"?!

"Well, too bad." I scoffed and rolled my eyes, already getting annoyed at his presence. "I don't want anything to do with you."

He sighed and ran a frustrated hand through his hair, messing it up even more and giving that smoldering I-don't-care-about-anything look. 

Sounds cliché, I know. My life has lost Its originality and has turned into a Spanish telenovela.

"Just give me a chance, okay?" His eyes were hopeful and pleading. Is this guy for real?! I wonder if Harper had ever had to beg or plead for anything in his life and I got a sadistic pleasure when he begged me because I was probably the only person who wasn't going to give him what he wanted.

What does he even mean by asking me for a chance?! His moods were giving me a whiplash!

"This coming from a boy who called me a slut yesterday, called me an attention-seeking whore, who just wanted you to fuck her, and who you dutifully informed, that the kisses we shared meant nothing to you," I said, my voice rose in the end in anger and I rolled my eyes because it was simply unbelievable. This boy had some nerve, I can tell you that!

He does not get to play with my life. We have been back and forth with each other for weeks now and every time he just ends up hurting me. And the best part about it all? We weren't even in a relationship. I could only imagine what being in a relationship with him would be like.

This guy was fucking bipolar and I had no plans to spend the rest of my senior year getting into a relationship that was doomed from the very start and had no strong ground whatsoever. 

I may be clumsy but I wasn't a masochist. I had a very good idea of what was good for me and giving Harper a chance wasn't one of them.

I didn't even like him, for heaven's sake, and I wasn't going to enter a relationship where I could not even stand the guy. I was pretty sure he didn't even know how relationships worked and that monogamy was an essential part of it. 

Why did he even want a relationship with me?! He made it clear yesterday that the sight of me disgusted him and he would be glad if he would never have to lay his eyes on me.

No thanks. I wasn't desperate for the kind of attention and popularity that comes with dating the hottest guy in the school. I would rather go on a date with a guy, I at least liked.

I made a mental note to get rid of the note and the rose sitting in my bag. I wasn't going to throw the chocolates. They were innocent in this mess. 

I turned around, ready to walk up the stairs join my friends in the cafeteria tell them about the false alarm, and diffuse the excitement the morning had created.

I even wasted three periods on this silly escapade, if you could even call it that. I could have learned something. Anything would have been better than daydreaming about Harper.

Before I could even climb up the first step, he spoke. Of fucking course. 

"You always carry a bar of dark chocolate in your bag. You are one of those people who like to eat their bars by breaking off each cube rather than just randomly biting it." Where the hell is he going with this? 

I turned around to face him. Okay! This was just creepy. How did he even know that I had a "way" of eating chocolate?

That crazy stalker!

I quirked an eyebrow, all the while thinking of the police and telling him that I had a stalker.

"There were only two items in Monique's Bakery that had the ingredient dark Chocolate in it. One of them was a shake and the other one was a muffin. Me and the guys had already ordered our drinks so I ordered the muffin. That's how I knew it was your favorite item on the menu. Like I said, it wasn't just a lucky guess!"

His green eyes were so sincere that I wanted to forget everything and jump into his arms. That clears everything. Proximity to Harper damages my brain's capacity to reason.

And I was angry at myself for that. No guy should hold such power over me. And especially the one guy who had insulted me again and again, and even made me feel used on more than one occasion.

"Just one chance. That's all I am asking for." His voice was small and his eyes were hopeful. His shoulders were hunched and his posture was defeated, like he already knew what my answer was going to be. Why did you even ask then, when you already knew what my answer was going to be?!

I shook my head and tried to reason with myself that we were talking about Harper here. He had no reason to feel hopeless and defeated. I was pretty sure that he didn't even like me. There was no reason as to why I should feel sorry for him.

I was rejecting him, big deal. Girls rejected boys all the time.

"It's too late for that, don't you think?" My voice came out soft too, like I was begging him to understand my reasons for not giving in to him. Like I wanted him to know I was hurting too, I wasn't sure why, though.

I turned around and climbed up to the top of the bleachers. I didn't turn back and he didn't stop me.