Fourteen by C.M. Smith (short story to read .txt) 📕

I attempted a laugh and looked up at him again. He was smiling at me, and I looked down at my feet again.

That smile was dangerous. He could’ve asked me to walk naked down the hallway, and I would’ve done it without a second thought.

This would’ve scared a number of people and possibly scarred them for life—including myself.

“No, wouldn’t want that,” he said.

I gave him a wry smile and started for the door, jumping back when he moved in front of me and pulled it open. I waited for him to walk ahead of me but looked up when he didn’t move.

He was holding the door open for me.

Evan Drake was holding the door open for me.

I stammered my thanks and disappeared through the door. I kept my head down and my eyes glued to the floor as I walked to my locker. The hallway was completely silent, and I heard the door to the room Evan and I had just left slam shut.

I was quick to shove my things into my locker and grab the books I needed, all but running into the classroom and collapsing onto my stool. I crossed my arms over my books and buried my head in them, trying to calm all the crazy thoughts that were swirling around in my head.

I stared at Christina from across the table as her eyes followed Vince when he left the cafeteria. We had approximately five minutes before he came back, and she’d been staring holes in my forehead the entire time he sat next to her, rambling aimlessly about something no one cared to talk about.

In fact, everyone had been staring at me all day. I was surprised I didn’t resemble a slice of swiss cheese at this point. I was more of a circus sideshow freak than I had been before, and I’d seriously begun to reconsider this whole let’s-be-friends thing with Evan Drake thing. So far, it wasn’t leading anywhere good.

“You spill and you do it now,” Christina demanded, tapping fingernails on the grey surface of the cafeteria table. Her eyes danced with excitement as she wiggled.

“There’s nothing to—”

“Don’t start with that.”

“He’s my partner for human physiology, and we were just talking about the project.”

“In an empty classroom? Alone? With the door closed and locked?”

“We wanted to talk in . . . hey.” I sat up straight and pointed at her. “What are you talking about locked?”

“Don’t think no one tried to get in, Anna.”

“He didn’t lock the door.”

“Oh, so he locked it, huh?”

“It wasn’t locked.”

“Yes, it was. Brittany nearly had a freaking snit fit when she couldn’t get in.”

“Why would she think she needed to get in?” I grumbled, leaning forward, and resting my chin in my hand.

“Because she’s Brittany Feldman,” Christina retorted, grabbing the orange from Vince’s tray and cradling it in her hand. “She’s a pain in the ass and has to be shoved up Evan’s for as long as possible each day.”

I snorted. “She has a pretty good reason, though. I mean, he doesn’t discourage her or anything.”

“Seriously, tell me what’s going on with you two,” she said, leaning across the table and staring to peel the skin off the orange. “I won’t tell anyone.”

“No, I know,” I said, fidgeting. “I just don’t want to jinx anything especially if he changes his mind.”

“Are you two dating?” she whispered.

“No,” I exclaimed. “He’d never be interested in me that way. Christina, come on.” I spared a glance up at her and rolled my eyes. “You know that’s not the way things work.”

“Things change, Anna. People change. If Evan got away from those idiots he calls friends, maybe you two would have a chance.”

I shifted, biting down on the inside of my cheek to keep the hope swelling up inside my chest at bay. I didn’t need to fuel the fire that shouldn’t be there in the first place.

“Don’t, Chris. Please.”

She sighed as if I’d just asked her to go stand on the roof of the school and sing the latest Lady Gaga song. She leaned back as she pulled a piece of the orange apart and popped it into her mouth.

“We’re trying to be friends. I think. I guess that’s what we’re doing?” I went back to fidgeting. “We’re hanging out tonight.”

“Where?”

“My house.” I snorted halfheartedly. “He doesn’t want to explain to his parents that we’re just hanging out and not doing homework. I guess I’m not allowed to meet his family until I’m a size two.”

Christina had her head tilted sympathetically to one side. Her jaw moved slowly as she chewed, and I sighed.

“People don’t change, Chris,” I said, trying to smile at her. “They just find new ways to work around their old personalities.”

Vince chose that moment to sit down, reclaiming his spot next to Christina and wrapping his arm around her waist, pulling her against him and grinning at the both of us.

“Am I interrupting something?”

“Yes,” Christina blurted out

“No.” I laughed when Vince stared openly at Christina in disbelief. “We’re done.”

“You’d better give me details tomorrow,” she said, leaning against Vince’s shoulder and pointing at me.

“Yeah. Sure.” I wished that Christina was right and maybe Evan could change after being a jerk for so long.

Too bad I wasn’t dumb enough to actually believe that something like that could really happen.

I bolted from my car, barely closing the door behind me before jumping up the stairs and unlocking the door. I threw my keys on the table, chucked my book bag at the foot of the stairs, and looked around the room to make sure that it was clean.

It had been ages since I’d had anyone over after school. Christina and Vince would occasionally come over to hang out when we were at a loss for anything else to do around town, but they were the only ones. I didn’t know what to do with someone new.

I walked