My heart stopped for a moment, and I choked on the answer. Had he just hinted that I had some sort of claim on him? And more, that for him I wasn't just one of these ‚dumb sluts' he was talking about? My thoughts were spinning wildly, and I hoped that he had meant it the way I had understood it.
"N-no," I finally managed to say. "It doesn't bother me."
"Good."
We lay there for a while longer, not talking. I enjoyed the fact that he was so close to me, that I could feel every single breath he drew, and that he was protective enough to give me as much bodywarmth as he could when I shivered in the now much cooler breeze. It was still light outside, but the sun had gone down a while ago.
"We should leave," he finally whispered into my ear and kissed it afterwards. I nodded and reluctantly lifted my head off his chest where it had rested comfortably. I half rolled, half dragged myself off his warm body and stood, watching him do the same before he took my hand and led me back to the rusty ladder. He went down first, warning me before my feet left the last rung and catching me safely in his arms when I let myself fall the rest of the distance towards the ground. I felt a bit as if I was dreaming when I looked up to him at that point, so protected and safe in his arms. He gave me a short kiss and put an arm around my shoulders to escort me to my car.
"By the way," he said when we crossed the parking lot, "next time we need to talk, or, well... ." He grinned. "What I mean is, next time you have to leave study hall, just tell Miss Larsen you're going to the bathroom. It's much easier than this art room business."
"I will," I said and turned towards him when we had reached my car. "Thanks," I told him, and he took my face into his hands and kissed me. Deeply, slowly, his tongue explored my mouth, dancing with my own, and when he threatened to pull away I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him close again. He hugged me tighter, crushing me against his chest and my lips against his. I moaned when he slowly sucked and rubbed on my tongue with his, then gasped when he playfully bit my lip. Finally, we were out of breath and came apart.
"I'll see you tomorrow," he smiled while I still gasped for breath, and opened my car door for me. I got in, but not before kissing his cheek and giving him a smile. He returned it, making me feel absurdly happy for a moment, but also getting me thinking what the hell was actually going on between the two of us. For some reason, I didn't want to ask him outright, but once again, I was confused as to what Seth actually wanted and why he thought that playing the hiding game was necessary.
***
The next day found me glancing up to the school roof once I left my car and walked to the entrance, grinning cheerfully when thoughts of the events of last night entered my mind once again. Not that I'd been able to think about anything else until I had finally gone to sleep the night before. Marisol had called me right after I had woken up and informed me that she wouldn't be coming to school this day – her mother had basically given her some time off, and Marisol was glad she would have a day to have her face heal up a bit before she had to face the crowds at school again.
The day passed relatively uneventful. I had eye contact with Seth more often than not during study hall, even though he tried to be careful about not being caught looking at me. I missed Marisol during Art class, where I had nobody to chat with, and I definitely wasn't looking forward to PE without her by my side. I entered the locker room for my last class with a disgusted feeling in the pit of my stomach, and that feeling only got worse when Amanda Morris pushed past me.
"Bitch," I hissed, but entirely too loud.
„What?" she asked, turning abruptly and attempting to stare me down. I was tempted to avert my eyes, but when I remembered Marisol's black eye I curled my hands into fists and was prepared to defend myself, should she decide to punch me as well.
Fuck you,
I thought, staring back at her.
I fucked the captain of your precious football team not twenty-four hours ago, you bitch. I wish I could slam that one in your face.
"I said ‚Bitch'," I repeated, and her eyes went wide when she realized I wasn't going to back down. "You punched Marisol, you cunt."
I decided a split second later that provoking her this much probably wasn't the best idea, but she just stood there, frozen for a moment, apparently digesting what I had said. Then she turned around in a flash of blond hair and was gone. She slammed the door on her way out and I let out the breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. Maybe she would just decide I must be insane and leave me alone.
I was hoping this and similar things all the way through PE class, until I was back in the locker room and changing out of my sweaty clothes. The cheerleaders were giving me looks, but I figured that this was just the normal level of annoyed disgust they had with Marisol and me. I was breathing easier when I pushed open the door and walked out into the hallway, but then I screamed as someone suddenly grabbed me by the hair and dragged me right back into the locker room.
I turned and twisted to face my attacker, but I didn't manage before my arm was violenty twisted, and then suddenly a whole group of girls was surrounding me closely.
"You idiot," Amanda hissed and stepped in front of me. "I don't know why you fucking bitches all suddenly think you can get away with this behavior, but I'll give you a black eye just like that other little whore." She swung at me, but I blocked her arm with my free one. Someone grabbed it and twisted it behind my back as well, and Amanda's next punch hit. I managed to avert my face so that it hit my cheekbone instead of my eye, but it still hurt like hell and brought tears to my eyes. I blinked them away, just as Amanda kicked me in the stomach, and I doubled over as my vision went black, painfully aware that my arms were still being held when my shoulders were strained in an entirely unhealthy way, making me scream. I retched right afterwards, when my stomach let me know that it objected to this kind of treatment. "Get her under the shower," someone giggled, and the whole bunch of girls around me grabbed a hold of me and moved me, dragging me by my arms, my shirt and my hair. A shower was turned on in the back and I was thrown into it with a group effort, hit the opposite wall and slid down the same. It hurt like hell, but I just kept my eyes closed and hoped that none of these bitches, including Amanda, wanted to get themselves wet.
"Don't you forget this, you stupid slut!" I heard Amanda yell out and then, something smacked into my head. It made the splitting ache worse and I felt myself slump against the wall, on the edge of consciousness. A few girls giggled and talked excitedly. Something else smacked into my head with just the same sound, and I could hear the voices fading.
I hadn't really taken any serious damage if you didn't count the green and purple bruise on my cheek and the small bumps on my head where Amanda had hit me with my gym shoes. She was a softball player and had thrown them with quite the speed. My stomach had recovered quickly and had been fine by the time I had regained consciousness under the freezing cold shower. Once I had gotten home, I had told my mother I had fallen, and had her take me to the hospital just to make sure my head was okay, which it was. Later, I had called Marisol and told her what happened, and she had harped on me for being this stupid but at the same time had been touched because I had stood up for her. I had even prepared myself for sniding comments from Amanda and some of the cheerleaders during the next day of school.
What I hadn't prepared myself for was Seth's shocked look when he had caught sight of my bruise, and his abrupt jerking of the head indicating that he needed to talk to me before he got up and had Miss Larsen give him a hall pass. I waited until he had gone before getting up myself and telling her I had to go to the bathroom. She let me.
I hadn't gotten very far before Seth came towards me out of nowhere, grabbed me and pulled me into a tiny room that turned out to be a storage room for football equipment. Of course he'd know about it. I was willing to bet that it had also been locked just a few minutes ago.
"What the hell happened?" he asked harshly, grasping my chin so he could take a better look at my face in the dim light.
"Seth, I'm okay," I protested, trying to wrench out of his grip. He wouldn't let me, but his eyes bore into mine. I had never seen him so aggravated – not counting on the football field – and he scared me a bit, so I grabbed his arms and tried to break his grip once more.
"I'm serious Jenna." His jaw was clenched and his hand was shaking slightly. "Tell me who did this to you. I'll fucking kill them."
"Seth, you're hurting me," I gasped, and his face softened at once.
"I'm sorry," he mumbled, letting go of me, and I slumped against him. He hugged me tightly to him, making me whince.
