Jesse's Girl

Chapter 17

   I shouldn't be here. I should leave. This was a bad idea—probably the worst of all the bad ideas I've ever had.

   I shut my eyes and willed myself to stay where I was despite my thoughts. Leaning against Jesse's locker, I brought up my arms to cross them over my chest, my finger tapping nervously against the bicep of my arm as I waited.

   It took me a while of asking around before someone directed me to where his locker was, yet as I stood there listening to the quiet murmurs of the students wandering around before classes started, I started to mull over the fact that maybe Jesse never even visited his locker at all—seeing as how the only one I ever saw him at was mine.

   I was in the middle of convincing myself to leave again when the sound of voices brought me out of my thoughts. Turning to the noise, I instantly stood up a little straighter when I saw Jesse. He hadn't caught sight of me yet as he waved off some guys who had turned to the doors leading out to the courtyard, and when he did, he stopped in his tracks.

   I almost screamed out in annoyance when his stare became focused on how I was leaning against the lockers, and I glared daggers at him in response, letting my foot drop from the hitched position it was in to stomp back onto the floor.

   An amused expression took hold of Jesse's face when he undoubtedly sensed the tension around me. He crossed his arms just as mine were, and said, "Now look who's doing the stalking."

    I ignored the jibe. "What are you doing?"

   He tilted his head, smiling slightly. "Waiting for you to move so I can get to my locker."

   "That's not what I meant and you know it," I spat. He and I both knew I was talking about the girl from yesterday, but I wasn't asking what he was doing with her—I was asking why he was doing what he was doing with her. I knew that if he could walk away from me so easily after all the effort he's put, then something had to be up his sleeve.

   There just had to be something.

   After a moment of studying me, Jesse walked up to me until he was right in my face. I shot my head back in surprise to get away from him, but had to hide the sudden pain in my skull from showing when my head only shot back into the lockers I was still leaning against.

   Jesse smiled again anyway. "Can I get to my locker, Carson?" he asked, his minty breath blowing on my cheek.

   As soon as his arm came up and blocked off one of my sides, I gritted my teeth in defeat and shoved past him before his other hand could rise and cage me in.

   I stood behind him fuming, facing away from him for a minute while he fumbled around in his locker. After another minute passed and he still wasn't done, I snuck a look at him over my shoulder—only to catch him glancing at me also. I sighed in annoyance and turned back around to stare hard at a poster advertising a play the school was performing on the opposite side of the hall.

   "So," Jesse said a moment after I heard his locker clang shut. "I'm assuming you're not here because you changed your mind about the 'friends' idea and want to beg me for another date?"

   What the hell? I whipped back around to face him, finding that he was leaning against his closed locker as he watched me. "You know why I'm really here," I said.

   "Enlighten me. I don't know to what I owe the pleasure."

   I'm sure there's an emergency axe in this school somewhere.

   "Why are you doing this to her?" I asked tiredly. He didn't look like he was planning on answering, so I continued. "You know that girl has plans, right? Like all of the other girls before her? I'm sure she didn't plan on having a one night stand with a guy who's just going to ditch her when he's done with her."