Taken

Still Breathing

Abracadabra I'm alive!! Sorry it's been ages. School has been hard work. As a great wattpad user once said- "let's blame it on the teachers." Hope its okay 😀- devoncat1

I sat down on one of the cafeteria tables, practically slamming my plate of lasagna down. I held my head in my hands, so that my school blazer slid down my wrists. The headache was taking over my mind and my eyesight was still out of whack. Despite thinking about what had happened, I hadn't managed to calm my nerves or the feeling of dread at the pit of my stomach.

The rest of the English lesson was spent skimming through my book and occasionally looking towards the back table, to see if new guy could possibly be looking my way. For some reason I wished he was, because I kept fantasising over the idea of a friend. Someone who isn't scared to talk to me, spend time with me. Someone who wasn't constantly trying to find a way to get away from me.

I sighed again, and pulled out the iPod from my bag, listening to something, anything that would block out the constant noise of the cafeteria, that was only adding to the pounding in my head and the apprehension bubbling in the pit of my stomach. The tension was thick and I could feel that something was about to happen.

I became fidgety and twitchy, looking around to try and spot anything out of the ordinary. The music was blaring into my ears, but even that couldn't block out the ever growing noise in my head.

Just when it reached a crescendo, and I was about to flip out, with my hands clenched up and my breathing heavy, I felt the bench shift and sag slightly as someone sat down next to me.

I quickly pulled the headphones out of my ears and tried to calm my heavy breathing. I let my eyes flutter close for a second, and in an inhale of breath, I opened them again.

When I saw Kieran sitting next to me with a small smile on his face, I groaned.

"And here I was thinking you'd at least be a little bit pleased to see me?" I sighed, the beating on my skull only slightly lessening to become just about bearable. "Corridor girl."

"Corridor girl?" I looked up to see a cocky grin on his face. I rolled my eyes and stuffed the iPod back into my bag.

"Well, I don't know your name."

"Maybe you should ask someone then. I'm sure anyone in here would love to tell you who I am." My voice came out harsher than I had wanted, but I stood my ground and looked at him with a guarded expression.

"Ouch." He pretended to hiss in pain. "Yep, I'm sure that people in here could tell me who you are. But I'd like to hear it from you." He gave another smile that however briefly, replaced the dread in my stomach with a warm, happy buzz.

"You really don't know who I am?"

"I know that you have a habit of standing in corridors where unsuspecting strangers can whack into you." I let a small smile creep into my face.

"No, that's only happened once."

"Oh, I feel so privileged!"

I inwardly sighed. I had told myself not to befriend him, not to make his life a misery. But I couldn't stop my feelings fluctuating. It was a battle between my head and my heart. I didn't want to be a sad, clingy nobody that needed people to survive. I want to be independent, strong. I want to do what's right.

"Look, Fletcher," I knew I had said the wrong name. But the excited part of me wanted say it, just to see how he would reply. It was like a little game. And it eased the pain in my mind, however slightly.

"Kieran."

"Okay, Kieran. Just... I don't know, give up. Give up trying to talk to me." My attempt was feeble, and we both knew that what was spewing out of my mouth wasn't what I really thought.