Aftertaste

"I don't get close to people."

It was Wednesday morning. Rays of sunlight streaked through my bedroom window, and there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. The weather was the opposite of my mood. I had so many emotions muddled together in my head, swirling around and creating a cloud of confusion that was constantly hovering over my head.

I was happy because my date with Shawn on Saturday had been a lot of fun; I really enjoyed spending quality time with him when he wasn't putting on his tough guy front, and I felt like he had a good time with me too.

But I was frustrated, because the date hadn't exactly ended on a good note. The pain from the fight that we had still lingered, and I cringed thinking about it.

I was also annoyed, because I hadn't seen Shawn at school, Tim Hortons, or anywhere else around town in the past three days. It was almost like he had dropped off the face of the Earth.

Most of all, I was confused. I still had no idea who Shawn was. I wanted to get to know him, but every time I felt like I was getting closer to him, he suddenly shut me out and pulled away. I knew that something big had happened with Shawn and everyone else in this town, but I had no idea what. I was stumbling around in the dark, trying to find answers to a question that no one had asked me.

I dressed to pair my outfit with my mood, dressing in dark yoga pants and a baggy gray sweatshirt. I threw my hair in a messy bun and put minimal effort on my makeup, only applying a quick swipe of mascara to my eyelashes.

My parents had already left for work by the time I went downstairs, so I was on my own for breakfast. I grabbed an apple off the counter. Taking a bite, I then grabbed my backpack and car keys and headed out the front door. I froze when I reached my driveway.

"Shawn?"

There he was, leaning against the hood of my car watching me. Like usual, he was dressed in all black. But today he was wearing dark sunglasses and had pulled the hood of his sweatshirt up over his head. He smirked when he saw me.

"Hi Grace," he replied, "How's your ankle?"

"Fine," I replied. "Just as good as new."

"Good to hear. Are you on your way to school?" Shawn asked.

I nodded, confused. Why was he here? We hadn't seen each other or talked in three days, but he seemed to find nothing wrong with the fact he had just randomly appeared in my driveway.

"Oh no you're not," he shook his head slowly.

"Well not if you're leaning on my car!" I tried to shoo him off.

He didn't budge. "Come with me today," Shawn said.

"Go with you where?" I asked.

Shawn pulled off his sunglasses and shrugged. "Somewhere," he said. "I want you to go somewhere fun with me."

"When?"

"Right now."

I widened my eyes and raised my eyebrows. "You mean skip school?"

"Yeah," Shawn smirked, "I know you're a goody two shoes and all, but it's okay to let loose and cut class every once in a while."

I glared at him. He didn't think wouldn't cut class; I wasn't that type of girl. Shawn watched me with a playful gleam in his eye. He knew what I would choose.

"Alright," I said. "Where are we going?"

A look of genuine shock passed over Shawn's face. "What?" he asked. "You really want to come with me?"

I nodded, "Yeah, but we have to take my car. If my parents come home and see that it's still here, they're going to figure out something's up."

Shawn stared at me with a mix of confusion and surprise on his face. "Yeah, um, okay sure. I'll drive."