The Fine Line Between Love and Hate

School

12:00 AM
1:00 AM
2:00 AM
3:00 AM
4:00 AM
5:00 AM *BEEP BEEP BEEP*
I roll over onto the other side of my bed and hit my alarm clock. I haven't gotten a single minute of sleep. My every waking moment has been invaded with thoughts of him. Are we really going to be friends now? Why do I feel like there's some sort of ulterior motive? And why the sudden change of heart? As much as I want to lay here and search for the answers I've already been laying in bed for too long and I need to get ready for school. I practically fall on the floor getting out of bed im way too tired to do anything yet, at least not before a very unhealthy amount of coffee. I zombie walk my way into the kitchen and pour myself a cup before taking my first sip of the delicious elixir.  "Mmmm yeah that's what I needed." I say out loud. "What did you need?" Caden says walking into the kitchen before pouring himself a cup of coffee, and then a second cup that I can only assume is for Cassie. "Uh coffee that's what I needed." I say and he laughs. "I know the feeling." He says and walks out. Since when does Cassie let a man spend the night here? I'll have to ask her about that later. I walk back to my bedroom now with a little more pep in my step with the fresh caffeine coursing through my veins. I pick out a skirt that flows about half way down my legs ending at my knees, and one of my favorite sweaters. I then walk over to my makeup desk and decide to add a minimal amount to my face just to switch things up a bit. Normally I would only wear makeup if there's some sort of special event or Cassie's birthday parties because I almost feel obligated to when that rolls around. Once i'm done I grab my converse and organize my school work before heading out the door at 5:46, Cassie texted me while I was putting my makeup on and told me she was getting a ride from Caden so I guess it's just me this morning. I definitely need to stop to get more coffee, even though i've already had 3 cups.... I pull into the parking lot and park my car. As im walking up to the door Hero comes running up to me. "Josephine." He says and opens the door for me. "Thanks." I say and smile. Ok this "friends" thing is a little weird I mean I definitely wouldn't rather him be rude to me but him being nice is just....weird?!?! "I knew you'd be here." He says walking in behind me. "So what you're stalking me now?" I ask playfully. "Yes." He says seriously while staring at me with a blank expression. I stand there in silence for a minute and begin to panic what if this whole "friendship" is just some plot that he has to kill me or something and I fell into his trap? What if he's secretly plotting against me and this is all an act? "Josephine im just kidding don't go ballistic." He says and laughs. "Um yeah I knew that." I say and let out a quiet fake laugh. "The look that was on your face said otherwise." He says and smirks at me. Why does he always smirk at me? "Well now you're wrong and a stalker." I say which makes him laugh again. "What can I get you." The man at the counter asks. "Good morning can I get a large caramel macchiato with 4 shots of espresso please. Do you want anything?" I ask Hero as he just stares at me. "Medium black coffee." He says never looking away from me. "Ok that will be $5.60." The man says and Hero hands him a 10 dollar bill. "Hey I was going to pay for those." I say and the man gives Hero his change back. "Well looks like I beat you to the punch." He says and smiles. "4 shots of espresso huh rough night?" He asks me and I nod my head. "Anything in particular happen?" He asks and I shake my head. "Do you know how to speak?" He asks and I shake my head. "Yeah seems like it." He says "One caramel macchiato and one black coffee." The man from the counter earlier says and slides us our drinks with a smile. "Thank you." I say and grab the cup. "What's that?" Hero asks as he opens the door for me. "What?" I ask as he points at my cup. It's a phone number with a note saying "You're really cute call me sometime ;)." Who puts that on a costumers drink? "What does it say Josephine?" Hero says again. "It's nothing." I say and continue to sip my drink. "Well it looks to me like it's a phone number." He says with a tone. "Ok? Maybe it is why does it matter? Are you jealous?" I ask just jokingly but I don't think he picked up on that. "No of course im not jealous what do I have to be jealous about? I'm more concerned for your boyfriend." He says as we reach my car. Ow. What does he mean he has nothing to be jealous about. "What are you talking about?" I ask. "You know Alex." He says. "Adam and I aren't dating.....we never really were." I say and choose to ignore him getting Adams name wrong for the thousandth time. "What?" He asks. "Yeah I mean I guess we went out for a couple dates but I was never really into him." I say and Hero smiles to himself. "What?" I ask him. "Nothing." He says still smiling. "What is it?" I say and laugh while nudging him. "Tell me what kept you up all night and i'll tell you what im thinking." He says. I don't want to tell him that the reason I was up was because of him, it would boost his ego too high...even if the thoughts were somewhat negative skepticism. I do really want to know what he's thinking though. "You know as much as I want to share that information I really need to get to school, and so do you." I say and he fakes a frown. "But I was just about to crack the case!" He says as I open my car door. "You need to get to school too." I say and he shakes his head. "Come on Hero how do you plan on graduating if you don't go to class?" I ask and he shrugs. "Well I was planning on going to the last class." He says and I smile. That's our class together. "Well I still think you should go to all of them." I say and get in my car. Hero taps on the window and I roll it down. "That's it? No goodbye?" He says and I shake my head. "Goodbye Hero." I say and pull out of the parking spot. The drive to campus from the coffee shop is short but it felt so long. I guess this friends thing with Hero might work. Maybe he really is sorry for how he treated me before, I mean it surprised me at first but I think he might be genuine. My first 2 classes flew by and I couldn't help but get excited about seeing Hero in my next class. There's only five more minutes till the bell rings and this class is dismissed when a lady wearing a flower dress walks through the doors and straight down the aisle with a yellow note. She hands it to professor Alexandra while quietly whispering something before leaving. "Josephine Langford." The professor says and holds up the note. I look around the room and then stand up and walk down the isle. "Your father has called it's an emergency." She says and hands me the yellow slip of paper. "Ok um have a good rest of your day." I say and she smiles. I walk back to my seat and grab my things before heading out of the class. I wonder what the emergency is I mean my father doesn't have and health problems and he's a pretty active guy considering his age, maybe it has to do to with Granny and Pop? I mean im not very close to them but I would still be sad if something were to have happened. As I walk down the hallway a hand grabs my arm and pulls me into a corner. "Hero what are you doing here?" I ask him and stare at him in shock. Where did he even come from? "Well I was hoping you would agree to going to lunch with me." He says and smiles. "Hero I cant I just got a note saying that there is an emergency with my father I need to go."I say and start to walk off but he grabs me again and pulls me back. My breath hitches and im much closer to him now than I was before. I stare down at my wrists which are still in Hero's hands and I slowly breathe out trying to ignore the sensation of his hands on me. "Don't worry there isn't an emergency." He says and I look up at him confused which makes his smile grow even bigger. "What do you mean." I ask. "I called the school...you're welcome." He says and winks. "How would they have even allowed that?" I ask and shake my head. "I don't know i've never gotten anyone out of class before." He says and finally let's go of my wrists, though I find myself wishing he hadn't. "We have two completely different accents." I say and he nods. "I guess Americans can't tell the difference." He says and laughs. "Wait couldn't lunch have waited until after class?" I ask and he shakes his head. "Where would the fun in that be?" He says. "Well I suppose I am done with my homework for this week and I am really hungry, but if I miss something really important or fall behind in next weeks homework there will be some serious consequences for you mister." I say and he laughs and shakes his head as if he doesn't feel threatened by me whatsoever. "Ok are you ready to go?" He asks. "What about my car? I cant just leave it here." I say and he starts walking away. "Sure you can i'll drop you off at it after our fun filled day." He says and I scramble to catch up to him, it's really hard to walk at the same pace as someone when their legs are so much longer than yours. "I guess that could work." I say and he smiles. "I cant wait." He says and smiles at me. I have no idea who this Hero is, how can someone go from being so spiteful and rude to being the sweetest person alive? I don't think i'll ever be able to wrap my head around it but for now i'm going to enjoy it and hope that he stays in his way forever.

Authors Note
I really hope you guys are still enjoying this story are sorry for not posting as frequently is probably going to be like that for a while. Also have you guys seen the new interviews with Hero and Jo because they are so FREAKING adorable. Anyways again I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and MAKE SURE TO VOTE (if you want of course).

Your friend Makena