My Lifeline

13

"River! Wait up!" Will yells from behind me as I walk the corridors to reach my locker.

I smile to myself before I look over my shoulder and watch as he pushes through the crowd to get to me.

"Can't believe you didn't wait for me," he jokes, pretending to be offended.

I roll my eyes and lift one side of my mouth as I walk ahead with Will walking beside me.

"Where are you going?"

"To my locker," I inform him. "Why?"

"Just wondering. I'll walk you."

"Why?" I chuckle at his suspicious behaviour.

"Why not?"

I give in and allow him to walk me to my locker. It's only a short walk which lasts less than a minute before I reach it. Will leans against the locker next to mine and waits for me.

"It's so bland," he suddenly says, snooping inside my locker.

"Cheers," I mumble.

"Having a locker like that would send me into a state of depression."

I sigh. "Thank you, Will."

I realise that Will has been distracting me from my usual thoughts today. On a normal day, my mind would almost kill me with twenty thoughts at the same time; exhausting me. I've been too fixated by Will that the depressing thoughts have finally given me a break.

"What do you usually do at lunch?" he asks after a moment has passed.

I shut my locker after I fill it with my books, turning to face him with my whole body. "I read."

Because he already knows about my lack of interaction with other classmates, I don't feel the need to make up a lie. It's not exactly a secret. Everyone knows that I don't have any friends.

"Wanna go for a drive?"

"Where?"

"Brains' dad has this field on his farm that we always drive in. I can take you for a ride there?"

"I thought you don't have a car?"

I realise that he takes a small step closer. Usually I would take a step back and would cower away because the thought of being in such a close proximity with another person makes me feel vulnerable. With Will, my feet stay glued to the ground.

"I don't have a car, but I have my license. I was sorta thinking I could drive yours."

My face accidentally grimaces. "How skilled are you at driving?"

"Darlin', no one compares to me. I'm sick at driving. Trust me."

I pout my lips to the side and study his cocky expression before I pull my keys out of my coat pocket and begin to walk towards the entrance doors. Will claps his hands and lets out an excited laugh from behind me.

"I'm driving us there. You can only drive when we're in the field, okay?"

"You got it, boss."

I roll my eyes playfully at another one of his nicknames that he's thrown at me.

* * *

We're sat in my car in the middle of the field that apparently belongs to Brains' dad. I'm in the passenger seat, and Will is in the drivers seat, fiddling with the gear stick and making himself comfy. The field is dry because it hasn't been raining much recently, but the grass is dull and dark because it hasn't seen much sun. There's trees at the end, hiding half of the view which shows off a lake and the grey sky that lives above.