Back Into the World

Ignored

*Will's POV*

I hadn't talked to Charlotte all weekend, and for some reason it was taking a toll on me. She was the new star that lit up my life, and it had only been a couple of weeks. I waited at the front of the school, near the parking lot, itching to see her pretty face again.

She pulled up in a silver SUV. She wasn't driving it, though. Someone else was, but I couldn't see who. She thanked them before walking towards the school. Her eyes grazed over me, her face blank. She didn't do anything to acknowledge me at all. My heart seemed to stutter in my chest.

Charlotte continued to walk past quickly, disappearing into the big brick building. I was taken aback. What had happened over the weekend that had turned her against me?

I turned and walked through the doors with a downcast look on my face. My brows furrowed and I chewed my lip while I tried to think of reasons that she would avoid me. Sadly, I couldn't come up with any.

"Ehi, Will," someone said to my right, clapping me on the shoulder.

"Hey, Marco." Even I could sense the sad undertone of my voice.

"What's sbagliato?"

I smiled to myself. Marco was still getting used to English. He meant "wrong", but I knew that. "Nothing's wrong, mate. I'm all good."

Marco didn't seemed convinced. "Will," he said, "you need to put a sorriso on your viso."

In an attempt to humour him, I did as he said and smiled. He patted me on the shoulder and then turned the corner, leaving me alone again.

I walked to English solemnly. Mr Jacobs winked at me as I entered the room, but I didn't return the gesture like I usually did. My Jacobs' brow furrowed, and he beckoned for me to follow him. He led me to a corner of the room and talked in a low voice. "Will, what's up?"

That's the thing about Mr Jacobs. He was that sorta teacher that you could just talk to him and act like you were the same age. We were only three years apart in age. "Just girl problems, mate." My voice sounded defeated.

The young teacher looked down the back to where Charlotte was sitting, then back to me. I nodded, flashing him a small smile. He patted me on the back. "You'll be right, Will. Just go talk to her."

But she doesn't want to talk to me, I thought silently. I walked slowly down the rows of seats until I came to the desk next to hers. Sitting down slowly, I kept my head down. I wanted to see if she still thinks I'm okay to talk to. To trust.

"Will?" The voice shook me out of my reverie. I turned to the side with a tired look on my face. "Will, are you okay?"

It was Charlotte. My eyebrows raised, but I was still confused. "Huh? Yeah, I'm fine." I turned back to the front. She had some explaining to do, and it was up to her to tell me. But she didn't. She didn't talk to me for a while. I wish I knew was she was thinking, and if her silence was my fault.

Near the end of English, she finally piped up again. "Are you mad at me?" Mr Jacobs looked up at her voice and winked at me, signalling for me to respond.

I sighed and turned towards her. "No, I'm not mad," I said. "I'm just...confused."

She cocked her head to the side. I couldn't help but notice how her eyes shone under the light. A soft smile made its way into my face. She was beautiful. "Why are you confused?" Oh, and her voice. It was soft and perfect, a harmony of little instruments all working together in sync.

My own voice seemed to catch in my throat. "I—I...uh." She looked at me expectantly, a small smile playing at the corner of her mouth. Her eyes sparkled with humour. I blinked, shaking myself out of my reverie. "Do you like me?"

I could see that the question caught her off guard. She started, looking down. "I don't know what you mean," she whispered.

"Well," I said, "this morning you didn't even acknowledge my existence. You walked straight past me with the most bland expression on your face, and then you didn't apologise or make any excuse for why you did it."

"Will..." Her voice was soothing and quiet. "I didn't mean to do any of that. I had to, in a way."

"Why?" She had to? So believable.

"My dad. He doesn't like boys. And he hates the fact that I go to school with them. He would kill both me and you if he saw us together. I'm sorry I ignored you. I was going to tell you, but I felt so guilty about it, and I hoped that you hadn't noticed." She shrugged. "Obviously, you did."

Suddenly I felt horrible. I was accusing her of things she didn't mean to know, that she didn't even know she was doing. But I still had a question. "Why doesn't your dad like boys?"

Charlotte stared blankly at me for a moment, as if she were thinking about the answer. Then, she opened her mouth to speak. I leaned forward slightly, curious to hear what she had to say. I mean, her dad works with boys. How could he not like them? "Well..." she started. Her words seemed to fail her, and I watched as her eyes started to water. She looked away quickly and wiped her eyes, her hair falling in a curtain between us.

I looked up the front. Mr Jacobs was still continuing on with the lesson. My foot tapped anxiously on the ground. Then I reached my hand out and delicately brushed Charlotte's hair away from her face and behind her ear. She sniffled quietly. "Hey," I said. "I'm sorry. You don't have to tell me."

She nodded, slowly looking back up towards the front.

* * *

After class I followed her out into the hallway. Mr Jacobs had pulled me aside quickly to ask how it went and I shrugged. He had given me a pat on the shoulder sent me off with a half-hearted smile.

"So," I said to Charlotte, "you still like me?" She giggled and nodded, and I slung an arm around her shoulder. "Well, that's a relief. Thought I was going to have to find some new friends."

"You have Jasper and Marco and Clayton, don't you?" she asked.

And Simon and Carson and Collin, I thought to myself. I shrugged. "Yeah, but they're nowhere near as good as you." I touched her lightly on the nose and grinned with satisfaction when she blushed.

I led her to the table with the guys. It had started raining, meaning Charlotte and I couldn't sneak off into the courtyard like usual.

"Will," Jasper said, nodding. "I haven't seen you in a while."

I didn't know why, but for some reason I could sense an underlying threatening tone. "Yeah," I said, keeping my voice steady and even. "Well, I've been busy." I looked towards Charlotte, only to find her fixated on Clayton, him returning her gaze. My eyebrows raised, drawing Clay's attention to me. He cleared his throat and stood from his place.

"Will," he started, "I need to talk to you."