Him and I

2. Him

I drove into the school parking lot on March 3rd, 2023, and Camilla and Jason pull up right next to me, I look over at her and we both share a smile on our faces I exit my blue colored 1969 Chevy Camaro convertible. She gets out of Jason's white Toyota Camry I look at her and she looks at me and I say, “Can you believe it's junior year we have one year until we're seniors we're going to own it!” She looks at me and chuckles and it was like whatever you say girly after she said that I looked at her and I giggled a little bit, then I looked to my left and who's rolling into the parking lot Lance. He exits his black 1979 Ford F-350 Ranger Lariat.

        His sunglasses covering his hazel eyes, he’s already wearing his track cloths. A loosely fitted T-shirt with his golden cross chain over the top his black shorts that fit him fairly. He waves at all the girls and guys that are looking at him. He's high fiving the guys whistling at the latest and greatest hot girls at the school as he walks up the parking lot.

        He comes over to us and says “well, well, well, if it isn’t my baby sis and her dork of a boyfriend and her bitchy best friend.” With a cocky tone in his voice after he finishes his stupid statement, I throw him a threatening look. I reply to his words with “oh and if it isn’t the school man whore.” With a worshiping tone, he gazes at me with a sexy smirk and looks deeply at me. I quickly break our stare and look at the ground then up at his army of football jocks as Camilla is laughing at what, I said to him “damn bro she told you!” She said while laughing, Jason is standing there leaning on his car lake an idiot not saying anything.

        Then Lance tried saying something again to me but before he could say anything I was walking away from him and Camilla, they were talking about who’s taking their parents to the airport for a work trip. I get about halfway up the lot before lance comes jogging up to me and says ,“hey you didn’t take what I said to heart did you?” I stopped and turned to him with an adjugated look, “no I didn’t I just don’t want to be late.” I spoke. Then I proceeded to walk to the doors he then caught up to me again, he grabbed my arm and pulled me to face him. We looked deeply at each other after about 5 seconds I say with an annoyed voice “what do you want!?” he replies with “I just wanted to tell you to have a good day” I was thrown by his words I could feel my face change expression to a surprised look, “that’s all” he finished.

        He let go of my arm and I stood there for a second then turned and walked up the stairs, of George Washington High School. I went to my locker and grabbed my things for first period then Camilla appeared next to me and asked if I was ok, I replied to her with a neutral tone “yea, I’m fine” with a smile. Clearly, I was fine just still in shock of what Lance had said to me a few minutes ago. We walked into our first class which was English, we sat in our seats, and I couldn’t get what Lance said to me out of my head.

        The bell rang and I snapped out of it our teacher Mrs. Kneson walks into the classroom she is an older woman in her early sixties she has faded blond hair that goes to her shoulders she says, “Good Morning peeps hope you had a good weekend, now please get your devices out and open to page eighty-five of Romeo and Juliet.” We all do as we are told, and she starts reading the book. After forty-five minutes the dismissal bell rang, and we all got up and collected our shit and exited the classroom Cami and I walked out together and proceeded with our classes for lunch which was 5th period.

        We sat at out lunch table which consisted of me ,Cami, and Jason, across the cafeteria Lance and his heard walk to their table of kings which is also where the popular girls sit. I see then them from where I am, and Lance and I catch each other’s eyes and I pull away again I was pulled out of it my Cami repeatedly saying my name I come out of whatever I was in and say “what!? sorry I was thinking about something” she throws me a weird look and a sassy “uhm” I say with a bitchy tone “what why are you looking at me like that!” Cami immediately says, “ok ok sorry I didn't mean anything I was just meaning it as a joke are you ok you seem on edge.”

        After about 20 more minutes of us having a great conversation in not a sarcastic way the bell rings for us to go to dismissal to 6th period. That class I have is science, so I go there learn some stuff that I'll never use in my life. Then go to 7th period, which is history learn some stuff I'll never use in my life. After school I go to the girl’s locker room, change into my nice shorts and a tank top then I head out to go to track practice. While I'm there guess who shows up Lance that's right because you know what he's on the track team also. So, then we do our workout do some sprints and we go to our specialty events, which mine is hurdles I'm the only girl hurdler.

        I get all the special treatment I get 2 coaches and it's so much fun, but he just can’t leave me alone he comes up to me while I just got done with my first set. I get back into my blocks and he comes up to me and says, “Adria we have to go everyone else left and there’s a big storm coming in” I hear cracks of thunder to the east of me with almost black clouds and hard winds. As it gets closer, I can hear the anxiety in his voice, and he firmly says to me “Adria we have to go…NOW!” I quickly collect my shit and we quickly head to his truck, as Cami took my car to drop her parents off at the airport.

        I jump into the passenger side of his truck; he starts the truck, and we drive home. Not even five minutes away from school it starts downpouring and it gets harder, to the point that you can’t see five feet in front of you. My heart starts pounding out of my chest as I have had storm anxiety since I was a little kid, I stay calm and try to block out the sound of the thundering rain and the other elements the storm brought with it. Lance pulls the truck over and turns to me he looks at me and says “I had to pull over because it was getting dangerous, and I could tell, and you were scared I look at him not even trying to defend myself because this is my basically brother next to me, he knows me better than anyone when it comes to weather.

        We sit there for twenty minutes, and it lightened up a bit while we sat there, we were on our phones he was snapping some girl’s. I sat there acting like I was doing something then he texted me it said “ik ur not doin anything you just sitin there like a looser” I smiled at this he saw that and texted me “wow you actually smiled i didn’t think you remembered how to.” I dropped hands on my lap and gave him a “really” look he chuckled at me I lightened my expression and gave a light smile he asked me. “You feelin better ?” I replied “yea now i am.” With a soft reassuring voice, he said “that’s good” he gazed deeply into my eyes as i did the same to him. He started to move slowly towards me I quickly turned away as the realization of him came back to me and how he will try everything to try to fuck me.

        In this awkward moment I sternly tell him to drive home, and he does he pulls into his driveway it is raining normally now. We sit in the truck in awkward silence I grab my track bag and open the door Lance then speaks. “Hey Adria, I’m sorry i didn’t mean t..” and before he could finish, I closed the door and walk over to my house and open the door and walk in without looking back.

        I closed the door behind me dropped my bag on the floor and walked directly up to my room. I closed my door and paced back and forth ,then I sat on my bed and texted Camilla asking when she’s going to be back with my car. She texts me instantly and says that she just got back and it’s in my driveway. I then go downstairs and walk by the kitchen and my mom is there and she asks, “Hey hon….wait where are you going?” “I’m going for a drive I’ll be back later probably after dinner.” I respond.

        I walk out the door and go to my car I get into it, and I inject the key to start the engine I glance out the windshield and I see Lance gazing out his window at me I flipped him off and backed out of the driveway and drove off. As I was driving around, I was thinking about what happened in the truck, I can’t believe I almost fell for his shit . I kept beating myself up about what I did, I didn’t realize that I was speeding up until i almost rammed into another car. I sat there in shock and pulled over; my body was hyperventilating. I felt my hearts ponding ,my ears started to ring I was breathing heavily. My eyes vision started to close in, I reached for my phone and opened it. I went to my contacts and tried to call Cami; she didn’t answer so i called lance after a while he answered.

        “….Hey i just wanted to say sorry about what happened earlier” as he was talking, I was breathing heavily into the phone I could tell that he realized that I wasn’t ok. “Adria? Adria hey what’s going on?....where are you….ok I’m on my way don’t go anywhere” I could hear the worry in his voice. Twenty minutes Lance’s truck pulls up behind me, he gets out and runs to my car. My anxiety has gotten better i was still hyperventilating, along with ringing in my ears. He looks in my window and goes to the passenger side, he opens the door and quickly gets in and closes the door. He wraps me in his arms as my anxiety goes down, I start sobbing. “Hey, its ok i got you, nothing is going to happen……I’m here.”