See you again

Chapter 2

"So, uh, do you like chemistry?" I fixed my eyes on him and waited for an answer, but he stared straight ahead of him. His earphones were out so it wasn't like he couldn't hear me. I felt heat rise to my face. Too afraid to repeat my question, I looked away from him, disheartened, and propped my chin onto my hand. Was my question too stupid? Of course he liked chemistry. Why else would he have been in that class? I sighed as the teacher walked back in with a stack of freshly copied papers. He passed them all out and said, "I hope you don't mind who you're all sitting next to because they'll be your lab partner for the rest of the year." How ironic. Class seemed to drag by as Mr. Dexer went on and on about safety rules and the importance of being punctual.

It didn't help that I was sitting next to someone that probably didn't enjoy my presence, which didn't make any sense because I've never actually talked to him before. I had a feeling that chemistry was gradually going to lose its ranking as my favorite. Eventually the bell rang and I was finally free from that torture chamber.

***

Math, my next and final class of the day, was all the way on the other side of the school from where my chemistry class and everyone decided to walk extra slow and crowd the hallways so I barely made it inside as the bell rang. "Late on the first day," Mr. Johnson said from the white board. "Find a seat, please." I glanced at every row in the class and the only open seat was right in front of Aaron. I mentally groaned as I dragged my feet to the open desk. The entire class, which happened to be mostly boys and two girls this time, stared at me as I made my way over. "I hope you all don't mind where you're sitting." No. No. No. Please, no. "Because these are your permanent seats for the rest of the semester." I sank into my seat and couldn't help but feel lasers shooting into the back of my head. I'd never had more than one class with Aaron and now I was in three.

And to top it off, I was sitting next to him in two of them. I would have been ecstatic if I didn't get vibes that Aaron hated me. "You don't know that," Liam said with a reassuring voice. The 7 of us were all walking back home and I had just told them about my last two periods. "Why do you even care? I thought you said that you didn't like him," Thomas said, mocking me. "I don't like him. I'm just so curious about who he is..."

"Well, he hates you, so no need to be curious anymore," Liam said blatantly. I stopped in my tracks and gawked at him as the entire group walked ahead. Chris noticed my absence and lingered behind. "It's only the first day of school," he said, trying to give me some sort of comfort. I let out a sigh and started walking again. "Yes, know. It's just, well, you know, it's-"
"You actually do like him, don't you?" I shook my head profusely. "I've had crushes before. I know what that feels like. This isn't a crush."

"Hm, maybe you're in love," he said with a chuckle as I punched him in the arm. Luckily, we had arrived to our homes so I didn't have to deal with them any longer. We all lived right next door to each other, my house being in between Jason and Carlos. "Well, here's my stop. Don't stress too much over it. He's a boy. Boys can be stupid. Just look at Thomas."

"Hey, I can hear you, you know!" Thomas shouted from the doorstep. I rolled my eyes and waved them all goodbye as I walked into my own home. I don't know why I was so afflicted by Aaron. I had never looked at him with any romantic interest at all and I still didn't. I was just so intrigued by his secretive life and I just had the urge to find out what he was hiding. It's overly intrusive of me, but it was a habit of mine to figure out everyone's life. It wasn't like I gossiped about them.

I just liked the fact that I could understand everyone's situation. Well, almost everyone. "Are you busy?" my grandmother asked as she stepped into my room. I stared down at the pile of homework on my desk. "Um, kind of, but I could definitely use a break. What do you need?" "I need you to go down the grocery store to pick up some salt. I'm making Paëlla and I didn't realize we were out."I stared at her with a strange look. "It's 10 o'clock. What are you doing making Paëlla at this hour?"She shrugged her shoulders.

"I want it to be ready by the weekend. Anyways, I would go to the store myself but I need the 30 pound bag and you know my back isn't in its best shape..."

"30 pounds?!" She smiled innocently at me as she gave me her wallet. "Hurry on now. The store closes at 10:30." I sighed as I grabbed a random hoodie out of my closet and walked out the door. As soon as I walked down the sidewalk, I noticed a figure standing outside with a backpack on and a phone to his ear. I noticed he was standing in front of Chris's neighbor, Jason's house. As I approached closer to him, I was struck with the realization that it was Aaron.

What was he doing here? The last bus to the city left at 9. I sorted through my thoughts, wondering if I should try talking to him again. I couldn't just walk right past him. Well, I guess I could have, but the worried look on his face gave me some hope that he wouldn't ignore me this time.

"Aaron?" I asked, approaching him. He turned around and jumped back a couple feet, pulling his phone away from his ear. It was then that I realized I probably didn't look like something people wanted to see when they were out at night. I pulled down my hood and chuckled.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you." He loosened his stiff pose and relaxed a bit. "What are you doing out this late?" "I, um, missed my bus earlier," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. A billion thoughts began running through my mind. He talked. He didn't ignore me. He actually talked. To me. Aaron talked to me.