Life Unexpected

Chapter 26: Problems

Peter and I hadn't talked at all since our fight that weekend. It was now Monday morning and things were still awkward. I thought we had forgiven each other, but maybe I wasn't remembering correctly. Peter didn't walk in with me to class or stand obnoxiously close to my locker in the morning. He just brushed past me and went into class five minutes early.

Since he was in a mood, I decide to look for Gemma. I walk to the library and find her studying. I take a seat across from her. She looks up at me and smiles. She puts down her book. "Hey," She says simply to me.

I slump down in my chair. "Hey," I reply gloomily.

She arches an eyebrow. "What's wrong?"

"Peter..." I reply quietly.

"Well, I could've guessed that." She sighs and is about to roll her eyes when she stops herself. "What did he do?"

I shrug. "I don't know. We had a fight after the double date. I thought we had made up, but I guess not."

Gemma purses her lips and taps her pencil on the desk. "Communication is key. Just ask him."

"It's not that simple with Peter." I roll my eyes. "You should know that."

"Of course," She laughs. "How could I forget?"

I shrug. "That's what I'm wondering."

"He just might surprise you." Gemma opens her book back up and abruptly begins studying again. I took that as a silent message that she was done giving me advice.

"Thanks, Gemma." I grumble as I walk out of the library. She lifts her head up and smiles at me.

I walk back to English class and arrive just in time. As soon as I step into the classroom, the bell rings. I take my seat in the back.

"Late, of course." Peter snickers at me.

I squint my eyes at him. What had happened that I missed? Had I dreamed up the part when we both apologized? I shake my head and look down at my paper. Out of my peripheral vision I can see the hurt on his face. As if he had any right to feel hurt right now.

Mr. Collins begins his lecture, so I begin daydreaming. I stare down intently at my paper lost in thought. I replayed our talk over and over again. I could not figure out what I had done wrong. Everything seemed fine when he took me home that night. We were even laughing in the car and singing horribly to songs. Had my singing gotten to him? That made no sense, obviously.

He turns around to face me and spits a wad of paper at me. I flick it away and give him a disgusted face. He turns away laughing. I wanted to get him back, but what good would that do? He would just try to one up me.

The bell rings and I had no notes written down. I glance over at another kids paper and, apparently, she hadn't been paying attention either. I take my time getting my stuff then start walking out of the classroom. I run into Peter and smile hopefully. This was probably his way of saying sorry.

"Watch it." He says gruffly then pushes past me.

My smile quickly fades and is replaced with a stabbing pain in my heart. I walk to science without him. He walks to science with a bunch of his friends.

I take to seat beside him and decide to ignore him. If he wanted to talk then he could start the conversation. Today we were working in partners on a project. Normally I would've been happy, since this meant I could talk to him all period. Now I was irritated. I turn toward him and glare.

"What did I do?" I whisper harshly.

He raises an eyebrow and smirks at me. "Nothing. Can I not pick on you?"

I shake my head. "No, this goes way past just 'picking on me'. Don't think all your snarky little comments went unnoticed."

He rolls his eyes at me. "Relax. Chill. I'm just having a little fun, that's all."

I stare at him incredulously. "Okay, and that's your definition of fun? I don't know what's gotten into you. I don't know who you are anymore. How can you go from being so sweet and nice to being a jerk?"

He blinks at me. "Lets just start this stupid project."

***
"Gemma, it's gotten worse." I sit down across from her at the lunch table. Peter wasn't sitting with us, because I told him he wasn't allowed to.

She gives me a sympathetic look. She reaches over and touches my hand. "I'm sorry. Maybe you and Peter should just..." She trails off.

"Breakup?" My voice cracks. I shake my head. "No, it's fine. He's done this before. He's just emotional. That's all."

Gemma looks down at her lunch and eats it without answering me. I sigh and take a bite out of my food. I didn't have much of an appetite anymore, so I put it down. "I don't know, Gemma. What do you think?"

She tilts her head from side to side. "I think that you and Peter need to talk it out."

I nod my head. "You're right."

She winks at me. "As usual."

I peer over at her lunch and notice she has two chocolate bars. "One of those chocolate bars is for Holden?"

"It was." She takes it out of her bag and tosses it to me. I catch it in my hands then rip open the wrapper. I take a huge bite and smile. Gemma giggles at me. "Feeling better?"

"Much better." I say with my mouth full of food.

We both eat in silence for a few minutes. During that time I look over at Peter. He wasn't laughing with his friends or talking to them. He was staring blankly at the wall. I furrow my eyebrows together. I silently hoped that what I had said to him made him think. But I had a feeling that wasn't what he was thinking about.

***
"So, I'm not sure what to do." I tell Holden during life skills. "You're a boy. What should I tell Peter?"

He shifts in his seat. He looks at me with a frown. "I'm sorry, Clarice, but I don't know. Peter is difficult to get a point across to. Believe me I know."

I give him a confused look. "How do you know?"

He sighs. "I used to bully him. I'm sure he's told you already. I tried to apologize, but he wouldn't hear me out."

"What?" I stare at him. "He told me that you never bothered."

"Seems like there's a lot of things he hasn't told you." Holden says to me.

My mouth drops open. I'm about to protest when I realize he's right. I only knew what Peter wanted me to know. How much had really been a lie? My feelings were so mixed up that I didn't know what to do. I could feel my face getting hot. A tear slides down my cheek. Holden wipes away my tear and gives me a hug.

"It's okay." I whisper to him.

"Are you okay?" He pulls away and looks at me with concern filling his eyes.

I nod my head. "I'm fine."