My High School Bully

Chapter 10

Chapter 10 

When I woke up, I was staring at the ceiling of my room. But why? Was the fight just a dream? Was all of this a dram? Was I going to have to go to school today and face an angry Austin?  I glanced around, only to really that I actually wasn't in my room. It was very similar to mine, but not the same. 

"How are you feeling?" 

My head turned towards the voice, and I regretted it. The pain in my head was so strong that it made me dizzy. But there Austin was, sitting on his couch next to the bed.  

Wait. 

Was I in Austin's room? Was I sleeping in his bed? 

I mumbled something that even I couldn't understand, and Austin stood up. "You really scared us there."

Finally I remembered what had happened. The fight. Mike punched me right in the head. On accident of course, but I was still pretty angry about it. I ignored his comment. "Austin, you got in a fight. You're going to get in trouble! They already are suspicious of you, so what if you get expelled?" I asked, sitting up. 

"I'm more concerned about you." 

Now please, I beg of you, don't get mad at me, but I have to admit--my heart fluttered a bit. 

"Where's Alex?" I asked. 

Austin frowned a little bit. "I don't know." He said a bit shortly. 

"Oh." 

"He probably just hasn't heard about it yet."

"What time is it?" I asked. I reached into my pocket and grabbed my phone. 4:19 PM. Also, there were 8 missed calls and 4 new text messages. All from Alex. Somehow I felt slightly more relieved. 

Where are you?

Hey, shift starts soon. You coming?

Are you okay?

I'm getting worried. Call me. 

I texted him back. I'm fine. Won't be coming in today. Tell Jamie I'm sorry.

Not even a minute later, my phone buzzed. It was Alex, but I ignored it. I didn't want to continue to be rude since I had company. 

"My head hurts." I stated. Austin chuckled a little. 

"I bet it does. He hit you pretty hard. Here." He gave me a cap with two aspirin in it and a glass of water. I swallowed them both, and I set the water back on the table next to me. I looked up at Austin and immediately felt awful. He was a bit beat up too, but here I was, focused on myself. 

"Austin, you're hurt too," I said, pointing to the cut on his forehead. He touched it with his fingertips. 

"Oh this? That's nothing." He said. Typical guy. 

I groaned. "I'm sorry. This is all my fault."

"Are you kidding? It's mine." 

"But you wouldn't even have gotten into the fight if it weren't for me."

"I should have handled it differently."

It was silent again for a moment, but a question kept burning in my mind. "Can I ask you something?" 

"Sure."

"I know you're being nice to me now, but why did you hate me so much?" 

He looked uncomfortable and shrugged. I kept staring at him, waiting for an answer. "I dunno." I waited. He sighed. "Fine. The thing is, I sorta used to have a pretty big crush on you." 

WHAT? My eyes widened. "You did?" 

"Oh yeah." he said, looking embarrassed.

"Um, just so you know, being mean to someone isn't a good way to show them you like them." I said. 

He chuckled. "I know. But in middle school Alex and I used to be best friends. And then freshman year you and him started  to get closer. And I started seeing you around more and... well you know how teenage guys are. But it was pretty obvious that you liked him instead."

My eyes widened. "What?"

He laughed. "Oh come on, everyone knows. You aren't very subtle about it at all."

I was absolutely mortified. Was it really that obvious? 

"But anyways, whenever Alex would hang around with us, our friends would joke about how much you loved him. And I guess I was just mad that it was you and him instead of you and me." 

I was shocked. "Austin... I'm so sorry. I didn't know."

"No, please don't think this is your fault. You've done nothing wrong." 

"Was I really that obvious with Alex?"

He chuckled. "Oh yeah, everyone knew." 

"I never said anything to him, but I'm sure he knew it too." 

"Oh yeah. He thought it was funny."

Funny? Something in my heart twitched a little. So he thought my feelings were entertaining. 

"I'm sorry Austin. I see why you hate me." 

"Hated." He corrected. "But it wasn't your fault at all. I just have a temper." 

I looked up at him. I always saw him as the guy who was so, so mean to me, but this time I really looked at him. He was attractive, I'll give him that. Actually, he was more than just attractive. He got a lot of attention from the girls at our school. But really, I've never looked at him that way. Until now. 

"Well, the past is the past." I told him. "And if you're nice to me now, that's how I'll think of you." He smiled. "But why did you like me? There were so many different people we go to school with." 

"I thought you were really pretty."

"Really?"

"Yeah.  I remember all the sleepless nights I was up thinking about you. And then I couldn't stop thinking that you were probably doing the same thing, thinking about Alex."

It was true, but I didn't say anything. He moved closer. 

"I know what you're thinking," Austin said. "That this is all a prank. I would think the same thing. Jerk of a guy changes his ways and pretends to be nice only to embarrass her in the long run. It's suspicious, I know. But just... watching you cry on that bridge. It made me go back to freshman year and all those sleepless nights." He said, brushing my fingertips with his. My heartbeat quickened. 

"Really?"

"Yeah. I just imagined how I would feel with you gone." He moved even closer and touched my arm. My heartbeat quickened even more. That wasn't supposed to happen. This was the guy who was mean to me for 3 years. He stroked my cheek with his other hand. 

"Ella," He whispered into my ear. He moved his lips so they were only an inch from mine. "Can I?" 

I thought about it. I was definitely feeling attracted to him. I mean, he was gorgeous. But he was the biggest jerk to me for the longest time. What if this was a joke? I couldn't take that chance. I turned my head away from him. "I'm sorry." 

He was silent. And the look on his face. It made me want to cry. 

"I'm fine with being your friend." I said quietly. "But I don't think anything else is meant to happen." 

He looked away, embarrassed. "Right. I'm sorry." 

"It's fine." I said. "It's just... you know about Alex."

"Right." The awkward silence continued for another moment. "Well, I better go then. I hope you feel better." 

And without another word, he left. 

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Ouch. REJECTED! That's gotta hurt his ego a bit, huh? What do you guys think? Let me know in the comments!

Thanks for reading!