The Anatomy of a Broken Heart //Completed//

21. Caleb

We sat outside, behind the school beneath one of the oak trees they had planted to make the place more welcoming. It wasn't working. Santana balanced a tray of food on her lap as she held a cup of soup up to her lips, drinking slowly, not looking at me. I wasn't hungry, but I nibbled on a granola bar to do something. I'd planned on discussing the way the day had gone, but every awkwardness in me was multiplied by just being here in front of her. It didn't help that her eyes never looked my way; she just kept drinking her soup. It was getting colder now, even during the day and I suddenly felt bad for having dragged her out here, but I had to get away. To not be seen. To hide.

"So," I began. She set her cup of soup down and looked up at me expectantly. "What do you think so far? About how we're handling all this, I mean."

Her expression was unreadable. She shrugged and thought for a moment. "I just kind of want everyone to stop looking at us. I know the point is to be seen, but it sucks."

"Yeah, I know." The wind picked up a little and the tree above us began to sway, rustling its leaves in opposition to the gust. I stood up, unable to stay still and looked out onto the football field where the JV team were running plays. One of the boys caught the ball and managed to sidestep three guys that went for him, breaking away from the group and running away with the ball, so fast it was impossible for the others to catch him. He ran practically by himself from the fifty yard line all the way to the end zone.

We needed our own plan. One we could take all the way to the end without anyone catching up with us. We needed to be organized and do things with a purpose. Today had gone well, so far. We'd gotten the attention I was expecting and by now I was sure most of the senior class knew we were...something. But we needed to show them we were serious and she wasn't just a rebound. It would be difficult judging by the opinions of everyone about her, so I had to convince them she wasn't the trashy girl she really was.

Without warning, Santana got up, knocking the tray in her lap to the ground, just as I was turning to tell her the semi plan. Her eyes were wide as she stared at something behind me, and I watched as she walked past me and towards an underclassmen with a dark expression and crossed arms. He was framed on each side by two boys dressed in similar clothes of black skinny jeans and black hoodies, but these guys were much larger and looked more like body guards and less like high school sophomores.

Santana walked to the middle boy and was quiet while the boy spoke. He looked upset, but not angry. I couldn't hear what they were saying over the rustling of the trees around us though not for lack of trying. They turned towards me then, both frowning and I turned away quickly, rubbing the back of my neck, feeling the heat of embarrassment over being caught eavesdropping rising.

"Santana! Come back!" The boy was yelling after her making me turn around again. She was walking steadfastly towards me. Reaching down, she picked up her bag and grabbed hold of my hand, leading me back inside. Once we'd crossed into the warmth of the main building, she dropped my hand and apologized.

"That was Elliot, Jasper's brother. He says he doesn't buy our little act and that Jasper won't either. I asked him if he thought I was insane enough to fake a relationship with someone like you just to get some sort of rise out of his brother," she said with a wicked smirk. "That shut him up. But we need to do something to prove this is real, Caleb. Before Elliot or anyone else discovers we're both bat shit crazy."

"I think I have a plan," I told her, glad she was on the same page.

"Me too. Zealand is having a party tomorrow at his house and if I show up with you in tow, none of them can question what we have is real."

"Okay...but that's just your people. To make everyone else believe us, I want you to come with me to my dad's fundraiser next Saturday."

Her mouth opened a little as if to protest. A party at her weird friend's house wouldn't ensure me anything, but if I showed up with her next Saturday at an event like that, it would be the sticker of authenticity and no one would be able to question it. I just had to figure out a way to not let my parents have a heart attack when they saw me with her.

"Well?" I pressed.

"Yeah...it's just that...those things are like super fancy, right? I mean you saw my house. I don't exactly have a closet full of ball gowns that I can pick from to wear at something like that." She motioned towards herself and I looked her up and down, noting her ripped jeans and holey t shirt.

That hadn't even crossed my mind. Of course a girl like this didn't own an evening gown-she'd probably never even stepped foot in an event as important as this. It was an easy fix though.

"It's fine. We'll go shopping and I'll get you a dress you can wear. We'll go to my mom's regular spot and you can pick whatever you like." I gave her a winning smile but she gave me a disgusted look.

"I don't think so, pretty boy. I'm not a charity case." She gave me her signature eye roll and trotted off down the hall away from me.

"Santana, wait! I didn't mean that!" I thought she'd have jumped at the idea of getting something like that for free. Didn't all girls like dressing up? Or was I just being an ignorant idiot? "Hold up." I grabbed her upper arm and turned her around to face me. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you or anything."

Her eyes studied my face, until she nodded, deciding I was worth forgiving.

"I really think we should go to this fundraiser, though. It'll help me a lot. And if it makes you feel better, we can rent the dress and not buy it so you won't have to worry about it being too expensive. If you want you can pay it."

"Ha! Renting is fine, but I ain't paying." She laughed ironically, but I could tell the tension had lifted.

"Okay, fair enough." I chuckled.

The bell rang for fifth period and we started walking towards class quietly. I began following her, but she turned and put a hand on my chest, stopping me. "Why don't we just take a little break, and pick this up later?"

"Uh, yeah sure. I'll see you sixth period then." Her head snapped up and her eyes widened in horror. They were so big that they looked almost cartoonish.

"You didn't know we had French together did you?"

For some reason I found this the most hilarious thing in the world and threw my head back laughing. It annoyed her, I could tell, but it didn't take her long to catch the laughter. There we stood amidst a sea of students laughing loudly, as if we were two real friends. To outsiders, we must have looked happy and carefree, only because they couldn't hear the note of madness behind the laughs. I could hear it in her voice as she spoke, as she said his name. Her voice developed the same timbre of pain I could hear in my own, and that's why, when I let her walk to her class alone, I wasn't worried if she was fully committed or not. Because pain like that wasn't survivable and if she felt anything like what I did, she'd want nothing more than to get rid of it.