❝I don't know what you went through, and I know we aren't going to go back to where we were for a long time, maybe even ever. But if I knew that you were about to go through the worst time of your life, I wouldn't have left. I swear.❞
Catherine Bell...
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↳ Monday
Oct. 24th ↵
I sat beside him on the bench, anxiously tapping my feet and twisting my ring. I had a terrible urge to bite my nails, but I didn't want to come off as unsanitary.
I took a hard swallow, trying to connect the words carefully in my head before I said them.
"Name?" Was all that came out, instead of "What is your name?"
"Derek J." He told me, observing my every move.
"Like the letter J, or jay as in Mockingjay," I questioned.
"The letter," he told me. I nodded, taking a deep breath. He took my shoulder and I somehow managed to look into his eyes. "Are you alright?" He asked.
"Yeah," I quickly nodded, trying to shake whatever it was that I was feeling off. "This isn't about me. It's about you," I smiled. He returned the smile, killing me inside because he seemed absolutely perfect to me.
"So, Derek. How did you become a serpent?" I asked.
He looked away, up at the mildly cloudy sky to think of his reply.
"My mom wasn't a good mom. She uh, left me with my abusive step-dad. I never met my real father either, so I had a tough time learning things. Then my stepdad just... died," he said, not sounding too phased about his death, which was understandable.
"I'm sorry to hear that," I told him, putting my hand on his shoulder for support. I also did it to feel his bicep.
He put his hand on mine, causing me to panic. "It's not a big deal. I joined the serpents because it feels like they're my only family. They're the only ones who understand," he explained.
I nodded, saying "Wow. That's going to be a good story for the school paper," I smiled a little.
He took my hand off of his leather jacket and placed it on his jeans. He rubbed my palm and held it with uppermost caution. It felt nice, so I didn't protest. We then locked eyes.
"What school?" He asked me.
"The only school? Riverdale High."
He went from a calm expression to smolder. He leaned closer to me, coming face to face with me. I could smell his cologne right then. Usually, I hate cologne, but he had the perfect amount on. I would smell it all day if I could.
He then leaned to my ear before whispering "Do you think you can change my name to something else? On the paper?"
I nodded quickly, not understanding why he felt the need to whisper that since no one else was around. I was confused about everything. About his actions, my emotions, and why I even agreed to follow a gang member outside alone.
He pulled away from my ear and stood up. "See you around." He winked at me and walked away, leaving me speechless. I stopped the recording on my phone and walked back inside to eat my hot pocket.
