Getting Over Charlie Miller

Chapter Ten - Seven Minutes in Heaven

I rested my head against the brick wall and watched as Adam’s own head pointed downwards towards his feet. ‘So you saw it all?’

‘Yep.’ Adam looked up at me sharply with an unreadable expression, before letting his head lull southwards again.

‘And now you’re pissed off.’ I stated, watching a group of giggling kids walking past us.

‘Correct.’

There was a moment of silence. Neither of us dared to speak. Around us people continued with their breaks, chatting and laughing with their friends. Yet all I could hear was the sound of Adam’s black shoes kicking at the wall on which my head was leaning for support. For a second I believed that he wanted it to cave in, and for me to collapse backwards with it.

Then, he broke the silence. ‘You need to think about what you really want, Lou.’

‘What does that…’

‘Hey,’ Aaron reached into my arms and relieved me of my books. ‘How was English?’

Throwing Adam a look of apologetic despair, I turned to face my new boyfriend. His long brown eyelashes gave his inquisitive face a sensitive look, and I noted for the first time his well-defined cheekbones. He was gorgeous. Yet there was a rough edge to him that I didn’t like. His striped tie fell loosely around his chest, and he’d made no attempt to tuck in the edges of his white shirt. On his feet, Aaron was still sporting the trainers from the weekend.

‘Um.’ Beside me, Adam pushed away from the wall and marched off towards Sarah and the others. ‘It was fine.’

Aaron placed a muscular arm around my shoulders and leant into my ear to whisper. ‘I think everyone’s onto us.’

He nodded in the direction of my friends. Becky stood with her arms folded across her generous chest, scowling back at me. Sarah had enclosed Adam in her pale arms and was watching us with a weary expression. And Sophie? The girl who was renowned for her flirtatiousness and obsession with boys? She was glaring at me with an aggression that I never thought would cover her stunning features.

‘They’ll come around.’ Aaron reassured me, bringing me back into the present. ‘Come sit with the guys.’

We walked together through the crowds of uniformed teenagers until we were stood over Aaron’s friends. They sat sprawled over a wooden picnic bench, the boys holding cans of coke and the girls texting on their iPhones. As we reached the table, Abigail glanced up and looked down again with a nonchalant swish of her blonde ponytail.

‘What’s that doing here?’ She asked, pouting at her reflection in the phone screen.

I felt Aaron’s grip tighten around my shoulders and saw Monica stand up from her seat. After everything that was happened, I wasn’t sure how we were supposed to act in public. Sure, we were friends now. But were we ready to show everyone? How would we explain?

Monica placed a perfectly manicured hand on her slender hip and held the other out to me. ‘Louise is Aaron’s girlfriend now. She sits with us.’

This caused Abigail and Ellen to look up in shock. Mon stood smiling at me welcomingly while her friends glanced between the two of us. ‘But you said she’s a backstabbing…’

‘That’s in the past.’

I fiddled awkwardly with the Pandora bracelet on my wrist as the three stared at me expectantly. Monica's abruptness had saved us from an extremely awkward situation, it was no secret how she’d felt about me in the past, but I still wasn’t sure if I could sit with this group. The popular group.