He Caught Her Eye (Caught #1)[UNEDITED]

11

RIANA GARCIA

I sit next to Sophie, who gives me a wink. I swear I can feel myself wanting to explode the moment Drake sits down next to me, ignoring my hidden nervousness. He's probably enjoying this. There's no point in denying that I'm imagining him holding his gun with his hand instead of his bag of popcorn. I find myself glancing for a split second at his shoes to see any sign of a blade. None.

Still uneasy, I open my bag of popcorn and take a sip from my coke, my eyes on the massive screen that hasn't flashed anything yet. I ignore the tingling in my body, either from fear or attraction.

"Heart beating so fast?" Drake's voice makes me snap my head at his direction urgently, causing him to smile with pride when I blink at him dumbfounded.

"No," I manage to spit out the words bitterly.

Drake just scoffs, a hint of teasing in his voice. "I can hear it from here," then he leans backwards, turning to me and going for my ear, "and friends don't lie."

Do not blush. Do not blush. "I haven't thought about your.. compromise."

He doesn't miss a beat. "We both know that's not true."

"You fancy yourself too much."

"And you fancy yourself too little."

I shoot him a curious look, and he laughs it off. "Excited for the movie?" he raises an eyebrow at me the moment I look away, starting another conversation.

It's as if he didn't kill someone days ago. It's like I wasn't there. "I'm more of a fan for old-fashioned romance," I say to him, keeping my voice as low as possible. From my the side of my eye, I can sense Theo, Vex and Sophie glance at my direction. "Saw the trailer for this one and cringed. Nowadays it's all about sex, kisses and texts." I don't even know why I'm explaining my opinion to him, but I do know better than to expand.

He nods in consideration as if he's really paying attention to me. He's looking at me with that same old look, studying what lies behind my eyes. I frown at him. "Will you ever stop?"

My abrupt question only makes him narrow his eyes at me. "Stop what?"

"Ever since seventh grade," I say, "you've been looking at me like that from afar." Which also made me believe that you meant it all.

"No I haven't."

"You keep throwing these weird random glances at my direction ever since I was in seventh grade," I cross my arms over my chest, smiling at his sudden expression. "I've always wondered what those meant."

He blinks, dazzled. Then his mouth forms into a thin line, looking away. Instead of a snarky response, he replies, "I thought you never noticed. Usually when girls think I like them, they'll automatically make a move," he smirks and my frown reappears on my face.

"I never thought you liked me," I murmur. "I just thought you were creepy."

His expression changes. "Excuse me?"

"Why else would a guy be throwing glances at some girl?" I shrug carelessly, knowing that he's just going to get more pissed.