Between Love And Hate

Chapter Five

Raven

I walked through the school halls silently, replying to greetings from other people and remembering not to forget that Kattie was next to me.

I knew very well that after we left her locker, she'd go looking for her nerd in shiny glasses, Morgan. And it didn't take too long for her to do that.

I'd told her about my fight with Janelle, and I couldn't believe she'd kept count on me. It was the 18th time we were fighting since we had the project.

This time, I had been wrong about Janelle. She was a nice person, and I needed to understand that fact.

I placed my head on the locker played with the car key in my pocket. I had been thinking about her a lot lately. I needed to stop.
And that was when I heard her voice,
Speak of the devil.

"Hey, Raven?"

I quickly turned around. "Hello, Janelle. How can I be of help?"

I had the usual signature fake smile on, and she must have noticed. She frowned instantly.

"Uh, I just wanted... I just wanted to apologize about last night. I shouldn't have acted that way. I'm sorry if I..."

"Are you fucking apologizing? I'm the one who's been wrong and a little too harsh on you. Don't say sorry to me.
I should be saying sorry to you. Hell knows what kinda emotional trauma I must have put you through."

Somehow, she smiled. That smile that made her dimples go deep, and you wish you could poke your fingers at them.

I remember making her fall on her face once or twice and ensuring that coffee stained her clothes every morning. I made sure she got pranked a lot. But somehow, things had changed.

We had the first class together, so we walked through the halls to class together.

And as usual, there were butterflies, lots and lots of butterflies.

The pizza place was near empty when Janelle and I got there, save for an old couple and a funny-looking man.
I completely ignored them and sat down in my favorite spot. I loved it because it was right next to the transparent glass walls of the pizza place.

But Janelle, she felt uncomfortable, and I knew it. I could feel it.
"Janelle, you okay?" I asked.

She glanced at the weird-looking man and quickly turned around to face me.

She was scared. I only had one option. Comfort her, even if I didn't know why she suddenly felt frightened. So, I hugged her.

It felt comforting. I felt like butterflies in a garden filled with wildflowers.
But whenever I hugged people, it never felt this way, this good.

It took a while before the weird-looking man left, and even then, we'd managed to complete half of the project.
"C'mon, I'll drop you off at home," I offered.
"No. You don't have to drop me off at home." she disagreed. I picked up both her stuff and mine, and then I headed out the door towards the car.

You can never refuse Raven Grey.

She gave me her address, and while I drove us quietly to her house, she stayed silent. She only broke it when we passed a street in her neighborhood.

"I was attacked here last night. I don't know who attacked me. I was so scared, and I thought I would die."

She turned back to stare at the place as we drove past it. No wonder she was so scared this afternoon.
"I'm sorry about that. I promise I'll make sure you're safe, no matter what."

My promise felt genuine. I knew so because she smiled back at me before getting out of the car and walking towards her front yard. She only turned to wave at me.

I don't know what's come over me.