Love At First Sight

21

It's been three days since Rhylee and I had our conversation, and I hadn't chosen yet. It's so impossible. I didn't even know I had a crush on Zachary until Rhylee made me realise that he had a crush on me.

That's the thing about love that confuses me. When you know someone likes you, then you start to like them.

Anyway, Rhylee couldn't drop me off at school today because she doesn't want to come to school for the rest of the week. Crazy, right? She wants to leave me alone to suffer in this hell-hole all by myself. Great. Just great.

I wasn't looking where I was going. As a result of this, I bumped into a wall, at least that's what I thought. I rubbed my forehead in pain.

"Sammy!"

I mentally face-palmed myself. Why, oh, why did I have to bump into Zachary? There are 564 more students in this school, and that one person had to be him.

"Hi, Zack." I still kept my eyes on the floor.

He didn't say anything for a while so I took that as my cue to leave. I started to walk away, but he held my arm, preventing me from doing so.

"Wait. Please don't go."

It was then I noticed I was standing amongst his friends. The only reason I realised this was  because Zack gave them a signal to give us some minutes of privacy.

I sighed. "Is this going to take long?" I looked at my wrist watch. "Because I only have 6 more minutes to get to class."

"You didn't sleep well last night."

"Zack-"

"Why?"

"Homework."

"I know you're lying."

"How did you know?" I asked.

"How did I know you're lying? Or how did I know you didn't sleep well?"

"How did you know I didn't sleep well?"

"Because you have dark circles under your eyes."

My hand immediately went to my eyes and I groaned.

"And, your hair is a mess."

My hand went straight to my hair and I released a louder groan, throwing my head backwards in frustration. I must've forgotten to brush it. If my mum hadn't left early to work, she would've noticed. So this is basically all her fault.

"Do I look that bad?" I asked.

"Do you really want me answer that question?" Amusement leaked in the tune of his voice.

I groaned even louder. I earned some glares from other students.

"Don't do that." He said.

"Do you want me to die? How can I stop breathing?"

He rolled his eyes. "I mean, don't groan like that."

"Why not?"

"Because it doesn't fit you." He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

At that point, I felt a hand wrap around my waist. My eyes widened and I tensed at this, but the touch felt familiar.

I looked up to meet a pair of hazel specks. He smiled at me.

"Hey."

"Hi, Ryder." I smiled back.

Zachary's eyes settled on his hand around my waist. He glared at Ryder, and Ryder smirked at him.

"What happened to you, Sam?" He asked.

"I didn't sleep well."

"Oh, sorry." He said.

He tightened his grip around my waist. Intentionally. He did it to annoy Zack.

"Let go off her. Now." Zack folded his hands and gave Ryder a deadly glare, who just widened his smirk.

"Or what?" He asked, and pulled me closer to him.

I removed his hand from my waist. "Can the both of you just stop this nonsense? Can't you just act like your age? For once!"

I turned my back on them and began to walk to my locker. I got my books for Math and put them in my bag. I opened Rhylee's locker and pulled out a brush and her spare make-up kit she always keeps in her locker. The second bell rang.

I rushed to the bathroom to fix myself. I brushed my tangled, bush-resembling hair. Then I brought out a make-up brush and some brown powder to make the dark circles magically disappear. For someone who is not good at make-up, I certainly did a good job. It seemed as if the circles were never there. I guess this is the result of hanging around Rhylee too much.

I opened the door to the class just as the third bell rang.

***

I didn't sit at my usual spot during lunch. I sat where Rhylee and I used to sit. Ryder and Zachary kept looking at me from the tables they were seated at. I did as if I didn't notice them. Once, Ryder caught me staring and winked. I shrugged it off. He was surprised. Even I was surprised. I didn't know I was capable of shrugging off a wink. From a boy. Who I may or may not be in love with.

This day was going longer than expected. If I couldn't last one day without Rhylee by my side cracking a joke, how was I so sure I could survive a week?

I continued eating in peace. That was, until Zachary took the chair opposite me and sat down.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I saw you were lonely, and assumed you needed company."

"Well, your assumption was wrong. Even if I needed someone to talk to, I could go and sit with another person."

"Really? Like who?" Amusement lurked in his features.

I stabbed at my chicken with my fork. "Anyone except you and Ryder. That's who."

He rolled his eyes. "How did you guys even become friends?"

"Me and Ryder?"

He scoffed. "Who else would I be talking about?"

I sighed. "I can't explain it."

"How?"

"It's just like you asking me why I chose fries and chicken for lunch today."

"What do both scenarios even have to do with each other?"

"Zack, I'm not ready for this talk."

"Just say you don't want to tell me."

I didn't say anything again. My phone buzzed. A message came in from Ryder:

Ryder: I don't feel so good. I'm going home. Remember we have a class today at my place. Enjoy your meeting with The Enemy.

The Enemy? Zachary.

This stupid fight between the both of them was becoming more stupid every hour. This had to stop. And I had a brilliant idea to put an end to it.

A/N
Hey guys! How was this chapter? I want you guys to know that I appreciate all the comments you leave; both positive and negative. It gives me the assurance that people actually read this. I also recommend corrections. If something doesn't add up or doesn't make sense, please leave it in the comments or send me a message. Speaking of reading, this book has hit 300 reads and has 110 votes. Thank you guys so much! This wouldn't be possible without you. Stay posted for more. Bye! :)

~addie~