Walking from the parking lot to school the next day, I notice a small crowd forming by the entrance. Upon getting closer, my mouth drops at the sight. The place is destroyed. The windows at the front office are blown out, garbage tipped over, dented. Trash and glass everywhere. It looks awful. Something terrifying had happened here.
The teachers were ushering all of the students to the side of the building to enter the school there, when I saw the police arrive and begin talking with the principal.
"What the hell happened?" Gabby appears beside me, eyes wide at the destruction.
"No clue." I say, still in shock.
I linger for a bit trying to overhear the conversation between them.
"We don't know, one person with a mask spray painted the cameras..."
"This couldn't have been only one person." the cop responds.
"This way please! Come along everyone!" Mr. Mathison says as he directs us away from the scene, heading inside.
The rest of the day went along as normal as it could after the police left and the cleanup began, until there was an announcement over the loudspeaker from our principal. As we walk the halls, Mr. Gregor's voice declares that the homecoming assembly, due to be in the gymnasium that afternoon, is cancelled due to the unfortunate circumstances.
"This is bullshit!" cried Colt, slamming his locker, then booking it down the hall with his "flavor of the week" trailing behind.
Honestly, I want to shake the culprits hand for doing this, just to be able to witness Colt's meltdown over the cancelled homecoming festivities. It was enjoyable to say the least, watching his tantrum.
I, personally, could've cared less about the assembly. Watching different classes make up ridiculous routines or compete in hotdog eating competitions was such a waste of time in my mind. It was nothing but a popularity competition in total, making pictures for yearbooks that would sit, tucked away in closets long after high school. I'd rather be studying or making real use of my time by volunteering or helping others.
Hoping to see Dane down the hall or in the lunch room to talk about what happened, I was left constantly looking for a guy who wasn't there. I started becoming more and more anxious as the afternoon went on. The silence was deafening. As I turn the corner of the last class of the day with the tiniest bit of hope I was clinging onto, my chest sinks in disappointment. Dane's desk is empty.
Was he really that upset with me about all of this? I thought my apology over text would've at least helped to iron out the issue. Maybe he was feeling regret over what happened and didn't have the nerve to face me? Could he really be regretting crossing that friendship line with me? My heart hurt as I started to overthink, imagining the worst possible scenarios.
I can't wait until the bell rings. There is no chance of me being able to focus on the discussion of Jane Eyre today. Although it is, most definitely, one of my favorite novels, my mind was running wild with other thoughts. I was overanalyzing and overthinking every touch, every moan, every kiss.
DING
Thank God. The bell.
I throw my books and notebooks disorganized into my bag, very unlike me, and push past the students. Flying past my best friend as she calls out to me.
"Dakota? Where are you going so fast?" she turns, following my sprint past her, eyeing me suspiciously.
"Sorry Gabs, gotta run," I yell back to her, "call you tonight!"
"Oookay." she responds, obviously confused, staring at my departure.
Pulling up to my house I see Dane's truck in the driveway and immediately run over. I have twenty minutes to get over to the hospital, but I cannot wait for an entire shift to end before I find out what's going on. I need answers.
Refusing to knock, I bust through the door catching him completely off guard standing near his desk.
"Dammit, Kodi! You scared the shit outta me!" he says, jumping back, startled.
"Dane..." I whisper, as my eyes take in the most peculiar thing.
The boxes of papers in his flat have more than doubled. There are meticulous rows of connecting pieces, most with chicken scratch writing, some with random oddly placed pictures. He looks to me almost upset, not embarrassed as I would expect.
"C'mon can't you see I'm working?" he sighs, frustratedly running a hand through his hair.
"What is all this?" I question, walking closer to examine what looks like a picture of a guy from the garage where he works.
Before I can reach it, he grabs the picture away from me, placing it back into a pile, then lines the papers back into a neatly formed stack.
"Nothing you need to worry about." he says with an authoritative voice.
As he's messing with the papers, I take notice of the fact that his palm is cut.
"Oh my God, Dane, what happened!? I say immediately, grabbing his hand and examining the deep wound.
"Damn moving truck door slammed on it before I could pull it away." he replies, then pulls it back away from me.
"Moving truck?"
"Yeah, we got the table and mattresses moved over today."
"The what...?" I respond, utterly confused.
"I offered to help Martin. Poor guy was going to try and do it all by himself. That's why I wasn't at class today." he states, as if it's normal.
"Dane..." I reply, not really believing him.
My intuition is screaming right now, and I can only hope and pray it's totally and completely off.
"Kodi. I'm serious. You can go ask him yourself. C'mon, let's go...he'll tell you." he says calmly, heading towards the door, and opening it up for me to follow.
I contemplate going over there just to finally meet Martin, then know for sure, but something about the seriousness in Dane's eyes has me trusting him completely.
"It's fine, Dane, I believe you." I sigh, shaking my head slightly.
I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, then remembered the real reason I'm there.
"Wait, why didn't you text me back last night?"
"You texted me?" he questions, while looking around on his desk for his phone.
"Oh, shit. I'm so sorry. I forgot, I put my phone on silent last night while I was reading. Fuck, Kodi, you must've been so worried." he says while reading my message.
"Yeah..." I say, standing there with my arms crossed, feeling a little relieved by his concerned response, a little stupid for overreacting.
He walks towards me, gently grabbing both of my arms in his large hands, then pulls me into his embrace. He holds me for a minute as I breathe in the scent of him off his chest, then he pulls apart, reaching up and tucking the loose hair behind my ear. Soft fingers trail my jawline, until he holds my chin between his forefinger and thumb and tilts my head up to him. My heart can help but to flutter at his touch, my stomach clenches at his stare.
"I'm so sorry, and of course...we're good, never been better really." he says softly with a half grin, staring into my eyes, while slowly leaning down to my lips, sealing it with a soft kiss.
Real life pulling me out of my romantic moment, I panic, "Crap, I have to run, my shift starts in ten minutes."
He smiles at me and nods, understandingly.
"I'll text you." he promises with a grin.
"I'm holding you to that." I reply, biting my bottom lip to contain my sudden excitement at his promise.
With hope in my heart and butterflies in my stomach, I leave his flat and head to start my shift in an entirely different mood then when I arrived. The lingering anxiousness that had planted itself early in the day had almost been entirely uprooted. But the roots of intuition run deep, deeper than I'd ever begun to realize.
YOU ARE READING
A Sliver of Infinite
Teen Fiction"There's only one thing that's keeping me here, only one thing that's keeping me sane. The galaxy to my stars, the constellation that guides me home, the gravity that holds me down. It's her. It's always been her. But even she can't save me from my...
