The Bright Side of Darkness

One

It's only the first day of school and I can already tell Travis Blake hasn't changed.

I, on the other hand, have, and I'm in no mood to deal with him. For example, I'm not the same girl who let people walk all over her. And if Travis still thinks that, he's in for a rude awakening.

I try to get out of my car before Travis parks and has the chance to approach me. But instead of parking in his normal spot, he parks his black truck beside me and gets out. He slams his door shut and stomps towards me, his anger radiating in the air around us.

"Excuse me, but you know the speed limit was thirty-five before the school zone, right? Not twenty." Then he pauses and I can practically hear the gears turning in his head. I turn and meet his gaze full-on, anticipating an angry outburst. Maybe a few curses, a red face, or at least yelling. But instead, I'm met with, "Well, hello, there." Then, as he gets closer, his perfect, confident smile turns into a confused frown. Soon, something seems to click in his mind and that confusion turns to realization. "Holy fucking shit."

For a moment, I stand still, deciding against walking away from him. His eyes trace over me. The action of slow appreciation makes my nose curl up in disgust. It's already so humid outside I can feel a light sheen of sweat forming on my arms, making me more uncomfortable than I already am. Hopefully, this will be over soon so I can get inside and enjoy the air conditioning.

He lets out a low whistle that makes me clench my fists behind me. "Emori?" His gorgeous face melts into a grin, and his expression morphs into something more relaxed. He looks down at me through long, dark lashes, and shakes his head as he lets out a breath. A trail of broken hearts always follows that look. I'm not falling for it.

"Hey, Travis. How's it going?" I force a withering smile as I shut my car door. Travis never noticed me unless it was to make a joke at my expense, but now that my appearance has changed, he doesn't seem to know where to look.

"Summer does wonders, huh? But, uh, how'd you lose all the weight you had before?" Because three months isn't enough time to lose a hundred and fifty pounds. He seems to leave that part out as he leans against my car.

I've actually been losing weight for a year and a half. But without the skin removal surgeries, no one had noticed. The image of the fat girl had still been there, but in reality, it was stretched skin. Not the excess fat I'd had at the start of my weight loss.

I look him up and down, no perfect retort in mind as I blurt the first thing that comes to me. "Wouldn't you like to know? Personal reasons, maybe?"

Travis is in no need of such information. You can tell by the tight navy-blue shirt he's wearing. It outlines just enough chiseled chest and abs and is enough to make any girl faint, but I hope what I said lands all the same. The memory of his jokes and insults makes me want to slap the confidence right off his face. One snarky comeback is only the start.