(1) Talk Me Down: An All Time Low Fanfiction Romance

Chapter 14: Follower

        "Are you okay, Kara?" Rian asked softly, staring at me. I glanced at him, my attention directed away from the teacher. The class was almost over, but Mr. Hurley was still rambling on about his plans for the year. With Rian sitting next to me, the class seemed to last longer than an hour, and I was more than glad it was almost over.

        "I'm fine," I muttered, so quietly I thought Rian hadn't heard me, but he was giving me a quizzical look. He knew there was something wrong, but as another minute clicked by, he turned back to his things and started to pack up.

        Four minutes left. I closed my notebook and slipped it in my bag. I pulled at my t-shirt, trying to settle back into my chair as I felt Rian's eyes on me again. My cheeks warmed a little, and I didn't look at him as he spoke again.

        "There's obviously something wrong. I'm not an idiot. I know that you've been avoiding me and Zack at work," he whispered. I closed my eyes softly, sighing deeply before turning slightly to look at him.

        "I just had scheduling conflicts, okay? I needed to change my schedule around," I lied, and I knew Rian wasn't buying it.

        "Does that conflict have a name? Like, Veronica," he guessed, "Or maybe Nolan?"

        "It's really none of your business," I snapped, and noticed the boy sitting in front of Rian turn around to glance at us. I scowled, turning back around in my seat, thankful that there was only seconds until the bell rang. I pulled my bag onto my shoulder, ready to leave as soon as the bell rang. 

        Rian was up just as quickly as I was and he stepped in front of me, blocking my path. I folded my arms over my chest, annoyed.

        "You're avoiding us becuase your friends don't like us," he said, stepping closer to let somebody past him. I looked away, watching my classmates leave freely.

        "You don't know what you're talking about," I muttered, looking back up at him. Rian sighed, his eyes wandering the room before they met mine again. 

        "So what am I missing, then? You hate us too?" he questioned. I shifted uncomfortably on my feet, wanting to leave. I had to get to my next class; I didn't want to be late on the first day.

        "Well, no. I don't know," I said softly, and Rian looked almost amused.

        "I'm not missing anything then, you're just doing what Veronica wants," he said, looking slightly disappointed.

        "I'm sorry," I whispered, and when I went to walk past him, he didn't stop me, instead he turned and said something else, making me pause in the doorway. He wasn't angry, just disappointed. "I was hoping you'd be different than the rest of your friends, but I guess you're not. You're just a follower, like everybody else."

        My body tensed in anger, and it took a lot not to turn around and yell at him. I'm sure that's just what he wanted. Part of me hated him for judging me when he had no idea what he was talking about, but the better part of me felt bad. He was right, more or less. I was doing exactly what Veronica wanted, just like the rest of my friends. I was treating him unfairly, I knew that, but I couldn't leave my friends.

        I walked quckly into the crowded hallways, fighting to get to my next class on time. I made it without seeing Veronica, Nolan or anyone else. My science teacher didn't give us assigned seats, so I took a seat near the window, slightly towards the back. I didn't really know anyody in the class, just a few people I'd been in classes with last year. I wasn't really friends with them, though. I was always with Veronica.

        A couple girls I faintly knew offered smiles, and I smiled back, wondering what they really thought of me and my friends. I'd never thought of that, because usually I didn't care, but it popped into my mind when I'd run into Alex at the store, and every once in a while I'd wonder if there really were people in my school who hated me.

        I pushed the thought from my mind as the teacher started talking, and for the next two periods, I focused solely on the teachers. At the end of the period, I packed up slowly, remembering that Nolan told me he'd meet me outside my class.

        He was outside about a minute after the bell rang, smiling when I walked up to him. He kissed my cheek gently and wrapped an arm around my shoulder, steering me towards the cafeteria. I wrapped my arm loosely arond his waist, fingers clutching onto his shirt. "How's your day so far?" I asked, speaking over the loud and crowded hallway.

        He shrugged against my body. "It's okay. I'll have an easy year." He was a senior, but he was still taking classes. He had more than enough credits to graduate, but his parents were making sure he wasn't going to good off this year. "How's your day?"

        "That's good," I said. "My day's been alright, I guess. Just typical first day stuff," Nolan nodded, pulling away slightly to grab my hand.

        We turned into the cafeteria and after getting our food, we moved towards the opposite end to our table. Some of Nolan's friends were there, like Jason and Craig, and I could see Veronica and Charlotte heading that way. The other girls were in the second lunch shift, so I hadn't been expecting to see them.

        From the corner of my eyes, I noticed Rian, Jack and Alex sitting at a table right behind ours. They looked up at me as we drew close, but Rian looked away. I gripped my tray in my hands, wanting to throw my lunch at him. They were so frustrating, and I hated the problems they were causing with me and my friends.

        I sat down beside Charlotte and Nolan sat on the other side of me, next to Jason. I was facing Rian's table, and if I looked between Veronica and Derek, I could see Rian and Alex. Alex's eyes met mine again, and he shook his head, that same stupid smirk donning his face.

        I looked down at my food, trying to focus on Veronica. She was saying something about her second period class, and when I heard the names Alex and Jack, I looked up at her.

        "...I can't believe I have both of them in my class. They came over and asked why they hadn't seen us around lately. Ugh. I could have slapped them both," she complained. Normally I would have been holding back a laugh at how ridiculous Veronica sounded, but not okay.

        "Are you okay?" Charlotte whispered to me, and I looked at her. "I'll tell you later. It's not a big deal," I said softly, and she nodded.

        When I looked forward again, Rian was watching me, but when our eyes met he looked away. I bit my lip in a mix of anger and frustration. I still couldn't get what he said out of my head. I wanted to yell at him for what he said an tell him to leave me alone. I could'nt deal with him for the entire year; it would just make it drag on even longer.