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

Chapter 18: No Idea

        The next week of school went by normally as everyone started to settle into the motions. I'd figured out how to avoid Rian and his friends, so the only time I saw them was in class or in lunch. I still hadn't told any of my friends that Rian was in my class. Veronica was annoyed enough with Alex and Jack in her class and the guys weren't happy that they were sitting us near lunch.

        It wasn't easy keeping Nolan from finding out. He walked me to class every morning and right after he left was when Rian came in. It was close a few times, but this morning we were later than usual.

        I was holding Nolan's hand, walking quickly through the halls. I heard him laugh behind me and he pulled on my hand, making me stop and look at him.

        "Where's the fire?" he questioned, looking amused. I roled my eyes and pulled him forward; moving a little slwer to seem less suspicious than I already appeared.

        "I just don't want to be late," I mumbled, only a few yards away from our class.        

        "We've got at least five minutes before the first bell, Kar, we're good," Nolan said, tugging on my arm again so I slowed down. I bit my lip as we stopped in front of my class. Rian wasn't there yet and he would show up my second.

        "See you later," I said, pecking Nolan on the lips. I went to turn away but he stopped me, his hand brushing my waist. I turned back to him, catching my breath as Rian approached the door.

        "Excuse me," he said softly, since I'd paused in front of the door. I moved out of the way silently, looking at Nolan only after Rian was in the room. His expression was hard and his eyes were blank as he looked at me.

        "He's in your class?" Nolan said quietly. I couldn't tell if he was more mad or surprised.

        "Uh, yeah," I mumbled, rubbing my arm absentmindedly. I wasn't sure what to expect at this point. We were in school, so I was hoping he'd contain his anger. His body was tense, and I knew if we were in any other place he may have lost it by now.

        "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, his tone coming out forced and distant. His eyes kept dancing from over my head to my face.

        "I didn't think it was a huge deal," I admitted, and that only seemed to make him angrier. He was looking at me like I either had three heads or one eyeball in my face.

        "You didn't think it was a big deal?" he hissed. "Kara, you know what goes on between us and those guys. Why wouldn't you tell us that one of those dicks is in your class?"

        I cringed at his language, growing slightly annoyed at his temper. "Because it's not a big deal. He doesn't bother me, and I don't talk to him. What's the problem?"

        The first bell rang, signaling we had three mintes to get to class before the second bell rang and we were late. Nolan ran a hand through his hair, his expression softening slightly. He was still annoyed though.

        "You just didn't tell me," he said, and then backed away. I stared at him in amazement, wondering how he'd turned around. He was doing it again; trying to blame the problem on me and make me seem like the bad guy.

        I groaned and shuffled into class, keeping my eyes on the floor as I slumped into my seat. I wasn't sure if Rian knew what he had just caused, and I didn't know if he was looking at me, and I didn't care. I kept my eyes on my teacher or my notebook without even looking at him through the corner of my eye.

        At the end of class, I packed up quickly and raced out of the classroom, hopng to avoid Rian. I knew that his class was in the same general direction as mine, his classroom was across the hall from mine, but I was usually out quick enough to leave him behind me. 

        This time, he caught up with me outside my second period class. I was surprised to hear him come u pbehind me and say my name, but I stopped to look at him, even after what happened with Nolan.

        "Hey, what was the homework? I couldn't hear him at the end of class," Rian asked, seeming cautious almost. I wasn't exactly surprised, considering I'd spent the first three weeks of school avoiding him.

        I gave him the homework, and then he thanked me and disappeared. I walked slowly into the classroom, knowing that my next two classes were going to take forever.

        I spent my next two classes with my focus bounding between the teachers and the clock. I tried to pay attention, but my mind kept wandering to Nolan. I knew he was angry and I was nervous about seeing him at lunch. I didn't want him to be mad.

        At the end of third period, I started packing up slowly, but I suddenly wondered if Nolan was even coming to walk me to lunch. I knew that he acted childish when he was angry, so when he didn't show up, I wasn't shocked. I was hurt that he was acting this way, but I wasn't at all surprsed.

        I walked to lunch alone and as I headed towards our table, I saw Nolan sitting in his usual seat next to Jason. There was still a space left for me between him and Charlotte. I sat down slowly, and couldn't help the sad expression that crept onto my face when Nolan openly ignored me.

        "Okay, what happened?" Charlotte said to me. I bit my lip, shrugging slightly. I didn't feel like explaining anything.

        "Nothing," I muttered, and I knew she was looking at me with an expression that said she didn't believe me, but I didn't care.

        I kept my head down, eating silently while my friends and boyfriend talked around me. I'm sure they all looked at me, probably more than once, but I didn't meet any of their gazes; especially not Veronica's.

        The only person who held my gaze that entire period was Rian. As we were getting up to leave, my eyes inadvertently landed on his. He gave me a sympathetic smile that only made me feel worse. He knew he had caused something, but at the same time, he had no idea what he'd started.