Evangeline

14

The rest of the evening passed in a blur of tears and unhelpful breathing exercises. Soon Friday morning was here, and I had finally calmed down. After catching a few odd hours of sleep, I was still exhausted. If the bags under my eyes were anything to go by, there was a high chance I could fall asleep in class today.

Trying to ignore the nerves that were still lingering, I mustered up the effort to roll out of bed and start getting ready. Pulling on my usual uniform of shirt and tie, I stuffed my legs into some black skinny jeans and yanked the hoodie I had been wearing yesterday over my head. After brushing my teeth and saying bye to my Mum and Edward, I shuffled out the door and connected my headphones. Shuffling a bunch of Louis Armstrong songs, I walked the journey to school in silence. My head began to fill with thoughts from yesterday, of how I'd probably embarrassed Seeley and myself by crying in front of him, of the file name, and the fear that had instilled itself in my bones. I shook them away and turned my music up louder.

It didn't take me long to reach school, and I hadn't quite mustered up enough energy on my social battery to interact with my friends yet, so I sent Molly a text saying I would catch her at break. Shuffling through the school and out into the back gardens, I noticed that neither Seeley nor Jared were at their usual spot on the wall. I took a deep breath and decided to take a seat on the grass at the foot of the stone wall. This way if they did show up, I wouldn't have stolen their spot. 

I hoped they wouldn't be too angry with me. It was a well known fact that nobody came into the back garden apart from Seeley and Jared. I was crazy for even being here. My throat began to close up and my eyes watered with unshed tears. I drew my knees to my chest and folded my arms on them, pressing my forehead to the rough fabric of the old hoodie. I was overthinking. What's new.

"Are you okay?" A voice asked. Sniffling, and trying to wipe away as many tears as possible, I lifted my head to meet the person. Jared was standing a few feet away, staring at me awkwardly as his gaze shifted from me to the wall I was leaning against. Nodding, I began to rise to my feet.

"Yeah. Sorry- Sorry about that, you can have your spot b-back." My voice cracked embarrassingly. I gave him a weak smile and tried to discreetly wipe the fallen tear away from my left cheek as I felt it roll down my face. I nodded again at him, and turned around, wanting to leave as quickly as possible. Gosh, was it possible for me not to embarrass myself all the time?

I bumped into someone.

Apparently no, it wasn't possible.

Gasping in shock, and stumbling backwards a step or two, I looked up to find Seeley staring down at me. His brow was furrowed and his whole body was tense. He looked angry. My heart began to pound. I tried to think of something to say, utter out an apology, but it just wasn't coming - my words wouldn't form. As I fisted the too-long sleeves of the hoodie and tried not to pee myself at the anger Seeley was radiating, I felt myself begin to shake again. Well, my normal amount. 

Sneaking a glance up at Seeley to see if he was distracted so I could escape, I found that he was glaring at Jared. Not his normal, stoic glare. A full on, I-might-hit-you glare. I frowned. What was his issue with Jared? I was the one who had invaded their space. I'm pretty sure the satellites in space could see the pure nerves rolling off of my body.

"What did you do?"