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I wonder what he’ll say next. I look up and study his expression. Elliott always made inadvertent insults the few times he got nervous.
“Yeah, your teeth are big and a pretty white.” He takes a deep breath. Here it comes. “You could mistake them for a horse’s.”
There it was. I almost run out of the cafeteria in a burst of laughter. If you could only see the look on the poor sap’s face. All the blood drained into his neck. He was a sight to be seen, face pale as death, neck red as beets. I have to look back down at my book to keep my composure.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to compare your teeth to a horse’s. I was only trying to point out how large they were. That is, I mean to say, that they are larger than most people’s. But! Perfectly proportionate to your face. Your face isn't huge or anything! Your face seems pretty average in its proportions. Yes, very well proportioned.” He sighs. “What I meant to say is that you have very beautiful teeth.”
I sit there, baffled, unsure of what I should say. Right when I worked up the nerve to turn to him and open my mouth, he turns to his backpack and removes a bottle of water, drinking half its contents.
“Jules,” he pants.
“Julia,” I say, not even sure I really said it.
“Julia, obviously I’m an idiot. All I want to do is talk to you. It’s extremely hard for me to talk to you.”
“Then you should stop,” I say. Please don’t stop.
“But I can’t.”
“But you should,” I say. I bite my tongue to prevent myself from taking it back.
I sit up and sigh, collecting my belongings as I head toward the double doors. I have to leave. I’m upset with myself for even considering for a moment that I should trust him again. The literal spark between us is too powerful a thing to give into. I know this. I know if I give into it I’ll fall so hard for him that when he eventually tires of the novelty he thinks I am, I won’t be able to recover. I’m obviously a glutton for punishment but I’m not suicidal. I’m certain that if I ever gave my heart to Elliott Gray and he brutalized it? It’d die, simple as that. It’s just not worth the risk. It truly is better to have never loved Elliott at all than to have loved him and lost him. Trust me, I tasted a glimpse of what it could do.
I stop by my locker one more time just to gape at the sheer beauty of it. My heart tingles at the very sight of it. I run my fingers along the leaves and stems before admiring all the unique petals. I am awestruck.
Third period Economics held no interest for me. I did like that there were practically no other seniors in the class although they all did seem to be aware that I was ‘off limits’. It’s not at all surprising that popular Taylor’s poison seeped into the grades below.
By fourth period Chemistry, I’m convinced the only class we share was Mrs. Kitt’s. I force myself to try and feel relief but it just wouldn’t come. I really am a glutton for punishment. I pick the lab table smack dab in the middle of class. Chemistry is not my forte’. I decide the back is too far away but the front is definitely too close for comfort.
I feel a tingling in the center of my chest, a clear cut sign that he’s near. Uh, oh. I bite down on my lower lip to control its trembling anticipation. I’m bewildered by these inherent reactions to him. He walks into the classroom and I take a sharp intake of breath, biting my lip a little too hard and tasting blood. Elliott winces but I'm not sure why. He slides past my table and I avoid eye contact. He joins Sawyer at the lab table behind me. I realize now that I should have made Sawyer come sit next to me so I wouldn’t be alone with Elliott’s eyes piercing the back of my head.
I reach for my bag on the linoleum and pull it onto the lab table. I open the flap and feel around for my notebook, pens and pencils. I close the flap and place the bag back onto the floor but I can’t control myself and I sneak a peek over my shoulder in his direction. He smiles at me. I fix my direction at the blackboard and chide myself for being so careless.
Everywhere I go in town, Elliott seems to be there. He is out and about way more than I’d ever seen him out before. He’s looking for me and I’m troubled by the fact that I’m not as upset about this as I should be. In fact, I actually look forward to seeing him. The very few times I’m certain he can’t see me provides the window I am looking for to observe him. By just how much as he truly changed or has he stayed the same?
There’s no denying it now. I’ve already begun to ache for Elliott. Ugh. I lay in bed, grasping at my heart, praying that the ache will dull but it never does. I feel addicted to his touch. A single touch has sealed my fate.
The few weeks of playing cat and mouse has a profound effect on me. My life is filled with unbelievable anxiety every moment I am awake. I do everything in my power to get him off my mind but fail.
The Tuesday of the second week of our careful dance my mom sends me to the store to pick up a bell pepper. Careful to avoid the main streets Elliott often travels, I arrive at the store and lock my car. I peek above the top of my Karmann Ghia and spot Elliott getting out of his truck. I duck down like an idiot only to realize that my car is in no way inconspicuous. It’s Tiffany blue and older than ninety-nine percent of the cars in the lot. I crouch down and practically crawl towards the entrance, watching his feet underneath the cars as he passes. My head hits something hard and I glance up. Sawyer.
“Uh, Julia?”
I shoot to my feet after Elliott passes us and watch him head toward the entrance, his back toward me.
“Uh, hey Sawyer. What’s up?”
“Nothing.” He laughs, “What’s up with you?”
This is why I like Sawyer. He doesn’t even bother asking why I’m crawling in the grocery store parking lot.
“Just getting a bell pepper for me ma’. You?”
“Similar errands but I need a lemon.”
“Ahh,” I sigh, “the curse of the driving teen.” I eye Sawyer carefully. “Doesn’t your mom make lemon chicken, like, three times a week?” I peek Elliott’s direction. “She should just invest in a fruit of the month club. Skip the produce section altogether, just have it delivered already.
“Right. Anyway, shall we?” He asks, gesturing toward the entrance.
