Stories under the Velvet Sky

Chapter Sixteen: Denial; It's just a River

Friends are tricky things, aren’t they? Especially among opposite genders. Well, in my case anyway. One moment you think you’re just going to always be friends, and then one day you figure out that, hey, you like them a bit more than you should. Life has a nasty tendency to become unnecessarily complicated I think.

For the rest of my English class, I spent my time agonizing over the fact that I might like Adrian a lot more than I should. He was just a friend, I’m not supposed to have some sort of crush on him like every other school girl! Damn my silly teenage hormones; they’re far too active for their own good, and stirring up trouble.

I just hoped that he’d never find out about it, otherwise I’d never hear the end of it. And what if he no longer wanted to be my friend once he found out I was just like everyone else? The very idea terrified me. Adrian was my friend, and I wanted to keep it that way. Fantasizing about an impossible relationship would bring me nothing but trouble.

Oh God, this is going to be so awkward.

It had been long enough since I’d broken my leg that I no longer had to use a wheelchair to cart myself around. Doctor Giovanni had permitted me to use crutches to hobble around, so I was having tons of fun trying to navigate on two sticks. I kind of missed the chair, but I was happy to be able to get up stairs without being carried, finally.

And now I had to get out of the classroom, and ignoring Adrian at the same time. I was still mad at him, I mean sure, I’d been thinking it, but he didn’t need to say it out loud! Why did it matter to him what I dreamed about anyway? It wasn’t like he needed to know absolutely everything about me. I’ll bet he doesn’t even look that great naked anyways!

Why am I thinking about this again?

Back to reality. I managed to leave the room before Adrian could block my path, but I kind of figured he probably let me get away with that on purpose. He was my ride home after all, and while I could theoretically walk home, it would be a huge pain to do so while I still had crutches. Not to mention I was still avoiding the stairs like the plague, and the only way, besides the stupid ramp that takes forever, to get into the house was through those stairs.

I didn’t bother to say anything as I hobbled precariously through the hallways and out of the main school to the parking lot where Adrian usually parked his car. I didn’t know what kind of car it was, because quite frankly I didn’t care, but from what I could tell, it was a fairly decent make and model. Which is to say, it looked shiny, so I thought it was expensive.

The other students were staring at me, as per usual. I hate to keep emphasizing this, or bringing it up, but I’m considered a bit of an oddity, and I like it that way. God forbid I do anything normal like anyone else. Nope, I’m crazy, I’m not allowed to fall in love!

Or have absurd crushes on handsome vampires who just happen to attend my school. No, that’s too cliché. Isn’t there a book about that already?

I wasn’t really paying attention to where I was going, so when an arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me off of my feet and into a chest, I let out a small shriek of surprise, dropping my crutches as I tried to gather my bearings from the sudden shift of balance. Being picked up suddenly makes me dizzy…

“Pay attention, you nearly walked into a wall,” Adrian’s voice murmured right next to my ear as he used his other free hand to grab the walking tools I had so carelessly abandoned.

Not even ten minutes after class and I’m already embarrassing myself in front of him. I sighed, giving up on trying to impress anyone. I still maintain that I am not a klutz! “Sorry,” I pouted, acting none too pleased to be in his arms. Getting all flustered about every little thing would make him think something was up. I’ve got to act like my usual self.