Crushed (Student/Teacher Love Story)

Chapter Eleven

Hey guys! Thanks for all of your lovely comments on Crushed, it's really encouraging to me as a writer, and I'm glad that there are people out there who enjoy reading what I write. I'm not too sure how I feel about this chapter, but I felt it was necessary to address the Tori storyline before leaving it for too long, and also to establish Ari's emotions a'la'Gabe. So, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and if you do, please vote and comment, and follow me! 

xx Chontelle Louise

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"Ari, over here!" 

I turned to see Tori, waving me over to her table. I made my way through the empty cafe and took my seat next to Tori. 

"Hey, how are you?" I asked, unsure of whether or not I should confront her about the other day.

Tori smiled widely, however the smile did not reach her eyes. 

"I'm good," she said, "Really."

I wasn't convinced, and gave her a look that suggested as much. She sighed,

"Okay, we both know what you saw. But it's nothing I'm not used to, seriously."

My eyes widened,

"Nothing you're not used to? You mean your dad treats you like that all the time? Tori,-" 

"Look, you weren't supposed to see that. He was drunk, he didn't mean it. That's just what the alcohol does to him. It's fine," she responded quickly, her head down as she spoke.

"Tori," I started, "It's not fine."

She didn't look up, but she nodded and spoke quietly,

"I know."

I put my arms around her as she began to cry. The poor girl, I had no idea how she could act so strong. Just then, I heard a beep, follwed by a buzz. Tori and I moved to check our phones.

"So Brianna's running late and is just gonna meet us at school," I said, reading the message she'd just sent me. Tori nodded, indicating she had received the same message. On that queue, I hopped up to go and order our drinks. 

"Mocha with two sugars, right?"

Tori nodded and smiled, "Right!"

As I stood in line, my mind drifted to the other day, when I had almost kissed Gabe. What on Earth was going through my head at the time? And more importantly, why the heck could I not stop thinking about him? Gah, things were so much less complicated before I moved here.

I was in the middle of my rambling and ranting thoughts when I heard somebody say my name from behind me. I turned around and saw - you guessed it - Gabe, standing right before me. I could feel the blood rush to my cheeks, as though maybe he somehow knew that I had just been thinking about our almost-kiss.

Gabe's famous smirk had returned to his face in response to my obvious blushing, which only made me blush even more. I looked down and gained my composure, before addressing him.

"Not gonna push in front of me this time I hope," I said, making a sarcastic remark about our first meeting, hoping it would distract from my obvious embarrassment.