The Boy Witch

10: What the Hell?

"What's this about him getting in trouble?" a voice asks from behind. I turn and find an all too familiar face smiling down at me.

I turn back around, my face scrunching up like I had just tasted something foul. "Go away, Alex," I said sharply, unconsciously hugging my bag closer. "This has nothing to do with you." The three sitting at the table pale, looking at me with appalled expressions. For a moment everyone was silent, their attention focused on me. Then I hear Alex's scuffed shoes walk away in a different direction.

"Are you mad?" Matthew hisses. I study their reactions. Rosie watches me with shock. Matthew seems scared, not for himself but for me. Turning, Josh regards me with battling emotions, one being anger and the other being respect. "I refuse to respect someone who doesn't earn it," I state. "His family doesn't define his character."

A bright red apple appears in front of my face, startling me. I blink at the fruit, then look at the person who's holding it. Alex smiles his charming smile, setting the apple on the table in front of me. He sits down on the table's bench, facing me. "You need to eat," he says.

I regard the apple in front of me. I couldn't think of anything else to say but, "Why?" I look at him with narrowed eyes. Alex's jaw ticks, but he calmly explains in an irritatingly even voice, "You don't have a lunch in front of you, and I know that you didn't have enough time to get one." He nudges the apple closer to me. "I want you to eat something, you're skinny as a twig."

Again with my body! My cheeks tint pink as I glare heatedly at him, my teeth grinding hard enough to break. He stares back, his icy blue eyes clear and chillingly serious. I began to feel a little unnerved by the intensity of his stare, but I refuse to show this guy that I felt nervous. The three at the table exchange nervous glances, obviously uncomfortable with what was happening.

Finally I look away with a huff, Alex smirking at his victory. "You're not going to give up anytime soon, are you?" I ask, brushing my hand through my hair. He shakes his head with a smile playing on his lips. I sigh, knowing I was well beyond defeated in this case. "If I eat the apple, will you leave me alone?" I ask.

He frowns, seemingly dissatisfied with my condition. After a moment he nods his head. I take the apple off the table and bite into it. After swallowing, I look at him pointedly. "There, are you happy now?" I ask him.

"I will be after you eat the whole thing, North," Alex states. He stares at me pointedly, as if daring me to object. I internally groan, but bite into the apple anyway.

Five minutes later the apple was gone, and so was Alex. I scowled when he stood up, ruffling my hair as he passed. His touch sparked a pleasant feeling in my stomach and I tried my best to ignore it, disliking the foreign feeling. I watch his retreating back through the crowd for a moment before turning to meet the curious gazes of Rosie, Matthew, and Josh.

I stare back. "What?" I ask uneasily. Rosie and Matthew glance at each other, as if trying to figure out who was going to speak first. I wait impatiently, moving the apple core between my hands. Finally, Rosie speaks up. "So," she starts awkwardly. She fidgets with her fingers. "You two know each other?"

"Oh, for fuck's sake, Rose!" Matthew stood up, slamming his hands down on the table. "Don't dance around the subject! And you!" He points at me, his finger inches away from my nose. I flinch back, taken by surprise by his irritated behavior. "What the hell was that between Alex and you?" he barks.

I saw no point in keeping something as harmless as this morning's events from them, so I tell them. I told them about how he stalked me with his car, tried to bait me like a kidnapper, up until I got to school and he was supposed to show me around. "He was saying that he would explain the situation." I shrug my shoulders carelessly, a mischievous glint in my eyes as a smirk pulls at my lips. "But so far he hasn't explained anything, and my opinion of him hasn't gotten any better."