Obscured (The Obscured Series Book 1) (4 page)

“Well,
good morning to you too.”

“Sorry,
I am just a little surprised that's all.”

“I
usually cut through this neighborhood on my way to school. It's quicker. You’re
just a bonus today.” He smiled.

The
compliment caught me off guard, but it made me smile anyway. I knew he didn’t
mean anything more than he was happy to hang out, but I couldn’t help it when
my ego lifted ever so slightly.

“Well,
thanks for the ride.”

“No
problem.”

The
car was quiet for a long time. I hoped he wouldn’t bring up the issue with
Pete. I was pretty sure I knew what I wanted to say; I just didn’t know if I
would have the guts to actually say it. Nothing ever came out the way I planned
in stressful situations. I tried hard to think of something to talk about that
would divert the attention away from that topic, but came up empty. The silence
seemed to drag on, and my hands fidgeted in my lap. I hated when I couldn't
think of anything to say.

We
pulled into the crowded school parking lot, and Eli parked his car in the
middle of the lot He turned the car off and sat there staring straight ahead.
It was like he was trying to get the courage to ask something. I knew exactly
what he was thinking, and it was the precise subject I wanted to avoid.

“Well,
off to another day of torture,” I said quickly to fill the silence.

I
started to get out, wishing he would follow. He did.

“Yep,”
he said solemnly.

“Thanks
again for the ride, I really appreciate it. Plus, I got to ride in the most awesome
car!” I threw the last part in as a distraction.

That
did it; he had a grin from ear-to-ear. I smiled back, knowing that I had at
least avoided that conversation for the time being. I did feel a little guilty about
toying with his emotions for my own personal gain, but I wasn’t going to fret
about it. The conversation would come in due time.

We
walked into school together, but went our separate ways to class. I felt
excited to see Pete, despite everything that was said between Eli and I. When I
walked into the classroom, I saw he wasn't there yet and I was
disappointed—more disappointed than I cared to admit.

He
walked in the door right as the bell rang, so he wasn’t technically late. That
was good, because otherwise he would have gone to “Sweep,” which was basically
detention during class. On the first day you were given an exception, but today
was different. If you were late from the second day of school on, you’d have to
go to Sweep. You aren't allowed to do anything there, not even homework, which
was a pointless waste of time in my opinion.

In
his dark blue jeans and a green shirt that made his eyes stand out brilliantly,
he looked just as good as he had the day before.

“Hey
Pete!” I said from behind him, trying to be as quiet as possible.

“Hey,”
he whispered over his shoulder.

I
wanted to talk to him more, but class was well underway. I would just have to
wait. The time ticked by slowly, and I was eagerly counting the minutes—30, 29,
28… I sat there tapping my foot as I anxiously anticipated the bell.

A
white flash fell over Pete's shoulder. A note. My stomach did a flop as my
jittery fingers fumbled clumsily to open it. Pete had very neat, precise
handwriting.

           
Abby,

               
So, are
we on for lunch?

                               
Pete

I
quickly became keenly aware that I never let Bailey in on the fact that Pete
would be joining us. Hopefully Bailey wouldn’t mind, or so I hoped. I wrote him
back almost immediately.

           
Pete,

                      
Yep,
Bailey's in too.

                               
Abby

Without
caring who was watching, I slipped it over his shoulder, slightly brushing him
with my hand. My stomach leapt at the brief contact. I felt a little more
careless when Pete was around. Maybe it was his sense of ease or his seemingly
careless personality.

He
read my note, looked over his shoulder, and flashed his beautiful white smile.
I could have melted. What was wrong with me?

I
saw him fold the note and put it away. I was dejected that he wasn't going to
write me another, but I should have been paying attention to Mr. Robbins
anyway. It would be very easy for me to fall behind in math, so I needed every
ounce of focus to keep my mind on track.

Pete
walked me to my next class, and it was something I could get used to. I walked
slowly, trying to get as much time with him as I could.

“So.
How was your lunch with Eli yesterday?” he asked.

I
sensed a little sarcasm in his voice, maybe even a hint of jealousy. Could he
be jealous? I felt sudden butterflies in my stomach just thinking about the
possibility.

“It
was good. We mainly talked about school stuff.” I tried to make it sound like
nothing.

“Well,
that's good.”

I
assumed he meant that it was good we only talked about school stuff. Or maybe I
was just turning it into what I wanted it to be. It was a good thing he didn’t
ask me to elaborate on what ‘school stuff’ meant, because I didn’t have an
answer for him. I really needed to get better at my lying or this web would
swallow me whole.

“Sorry
I had to cancel. What did you end up doing?”  

“I
found a few friends, a big group actually. It was nice seeing a lot of the
people I haven't seen in a while. We all got to catch up.”

“That's
good.” I was relieved that he had fun. “I guess it was a good thing I had to
cancel then.” I looked at him and giggled.

“Ha
ha
ha
. At least I get to have lunch with you
today—unless you decide to cancel again that is,” he joked, shooting me a
sideways glance.

“No,
no, no, there won't be any canceling today.”

“Good.”
He nudged me with his shoulder playfully.

We
were standing in front of my class now. Absentmindedly, I grabbed the straps of
my backpack as we stood there. I fidgeted, twisting and untwisting the straps.

“See you at the same place we met
yesterday?” he asked.

“Yep.”
I smiled. 

I
turned to leave and that’s when I saw Eli staring at us—except this time, I was
the only one getting the glare. I could almost feel his eyes
searing
into me, and the disgusted look on his face made me
feel sick. The cat was out of the bag, so to speak. I just wished he would
still speak to me so I could explain.

I
didn’t notice Pete say goodbye, but I was sure he had.

Eli
walked into class without saying a word. I had to jog to catch up

“Can
I talk to you for a minute in the hall, please? I know you’re mad, but I want
to explain.”

“Why
should I?”

“We're
friends. At least let me explain.”

“Fine!”
Frustrated, he dropped his books on his desk with a thud.

Several
classmates jumped at the noise and gave Eli dirty looks for the abrupt
disturbance. He didn’t make eye contact with any of them. In fact, it seemed as
if he didn’t notice them looking at him at all. A blush of embarrassment crept
up on my cheeks.

We
walked into the hall off to the side. I tried to be discreet as possible in
such a public hallway. He turned around and looked at me expectantly.

I
didn't know where to start without making things worse than they already were.
My rehearsed lines went out the window the moment he saw me with Pete. They
didn’t matter since he already knew; now I just had to convince him that it was
okay. 

“I
know that me being friends with Pete is a problem for you. I don't know what or
who to believe. I am new here. I don't know you or Pete very well at all. It's
hard for me to just take what someone says to heart without seeing for myself.
I understand your concern but—”

He
cut me off.

“My
concern?
You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into. No, I don't
have proof, but if you aren’t willing to believe me then I don’t know why I even
bothered!”

He
stormed off before I could get another word in. It was not exactly how I wanted
the conversation to go. I decided to write him a note with my phone number and
invite him over after school that day. If he wouldn’t come over then maybe he
would at least call me; I could still tell him how I felt.

As
I walked into class I noticed that Eli was still sitting in the seat next to
mine. I hadn't seen Bailey come in, but she was sitting right behind my seat
just as she had the day before. I wasn’t really in the mood to talk, but I also
didn’t want Bailey to think that I had something against her. I wanted so badly
for us to be fast friends, so I would have to put my best foot forward.

“Hi
Bailey,” I said as I sat down.

“Hey
Abby!”

The
bell rang. The phrase
saved by the bell
rang in my head.

Mrs.
Mosebee
was busy assigning an essay that would be due
in two weeks. The topic was about the career of your choice, and I wasn't
looking forward to writing it. Writing took a lot of time, thought, and
organization, all of which wasn't my idea of fun. She left borrowed career
books from the counseling office at the front of the room so that we had
something to reference.  I picked the law book and started writing down
some crucial facts—the amount of time in school it took to get your degree,
information about the bar exams, and the different types of specialties that
could be chosen.

After
I thought I had what I would need for my essay, I pulled a new sheet of paper
to write Eli.

Eli,

               
I know that you are mad at me. I really would like to
explain. Whether you agree or not I feel that I owe you that much, but you have
to let me. Will you come over after school today so we can talk? If you don't
want to come over, then at least call me 555-9236. I will be walking home today
so I might be a little late.

                                     Abby

I
got up to bring the law book back to the front of the room, and on the way back
to my seat I slipped the note onto Eli's desk. It was pretty coy, especially
for me. I saw him read the note and slip it into his pocket.
Better than
throwing it in the trash
, I thought. Progress, one baby step at a time.

I
wondered what he would decide to do, but I hoped he would come over. It was
something I knew would take up my thoughts for the better part of the day.

I
finished working on the outline for my lawyer essay just as the bell rang.
Gathering up my things, I quickly shoved them into my backpack and headed out
of class. I had hoped Eli was waiting for me outside the room, but he wasn't. I
tried not to let my disappointment get to me, but it didn’t seem like a good
sign. Bailey, on the other hand, was waiting for me as expected. My mind had
been so preoccupied that I forgot to ask her if she minded that Pete was going
to join us for lunch.

“Hey
Bailey, you don't mind that I invited Pete Denali to have lunch with us, do
you? I figured it would be nice to have a group to eat with.” We began walking
to our third hour.

“I
don't mind, the more the merrier as far as I am concerned, and it doesn’t hurt
that he's cute!” She giggled, and I couldn’t disagree with her. 

Eli
didn't move away from me in science, but he refused to even look in my
direction. I hated seeing how angry he was, knowing it was entirely my fault. I
felt terrible.

After
science, we met Pete near the cafeteria where he and I had met the day before.
He was smiling his bright beautiful smile. It was enough to make you go weak at
the knees.

“Oh
my,” Bailey whispered in my ear.

I
giggled. It was nice to see that I wasn’t the only one he had that effect on.

The
three of us walked into the cafeteria together and bought our lunch one right
after the other. Today they were serving burgers with fries, which was fine by
me. I filled my bun with ketchup, mustard, pickles and tomato before sitting
down with the others.

I
didn't see Eli anywhere, but I had guessed he wouldn’t want to see me eating
lunch with Pete. I would have happily included him if he had been willing, but
that was going to take some convincing.

Lunch
went quickly with Pete sitting by my side. A few of Pete’s friends joined us
that I hadn’t met before, and before I knew it I was seated within a large
group. There were three boys and two girls: Austen, Zach, Mason, Breanne and
Alexis. They all seemed really nice as far as I could tell.