27

                                    

                                          
༻ Rose's POV ༺
When the school bell rang at the end of the day, my stomach tightened in anticipation. Matt had told me to meet him in the car park so I gathered up my things and followed the rest of the class towards the exit rather than head towards the library like normal. I usually did an extra hour of studying before heading home so that I didn't have to fight through the swarm of people trying to leave the school grounds but today, I was being dragged along by the current of people flowing to the front gates.
I couldn't see over their heads to find Matt when I was finally shoved through the main doors, plastered to the back of a rather sweaty guy in front of me. At my back, a gaggle of girls constantly elbowed my ribs in an attempt to push past me but always dropped back when they realised there was nowhere else that they could go. 
In the fifteen minutes it took me to walk from my classroom to the car park, I was reminded of why exactly I chose to stay in the library and I was starting to wonder if another date with Matt was worth the bruises I was sure to gain from this experience. But then I spotted him. He was standing against the passenger door of his car, his eyes on the throngs of people dispersing into smaller groups around me. 
I watched him scan every face that passed him, eyes narrowed, searching. Something fluttered in my stomach at the fact he was looking for me. It immediately had me deciding that yes, this would be worth the struggle of forcing my way out of the building. Once I got a little closer to him, his gaze flickered left slightly and landed on me. The smile that graced his handsome face made my knees weak. 
He really was incredibly good looking. His dark hair was slightly messy and it was obvious as to why when he ran a hand through it before pushing off the car door and taking a step towards me. Maybe it was Italian heritage that made him so beautiful, with his tanned skin, dark hair and dark eyes. Or maybe his impressive figure, so big and bulky. But for me, I think the thing that was most beautiful about him was his smile. It was so wide and bright, making his dark eyes sparkle as he walked towards me, stopping just a few feet from me.
"Are you okay?" he asked, his tone playful. "You look a little shaken."
I breathed out a laugh. "I basically got dragged here by the crowds," I told him. "One of the issues with being small I guess-," I shrugged, "-you get submerged by big crowds." I grinned and pulled my bag up higher onto my shoulder before shifting my weight from one foot to the other.
He laughed. "Well, I'm glad you made it out alive," he teased. "Here-," He reached across for the bag slung over my shoulder, "-I'll carry that."
I smiled at the sweet gesture but couldn't help glancing around at the groups of people clustered around us, some of them with their eyes on us. I blushed at their attention. The last thing I wanted was for people to start talking about me. "Ignore them," Matt suddenly said, his eyes on one particular group of girls off to our left. 
The four of them stood in a semi-circle, heads leaning inwards and hands covering their mouths as they whispered things to one another. All except one, a tall, skinny blonde girl with sharp cheekbones, big lips and a cheerleader's outfit on. "She looks like she wants to kill me," I said softly, feeling my heart stutter at the daggers in her glare.
"She won't bother you," he said, "I promise." He sent me a smile that was meant to be reassuring but it didn't settle my nerves. "Come on."
I followed him to the car, my legs trembling with each step. I hated attention, especially negative attention. "Rose," Matt called when he pulled open the passenger door and I did nothing but stare at the leather seat. "Don't let it bother you," he said, "they're always hanging around the team and the blonde, Kelly, has asked me out a few times and I've turned her down. It's me she's glaring at, not you, okay? She won't bother you. I'll make sure of it."
I tilted my head to look up at him. "She's beautiful," I stated, my confusion evident. If I could picture a perfect girl for Matt, she would be it.
He lifted a shoulder. "She is," he said, "but there's more to life than looks and she is the vainest person I've ever met... and if you'd met my sister then you'd realise how vain that actually is." He grinned and I couldn't help but smile. He always managed to put me at ease. "Come on, let's get out of here."
I nodded and slid onto the seat before he shut the door behind me. He threw my bag into the trunk alongside his and then pulled out of the carpark, passing the group of girls and then a few guys who started to wave. "Ignore them too," he grumbled, rolling his eyes as he put his foot down a little and almost ran one over as he danced around in front of the car.
I glanced at the others from the corner of my eye, noticing that one of them was almost identical to Matt. "That's your brother," I commented.
He nodded. "Yeah, and this prick," he said, gesturing to the one who finally leapt out of the way, "is like a brother. He lives with my family most of the time and we've grown up together."
I nodded, observing the group of guys as they started to laugh. "Did you tell them about me?" I asked quietly, unable to look at him.
"Of course," he said instantly and my heartbeat stuttered. "Not a lot but they know who you are."
I swallowed, unsure on whether that made me feel better or worse. What did they think of me? They must know I'm nothing like the cheerleaders and beauty pageant girls they were used to. Did they think I wasn't good enough for Matt? Did they know where I lived? The kind of background I had? There is no way Matt's friends and family would approve of me if they knew I had no money, no status, no friends. I was a nobody and he was a somebody. We were nothing alike.
"Whatever you're stressing about, don't. They're looking forward to meeting you whenever you're ready," he said. I almost threw up at the thought. "I know they're gonna love you okay, but don't stress about that right now."
I swallowed. "Sorry, I can't help it." I picked at my nails, keeping my eyes downcast as I spoke. "We're just so different. They probably think someone like Kelly is better suited to you, not someone like me."
He scoffed. "They're well aware that someone like Kelly would drive me up the wall after five minutes in her company. My family know me better than anyone, Rose. As soon as they meet you, they're going to see exactly what I see in you and they'll adore you. And if they don't then I don't really give a fuck. I know what I want."
He spoke so confidently. 'As soon as they meet you'. Not 'if' or 'maybe'. He talked as though he had it all planned out and it both made me giddy and nauseous at the same time. He glanced at me after a few seconds of silence and I opened my mouth to respond but no words came to mind. What was I supposed to say to that? 
Fortunately, he only grinned and turned the radio on, filling the silence with the sounds of my favourite song. "I love this song," I told him with a smile.
His grin widened. "So do I."
He turned the volume up until the beat pounded against my eardrums, so loud that I felt completely immersed in it. I smiled, swaying along to the soft guitar strings before Matt started to sing. He screeched the high note so loudly I had to cover my ears while my laughter almost drowned out the music itself. Tears gathered in my eyes when he continued, completely off key and far too loud, but with so much enthusiasm. My lungs wheezed as I tried to catch my breath and my stomach muscles ached from laughing by the time the song came to an end.
"I think you just ruined my favourite song," I said with a giggle when he turned the volume back down to a normal level.
"What?" he gasped. "No way! I killed that."
I snorted. "Yes, you did."
He shot me a glare that had me laughing again before I finally settled into my seat, I hadn't realised that until now, my shoulder had been locked and my spine rigid but now I slumped backwards, all thoughts of people from school pushed to the back of my mind. "So, where are we going?" I asked, watching the road signs fly by on the interstate.
He didn't respond, only smirked over at me before refocusing on the road. I huffed. "Fine, okay, don't tell me."
"Do you have to be home for a certain time?" he asked.
"No, just not too late."
I narrowed my eyes at his answering smile. "Perfect."