Chapter 3 - Part 2

                                    

                                          
Haven
                          
During class, I concentrated on the teacher in front of me. But when I was in my second class of the day I felt the heat of a gaze. Glancing out the corner of my eye, I saw Damien a couple of tables away from me. He was openly staring at me. I had no idea why, but I wished he'd stop. 
                          
I breathed a sigh of relief when the lesson finally came to an end. Quickly, I gathered my stuff and shoved it into my bag, walking past Damien and out of the classroom. I felt his gaze follow me.
                          
Later, I began to notice the looks I was getting from some of the girls. Some looked at me curiously, while others openly glared at me. I kept my eyes down and tried using my hair as a curtain to hide behind. I wanted to blend into the background, but I was getting attention, and it was the last thing I needed.
                          
By lunchtime, I was a nervous wreck. I was ready to hide out in the bathroom to get away from all of the unwanted attention. I was washing my hands in the sink when three girls entered the room and cornered me. I recognized one of the girls from earlier this morning. She was the girl who Damien had been playing tonsil hockey with.
                          
Up close, she was gorgeous. Her skin looked like white porcelain, and she had beautiful, sea-blue eyes, and shiny, long blond hair. The red mini skirt and white blouse she was wearing fit her perfectly. She looked like a real-life Barbie doll. The other two girls were rather plain looking, both with brown hair.
                          
Her two friends stood on either side of me, cornering me against the basin. Barbie stood directly in front of me while she glared at me. I had no idea what I'd done for them to act this way. I tried to take a step back to get away from her, but the sink dug into my back.
                          
"I just wanted to clear something up," Barbie said with a flick of her hair, looking at me like I was a piece of dirt that had been found under her shoe. I noticed that even her nails were perfectly painted with red nail polish.
                          
"Damien," she began. This whole situation made absolutely no sense to me. I gave her a blank look. Why on earth would she want to talk to me about Damien?
                          
"He is mine!" she said. "I give him everything he needs."
                          
This was way too much information. I had images of the two of them doing the dirty deed. Besides, why would I care who he belonged to, and why would did she have the need to tell me?
                          
"I don't want you to get ideas," she sneered, while her friends glared at me. I was beginning to think that they had all gone crazy.
                          
"I don't know what you're talking about," I said quietly as I fiddled with my hands in front of me. When that didn't help my nervousness, I grabbed onto the strap of my bag and clenched it tightly in my hands.
                          
"You might think that because he has shown you a little interest that you have a chance with him, but you don't," she continued while she looked at me with disgust. "Look at you, look at your clothes, you're ugly!"
                          
I flinched at her words and her friends laughed at my reaction to the insults. I had no idea what she meant when she said Damien had shown a little interest in me. I had bumped into him once, and he had been rude. Other than that, I hadn't had any interaction with him at all.
                          
Suddenly, Barbie gave me one last dirty look and paraded out of the bathroom with her little followers right behind her. Once they were out and the door was closed behind them, I began to shake uncontrollably. I hadn't done anything to anyone, yet somehow I'd made an enemy. It took a few minutes for me to compose myself before I could leave to find another place to have lunch. I couldn't go back to the field because I was pretty sure that would be the first place that Chris would look for me. 
                          
After walking around the school for a little while, I found another quiet spot. I sat down on the grass beside one of the smaller school buildings. Although it was quiet, there was a steady stream of students walking past. I heard movement behind me, and I didn't need to turn around to know who it was. Chris had found me. I was sitting with my arms wrapped around my legs with my chin resting on my knees when he sat down in front of me.
                          
"Where were you? You weren't in our usual spot," he said to me with a friendly smile. His hair fell across his face, and he brushed it out of his eyes. He knew full well that I'd been avoiding him. He couldn't have a one-sided friendship if he couldn't find me.
                          
Though, at the moment, I had bigger issues than dodging the guy who stalked me and who also wanted to be my friend. Just then, Barbie and her minions walked past us and threw me a dirty look. I immediately dropped my gaze to the grass in front of me. I hoped Chris hadn't seen the interaction between us, but he had. He looked from Barbie and her followers to me, then back to Barbie again.
                          
"What was that about?" he asked, turning back to me a second time with a curious look on his face. He asked the question like I was actually going to open my mouth and answer him. Instead, I just shrugged my shoulders and dropped my gaze back down to the ground once more.
                          
By talking to him I would be agreeing to the friendship he was offering, and I couldn't do that. Besides, even if I told him what had happened with Barbie earlier, there was nothing he could do about it. I had a feeling that she was going to make my life very difficult at my new school. I still had no idea why she would think that I wanted Damien. I didn't want anyone. I kept to myself and I hadn't interacted with anyone. How on earth had I landed up in this mess?
                          
Eventually, Chris realized I was not going to tell him what he wanted to know. I noticed that he held two bag lunches in his hands instead of one. He set one bag down in front of himself and dropped the other bag in front of me. I wanted to ignore him and his thoughtful lunch, but my stomach growled at the thought of food. I tentatively opened the bag and peeked inside. The bag held a wrapped sandwich, an apple, and a soda. I couldn't stop the emotions that his thoughtfulness provoked from me. He didn't make a fuss about it, but to me it was a big deal. I glanced up at him and gave him a weak smile.
                          
I took out the sandwich and unwrapped it. It was ham and cheese, and it tasted great. I ate slowly so I could savor the taste. While I ate, Chris began to talk about some TV show that he enjoyed, but I had no clue what he was talking about. We hadn't owned a TV since Grant had come into our lives. He talked about the latest movies that were playing at the cinemas. 
                          
Even though I didn't make eye contact or act like I was interested in his conversation, he continued to talk. The truth was that I loved listening to his voice, and to his opinions. I knew that I shouldn't like it, but I did. My stomach was full after I ate the apple. I hadn't opened the soda, so I stuffed it into my school bag. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Chris secretly smile while he watched me.
                          
When the bell finally rang, I got to my feet and Chris followed me to my next class. Like the previous day, I ignored him completely while we walked. When I got to my class I went in and sat down at my desk without a backward glance.
                          
For two days in a row, he had held the conversation alone at lunch and shared his food with me. He wasn't going to give up trying to be my friend, but I needed to be strong, and keep him at arm's length. If I let him get close, he would notice things I didn't want to have to explain.