Part 35
Dash is taking you to the Winter Formal!
I tried to ignore the incessant voice in my head as I shoved vegetables in my mouth. But no, my stupid inner voice kept repeating that sentence like a broken recorder. I hated my inner voice.
"Why are you not eating?" Tracey asked, picking at her muffin.
"I am!" I said, a little too defensively. Great, now she was going to think I was lying to her.
"Okay, what are you thinking about? Is it Dash? You're thinking about Dash, aren't you? I told you I won't let him break your heart again," she rambled.
"Jeez Tracey, give it a rest. I am not thinking about him," I muttered, feeling guilty for lying to my friend.
Dash is taking you to Winter Formal! You are so excited!
While listening to my thoughts, I wondered if it was my inner voice I should be hating or myself. I was angry with Dash and shouldn't be excited about going to the dance with him. Maybe I could go visit my father on the day of the dance. But just the thought of seeing him had me shuddering with fear and anxiety. Going to the dance with Dash was better than visiting my dad.
"Then what are you thinking about?" She demanded to know.
"I am thinking to go visit my dad in a few days," I answered. It was only partly true, but I wasn't going to tell her that.
Tracey burst out laughing. "You are so funny, Bri."
"What the heck?! I can think about visiting him!" I said, affronted.
"No you can't!" She laughed some more.
I scowled. "Well now I will go and visit him."
"You really are funny; why didn't I know this about you?" Okay, she was asking to be punched right now.
"Stop talking, Tracey. And tell me how is Ben." I changed the subject.
A large smile spread over Tracey's face at the mention of Ben. Dang! She got it bad for the guy. "Ben is amazing; you have no idea. He is so sweet and he makes me laugh a lot. I can tell that he is slowly moving on from Janice."
"Does that mean he's asked you out to the dance?" I enquired. Ben never told me whether he planned to take Tracey to the Winter Formal, he just said that he had a gift for her.
"I don't know. I don't think so. He didn't ask me to go with him, but he keeps talking about what I will wear to the dance and all, as if he is expecting me to be there," she answered, confusion lingering in her words.
"That is strange. Maybe he's already asked someone out." I shrugged.
Tracey glared at me. "Don't say things like this, you are supposed to be my best friend."
"Hey, I'm just saying. But you need to have the most stunning dress, so that Ben will notice you," I suggested.
"Yes, I will do that. I hope he notices me," she muttered.
"He'll be blind not to notice you," I stated, before taking a bite of my carrot.
"Excuse me! You are not allowed to sit with us. Leave." My heart stopped as when I heard Tracey nearly shouting. Who was she shouting at?
"I can sit wherever I want." My question was answered in the form of Dash Melwin as he plopped down on the chair next to me.
"No you can't. Everybody hates you here. Shoo. Go and sit somewhere else," she ordered.
Dash rolled her eyes. "Don't order me around when I have the power to get you kicked out of this academy."
Tracey narrowed her eyes. "Are you threatening me?"
"If you're smart then you'll know the answer to that question," he retorted.
"And if you're smart you'll know not to sit where you're not wanted," she snapped.
"How do you know I'm not wanted here?" He arched an eyebrow. Why did he have to be so cute?
"Because I just told you. Now leave and let us have our lunch in peace," Tracey stated.
"Bri doesn't want me to leave," he said, crossing his arms in front of his chest and leaning back as if getting comfortable.
"Yes, I do," I said, though my heart didn't agree with me, but I learned not to listen to that dumb thing anymore.
"As if." He scoffed. "Besides, I got a present for you."
"What present?" I asked at the same time Tracey said,
"She doesn't want your present."
"Ha, she just asked me what I got her. In your face, Crabtree," Dash replied.
"Hey! Don't call her names!" I admonished.
"Fine. Sorry Tracey, you are not Crabtree," he apologized.
"I'll accept your apology when you leave." She bit out.
"I can't leave. I have to win my girl back so I have to do things that will help me achieve my target," he said.
"Oh great, I'm a target now. Way to objectify me, Dash." I glared at him.
He chuckled. "You are so adorable. And I am not objectifying you. I can't even think of doing that, you mean a lot to me, shortcake."
"Don't listen to him, Bri," Tracey commanded.
"Relax Tracey, I won't let him hurt me a second time." I told her. I didn't want her to get worked up about this. Dash was my problem to deal with not hers. She had Ben to think about.
"I know you won't, but I have to protect you from him as well," she argued.
"You don't have to do that. I am not going to hurt my chocolate chip a second time," he said, his voice taking on a softer tone.
Forgive him. He is obviously sorry for hurting you.
I would forgive Dash, if he proved that he was sorry. But he hadn't done any of that yet. "Let's see about that."
"Yes, we will. Now close your eyes so I can give you your present," he ordered.
"Why can't you just give it to me?" I questioned.
"Because it's not how things work with me. Now close your eyes," he commanded.
"No. You either give it to me right now or else you can keep your gift to yourself. I am done listening to you." I told him.
Hurt flashed in those blue eyes, making me feel like the worst person on the planet. Who was cruel enough to hurt this adorable guy? Oh right, that was me.
"Okay, I'll give it to you here. Wait for a moment, please." He stood up and jogged out of the cafeteria.
"Do you think he has a real present for you?" Tracey queried.
I shrugged. "I think he does."
"Oh yeah? What do you think it is?" She enquired.
"That I don't know. I just hope it's not something funny," I muttered as I watched Dash jog back over to us with a box wrapped in glossy paper in his hands.
"Here you go. I hope you like it." He handed me the rectangular box before sitting down on his chair.
"Thank you. I'll open it when I go to my dorm," I said, placing the box on my lap. Even though I told Dash that I would open it later, my hands were itching to tear open the wrapping paper and see what was inside.
"Alright. There is also a letter for you inside the box. Please do read it," he requested. Now how could I say no to him when he requested in such a sweet manner? It was obvious, I couldn't. He was making an effort, and that was all I wanted.
"I will. Thank you, Dash." I smiled to let him know that I genuinely appreciated his gift. I didn't want to be mean to him. My heart wanted him, but it wanted to be treated right in return.
"And you are going to the dance with me, you do know that, right?" He reminded me.
I nodded. "I know I don't have a choice in that matter, unless I go and visit my father."
"You know, Bri, you should definitely pay him a visit. It's been so long since you've seen him. Even when Janice died, he didn't come visit you," Tracey said, glancing at Dash every now and then to gauge his reaction.
"My chocolate chip won't go to visit her father because I won't let her. She gets upset because of him, so she needs to stay with me," he stated.
"She gets upset whenever she sees you as well," Tracey cut in.
"No she doesn't. I know I hurt her, but I am going to make it up to her. I won't stop until she is happy," Dash vowed.
"You can't fix what is broken," she stated.
"You can if you try hard enough. I know she can't and won't forget the past but I will give her a happy future; that you can count on." He looked at me as he said this.
I gulped. Surprised at the conviction in his tone. "You know you guys don't have to talk like I don't exist. I'm sitting right here."
Dash smiled before kissing me on the cheek. "I know you are here; that is why I'm at peace."
The words had me blushing a hundred shades of pink, while Tracey just rolled her eyes. My best friend clearly hated Dash, but I couldn't hate him. I didn't even want to. However, this piece of information had to stay in the dark.
"Can you be any cheesier than this?" Tracey grumbled, causing me to giggle.
"Relax Tracey. We'll be leaving in a little while anyways," I said, amused at my friend's antics to enrage Dash.
"Can this little while be now? I can't stand to see his face because he hurt you," she replied, her words filled with venom.
"No. Not right now. After I finish my meal. Dash, would you like to eat something?" I asked.
"Why are you asking him? He should feel lucky to even be sitting with us right now." My best friend needed to relax.
"Tracey, stop attacking him. If he's being nice then we should do the same in return." To be honest, I couldn't bear to see pain in those blue eyes again, I felt guilty as it is.
"I'm not nice to those who hurt my best friend."
"You should be nice to him because he is my best friend." Tracey's eyes widened as Ben stood before us, a soft smile on his face.
"Ben, hi. Sit down. And you need a new best friend because this one is no good." Tracey offered him the empty chair next to hers and Ben didn't hesitate before sitting down.
"I don't need a new one, and you should help him instead of insulting him; he is trying to make your friend happy, you know," Ben replied.
"Oh please, I can't help him. I need to protect Bri from him," she argued.
"Chocolate chip, I don't think I can endure her presence for much longer. Can we please go somewhere else, somewhere where it's just you and I?" Dash asked. I could see he was annoyed with Tracey.
"If you care about me like you say you do then you will sit here and endure her presence for as long as I want you to." I told him.
He groaned softly. "I was supposed to make you suffer through the ten semesters, not the other way around."
Pride blossomed in my heart as I heard his words, and suddenly I realized that I didn't need to make him beg for forgiveness, I could just torture him and make him suffer my ten semesters. Yes, this was the perfect way to see just how he truly felt about me. If he liked me as much as he claimed to then he should have no problem in enduring the ten semesters; if he did, then I'd know that he didn't feel the same way.
"Well now you know how I felt when you tortured me; now you will suffer through my ten semesters," I stated.
Dash looked at me with horror painted all over his face, which made me grin back at him. He was sexy and cute at the same time. I wondered how he did that.
"You can't be serious," he said.
"Oh, but I am. Since you said that you won't torture me, but will take the six remaining semesters and use them as chances to make it up to me, I would like to take ten semesters and take my revenge on you," I explained.
"So you went from avoiding me to taking revenge on me? How is that possible?" He looked bewildered.
I giggled. "It's your fault. You wouldn't leave me alone, so now you must deal with this."
"I am willing to endure whatever you punish me with as long as I can be with you," he murmured.
"Don't say such things; I start blushing," I confessed, my face burning. Why did he have to be so sweet all of a sudden? He was supposed to be evil, it made it slightly easier to hate him.
"You have to know the truth about my heart. I've hidden it from you for so long, not anymore." God, he needed to shut up.
"Okay, that's it." I stood up and grabbed the box Dash had given me. "I'm leaving now, before you can say something else that would have my whole face melting off." I looked at my friend who was busy laughing with Ben. "Tracey, come, we are leaving."
"You go. I'll join you later," Tracey said.
"Come on, don't leave me," Dash pleaded.
"I have to open your present. So I will see you later." I told him.
"Then I'll come with you. I want to know what you think about it," he responded. Just then, a prefect came over to our table, breathing heavily.
"The Headmaster wants to see Dash Melwin," the prefect said.
Dash rolled his eyes. "Great, now he wants to see me. I need to tell him that he really needs to work on his timings." He paused. "I'll see you later, shortcake. Don't forget to read the letter. I hope you like what I got you." With a sexy wink, Dash strode out of my cafeteria.
Why did he talk about the Headmaster in such a way? Most students I knew were highly intimidated by him, but then why wasn't he? I needed to ask him why he didn't treat the Headmaster with respect.
But right now, I had a present to open. With that I shoved all thoughts of Dash at the back of my mind and went to my dorm room...
To open my present.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Author's Note.
Hi guys,
Here is another chapter, I hope you all like it.
Please don't forget to vote, comment and share.
Thank you for reading.
Until next time.
Take care.
Ciao.