Distraction

Him

She giggled against my chest, and I pressed my finger against my lips. With another snicker, she slapped her hands on her mouth, her shoulders shaking with her continued laughter. We tensed as the footsteps neared us, but we breathed in relief when they faded away followed by the door closing.

"You almost got us caught." I teased, wrapping my hands around her waist to pull her away from me, moving her out from between the shelves. I was all too aware of the way I held her, though it felt like second nature to me.

"Sorry," She blushed, still giggling, "I couldn't help it! I've never hid from a teacher before."

I wrapped my arm around her shoulder, hearing her sigh as she pressed herself into my side. We made our way back to the study room, awkwardness suddenly engulfing us as she peeled herself away from my touch.

She cleared her throat, sitting across from me, "Thank you, by the way."

I nodded, suddenly feeling self-conscious. We had made it the whole day in the library, only leaving to grab our lunch and now we waited for the last class to end. It felt as if we had been together for days, weeks even, asking questions about our childhoods.

"It felt good to be distracted today, f-from everything that's been happening.'"

My jaw tensed as she smiled at me. A distraction, right. It suddenly overwhelmed me to think that our time together meant completely different things to us. I had been stopping myself all day from reaching over and kissing her. She was so goddamn beautiful, but I was nothing but a distraction.

Her fingers played with the plastic flap of her binder as she frowned, "How come I've never seen you before? It sucks we haven't become friends until now."

The word friends burned the back of my brain and I had to stop myself from telling her that it was because she was too obsessed with Micah to even look in my direction. But, how could I blame her? I was too obsessed with her, even from a distance, to look in any other direction.

I cleared my throat, "I wasn't in school much last year. Family shit."

She nodded as she pursed her lips together, a knowing smile spreading across her face, "I-I moved here almost two years ago to live with my- to live with Rick." I twisted my neck at the sound of the familiar name, and she shrugged her shoulders, "My mom died in a car accident, and I had to leave everything I knew."

"I'm sorry," I whispered, warmth spreading through my chest.

I had known the tragedies that caused her to move here, but hearing the vulnerability in her voice made me feel unusual. She trusted me. I knew all too well the pains and complex emotions that surrounded the loss of a loved one. Even I could hardly speak of my loss, but I felt special and seen when she spoke of hers.

She shrugged again, and I watched her lips tremble slightly. I imagined she was trying to hold herself back from crying.

"Liz and M-Micah were my first friends. They were all I knew. Now-" She looked up at me, tears making her eyes shine, "I feel alone."

My heart clenched, not wanting to see her so torn apart. It made me feel as if we weren't so different, but I would not wish the pain of loss and loneliness on anyone.

"You have me now." I whispered.

She chuckled softly, a thankful smile spreading across her lips as she she wiped the tears from her eyes. "Thank you. I-I didn't mean to break down in front of you like that."

"I don't mind." I shook my head, not wanting to see her run to anyone else for comfort.

I wanted to be that for her, even if I had to be just a friend. I looked at the clock that was nailed to the wall, just above her head.

"Class will be over soon, can I take you home?"

She frowned and tilted her head, "Don't you have detention?"

I smiled knowingly, "I can't exactly go to detention if I wasn't at school today."

She laughed, the sound making me shiver, "Okay, but I have to get something from my locker first. I'll meet you outside?"

We stood just as the bell rang and I nodded, "I'll see you out there." We walked out of the library, heading in opposite directions in the hallways.

I weaved through the crowd, avoiding Mrs. Jacobs door and pushed the doors open, the sun smacking me in the face. I stretched my fingers when I reached for cig, stopping myself. She won't want to ride in the car with me if I smell like smoke.

I leaned against my car, throwing my head back as I crossed my arms on my chest. There was a strange ache in my chest. It almost felt like happiness. I shook my head as I laughed at myself. Of course it did, she made me happy.

My smile instantly disappeared when a soft voice reached my ears, "Waiting for someone, Kian?"

I looked down to the redhead that had spoken to me before. The one that had sat down with Inesa once during lunch. I couldn't remember her name for the life of me. I nodded, clenching my jaw as I watched her with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh," She pressed her lips together, blushing, "I wanted to see if you wanted to go to the movies with me tonight?"

I snorted, "Does it look like I go to the movies?" I looked behind her, hoping to see Inesa so that I could end this conversation.

"You know," She narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms on her chest, looking irritated, "They're going to get back together," She shrugged, "I wouldn't hold out for her."

She turned from me, whipping her hair in the air and walked away back into the school.

Inesa wouldn't get back together with him, would she?