❁ C H A P T E R  T E N ❁

It's a normality in my household for me to wake up late, so when I woke up early, hell nearly froze over. Cuddled with the fact that it was a Wednesday, my laziest day, my parents were very suspicious.

I woke up without an alarm, or my brother yelling at me. It was dark, the moon still bright in the sky. It would be a full moon in a few days, which I tried to push out of my mind.

Dottie was still sleepy when I dragged myself out of bed. I hadn't looked at the time, figuring it was late as always. It was only when I pulled back my curtains and saw the moonlit darkness, that I realized something was off.

The time on my clock indicated I had an hour and a half to get ready for school. Normally I'd have 20 minutes, so this was a pleasant surprise.

I wasn't sure the speed of which to get ready, since I knew I didn't have to go turbo speed like normal.

Then sparked a brilliant idea.

Connell was going to want me.

I spread my makeup on my counter, looking at the brushes and bottles in desperation. I needed this to go well. Concealer, foundation, some watery stuff, some pink stuff. It all seemed to fit as I applied, and by the end, I was impressed with myself.

I didn't look half bad.

Picking out a dress was hard, but I ended up going with a white dress that was cinched at the waist and flowed down to my thighs. "How Pure," Dottie snorted. I snapped back at her in my head as I tried to find shoes.

My hair was a mess, as always, so I decided to just put it in Dutch braids. Even when I was done with that, I still had time to leisure around.

Everyone was already downstairs talking, and just like Saturday, I could hear them talking in hushed whispers to each other. My parents seemed to be questioning Zach about something, so I stepped back a few steps so I could safely listen.

"Honey, we just want to help Ruby, so if you know what's going on with her, just please tell us," My mother pleaded Zach, her voice had a undertone of urgency. I closed my eyes, trying to listen closer.

He wouldn't tell, would he? He promised he wouldn't, and I trusted him with my life, but what if he did because he thought it would help me.

He sighed, "Mom, I'm not the one to tell you what's happening with her. She just wants space right now."

My mother wasn't pleased with that answer, sighing. She was pacing from one side of the kitchen to the other, a habit I inherited.

"She seems fine, honestly mom. I think you're just over reacting," my brother's voice faded off, and I could tell he was trying to sound convincing. He wanted to help me, I knew, and I also knew that he felt completely useless keeping it to himself. For me, though, that was what I felt was necessary.

I decided to end his misery and went down the stairs, a smile on my face. My father looked up from his paper as I walked in, shock caste on his face.

Isn't it weird when your family finds it shocking that your awake early?

My brother was leaning against the kitchen counter, his arms crossed and a contemplative look on his face.

"Hello family," I grinned as I walked in, checking the time on the clock as I walked towards the table. There was nothing there, product of me being so early, which was good, because I wasn't actually planning on eating anything.

My mother stopped mid step, her mouth opening slightly. When she came back to her senses, she blinked a few times, and started to look confused.

"Well, I'm going to be off."

I didn't want to drag on the ordeal any longer, so I turned towards the door, only taking a few steps before a voice stopped me.

"Ruby, honey, you've not eaten anything," My mother stopped me, her voice laced with concern. I wasn't hungry, just nervous.

Sharply turning, I gave my mom my heartbreaker smile, which she usually rolls her eyes at, and responded, "I'm not hungry."

Once again I turned away, this time finally leaving. Before I got out the door, I heard my father say something.

"At least we know she's not pregnant."

There was a fleeting moment, and then a loud groan as my mother hit my father.

Since it was so early, I got to school in record time. The road were impeded, and the sun barely peaked up over the skyline. I drank some ice water, fearing an energy crash.

The school had a few cars scattered about. The teachers parking lot was a quarter full. I knew that most teachers arrived at the last possible moment. The student parking lot had a few cars, with more pulling in.

Early risers, I thought distastefully. Sure, at this current moment I was one, but that wouldn't last for more than one morning. The ability to wake up early on a regular basis was unfound to me.

I sat in my car for a while, people-watching. It was fascinating the people who came in early. A multitude- stereotypical nerds, athletes coming to practice before school, regular people who had nothing better to do.

When I figured it would be a good time to walk in, I smoothed down my dress, grabbed my bag, and stepped out of my car.

There was an instant regret for not bringing a jacket. I had completely forgotten, and my mother was so shocked at me coming down so early, she forgot to force me into an ugly jacket.

The inside of school was about as vacant as the outside. The snobby office lady was still there, a uninterested look on her face as she ignored someone standing in front of her. Normally, I was that person, asking for an attendance slip.

I stopped by Maddie, Sara, and I's joint locker, switching out books, before going to English. I stopped 2 doors away from the classroom, peaking around a corner like an idiot to see if he was in there. His lights were on, and I after taking a few deep breaths I could smell his scent.

I went forward a door, and peered a little further in to make sure no one else was in the classroom. Once I was sure, I took a deep breath, and nodded, walking forward.

You know the feeling of instant regret? That's what I felt as soon as I stepped through the door. What was the point? I was trying to convince the man, who had broken my wolfy heart, took like me. It felt almost pitiful, but I didn't have enough time to think about that as I went past the point of return.

I decided to shelf my uncertainty, and put on my bravest face, walking as nonchalantly as I could to my desk. The steady beat of his pen stopped as his gaze burned into me. My cheeks started to heat up as I walked to my seat. Once I sat down, he continued writing, his eyes once again on his paper.

Frustrated, I crossed my arms, looking at him intensely. I knew he most likely wouldn't look up, since he was purposefully looking away. What had I done wrong?

I knew that I was a try hard, which I was sure every girl was at some point. We all want to impress someone sometime, but even now I was confused to how little attention he payed me.

Shaking off the feeling, I watched him a bit more, uncrossing my arms to lean forward. I think I was more uncomfortable than him as I stared daggers into him, my eyes going from his athletic frame, back to his face.

Finally, he glanced up, unable to deny my aggressive leer. When our eyes met, he seemed taken aback, taking me in fully. I wasn't sure if he was looking at my dress, or at the fact that I looked like a psychopath.

"What are you doing?" He asked when he was brought back to reality. I gave my best coy smile, my fingers curling around my hair.

"What do you mean?" I evaded his question, tilting my head. Whenever I did that I felt like a dog, but I was told it was cute.

He said nothing, just blinking as he watched my face. My stomach twisted as he put down his pen, his other hand going through his curly brown hair.

"This isn't like you," He said simply, and I felt myself get angry. As if he would know! I stood from my seat, leaning further over my desk.

"Like you know! You don't know anything about me," I snapped, my voice cracking half way through.

A small, somber laugh left my mouth as I crossed my arms over my chest. "Not that you want to," I muttered bitterly under my mouth.

Something in Connell's eyes changed, and he was about to say something before he was interrupted by another student walking in.

I sat before they could look up from the phone they were glued to. Connell closed his mouth and frowned, looking back at the papers he had before him.

A shaky sigh left my mouth as I tightly closed my eyes, calming myself. Dottie was silent, retreating back to where I couldn't reach her.

Class started half an hour later. Maddie and Sara had plenty of questions, which I dodged the best I could. Fletcher put a wet kiss on my cheek, jokingly winking at me as he went to join his boyfriend in the back of the class.

I shook my head, my eyes wandering to the front of the classroom where Connell sat with a unpleasant face. It looked as though he had just bitten into a lemon.

I stifled a laugh as my spirits rose, and I decided to join my friends in their conversation. It was AEP time, which was basically free time before class. My mind was clear for most of the class, as I chose to simply ignore Connell. My entire plan had gone out of the window in less than a minute.

"It wasn't a very good plan to begin with," Dottie's sassy voice was well welcomed, and I was surprised by her comeback rate. It seemed like she was getting better every day.

"Shush, Dottie," I poked back, and Dottie let out a dog-like bark.

I finished work with speed I didn't even know I had, and just sat around, looking at everything but Connell for the rest of class. We weren't allowed to have phones in class after the cat incident.

When we were packing up, Connell's voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Ms. Delson, please stay behind."

My heart nearly stopped as I completely froze, my hands halfway in my bag as I was looking for my math homework that I didn't do. I glanced up, to a completely unfazed classroom, and a occupied Connell.

I was hoping I was just hearing things, but it was once again resaid as I went to leave.

Dragging my feet, I walked to one of the front desks, sitting down on it slowly. He looked up from his papers, his eyes stern.

"I'm not going to take back my assumptions," He said once the last person had left. My eyebrows furrowed as I leaned back, trying to remember our previous conversation.

"Whatever you're trying to do, or trying to get at, isn't going to work." He finished, his eyes watching my faces closely. Behind his eyes, I knew their was emotion he was hiding. I just couldn't figure out what kind. On the outside, he looked as stone cold as one could be.

"How could you be so cruel?" I whimpered, my eyes narrowing as I stood, hatred flowing through my veins.

I took a gasping breath, before shaking my head a walking to the door. There was no protest, yet I stopped at the doorframe.

"You're such an asshole, and you don't even see it. I just wanted an apology," I left right after, feeling victorious for getting the last word. I might have fibbed just a bit about my motives, but he didn't have to know that.

I hoped it hurt. I once again saw my sadistic tendencies and tried to shove them into a corner. Maybe sadistic tendencies were just teenage tendencies?

I skipped the rest of class, telling my friends that I was feeling sick. They didn't think much of it, knowing I had been having a rough few weeks.

The drive home took a quick few minutes, and not long after I was bundled up in my shaggy blankets, snugly asleep.

Authors Note

Another chapter! Yay! I was really feeling this chapter and wrote it all last night. The next one is written, and i'm really excited to start on the one after that. After that is finished, the next will go up. I think you'll really enjoy it!

Love,

Elle Kay