Gio

BANG BANG BANG

I wake up Monday morning with a start from my mom pounding on the door.

"Giovanni? Are you up?"

"Yeah!" I yell—so she knows I'm alive. Uh-oh. Did I forget to set my alarm?

"I'm leaving now. Your lunch is on the counter, and your bus comes in five minutes."

Shit!

"Shit, shit, shit, shit," I keep repeating to myself as I leap out of bed and practically yank my drawer straight out of the bureau in my rush to find clean clothes. I'd just been having the most amazing dream, too, and my morning wood is now an annoying reminder of how close I'd been to the best part when I woke up.

And I'm sure I don't think I have to tell you who I was dreaming about...

No time for a shower now. I struggle into my black jeans, brush my teeth, and apply a thick layer of deodorant before pulling a random shirt and my favorite hoodie over my head. Grabbing my black hat and backpack, I race out the door and nearly break my ass on the frost-covered pavers in the courtyard on my way to the main house.

"No time for breakfast this morning either," I sigh as I see the cereal box left out on the counter next to my lunch bag. I snatch it and make a run for the bus.

My first class is English, and I have to apologize to the teacher for not remembering to bring my book with me—again. I'm so fucked in that class, Ms. Simpson hates me.

Next is US History—boar me to fucking tears!

Even when I actually try to pay attention, the facts just seem to go in one ear and straight out the other. I pretend to listen but amuse myself by twirling my pencil and thinking of my dream again and how I would have finished things if I had stayed asleep.

I'm aching to see Ren in real life by the time class is over. We have a fifteen-minute break. How can I find her...?

I thread my way through the maze of bodies in the hallway to the school's front doors and take one step outside. My eyes dart around, but I don't see her.

Who my eyes do land on causes my stomach to clench, and my hands ball up into fists. TJ Janiak. I can tell it's him even from behind with his black hair and bobwire tattoo wrapped around his tanned built bicep, which is visible just under his too-tight white t-shirt, tucked into fatigue pants, and tall combat boots. He's satan disguised as a senior. Fuck. I give up the hunt for her and go back inside.

After the short break, I go down into the basement for my Geometry class, and my heartbeat picks up again. I'm not nervous about the course—this is the one subject I'm actually good at. Math's just always made sense to me. I can take the quizzes and tests, no problem—without even really studying. If I'd just do the fucking homework, I'd probably be getting a decent grade.

No, it's not the class, just the route I take to get there. I have to pass by the door to the school's photography darkroom, and the memories of it still turn my stomach. Every. Single. Time. I try not to look and slip into class.

By lunchtime, my stomach is pinching me from hunger, and it protests as I decide to go look for Ren again before heading out to eat. This time, I race up two flights of stairs to check the junior and senior lockers on the second floor.

Bingo.

She's standing facing a locker, wearing a baggy black t-shirt over a long-sleeve thermal, her brown hair tied up in a ponytail—I've never seen it like that before—my body hums as my eyes travel up her long elegant neck to her sexy protruding jaw bone. I walk towards her, but she is so focused on opening the blue metal locker she doesn't see me approaching.

She's struggling with the lock, yanking the latch up with no luck, then spinning the dial around again to clear it—the cutest look of frustration forms across her features and her pink bottom lip juts out. I come right up behind her, my heart thrumming with the excitement of surprising her here.

"Damn, it's so finicky sometimes!" she mumbles to herself, spinning the dial slowly, trying to get the arrow precisely on a certain number. Her beautiful focused state is giving me a rush, but I shouldn't be a creep and lurk behind her longer than I already have, so I tap her on the shoulder. She whips her head around as my lips pull into a puckish smirk.

She jumps slightly. "Gio!"

"Hey Ren, I finally bumped into you in the hall," I say, giving her my brightest smile, my eyes still twinkling with the fun of it.

I know how she usually responds to that, but her face falls instead.

"Hey," she voices low, with irritation in her eyes. She opens her mouth as if to say something, then presses her lips together and looks away. Turning back to her locker, she lifts her heavy history book out of her bag and heaves it in.

What the—? That's not the reception I'm used to getting from her. My confidence dips, but I can't give up that easily.

I lean against the next locker to get her to look at me. "That's a fat history book! Is that what class you had just now?"

"Mm-hmm," she replies, still not looking at me. There's a long pause before she sighs and asks, "What class did you have?"

My stomach drops out.

Shit. Everyone knows Geometry is in the basement! If I answer that, she'll know this wasn't an accidental meeting after all. I bite the inside of my lip. But I don't want to lie to her either... Whatever! So what if she knows!

"Um, Geometry..." I reply more hoarsely than I wanted it to sound.

She flicks her eyes to mine, and I see her thinking about that. Then, a smile perks her lips before she stifles it, shifing her eyes to the side and back.

I try again. "Hey, so, how was your weekend?"

"Okay."

I wait for more, but she leaves it at that and turns her eyes back to the contents of her locker before she grabs a notebook and slams the door.

She turns to face me as I'm blocking her way to the stairs, giving me an irritated look.

I dive into her stunning stormy ocean eyes with mine, searching for why she seems changed today, and suddenly, I feel like I'm on a boat out at sea, lost in the torrents of her gaze. She inhales but keeps her eyes locked on mine and pulls me deeper in. I'm drowning in them now, but I feel like I'd happily die in there.

"Gio, I need to go eat. Can I get by?"

What the hell's wrong?! She hasn't smiled once! I have to fix it... if she'll let me.

"Can I walk you out front?" my voice hesitant but still hopeful.

She closes her eyes and sighs heavily. "Sure."

We walked together in silence down the hall to the stairs. Her energy is so different today. I feel like I've fucked things up since we talked on Friday night, but I don't know how. She grabs hold of the old wood-curved handrail, and I descend beside her on the outside. On our way down, a guy and a girl are coming up.

Shit, it's her...

...and TJ!

Shit! Fuck me.

My heart starts hammering against my ribs. This is why you go straight out the side doors at lunchtime, Gio! Damn it!

Her large cobalt blue eyes pierce mine for a moment, and then they flash over to Ren, sizing her up before she rolls her eyes and ignores us all together. But as much as I despise her, it's TJ I'm worried about. He's coming up on the inside track, same as me.

There's no way in hell he'll just let me pass if he notices me. I pull the bill of my hat lower to cover my eyes.

I have a strong urge to turn around and run back up the stairs, but I can't do that with Ren beside me. I brace for whatever's coming next. Sure enough, his shoulder suddenly slams into mine just as he passes me. I lose my balance, and to avoid hitting Ren, my ankle catches the back of the stair tread, and I fall right on my ass.

Heat floods my face, and my whole body fills with adrenaline and then embarrassment as Ren tries to help me stand up again. I shrug her off and do it myself. Ugh! I feel like such fucking a loser.

"Watch it, freak!" TJ sneers.

I clench my jaw tight so as not to say anything back and keep walking down the stairs. I don't dare turn around, but I can hear them bust up above me in snorted, suppressed laughter, and my fists tighten around the straps of my backpack.

Ren pulls my shoulder back once we get down the stairs, so I look at her. Her eyes are full of concern. "Damn, Gio, what was that? What a jerk!"

I shoot my eyes to the stairs again and then sigh heavily, dropping my eyes to my shoes to avoid her pitty. "Yeah, that guy's a major dick," I mumble, pulling my backpack tight around me. What a shitty fucking day this is turning out to be.

I follow Ren as she leads me out of the main doors and out to the front steps. She's scanning the area with a worried look on her face.

I cock my head. "Where's your friends?" 

"I don't know," she mumbles, her mouth turning down as her arms wrap protectively around her stomach.

Suddenly, something deep in my chest aches seeing her like this. Maybe this is why she's upset today.

I try one last time. "Hey, wanna have lunch with me?"

"What?" her eyes catch mine with vulnerability in them like she must have misheard me at first.

"Yeah, um, maybe just you and me?"

I hold my breath and wait to see what she'll say to that.

She blinks a few times, then clears her throat. "Really? " Then, her voice drops an octave, and sincerely, she adds, "I mean...that would be great... actually."

And I finally get a small, beautiful smile that lights me up at the sight of it.

Yes!

"I know a place. Come on." 

I walk her just to the side of the building, where there's a low concrete ledge to sit on.

We pull our lunches out of our backpacks and talk as we eat. She's got all this good stuff in there: a mouth-watering-looking turkey sandwich with lettuce, cheese and tomatoes poking out, a cheese stick, a mandarin, a soda, and even a chocolate-dipped granola bar—my mouth waters. I pull out the only thing in my bag, a thin Oscar Mayer ham and Kraft cheese sandwich on Wonderbread, and take an unsatisfactory bite.

"How's your day been so far?"

"Crappy," she sighs. "My car wouldn't start this morning. The battery must have died in the cold weather we had this morning. My dad had to give me a jump."

"I had a shitty start to my morning too. Must be a Monday!" I grin to lighten it.

Her smile brightens just like the sunshine. "Mondays are the worst!"

She takes a bite of her sandwich and sees me staring. "What?"

"Nothing. That just looks good."

She holds up the other half, offering it to me. "You want to have some?"

I quickly swallow all the excess saliva in my mouth, "Really? Are you sure?"

"Please. My dad always packs too much stuff in here. I never eat it all."

I hesitantly take the sandwich from her. She takes another bite of hers, so I launch into it, taking a massive bite, and it's fucking delicious. My stomach instantly forgives me for going to look for Ren. She watches me devour it in five seconds flat and then gives me part of her granola bar as well.

"So, how was the rest of the party on Friday?"

She told me all about her weekend—how she went to her mom's after Jace's party and a concert on Saturday night. I told her about paint-balling at Adam's house on Saturday after work and some drunk antics we got up to at Charlie's house later that night, making her laugh—shit, I love making her laugh.

Then we start talking about all sorts of things, bouncing from one topic easily to the next. I find out she likes watching Friends, the band U2, and likes to dance. I keep thinking about how she's such a great artist, so I ask her to draw me something,

She asks for something to draw on, and I watch in a trance as she sketches a girl's face with long dark hair in my notebook. She's so good! The end of lunch bell rings, bringing me back to earth and breaking the spell. Wow... that went quickly!

She closes the notebook and hands it back. "Thanks for having lunch with me, Gio, um, that was... really great," Ren smiles sweetly at me, standing up and shouldering her backpack.

I feel this overwhelming urge to stay with her—win even more of those smiles from her. So, without thinking, I stand, and the words, "Can I walk you to class?" fall right out of my mouth.

"Um, sure," she accepts, the prettiest blush dusting her cheeks, giving me these weird fluttery feelings inside again. They propel me to catch her soft hand in mine, and at her touch, my breath catches, and my heart begins to beat fast and out of rhythm.

What the fuck is happening to me?!

We walk off, fingers intertwined, to her Drama class.

I've never walked a girl to class before, let alone holding hands! I feel overly excited about it—like I've just won the fucking jackpot or something. I have to bite the inside of my mouth to keep from grinning like a first-class idiot.

Calm your nuts, Gio—for Christ's sake. You shouldn't care this much!

We stop just outside the auditorium doors, still holding hands, and I turn to face her, my heart now steadily thrumming. What is going to happen next? Am I gonna kiss her? I hesitate, looking into her sparkling eyes.

"Thanks for walking me to class," she murmurs, looking down. She unconsciously sucks in her bottom lip, and it pops out again, all wet.

God, I want to kiss her!

"No problem," I say huskily.

Suddenly, a large group of kids approach the auditorium doors we are blocking, and I catch her by the waist and pull her closer to me out of their way. Her breath hitches as our bodies crash together. She puts her hands on my torso, and blood starts to travel south.

But right then, a girl I know from my biology class passes right by me, her eyes nearly popping out of her head.

I let go of Ren's waist and clear my throat. "Hey, I'll page you tonight, okay?"

"Okay," she says, lifting her gaze to mine and looking deeply into my eyes.

The afternoon sun streaming in the windows backlights her, catching golden glints in her hair, and she looks like a freakin angel. I can't help myself. I lean in and quickly press a small, soft kiss on her warm peach cheek. 

https://youtu.be/nkSUAj4BEac

••• A/N •••

Thank you for reading!

If you liked this chapter, please vote for it by tapping the star :)

Did you get bullied in High School?

What did you think of Gio's POV this time?