Chapter Four

Song: The Archer - Taylor Swift

*****

"You return like autumn, and I fall every time."

As soon as the bell rung to signal the end of class, everyone was out of their seats and through the door in an instant.

"See you all tomorrow!" Mrs Saunders hastily called out to the already retreating pack of students.

I noticed Leo give me one last glance, his jaw ticking he clenched it, before turning his attention back to William. Watching him, I still couldn't shake the feeling that I knew him from somewhere.

"See you at lunch, dude," he muttered, and without waiting for a response, he was already headed towards the door.

"Your friend seems nice," I chuckled at William as I watched Leo's retreating figure.

Turning his puppy dog eyes on me, William smiled, his whole face lighting up in the gesture.

"Yeah, Leo's something alright," he laughed, picking up his books and standing up from his chair. 

I followed William's lead, standing up from the table and picking up my books. But let's just say, I did it much more clumsily.

Typical.

Who ever said it was okay for students to carry this many textbooks and notebooks and pencil cases all at one time? Seriously, I just want to thank them for their brilliant idea.

I stood there for a good few seconds, awkwardly trying to balance the overflowing stack of books cradled in my arms. Just when I thought I might finally have managed to balance all my books and had begun to walk towards the door triumphantly, my foot bumped into the leg of a stool.

You can probably guess what happened next; the books, so precariously balanced, decided it was time to take a flight across the classroom.

A noise which sounded something like a strangled cat came out of my mouth. Quickly slapping a hand over my mouth, I could already feel my face turning bright red. Luckily for me, only Mrs Saunders and William were left in the classroom.

"Whoops," I gasped as the pair turned to look at me amusedly.

William took a step towards me as I quickly bent down and began scrambling around for all the books and papers which had scattered across the floor.

Standing back up with my books finally secured safely in my arms, I came face to face with William.

"Here," he said, extended his hand toward me, within which he held my pencil case.

"Thanks," I replied with a smile, adding the pencil case to the top of my dangerously stacked books.

My stomach began to squirm as his chocolate brown eyes stayed locked on mine for a millisecond too long.

Blinking with a shake of my head, I gave him one last smile and walked out the classroom door, waving a goodbye to Mrs Saunders on the way.

Just as I exited the arts building into the early morning sunlight, I heard someone calling out behind me.

"Lola!"

I spun around, presented, once again, with the sight of William smiling as he jogged towards me from the building's exit, coming to a halt in front of me.

"William?" I questioned with I tilt of my head, my eyes squinting up at him through the harsh sunlight.

"Will," he quickly responded, his eyes dazzlingly illuminated in the light.

"Okay... Will?" I smiled at his goofy grin. "Did you want something?"

"Oh, right! I just wanted to say it was nice to meet you."

"It was nice to meet you too Will. Although, I can't say the same for Leo, I swear he already hates me or something."

I tried to laugh it off, but my face must have given me away. 

"Yeah. Leo..." Will responded. "He might seem, I don't know, serious? But once you get to know him, he's really more like a grumpy, cuddly little teddy bear deep down."

Despite the sincerity in Will's words, I somehow couldn't imagine the silent and brooding boy from class as a 'cuddly little teddy bear'.

"I'll have to take your word for it," I replied, a smile coming to my face, but my eyebrows drawn together in confusion.

I shifted awkwardly on my feet as I waited for Will to fill the extending silence.

"Anyway..." I trailed off, "I have to get to class. Bye Will."

I gave him one last smile and a small wave as I started turning away from him.

"Bye Lola," he called out with a smile.

I had taken two steps when I realised my mistake; I had no clue where my next class actually was.

Cringing, I turned back around, coming face to face with Will once again.

"We meet again," he chuckled at me as I felt the heat rush to my cheeks.

"You don't happen to know where I can find Dr Barnes' physics classroom, do you?"

"As a matter of fact, Lola, that is exactly where I was about to go." He took a few steps towards the main building before turning dramatically back to me with his arm raised and gesturing towards the building. "Shall we?"

I couldn't help but snicker at the goofy grin on his face, "I guess we shall."

I had always been the shy person, and, as Will lead me down the corridors, I couldn't help but admire the cool confidence and composure in the way he carried himself. He reminded me of someone I used to know. Someone who had always unknowingly and unintentionally filled the room with their radiant presence.

Now, even in amongst a crowd of students, I couldn't help but notice the way Will seemed to stand out. The way the sea of students naturally parted to make room for him as he walked, and the way his own dimpled smile was echoed on every person he passed.

In a few minutes time Will came to a halt outside a classroom, labelled S101 and I was brought out of my daze.

"This is you," he pointed to the door.

"Amazing, thank you," I smiled up at him. "If it weren't for you, I'd probably be wandering around these halls like an idiot for hours."

"Well, I'm glad I could help. Oh, and be careful in there, I hear Dr Barnes can be intense. You don't want to get on his bad side this early in the year."

"Wait, you're not coming in?"

"Nope," he replied simply, "I've got to get to History."

"But I thought you said..." I trailed off as Will raised his eyebrows questioningly at me. "Never mind."

I cast my eyes down to the floor, my feet shifting awkwardly underneath me.

Will started walking backwards away from the door, his eyes still locked on me.

"It's not like I lied to keep a conversation going with this girl I just met who seems really sweet or anything."

My eyes shot up just in time to see Will wink as he turned away with a wide grin plastered on his face.

I may have watched his retreating figure for longer than I care to admit, observing the way his hand reached up to ruffle his messy brown hair as he disappeared into the sea of people.

*****

The rest of the day passed by in a blur. I managed to get lost in the winding hallways of St. Domenico's a few times when trying to find some of my classes, but I made it to all of them eventually. My classes were all pretty uneventful I have to admit. Honestly, I think William and Leo's outburst this morning really set the bar too high.

The people at the school seemed nice enough though; introducing themselves in each of my classes and helping me find my way around.

I had become so accustomed to people regarding me with melancholy filled expressions over the past month that it was actually refreshing to have people merely interested in getting to know me instead of spending time dwelling on the past. Although their eyes were filled with intrigue when they looked at me, they were also filled with kindness.

I guess they couldn't possibly see the broken girl hidden underneath the collected exterior.

As guilty as it made me feel, it was nice to have a fresh start. No expectations, no sorry-filled glances, no trying to avoid catching my eyes. A completely clean slate.

It's so strange to think that none of them know...

None of them could possibly understand.

Although the nervous feeling residing in my stomach since the morning hadn't disappeared completely, it had seemed to subside as I began to feel more comfortable in the new environment.

Strangely, I have felt more alive, more carefree, in the past morning than I have in what feels like a lifetime.

And to think it was all thanks to a bunch of strangers. Bailey; a kind-hearted and friendly temporary tour guide. Will; a bubbly, charismatic goofball. And Leo; a mysterious and intimidating boy, who is apparently a grumpy little teddy bear deep down.

This new school year might not be as terrible as I thought it would be after all.

That was of course up until a shrill ringing noise filled the school hallways and classrooms promptly at 12:30, signalling that lunchtime had arrived.

This, of course, brought with it a whole new rush of nervousness.

Weaving my way through various corridors, I managed to find my way back to my locker to trade my books for my lunch.

However, it is of course at this exact moment that I realised that I have absolutely no idea where I'm going. Bailey mentioned meeting her for lunch at the cafeteria but didn't say anything about where that actually was.

"Shit." I mumble under my breath.

I glance frantically around the hallway for any signs which might help me, but it seems as if everyone had already rushed to lunch, leaving the hallways empty.

My brain decided to remind me at this instant of my insistent refusal of Dr Florentine's offer to print me off a map of the school this morning. After 4 years of geography taught by the scariest man on earth at my old school, I thought that my natural geographical instincts would have been better.

Oh, how wrong I was...

Instead of standing dumbstruck in the middle of the hallway like a deer caught in the headlights, I decide to just go exploring, my eyes desperately searching for Bailey's familiar face in the empty corridors.

Surely the school isn't that big, right?

Wrong, apparently.

Turning yet another corner after failing to locate anything even slightly resembling a cafeteria, I find myself confronted with a hallway lined with a very familiar set of posters and lockers.

"Ugh! Stupid Lola!" I exclaim, hitting my palm to my forehead. "You've been walking in a circle for the past five minutes."

I'm about to give up, when my attention is suddenly drawn by someone clearing their throat loudly behind me.

A person.

My mind instantly fills with hope. Whoever this actual hero and saving grace is can probably show me the way to the cafeteria.

I spin around, my shoes screeching on the linoleum floor and my eyes anxiously searching for my knight in shining armour.

Yet, in a mere second, any hope of a saviour I had instantly evaporates, replaced by a wave of nausea and a sickly sense of dread rushing to my stomach, my smile quickly disappearing as I'm met with an unforgettable face.

"Oh."

My voice comes out merely a shaky whisper, amplified in the empty hallway.

My body is locked in place; my legs refusing to move, and I can barely draw in a breath.

I take in the dishevelled appearance of the boy in front of me; from his messy black hair and untucked shirt to the tie hanging loosely around his neck. Finally, my gaze comes to rest on his piercing green eyes, which I find staring intensely back into mine with a look of pure hatred.

Amusement flickers in his eyes, as he draws his mouth into a patronising smirk.

"Oh? That's all I get? Gees, Thompson, I thought you would have been happier to see me."

*****

Bit of a cliff-hanger... maybe?

Sorry it's been a while since the last update :)

Please vote / comment if you enjoyed this chapter!

~ Elo xx