Part 3 (1/2)

Chloe felt a knot of dread tighten in her stomach and she looked directly at Grey, ”What about her?”

Grey paused and looked intently into Chloe's eyes, ”I don't feel comfortable talking about it here. There are too many people. Can you meet me after school? In the photo room? I have a cla.s.s there last period and the teacher likes me. He'll let me stay if I tell him I need to finish a project.”

”On the second day of school?” Chloe asked, suspiciously.

”I like to take pictures. I work on my own stuff all the time. He likes to help me out,” Grey shrugged.

”I don't know,” Chloe felt unsure about this meeting. Surely, if she were in a public place like the school she'd be safe. Although, Lora Kelly had been at a crowded party and the crowd hadn't managed to save her.

”Please. I really need to talk to you,” Grey said, putting a hand on her arm and drawing her closer.

Chloe looked into his eyes and felt her breath catch slightly. His grey s.h.i.+rt brought out the grayish blue of his eyes. Grey was the perfect name for him a those eyes. Her stomach was suddenly full of a pleasant sensation of b.u.t.terflies.

She smiled and without thinking said, ”Okay.”

At her confirmation, Grey stepped away and air rushed between them. Chloe blinked as if waking up from a trance. Grey was already down the hallway, disappearing amongst the crowd of students before Chloe could second-guess herself.

Chloe made her way straight toward Emma after she had purchased her food from the lunch line. Emma was already sitting at her usual table against the wall, on the far side of the cafeteria.

”That looks tasty,” Chloe commented, walking up to the table, as Emma took a bite of a cheese fry.

”It's not healthy, but it tastes good,” Emma quipped.

Chloe sat down across from Emma and took a tentative bite of her grilled cheese.

”I saw you with Grey this morning. What's going on with you two?” Emma said suddenly.

Chloe looked over at her, unsure, ”He wanted to talk to me about something.”

”What?” Emma asked.

Chloe wasn't sure what to say. She didn't want to make her one and only friend in the school upset, ”He wouldn't say exactly. He wants me to meet him after school in the photography room.”

Emma paused and then continued awkwardly, ”You know he and I dated briefly...”

Chloe remembered and felt instantaneously guilty, specifically at the emotions she had already been feeling toward Grey. She couldn't lose her first friend in this school over a guy she barely even knew.

Emma continued, ”But if you're into him we really didn't date very long and it was over a year ago. After Lora made a big s.h.i.+t about the kiss, it was over. We're kind of friends now. I'll say hi when I seem him in the hall and it's better that way, but...yeah.”

”So, you don't hate him?” Chloe asked, wondering if Emma was lying to cover up any residual feelings for Grey.

”No, what happened to me after wasn't his fault. It's weird, though, because even he denied dating Lora at the same time as he was dating me. Still, you know guys. Lora was making life horrible for me at that time and I just didn't want to deal with any of it. She could make anyone's life a living h.e.l.l and she loved using her popularity to do it. We parted ways, but I never felt mean toward him,” Emma shrugged.

”Do you still like him?” Chloe asked tentatively, but she had to know. It wasn't like anything was going to happen between her and Grey, but in case it did, she didn't want to step on any toes.

Emma frowned, ”I was just so turned off by the whole situation. Just be careful. I mean, he obviously was not honest with me and if you're interested at all...be careful.”

”You don't think he had anything to do with Lora's murder, do you?” Chloe asked intently.

”No, I don't think Grey's a murderer,” Emma paused, in thought, ”Although, he has gotten into a bit of trouble. Right before I started dating him there was a rumor that he got arrested. I don't remember for what, though. So, he's a definite bad boy, but I don't think he's dangerous.”

”Good to know,” Chloe said, mind curious about what Grey might have been arrested for and if she should worry about it despite Emma's rea.s.surances.

Chloe walked into Biology cla.s.s feeling a slight surge of trepidation. She needed to make things right with Jake and she still wasn't sure how to do that.

Chloe walked in and sat down at their lab table, but Jake wasn't there yet. The minutes ticked by too slowly and the bell rang, but Jake still hadn't shown up for cla.s.s. The teacher started lecturing, but Chloe couldn't help but let her mind wander. Where was Jake? Why wasn't he in cla.s.s? She knew he was at school today. Would he ditch cla.s.s just to avoid her?

Chloe barely focused on the teacher's lecture as the minutes ticked by and her eyes watched the clock. With ten minutes left of cla.s.s, Jake walked in, handing the teacher a pa.s.s. The teacher looked at it and nodded, gesturing for Jake to sit down at his lab table.

Chloe watched as Jake walked past her, without a glance, and sat down next to her. His eyes immediately went to watch the teacher. He made no move to even acknowledge Chloe's existence.

Chloe felt a surge of annoyance. There had been nothing wrong with asking him about his relations.h.i.+p with Lora! Why was he treating her as if she had done something horrible to him? It just didn't make sense.

Chloe watched the last few minutes of cla.s.s tick by and as soon as the bell rang, she turned to Jake.

”Hey, what's going on?” Chloe said, putting a hand on his arm.

Jake turned, his eyes focusing on her, ”What do you mean?”

”Why are you not talking to me?” Chloe demanded.

”It's just been a rough week. I don't want to talk to anybody. I'm sorry,” Jake said, face crumpling for a brief moment before he recomposed himself.

”Oh, okay,” Chloe said, taking a step back and reaching for her books. She felt suddenly remorseful for thinking about herself when he was obviously hurting. She just didn't want awkwardness between them. Still, if he needed time, she'd give it to him, ”I'll leave you alone then.”

”Thanks,” Jake muttered, reaching for his own books.

”Oh,” Chloe turned back toward Jake, ”I'll meet you at the coffee shop after your practice today. I just wanted to make sure you didn't forget.”

”I didn't forget. See you there,” Jake said, walking out of the cla.s.sroom without her.

Chloe followed, wondering if there was anything she could do for him. She finally saw his real sadness about Lora's death and she wasn't sure what she could do to help him.

The last bell rang and for the second day in a row, Chloe was glad for the end of the school day. Today she was glad for a different reason. She was excited about meeting Grey. She didn't want to be, but her stomach was flittering, in pleasant, nervous antic.i.p.ation.

Chloe ran to her locker and took her time organizing her books and putting some of them in her backpack. She was waiting for the hallways to clear out a little before she went in search of the photography room.

Emma had told her that it was on the first floor of the school, past the gym and the weight room, where all the other technical cla.s.ses were ranging from art to mechanics to wood shop to photography. By the time she reached the gym, there was almost n.o.body else in the hallways. She pa.s.sed by the gym and heard the shouting of the cheerleaders.

She looked in through the small gla.s.s windows in the door and saw Jake walking out of the locker room toward the weight room at the back of the gym. He joined some of the other football players, who were stretching within a good view of the cheerleaders before they went out to the field. Jake didn't see her. Chloe turned to look away and continue down the hallway, but paused and looked around the gym and saw Kate standing with a group of girls practicing cheers. Kate had stopped practicing, though, and was staring at Chloe intently. Chloe felt a chill run up her spine. A cheerleader with wavy brown hair, the same girl from lunch the other day, Chloe thought, tapped Kate on the arm and she turned to look, saying something to the girl in response, and breaking her gaze with Chloe. Chloe quickly turned and continued down the hallway, glad to get away from the gym.

As Chloe continued down the hallway toward the photography room, she noticed an abrupt, unexpected desolate silence. The sounds of the gym had long since faded behind her and the fall of her shoes started eerily echoing down the hallway. Chloe hurried down the hallway, suddenly afraid, feeling almost watched by the stillness of her surroundings.