Arabella Rivera Christian: Miss me? Christian's message lits up on the screen of my phone. My thumb hover over the text as I chewed my lip. I felt guilty for even forgetting about him. Arabella: Yeah. Is something wrong, did you catch something? I erased the text before I sent it. It just seemed vague and like I was uninterested. "Watch out!" I move out of the way before a football makes my head its goal. I swear those damn guys can't keep their stupidity only on the field. "Hey I just did my hair!" Gwen screeched at the two culprits. "Sorry babe." I shook my head while typing a text to Christian. Definitely, it's seriously not the same when you're not here. I kiss your dorky ass. I sent it before I could overthink too much. I lift my head when a boy curses when he nearly bumps into me. Rolling my eyes, I fix them back on the opened chat. I reread my message, my cheeks flaming when I saw my mistake. But it was too late to delete it when he had already seen it. Cursing silently, I typed a quick. Miss*** This was so embarrassing. My stomach twisted when Christian started typing. Escaping the message, I looked up to watch where I was going. My phone gives off a ping a second later. Lifting the screen to my face, I laughed. Christian: I always knew you wanted to kiss my dorky ass Ella. Don't worry, you'll be able to tomorrow. "What are you smiling about?" Gwen's taller frame looms over me as she peeks down at my phone. She whistles lowly, already seeing the text before I could escape it. Inwardly I wasn't really in the mood to hear her talk about Christian and I's nonexistent romance. It was all in her head. I didn't like Christian like that and neither did he. "Damn babe, never knew you had it in you to make the first move." She bumps her shoulder with mine and nearly had me bumping into the wall. I send her a sharp glare which only made her laugh."Gwen there's absolutely nothing going on between Christian and I. I barely know the guy." I shrugged and opened my locker. Throwing my bag in, Gwen hurls hers on mine. "I barely know the guys I get with so, big deal." She shrugs. "Seriously you two will make the cutest babies in the whole wide world." She pouts and presses both her palms together and lifts her hands in a prayer gesture. "Please lose your virginity to him. Please for me? I want little nephews and nieces. " I wince. Not because her words were stupid and crazy but because, well she still thought I was a virgin. Only that Haiden Cross had been balls deep inside me, spearing through my virginity and taking it- I shook my head to get him out of my head. Strong Arabella. Today you're strong. "Seriously Gwen you have your own locker." I pointed at her bag that weighed down on my own. "And quit with trying to make Christian and I a couple. It will never happen." I huffed. "Never say never. I give it a few years until you and Christian will be getting married with a baby on the way." She looks up at the ceiling as though fantasizing about that day. I shook my head knowing that whatever I say wouldn't get those ridiculous fantasies out of her head. Suddenly feeling the weight of a familiar stare on my back, I turned around. Our eyes clash for a second and like usual he manages to make my feelings go haywire. He's the first to tear his gaze away, walking even faster now as if on a mission to get away from me. The thought has my stomach dropping and I scowled at myself inwardly for even being upset by his cold attitude. I slam my locker shut, not feeling hungry to eat lunch. I think I'll just skip lunch today. The thought made me feel relieved somehow. I wouldn't have to see him in the cafeteria. I turn to tell Gwen to go without me since I won't be joining her but someone cuts me off. "Arabella!" I whip my head around and saw Sasha heading towards me, waving frantically. I froze, my heart pummeling in my chest as fear settles in the pit of my stomach. Was she going to tell me something pertaining to Haiden and have Gwen piece everything together? "Sasha?" Gwen murmurs confused. "Your mom is in the parking lot waiting for you. She sent me here to call you and asked that you bring your bag with you." She lets out when she's of hearing distance.I breathed a sigh of relief when she hadn't mentioned Haiden's name but then her words sunk in. Wait, mom? Furrowing my brow, locking them in confusion as I stared at Sasha. Maybe she got the wrong girl? Perhaps the wrong mother too. "Are you sure? Maybe it's another girl's mom." I voiced out with deep confusion. Why would mother come here? And what did she want? Isn't she supposed to be at work? Leaving in the middle of it wasn't exactly her routine. She definitely got the wrong mother. Sasha's brows lined in thought. "Blonde hair curled to perfection, high ruby red stiletto heels, tight pencil skirt with a white blouse. She looked the epitome of perfection. Am I wrong?" No, she wasn't wrong. The description fitted mother perfectly. Still, it was preposterous to even think she was here right now. What could she possibly want from me after slapping me last night? I still hadn't told Gwen about what had happened, choosing to keep it to myself. "Did she uhm, tell you anything else?" I asked, pressing my lips together. Sasha shook her head, humming. "Not really. Just told me to make sure you bring your bag with you and she's waiting." Shrugging she then smiled. "Hey and I think stopping the rumors really did work. He finally looked at me today." My heart rate spikes. Swallowing roughly and clearing my throat I spoke. "Yeah uhm. Well, thanks for letting me know my mother is here. I should get going. " The urgency in my voice made my tone grow a pitch higher as I turned to my locker and swirled the dial on the lock to have it open. "Well I'll see you around. And love the haircut." Sasha murmurs behind me. "Thanks." I murmured. "See you at the party on Friday Gwen?" She questions as she walks away. "Definitely!" Gwen shouts. "You'll see us both!" Hearing the clink of it being opened I swung the door and took out my bag quickly. In the process, Gwen's bag tumbles to the floor. She lets out a 'hey' and scooped her bag into her hands. "Oi, what rumor is she referring to?" Curiosity had wormed its way into her voice.I don't dare look at her, knowing she could spot my lying face in a second. I keep my gaze on my locker as I slammed it shut. "I better get going. Can't keep mother waiting for long, you know how she gets." I murmured pulse racing as I turned around and started walking away. Avoiding looking at her was easy, keeping the truth from her wasn't so much. "Catch up with you later?" She asked, her voice fading from the distance I placed between us from such little time. "Yeah!" I yelled, hoping she would hear me over the boisterous laughs and useless chatter. As the sun hit my face full force, my eyes squint. Being outside around this time wasn't a usual occurrence for me. I looked around the parking lot and surprise swallowed me whole. She spotted me too, already plastering a fake cherry smile. She didn't have to fake it now, they barely had teens roaming around freely. So who was she trying to impress, the fucking garden man a few feet from her? My thoughts made a nasty bitter feeling trace my emotions. I walked down the steps. I was in a rush, a rush to get over whatever made her come here. I notice her eyes zeroed in on my hair and they swirled with shock. Maybe she hadn't noticed that huge change yet. "Your hair." She gasped when I neared. "You-you cut it." "Why are you here?" My voice is bitter, not at all shocking to her since she should've expected it. I don't bother acknowledging her comment about my hair. She then does something unexpected, she smiled. The sudden surprising action had me nearly tripping. There was no arguing about my impulsive decision in cutting my hair. No shouting and no disapproval sneer. What the hell was going on? "Get in." She gestured to her car, the shiny black looked like it didn't have a spec of dirt on its surface. Furrowing my brows as I neared her, I pointed out. "I have school mother or did you seem to forget?" She sighed. "You're skipping the rest of the day Arabella. Come on, I need to show you something." She nudged her head to her car again and opened the door to her side. "Come on grumpy, we don't have all day."