On the dull, windy morning of November 14th, I walked into my maths class to be faced with Mr Simons forcefully shoving an exam paper down my throat while telling me to 'swallow the knowledge'.
It would have been fine any other day, but this particular day? Let's say it wasn't going well and he couldn't have picked a worse time.
I still felt exhausted after having a forty eight hour movie marathon with Lila and Harry for Halloween, and I could feel my teeth slowly decaying from the amount of sugar I ate that day.
Thorn had been not so subtly avoiding us, yet occasionally would come over and act as if nothing had changed.
Confusing, I know.
James and Ash had been acting particularly annoying while Alec and Cole began to slowly drift away from the group, however finding themselves lost without them.
I made my way over to my desk, thankful that Ash hadn't shown up yet, and took a seat before pulling a pen out.
What was it with teachers whipping out random tests at any given moment?
I scribbled my name and form down on the front before placing the pen back down until everyone else entered the room.
Sadly, Ash walked in next.
I kept my gaze down, not wanting to look at him directly, but as soon as I heard the scraping of the chair beside me, I sighed and squeezed the bridge of my nose.
"Hey there Sky." I could instantly tell how this lesson was going to go by his tone, which was deep and tormenting.
Not willing to give in to his vicious game, I ignored him and kept my eyes focused to the front of the class where Mr Simons was writing 50 in bold, black letters on the whiteboard.
Ash went to speak again, but was thankfully cut off by another voice.
"You have fifty minutes to complete the non-calculator test, and once you're done, you can check through your answers, draw, daydream or basically anything as long as it doesn't involve phones or talking. Got that? Good. Now begin."
As soon as he finished talking, the sound of people violently flipping paper could be heard throughout the whole room.
I grabbed my pen before beginning to note things down, making sure to keep checking I hadn't made a stupid mistake as that was my weak point, and answered the first four in under ten minutes.
Okay, going good so far.
Why do I always manage to jinx myself.
I suddenly felt a hand reach over and grip my thigh harshly, short nails digging into my skin through the material of the acid-washed jeans I was currently wearing. Since I knew this would happen anyway, I continued writing things down and focusing on the trigonometry question in front of me, knowing if I didn't give a reacting he would stop eventually.
Oh how I was wrong.
I should have realised that Ash wouldn't just 'give up'.
He'd keep at it until he got a reaction.
So once his long, slender fingers traced upwards, slipping underneath the mustard sweatshirt decorating my torso, I let out a noise of disapproval and grabbed his wrist, surprising him.
Just as I was about to push him away, an idea formed in my mind, and I couldn't help but smirk softly. As soon as I released his hand, I shuffled my chair closer to his silently, causing confusion to flash across his features.
Without waiting another second, I moved my hand towards his and interlocked our pinkies after deciding to start out softly. His eyebrows furrowed in response to my touch, and his gaze stayed fixed on our current skinship.
I completed another question on the test before allowing the tips of my fingers to trail down towards his waist, and I felt him physically tense once I reached my destination.
I pulled lightly at the silver-studded belt, admiring the way his eyes widened slightly and how his breathing quickened out of the corner of my eyes.
He quickly glanced down at my hand before shifting his attention to me, his mouth hanging agape, contrasting to the usual smirk he carried.
What took over me in that moment, I still have no clue, but maybe it helped to shape things to be how they were.
I pulled harshly at the black leather, grateful that it didn't make much more noise than a soft tink, and felt it loosen in my hold.
Bingo.
Being careful not to disrupt anyone else in the room, I checked around and silently thanked whoever was up there looking over me that no one was paying any attention to anything but how difficult this freaking test was.
After blindly feeling around for a few seconds, my fingers finally came into contact with the rough zipper on his jeans, yet as I was about to drag it down, my hand was ripped away.
The sudden movement shocked me, and I turned to see what happened while looking not so inconspicuously to anyone else who happened to notice what was happening.
My eyes were instantly drawn to his face first, and I had to have a double take, thinking my eyes were deceiving me.
Ash was sat, his eyes wide and glistening with innocence, a cherry blossom coloured hue covering his unblemished cheeks. His lips were parted slightly, wet with saliva, and hushed, ragged breaths were being forced in and out of them.
Strands of dark earthy locks fell down into his eyes unevenly, and I saw small glimmers of deep auburn reflecting in the sunlight which seemed to be aimed directly at him.
In that moment, I felt something for Ash I never had and didn't think I could.
I felt pity.
I felt a warmth intrude into my heart as I realised he wasn't just a ruthless and lust driven machine sent here only to hurt.
Even through the miles and miles of thick outer shell, on the inside he was just as weak and fragile as any other normal person.
And suddenly I felt bad for ever hurting him.
However, those thoughts exited my mind almost as soon as they came.
His expression returned to emotionless, and his eyes sent daggers flying with pure passion and hatred as their source.
Feeling a sense of unease wash over me, I looked back down at the test in front of me and tried to act as if nothing happened.
But there was almost no point in trying, it was clear as day you could have cut yourself on the amount of raw tension between us.
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Nothing else happened after that.
No glances, no touches and definitely no talking.
We just got on with the test like we were supposed to, and when the bell rang, we gathered our stuff together and walked out like two random strangers.
Since it was now lunch, I found Lila and Harry waiting with Thorn, surprisingly, outside the classroom, and I greeted them with a small smile.
The group rushed forward and we all linked arms, speedily making our way to the canteen to try and get the pizza before it sold out.
"You okay Riv? You look kinda pale and, well, dead inside." Lila spoke joyfully, a bounce in her step, but I couldn't reciprocate the enthusiasm.
"Thanks for the compliment." I replied half heartedly, my voice dull yet still holding a hint of humour.
"Most welcome, but seriously. You good?"
For a few seconds, I had a mental war debating whether to say something about what happened or not.
They would probably find out anyway, so why wait. But then at the same time, I didn't feel like talking about it, and so that seemed the more appealing option.
"Yep, just drained after the maths test."
I felt a sudden push forward, and I was about to turn and see who the hell thought they could get away with shoving me, when I heard a soft whisper.
"Storage room, one."
I jumped at the sudden intrusion of privacy, yanked my arm from Harrys, and span around as quick as possible to see who just spoke.
However, no one was there.
As in, literally no one.
"What the hell?" I questioned aloud, starting to wonder if I actually was going insane. "I don't suppose any of you just saw which creepy ass stalker just came up behind me did you?"
Swivelling back around to continue on my path, I noticed how the group had stopped to look at me with confused and judging expressions.
"Alright alright, I get it. You think I'm a psychopath. No need to stare at me like I just came out as straight though."
Thorn let out a loud laugh before responding to my previous statement. "If you came out as straight I would probably have a heart attack from shock, Rivvy." Harry and Lila nodded in agreement, and Thorn let out a quiet hum in reply to their reply.
After walking for another minute or two, we finally made it to the canteen where the smell of delectable food ridded my mind of any stressful thoughts. Since I had been starving for majority of the day, I hurried over to the 'hot food' section and grabbed two slices of pizza, and then proceeded to make my way over to the fridges and buy myself a pot of pineapple, mango and mandarins.
Deciding that this was still not enough, I also bought a chocolate chip cookie. I mean, seriously. Can you blame me? They're freaking delicious and I've had a stressful day so stop judging and go back to your own hideously calorific treat.
Once I had paid, and also earned a few concerned glances, I shuffled over to the table by the large glass window in the corner and took a seat.
To be honest, this school had a pretty decent canteen. The food was overpriced, but as good as tacky cheap stuff gets. The ladies working here weren't too horrible as long as you didn't start a food fight, and there was a couple of fake plants scattered around which added a nice ambiance to the busy place.
However, we don't mention the off-white walls and squeaky fake wood benches. Or the chewing gum that somehow made its way onto the ceiling. Or the flickering light next to the door that sometimes made a weird buzzing noise.
You know, now I say it like that, there are more negatives than positives.
Oh well, the food is nice. That's all I care about when I'm in here anyway.
A gust of wind caught me off guard which caused me to shiver, tucking into a tight ball as I did so.
"Oh! Are you cold? Take my jacket." Before I even had time to process that someone had neared the table, never mind see me roll into a ball like a hedgehog and offer me their jacket, another voice came from my left.
"He's fine."
Since I had spent forty three seconds placing the pieces of pineapple on my pizza, I hadn't begun to eat yet. So I decided to take a large mouthful of my food before looking up to see which two idiots had the ingenious idea to start a conversation about me while stood on either side of the table I was at and not even bother to ask for my permission or involve me first.
"I am a little cold, so that would be nice." I answered, looking up only to find two items mere centimetres away from my face.
Well this is odd.
To my left was Ash, who was currently holding the black denim jacket with an impassive aura to his appearance and actions, and to my right was Thorn. In his hand was an aqua hoodie with large kangaroo pockets that I had seen him wear multiple times.
I swear to God if they make me pick-
"Excuse me Ash, but I asked first." Thorns voice was strained, and his teeth were clenched together, making him sound a lot more threatening than he meant to. Probably. Maybe.
Yeah never mind.
"That may be so, but I offered it to him first."
I could feel heat radiating off the pair as they glared at each other, probably planning out a murder scene in their heads, and took another bite of my pizza.
"Uh-huh, sure. Well I've warmed up now so don't worry about it." That was a lie of course, I was freezing. I didn't want them to start ripping each others eyeballs out in the middle of the school canteen though, so that was a sacrifice I had to make.
However, my body managed to betray me as it forced another shiver.
"Just take one of them, Sky. I don't care which."
Memories of earlier came flashing back. Not only what happened in the Maths room, but also the harrowing glower that Thorn gave me when I found them in a heated discussion. Suddenly feeling uncomfortable near both of them, let out a small stutter.
"I said I don't w-want one, Ash. Now leave me alone."
I saw his grip on the jacket tighten and his eyes darken before he looked away towards the door.
"Okay, sure. Later Sky." That was all it took before he was gone, half way across the room faster than I thought humanly possible. However, what I didn't see was the smirk plastered across his lips as he left.
"Here, you have this." Thorn smiled blissfully, laying the hoodie down on the small corner of bench left beside me.
Ignoring the fact that the yellow and aqua didn't look the nicest together, I slipped the hoodie over my head and revelled in the newfound warmth.
"Thank you Thorn, but if you get cold just tell me and you can have it back." I burrowed my chin into my chest, gleefully humming now I felt warm again, and Thorn chuckled at my childish behaviour.
"No problem Riv." My heart fluttered as he took the seat beside me and wrapped an arm around my waist, trying to pull me closer without being obvious about it. I giggled and he looked down, embarrassed that he hadn't succeeded, yet his cheeks turned a cherry pink once I snuggled up to him and rested my head on his shoulder.
Any feeling I had for Ash seemed to float away in that moment as nothing but pure joy went coursing through my veins, and surprisingly, I felt free.
Nothing seemed to matter anymore, and it felt as if a whole zoo had just burst into my heart with the explosions of emotions swarming my brain.
Don't do this River.
Don't do it.
Fuck, too late.
As he took my hand in his, hiding them under the table, I felt my barriers crumble down.
I did it again. I let another one into my heart.
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SO...
River has managed to get himself into even more of a pickle (somehow).
What do you all think of Thorn and River? And while we're at it, do you think his crush on Ash is a good or bad thing?
I hope you're enjoying this, and thank you for reading!
- Storm