Longer Than Expected

Fun fact: This chapter was first uploaded on July 6, 2016. I'm only three days late for it to be exactly 8 years ago (not planned)... Eight years is madness though.

I kinda ran through the edits for this, so my bad if it's not perf.

**~**

"What's up?" Arthur asks, taking a seat on the edge of the fountain.

He lead us out of the cafeteria and now we're here. I feel better with us not surrounded by a room full of people, pushing the oncoming panic to the back of my mind.

I stand a healthy distance away, though still in front of him, eyes wandering the deserted hallway. Too embarrassed to tell him what I'm thinking, or even meet his gaze in case he can see through me. He's always been able to do that.

He seems to already know I don't plan on answering. "I know it's me. But... is it that bad?" he asks nervously. I still don't respond and he sighs. "I'm really sorry, Grace." I believe him because I always knew he was. Every time our eyes met, today and all the days before, with each sheepish smile there was an apology I always heard. Saying it out loud though, that's a different story. It means more doors are opening for us and we finally have to find out where we're going next.

"I'm just..." I trail off, taking in a long, much-needed breath of air.

"Confused?" Arthur finishes.

I nod, still ignoring his piercing gaze. His eyes make me nervous, make me do and say things unintentionally- cloud my judgment. The effect he has on me isn't fair. Not when I'm not sure it goes both ways.

I choke on a surprised gasp at the feel of his hands resting on my hips. He pulls me toward him slowly, probably giving me time to smack him or something. I don't and let him draw me closer, between his legs. My hands shot out, resting on his shoulders to steady myself

"Arthur," I say hesitantly, my upper half tilting back slightly as I stare down at him.

I watch as he chews on his bottom lip, in deep thought as he stares blankly at my torso. It's almost unsettling until he huffs.

"I tell you what..." His head falls back and he stares up at me. "I'll leave you alone. Stay out of your way. Only because I obviously make you uncomfortable."

I open my mouth to deny his conclusion but close it when I find that I don't even know what to say. Yes. No... I'm not ready, but-

"I..." I should tell him he's wrong, he doesn't make me uncomfortable, I'm just not sure whether I can trust him yet. But I really need the space. Time to think.

"It's all right." He stands up, his figure looming over me at his full height. Our bodies are brushing. Hardly touching but it's like standing a feet away from a raging bonfire.

Did he get taller...

He reaches up to trail a finger gently along my baby hairs, his eyes never leaving mine. A trail of heat runs the path where his touch feathers my skin. "I really do miss you." Is the last thing he says before tightening his hold on me fractionally, then slipping from between me and the edge of the fountain.

He heads back to the cafeteria without looking back.

I watch him leave. It's after he disappears that I take the spot he vacated, arms crossed over my chest while my mind and emotions clash. I listen to the water crashing behind me, asking myself the only question that matters.

What do you want?

**~**

"He's giving me some space, okay?"

Kim has been questioning and demanding answers on the whole me and Arthur situation and it's been taking me out of my chill zone lately.

"It's been like a month, Grace," she retorts. "A month."

I have no clue what her problem is. She's more irritated and impatient than I am, anyone would think she's as single as I am.

"I know how long it's been, Kimberly. Thank you." My own annoyance is seeping through in the form of sarcasm and I really don't want to talk about this.

Thankfully, our Gym teacher makes an appearance, getting our attention by blowing his whistle. We'd been standing under the shade of the trees by the tracks, getting some last-minute stretching done. Hearing the heavenly sound of the whistle has me perking up, all too eager to leave this conversation behind.

"Everyone on the track! Slow jog! Let's go!" he yells, and it doesn't take long for us to follow instructions.

I enjoy the warm breeze as I begin jogging along the track with the rest of the class. It won't be long before we'll have to migrate inside when fall turns to winter. Now that the thought hit, I can't wait for winter actually. I've done my fair share of shopping and I have the cutest winter clothes just waiting-

"He seems to be having fun, though."

I snap out of my thoughts at Kim's words. Confused, I glance at her out of the corner of my eye as she catches up to me. Only she's glaring ahead at something.

"What?" I try to follow her gaze, eyebrows furrowed.

It takes a second for me to spot them. Him sitting on the grass, a brunette wrapped under his arm. I almost stop breathing, but my legs falter, making me trip. I recover before I can make a scene though. A not so pretty one that looks a lot like me ending up on the ground with a possible injury.

I fill my lungs completely, then let out a slow, steady exhale. Don't. Stop feeling for him, Grace. Just... stop.

I told him I wasn't ready, or some variation of that truth but that doesn't mean I wanted him to wait for me. That would be ridiculous. Because he's a guy and guys have needs. I guess. So he can see whoever he wanted to see and they can see him just the same. I have no ties to Arthur.

"Stop," I whisper to myself, as my skin prickles and something heavy tugs in my chest. Even though it's becoming a little hot from running, I suddenly feel a cold chill running across my skin.

"Good?" Kim asks, reminding me she's here again. This is so embarrassing.

I nod. "Yeah. Fine." I think I'm smiling, but whatever it is, it feels awful.

"Grace." She says my name like a warning. Mother goose is coming into play and I need to defuse the situation before she springs.

"He can..." I pause for a second, thinking over my words. Yeah. "Do whatever he wants - date... whoever he wants." I take in a sharp breath, turning to her with a reassuring smile. At least I hope it is. "It's fine." I should really stop talking and focus on running.

Kim stares at me for a while. I can feel her eyes, so she sees my smile die, and whatever takes over shows that I'm not fine. I hear her low growl before she takes off in a full-on sprint. In their direction.

I panic. Why? Because Kim can get swingy when she's angry, and right now... I can do without that. The last thing I need is her getting angry at the guy when I'm the one who turned him down.

"Kim!" I shout after her. I let out a frustrated groan when she doesn't stop or slow down. Then I'm sprinting after her, trying my best not to bulldoze any of our classmates in the process while keeping my eyes on her.

I get there as she's dragging Arthur up off the grass, and away from his companion. I'm pretty sure she stepped on the girl in the process and I wouldn't call it an accident.

"Kim!" I screech, my face burning in embarrassment.

"Are you crazy?" The girl exclaimed, throwing her hands up in shock and confusion. She reached down, dusting at her calves and massaging them.

Kim's glaring up at Arthur who's staring at him like she lost her mind. Her hands are on her hips and her lips moving a mile a second. The attitude rolling off her is impeccable. And as I get closer, I only make out a few words but they're enough for me to want to run in the opposite direction.

"I'm so sorry," I apologize to the girl who looks dazed and clueless sitting there on the grass.

She cuts her eyes to me and looks less than friendly. "Whatever," she snaps before getting up. Her glare sends me into fight mode because 1. I don't know her and 2. it's not like I was the one who stepped on her. But then I hear Kim's words and that's all my focus is on.

"- you're nothing but a whore of a man, walking around with mangey dick-"

"Oh- kay!" I say as I latch onto her arm and step between them in front of her. I look at her disapprovingly. "Stop." She ignores me, shifting to the side. I follow the movement. "Kim, please stop." She stares at me for a second, then huffs, crossing her arms over her chest, and looks away in defeat. "Thank you."

It takes a moment for me to collect myself and turn to Arthur. We hadn't spoken one-on-one since I turned down his date request. Actually, it was more like him staying away from me because I gave him the impression that that was what I wanted. Now I wasn't so sure it was the best idea. It maybe shouldn't have taken this incident for me to realize that.

"You didn't deserve that," I say, wincing.

He glances over my shoulder, then lets out a low chuckle, "Great friends."

"Damn right," Kim replies harshly, her voice dripping with venom.

Though I'm not so sure he means it as a compliment anymore.

"Kim." I give her a disapproving stare over my shoulder and she huffs again, this time walking away--heading back to the tracks. I turn back to Arthur with a sigh. "I... I'm sorry. I don't know why she did that."

"You know damn well why I did it," Kim calls out before falling silent again. I rolled my eyes.

Arthur looks at both of us in confusion. "Why did she do it?"

No one answers. Kimberly, I'm guessing out of anger. Me? I don't know.

"Grace?"

I don't realize I'm looking down the entire time until he says my name. My eyes snap up to his and I feel the blush crawling into my cheeks and my ears. "I-I don't know." I drop my gaze again. "I'm really sorry, let's forget it even happened." I trail off with an awkward laugh.

"Grace?" he repeats, knowing this time round.

"What happened here?" One of the gym teachers, Ms. Braden, decides now's the time to notice our situation. I can't be mad about it though, we were heading into uncharted territory.

"Uh... Nothing." Arthur quickly answers, stepping up next to me. His hand brushes against mine and static snaps at my fingers, making me flinch. "Sorry." He pulls his hand away, obviously feeling it.

"Start running," Braden commands, then adds over her shoulder as she's leaving, "Now!" She blows her whistle obnoxiously and I make a face at the back of her head.

"I never liked that bitch." Kim glares after the petite blonde.

"Me either," Arthur agrees.

"Don't talk to me," Kim sasses, turning her back on us and flashing her hair. I roll my eyes at her dramatics. "Grace!" she calls over her shoulder. I ignore her because I'm not a lackey. Does she think she's in mean girls?

Arthur and I make our way onto the tracks, the air between us tense, uncomfortable. It's odd. I don't like it.

"Don't mind her she's..." I trail off, trying to assure him that Kim isn't always like this. When in reality, she really is. "She's just... umm..."

Arthur hums, causing me to look at him. "Her?" He finishes, his lips turn up in slight amusement.

"Yeah. Just her." I stare into his eyes, lost. His expression relaxes as we watch each other. I realize I've missed staring into these eyes. I've missed him.

"Grace," he says softly, his hand coming up to hold the side of my face. I inhale deeply and hold it. His fingers slide down the side of my face, to the back of my neck, tangling them in my hair. By now we've stopped walking and are standing face to face.

"You guys."

We jerk back from each other. Arthur's arm falls away heavily. My heart is galloping. He was going to kiss me. The thought makes my head spin. And I was going to let him.

"You three!" Ms. Braden hollers from the other side of the field. "Jogging! Now! Or it's a zero for this class!"

I power-walk away from him without looking back. Ohmygod! I let out a shaky breath. That was intense. "Tell me about it." I run my hands down my arms, feeling the goosebumps there. I don't even look at Kim once I'm next to her. I can't.

"You know you two make me sick right?" Kim retorts, tilting her head to the side. I can hear her holding back a smile and a part of me thinks this was her plan all along.

"Yeah," I whisper in a daze.

**~**

Okay so this was mad short. Sorry.

Anyways, I'm thinking about writing a werewolf book.... What do you think?

**~**

So this is when I started Onyx? Damn that's crazy lol

Also, I want to address that I know some of you might hate some of the changes, but honestly, from an editor's POV a lot of the things the characters did (like random fight scenes)... didn't make sense. I'm sorry.

So I had to make it more believable and less cringe by altering them. I can't believe y'all stuck with me back then, this book is so painful for me LMFAO. I'll try not to take forever to update again. Same time next week. Probably. Hopefully.