Pretend (45 page)

             
"Exactly how many texts has he sent and how many have you ignored?"

             
"Well we text each other a couple of times after he took my number at the park. Then he text me yesterday and this morning and I haven't replied to either of them," she said, still looking worried.

             
"He broke the rule," I muttered in shock.

             
"What rule?"

             
"Ok, so A
nthony has the ‘one text’ rule."

             
"The what?"
She asked.

             
"The ‘one text’ rule. Basically he sends a girl one text then she replies and he ignores her for a few days and then
he finally replies if he plans on seeing her again that is. H
owever
, if
he sends her one text and she doesn't reply
within twenty four hours then he
never texts her again. It's been his rule for years," I said in shock.

             
"Oh," she replied with a half excited, half confused look on her face.

             
"What I ‘m saying is, h
e must like you if he broke the rule. This is crazy," I said in an excited tone.

             
"So what should I do now?" She asked.

             
"Ok, so maybe just text him later this evening," I said.

             
"Ok, I'll do it when I'm at Crystal's later," she replied.

             
"You're coming to Crystal's later?" I asked.

             
"Yeah, she wants help getting ready for her date,
she
said
that
we all have to be there except for Jinnie and Erica because they've got some family thing," she said, casually.

             
"Ok
,
don't panic but
Anthony's coming round later
, him and Aiden are going to give Cameron some talk," I said as I rolled my eyes.

             
"Oh
my gosh
,
what am I going to do?" She asked as a look of panic filled her face.

             
"Ok, don't message him, just wait till you see him later and then you can figure it out," I said as a smile filled my face.

             
I didn't want to get Jess' hopes up to
o
much but I have a feeling that Anthony may really like her. He never breaks the texting rule.

             
Suddenly the bell rang, interrupting our conversation.

             
"I've got chemistry now so I'll see you after," Jess said as she raced towards the door.

             
She had Mr Marvin and everyone knew to never be late for his lessons, ever.

             
"Ok, see you later," I replied as I watched her run through the door.

             
"
Erm
, Mr
Budgen
," I said as I tapped him gently.

             
"Huh," he said as he jumped up from his seat with what looked like dribble running down from the corner of his mouth,
ewww
.

             
"The bell just went sir," I said as I kept my distance.

             
"Yes, I know. Right off you all go and do
n't forget the quiz on Friday. I h
ope
that
you were all watching that film closely," he said as he stood at his desk.

             
I wonder how long it would take him to realise that I wa
s the only one left in the
room.

* * *

             
It wasn't long before lunch came around, although I wasn't feeling quite as hungry as usual. Maybe I was coming down with something.
 

             
"Hey," Crystal said as I walked into the canteen.

             
"You not
eating?"
She asked as I stared down at all
of their
food filled trays.

             
"No, I'm not feeling too good to be honest," I said as I gently rubbed my stomach. The smell of the food was not exactly helping my current situation.

             
"I hope it wasn't the pancakes, I'm sure that they were in date," Crystal said with a guilty face.

             
Note to
self,
never eat food provided by Crystal again.

             
"Let's hope not," I said as I raised an eyebrow in the air.

             
"So has lover boy told you where he's taking you tonight?" Jinnie asked Crystal.

             
"Well I already knew that we were going to watch a movie but
he text me last night
to say that we’d go for something to eat as well,
" she said with a huge grin on her face.

             
"Cool," Jinnie replied before looking at me.

             
"How did your date with the
hotty
go last night?" Jinnie asked as she looked at me.

             
"
Erm
it was...
Erm
-"

             
"Turns out
that
he
wasn't
her type," Crystal interrupted.

             
"
Aww
that's a shame," Jinnie said and then without another word she began eating her food.

             
It was times like these that I was thankful for her poor attention span.
 

             
As I turned my head to smile at Crystal, I spotted Kyle leaning against a wall in the canteen.

             
"Hey guys I'm just going to find out about Mimi," I said as I stood up.

             
"Ok cool," they all replied before continuing their conversation.

             
"Hey," I said as I walked over to where Kyle was stood with his friends.

             
"Oh look who it is, long time no see," Jamie said as he threw me a smile.

             
"Hey J," I replied with a smile on my face.

             
"You know
,
we kind of miss you. Especially a certain someone," he said as he gestured towards Kyle with his head.

             
"Shut up," Kyle said as he punched his arm.

             
I tried to laugh it all off but my cheeks were getting hotter by the second.
Awkward.

             
"Just saying it as it is. Anyway say hi sometimes," Jamie said before walking towards the table where the rest of their group was sat.

             
"Sorry, he's a jerk sometimes," Kyle said in a sad voice.

             
"It's ok. How are you?"

             
"I'm good, you?" He replied.

             
"Yeah," I said.

             
"What happened?" He asked as he looked down at my wrist.

             
What was the point of wearing this stupid cardigan again?

             
"Oh, it's nothing," I said as I tried to cover my arm.

             
"Doesn't look like nothing. Did Aiden do that?" He asked with an angry face.

             
"No, don't be so ridiculous," I said as a feeling of frustration ran through me.

             
"Then how did you get those marks?" He asked through gritted teeth.

             
"It doesn't
matter,
I came to find out about Mimi."

             
"Tell me what happened to your wrist first?"

             
"Kyle, you lost the right to be involved in my personal life a long time ago, so just drop it
,
ok?" I said in an angry voice.

             
"Fine," he said as he stormed off towards the hall
way
.

             
"Kyle," I shouted
as I behind followed him
.

             
"Kyle, wait, please."

             
"What?" He said as he turned
around to face me.

             
"I'm sorry, that was harsh," I said in a sad voice.

             
"It's cool. I know we're not together anymore but I still care about you April and I wouldn't let anyone hurt you," he said in a gentle voice.

             
"I know and I'm grateful but I'm ok. Aiden would never hurt me and it's all been sorted now, just trust me," I said as I took a step closer to him.

             
"Ok," he finally whispered.

             
"So
,
how's Mimi?" I asked.

             
"She's ok. S
he'll be home by now. Mom sho
uld have picked her up already."

             
"Ok, I'm thinking I'll let her settle in today but I would love to see her tomorrow, after school, if that's ok with you guys?" I asked.

             
"Of course, I'd never stop you from seeing her, she loves you," he said with a gentle smile on his face.

             
"Thanks," I said as I threw my arms around him.

             
I couldn't bare losing Mimi and to know that he wouldn't take her away from me, made me happy.

             
"I'm glad that you'd still look out for me," I said into his ear as I
             
felt his grip on me tighten.

             
"Of course, I always will," he whispered.

             
"Thanks," I said before pulling away gently.

             
I felt a vibration in my pocket as I stood staring at Kyle.
 

I wonder if it was Jake again.

             
"You want me to wait for you after school tomorrow?"

             
"Yeah, that'd be great," I said as I smiled at him again.

             
"Ok, cool. She'll
be really glad to see you and so will I
to be honest, I kind of missed you, I mean your friendship," he mumbled.

             
"I miss you too and I really hope that we can still be friends,
I don't want to lose you Kyle."

             
"You won't," he said as he stroked my cheek.

             
"Good, so tomorrow then
,
yeah?"
I said as I began to slid
e
my phone out of my pocket.

             
"Ok then, I’ll s
ee you later," he said as he walked back into the canteen.

             
"Bye," I said as I watched him walk away.

             
I don't know why but there was something about that moment that made me feel more peaceful, like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. I really hope that we can still be friends.
As I looked down at my phone and seen Aiden's name I couldn't help but smile. I opened up the message and read it, quickly.

             
Meet me in the library

             
I had no idea why he wanted to go there, no one ever did.

* * *

             
It took me about five minutes to get to the library
,
on the third floor. I slipped inside and looked around for some sign of Aiden. I spotted a dainty girl with glasses sitting in the corner
,
reading some novel that I didn't recognise.

             
"Looking for that hot guy?" She asked as she looked me up and down.
I couldn't help but let a smile creep onto my face.