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Dakota dropped me off at my house, driving slowly into the quiet neighborhood. Right when my hand touched the handle, he told me to check the glove compartment. I popped it open and found my phone tucked inside.

"You left it in my car last night." He informed. "It's kind of weird how you only have guy numbers in there. Did you not have female friends in Maine?"

I retrieved my phone out from the glove compartment. "You went through my phone?"

"You went through my sketch book." He added. "It's only logical that I go through your phone."

"In what world would that be logical?!" I unbuckled my seat belt and opened the door. Going through my contacts I saw there was one new number. Dakota. I went in and edit so it read 'Kota' instead.

"Are you going to answer my previous question about the amount of male contacts you have?"

"No, I won't," I said over my shoulder and shut the door.

. . . .

I was expecting a long lecture and an even longer verdict on what my punishment was for going to a party, staying out late, and not showing up until the next day. When I got home, I got none of that. Their silence only scared me even more than it typically should. Dad took one look at me after I'd gotten out of Dakota's car and only frowned at my dress. I glanced down at it, thinking there was something on it, but there wasn't.

My father wasn't the type of parent that held back how he felt. He was never a violent man, but he let his temper take a hold of him, dominating how he reacted to certain things. I was expecting for him to yell at the top of his lungs that Thursday afternoon when I walked into the house. I had my dinner in my room, hoping that keep my distance from them would prolong the inevitable.

School wasn't any better when I got back that Friday. There was a growing tension between Pierson and I. He made it his job to ignore the fact that I existed. I pretended like I didn't mind it.

Even if he had crossed the line by questioning Dakota's intentions with me, I still wanted him around. Believe it or not, I actually cared for that sometimes conceited jock. He had his own faults and flaws like we all do, but it was the confident way he spoke his mind. He was a very outspoken guy who didn't keep things to himself and I liked that about him.

Being with Dakota had its clear drawbacks because Pierson wasn't the only one shifting away from me. Pierson had made an alliance against me by Monday, dividing me away from the few acquaintances I'd made at his jock table.

The alliance against me so bad in my Spanish class that I had to move seats to the front of the class to avoid the comments thrown from Carmen and her drones.

You heard me right. Carmen was on his side.

When I'd moved my seats, Carmen had cried out in victory: "It's one step closer to getting to be a shut-in like her future mother-in-law." I wanted to remind her that she had dated Dakota, but I was fuming to even find words.

Xander and Beth no longer sat with Pierson, for obvious reasons. But I knew if they had a say in it, they would've sided with Pierson and his desire to annex me from the rest of the school. Ronnie, Finn, and his junior friend, Gabriel--who also sat at their theater table--sided with me. It was a small team against Pierson's, but it was better than no team at all.

Dakota didn't really like Gabriel very much because he blatantly tried to hit on me in front of him. He was very bold to do that without a hint of fear in his voice. I didn't mind Gabriel as long as he kept it as harmless comments that wouldn't tick Dakota off.

God only knows what Dakota do if Gabriel tried anything more. I wasn't sure if he was the jealous type, but by the way he leaned into me, curling his arm around my hip, and glaring at Gabriel told me that he wasn't taking any of Gabriel flirting lightly.

The upside to this alliance was that Dakota had slightly stopped pretending I didn't exist on school grounds. It took a bit of convincing, but he gradually caved in and made his way to the Ronnie's table for lunch today.

"I could careless who you associate yourself with Silvia. I'm not the judging kind." Ronnie Suzuki said at Lunch on Wednesday. "I think it's what Pierson's doing is childish and idiotic. He'll come around and regret it."

I stabbed my fork into my chicken salad. "Yeah, I hope. I thought we were friends. Everything is so awkward now."

"Is that why you didn't join the track team?" Ronnie asked.

I'd told Dakota about how Coach Walker wanted me on the track team, and even though he didn't like anything associated with the athletes of this school, he didn't seem entirely against the thought because of the "skimpy short-shorts" they assigned us to wear--his words, not mine.

"Well, it's half of the reason," I replied.

Dakota nosily cleared his throat. "If you don't mind, I'd rather we talked about something else. Anything else."

"Yeah, sure we can." I dropped my fork and tried to forget everything that had happened since last Thursday. "What do you guys want to talk about?"

"Let's fucking talk about Halloween," Gabriel shouted.

Dakota grumbled under his breath. "You know, for a guy with a biblical name, you sure do swear a lot."

"What are you talking about?" Gabriel huffed. "I'm a motherfucking angel."

"Hold off on the swearing like you're some gangster rapper," Finn joked. "Besides, Halloween is near the end of next month. We're nowhere near it."

"Well, you asked for a subject change and I gave it to you, stop questioning it." He grumbled and faced me. "What do you plan on doing for Halloween, Silvia?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I haven't really thought that ahead. I'm not all that into Halloween. How about you, Gabe?"

"Probably here actually. We have a lot of stage rehearsals for the play. I do the lighting and sound effects. I'm also going to the Halloween dance, helping them out with the music and whatnot. I'm basically booked till winter break." He sighed, but suddenly began to beam. "I love that you call me Gabe. You've got a little nickname for me."

"Don't feel too special," Dakota grumbled.

I nudged him playfully. Wanting to keeping the conversation away from Pierson, I asked Gabriel another question. "What are you planning on being for Halloween this year?"

He gave me a devilish grin before answering. "I was hoping on being your boyfriend." He winked.

My back stiffened, waiting and watching for Dakota's reaction to Gabriel's very confident statement.

"I think that position is already taken," Ronnie mused, picking up her spoon and diving it into her yogurt.

"By who?" Dakota asked with a blank face. "If you're implying me, you're very much wrong. I'm not involved with anyone."

I shoved his arm off me and looked at him, dead on. It had been approximately a week since we kissed for the first time. Since then, I'd lost count on how many times he'd try to steal a kiss from me and the one time yesterday we'd cut our AP Government class to make-out in the janitor's closet. Even though we hadn't confirmed what 'this' was between us, we hadn't gone as far to say there was nothing there at all either.

He sounded so sure of himself when he said that he was 'not involved with anyone.' Was I not a someone? Was I not involved with him? Or did he have his way with every girl in the back of his car every week? These sets of questions sent a pang of a new emotion into my heart, causing me to inch away from him.

"Oh, you aren't involved with anyone?" Gabriel sat up, smirking. "Well in that case, Silvia. Do you want to go to the Halloween-"

"Don't even think about finishing that question. She doesn't want to go with you. She's not interested," Dakota interrupted him.

"And how would you know that she's not interested into me?" Gabriel inquired.

"Because she doesn't go for drama geeks like you who have only seen naked women on the internet and behind closed eyes." Dakota leaned back into me and brought his hand on to my shoulder. I flinched away from his touch and pushed it back. "What? What did I say?"

"You're so confusing." I half-laughed, half-snarled and got up to my feet, collecting my bag and lunch tray. "Why don't you stop talking and keep your lips sealed? Every time you open your mouth you're prone to pissing me off."

After dumping the remainder of my lunch in to a dumpster, I left the tray and headed toward the hallways. Hiking up my backpack strap up, I quickened my step when I heard Dakota coming in after me, walking at a much faster rate.

"Silvia, wait up."

"Just leave me alone." I said over my shoulder.

He got a hold of my elbow. "At least give me a second to speak."

"You've said enough already." I sneered, coming to a stop.

There weren't all that many people in the hallway, only a few kids scattered here and there, but they were seated further down the hall. I eased on to the cold metal lockers and held my glare.

"Why did you have to run off like that?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought the whole 'I'm not her boyfriend, but you can't go to the dance with her' was my cue to leave the scene. You can be really confusing sometimes. I don't even think you see it." I took a step forward. "How can you supposedly be so smart but so stupid at the same time?"

"Yeah, says the girl who's already failing most of her classes one month into the school semester. I think you're the last person to question anyone's intelligence."

I narrowed my eyes. "You looked at my progress report."

I had left it in my binder in my AP Government class because I had received it in my first period and hadn't taken it to my locker yet. I had a feeling that he peaked into them when I went to the restroom.

"I didn't really look at them exactly, I skimmed over it," he rectified. "I didn't follow you into this hallway so we could talk about your laughable markings. Unless the grades are the reason behind you being so snappy all of a sudden."

"So snappy all of a sudden?" I repeated his exact words, full-on scolding him this time. He was unbelievable. "If you're so smart, then why can't you figure out why I'm so exasperated?"

He folded his arms. "Ooh. Exasperated. Someone's reading their SAT prep-book. Personally, I would've used the word vexatious. But that's just me."

I exclaimed, throwing my hands up into air. "I'm done! It's like I'm talking to a wall."

"You must know some very good looking walls," he remarked as I walked even further into the hallway. He was at my heels still. I wasn't able to shake him off.

I never knew what kind of day I would have with Dakota. I had no clue what to expect from him. One moment I thought I was getting closer to him, and then the next, I'd get hit with another hurtle to jump over.

I pushed the glass doors, leading us to the grassy field. There were less students here. It was one of the typical cloudy mornings in Crescent Heights. The clouds would be gone by noon.

"Silvia. I was joking. Lighten up." He said from behind me. "Talk to me."

"I'm done talking." I turned and started walking backwards. "Maybe you should go find someone else to 'not be involved' with."

I spun around a little too quickly, snagging my foot with the curb. Losing my footing, I waited for the impact of the floor to my face. Hands coiled around my waist, grabbing me mid-air. I elbowed his chest, causing him to unwrap his hands on me and wincing away.

"You're welcome," he coughed, rubbing his chest. "Shit, that really hurt."

I sat myself down, cross-legged on the grass. "Great. Now we feel the same."

"You can't seriously be hurt from me saying I wasn't in a relationship with you."

"So are you saying you wouldn't mind if I started dating Gabriel?"

His shoulder raised. "You're not dating him."

"See. This is what I don't get! You didn't tell Ronnie: 'no, I'm not her boyfriend.' You said, 'I'm not involved with anyone.' And then you have the audacity to threaten Gabriel for asking me to the Halloween dance." I sighed. "Kota, pick a mood and stick with it because this back and forth thing is going to give me a whiplash one of these days."

He joined me on the ground, combing through the blades of grass as if he was looking for an answer hidden there. "You're not going to the Halloween Dance with Gabriel. Matter of fact, I'd prefer if you didn't go with him anywhere, that's for one."

"So are you going to take me to the dance then?" I dared to ask.

I had no interest in going, but I wanted to know what he'd say.

"I don't go to dances. It's not my kind of scene." He snickered. "If you want to hang out, just say that then, Silvia."

"I'm disappointed you didn't ask me first." I grumbled. "We wouldn't have gotten into this fight if you would've just lead with that."

He narrowed his eyes at me. "You expect me to read your mind?"

"No, but I would've hoped you'd want to see me."

"You were at my brother's apartment earlier this week."

"I mean in a real setting, Dakota."

His mouth popped open, catching on to what I was leading to. "Oh, you mean like on date."

"Wow, took you long enough." I prodded him.

He rubbed the spot I struck, acting overdramatic about the impact. "Hey, gentle. I was ask to hang out once we got closer to the weekend. I'm busy for the most part on weekdays with school work."

"Will you be free on Halloween?"

"No. Heath probably has us booked that night so I'm not going to be free."

"Booked for what?" I was a bit intrigued. "Are you going to do lap dances and a strip tease for some middle-aged women? If so, I'd love an invite and preferable a bucket that I can throw up in afterwards."

"I will not be doing any lap dances for anyone." He chuckled. "We're in a band."

"Of course you are." I rolled my eyes. "Let me guess, you guys make heavy metal music."

"No, it's mostly our attempt at recreating punk rock music with a math rock and new wave sound to it. New wave is already associated with punk rock, but we're doing more experimental things with it, trying things out. Heath wants to go for more of a Joy Division feel whereas I'm leaning toward a Sex Pistols and the Undertones vibe."

I nodded as if I knew who those bands were. "That's interesting. Do you sing back up?"

He snorted. "I don't do backup. I sing lead."

"Sing for me!" I yelled.

"I'd rather not."

"C'mon. Give me a little sample. Give me a little taste."

"I'm not singing for you, Silvia." He said firmly. "No matter what you say."

"Aw, I just want a chorus. I'll even keep my thoughts to myself if you suck." I pouted.

"How about I sing happy birthday for you when it's our birthday?"

"Nah, I don't think I'll still be interest in you by December."

He knocked his shoulder into mine and we laughed. For the rest of lunch, we stayed outside and I discarded the conversation we had in the cafeteria. For the most part, I tried to convince him to sing for me, but with no luck. I guess he wasn't the kind of guy who would serenade the girl they weren't 'involved with.'

. . . . .

After Evelyn picked me up from school that following Friday, I sensed something even more off about her than usual. From what Hunter told me on Thursday, she had stayed in a hospital Wednesday night and for most of the day. She hadn't felt well for most of the week. That was why dad picked me up from school since Monday. I didn't know what was up with her, but I wasn't hoping for the worse. I knew we didn't have the greatest relationship; it was a bit forced at times. But I didn't hate the woman, that was for sure.

She unlocked the front door, pushing it open. "Make sure you pack your bags when you get up to your room."

I gripped the strap of my backpack. A gut-wrenching pain quaked into me. "What for?"

"Your father will tell you when he comes back from work."

I walked into the foyer, but didn't go up the stairs. "Why can't you tell me now? I want to know. If you're going to kick me out, at least say now."

"Wait for your father," she repeated and made her way to the living room, aching as she sat down. I knew she had pain problems, but they seem to have intensified since last week. "I'm not supposed to tell you anything else."

"Fine, keep it that way then." I huffed and stormed up to my room, slamming the door behind me. I flung my bag on to the floor and crashed on to my bed. Pulling out my phone, I began to start writing a text message to Dakota.

I smiled at my phone. There was no likely chance that was the problem. My fingers froze over the keypad on my phone, but the sound of someone opening a car door outside stopped me. I hadn't thought my dad would be home this early. I hadn't even started packing.

Opening the bedroom door, I rushed out and stepped down the stairs. "I need some more time to -" I cut myself off when I saw who was at the front door. It wasn't my father at all.

Song for the chapter: Ours by Taylor Swift [ song above ]

Lyrics:

❝Don't you worry your pretty little mind. People throw rocks at things that shine. And life makes love look hard.❞

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