FicWad

As I walked to school in the freezing cold, my mind returned to Mr Way. It kept wanting to think about him, no matter how hard I tried to think of other stuff. I had art almost every day, and he’d offered to take me home every night now it was getting darker earlier. I’d see him all the time. I just needed to make sure these….feelings….didn’t become anything more. Well, that should be pretty easy, nothing else was ever going to happen, that would just be weird….and illegal.
School was strangely warm, though anything would have been warm compared to the biting cold outside. I shivered in my thin coat, and walked quickly down the musty corridors. I sniffed, my cold nose tingling. Kids littered the locker room, discussing what they had done last night, the party they were going to that Friday, bitching about other people who were stood only a few feet away. I blanked them out. What was I doing in this building? Wasting away my life, that’s what.
I yawned at least every five minutes in my English lesson, so much so that Mr Gibson began to look at me weirdly. “Do wake up, this essay isn’t going to plan itself you know “ “Sorry sir….I’m really tired.” I mumbled, gripping my pen and forcing it to write down the words that were on the board. Sir nodded and walked to the back of the room to help someone.
The rest of the day passed uneventfully, the lessons dragging by at a glacial pace. I felt so unsatisfied with the day as I ate my lunch, yet when the big hand on the clock hit the twelve signifying four o’clock, the end of school, my heart began to beat softly in my chest. Mr Way waved at me from the driver’s window and I climbed in next to him. “Hey, shall we go?” Mr Way said, taking off the handbrake and pulling out of the parking lot. We never really spoke on our journeys home, apart from the occasional small talk. As the engine hummed beneath us my heart tightened in my chest every time he asked me questions in his soft, gentle voice. However, today we didn’t speak at all, we simply drove. I reluctantly climbed out of the car, clutching my numerous files to my chest and grabbing my bag from the back seat. I waved shyly and walked around the front of the car to the curb…..and tripped. I fell flat, hitting the ground hard. I coughed, totally winded. I raised my head weakly and saw that the files I had been carrying were scattered all over the ground, sheets fluttering in the breeze. I suddenly realised that Mr Way was still sat in the car behind me. My face burned with embarrassment. I pushed myself up with my scraped hands and stumbled over to pick up my stuff. I tried to kid myself that he hadn’t seen, but I knew he obviously had. I stooped, grasping the crumpled piece of paper in front of me. I turned in my squatting position to gather the rest, only to have my hand brush against another hand. Pale and skinny and very familiar. “Hayley, are you alright? God, have you hurt yourself?” His anxious voice echoed in my ears and I find myself utterly unable to look up. “No…no, I’m fine. I’m…fine…” I stuttered, my hand shooting back to my side. I watched him as he picked up my papers and files and carried them over to me. I tried to get up, but he held his hand out to me. I reached out to take it, then drew back. “Hayley, are you okay? Can you stand up? Take my hand….here.” I gingerly took his hand and hauled myself up. I couldn’t help a stupid little grin appearing on my lips as I did so. “…thanks…” I flipped my hair out of my eyes and felt a weird, warm stickiness. Oh shit, I hadn’t fallen in…..
“Oh my god, Hayley! You’re bleeding! Is your dad in?” Mr Way took hold of my shoulders and looked worriedly at my forehead. I looked towards the driveway to see it empty. Dad most certainly wasn’t in. “ No…it’s alright, I’ll just go in and clean it up. I’ll be fine, I did a first aid course!” a weird little laugh escaped from me. Why was I so stupid? The grip on my skinny shoulders tightened and Mr Way shook his head. “ No.” he said firmly, “ You need to get that sorted properly. Get back in the car, I’m taking you to my house. I need to know that you’re okay.” He steered me to the passenger door once more and opened it for me. I climbed back in and he climbed in next to me. As he drove, I began to shake with nerves, fear and a tiny bit of excitement. I was going to his house.