D U S K ✔

Chapter Seventeen

[UNEDITED]

I barged through the masses of people, sniffling and rubbing my eyes red-raw. I tried to ease my breathing but it seemed impossible. I peered through the heads to find Rob. But it seemed useless, he was a fast walker as it was, nonetheless when he was furious.

  Which he certainly was.

  I felt my chest bubble with another onset of sobs, and tried to keep them at bay, everyone was watching. Everyone was staring. Pity and disgust in their eyes, I couldn't take my eyes away from all of them. It was too much. All too much.

I forced my legs to move, as I ran out the nearest doors, into the back of the school. But I stumbled back, slamming into another person. Their arms grabbing mine quickly.

"Watch it-- Gabby?"

I peeked through my lashes at Adam, his eyebrows were furrowed, and there was a cigarette hanging from his mouth, it was silent for a moment, and I could see he was staring at me. "What's wrong?" He questioned.

  I shook my head, afraid that if I said a single word I would break into sobs again. And he couldn't see me like that, no one should.

I just shook my head, silently. He stared.

"You just need a time out." He stated, "Come, follow me." His deep voice contrasted against his soft tone.

I shook my head, backing out of his arms, "I- I can't, it's mortifying." I murmured, shaking my head violently.

He nodded, rubbing the back of his neck before flashing me a grin, "Stay here, then." He chuckled, dashing off back into the school's hallway.

  I ambled over to the glass pane in the door and watched as he cheekily threw me a thumbs up before plucking the cigarette from between his teeth and holding it under the fire alarm.

Suddenly, an explosion of sound burst through the walls, as the fire alarm screamed. A torrential downpour of water cascaded onto the piles of people, as it quickly became havoc, some girls cried in outrage, shielding their hair, some jocks did too. They all scattered thundering outside, into the dry.

A crowd of people ran like a crazed stampede towards the doors I was standing by. In the mass I spotted Adam, who grabbed me by the arm and dragged me along with him. My tiny legs struggling to keep up.

We diverted from the crowd abruptly, turning onto the vacant football field.

Sometime whilst we were running, his grip slipped from my arm and he was now gripping my hand, leading me to the back of the field, towards the fencing.

  I took a moment, whilst we were running to look at him, properly look at him. His eyes were glazed and sparkling with mischief as he examined the fencing. It was a look I hadn't familiarised myself with until now. However, the sensational rush of excitement flooded my gut and for a moment I didn't care what Adam did or didn't do in the past, or believe any of the rumours that trailed after him.

  Because he was just a boy.

  A boy willing to set the entire school's fire detectors off because he felt as though I 'needed a time-out'. A boy willing to follow me around for the past week for 'protection', from what I still didn't know.

  He stopped by the edge of the fence, shielded by some bleachers, and as I looked closer I could see where the fence had been cut apart; still held together with small sections of garden wire.

  I threw him a raised eyebrow, and he smirked, shrugging nonchalantly. "I need a time-out too, sometimes." He clarified, letting go of my hand, which seemingly didn't bother him in the first place, and crouched down peeling away the wire.

  I shook my head, and threw it over my shoulder, guarding him.

  And for a moment I had forgotten about my fight with Rob, the questionable brooding of my father and the problems school overall brought along with it, when Adam took my hand once again, and pulled me through the broken fence.