Chelsea's POV

No carbon dioxide leaves my nostrils or my lips as I wait for the pain, my eyelids involuntarily clamped shut, my muscles tensing in fear. A second goes by, two seconds, three, nothing.

A hush settles in the atmosphere, and as if I'll be jailed for looking, I peep through my lids, my eyes opening in shock when I spot Terry's face barely an inch from mine. In my side vision, I observe a slight dent in the wall barely a distance from my head.

That should have been my face, the thought pops in and I can't help but agree with the accuracy. In amazement I gawk at his beautiful face, our breaths mixing due to our proximity.

"That punch would have done you a lot of good," he lets out in a hysterical laugh, one that incites cold sweat to run down my back at the wickedness in his blue orbs.

As if my heart hasn't suffered enough shock to last me a lifetime his head dips, his nose brushing my chin while he rests his face in the crook of my neck, eliciting a shiver from me and an inaudible moan the instant he runs his tongue on the sensitive spot between my neck and shoulder.

I turn rigid, my heartbeat skyrocketing at the swift yet soft smear of his tongue. He retreats, bringing up his face such that our noses are caressing each other, a smirk lining his lips as he bends to whisper in my ear, "But I can't bring myself to hurt you like that."

For a moment, I forget what he is talking about, confusion taking shape on my face. He chuckles lowly at my reaction and places a chaste kiss on my lip. Like a flash of lightning, he pushes himself off me by the strength in his arms and saunters over to Elvis and Victor who have expressions I can't discern on their facial features.

As if a last thought, Terry turns and says loudly "You got lucky this time Blake," winking at the firm use of my last name. "Next time, I won't be so sure."

This snaps everyone awake from their trance and like flies chasing the light, they all shuffle behind the football star, abandoning only Uche and me in the school hallway as I aim to wrap my head around what exactly just happened.

The second the last student is out of sight, Uche rushes to me, speaking frantically and grabbing my arm to whirl me around, inspecting my body, and then my face for damages.

A smile materializes on my lips at her concern and frenetic movements that I end up chuckling and place my palms on her shoulders to stop her actions.

"What?" She inquires in a frown, scrutinizing my face. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

"Uche, I'm fine," I beam at her, though my heartbeat is still higher than normal and my breathes are still coming out shallow, I'm good to go.

"Are you sure?" She investigates, squinting her eyes. "Not even a scratch?"

"As you can see, not a single one," I assure, retrieving my palms from her body.

"Oh praise the heavens." She breathes, swerving to lean on the wall on my right side, her hand going to her chest area in relief, influencing me to snort at her dramatics but appreciative of her worry.

"You had me scared for a moment." She stands upright, her expression changing to one of anger as she slaps my nonexistent bicep with the back of her hand.

"Ow!" I exclaim, clutching the spot as it stings from the hit.

"What the fuck were you thinking?" She inquires in a loud voice, her hands flaring in the air. "He could have killed you for crying out loud."

"But he didn't." I wiggle my brows, hoping a blush doesn't show up on my cheeks.

"Yeah, because he was touched by the Holy Spirit," she murmurs. "What if things had gone down south, what if he wasn't able to control his rage?"

"Stop dwelling on what would have been, and rather dwell on what has," I advise, secretly wondering where that pinch of wisdom emerged from.

"You aren't taking this matter seriously," she argues. "You could have been in an ambulance right now heading to the hospital, or worse dead."

"Uche," I sigh. "To be honest I'm scared shitless of what would have been. At the same time, I'm angry at myself for daring him like that, I don't know what came over me okay? I'm sorry."

"I'm also sorry about my nonchalant attitude at the moment," I apologize. "The truth is, this is my coping mechanism. You know how my thoughts are, you know how I overthink things so this is my way of stalling till I can't hold in my thoughts anymore, till they begin swarming in my head as if to consume me."

"I'm sorry too." She exhales and offers me a small smile. "I was a bit harsh on you."

"It's alright," I haul my hand across her shoulder. "You were concerned and angry, I understand."

"Now that's out of the way, why don't we skip lunch period and head to Macdonalds for a nice meal?" She invites knowing that would make me smile.

"And this, my girl, is why you are my best and only friend." I grin and walk with her, my right arm still around her shoulder as we sneak through corners, giggling silently and avoiding a few teachers. We make it to the exit doors and run down the few steps to the driveway where her black Lexus is parked.

"After you my lady," she snorts as I release her.

"Fuck you," I scoff and stride to the passenger side, dragging the door open the minute she unlocks the vehicle.

I slide in after her, and we exchange excited smiles as she puts the key in the ignition and starts the engine. Adrenaline pulses through me thus I haven't ever skipped school.

She speedily reverses and drives us out of the school premises, both of us grinning because we didn't encounter any obstacles. As she drives us, the car is silent, and this gives me time to allow my thoughts to come to light.

Realization sets in me at Terry's action, proving the words I read in his diary that he has some kind of messed-up feelings towards me. Feelings he doesn't understand, feelings I caused by that single rejection.

It's obvious Terry looks completely different from the scrawny preteen who strolled up to me and asked for my number. I can vividly recall how I laughed in his face in the quiet part of the school garden that day.

"I need to return Terry's diary," I murmur to Uche's earshot as we stop at a red light, my gaze shifting from the window to observe her reaction.

"Do you have a death wish?" She implores in a grimace. "The dude almost punched your face today, and now you want to go up to him and be like, 'hey Terry, sorry about today but I found your diary and I've been with it for three days now. Also sorry I read a few pages."

"Don't put it that way," I whine at her expressed sarcasm.

"Which other way should I put it?" She queries, giving me the glare that says shut up.
I do just that, thankfully the light turns green and we continue our drive towards Macdonalds.

Freshy❤️