Chapter Eleven

Bittersweet

-I'm just setting, I'm just setting a trap. And I'm not pulling, no, I'm not pulling for you; you're just pulling for me. I'm not a betting man, but this is a sure thing. (Panic! At the Disco)

"See ya," I said and waved good-bye to Theo. The school day had ended and for once Theo and I had ended the day without an argument. We were actually saying good-bye to each other like friends did! Oh, what a breakthrough!

I stopped by Alyssa's locker to talk for a moment. "Hey," I said.

"Sup," she greeted, popping her head up once like a gangsta. She shoved a book into her backpack and shut her locker. "Ok, so I've decided to dye my hair lighter," she announced.

I gave her a look. "Seriously? Why?" I asked.

"Cause I'm sick of people calling me emo cause I've got black hair!" she shrieked.

"Well, you are pretty much emo," I said.

"No, no, no," she defended lightly. "My scars don't show; they don't count," she joked.

I rolled my eyes. "Of course not," I agreed though there was absolutely no logic in that statement.

We left the school building and walked into the parking lot. We talked about the Panic! At the Disco concert that was going to be in St. Louis the next week. We walked to my car first since it was closest.

"I still can't believe they're going to be playing so close to us," I said in disbelief.

"Yeah, I'm excited though!" Alyssa exclaimed.

I nodded my head and pulled out my car keys. "Me too."

"Well, see ya," she said as she walked backwards.

I couldn't say why she was walking backwards, but it was Alyssa, so that should have explained it enough, but still. In a parking lot? That was just asking to be hit by a car. And that's exactly what happened.

My jaw dropped as I saw the Toyota hit my friend and hear her let out an "Oof!" She wasn't hit seriously. She was just pushed up onto the hood of the hood of the car just like Buddy from Elf.

The sad thing was I didn't feel any sympathy for her. "You moron!" I shouted at her as she was sliding off the hood. I laughed at my friend. "You're so stupid! Why would you walk backwards in a parking lot?"

She shrugged. "I don't know!"

"Hey, are you alright?" the driver of the Toyota asked, poking his head out the window.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered.

I shook my head and laughed.

The next day, our report cards were distributed since it was mid-quarter. Mine was none too academically good. I had an A in choir—it was really hard to fail choir—, an A in Computers, an F in Geometry, an A in Spanish II, a B in Art/Life Skills, a D in Chemistry, a C in Literature, and a C in P.E. Yeah, I had about three A's, but that only because those were the really easy subjects that I was taking. I groaned as I looked at my report card. "This isn't good." I put my head against my locker.

"What's not?" Theo asked as he looked away from his locker.

I held my report out to him. "See for yourself," I muttered.

He took the card and read my grades. "How can you be failing Chemistry?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Cause I'm stupid." I sensed Theo giving me a condescending glare.

"I can help you with Chemistry, if you want."

I spun around to him with wide eyes and a bright smile. "Hontōni?" I cried.

He gave me a weird look.

"Really?" I translated. "You'll help me?"

Theo nodded. "Yeah, sure, I've got an A in the class. We can go to the library tomorrow and look over the chapter," he said.

"Ok!"

When my parents got home from work, I told them about going to the library with Theo to work on Chemistry. They weren't too pleased that I had a D and an F, but they thought looking over Chemistry would help bring my grade up. They also thought about getting me a tutor for Geometry, but I assured them I would it up.

There was no way I was going to get it.

"So Theo?" Mom asked.

I looked up at her and cringed on the inside. I knew where this was going, but I decided to stop it before this conversation could very far. "Oh, don't start. That's all I ever hear about!" I cried. "Theo this; Theo that! Theo's so cute! That's all anyone ever talks about! Get together with Theo! You guys argue like an old married couple! You're cute with him! Ugh! I can't stand it! One more day of that and I think I'll explode!" I shouted out exasperatedly.

I really was sick of hearing about Theo. That was really all I ever heard. People talked about him like he was the greatest thing since sliced bread. I mean, he was an alright looking guy, but he wasn't exactly Mr. Congeniality or anything. But, then again, most people who were popular weren't that nice either.

I mean, he was my friend and all; I enjoyed his company, but, good Lord, hearing about how great he was from other people was really annoying. I knew he was a pretty awesome guy and all, so it was enough to hear it from myself. It was just making me boil even more with anger at everyone's constant spiels about the boy.

The next day after school, Theo and I went to the library together. Theo tried to help me with the chapter, but it didn't really work out. I was just too stupid to understand chemistry. None of it made any sense to me whatsoever.

Eventually Theo gave up and said to take a break.

"Yah," I said giddily. I bounced out of my seat and went straight to the teen fiction section. Books were my passion. It took me about five minutes of searching to find six books to read. I came back to my seat and set them down. I pull the first one off the pile and started to read it.

"Holy crap, Sarah. You gonna read all those?" Theo questioned.

"'Course, I'll get done with these in about a week," I replied without looking up from my book.

"A week?!"

"Mhm. They're only about two or three hundred pages."

"That would take me a month. Do you not watch any TV?"

"Books are better than TV," I replied.

After the library, Theo drove me home. I didn't really get a lot of the stuff, but it was enough for the test coming up.

"I thought you went to study," Dad said once I was inside.

"We did study," I said as a matter of fact. "Just decided to take the time and get some books to read since I was already at the library."

"Oh, I see. How was Theo?"

I stopped walking and scowled. "Fine. He's a real great teacher," I answered.

I yawned widely, covering my gaping hole with my hand. I closed my eyes and held them shut for a second or two. It was too early to be at school. It was six o'clock in the morning. Way too early to be at school, but Dad had to go to drill by six thirty that morning since he had just started active-duty again, Mom was sick in bed, throwing up, and Olivia had to be at school by six fifteen for cheerleading. So Olivia I had to be up and in the shower by five, and that meant I had to get up at four thirty.

It was going to be a long day; I could already tell.

I unloaded the rest of the contents of my backpack and shoved it inside my locker. I closed the metal door and saw Theo walking in. I turned to him in surprise. Did he always get here that early?

He walked up beside me and stared at me in shock. One eyebrow was hiked up on his forehead. "Why are you here so early?" he asked. He opened his locker and just threw his backpack in there without even bother to take out his books and stuff. He closed his locker.

"Olivia had to be here for cheerleading," I explained, mumbling, and rested my head on his shoulder.

He nodded his head. "Ah." He chuckled. "Couldn't you have driven yourself?"

I shook my head. "No, have to drive with someone else in the car."

"Oh," he said as he bobbed his head up and down. He took my state in and half smiled. "Tired much?"

"Yes," I whined.

He chuckled again and patted me on the head to which I moaned at. "What to go to McDonald's?"

I weakly nodded my head. I took my head off his shoulder and held out my arms. "Carry me."

"I'm not gonna—" he started to say, but he looked me up and down, taking in my state again. He sighed and said, "Alright." He bent down, hooked his arm behind my knees, and scooped me up. He held me close and somewhat protective to his chest, and I somehow felt safe there.

I honestly expected him to give me a piggyback ride. Most people did anyways. Riding piggyback wasn't very comfortable; you had to hang on tightly and strain your neck and back muscles as you tried to hold yourself up unless you were willing to let your butt sag like an old lady's, but that's how I usually was carried. If I got carried at all.

I didn't bother wrapping my arms around his neck because I was too tired. I curled my fingers around his shirt and clung tightly to him though I knew for a fact that he wouldn't drop me. I could smell his cologne. Old Spice. I smiled.

In his arms, I quickly realized how strong he was. But then again, I was only 5'1 and I didn't weigh that much either. I was quite proportional for my stature, but I still couldn't help but worry that I was too heavy. "I'm not heavy, am I? Cause if I am, I can walk," I murmured.

"No," he said. "You're just right," he reassured.

I blushed and smiled a little at his statement. So not only was I everything he was looking for, but I was also "just right". Nice to know.

"You know, you're pretty nice in the mornings," I mumbled.

"Oh, well, I'll just have to work on that, I guess," he replied.

A little bell went off inside my head, hinting and urging me to something. I quickly recognized that sentence. "Yes, you will," I said harshly just as he had the first day we'd met.

He chuckled.

My stomach rumbled and I groaned. Oh, I was definitely going to get something to eat there. I closed my eyes and felt as if an immense pressure that had been building up inside my chest and head was suddenly released, flowing out of me. I tucked my head into his shoulder and completely relaxed, enjoying the warmth emitting from him.

Theo chuckled lightly and with a hint of a wry tone to it. "You know, you're actually much smaller than I thought."

My eyebrows rose up slightly. "Oh?" I quietly called.

"Yeah, you're actually pretty small for a girl in the tenth grade. You're more like a sixth grader," he noted.

I slowly nodded my head. "Yeah," I said through a yawn. "I get that a lot from Noah—" I yawned again, barely covering my mouth—"is always calling me short."

"Who's Noah?"

"My neighbor."

"He your age?"
What was with all these questions about Noah? Weird. I took a glance up at him. "Yeah."

"Humph," he grunted.

I made a face. What was his deal? Was he...jealous? No, he couldn't be, could he? Was that possible to Theo to be jealous of Noah? No, that was just absurd.

Besides why did I care? Why was I bothered by the fact that he appeared to be jealous? It seemed that Theo consumed my every thought.

What did it matter to me? I didn't usually give a crap if I got a guy jealous, but then again, I hardly ever had a guy that liked me that wasn't some creepy, man-child. But then again, who said Theo liked me?
We stayed in silence for a few more minutes, and I soaked it up, trying to fall asleep. I began to breathe deeply and rhythmically. My thoughts began to wander and draw me into the world of Disney movies and romance novels. My eyes grew heavy and felt full of iron. I eventually quit trying to keep them open and tried to succumb to my selfish desire.

"Are you going to fall asleep?" Theo asked quietly in my ear.

I didn't bother to glare at him. "Not if you have anything to say about it, I'm sure."

He chuckled softly. "Alright, I'll be quiet."

I started to say "good", but I was already pretty much lost to the world. I had already given myself up to blissful sleep, barely wading in the in-between. Feeling the haze and disillusion of sleep and consciousness colliding violently, fight for control.

I'm pretty sure I feel asleep in his arms because I didn't remember getting into his car. I didn't remember even walking out of school. All I remember was vaguely hearing Theo say, "Alright, I'll be quiet."

I can't say my eyes flutter open when I wake up as it is described that women do in novels and novelettes. I jolt awake, to be honest. I'm so used to being shaken awake with a minor heart attack due to my loud alarm, which is the final chorus to "My Immortal Band Version" by Evanescence. It works wonders at getting me up at six in the morning every single morning.

But because of that technique of jolting myself awake in the morning that I started my freshman year, I haven't been able to gently awaken or "flutter my eyes open", if you will. I haven't actually been able to get myself to sleep in on weekends, but I can't anyways due to work and church.

Except for now...

I was slowly and peacefully lifted out of my sleep with what I thought was the voice of an angel, so peaceful and melodic. No. It was only Theo. And when I finally came to, awake enough to get a good enough grasp on things, his angelic voice turned into his usual throaty, almost velvet, voice. Bummer.

I quickly recognized that I was in his 'seventy-six Nova somehow through the haze of my contacts. I wearily blinked and tried to get a grasp on where I was at besides in his car. But all I could see was Theo's face gazing down on me. His defiant chin and full lips so clear and vivid through my fuzzy sight.

"Hey," he gently said and laid his hand on my shoulder. "We're at McDonald's."

I yawned and stretched my arms out and pushed out through my throat, "Alright." I uncurled my legs out from underneath me and fumbled with the seat belt. Apparently I had kicked my leg out somehow over the belt or pulled it down in some way, keeping it constricted beneath my thigh.

Theo opened his door, and the frigid, biting, early December air quickly slid inside the car, mixing in with the warm air blowing throughout the car. He shoved his keys in his pockets and jumped out. He watched me check myself in the mirror for a minute or two.

I could feel his eyes on me. I could feel them boring into me, pressing on my skin. I busied myself with fixing my hair and checking my makeup. I hadn't put much on rather than mascara, but mascara still smeared. I flipped the visor up.

Theo sighed, not in an annoyed or impatient way, and closed the door lightly. He walked around the front of the car and to my side and the snow lightly fell on his shoulders and hair, bolding contrasting with his wool pea coat. One landed on his nose and stayed there for a second or two before melting completely.

He reached for the door and opened it swiftly. "Ready?"

"Mhm," I said and bobbed my head up and down. I climbed out, my shoes crunching the snow against the pavement. I closed the door with a huff, still a little groggy from sleeping. How long had I been asleep? I didn't bother to check the time in the car. I straightened invisible wrinkles from my shirt. I quickly remembered my purse was still in the car and swing the door open before he could lock it. I grabbed it, slung it over my shoulder, and slammed the door shut.

Theo blinked at me and locked the doors. He swung the key chain on his finger for a second or two, letting it make a perfect circle. He shoved them in his pocket. He started to whistle a tune I didn't recognize.

"What are you whistling?" I asked as we started to walk to McDonald's.

"'October and April,'" Theo replied.

Didn't ring a bell. "By who?"

"Rasmus."

I nodded my head knowingly though I still hadn't heard of them. The tune he whistled was melodic and full of graceful harmony, so I told myself to remember the name. I shouted it over and over again in my head, trying to get myself to know it by heart.

I shivered in the cold as the snow fell harder from the grey clouds above. I hadn't grabbed a coat. Stupid me. Nor had it ever occurred to me to grab my coat once Theo had swept me off my feet.

He didn't even take a second glance at me before shrugging his pea coat off and handing it to me.

I blinked at him, surprised. I mean, he usually wasn't this way. I had assumed he would have let me shiver until we got inside. Perhaps he was a gentleman. Perhaps with honor and respect.

I gratefully took it and wrapped it around me. "Thank you." The wool rubbed again the back of my bare neck, but I didn't mind. I could easily smell his cologne. Old Spice. I smiled happily and relished in the sweet scent.

A/N: Hey, well, here's the new chapter. I kind of got it out later than I really wanted to. You see, the thing is towards the end of September, I kept thinking it was time to post the new chapter, but I had to keep telling myself it wasn't October yet. But when October finally came, i forgot. I'm sucha dullard at times..

Well, i don't have a lot to say about this chapter. That may be because I can't really see my screen. I'm not wearing my contacts and everythign is really blurry. I'm so blind without my contacts or glasses. Oh, well.

From what I remember, this chapter is more of just a way to set up what's about to transcend in the next...three chapters. Yeah, three. Sadly, the story is coming to a close. It was bound to happen.

Thanks so much for reading! I really appreciate it! Please review too! I adore your reviews!

-Neon