Lunchtime Confusions (4)

My eyes fluttered open, and I groaned, screwing my eyes shut again at the pain the light was giving me.

Great...

I wake up with a pounding headache that hurt so much, it felt like my head was going to split open, and I was also running late for school which my bedside clock was proving to me.

This must be the best day ever. Note the sarcasm.

I clambered out of my bed and stumbled into my bathroom, taking the shortest bath I have ever had in my life.

I put on another one of my hoodies and my jeans, slipping on my sneakers and rushing down the stairs.

While in the kitchen, I popped a strawberry into my mouth for my breakfast, and I ran out the front door.

Running to school was a chore as I had to go on ignoring the painful throbbing in my head which was getting worse by the second.

My sneakers pounded on the floor as I weaved my way through people, mailboxes, and a stray dog who barked at me until I rounded the corner.

To make things worse, we were having an exam which I barely studied for. I couldn't risk being late for it or else I'd have to face a failing mark. Even I, as someone who hated school, wanted to at least not fail while I'm still in it.

I skidded to a halt when I reached the front doors of the school just as the last warning bell rang.

Too late...

I leaned on the nearest wall, trying to catch my breath from all the running I was doing earlier and trying to make sense of my scattered thoughts.

I groaned internally and, pushing myself away from the wall, went through the doors and trudged down the halls.

Well, there goes my grade.

I rubbed my temples as I felt my headache getting worse.

Why was I having a headache?

Soon, I arrived outside my classroom and what I saw made my breath get caught in my lungs and my feet stop moving.

He was there, leaning on the wall and glaring at the polished floor with his hands in his jean pockets. He looked even more scary than usual.

His blue eyes snapped up to meet mine, and I could swear to all the heavens above that I saw a wave of relief wash over him.

I instinctively took a step back.

"You're late." I swallowed the lump in my throat. He sounded mad.

Why was he mad?

Wait...

Why was he even waiting for me?

We stared at each other for a few seconds, and I watched as his jaw clenched either in irritation or impatience.

I opened my mouth but then closed it again, battling against the pain in my head. He seemed to sense that something was wrong as he pushed himself off the wall, his face now clouded with worry.

"Raine, what's wrong?"

Before I could say anything, I felt my feet collapse under me, and the pain in my head worsened to the point that I couldn't even see properly.

I groaned in pain, curling up into a ball.

I felt him crouch next to me, hearing him swear under his breath.

"You didn't have to come to school like this Raine!" He snapped at me, sounding more alarmed than I expected him to be, and I could picture him scowling down at me with those dark eyes.

But even if he was angry at me, he scooped me up into his arms so gently in a bridal-style carry, and I automatically whimpered at the pain of moving around.

What made it surprisingly bearable was the comforting sparks I got from him touching me. Was this normal?

He started speeding down the hall, and I could barely keep up as the doors flew past us.

Or was it us flying past the doors and down the hallway?

My breathing became heavy, and the world started spinning around me. I reached out and clutched onto his gray shirt with all I could as I breathed in his scent.

He smelled like pure male and a bit like the forest. It was strangely comforting, and it was somewhat lulling me to sleep.

He finally stopped, and he started saying something directed at me, but I was already gone.

The darkness consumed me.

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I opened my eyes and immediately, the smell of medical alcohol assaulted my nose, making me almost gag in response. It was so strong for some reason. That or my brain was still tired as all hell.

I groaned at the light that glared back at me.

I slowly sat up and looked around me wildly with wide eyes as I took in my surroundings.

I was in a very familiar place.....

I was in the clinic?

Suddenly, a bright face greeted my line of vision, and I blinked in surprise.

It was Nurse Davidson.

She stared back at me with wide chocolate eyes that had a bit of worry swirled in them. Her light brown hair was styled into the usual bun that seemed to actually make her seem more casual rather than more professional. I preferred it that way anyway since it made her look more friendly.

She flashed me a grin.

"Well, hello there sweetie. How do you feel?"

"Uhhh. Tired," I mumbled silently, still half-asleep and confused as I rubbed my eyes with my fists.

I still felt out of it, but I kind of felt better compared to my situation this morning. The headache was gone, and I didn't feel so dizzy anymore.

She nodded, and if possible, her grin went even wider.

She's been like this ever since before and for a 38-year-old woman, its kind of creepy to see no matter how much I saw her smile like this.

"Alright. You'll be just fine dear. It's just that you don't seem to be eating very much."

A low growl pierced my ears and I whipped my head to see him at the corner of the infirmary, looking ready to kill.

He was glaring daggers at me, his hands bunched up into tight fists. If looks could kill, I would be six feet under.

Oh no...

Oh no. Oh no.

"Just make sure to eat a lot during lunchtime ok?" I nodded stiffly, my eyes never leaving Adrian's as he continued to stare... no, glare back at me.

"I'll leave you in the care of this young man here ok?"

My eyes went wide.

No way Jose!

But before I could even voice out a protest, she was already heading to the door. No, more like running to it.

And when she passed by him, I saw her stiffen up and she gave him a fearful glance before she scurried off.

I guess even adults were scared of him, but I can't blame them. He's literally emanating this dark kind of aura that could make a grown man piss in his pants.

Once she left, I paled and made a move to run after her, but he was already advancing towards me, still giving me that glare of his.

I inched away from him until I was on the edge of the super tiny bed I was on and held my breath.

Was he gonna kill me?

He stopped a foot away from me, crossing his arms over his chest, emphasizing the intimidating tattoo that snaked around his arm like a coil.

"Why aren't you eating properly?" He practically growled at me, his eyes flashing dangerously.

I couldn't answer him. My throat was closing up on me.

And even if I did want to answer, what would I say?

When I remained silent, his left eye twitched.

"Answer me!" He demanded in a strained voice, making the walls of the room shake.

I shrank back.

"I-I don't l-like eating." I stuttered and clutched the white sheets on the bed, looking at my lap.

"And why not?"

My heart was beating wildly in my chest as my mouth opened and closed like I was some fish, trying to find an answer that wouldn't reveal anything to him.

He sighed in frustration and sat on the bed beside me. Him, being a pretty buff guy, took up most of the space, and with me on it, the bed seemed cramped and the only distance between us was an inch of space.

He suddenly sighed in frustration, breaking the silence that enveloped us moments earlier.

"You were out for hours Raine. You better tell me why you don't eat and make yourself suffer or I'll make sure you'll be eating properly every day even if it means I have to spoon-feed you myself." He threatened, turning to face me on the tiny bed.

I bit my lip. "I just don't feel like it..." I said silently, praying he wouldn't ask about it further or better yet... that he didn't hear me at all. Why was he even asking me about this anyway?

Better yet... why was I even bothering to answer him?

We barely knew each other.

But something within me was saying that we would come to know each other very well soon. I brushed those feelings away from the front of my mind the best I could.

But he did hear and he didn't look like he wanted to drop the subject either. If possible, his gaze turned even colder, burning the side of my head and making me feel a lot shorter than I already was.

"Is someone forcing you?!"

"No! No! No one is forcing me to do this!" I exclaimed immediately and when I realized my little outburst, I immediately slapped my hand to my mouth and paled.

He looked down at me, his eyes trained intently on me as he watched my actions with a kind of intensity that just made me want to hide from him.

He didn't look pleased with the situation at all.

"Don't do that! I won't hurt you for talking." He huffed the last part out, his eyes softening just a tad bit as he ran a hand through his already disheveled hair.

We sat there in awkward silence and I saw as he opened his mouth to say something when the lunch bell rang in the distance and the sounds of chattering and laughter drifted to my ears.

He automatically, almost like a robot, stood up and turned to me with a soft expression, unlike before wherein his face showed the anger he was trying to contain.

"We need to let you eat. Come on."

Not wanting to start an argument, I scrambled up onto my feet and trailed behind him silently as he walked outside.

I was dumbstruck and confused as to why I was letting him lead me along, but something within me told me it was right for me to be with him. That and I was terrified of what he might do if I were to go against him.

Once my sneakers collided with the hallway floor, everyone's heads whipped to look at us and they stopped in their tracks.

I felt small under their gazes, and it took everything in me to not run away as I inched closer behind Adrian.

"You can go now. I can feed myself, Adrian. I promise to eat properly." I rushed out, just wanting all this attention to go away as Adrian, himself, was the cause of this.

But instead of saying ok and leaving me, he shot me another one of his chilly glares that made even the people around us back away.

"No."

"But I..."

"Raine."

The crowd remained silent but they gave us their undivided attention as they watched us arguing, probably trying to figure out what might happen next.

If I could bet on anything, I'd bet they were counting on me getting mauled to hell by this "beast" of a man.

"I can just..."

"Don't test me, Raine." He snapped, cutting me off mid-sentence.

I sighed, feeling sorry for myself as I squeaked out a little alright.

"What?!" Adrian growled, turning to face the crowd with a dark scowl on his face.

Being smart, they swiftly went on their way as if the hounds of hell were after them.

"Ummm..." I found myself saying but didn't know what to say really. I was just so lost with whatever was happening.

Out of everyone, why was this happening to me?

"Let's go." I nodded, following him wordlessly as we walked down the hall.

I made sure to keep myself a few steps behind him so that I could hide behind his broad back.

We finally arrived at the cafeteria, but I regretted it immediately.

Everyone... the whole school population was here and they were all staring at us.

Why is it when some scary guy suddenly starts going with the silent freak, everyone gives them all their attention?

Adrian just ignored them and gently clamped his hand on my wrist as he tugged me along with him to the line.

Getting the food was easy, seeing that everyone parted when we passed through which Adrian took advantage of as he tugged me to the front of the line, grabbing 2 trays overflowing with food and handing the cafeteria lady a wad of cash.

But getting to the table was like walking through some creepy cemetery in the middle of the night with a thick fog rolling in while you only had a tiny flashlight as a source of light. Everyone's eyes followed us as if watching some interesting movie that none of them wanted to miss any details of. Adrian didn't help much either, glaring at everyone that was near enough.

I sighed in relief once we reached the empty table way at the back ( which was where I always sat... alone ) and I plopped down onto the seat, Adrian mimicking my actions from across me.

Once he did though, everyone in the surrounding tables that were in a seven-meter radius stood up and ran away.

I sighed, ignoring the fact no one wanted to seat near me... near us, and started picking at the chicken and mashed potatoes with gravy that was on the tray he gave me.

Just looking at how much food there was made my stomach churn. I couldn't eat this much...

I carefully took a few bites, making sure Adrian saw me before I quickly shoved the tray away when I thought he wasn't paying attention.

My stomach couldn't take any more.

I felt a glare on me, and I heard a fork clang loudly onto the table.

I refused to look at him and glued my gaze on my lap. Anywhere but him.

"Eat." He was trying to control his temper and I had to give him props for that.

"I can't," I whispered, almost pathetically as my voice shook along with my sweaty hands that I kept on my lap, wringing them together as I tried to calm them down.

"Please, eat." He said louder this time and I just knew that everyone was looking at us right now.

But I stubbornly shook my head, bracing for what I knew was going to happen next.

I winced when I heard his chair scrape loudly on the tiled floor as he stood up, silencing the crowd yet again.

I held my breath as he stalked over to my side and angrily sat down on the chair beside me.

Even with my head down, I could feel the anger he was radiating, and boy was he angry.

I gasped when my chair was spun around to face him and I knew... I knew I was getting hell for this.

I muffled a whimper, and I lifted my head to stare at him with wide eyes.

Then, for some reason, his eyes held mine captive and I just couldn't look away. I just couldn't. For a moment, I forgot what was happening until he shut his eyes and turned away.

I snapped out of the trance immediately, feeling slightly puzzled by my actions earlier.

"Eat or I'll feed you." I gulped audibly before I jerked a nod and pulled my tray towards me again, grabbing the spoon and scooping up a heap of mashed potatoes.

I shoved them into my mouth and continued eating, just wanting him to stop being angry.

"Good."

I almost smiled when he said that simple word. For some unknown and terrifying reason, I liked it when he was happy with me. It was like I just wanted him to be proud of who I am and be pleased with all my decisions.

Weird... Very weird indeed.

Why was he even doing this?

Why would he even care for me?

Or maybe he didn't. Maybe I was just someone to mess with.

I opened my mouth to ask him but shut it back close.

He'd probably get mad and now wasn't the time.

But I have to know...

What did he want from a girl like me?