Always Been You

He was acting so differently that she was beginning to wonder if she did something wrong? How things had gotten to this extent she didn’t know.Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

“You know I can’t even look at you right now” she said. “So maybe you should just spend the night in one of the guest rooms”

“Great,” Jensen said. “You read my mind”

Katherine shook her head, but she didn’t say anything else. She couldn’t. Her perfect little family seemed to be falling apart right in front of heryand she couldn’t really do anything about it. She felt so helpless. She moved past him and ran up stairs into the bedroom and only when she curled up in bed did she let the tears flow.

———————–

“Hey Tim” Dylan Winchester said as he shut his locker. “You are coming to my party tomorrow night, right?” he asked.

“Ermmm no. I don’t think so. Sorry man” Tim replied regretfully.

“Why not?” Dylan asked.

“Because our Tim here is grounded” Oliver Bennet chipped in. Making Tim want to punch him.

“You are grounded? Why?” Peter Salvatore asked.

Tim sighed. “Guys, just forget about it,” Tim said. “I don’t really want to talk about it. I’m just not coming to the party. Let’s leave it at that, shall we”

His friends exchanged knowing looks and grinned.

“Come on, tell us,” Dylan said. “You know there is no way we are going to let it go until you tell us.”

“Fine. I will tell you” Tim said, banging his locker shut. “I’m grounded… for skipping classes and not doing my assignment. And oh! I stayed over at Dylan’s house the other day and I got home really late. Really pissed my mom and dad off. So she took my car keys, my laptop, my phone, and my video games. I gotta tell you guys it’s hell. I have to be well behaved from now on if I want those things back and because I know that she will take away something else if I piss her off again… Like my allowance ”

“Oh God forbid, ” Peter said.”Oh man, without my allowance I’m always in a terrible mood.”

“Tell me about it” Tim grumbled, and then he turned to Oliver. “I’m surprised you didn’t already know. I thought my mom must have told your mom”.

“Well she didn’t. Or maybe she did. Who knows. Doesn’t matter” Oliver said. “What matters right now is that you can’t come to the party and that sucks.”

“I know,” Tim said.

Dylan shook his head. “Come on man, you can find a way,” he said. “You can sneak out of the house now, can’t you? If you do it right, your parents won’t even know you were out of the house in the first place” he said.

Tim shrugged. “Yeah, that sounds tempting I gotta admit” he said. “But I think I’m just going to skip this one too. Things could get worse for me and I don’t want to piss my mom off right now. She and my dad are going through some stuff and I really hate seeing her get hurt. I don’t want to add to it”

“Ohhhhhh” Peter said giggling, and the others joined him. “Such a momma’s boy”.

“Yeah whatever” Tim said, rolling his eyes.

Just then, Dylan nodded to the right “Hey guys check it out” he said. “It’s the new girl”

They all turned in the direction he indicated, the topic of the party briefly forgotten.

Tim watched as Chloe Gilbert.. Yes, that was her name. He was sure it was because he had been captivated by her the first time he saw her in class some days back. He had even tried to smile at her but she had given him this ‘stay the hell away from me look’. It was weird. The girl didn’t seem to like him. And it was weird because everyone did.

But that hadn’t stopped him from watching her, especially when she had to come to the front of the class to introduce herself. He had shifted uncomfortably in his chair as she had talked about her family. Lucky enough to have the noble blood of African chiefs and the integrity of not one but two accomplished professors flowing through her veins.

Skin a dark sunset gold, so smooth and soft and warm. Tim had watched her with growing interest. Being a jock and one of the most popular and cutest guys in school, he always got a lot of attention, especially from girls. He was used to that, but it was different with Miss Gilbert here. She seemed to want nothing to do with him, didn’t seem to notice him. Even when he stared continuously at her, just so she would look in his direction. That drew her to him even more.

“Oh look” Oliver said, when he saw the look on Tim’s face as he watched her. “Looks like Tim has a crush on the new girl”

They all laughed, and Peter slapped Tim on the shoulder. “You like her, don’t you?” he asked. “I don’t think she is even that hot”