Author’s note- So, I had a hard time naming this chapter, but I hope you guys find it appropriate. And thanks to those who commented, it really helps as motivation for writing these. Btw, this chapter was supposed to come out yesterday, but… I didn’t have access to internet at that time. Anyways, enjoy!

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A Declaration of Trust

I said goodbye to Chloe at the locker room, and I went back to the boy’s locker room. And as I came in, there were a multitude of reactions. Some gave disapproving glares, some smiled, and some looked exited. I suppose the excited ones were the busy bodies.

Busybody- “Hey, what up cuz? You gonna diss Helen tomorrow?”

Busybody 2- “No man, he’s gonna be roasting her! And look, I got it all on camera!”

Helen supporter- “Hey, delete that! You shouldn’t be taking videos of Helen’s business.”

My supporter- “What? Helen talks about people behind their back all the time! This is karma!”

And as I went to my locker to change, one of my friends came up to me. With short brown hair, blue eyes, and a wiry build, Julian looked like a very athletic person. But don’t let that throw you off.

The only thing he liked to do was talk about girls, and say a dirty joke if the situation was appropriate. The only reason I was friends with him was because he was good at martial arts (if he tried). He also liked to have me around, because my serious personality made me one of those people who didn’t talk dirty. Therefore, he liked to use my word choices and play around with them, putting me into numerous awkward situations when everyone was walking in the hallways. His saving grace was when he wasn’t joking, he was an honest person.

And this time, he didn’t look like he was in a joking mood. Ugh, is he going to say something to me about Helen? I don’t want to hear it.

But since he was my friend, I ended up waiting for him to speak.

Julian- “Man, I know Helen can be a bitch, but honestly, doing that wasn’t worth it. First of all, she has a large group of friends, that can make both your life hell, and Chloe’s. Second of all, she’s never going to let that go. So, it’s going to be war everyday, when you could be doing better things. Third of all, she’s a girl. You don’t make girls cry! Not like that, and especially not in front of a crowd. Even if you didn’t step out of the right, and even though she crossed the line.”

At this point in time, I still didn’t completely agree with his points. Especially the last point, coming from a person who likes to talk about girls, I really thought that one was biased. However, I knew that he had a point; he was asking me to apologize. I wouldn’t hear the end of it if I didn’t.

Me- “Ok, ok. It’s just, I don’t see my apology coming in the near future. It’s hard to keep a cool head even thinking about her right now, much less talking to her in person.”

Julian looked like he was somewhat satisfied with my answer.

Julian- “Yeah. You should as soon as possible. I don’t want to see the whole school talking about you behind your back. Especially when you haven’t done anything wrong.”

Well, that was Julian. He’s loyal too, if you didn’t notice it. And that’s what I value most in my friends. Loyalty and Honesty. After all, those traits resonated with my own.

And after a little while, I had finished changing. At that time, I went over to the gym, where we had to get dismissed.

Standing by the wall, was one lovely to behold, Chloe. She was there looking around for someone. And when she saw me her eyes brightened. Yes, the loyal and lovely to behold Chloe. I prepared to talk about Helen, and ask about what happened in the locker room. But she was positively giddy, and she beat me to it.

Chloe- “Thanks. I mean, thanks for everything. For once Helen didn’t bother me about anything today. And I’m not saying that she won’t do so in the future, but it still felt damn good!”

Well. That was not what I was expecting. But ok. That’s great! I found one thing Julian was wrong about!

Chloe- “And calling me a sl*t! Hmph! She got what was coming to her! And what did she say about me before?”

Me- “She told me to stay away from you, while simultaneously insulting you by calling you a nerd. She also tried to flirt with me while throwing a kiss. Ugh! How disgusting!”

Chloe- “Hah! I think she should observe herself and see who she should be calling slut!”

Right after that, Helen suddenly stood up; all eyes turned to her. But in another moment, she sat down, looking depressed. What was with her!?

But after she sat there not saying anything for awhile, I lost my focus for looking for clues. And it’s not like I was interested in her business anyway. So Chloe and I went right back into our conversation.

Me- “So, Chloe. What do you think we are doing in tech-theater today? I know I botched up the roof last time, and you know, I wasn’t there to try and refix it. Do you think somebody else got it?”

Chloe- “I don’t think so. You’re gonna have to fix it.”

Me- “Hmph! That roof and I have a vendetta! But I’m going to beat it this time!”

She giggled lightly, and I smiled as well, her cheerfulness rubbing off on me. But suddenly she fell downcast, making me concerned.

Chloe- “Yeah, I’m sorry about that. When I gave the ok, I guess I wasn’t really paying attention. But that won’t happen again; I promise!”

I frowned; was she still blaming herself for that? I didn’t blame her anymore! Plus, I wanted her to be happy. And if she was to be happy, she couldn’t keep blaming herself like this.

Me- “Listen, I don’t blame you for that. Mistakes happen, but nothing ended coming out of it, right?”

Chloe- “But you got kidnap-”

Me- “That had nothing to do with the roof did it? They were investigating some details about the car accident; I already told you about that. Listen to me! It wasn’t your fault, ok?”

I looked Chloe in the eye, and she stared back into mine. It seemed like we could read each other’s intentions at that moment, and in the next moment she relented.

Chloe- “Ok, you’re right. I’ll stop blaming myself for that. But in return, you can’t blame yourself either for the kidnapping, ok!?”

I paused; did I blame myself as well? The answer came out to be yes. If I hadn’t walked across the street, if I stopped to recheck the boards, there would of been a situation in which C.H.I.B.I. contacted me anyway. I would remain unknown to them. But Chloe was right. Something would've happened sooner or later, and my ability would've shown up then.

I held my hands up in defeat and started chuckling bitterly

Me- “It seems you know me too well, better than I know myself. I admit defeat; I won’t blame anyone.”

Chloe gave me a half smile, and I smiled back at her in return. And we almost had another sweet moment until Julian walked in.

Me- “Julian, what are you doing here? We were just walking together, nothing really happened.”

Julian smirked; I knew he could see I was flustered.

Julian- “What’s there to be embarrassed about? If you weren’t doing anything, then why are you acting so guilty now? Sounds suspicious. Now I know what she meant when she said everyone knows you two are a thing now!”

He put his hand on my shoulder and whispered jokingly into my ear.

Julian- “And have you two done it already? Nathaniel you sly dog!”

Chloe’s face turned red as well; it seemed Julian didn’t do too well in trying to whisper. Everyone had heard!

In that moment, I didn’t know how to respond. And Julian capitalized on this chance.

Julian- “Well I have to go. See you later Nathaniel!”

He slipped away before I could grab him and ran off into the crowd. I couldn’t chase after him because look and behold, I had already reached our tech theater class.

Yes, you heard me right. The reason Chloe and I volunteered for fixing the roof was because we were in the same class. And because of the accident, we probably needed to fix it by today, the deadline for the play.

Tech theater teacher (Director)- “Hey Chloe, are you ok? I heard from your parents that something went wrong in the construction yesterday, and your ankle got hurt worse. Are you alright?”

Chloe- “Yeah, thankfully Nathaniel pushed me out of the way, and the roof didn’t end up falling. I think we’ll be able to finish it right this time.”

DIrector- “Ok, I’ll be counting on you two again. And don’t worry about another incident; we’ll be there to watch your back.”

Thankfully the director was more understanding. And after he had taken roll, we moved into the theater to finish up. Everyone was moving materials like nails, power tools, paint rollers, everything you could find on a construction site back to it’s set place, in the workshop. Except Chloe and I.

Me- “Looks straight?”

I was currently on a ladder, placing the last board in place, while Chloe was determining if it looked straight from her point of view.

Chloe- “Looks good!”

I then started screwing into the board, but Chloe stopped me.

Chloe- “Why didn’t you recheck it? I could be wrong.”

Me- “I trust you. You wouldn’t make that kind of mistake again.”

Chloe looked touched; and I knew we were going to have some lovey dovey moments on the floor. But right now, it was time to get the roof in place!

I screwed in the board without problems, and came down the ladder with a big smile on my face. Chloe practically jumped into my arms, and that was the moment of my first kiss!

It wasn’t one of those deep kisses you see on the movies, but to me, it was definitely much more memorable. All I saw was cherry red, a deep, delicious red connecting with my own. But the feelings other than sight made it so much more amazing.

Feeling her heartbeat aflutter, hearing her rough breaths, smelling her beautiful fragrance, they all tugged strongly at my heartstrings. And after she pulled away, her lingering fragrance stuck with me, making me desire more.

It was like tasting a small amount of desert, but not being able to have any more. It leaves a small aftertaste in your mouth and makes you want more and more. If it was really good, then your mouth starts to water as you continue to imagine eating more of it.

I was replaying the scene within my own mind over and over as I stood there, engraving it into my memory. And when I finally had enough of it, I opened my eyes only to find that Chloe was playing it within her mind as well!

Crap, did she have more of a certain drive than I did? Thinking back, besides the time when I first pushed her over, every other time she started the advances. Wait, that sounded bad! Stop thinking of dangerous thoughts, stupid brain! You’ll make me become another Julian if you continue thinking like this!

(Author’s musings: Why do I feel so conflicted after writing this? Ugh, my heart’s a big mess. I blame my step-sister for convincing me to write romance, and my own total inexperience with romance!)

I pinched my arm to rid myself of further thoughts, but my eyes got attracted by those lips again. And in that moment, Chloe’s eyes flipped open.

I looked away guiltily as if I had been caught doing something wrong, so Chloe looked at me for a second and asked whisperingly,

Chloe- “Why do you look so nervous, it’s not like kissing is anything wrong.”

Me- “Not that, it’s just… Would I be wrong to say I want more?”

Chloe’s face flushed red.

Chloe- “Wait until after school ends! Right now we need to join up with the rest of our class and finish cleaning up.”

This broke me completely out of the stupor caused by the kiss, and I nodded my head yes. So then we walked together to the workshop, and the director was waiting for us when we arrived.

Director- “You two got the roof fixed, right?”

Chloe and I- “Got it!”

He smiled and turned to the whole class.

Director- “So, I’ll see you all at the play! Remember, if your parents want to come, they will have to pay a ten dollar fee, but for you guys, it is free yet mandatory. It’s at 7:30 tonight. Meet me in the classroom about 10 minutes earlier, and I will be there to hand out your test for this semester. Remember, this is a summative, so pay attention to the play and answer the questions seriously. Now if there are any more questions, speak up now.”

Rp1- “What was the play over, again?”

The director’s smile froze.

Director- “It seems somebody hasn’t been paying attention to anything I’ve been saying throughout the year… So the play is on the life of Anne Frank, the girl who survived the holocaust. She had a diary, remember?”

RP1- “Oh, ok. Yeah... Got it.”

Director- “Any further questions?”

“...”

Director- “Then class is dismissed! Use the rest of your free time for a study hall or something.”

The class burst into chatter, and the director raised up his hands in defeat. And that marked the start of our free time.

And in a moment, Chloe and I were trying to talk with each other. I couldn’t find a topic and neither could she, so we ended up having a staring contest until someone spoke up. And this time, it was me.

Me- “So Chloe, how’s the weather today. You think we are going to have to walk today?”

Yeah, I know. Terrible conversation topic… But hey, it was the best one that came to mind. Fortunately Chloe went along with it.

Chloe- “Well, although it is raining, we won’t have to walk today. Anime/manga club is extended to last until the start of the play. And plus, it’s friday. If you can’t get a ride home from your parents, I’ll get my dad to drive you.”

Me- “That sounds cool! But what is going on in the club that will let us extend our time so long? A movie?”

Chloe- “Nathaniel, why does it always seem like you’re always the one left out of the loop? We’re watching Howl’s Castle. It’s an older film, but the quality is good.”

Me- “What’s it about?”

Chloe- “Well basically, it follows the adventures of a young girl, who is also an owner of a hat shop. When the witch of the wild west comes, she curses the girl to be an old granny. But this is not the end of the story. Because the girl meets Howl, a wizard who has magical powers. The most notable of which being his ability to transform into a man eagle, which lets him fly around at high speeds. And his feathers are so sharp, they can cut through steel. But anyways-”

Me- “Wait, don’t spoil it too much! I want to see it too.”

Chloe chuckled, and asked me liberatingly,

Chloe- “Why did you let me go on so long if you were going to stop me right as it got good?”

I jokingly let off an exasperated sigh, then continued with my reason,

Me- “You looked so happy when you were talking about it; I didn’t want to stop you. But at the same time, it seemed like you wouldn’t stop until the whole movie’s plot was unraveled.”

Chloe scratched her nose, revealing a bashful smile.

Chloe- “Really? I didn’t think so.”

And just then, the bell rung, signifying the start of our next class. Or would be class, because we both had lunch this period. Although, Chloe and I had never sat together before.

As I was a transferee, I didn’t have many friends, and most of them were not in my lunch. So lunch was more of a study hall period, as I read or worked on homework after eating. But this time, I didn’t want to leave Chloe alone.

After all, we had jumped from the realm of acquaintances/friends to girlfriend/boyfriend in one step. And that meant that she had risen in relative importance, and she was now much higher on my priority list than reading or working on homework. So I expressed my intention to sit with her through a conversational topic.

Me- “So, where do you normally sit?”

Chloe looked somewhat embarrassed, but pointed out the place anyway as we walked to the cafeteria.

Chloe- “I sit at the table next to the corner here. It’s really convenient when I want to go eat at the school food court. You could sit here as well if you want.”

I immediately saw through that statement. She tried to give a benefit, but what I saw was that she really didn’t have any friends to talk to. It seemed we were on the same boat.

I sat down first, and began unzipping my backpack for my lunch. Chloe on the other hand, went up to wait in line for food. And when I opened my lunchbox; I remembered what I had gotten. Pizza!

To celebrate me coming back, dad had ordered 3 boxes of pizza for the family. I think he ended up over exaggerating how hungry the family had been, because both Chloe’s mom and mine only had one slice. My dad had two, her dad ate three, and I had a whole 6 slices to myself (Hey, remember I didn’t get anything to eat for the whole time I was tranquilized). Chloe only ended up having two. This left a whole leftover pizza box for us devour.

And the brilliant Idea he came up with was to give me four pieces for lunch, while they each had two. That was fine for the most part, except the fact that any food in a container, when opened will release a certain smell to the surroundings. Now the smell of pizza isn’t bad; it’s just very noticeable.

Thus when I opened it, I could immediately hear comments about the smell.

Rp1- “What’s that smell? Pizza? I don’t remember having pizza in one of our food courts. Where is the smell coming from?”

Rp2- “I smell it too. Hey look, that guy brought the pizza.”

Busybody 1- “Wait, isn’t that Nathaniel? Did you see what he did to Helen? He actually made her cry, look at the video!”

Busybody 2- “No shit, really? Oh damn, I gotta see this!”

Videos started playing in the surroundings, all playing the same guy’s video, along with the huge “ooh”ing of the guy who caught it on camera… And as glances from my blind spots continued to accumulate, the nervosity actually manifested into a physical sensation. It felt like needles were pricking all over my back, and my palms started to sweat. A purely instinctual reaction, but real nonetheless.

I wished all their phones would stop being able to play that video, something that could make them looking at me. And suddenly, out of nowhere the power of the school shut off. A blackout. I heard the sound of something dropping, and then a muffled curse came out.

Chloe- “Nathaniel? Nathaniel, where are you?”

I could barely see, but I could recognize the shape of Chloe floundering around. So I grabbed her stuff, walked over to her, and asked quietly,

Me- “What’s wrong?”

Chloe- “I dropped my glasses. I was wiping them, and I was so surprised by the blackout that they ended up falling out of my hands.”

Me- “Don’t worry, I’ll get them for you.”

I crouched down, and looked around the floor for them. Not finding anything but blackness with my first glance, I took out my phone and used it to light up the floor. With that I picked up the glasses, and gave them to Chloe. But just as she was about to give her thanks, the announcements came on.

The Principal- “Hi, this is your principal speaking. We are just experiencing a temporary blackout, do not panic. A technician is going down currently to replace the circuit breaker, and we will have power again in about 5 minutes. Again, do not panic. It will be over soon.”

The mostly silent cafeteria now became loud, as people started talking all over the place. But before Chloe could say anything, I had already grabbed her hand to walk away from the cafeteria.

Chloe- “Where are we going?”

Me- “The library, it’s quieter and it has windows. We’ll actually be able to see there.”

Chloe- “Why do I get the feeling that you're trying to escape something?”

Urk, a woman’s intuition was really terrifying!

Me- “...Let’s just go to the library.”

I could feel Chloe’s questioning glance, asking why I didn’t answer the question. But in my defense, what else was I supposed to say? Lie to her? Admit that I was embarrassed from all those glances? Both are bad options to begin with anyway…

And in darkness and silence, we both reached the library. Sunlight streamed in from the blinds, and students were sitting around next to the windows. I led her to a table next to a window, but devoid of people. And then I gave Chloe her stuff back. But it seemed she was still interested in the reason why I suddenly left the cafeteria.

Chloe- “So, Nathaniel, tell me. What was it?”

I gave her a childish half smile and passed over 2 of my pizzas, but she didn’t relent.

Choe- “No, I’m not letting you off this time. Come on, I didn’t even get the lunch I wanted because of this. Tell me!”

Realizing I had no road for retreat, I bit the bullet.

Me- “Well, it was because the tables surrounding us were playing that video with Helen. They were also glancing at me from time to time, and it became really uncomfortable. So I wanted to leave while I still had the chance.”

Chloe- “You don’t have to be nervous about that. Look, I’m here aren’t I? You said it before, but I’m going to say it again. We can get out of this together!”

She smiled and flexed her non existent muscles, but I could feel the sincerity behind her tone. And sitting there with her at that time, I found that I felt comfort and security by just being together with her, like nowhere else.

And I didn’t have any better way to express this, but to squeeze her hand slightly. Yes, this was what a relationship should be like. A mutual dependence on one another. She will protect me, and I will protect her.

And while we closed our eyes, relishing the moment, a golden light came from my hand and onto her own without my prompting. I opened my eyes in surprise, but before I could do anything, a symbol had formed on the bottom of her wrist. A symbol of a shield.

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Author’s note 2- Yeah, another chapter with almost 4000 words. I really have to stop doing that. But sometimes, I just lose track of time while writing. Now, I’m off to work on some Hw. So, see you guys later!