Elena

As soon as the bell rings, I can't get out of the classroom fast enough. At my locker, I switch out notebooks and head to my next class, English Literature. Astonishingly, I'm able to do all of this without Mike hovering. Why is he acting so protective of me? I walk into English Lit and see Declan. As he sees me, he smiles and waves me over. He is sitting in the second row of the classroom which has three horseshoe shaped rows of tables and chairs. The smaller horseshoe in the front and the biggest one in back with the podium in the middle of the room, the teacher's desk is off to the side. Padding my way over to him, I take a seat between him and another boy who doesn't acknowledge my presence as he reads a book.

"Hey, we have a class together." Declan announces with a smile.

"Yeah, I guess we do. How do you like this class so far?" I ask, hoping to get a feel of what to expect.

His response doesn't help my nerves, "Eh, it's ok. A lot of reading and there are reports and stuff. But Mr. Sullivan is pretty cool." He shrugs.

"Oh, well, hopefully this class won't be so bad then." I say to myself more than to him.

"Hey, what's up with that guy from earlier, is he like your boyfriend or brother or something?" His voice is quiet as to not gain attention from anyone.

"No, no, he's neither and I don't have a boyfriend." I nod my head, why did I have to say the latter? "He's my neighbor actually." I finish.

"Oh...that's weird." He states.

I just nod my head again and purse my lips, "Yep," making the 'P' pop.

"Well, hey, if he isn't your boyfriend, would it be okay if I asked you out sometime?" He asks, squeezing his hands together on the desk while leaning into me slightly.

I can feel my cheeks turning pink. I have never been asked out before. So, this is what it feels like. My heart is racing, my palms are sweaty, and my mind is trying to tell my mouth to say something, anything. "Yes!" I finally blurt out, then try to act more casual as to not seem too desperate or excited, "I mean, yeah, that would be fine."

I smile at him, and he smiles back at me. It's a beautiful moment until I hear a deep clearing of someone's throat. My eyes dart around to figure out where the noise came from, I don't see anyone in front of me. My chair jolts forward from a force so I turn around to look at the person behind me for being rude in kicking my chair only to find Mike sitting at a table directly behind me. When did he show up? He has a scolding stare at the back of Declan's head.

"Will you chill out." I whisper annoyed with him. His eyes dart to me and they soften.

Leaning over his desk, he speaks low, "You're not seriously going to go out with him, are you?" He doesn't sound very happy and I am thankful that the rest of the class has drowned out our conversation with their own voices so Declan can't hear.

"Yes. I will. Not that it concerns you." I whip myself back around to face the front of the class. As if on cue the teacher is standing in front of us all, cutting off whatever comment Mike was going make.

"Hello Class, let's dive right into it shall we?" We begin to discuss Lord of the Flies.

At the end of class, this time, Mike gets up and leaves right away. I decide to take my time with Declan. Why would my neighbor even care so much if I wanted to spend time with him or not? It's not like he's wanting to ask me out anytime soon.

​Declan and I exchange phone numbers after he asks me out for next Saturday night before walking out ahead of me. I can't help but smile as I step into the hallway– only for it to be wiped off by Mike, who decided to hide in the shadows to jump out at me. I smack him in the chest for the scare; he pretends to be wounded, holding his chest with his hand.

​"Don't do that!" I screech, effort goes into trying not notice how cute he looks.

​He places his hands up in surrender. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help it. So, your date with Derrick is Saturday -huh?" He sounds irritated. Why is he acting like this? Has he been eavesdropping?

​I straighten up my shoulders, bring my chin up high. "His name is Declan, it's next Saturday, and yes. I am very excited and there is nothing you can say that will bring me down."

​Taking a couple of long strides in a blink, he stands in front of me, causing my body to stumble to a stop before him.

​Shaking his head, he says, "I don't trust him, you shouldn't either." He is very stern about it. He stands shoulder width apart, crossing his arms over his chest and blocking my exit down the hall.

​My eyes are nearly about to bug out when I say, "Excuse me?" I am stunned. I barely know this man, my neighbor, and he's acting like he's a jealous ex-boyfriend or something. I can't put my finger on it, but he's pissing me off and if I wasn't so livid, I think I might actually be a little frightened. "I don't care if you don't trust him, you don't need to trust him, I need to trust him. So far, he hasn't given me any reason not to. Besides, I have the rest of this week and next week to get to know him a little more before going out with him on Saturday." I finally huff out.

​His jaw clenches as he blazes his eyes into my soul. "You should care what I think. I can read people Elena, I read people damn well enough to know that he's trouble. Something about him isn't right. You're not going out with him."

​"Well, I think you're just being paranoid." I snort, cutting him off while crossing my arms over my chest to mimic him. "Why do you even care so much?" I challenge.

​"I'm your neighbor Elena. Believe it or not, even in a small town like this, neighbors look out for each other. You shouldn't date him; you should stop seeing him. I'm just trying to look out for you." His voice softens at the end. He has some nerve telling me what I should and should not be doing for only meeting him mere hours ago. I suddenly realize that I need to get to my next class before the bell rings. The anxiety of being late for Calculus gnaws at me to end this conversation. I'm still not sure I believe him. He seems to be genuinely concerned. For some reason it tugs on my heart to see such tension in those bright emerald eyes.

​I place my small hand on his upper arm in an effort to comfort him. His skin is warm, and his muscles are hard, I look from his mouth to his eyes. Being this close to him, touching him fogs my mind, so I must step back and drop my hand.

"I appreciate your concern, Mike. But I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself. Neighbor or not, it doesn't give you the right to meddle in my dating life and tell me who I can and cannot date. It's unacceptable and very immature!" That part may have come out a bit harsh, but I continue. "Besides, you don't have to worry too much, my Dad has taught me a few moves if I need to defend myself. We can talk about this later if you want, but I need to get to class – so do you." He takes a deep breath and sighs; his shoulders slump a bit.

​"Fine." He states with no emotion as he turns to walk away. Rushing to my locker, I switch out my notebooks and go to my next class.

*********

​The rest of the day, he keeps his distance. Even at lunch, when Declan finds me to keep me company, Mike sits at a table, two tables away from us. He never takes his glaring green eyes off of me. There are a couple of girls that come up to him to try and sit with him, but he politely declines them. Meanwhile, I try not to be rude and pretend to listen to Declan as he comments about the stale cafeteria food. For some reason, I'm pleased that he declines them. They're dressed in cheerleading uniforms, skirts that are just way too short, but they can wear them because it's their uniform. Internally, I roll my eyes at how desperate they seem; the girls are rubbing his shoulders and giggling way too loud.

He is in every single one of my classes; Ive noticed that he never has any books with him. How is he going to do well in these classes without any books? I'm glad he isn't hovering, but at the same time I miss him being close to me. Nibbling on my thumb nail, I chew over the fact that he has such an effect on me. Why does he affect me so much? Shouldn't I be thinking more about Declan?

At the end of the day he takes me home without saying a word. It's awkward holding onto him on the bike while he gives me the silent treatment. The feeling of being on the bike is different than being on it this morning. I can't wait to get away from his cold behavior, even the weather decides to take a chilly turn. The sun was out this morning, but now it's overcast. If it rains, hopefully it won't be for too long – I can smell the rain in the air.

When we arrive in his driveway, he turns off his bike. Without saying a word, I quietly remove myself from him and place the helmet on the back seat. He sits there for a minute.

​"Are you okay?" The words are hesitant as they leave my lips.

​"Yeah. Fine. Just giving you space." He says coldly. That isn't exactly what I wanted. I didn't want him to give me space necessarily, I just wanted him to lighten up.

​As I try to explain, the bike roars to life again, he turns behind him to remove the helmet and straps it to the back bar. I shout over the roaring of his bike, "Where are you going?"

​He shoots me a look and says, "None of your concern." Spinning the wheels, smoke escapes the spinning rubber and he disappears into the cloudy mist.