The Understorey (The Leaving #1)

The Understorey (The Leaving #1) Page 12

“The hard part?”

“Yeah, so I made it home right? My parents weren’t there and I had no way of calling for help. Plus, go figure, I only had one key and it was for the front door, meaning the back wasn’t an option. I parked the car as close to the house as possible to avoid exposure and studied the neighborhood for a second. I didn’t notice anyone or anything so I rushed out and bolted up my porch to the front door. Just then, my neighbor, Sawyer Tuttle,” She paused.”Do you know him? He’s in our Chemistry class.”

“Yeah,” I laughed, “I know him. I sit next to him in class.”

“Oh, anyway, Sawyer comes sauntering around to the front of his house from the side and catches me in all of my underwear glory. Well, there was no sense in hiding because he’d already seen everything. Plus, like a deer in headlights, the kid just stared with his mouth open. He didn’t even bother turning around. So, I winked at him and finally opened the door.” She took a deep breath. “And that’s my secret. Well, mine and Sawyer’s secret. Well, mine, Sawyer’s and that naughty raccoon’s secret.”

“And mine,” I threw in.

“Yes, our secret.”

No wonder Tut stared at Jules the way he did. I couldn’t blame him but that didn’t change the fact that I still wanted to bash his face in.

“You know, I said something that no one else knew. Sawyer knew.”

“Whoa buddy! It counts. Trust me. It counts.”

We both laughed.

“You torture Sawyer Tuttle, you know.”

“No I don’t! I’ve barely said a word to him since. I even wave to him now and again so he knows I’m not angry at him.”

“Even making eye contact with him is torturing him Jules. He’s seen you in your underwear. I’m pretty sure that’s all he ever thinks about when he’s around you.”

“No!” She said. I could almost hear it click in her head. “Wait. Seriously? It was so long ago. I’m sure he barely remembers it.”

“Trust me baby doll. He remembers.”

“Well, crap. Should I say something to him?”

“No,” I laughed, “not unless you want him to keep obsessing about you. No, the best thing for you to do is wear a large bulky jacket to Chemistry.”

More laughing. Poor Tut. Poor, can’t wait to punch him in the face, Tut.

The next day, I saw Jules at lunch and we picked up where our two hour phone conversation left off. We reminded ourselves of all the little things we did together growing up. I had forgotten what great partners in crime we had once been and definitely felt closer to her again. All it took was a simple phone call. It was like time had never passed us by.

I freaked out a little bit while waiting until the end of the day to see her during fourth period Chemistry. We were picking lab partners for the rest of the year that day and at lunch she agreed to be mine.

“Dude, what’s going on with you?” Jesse asked during third period, before the band started practicing.

He pointed to my bouncing knee and the drumsticks nervously twirling in my hands. I stopped all movement before I answered.

“Oh,” I said, clearing my throat, “nothin’.”

“Seriously, you’ve got something going on lately and you’re not telling me.”

“I really don’t.”

He didn’t buy it.

“Okay,” I said, sitting up, “but listen, you can’t say a word to anyone about this. I’ve been talking to Jules...Julia lately and she’s skittish. I don’t want to scare her off.”

“Awww man! Elliott!”

All heads turned our way.

“Shhhhh! Keep your voice down.”

“Elliott, you can’t go out with Julia Jacobs,” he whispered.

“I can do whatever I want Jesse.”

He got unusually serious for a moment and his face and voice grew menacing.

“You’d be smart to stay away from her Elliott. Trust me, you’d be the smartest person in the world to stay away from her.”

“Whatever Jesse. That’s enough ordering me around. Class is about to start.”

I tried to pass off what Jesse said but it really rubbed me the wrong way. It wasn’t so much what he said, but how he said it that gave me the willies. I decided to ignore it. I had better things to think about, like Jules’ hair and skin.

After rocking it out for an hour and a half. I thought about changing my sweaty t-shirt but was too excited to see Jules. My hair even stuck to the back of my neck, I was so sticky with sweat.

I threw my book bag onto my shoulder, stuck my sticks in the back pockets of my jeans and hauled over to Mr. Belkin’s Chemistry class. I sat at the lab table in the back with my little friend Sawyer Tuttle. I say little, but the guy was at least six foot two with a broad chest that could probably take a few punches, darn it.

Jules wasn’t there yet so I took my sticks out of the back of my jeans to play with on the lab table while I waited for her to walk in. I really got into whatever it was I was playing because when she strolled in Tut had to shove at one of my elbows, causing me to drop one of my sticks, to get my attention that she was there and not because he thought Jules and I were talking. I’m pretty sure he didn’t have a clue that Jules and I were talking. It was because she was drop dead and that didn’t escape even one of the guys’ attention in that room.

No one wanted anything to do with her but they could not disagree that she was the most beautiful girl in that school. I knew. They all knew. Hell, she was the most beautiful girl in the entire world. It kind of infuriated me that Sawyer Tuttle noticed her; that all or any of the guys noticed her, really. It infuriated me even more that Tut thought I’d want to be one to delve into whatever private thoughts he was having about her.

I don’t know what got into me but I stood up, leaving the stick on the floor, eyed Tut like a dog eyes a piece of meat and walked right up to Jules. Placing my hand at the small of her back, I leaned into her ear, breathing in the scent of her hair.

“You haven’t changed your mind have you?” I whispered.

“No, Elliott. When Mr. Belkin asks me who my lab partner will be I’ll be sure to say your name. Now sit down and stop being mean to Sawyer, despite our history he’s still one of the few here who treats me nicely.”

She smiled and lightly tapped me twice on the face sending a short burst of sparks cascading from my cheek. I just stared into her eyes with a huge grin on my face. She was original, my Jules. Original and too smart, for my own good.

“Sit down Mr. Gray,” Mr. Belkin said beneath his reading glasses.

I walked back to my seat and Tut’s mouth matched his eyes, wide and in disbelief.

“Are you going out with Julia Jacobs?” He asked bluntly.

“No.”

He relaxed in his stool.

“Not yet, anyway” I threw out so his body language could grow back the tension I wanted it to be at.

The bell rang and Mr. Belkin began taking roll. When he was done, he went down the line of lab tables and asked each student who they’d like their lab partner to be. When he got to Jules, I straightened up in my stool, crossed my arms and winked at Tut. He smiled the most insincere smile I’d ever seen and I could almost hear the curses in his head.

“Julia Jacobs?”

“Yes, Mr. Belkin?”

“Who is to be your lab partner?”

“Elliott Gray, Mr. Belkin.”

“See ya’ around Tut,” I gloated.

I joined Jules at her table and she shot a look of disapproval my way. I just stared ahead, knowing well what I’d done but not caring. When he finished pairing everyone up, Tut got stuck with Robby Banden, sucker. Mr. Belkin explained the lab we were doing that day and gave us a few minutes to prep.

“What’s up with you?” I asked.

“You forget Elliott Gray. I can feel everything that you feel without touching you, if the feeling’s strong enough.”

“Oh,” I said, embarrassed, “the anger I felt for Tut you must have been feeling toward me and I couldn’t tell the difference.”

Have to figure out how to differentiate the sensations, I told myself.

She touched my arm, “I can tell you’re sorry, so I’ll drop it.”

Wow, this is going to work out really well, I thought.

“Though I don’t deserve it,” I said, “I’m glad you chose me today.”

“I’d have chosen you even if you had clobbered him onto the ground. It’s just jealousy Elliott. You don’t think I feel it for you when any one of these girls here looks at you? It’s only natural. Just don’t let it bother you. I’m interested in you and you alone.”

“Julia Jacobs!” I shouted in a whisper. “I believe you’ve just stolen my heart. God! Why do you have to be such a firework?”

“That’s an incredibly astute question,” she said, eyeing me slyfully.

I peered back over my shoulder at Tut.

“Tut seems to be kind of mad himself. Why do you think that is Jules?”

“Elliott.”

“What if I brushed your hair from your shoulder? Do you think that would anger him more?”

I brushed a long strand of hair off her shoulder and stared deeply into her eyes, trying really hard not to look back at Tut.

“I don’t like cruelty,” she said.

“It doesn’t feel like you don’t like my brand of cruelty.”

She let a smile slip through.

“I don’t deny that I like it when you touch me,” she said. Butterflies rustled in my stomach.    “But,” she continued, “not at the expense of others.”

“But Jules, had you not thought that my touching you might help Tut get over you?”

I let the back of my index finger trail tiny zaps down her jaw line. She grabbed my hand and put it onto the lab table.

“In this class, you will not encourage Sawyer’s hurt.”

“I understand,” I said, suddenly ashamed of my cruel behavior. “You know Jules? You do strange things to me. I’ve had little to no control of some of the smallest emotions. For instance, this jealousy I feel over Tut?” I leaned into her ear. “It makes me want to kiss you in front of everyone in here. Just so they’ll know that I belong to you and you belong to me.”

“Well, as much fun as that would be,” she said grabbing my face and turning it toward our solution filled flask, “we have work to do.”

We both smiled flirtatiously then focused on the task at hand with only the occasional teasing remark.

When Chemistry was over, I walked her to her car. The five minute walk was inspiring, to say the least. Images of students slurred around us, but we were the only ones that mattered. I hesitated for the first minute but eventually grabbed her hand in mine. The instant our hands connected, a pyrotechnic shower of light and heat cascaded over our heads before spilling onto the concrete. It was beautiful and I knew exactly what it was. It was the happiness we felt, together, and it reflected in the sparkled bits of electricity that fell at our feet.