Free Demon Kissed by H.M. Ward Page B

shake him off, I reached out for him. My fingers wrapped around his forearm gently, and he paused, looking at me. “Eric, I’m jumpy. That’s all. It’s not you. I swear. What were you going to say?”
    I wasn’t interested in Eric. Not like that, but I didn’t want him to think he was gross or something. I wasn’t a touchy feely friend, but I didn’t shirk at my friends’ touch either. I guess I was somewhere in between.
    He smiled, nodding, “Nothing, it’s just. Well, I’m going to the diner in a sec. You want to come?”
    “Sure, just let me grab my stuff.” I didn’t want to go home yet. I’d be okay, and if Jake showed up, Eric was a good person to be with.
    Eric started to say something, but his mouth faltered and snapped shut. His smile faded just as quickly. I looked up to see what caused his abrupt change. My eyes wandered across the groups of kids and landed on my locker. Collin was leaning against it, surrounded by a gaggle of girls. I groaned out loud. Eric sniggered.
    Turning to Eric, I asked, “I’ll meet you over there?”
    He gave me a look of condolences, and said, “Sure. See ya there.” His pace quickened. Eric and Collin glared at each other as he passed. I turned my attention back to my locker. Embarrassment related to last night crept over my skin, making me feel hot. I didn’t want to talk about it. I didn’t want to see him, mostly, because I had made an idiot out of myself.
    I said nothing, and opened my locker. Collin watched me. I tossed my bio book into the bottom, and then stood on my toes to sift through the crap at the top. My math book was up there. Somewhere. Not finding it, I lowered my heels to the floor. Ugh. It must be down bottom . The bottom of my locker looked like a ski hill made of paper, books, and the occasional Spork . I crouched down to sift through the pile, squatting, wishing I could leave without it.
    Collin crouched next to me, “Ivy. Dear. This may be obvious, but you are a slob.” A playful smile flashed across his face, as he looked at me. He was going to act like last night never happened. Oh God . Then it would be hanging there, perpetually stuck, like a scratched CD, skipping back to the blunder for eternity.
    But, like him, I didn’t want to talk about it now either. “Go away Collin,” I said, not putting much feeling into it, digging through papers, slowly unearthing textbooks. He continued to crouch next to me, laughing lightly. He bumped into me, and knocked me off balance. If I’d been paying attention, it wouldn’t have happened. But I wasn’t. Unable to shift my weight fast enough, I fell backward, and landed on my butt. When I looked at him, a coy smile tugged at one corner of his mouth.
    I grumbled half-heartedly, “Grow up!” I rolled to my knees, reaching into my locker, and grabbed my bio book. Turning, I held the book with two hands, and whapped him in the chest. He toppled over from his crouched perch. But before he fell, he stuck his foot out and took me back down with him. My laughter broke free, as the rest of my bad mood fizzled. Our jean clad legs tangled together, and I fell onto his chest with the bio book separating us. For a second, my life felt normal. I had one of my best friends back, but the feeling faded quickly. The close proximity conjured the memories from last night. Quickly, I pushed myself off of him. I sat down on the floor in front of my locker, pushing my hair out of my eyes. Collin rolled himself upright, still laughing.
    “Get a room!” some guy yelled, as he sprinted past. Most of the students had either left the building, or were headed to their after-school activities.
    We looked at each other and laughed lightly, but the laughter ended too soon to be real. Crap . This was what I’d done to our friendship. The halls were empty.
    Desperately, I wished last night hadn’t happened. I wanted my friend back. Collin leaned his head back against the locker, and we looked at each other.   The silence