Don't Make This Easy, I Want You to Mean It

“You need to go to English, Miss Rae,” Veronica Mars, the absolute dragon behind putting me with Mr Warren, told me.
“Not until you switch my classes,” I stated, scowling at her and making no attempt to move from my seat. I’d been here for the last twenty minutes and I was beyond bored of everything she’d been saying to me in that time. It was no different than what she’d been telling me for the last month.
“We have no space in any class on your grade level, except with Mr Warren.” She didn’t appear fazed to be repeating the comment for what must have been the tenth time today alone.
“Then move me up a set,” I shrugged, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. She rubbed her temples and I felt a small smile pull at my lips. Finally, the constant visits of mine were starting to wear on her. She was starting to give in. “If I fall behind, you can move me back to Warren’s class. Or, even better, down a set.”
“We’ll see,” she sighed. “Are we done here? If you want to keep up with them, you have to at least go to class.” I pursed my lips, not quite happy with giving in just yet.
“I’m not setting foot in that man’s classroom. He hates me.”
“Oh, no, Miss Rae, you’re going. Leave.” I groaned at her tone in her voice, knowing it was best to leave, and heaved myself out of the chair I’d been sitting in. I tried not to slam the door, knowing I would undo my progress if I left in a huff today. I’d learned that lesson once before. Instead, I walked slowly down the corridor to the classroom, hoping I wouldn’t have to actually enter the room. The halls were deathly quiet, completely empty of any forms of life. I enjoyed the peace occasionally. It was a nice change from my usual setting, which always seemed to involve bodies pressed together and loud music bouncing through the room. I was grateful to be alone sometimes, just like everybody else. It didn’t take me long to notice the footsteps behind me, keeping pace with me, though ever so slightly out of sync.
“Didn’t your mother ever teach you it was wrong to skip class?” I called over my shoulder, not bothering to turn around and face whoever was following me. I heard the person snicker before responding to me.
“Didn’t your mother ever tell you it was wrong to talk to strangers?” He mocked me. I let out a sigh, realising who it was.
“Shut up, Alex,” I laughed, turning to face him. “Skipping English? What a rebel.” My words oozed with sarcasm, but Alex didn’t seem to mind.
“Well, I was planning on going back, but I found a pretty girl walking by the boys’ bathroom, and I just had to follow her.” I rolled my eyes at his sleek words. No wonder the guy had girls falling at his feet.
“Well, go follow then,” I smirked. I wasn’t letting him see just how his words affected me. I knew he was a player and his words meant nothing, but I couldn’t help the way my knees seemed to buckle when he looked at me.
“It’s hard to follow you when you’ve stopped moving.”
“You’re such a lady’s man. I bet you’re a momma’s boy, too,” I laughed, thankful he seemed to be getting a little less smooth as the conversation carried on. I can withstand the obvious.
“Damn straight. Who else would cook me and Jack our waffles?” He grinned. I let out another laugh, making his grin widen. “Shouldn’t you be in class?”
“I should be. But I hate my English teacher, and I’m pretty sure he hates me too. So I’m trying to find a way not to go.” Alex’s smile turned mischievous at my words and I raised my eyebrows at him.
“Well, since we’re skipping, we should probably go somewhere we’re not going to be found.” Before I could respond, Alex grabbed my hand, dragging me from the corridor and out into the open air. I shivered as the breeze hit me, but Alex didn’t slow down, pulling me along until we were out in the courtyard, hidden around the corner from the main school building so nobody could see us. We could see his usual lunch spot from where we sat and I realised this was probably where he hid himself when he didn’t want to be found. His grip on my hand didn’t lessen as we sat down and I couldn’t think of a way to excuse myself from him without embarrassing myself. I’d never been so conscious of a man’s touch as I was his and my heart raced as he looked at me.
“I can’t believe we’ve never met each other before now,” I admitted, staring out across the field. “I mean, we go to the same parties, we’re both best friends with Jack, and we go to the same school. How did we not see each other before now? I mean, of course I’d seen you around, but we’d never actually spoken before this last week.” Alex nodded, agreeing with my sentiment and trying to think of an answer.
“Sometimes people don’t clash until the exact right moment,” he replied, finally. “But I’m glad we finally have. It’s nice to have someone with the same attitude as me around. I mean, the guys are great and all, and they get it, but they’ve never been the same way we are.” I nodded, understanding what he meant. Jack and Marissa were great, and they didn’t openly judge me on anything I did, but I could still tell they wondered why I was doing what I was doing. They’d never been the type to sleep around.
“Don’t get used to me, though. Marissa and the girls missed me yesterday, so I’ve been told I have to hang with her today.” I laughed lightly, remembering the lecture Marissa had given me when I’d returned from work last night. Apparently, she hadn’t intended on me hanging around the one person I was trying to keep a secret from.
“Bring her to meet us!”
“I feel like you’re kind of desperate to keep me here.” I looked at him, noting a tinge of pink in his cheeks and tried not laugh. It was adorable.
“I’d like to get to know you better,” he shrugged, trying to seem as casual as possible. “And I’m sure you can help me with my little problem.”
“You mean your missing girl?” He nodded lightly. “Sorry, Alex, I don’t know too many girls. Mostly, they glare at me in the corridors for getting with their boyfriends’ first.”
“Please try and help?” He begged, pouting at me. I suppressed a sigh. He was too irresistible. No wonder he was king.
“Okay, fine. So what do you remember?”
“Not much,” he admitted. “I remember that she had the prettiest blonde hair I’d ever seen, until I saw yours, and she was amazing in bed. Like, seriously the best I’ve ever had, and I’ve had a lot.” I put my head on his shoulder, letting my hair fall to hide the blush creeping up my cheeks. He ignored my movement, continuing to discuss his ‘mystery girl’. “I remember the reason I walked up to her was her New Found Glory tee, and how she was completely trashed yet she had the most graceful walk.” He paused, letting out his breath. “She was amazing, Jase, almost perfect. I can’t get her off my mind.”
“This girl has you whipped and you don’t even know who she is.” Alex sighed, leaning his head on top of mine and nodding.
“I know she does. And I’m not usually like this. You know what we’re like. I’m not the relationship type. I don’t know how to stick around in the morning. But this girl, she didn’t turn into the needy mess I’m used to. She played me at my own game and I just can’t stop thinking about her.”
“How do you plan on finding her?” I asked, trying to pull myself away from the thoughts that were creeping into my mind. I barely knew this guy and I already wanted to tell him everything. I felt awful for keeping this from him, seeing what it was doing to him already.
“This is where you come in. There’s a party at Rian’s this Halloween. Him and Kara always do it. I want you to help me either find this girl before then, or on that night.”
“Alex, Halloween is this Saturday. How can you even be sure she’ll be there, or even be around this week?” It was a valid question. I’d never gone to one of Rian’s parties and this wasn’t going to be the first year I made an exception, without being dragged into it. Despite how little of Saturday night I actually remembered, I could guarantee I hadn’t told him I’d be there.
“Because I remember her telling me she was a fan of All Time Low, and All Time Low are playing this weekend. I’m sure she’ll be there.” I tried not to groan. Of course I was an All Time Low fan. Jack had harassed me into loving his band as much as he did, mainly by throwing both of his CDs at me and begging me to listen to them. That did not, however, mean I would be attending any of their shows. Least of all one at a band member’s house.
“You’re insane, but I’ll do it.”
“You’re amazing.”
“So I’ve been told,” I laughed. It was weird making jokes he didn’t quite understand. I barely knew this boy and I was already having so much difficulty keeping anything from him. I was walking a dangerous path and I knew it was wrong, but I couldn’t help but want to spend my time with this man.
“So, let’s move on from the deep and meaningful. I feel like I should know the basics before I ask for your deepest, darkest secrets.” His head moved from mine and I looked up to see him grinning down at me. My heart fluttered at his smile and I leaned back against the wall, trying to seem casual. “Ladies first.”
“Well, uh, what do you want to know?”
“Full name, random nonsense about your childhood, how you met my dear Jack Attack-“
“Um, it’s lesson time, Alex; he’s my Jack Attack right now.” Alex laughed at me, before nodding.
“Okay, fine, how you met your Jack Attack. You know, junk like that.”
“I thought you weren’t going to ask for my deepest, darkest secrets just yet,” I sighed. Alex cocked an eyebrow at me and I laughed, realising how dramatic I was being. “I don’t like my name. Everyone thinks it’s just Jasey Rae. Marissa’s the only one who knows any different. Do you promise you won’t tell anyone?”
“Cross my heart,” he smiled. I took a breath.
“Holly Jasey Rae.” I felt a blush creep up my cheeks. I’d always hated my first name. It didn’t seem to flow like the rest did. So, I’d slowly filtered it out over the years. Now everyone just knew me as Jasey.
“I like it,” Alex told me decidedly. “I’ve always liked the name Holly. But, your secret’s safe with me.”
“Thanks, Alex,” I smiled. “Now, I hear you wanna know random nonsense about my childhood.”
That was where we spent the rest of the day. Throughout lunch, the guys sat on the bench, occasionally glancing over at us, but I remained leaning against the school building, getting to know the infamous Alex Gaskarth. Alex hadn’t let go of my hand the entire day and, while initially it had made my heart pound, it soon began to feel natural. I almost forgot it was there. He soon found out more about me than anyone other than Jack and Marissa knew and I found myself spilling most of my secrets to him. Judging from what he’d told me back, I had a notion that he was spilling the same, but I kept myself guarded. You could never be too careful around boys like Alex Gaskarth. That guarded feeling was the only thing stopping me from telling him everything about Saturday night. I knew he wouldn’t care about me anymore after he knew I was the girl he was going crazy over and I needed that notion that I knew more than he did to keep me grounded; to keep my safe from his charms.
“So, why are you like this?” He asked, suddenly. It was nearing the end of the school day and I thought we’d almost entirely exhausted all topics of discussion. We had just been talking about our favourite types of cheese fries and where to get them.
“Like what?” I asked, perplexed. Like I said, it didn’t exactly fit with the flow of conversation.
“Like me. Going out every weekend, getting trashed and sleeping with anyone you can find.” I paused, deliberating my answer. I pulled at Alex’s finger tips, which were intertwined with my own.
“I guess I just… haven’t found anyone worth sticking around for.” I sighed. “I mean, I know I don’t give guys a chance to get to know me, but the only guys I’ve ever met in my life besides Jack and my family have wanted nothing but one thing off me. I haven’t met a guy who just wants to get to know me, and the older I get, the less they care. So, I guess you can’t blame me for not wanting to stick around in the morning.”
“I don’t think anyone can blame you with that reasoning.” He sighed, looking up from our hands to my face. “But you’re giving me the chance, right? And have I tried getting into your pants?” Yes. And you succeeded. “No, exactly. I want to get to know you Jasey, not the girl everyone paints.” He ran the fingers of his free hand down my cheek and pushed the stray hairs from my face. He was too adorable. I knew he had his good guy charm down to a tee, but I couldn’t help the way his words were making me feel. “You’ll give me that chance, right?” He repeated. I felt my cheeks starting to burn.
“I wouldn’t be able to deny you that if I tried.” It was true. Just from today alone, I could feel myself being captivated by him. I didn’t want to turn into just another of his girls, but I couldn’t help but hang on his every word.
“You’re cute when you blush,” he stated, kissing my forehead and removing his hand from my face.
“I thought I was cute when I was mad.”
“You’re cute all the time.”
“You two are sickening. Jump each other’s bones and get it over with already,” Zack smirked from above us. I jumped lightly. I hadn’t expected anyone to come over to us, nor had I seen him before he started speaking. I’d been so wrapped up in Alex, I hadn’t noticed anything at all.
“Skipping lesson? Well, aren’t you the rebel today,” Alex taunted his friend.
“Actually, school’s over. I told Jack I’d give him a ride. We figured that because your cars were still in the lot, you two would still be sat back here, oblivious to everyone but each other.”
“How long has school been over?” I asked quickly, letting go of Alex’s hand and jumping to my feet, wide-eyed.
“About 5 or 10 minutes. Why?”
“Shit! I’m gonna be late! I’ll see you tomorrow, guys!” I called, speeding off toward my car and work.

Notes