Chapter 13: Heartache
"And that ladies and gentlemen concludes the end of our venture into Shakespeare's mind," Mr. Lane said as he was handing out our test scores. "I'm sure all of you are happy that we're done with Shakespeare. Judging by the majority of the test scores, not one of you really paid much attention."
"Yeah cause Shakespeare's stupid," I mumbled under my breath.
"That may be the case Mr. LeVang but it is still part of the curriculum," Mr. Lane said handing my test back, face down. That's never a good sign. "Mr. LeVang, I'd like to speak to you after class."
Definitely not a good sign. I watched as Mr. Lane walked through my column and back down to the next one over. He ended up with his back turned to me as he handed back Carver's paper.
"Good job Mr. Black. Nice to know someone's paying attention in my class."
Oh shut up Mr. Lane. I looked over at Carver who was relishing at his test score. He had this huge grin on his face. He looked so accomplished.
"Hey babe, what'd you get?" he asked me.
I sighed and turned my paper over. Oh great, a sixty-eight with the letter "D" written in red ink. Fuck me. I knew I should have studied.
"I did really bad," I said defeated, my lips pursed. "How `bout you? With Mr. Lane applauding you and you smiling I'm guessing you did really well."
"I don't mean to gloat but, I got a perfect score," Carver said grinning again. Carver then grabbed my paper off of my desk and gave it a look. His brows furrowed and his grin quickly turned upside down. "A sixty-eight? Fang if you needed help, I would have helped you study."
"Well after all the things we've been through--"
"Been through? Am I missing something? Did I do something wrong?" he asked concerned.
"N-No, that's not what I meant. I just got caught up in all the fun we've had. I kinda let my studies go in the process. And now my aunt's gonna kill me."
"Well maybe we just won't tell her about this?" he suggested. Carver went into his bag and rummaged through until he turned back to me with a red pen. Pen in hand, he scribbled over my paper and then handed it back to me. He changed my grade into a pretty bad looking eighty-eight and drew a line through the "D" making it a "B" instead.
"Carver while I appreciate the effort, you do know my aunt is gonna see right through this right? Plus this is high school, everyone talks, even the adults. I'm sure she's gonna find out about this from one of the other teachers. Possibly even Mr. Lane himself."
"He doesn't seem like the type to gossip."
"You're absolutely right, Mr. Black. I'm not one to gossip," Mr. Lane said from the whiteboard. "If it's alright with you two, I'd like to get back to my lecture. Unless you two would rather spend the weekend in detention?"
"Sorry shutting up now!" I squeaked from my desk. I turned to look at Carver and he mouthed the words "sorry, my bad" as he shrugged.
Mr. Lane continued with his long boring ass lecture about something I still didn't really care about. I think it was a grammar lesson or something. I couldn't focus anyway. All I could think about was the lecture I was going to get later tonight about my test scores. To be fair who even understands Shakespeare? Why can't we read something in english, modern english. Why can't someone just translate it into modern english? I'm sure there's money there. I would definitely pay for someone to translate the text for me...well if I had any.
Just when I thought I could get lost deeper into my own thoughts, I felt my phone vibrate repeatedly between my thighs. Before grabbing my phone, I looked in Mr. Lane's direction first. He's like a vulture ready to swoop down when no one's looking. Thankfully his back was turned and he was still writing something down on the whiteboard. Looking down at my phone, I saw that Carver was calling me instead of what actually texting me. Good thing I had my phone on silent so no else could know how weird I was by having a laughing track on my phone.
"What are you doing? I'm trying to pay attention," I texted.
"Really? What was the last thing he said then?"
"Uhhhhhhhh..."
"I knew you weren't paying attention."
"Can you blame me? This shit's boring AF."
"Well...is there anything I can do to help you focus? Maybe I could send you something? ;)"
"What's with the winky face?"
"I could...sext you ;)"
My eyes widened. I paused trying to come up with an answer. Every time I would text him a response, I would immediately erase it. Is he serious? There's no way he's that bold to whip it out in class. I turn to face him and my eyes darted on his left hand underneath his desk; his pointer finger kept flicking at the zipper. He then slowly tugged at the zipper and I just sat there internally panicking cause my boyfriend was about to whip out his dick in class. Once the zipper reached its end, Carver then reached into his open fly and I still just watched with my jaw to the floor as he fished his dick out. I felt my body involuntarily lean forward. Oh god this is really happening. Just when I saw just a hint of flesh reach the opening, the bell rang. I sprung back into my seat.
"Oh my god!" I screamed clutching my chest. The whole class including Mr. Lane turned to me and gave me a look of confusion. A few of them even laughed at me. If only they knew.
Carver readjusted himself and zipped back up. He gathered his things and walked behind me and wrapped his arms around me.
"You're so easy," he joked.
"I fucking hate you so much right now," I groaned.
"No you don't. I happen to know that you sir, love me so much," he said kissing me on the cheek. "Got your mind off it though didn't I?"
"You're a real jerk you know that? What if you got caught?"
"Like I would ever get caught," he scoffed.
"I hope you never do or else it's detention for you."
"For us. But you know that's not my style. I would never sext you. I'm too much of a romantic. You deserve better than a dick pic."
"It's definitely not your style," I said as I gathered my things. I stood up, turned back to him, leaned forward, and whispered into his ear, "I wouldn't mind one though."
"W-W-Wait, F-Fang did you just suggest that I send--"
"I said nothing!" I said walking towards the door. "We really should get moving though or else we'll be late for gym."
"Stop right there Mr. LeVang."
Oh fuck. I forgot all about my little talk with Mr. Lane. I sigh and turn back around to face Mr. Lane. What can I say about Mr. Lane? Well for one, he's definitely easy on the eyes. He's really young compared to the rest of the staff. I'd say he's in his late twenties to early thirties. Most of the girls here in Haven have gone gaga over him at one point, even Lulu but I'm pretty sure it was only for a split second. Mr. Lane didn't look like your average teacher. He's pretty tall, maybe 6'5", he's definitely taller than Carver and he's six feet tall. If I didn't know him as a teacher, I'd peg him for a basketball player honestly or maybe a fitness coach as he was pretty fit. He had this long black mane that ran down just below his shoulder but today he had it wrapped up in a messy man bun. Most of my male teachers were pasty white but he had sun-kissed skin. I guess you could say he was "tall, dark, and handsome." To my knowledge, I don't think Mr. Lane is married. He doesn't have a ring and he doesn't have any pictures of any loved ones on his desk like most of the staff here. He's a little mysterious. With how crazy this year has been, it wouldn't surprise me too much if he turned out being gay.
"Hi Mr. Lane. I totally blanked about the talk you wanted have," I said holding my bag close to my hip. "So what'd you want to talk about?"
"It's about your grades," Mr. Lane said. He glanced over at Carver who was hanging off of my shoulder and said, "You should get to class Mr. Black. Mr. LeVang and I are having a private conversation."
"I'll be outside the door if you need me, okay?" Carver said as he walked out the door and hung out right outside.
"Close the door please Mr. Black."
Carver sighed then gently shut the door. I turn my head and saw him peering inside through the glass window. I guess he's back to being a puppy...a very, very cute puppy.
"There's no getting rid of him is there?" Mr. Lane asked clearly referring to Carver.
"He's just worried about me. He's harmless though."
"Are you sure about that? Rumor has it he's the one who pushed Mr. Hampton down the quad stairs the other day."
"Well good thing it's a rumor right?" I asked quickly crossing my arms.
"I suppose. I'm not saying I approve of their actions or condone violence against students but Mr. Hampton probably deserved worse."
"He definitely does, but enough about Brock, you wanted to speak to me about something? I'm guessing about my recent test score?"
"Right, Mr. LeVang--"
"Please, just call me Fang. I know it's cliche to say but Mr. LeVang is my dad...or was my dad."
"Excuse me? What do you mean by "was?"
"Oh it's nothing. Well it's probably something but I can't prove it. But anyway, what were you saying?" I asked as I sat on the edge of his desk still facing him.
"I wanted to talk to you about your grades in general, not just your recent test score," he paused then leaned back in his chair sitting with legs wide open.
For some reason my mind immediately went into porn. This is definitely the moment where some young looking kid would flash some skin and ask if there was anything they could do to raise their grade. But obviously this is real life and stuff like that doesn't actually happen. Well I'm sure they happen but--well you know what I mean.
"Based on the never-ending stories that Jackie--"
"You and my aunt talk?"
"U-Um w-well yes but that's besides the point," he said clearly deflecting. "I know that you're smart and Jack--I mean your aunt talks about--no raves about how bright you are. But then when I look at how you're doing in my class, and I don't want to assume, but I'm sure it's the same in all of your other classes too. I just don't see how you're basically almost failing my class. And my class isn't even hard. It's literally English 101. The things I'm teaching, you should already know."
"I know. Carver's already offered to tutor me and Lulu Landon, you know the smartest person in my class, is my best friend so I have two really smart people to lean on. I just let my studies go with everything that's been going on recently."
"Trust me, I understand. Young love is a powerful thing but you can't just let your studies go. It's your future we're talking about here. There has to be a balance between the two."
"I get it. I really do. From here on out, I'll work extra hard to get my grades up. So am I free to go?"
"No, there's actually not that many assignments left to bring your score up for the semester. Even if you were to get all A's from this point on, you'll still probably barely pass with a D."
"Oh," I paused. Aunt Jackie is definitely going to rip me a new one. "So this is your way of telling me I'm going to fail. I'm going to fail English. Now I feel really stupid."
"Not so fast, I'm proposing extra credit. I'll forgive your lack of motivation in my class and if you give me a good answer I'll even let you redo your past assignments before Christmas break."
Oh god, there goes my mind again, straight to porn. The way Mr. Lane leaned back in his chair was sending me lots of pornographic thoughts straight to my head. His clothes hugged his body a little too well. Is it a little too much to ask for him to wear something baggy? I'm starting to think like all the other girls.
"So what is it?"
"I want you to tell me what family means to you. Who is your family?"
"That's it? Why are you giving me special treatment? Is it because you work with my aunt?"
"I'm not giving you special treatment. I've given this assignment to Ms. Fox and Mr. Hampton as well."
"Oh great, I'm clumped up with them," I laughed to myself. "Well I guess I would say family are the people you share blood with. I guess my family are my parents. They are the ones who brought me into this world. I don't really understand why you're asking that question though."
"Look I don't have much confidence in those two. Ms. Fox seems like the kind of girl who will end up marrying someone more than twice her age and is only doing it for the money while Mr. Hampton seems like the type of guy who peaks in high school and will forever live in his parent's basement. However, I see your potential, you just have to work on it. Also I don't accept your answer."
"What do you mean you're not gonna accept my answer? That's my answer."
"I want you to think really hard about my question. With Thanksgiving coming up in the next couple of days, it'll give you plenty of time to understand what I'm asking.
"Okay fine," I said rolling my eyes and hopping off of his desk.
"Oh and I want it to be three pages, double spaced and you need to cite your sources."
"You've got to be kidding me!" I shot back back at him.
"You're absolutely right. I am kidding," he chuckled. "Wow you really are easy."
"Excuse me?"
"I heard you and Carver earlier in class. Just because I'm not looking at you, doesn't mean I can't hear you. Whatever you guys were texting back there, I don't want to know, but if it's what I think it is I would suggest you two keep it out of my class."
"Y-You heard all of that? I-I promise it won't happen again," I said as my face was already bright red. I turn back again for the door only for Mr. Lane to stop me.
"Wait!"
I froze. Fuck what else am I forgetting? Is he about to ask me to sit on his lap or to get down on my knees? I really need to stop looking at that kind of porn or maybe just porn in general. It's really starting to fuck with me.
"Just email me your answer. It doesn't have to be some long drawn out answer. If you really want to it could be a paragraph or it could just be one sentence. I just want you think about it. The answer's there, you just have to put some effort into it."
"I got it," I said as I finally got to the door's handle but then I stopped and turned back to him. "Hey Mr. Lane?"
"Yes? What is it?"
"I just wanted to say thanks. Thank you for believing in me," I said as I finally pushed the door open. Carver was sitting, legs crossed, next to the door looking through his phone. I squatted down next to him and tousled his hair. "Thanks for waiting for me. We're good to go now."
"You were in there for a while. What did you guys talk about?"
"Let's walk and talk. We still have gym to get over with," I said standing up.
"Can you help me up?"
"You need help getting up? Didn't know I was dating a senior citizen."
"Oh ha ha. Can you just help me?" Carver asked with his hand outreached. I grabbed it and tried to pull him up but it seemed like he kept all his weight to the ground then very suddenly the weight lifted and he shot up into me. I lost my balance but he pulled me back into him while placing his right hand in my back pocket. "I got you, don't worry."
"You did that on purpose didn't you?" I asked him unimpressed.
"Maybe," he said grinning.
"You just wanted an excuse to grab my ass. I should have known. You're such an asshole," I said rolling my eyes and shaking my head.
"You love me though," he said pressing his lips against mine. He then released his hold on me and instead held my right hand in his left. We started walking towards gym, already five minutes late for class, when he stopped and asked, "So are you going to tell me what he wanted?"
"What? Oh right, he just offered me some extra credit and if I give him the correct answer he'll let me redo my assignments. Apparently he's also given this assignment to Brock and Chloe. I bet you're proud to be dating someone within the same caliber as those two."
"Don't even think of comparing yourself to them. You're way better than them. In fact, you're on a whole `nother level. You're smart, quirky, thoughtful, nice--"
"Okay okay, you don't need to butter me up. You do enough of that already."
"Well it's because I love and I care about you. Only the best for you. So what's the assignment?"
"He wants me to define who my family is. What does family mean to me I think were his words. I gave him an answer and he didn't accept it so now I have to spend Thanksgiving break thinking of the perfect answer."
"Well what did you tell him?"
"I think I said that family are the people you share blood with? My parents would be my family. I mean I know they're not in the picture right now but they're still family."
"That was your answer? I can see why he said it wasn't good enough. It's like basically a cookie cutter response to the question."
"Well excuse me. No one's ever asked me that before but let me ask you. What does family mean to you?"
"Ugh, I was hoping you weren't gonna send that back my way."
"Oh come on, you can't stand here and judge my answer when you can't think of one yourself."
"Who said I didn't have an answer?" he asked. Carver paused for a second, his lips pursed and his eyes looking up to the left, before responding to the question by saying, "Family to me is anyone who loves you for you. They don't judge you for what you've done in the past. They just love you. Take my grandparents. They haven't seen me since I was a baby. They took me in when I had nowhere else to go and to my knowledge they love me just the same. I've never felt any judgement or resentment from them. They just love me for me."
"Wow maybe that's why Mr. Lane wanted you out of the conversation. Your answer was way better than mine. Can I just steal your answer?"
"If you want to, but I think you'll get a better understanding of the question if you answer it yourself."
"Oh great, you're on his side."
"You know I'm always on your side, but I really do think you should answer this on your own. You never know, your answer will probably be a lot different from mine. I think he wants your answer, not mine."
"Ugh, I know I just wish it came to me as easily as it did for you."
"I know you'll get there. But maybe ask around? See if anyone else has an answer that matches up to how you feel about your own family."
"Why does this seem more of a compare and contrast assignment than my own personal adventure?"
"It's still your own. If you need a buddy, you know who to call," he said winking.
"Chloe?"
"Okay well I just--wow, that's not someone I ever thought you would ever pi--"
"Shut your cute mouth for a second," I said grabbing his face and showing him Chloe in front of us. "What do you want? Are you recruiting us for another bullshit adventure around town?"
"No, but I am here about that," Chloe said as she handed both of us two slips of paper.
"What's this?" I asked.
"It's your guy's share of the Hunt's prize pool."
Oh right the Hunt. There was a mandatory assembly last week about it. Chloe and Brock went up to accept this oversized five thousand dollar check. The whole thing was such a pretentious attempt to garner more love and attention for the two top families.
"You have no idea what I had to go through to get these," she continued to ramble on. "First my dad kept saying that the money was just a front for his own personal gain and then when I finally got him to yield, he only gave the money to me and Brock. Then I had to basically force Brock to split both his and my share with all of five of us. He only recently gave in. I think it has to do with his little accident with the stairs. Also I already gave Lulu hers. I would have given these to you guys earlier but I can never track you guys down."
"I find that very hard to believe," I said annoyed. I stood there with my arms crossed, my hip shifted to the left. I really don't trust her and her version of an olive Lane just smells fishy.
"Look I know you don't trust me and you probably never will. Trust me, I got the same reaction from Lulu and I get it. After all of the things I've said and done to you two, I would act the same way. But I really am trying to change. I miss our friendship," she confessed looking forlorn.
"Why now?" I probed.
"Huh?" she asked confused.
"You had so many opportunities to change. It's only after Carver came into the picture that you decided to change all of a sudden? A part of me thinks you're only doing this to get close to him."
"Th-That's not--"
"Then what is it? Just tell me what changed. What flipped the switch?"
"I-I can't answer that right now."
"That's what I thought. You're still the same narcissistic, superficial, vapid Chloe."
"Look I worked so hard to get these checks to you guys. The least you could do is say thank you and just give me another chance."
"Then you can keep it," Carver finally chimed in.
"Excuse me?" she asked offended.
"If the only reason you're giving us these is because you expect something in return then I don't want any part in it. You're not being genuine about the situation. Look I don't know the whole story between you three. Sure I've heard some things, but there's probably a lot more to it. If Fang doesn't trust your intentions, then I won't either," Carver said. "I'm sorry but I can't accept it. Sure I could use a grand right now. Who doesn't? but it's not worth it if it means hurting Fang."
"Are you fucking kidding me right? Here I am trying to be nice and this is how you two repay me?" she asked irritated. "Fine, just take the damn thing already. I don't care anymore. You two are forever blacklisted." Chloe flung the checks in our faces and stormed off.
"Well that could have gone better, at least we got money out of it," I said stooping down to pick up the checks. Standing back up, I stuffed them into Carver's bag. "Thanks for that by the way."
"Thanks for what?"
"What you said to her. I didn't really expect you to go off on her the way you did. Out of the three of us, you're the nice one."
"I-I'm sorry about that," Carver apologized scratching his head. "I should have known better especially after what she said to you on Halloween. I promise to do better. Will you ever forgive me?"
"I wasn't holding it against you if that's what you're implying. I'm just glad you finally see the light. Even if it took you longer than expected. You can be a little slow sometimes," I teased.
"I'm slow?" He asked all offended. "How about all the times I obviously flirted with you and it went right over your head?"
"Okay fine, we're both slow in our own ways," I paused and looked at him strangely. "Why do I feel like I'm forgetting something? Were we going somewhere before Chloe popped up?"
Carver and I looked at each other confused then it hit both of us.
"We're late!" we both yelled in unison.
Carver and I bolted for the gymnasium but when we finally burst through the double doors, Coach was waiting for us with his arms crossed. I hope he's not in one of his moods.
"And what were you two ladies doing? Let me guess, you two were swapping spit in the restroom?"
"I uh had to talk with my English teacher after class," I said.
"And then we ran into some trouble," Carver added.
"So I assume you two have a note from your teacher then?" he asked with his arms crossed.
I looked over at Carver and he looked at me. We are so fucked.
"Um we don't have one?" I said nervously.
"So you lied to me?"
"Well--"
"Get dressed and head to the field. You two are going to spend the rest of class running laps."
"What you can't do that! It's not our fault that we're late!" I whined.
"I don't want to hear it. Now get moving!" Coach demanded.
Carver and I darted towards the locker room. It was empty. The rest of the class was probably already out doing something. I hate gym and I would rather do whatever it is the rest of class is doing right now. Anything to keep me away from running laps. I hate running. Carver ended up switching lockers after the first day of class. His locker is now right next to mine. It's better this way. Now I won't have to stare at him from afar. Brock recently transferred out of our class too. I'm guessing it has to do with how protective Carver is of me. He really wasn't lying when he told Brock that he would break him. I hope he enjoys having both legs broken after that tumble down the stairs. I'm just a little irritated that Carver's getting all the credit.
Even though I've seen Carver naked already and had him down my throat, I still couldn't stop staring at him as he undressed right in front of me. You'd think I'd be used to it already.
"Take a picture, it'll last longer," Carver chuckled.
"Don't mind if I do," I said pulling out my phone from my front pocket and then snapping multiple photos of him in different angles. Most of them were bad, either out of focus or poorly lit. But I'm sure I got at least one that was salvageable. What? It's not like I'm some kind of influencer where I need to know how to take good pictures.
"Are you ladies decent?" Coach's voice echoed.
Carver sent me a smug look. I sighed and opened my locker.
"We'll be out in a second sir," Carver shot back.
"Well hurry up! Those laps aren't going to run themselves."
The slamming of the door reverberated throughout the whole locker room. Wit my locker open, I quickly pulled off my shirt and unbuttoned my skinny jeans. As I bent down to pull them off my ankles, I could see flashing lights coming my way. I turn over to Carver and he now has his phone pointed towards me.
"It's only fair," he continued looking smug.
"You like what you see?" I asked tossing my pants at him.
"Hey, you ruined the shot!"
"Subscribe to my fan account for more content," I joked as I slipped into my gym clothes and switched out my boots for sneakers.
"I'd pay to see that," he asked shoving my pants into my locker. "So how much do you charge?"
"Don't be silly. You know I don't have one," I said locking the padlock.
"That's too bad. I've got a grand I've been itching to spend," he said playfully biting his bottom lip.
"Well Christmas is coming up soon. You could spend it on that," I suggested.
"You're your own cock block, you know that right?"
"Am I cock blocking though?"
"You are definitely cock blocking."
"Oh well, I'm gonna go run laps. Last one to the field has to send the winner a dick pic," I said blowing him a kiss.
"Send me an ass pic instead," Carver said right before passing me.
Carver pushed through the locker room door with me right behind him. We both ran right past Coach. He looked like he was gonna say something to us but I was way too focused on winning. Although I think I would rather lose this one, either way it's a win in my book. Carver was way ahead of me once we got outside. The field was maybe twenty feet away from where he was and I was just barely keeping up. He's way too fast for me. Who was I to think I could ever beat him in a race?
"Wait! Carver I've got a cramp," I said as I quickly knelt to the ground.
Carver stopped and rushed back to me. "Are you okay? I can carry you if you need to rest."
I took this as my opportunity to get ahead in a race I knew I would never win fairly. With him off his guard, I quickly untied his laces by tugging at the ends then I darted towards the field.
"Hey, that's cheating!" Carver yelled from behind me.
"Sorry, I play dirty!" I shrugged then continued down to the field. I eventually got to field and belted out the loudest victory screech that I could. I celebrated my terrible win by doing a little shimmy. I turn to see Carver with his shoes still untied and a general unimpressed expression on his face.
"You know you didn't win right?"
"What do you mean? I totally won."
"You cheated so I win by default."
"We never defined the rules so I still win."
"No, you really don't," Carver said as he bent down to retie his laces. "You better start running because I want a rematch. And when I do win, you are gonna regret playing dirty with me."
"Wait what does that mean?"
"You better run or else," he said as he finished tying his left shoe and then moved to the right. "Time's ticking."
"Oh fuck me," I groaned as I started sprinting down the field. I must have been way ahead of him cause by the time I looked back, I couldn't see him. I eventually circled back to where I had started and found Carver relaxing. I sprinted for nothing. I was huffing and puffing while he just sat there playing with a patch of grass.
"So how was your run? I don't think I've ever seen you run that fast before. It was kinda funny."
"Did you...even...run?" I asked trying to catch my breath, sweat trickling down the sides of my face.
"Nope, I just sat here watching you and what a sight it was," he laughed.
"I...fucking...hate you."
"Don't cheat next time then," he said plucking a dandelion and blowing its seed into the air. He stood up and started to stretch. "Well it's time to run our laps."
"I can't run anymore. I'm already so tired from that sprint," I whined.
"We'll just walk then until you can catch your breath. It'll be like the first day I met you. Do you remember?"
"How could I forget?" I said as we started our walk. "That was the day you decided to be my knight. I guess in hindsight I should have known that you were flirting with me."
"You really should have. I think I was pretty obvious. But again you're a little slow," he chuckled.
"Oh fuck you."
"Nah, I'd rather fuck you," Carver winked. He started to jog in place as he motioned with his head that he wanted to run now.
I rolled my eyes since I was finally ready to start again. I just won't sprint. First, I took a deep breath and then launched my body forward. He ran at my speed for a few minutes but eventually he started running at his own pace. He was maybe a few feet in front of me. If I really wanted to I guess I could run at his speed, it'd definitely get my heart rate up. Biting the bullet, I started to speed up just a little and just as I was starting to catch up to him I could feel my chest tighten. Oh fuck not now. Immediately I placed my right hand on the center of my chest and tried to slow my pace. Instead I ended up tripping over myself eating it, crashing hard onto the field, both hands now over my chest. There I was in the middle of the field wincing in pain.
"Fang!"
I could hear the sound of the grass ripping as Carver skid through the field as he abruptly came to a stop. The impact of his feet hitting the ground bounced back to me as I could feel him running back to me.
"Are you okay? What's wrong?" he asked worried. He collapsed to his shins as he brought me back to my knees.
"I'm fine," I lied through gritted teeth. "It'll go away."
"I-Is it your heart? D-Did you take your medicine today?"
"I did. I'm fine," I cried as I dug my left hand into the ground and the other still over my chest. "It'll go away. It always does."
Suddenly I could hear the screeching wail of Coach's whistle. I could hear more footsteps approaching.
"Hey ladies! Why don't I see any running?"
"I have to...get up," I said placing my left hand on Carver's shoulder.
"A-Are you sure? Maybe you should stay down for now."
"I can't let him see me like this," I whimpered looking directly into his hazel eyes. "I don't even like that you're seeing me like this. Weak." I tried to push myself up using Carver as leverage but I was immediately brought back to knees with another stabbing pain through my chest.
"H-Hey, just relax. No need to push yourself."
"What the hell is going over here?" Coach asked as he approached the both of us.
"I-It's Fang. He's--"
"I'm fine," I cried again.
"I'm calling 911," Coach said. I could hear him patting at his shorts. "Crap I left it in my office. You two stay put okay?"
"Don't. I'm fine. It will pass."
"But you need help. I'm going to back in to get your aunt then," Coach said as he turned back to the school.
I can't believe I'm in this position. I hate this. I never wanted him to see me like this. Fuck my bloodline for making me so weak. As we sat there in the field, I could feel myself get light-headed. My shallow breaths have finally gotten to me. It's never been an issue before. But this pain is lasting longer than usual.
"Fang, you need to breathe."
"I can't. It hurts to breathe," I answered shakily.
"I thought you said the pain doesn't last long. It's been a couple minutes already."
"I don't know why it won't go away. I-It's lingering way longer than usual."
"I-Is there anything I can do?"
"Just stay with me. Please, just stay," I yelped digging my nails into his skin.
"Okay, I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere," he assured me.
I could feel his arms wrap around my back, holding me tight. I continued to take in shallow breaths until I felt the pain in my chest slowly subside. Thank god! I don't think my body could handle anymore of that kind of breathing. I surely would have passed out. I rested my chin on the same shoulder I tried to use as leverage earlier as I continued to take in a few more deep breaths. After I took in more breaths and was confident that the pain had subsided, I tried to push myself up but Carver pulled me in tighter.
"Hey, Carver? I'm fine now. You can let go now."
"I can't. I won't let go," he said shaking his head. I could hear him sniffling as his hold of me got even tighter.
"Hey, everything's good now. I'm fine," I reassured him as I rubbed his back.
"I was so scared. I didn't know what to do. I wanted to help you but I didn't know how an-and I just watched how pained you were. I thought you were dying. I-I thought I was gonna lose you," he confessed as he was now holding me in vice grip.
"H-Hey ease up on the hug, babe."
"I-I'm sorry," he said as he immediately let go of me.
"Carver I'm sorry for worrying you, but you really shouldn't be wasting your tears on me," I said as I wiped the tears from his face. "I'm not dying. It's a symptom to my condition. Yes I take medication for it but this kind of thing can still happen. The last thing I wanted was for you to think I was in any danger. I'm really fine."
"I just wish there was something I could have done. Seeing you like that scares me so much."
"I know but what you did was perfect."
"I didn't do anything though."
"You stayed with me. That's the best thing you could have done for me. Usually I'm alone when it happens and when it does happen around other people, I tell them to leave and they just obey. I feel like if I told you to leave me alone, you'd disobey my orders and just stay. You wouldn't just leave me to face my pain solo and that's all I ever want."
"A-Are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm just peachy," I said as I hopped up with my hands at my hip. "See, I'm perfectly fine. Want me to jump up and down to show you how fine I really am?"
"You don't need to do that," Carver said standing up and brushing the dirt off of his shorts then brushed the dirt off the right side of my body. I could hear another set of footsteps coming towards us as Carver turned his attention back in the direction of the school. "Head's up, your aunt is on the way."
I turn and see her frantically rushing over to me. For someone wearing three inch heels, it was a very impressive feat. I'm pretty sure I could never run in heels the way she was.
"Fang are you okay? Jacob told me you were experiencing a chest pain," she paused to quickly examine me. "You look fine though."
"Yeah, I'm fine. It just now passed. I'm okay though. Carver was with me," I said pointing to him. "I'm sorry for worrying you."
"Why is he crying?" she whispered to me.
"Well it's his first time experiencing it. Remember how you reacted the first time?"
"Oh yeah, I was a wreck."
"Yeah and you took me to the hospital even though I told you I was fine."
"Better safe than sorry, Fang."
"I know, you're right. But um hey look at the bright side, at least there's no bill this time, right?" I asked.
"Ugh don't remind me. I'm still paying it off," she said annoyed. "Well since I'm here. Do you want me to take you home?"
"As much as I would love to go home, I think I should finish my laps and before you say anything, I won't push myself too hard. I don't want anymore pain than I already had today."
"Hold on one second, are you sure you're okay? The Fang I know would never willingly exercise."
"Yes I'm fine. I just--I just want to prove to myself that I can do it after going through the pain. I know, it's weird but...I don't know something inside me just really wants to run right now."
"Okay well I'm going to head to the store then. I don't think I've ever cooked for more than just the two of us, thankfully I have Aggie and Rose helping me with everything. I'm going to need a lot of help. Thinking about it now, I don't know why I even volunteered."
"What are you talking about?" I asked unsure of what she was talking about.
"Oh I didn't tell you? We're hosting Thanksgiving dinner. The Blacks and the Landons are coming over, oh and Al as well. I almost forgot."
"No you didn't tell me that," I said then I turned back to Carver. "Did you?"
"Nope but now I won't have to ask you what you're doing that day."
"Oh and Carver? Make sure to have him home by seven. No sleepovers tonight," she said as she headed back towards the school.
"Why do you automatically assume that I'm hanging out with Carver after school and why the curfew?"
"Hmm maybe because you two are attached to the hip? And I had a talk with Paul today. Apparently you're failing English?"
"Oh he told you about that?" I asked nervously. "Well look at the time, I've gotta run...now. Let's go Carver!"