22What You Mean to Me
By: Froggylover4281
I really suck with this whole updating thing. My muse is not giving me any help whatsoever with my writing, so this chapter reallllyyyy stinks. Sorry! =( I'm just gonna blame it all on writer's block.
Anyways, here's the chapter! xx
Cole didn't show up for dinner that night, or breakfast the next day. Although I hated him with every fiber of my being, I couldn't help feeling sorry for him. But why was he so upset when his girlfriend broke up with him, especially since he cheats on her all the time?
I decided to bring some food to 1st period so he could at least have something to eat. Soon my backpack was stuffed with bread rolls, jams, and little containers of pudding.
When I got to first period, my backpack started feeling heavy. Like, really heavy. I supposed it wasn't a good idea to stuff my backpack with all those foods.
I took a seat next to Cole and offered a bread roll to him. He took it without complaint, biting off a huge chunk and gulping it down.
Halfway through class, my backpack felt much lighter. I picked up the list of things to do with your partner and read it.
"We still have to do the stroll around the park thing, and we also have to..." my voice drifted off.
Cole grabbed the list from me and smoothed it out. He read that one and said, "We can do that one last. Let's go to the next one. Play 20 Questions."
I shrugged. "I'll go first. Why were you so upset when you said your girlfriend broke up with you if you cheat on her all the time?"
Cole blushed. "I'm not like that, Mia. I wasn't cheating on her. I'm just... really bad at schoolwork..."
"That doesn't explain why I see you go who knows where with Jamie Zimmerman."
"She's the smartest person in our grade. She helps tutor me."
"Oh."
"Next question. How come you don't like me?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, all of your friends are obsessed with me, and you don't even slightly like me. Why do you hate me so much?"
"Because. My friends, I guess they're just like the rest of the school, totally obsessed with you and your hair and your eyes and your whatever. I guess I kind of expected them to be like that eventually. But I'm not like them. I see you for who you truly are, a self-absorbed snob who can't even go a day without looking at himself in a mirror that also enjoys dropping girls into cans of puke."
Oh, gosh, that last oar sounded really weird.
"Excuse me? I can totally go a day without looking in the mirror! And I am not self-absorbed, and dropping people in puke is definitely not enjoyable!"
"Prove it. And give me your hand mirror."
"I don't have a-"
"Everyone knows you do. Just hand it over."
"Fine," Cole grumped, and reluctantly gave me a little hand mirror. "You know, one of those would do some good to you. Have you looked in a mirror recently?"
I rolled my eyes.
"No, and I don't really care too much about my looks anyways."
Cole sighed.
"Mia, any chance we can just stop hating each other? I mean, I know we don't really like each other, but can you just try? Please?"
"Can I try? Why don't you try? Sometimes I wonder why you even have friends."
"But-"
The bell rang, signaling the end of class.
"Looks like you got the last word," Selena said proudly. "My little girl."
"Little?" I hissed inside my head.
"Yes, little one. Good job."
"Mia, can I just talk?" Cole asked as I made my way towards the lunch tables.
"You just did," I said loftily.
"Mia, look. I know you're all independent and stubborn-"
"I'm not stubborn!" I yelled, causing some people to look at us, sniggering.
"Are, too."
"Am not!"
"Look, my point is, this whole enemy thing is ridiculous, and we should stop hating each other. I mean, you don't even remember why you hate me in the first place. And I just hate you because you hate me."
"Look, we'll talk about this later, okay?" I said and sat down at a table, eating my lunch.
Cole sat down next to me.
"Really, dude, you're kind of creeping me out right now," I told him.
"Sorry," he said quickly.
I shrugged.
"Can I have my mirror back?" he asked. I rolled my eyes and handed it to him. Cole smiled at his reflection. I practically expected him to kiss it, he's so in love with himself.
"Now, can you please leave?" I asked, irritated.
"Mia, I just want to be friend's, but you really are stubborn, and-"
"I'm not stubborn!"
"Will you just let me finish talking, for once?"
"Fine. But make it quick."
"Mia, just one more chance, okay? I hate hating people."
"Really? It doesn't look like it."
"I promise you, I'm a nice guy, once you get to know me."
"Yeah, right. Why are you even popular in the first place? I mean, you're not that smart, your looks are... eurgh... and you don't even play sports."
"Charisma," Cole replied sweetly, smiling and batting his eyelashes.
"Yeah, I don't think so."
I picked my lunch up and moved somewhere else, finally able to eat in peace.
"Okay," Cole said, trying to catch up with me as I walked alone to the school dormitories. "Look, Mia!"
"You don't hate him," Selena told me.
"Uh, yes, I do," I replied in my head.
"No, you don't. You loooooove him."
"No, I most definitely do NOT." But part of my head kept tin king about what she said. Surely that couldn't be true? No, it better not be, Cole is... is... is... Urgh, never mind.
Cole grabbed my shoulder.
"Look, can we at least finish 20 Questions later and do the next thing on the list tonight?"
He pointed to the next thing on the list.
"Number five: Go to the beach. Relax while looking at the sand swirling through the rushing waves of the ocean."
Wow, they described it really... wow.
"Er, okay," I said, shifting awkwardly. "What time?"
"How 'bout we go to the Salad Garden again-"
Cole really must be rich if he's willing to spend this much on an enemy. I know I'd probably end up taking him to McDonald's.
"Cole, why? I mean, you hate me-"
"I don't hate you," he said earnestly. "You hate me."
I just hated how he put emphasis in the word 'you.'
"Well..."
"Well?"
"Well, then what?"
"Then we go to the beach," Cole replied. "Duh."
"Sure. What time?"
"Is six-thirty okay with you?"
"Sure," I replied, and walked into my dorm room.
"Yo, 'sup?" Sylvia asked as I walked in.
"Not screaming about Cole, I notice."
"I decided that Cole is a total idiot and I shouldn't waste my time on him anyways."
"Great. What about Rebecca, Savannah, Emily, and Bethany?"
"Same with them. Although Emily and Rebecca never did like him that much. At least, not as much as me."
"You were acting like a total weirdo."
"Why thank you, thank you very much," Sylvia replied, attempting to curtsy, which looked very weird, since she was wearing jeans.
I laughed and headed into my room to do my homework.
I looked down at my math paper.
25 x 25 = ?
Were they kidding me? That is such an easy question.
"I know, right?" Selena agreed.
"Shut up, Selena."
"Fine, turtle."
"Did you just call me a turtle?"
"Yeah... so what?"
"Never mind, just PLEASE don't call me that again."
"Okay. Turtle."
I rolled my eyes. Selena is so... so... annoying, exasperating, et cetera. She drove me insane sometimes.
After a few hours of still not finishing my homework, I sighed, threw it across the room, and walked downstairs. I smiled as I saw Savannah chilling and eating ice cream.
"I'll check your homework," she said immediately.
"I'm not done yet," I admitted sheepishly. "What time is it?"
She checked her watch. "Seven. Why?"
"Aw, shoot, I'm late! Bye!" I yelled as I ran out of the door and into the parking lot.
I was kind of surprised when I first found out they had a parking lot. I mean, what if the kids tried to escape?
But apparently the makers of the school didn't think about that.
"Cole!" I yelled, slightly out of breath.
"Oh, you're here! I was beginning to think you weren't going to show up."
I smiled, panting a little. "Sorry, I was trying to do homework and I kinda lost track of time."
"Oh, were you working on Millingar's writing assignment?"
I nodded. "I bet I'm going to fail."
He laughed. "Look at me! I'm the one with dyslexia!"
"You have dyslexia?"
He blushed. "Yeah, I do, actually."
"Oh."
"Well, let's not just stand here. Come on."
He opened up the passenger seat of the car and let me in, smiling. I smiled back.
We got to the beach in about ten minutes. It was a nice beach, sandy but not too sandy, rocky but not really. We both got out, Cole holding a big blanket and a picnic basket.
"Why'd you bring that?" I asked, gesturing to the picnic basket.
"In case you get hungry."
"Thanks," I said, smiling shyly at him.
We spread the blanket and sat down on it, the water gently lapping at our feet. I looked up at Cole.
"Why do you hate me?" he asked suddenly. "I mean, you just hate me for no reason at all."
"Now that you mention it, I honestly don't know. Maybe because it's fun...?"
"Interesting reason," he laughs, smiling.
"Why'd your girlfriend break up with you?"
"Uh, I- she- uh, well, she thought I was spending too much time with you. That we were secretly dating, or something."
I laughed, throwing my head back to add to the effect. "Us? Dating? Ha!"
I saw a flash of unknown emotion flash through his eyes, and I wondered what is was for a moment, but I quickly brushed it away. A gust of wind blew, causing me to shiver. Cole noticed and out his jacket around my shoulders.
"Thanks," I murmured.
"Mia, if you don't really know why you hate me, could I have a second chance? Which I guess would be kind of weird, since I have no idea what happened to my first."
I looked at him for a moment, letting that swirl around in my mind. Soon I felt myself thinking back to the conversation Selena and I had.
"You don't hate him," Selena had told me.
"Uh, yes, I do," I argued.
"No you don't. You loooooove him."
What if Selena was right and I was wrong? I hated being wrong, but it happens sometimes. Maybe I really did love him.
I smiled, gazing into his blue orbs. "Yes," I replied and, for pretty much the first time ever, Cole smiled at me.