15

"Good game. You play like a lion." I hear someone say. I turn around and see Michael, the guy who helped me win the game. He looks at me deep in the eyes and refuses to drop his gaze.

"Lioness, thank you very much," I say, jokingly.

Michael grins, flashing me his perfect set of white teeth. He's quite handsome, now that I think about it. His sandy hair is swept to one side and his light complexion makes his clear blue eyes pop. He's a little taller than me and much more muscular. He reminds me of Tom, but blond and a little less hot.

Oh my god, did I really just think of that.

"Yeah, sorry." Michael runs a hand through his hair. "As a lioness, do you eat your enemies?"

I scrunch my eyebrows together in confusion. What kind of question is that? Then it hits me: is he flirting? God, he's even worse than Ross, the guy in F.R.I.E.N.D.S.

Out of politeness, I keep up with his joke. "Uh, yeah, I eat my enemies for lunch."

"Well, I can't wait to eat you," he mutters under his breath, but I think it's only because he doesn't want other people to hear. He probably wanted me to hear that.

As I realize what he means, my eyes widen and I look everywhere except Michael's eyes, which still haven't detached from me. I start to sweat slightly, and I'm sure that my face is as red as a tomato. I'm actually afraid of this guy. I mean, who would go and tell someone you barely know and say Hey, I want to eat you out. It almost makes me angry how he so easily told me such a disgusting thing.

I straighten up and answer him, staring straight into his eyes. "First of all, ew. Second of all, I'm not the type of girl that sleeps around with anyone that crosses her path. Third of all, even if I were that type of girl, I wouldn't even do it with you. But thanks for your honesty, buddy." I say. I turn around and march to the changing rooms, leaving Michael stunned and alone in the middle of the gym.

I shut the door of the locker rooms behind me and lean on it. Adrenalin is running through my veins, which was probably the only reason I was able to talk to Michael. I'm not really good at confrontation.

Sadly, the adrenalin slowly turns to shock. I start breathing heavily and close my eyes, reliving the moment in my mind. My parents always warned me about guys taking advantage of girls. They told me that I had to learn to protect myself. Today was the first time something like that happened, and I guess I did pretty good, but I was still terrified. What if I couldn't say no? What if he would have brought me in a broom closet and…

Stop. I tell myself sternly.

I suddenly feel a touch on my shoulder. I open my eyes, but I'm still breathing heavily. Karen can see the panic on my face, and asks me, "Emma, what's wrong? You need air. Let's go out."

She grabs my arm and drags me outside. I sit on a little stonewall and try to inhale as much air as possible. After a couple of minutes, I'm feeling a lot better. Still a little in shock, but at least I can breathe normally.

"What was that about?" Karen says lightly.

I take another deep breath, then I tell what happened. When I get to the "I want to eat you" part, she gasps and covers her mouth with her hand. I ignore her and keep explaining.

When I'm done, Karen looks more angry than scandalized. Her hands turn into fists. "I'm gonna kill that bastard."

"Karen, no," I say, placing one of my hands on hers. "I already told him no. He knows. You don't have to hurt him."

I don't know why I'm being protective of the guy who wanted to abuse me, but I'm naturally against war and fights. If I can avoid a conflict, then all is good. Otherwise… well, all is bad.

"I know you told him no, but what if you just made him angry?" Karen asks, concerned. "Maybe he'll try to take advantage of you in another way, maybe much worse."

"If he does, you have my permission to hurt him as much as you want," I answer.

Karen doesn't really look convinced but sighs and nods her head.

"C' mon, let's go back in," I say. "I'm freezing."

I have two free periods after P.E., so I sit on one of the benches outside and start eating. Karen goes home for lunch because her grandparents are visiting, so I'm alone today. Fine by me. I can read.

I open my book and jump into the story.

"Hey."

I look up and smile. "Hey, Tommy."

He gives me one of his stupid smirks. "You're alone?"

"Yeah, Karen had to go home," I explain.

Tom nods. "Okay. I'm going to go eat with some friends. Sorry if I can't stay."

What does he mean by that? That he thinks that I want him to stay here with me?

"Yeah, don't worry about it," I answer. A corner of his lips curves upwards, and his eyes glint. He looks down. "See you later, then."

"Bye."

He walks away with a big smile still stamped on his face. What is wrong with him? Maybe he's happy to see his friends? Maybe, but I can't help to have this feeling that… is smile may have been caused by me. With this theory in my head, I smile at nothing. I start dancing in my mind.

OMG! Somebody likes you! Somebody likes you! I chant in my head.

I keep smiling, which probably makes some other students uncomfortable, as they move away.

Tommy and Emma, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!

God, my mind is really weird. Or, in other words, I am really weird. But it's not so bad. You are different from the other students and most people try to hide it. I did too when I was younger. Now, I decided to accept the fact that I'm not like others, but I see it as a victory. I don't have to follow the rules that others have to follow. I'm talking about some unwritten rules that are instinctively around us, like, reading is hard and useless, fast food is delicious or short shorts are awesome. I don't agree with all these rules, and I go by my own rules. Reading is awesome, fast food is fattening and disgusting or short shorts are uncomfortable and made just so you can show your ass to everyone.

Wait, what were we talking about? Oh, yeah. Me and Tom kissing in a tree. Got it. Long story short, I couldn't wipe that ridiculous smile off my face.