"And you owe me some answers "

Chapter 14

Kierra's POV

Chase and I were all alone in a classroom a few moments later and I was very curious as to what his intentions were for requesting to talk to me but I was too scared to ask so I was staring at my feet, waiting for him to start.

For some reason though, he stayed silent, almost like he was a bit scared too. When the silence had stretched on for far too long, I managed a glance at him and locked eyes with him.

He had been staring at me intently and seemed a little embarrassed that he was caught in the act, so much so that his cheeks took on a pink tint.

I made him blush. I didn't even know I could do that.

Eventually, he looked away and sighed deeply as he ran his hand through his hair before slowly asking, "So... how long have you and Ethan been going out?"

I had been expecting his question. That was really the only reason he could have wanted to talk to me but still hearing him ask took me by surprise and I could feel my cheeks flush as I struggled to rein in my emotions.

"It's not– it's not like that," I was able to say eventually. "I'm not dating Ethan."

He didn't seem to buy it and it showed ij his eyes. "If there's nothing going on between you guys, then why did he pull you away from me? What were you doing in my room and why did you hide from Emily?"

"That's a lot of questions," I muttered, eyebrows furrowed.

"And you owe me answers."

I tilted my head to the side thoughtfully with my hand on my chin before asking, "Do I?"

"Yes, you do. I saved your butt, Kierra. I need to know why."

I sighed. He was right about that. I guess I did kinda owe him an answer or in this case, answers...

"Okay, I'll talk... Ethan pulled me away that day to help me out. He knew I wasn't comfortable with the bet and couldn't drink to get out of it so he just stepped in for me. It's that simple," I explained. Chase didn't look too convinced by my answer but gestured for me to go on.

"After we left, he took me up to your room. Nothing happened between us, okay? We talked and I eventually fell asleep. I was the one who asked him not to go because I was kinda scared and he didn't go. I didn't want Emily to see us because she'd just misunderstand the situation like you did."

"But you explained it to me and I understand. Why wouldn't Emily? Aren't you guys best friends?" he asked.

"Yeah, we're best friends but– it's a little more complicated than that," I said.

"How so? You can tell me about it," he said, sitting on one of the tables and gesturing for me to do the same. I looked for any sign that he was joking but saw none. He genuinely looked interested in what I had to say. It was... weird.

"Uhh, no offense, Chase but I don't really know you that well so–" I trailed off, hoping he got the message.

"Oh! I get it. Yeah, I totally get it. I'm sorry if I overstepped my bounds," he said, a little awkwardly as he rose to his full height.

"No, no. You don't have to apologize. I do appreciate what you did on Saturday. Thanks a lot for that and if it's possible, could all this just stay between us? It's not like I lied or anything. There's really nothing going on between I and Ethan but others might not believe that as easily as you did."

"Yeah. Yeah. Of course. I promise," he said, holding out his pinky finger. I glanced at him and then at his pinky a few times before I stuck out mine and gripped his pinky. There was a radiant smile on his face when I eventually pulled away and stepped out.

Again, it was weird but things could have gone much more worse so I felt really happy about Chase's response to the whole thing. I could only imagine if Celine had been the one to spot us that day. My life would be over.

After leaving Chase, I headed to Math class and settled down beside Emily just as the bell rang. This class was a lot better because the teacher threatened to give detention to anyone who spoke without being spoken to. The rest of the class was then spent in silence.

After Math class came a flurry of activities before the bell was rung for recess and then it was off to the cafeteria for lunch. Emily and I stood in line to get our meals before going to sit at an unoccupied table.

While we ate, Emily and I continued to talk about the Grace and Mr Wyatt situation. As expected, he had been fired and was now in police custody for questioning while Grace had been suspended.

Barely five minutes after we had taken our seats, someone approached us and asked, "Is this seat free?"

The voice was strangely familiar and to my surprise, when I looked beside me, it was none other than Chase. My eyes widened and I almost choked on air. What was he doing here?

"Oh Chase! Sure, sure!" Emily replied and Chase sat down beside me. "Thanks again for Saturday."

"Don't mention it. Where did you find her eventually?"

"Turns out she was at home. Just like you said," Emily chuckled and I felt my throat tighten as I struggled to keep my face expressionless.

"Guess I was right, after all." I could feel his eyes on me and discreetly glared at him through the corner of my eye.

What was he even doing here? I wondered.

"Why are you here?"

"Huh?"

"I said, why are you here? Shouldn't you be seated with your cousin and the other popular kids?" I gestured towards the much larger table where Ethan, Derek and co were seated, laughing and chatting among themselves.

"Yeah, I should. But I don't want to," he answered with a shrug. I glared at him again. It wasn't like I could send him away or anything especially since he didn't see to be taking the cues I was sending him.

Eventually, I gave up and went back to eating when out of the blue, Chase stole a fry from me and promptly tossed it in his mouth. I stopped eating and glanced at him with questions in my eyes.

"Dude, what gives?"

"Nothing. Your fries just looked really good," he answered, a cheeky grin on his face. He was being weird again but I decided not to dwell on it and continued eating again until he did it again.

"Chase! Stop it!!" I yelled, turning to face him now.

"Okay," he mumbled, suddenly turning sober. I didn't know how to react to that. What was wrong with this guy anyway?

"Whatever," I muttered under my breath before continuing to eat again while keeping a close eye on my fries. When he tried to swipe a fry again, I was ready and caught the fry. "Gotcha!"

"Come on Kierra. It's one fry, please?" he asked and pouted at me. I shook my head, refusing to let his pout get to me.

"No fucking way! Let go of the fry," I demanded.

The tug of war went on for a few seconds until he suddenly released the fry just as I yanked and I began to fall backwards. Almost like he had been predicting it, his hand caught my waist and he pulled me towards him.

Suddenly, our faces were so close together and it reminded me of our almost-kiss on Friday.

"Are you okay?" he asked, brushing wayward strands of my hair away. My beating heart quickened as I nodded slowly, unable to take my eyes off his green ones.

Damn it! What was I doing?

I pulled back, stood to my feet and ran to the bathroom without a word to Chase or Emily.

In the bathroom, I opened the tap and splashed water on my face multiple times in an attempt to cool myself down and probably stop my heart from beating so fast.

When I opened my eyes and stared at the mirror, I looked eyes with the last person I was expecting to see...