Chapter 9

"Are you alright?" Recognising the voice immediately, I instantly spun around, causing the girl in question to almost jump back in shock.

Directly in front of me, to my complete surprise, standing there, with a mixture of worry and now also shock on her face, was Helen. I stood unmoving, unable to even process the idea of Helen coming up to talk to me. It was only when I saw her eyebrows begin to scrunch up cutely in confusion as she began waving her hand in front of my face that my brain kicked back into gear, allowing me to finally reply.

"Huh? Oh, right, yeah I'm good! Great even, never been better!" Hearing the shake in my voice as I stuttered along I thought I was going to die of embarrassment. My face burned crimson red as I berated myself internally for such an awkward response. Seeing her amused expression and wanting to move the conversation away I quickly spoke again. 

"How are you doing? You're here early."

"I could say the same to you," she replied with a smirk. "And I am doing absolutely amazing. I'm just so happy to be here!" The sarcasm dripped from her voice as she rolled her eyes causing me to snort in amusement.

Seeing the easygoing smile on her face helped to put me at ease, with my heart no longer trying to jump out of my chest. However, before I could respond, the smile on her face was once more replaced with an expression of worry as she asked.

"Are you sure you're alright? Did everything go ok at the hospital?" I suddenly realised what she meant when she first spoke to me, asking if I was alright. I had assumed it was in regard to the angry expression I was undoubtedly wearing from all the whispers and rumours people were saying about me. 

When I looked into her clear, almost sparkling hazel eyes, a part of me desperately wanted to tell the truth. No. I was the farthest thing from being alright, feeling as if my emotions were in a constant state of flux. As if I was one step away from breaking down into a fit of rage and depression at the same time, wanting to lash out in fury as I did on the river bank the day before. But I didn't. Stopping myself before I could. Not only would it be weird and awkward to mention such a thing to someone who besides today I had never spoken more than a few sentences to. I also knew I wouldn't be able to handle the look of pity she would undoubtedly show me. 

"Oh yeah, not a problem! Apparently, it was just a really bad cold. No biggie!" I lied cheerfully, a painfully false smile on my face. One that didn't reach my eyes.

Helen simply looked at me suspiciously, glancing towards the small swelling of my jaw, the look in her eyes letting me know that my skills at lying were god awful. Not wanting her to try and dig deeper into the truth I quickly switched topics.

"Anyway, that prick Matthew got lucky. If I wasn't sick I would have wiped the floor with him!" I jokingly said, flexing my non-existent muscles as I did so.

"Oh, I'm not so sure," she replied in a drawn-out tone. "From where I was standing it looked like you were in a spot of trouble." 

"Pssh, that was on purpose to lower his guard. I was just seconds away from unleashing my secret strike before I passed out." 

Helen giggled lightly in response, causing me to drop the fake serious expression I was wearing and chuckle alongside her. As I saw her stand there with a smile on her face and her eyes alight with mirth I was filled with a sense of happiness I sorely needed.

Time seemed to pass quickly after that, with the both of us chatting and joking along as we walked randomly along the halls. Trying to stick to areas where we wouldn't be squished to death by the other students. Being able to spend time with Helen was like a dream come true. If anyone had told me the day before I would be laughing and joking with her as we walked the halls I would have called them insane.

"I can't believe you did that! How did you get Sam to ever forgive you!" Helen wheezed out in between gasps for air as she broke down laughing, her hands resting on her knees for support as she buckled over.

"Hey!" I said in mock offence. "If anything he needed to earn my forgiveness for what he did the week before! I've still got a fear of spiders now because of him."

"Ahh, Bless you. Is little Adam afraid of some teeny tiny spiders?" Helen mocked, a grin stretched across her face.

"Be quiet," I said jokingly, lightly whacking her in the arm to hide the slight embarrassment due to the truth of what she said. Not knowing what else to say and seeing that there was no one else around an idea entered my mind. With a scheming grin, just as she took a step I stuck my foot out to the side, catching her own and knocking her off balance.

Clearly not expecting such an action Helen proceeded to stumble to the side, almost crashing against the wall that was then less than a foot away. When I saw the look of shock plastered on her face as her arms flailed wildly for a semblance of balance I almost burst into laughter, having to try my hardest to keep it smothered in my chest. Although the glare I received showed I did a poor job of hiding it.

"Oh? Think you're funny, do you?" she said pouting, a weird glint in her eye that I failed to decipher.

Looking at her pout and thinking I might have gone too far I went to apologise. However, before I was able to say a word, Helen disappeared from my vision before what felt like a cannonball made contact with my chest, pushing me backwards and into the opposite wall. As I stood there, trying to regain the air that had been forcefully exhaled, I saw Helen not far in front with the biggest and most dazzling grin I had ever seen. A grin that quickly transformed as she burst into laughter that filled the entire hallway, all the while I stood still in complete shock, thrown off by the unexpected move. Helen looked towards me, tears leaking from the side of her eyes and her chest rising and falling dramatically as her laugh seemed to be coming to an end.

"You should have seen your face! I thought your eyes were going to pop out in shock!" she cackled.

Finally shaken free of my stupor, I stood back, both regaining my breath and absentmindedly rubbing my chest, trying not to show how much that shove actually hurt. She was surprisingly strong for someone so small. 

"So that's how you want to play huh?" I replied, a shit-eating grin now plastered on my face as I stalked forward towards her.

Immediately her expression turned to one of faux-wariness as she saw me slowly edge closer. She attempted to side-step away, to which I dutifully blocked, cutting off her escape. Realising I kept blocking her exit she stared directly at me, her piercing eyes filled with determination and her lips pressed into a slight smile, clearly having come up with an idea. 

That was all the warning I got as she once again charged towards me. Only this time I was prepared, meeting her charge with one of my own. As we collided with a smash, Helen was quickly pushed back to one of the hallway walls. A wall I also collided with as my momentum carried me forward, only coming to a stop when my hands made contact with the wall behind Helen, leaving me placed directly in front of her. 

As we stood there, both giggling at the horseplay that had taken place I realised the position we were in. My right arm pushed against the wall on her left side, our bodies less than a foot apart. When I went to look back towards her I saw a slight blush rise on her face as a sudden tension appeared around us, becoming almost palpable as I stood there frozen once more, unsure of what I should do. It was then, whether good or bad, that the sound of the screeching school bell washed over us.

After the bell rang, breaking the weird atmosphere that had seemed to develop, both Helen and I jumped apart, putting a sizeable distance between us. My face was a bright red as I attempted, and failed, to look at everything and anything besides Helen. Who also seemed to be just as red in appearance and looking straight towards the floor, with strands of her curly rich hair covering her face.

"Um, well I've got to head to class. I'll see you later?" I said in a pathetic attempt to break the awkwardness and stilling silence.

As I rapidly turned around, not even waiting to hear a reply and a second away from finding a hole to crawl into, I heard Helen shout from behind. 

"Wait!" Hearing this, I turned around, curious and slightly worried about what she wanted to say.

"I was just thinking if you wanted to. Maybe we could exchange numbers?" Her voice turned quiet and meek as she finished speaking, her eyes shifting in every direction besides mine. Something at the time I barely noticed, too busy feeling a sense of euphoria burst within me as her words sunk in.

"Absolutely! I mean yeah that would be great." I replied, trying to hide my eagerness, not believing my luck.

The nervousness she was displaying disappeared instantly, replaced with a smile so bright that it made my heart rattle in my chest and my face once again blushed a deep red. She shuffled forward, closing the distance between us that had previously been made. A sense of nervous excitement was felt in the pit of my stomach as we began exchanging numbers. 

"Okay, I've got to go. Got English first thing and it's quite a walk." Helen cheerfully said once we finished.

"I guess I'll message you later?" I replied hopefully

"Sure!" And with one last bright smile, she dashed away.