*******************************************

Downloaded by Wattpad2Any Online

Alrights Reserved by
their respective owners
-------------------------------------------
+ DONT PLAGIARIZE,PLEASE SHARE +

-------------------------------------------

http://w2a.l6.org
---------------BOOK DETAILS----------------
[BOOK NAME] A Proscriptive Relationship
[TOTALPARTS] 66
-------------------------------------------
[ BOOK DESCRIPTION ]
--------------------------------------------
Holly's new, young teacher has a dark past, and a dangerous future. She soon finds
herself charmed by his ways, and gets thrown into the chaos. Who knew having an ex-
gangster for a teacher could be so troublesome? As Holly and Mr. Heywood grow
closer, more questions about his past come upon Holly, as does danger. What is Mr.
Heywood keeping from Holly? And why is it so bad? But most importantly, if she
falls for him, could their relationship survive? After all... it would be a
proscriptive relationship.
-------------------------------------------

*******************************************
[1] A Proscriptive Relationship: 1
*******************************************
This story involves a lot of violence, as a heads up. And no, the twist isn't
vampires. There's nothing "fantasy" in this besides the fact that a student may
have a fantasy about a teacher. And no creepy old guys either, because that doesn't
float my boat.

It starts of slow, like all stories, but I promise you won't regret it if you give
it a chance ;D Put on your seat belt, or the twists in this story will send you
through your windshield!

There's a trailer in the external link... Watch it to know what this is about.

DO NOT ADVERTISE YOUR STORIES ON HERE. It's incredibly rude and the comment will be
deleted.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Paper or plastic?"

"Paper."

The cashier gave me a bored look. "We're out of paper. Is plastic

okay?"

"I guess so," I responded with a dry smile. If he knew there wasn't any
paper, why did he even give me a choice?

The cashier quickly placed my groceries into two plastic bags- one for
the meat and vegetables, and the other for the non-perishables. I made a face when
I realized he had put the bread under the bananas. Didn't he know bread was
supposed to either be on top or in a separate bag?

"Have a nice night," he said, handing the bags to me.

My face fell the tiniest bit. Instead of going grocery shopping around
three o'clock in the afternoon like I was supposed to, I had decided to go on the
computer, thinking I'd just quickly check my Facebook and e-mail. But no, Facebook
has an uncanny ability to make you lose track of time so when I finally decided to
stop clicking home on the page to check the time, it was already six. Hence why I
was now at the grocery store while it was pitch black outside. To top things off,
my mom had the car so I had to walk home.

As soon as I stepped into the outside a chilly wind whipped by me,

nipping at my cheeks. I shivered, pulling my coat closer around me. Anxiety made
itself evident as I started on my way home, keeping under the streetlights.
Everyone knew it wasn't safe for a young woman to be walking the streets by herself
at night. All the terrible things happened in the movies happened to those women.
And right now, I was one of them.

To my luck, the one dark, ominous ally on the way home was one I didn't
have to go through. As I grew closer, I strayed further away from the mouth. Just
as I was about to step out in front of the entrance, a low groan came from inside
it. My breathing hitched and I froze, listening as hard as I could. All was silent,
except the sounds of a few people breathing heavily. It sounded like they were
right beside me. I slowly stepped away from the mouth, pressing my back against the
brick building beside it.

"Aren't you going to fight back?" an angry voice demanded, carrying all
the way to me.

"I told you," another voice responded in a calm, suave manner. "I don't
fight anymore."

A snort echoed through the ally. "Yeah. Like I'd believe that. If you
don't fight back, then you're just letting us beat the shit out of you."

"Whatever," the man with the calm voice responded. "It's not like
feeble punches from you will actually harm me."

My mouth opened slightly in surprise from the calm man's comeback. Did
he want to be attacked? Whoever the other guy was, he sounded threatening. I took a
step back, away from the ally mouth. If there was going to be a fight going down, I
didn't want to be around to see it. But if I ran away, what was going to happen to
the calm man? It didn't sound like he was going to fight back. If something
happened, wouldn't I get in trouble for knowing it was happening and not trying to
stop it?

"Suit yourself," someone, not the calm man, grunted. There was the
quiet, distinguished sound of knuckles being cracked.

Throwing all caution to the wind, I built up all the courage I had and
stepped into ally. "Wait!" I demanded, looking in the direction the earlier voices
were coming from.

My breath caught in my throat as I took in the sight my eyes fell upon.

A small group of five, thug-looking men were surrounding one other man. The man in
the middle had his back turned to me, so the only thing I could make out was his
messy brown hair. He tensed, keeping his back to me while five other sets of eyes
snapped to me. I froze like a deer in headlights. Stupid, stupid move, I told
myself, biting my cheek in admonishment.

"Well what do we have here?" one of the five intimidating men

questioned, a small smirk spreading across his face. "A pretty, young girl? What
are you doing out here so late?"

"It doesn't matter why she's out here so late," a bald man next to the
first speaker said. "She probably heard us talking and came to see what was up,
right?"

I blinked when I realized he was addressing me. My heart thudded in my

chest as I stared at the bald man, trying to think of a response. Why had I jumped
out in front of these thugs again? Who knew what there were capable off. A grimace
made its way onto my face. I should have thought twice.

"Well then, missus, you can watch the first punch to this man's pretty
face," the thug addressing me continued when I didn't respond.

"You think my face is pretty?" the man being surrounded commented in an

amused tone. "That's cute."

One of the thugs stepped closer to the calm, young man, bringing up his fist. The
younger man didn't even turn to look at his attacker. When the thug brought his
fist back, I dashed forward, swinging my grocery bag filled with non-perishables. I
knew it had struck gold when I heard the thug cry out in pain.

"Run!" I screamed, grabbing the young man's hand and tugging him away from the
group of thugs, whom were all standing around like statues, shocked from my
surprise attack.

I began sprinting in the direction of my house without a seconds thought. The thugs
in the ally shouted after us as we fled. Adrenaline was pumping through my veins as
I hurtled down the street, keeping a firm grip on the man I was towing along. When
we made it to my street I dug my free hand into my pocket, searching desperately
for my house key. The handles of the grocery bag slipped down to my wrist, where
they hung, digging into my soft skin.

After a few terrorizing moments, I finally managed to find my key. Without any
further ado, I slammed it into the lock, and opened the door. I shoved the man
behind me inside first, and pulled my key out, slamming and locking the door behind
us. Breathing heavily, I tried the lock again to make sure we would be safe. The
door didn't budge. With a deep sigh, I sunk to my knees, trying to regain my
breath.

After a few minutes my breathing finally returned to normal, but my heart was still
pounding with adrenaline. I stayed on the ground for a little longer, trying to
calm my heartbeat.

"Are you okay?"

A gasp of surprise left my lips, and I started. It had completely slipped my mind
that someone else was with me. Embarrassed, I slowly pushed myself to my feet,
wiping off my sweaty palms. "I'm fine. Are you okay?"

"Couldn't be better."

I was tempted to look at man behind me, but first I wanted to make sure the thugs
weren't outside waiting for us. Standing on my tiptoes, I peered through the window
out into the night. A shadow danced across my lawn and my heart skipped a beat in
alarm. I almost laughed when I realized it was just the shadow of one of the trees
in my yard. There were no persons out there.

"Looks like we lost them," I commented in relief, turning around now.

"Looks like it."

My eyes widened and my jaw dropped when my gaze finally landed on the man before
me. When his eyes landed on my face, he inhaled sharply, a look of shock passing
across his face. Surprised by his response I took a step back away from him. We
stared at each other for a few minutes, taking the other person in.

Standing before me had to be the best-looking guy I had ever seen. Sure, it sounded
cheesy, but there was no other way I could describe him. He was around a foot and a
half taller than me, and had a strong looking physique- slender, yet muscular. His
face was perfectly chiseled with a low bone structure and sturdy jaw. Messy, umber
colored hair framed his perfect features, falling into his eyes slightest bit. His
startlingly piercing grey eyes. In my entire life, I hadn't ever seen such a shade
of grey in someone's eyes. They were beautiful.

He mumbled something incoherent, his eyes never leaving my face.

"What?" I asked quietly, my mouth feeling incredibly dry.

The man blinked in surprise, and then shook his head slightly. "Nothing," he told
me, sounding slightly disappointed.

"Okay..." I responded, staring at him again. It was really hard to pull my gaze
away from his eyes.

"Are those guys gone?" the man inquired, crossing his arms over his chest.

I slowly nodded my head, growing more and more awkward by the second. It was now
catching up to me that I had practically forced this handsome stranger into my
house.

The young man before me nodded too, relaxing his position. "Good. It wouldn't have
been good if I had been caught fighting again."

Again? I watched the man warily. He caught my cautious gaze and raised
an eyebrow. I shook my head quickly, looking away from him.

"I should probably go then," he mused, frowning slightly.

"Already?" As soon as the words left my mouth I blushed deeply. What

was I doing? I didn't even know this guy!

The grey-eyed man chuckled a deep, attractive chuckle. "I don't want to
impose..."

Nodding in agreement, I looked back up and gave him a small smile. "You
wouldn't be... But I am afraid of what my mom would say if she came home and found
a strange man here."

"I'm not that strange."

I laughed quietly. "No, you were just going to be beaten up in an ally

like any other average person, right?"
 He cocked his head to the side, an amused smile slipping across his
face. "You should be one to talk. Coming out of nowhere and shouting at them in
your girly little voice."

"I do not have a girly little voice," I responded, slightly miffed.

"And I really thought they were going to beat you up!"

The young man before shrugged, holding up his hands defensively. "Well
thanks anyway, but as a tip, don't try to stop anymore fights. You might get hurt."
With that, he moved around me heading towards my door.

"Wait!" I demanded.

He paused, turning around to look at me. "What?"

"What's your name?"

"Secret," he responded with a smirk, opening my door. "Have a nice

night."

*******************************************
[2] A Proscriptive Relationship: o2
*******************************************
I think the story starts picking up next chapter, so just hang in 1-2 days,
okay? :D Well please enjoy this chapter!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The shrill ringing of my alarm clock pierced the dead quiet of my room. It lasted
only a split second before my hand collided with the annoying electronic, silencing
it immediately. Cold bit at my now exposed hand and I quickly returned it to the
toasty safe haven of under my comforter.

After a few moments of silence I groaned to myself. Even though it was freezing in
my room, I had to get up and get ready. No more dreaming about the handsome,
mysterious man that I had dragged to my house the week before. I took a deep breath
and counted to three before seizing the edge of my comforter and tossing it off of
me. The frigid air tempted me into going back under the covers, but I fought it.

My bare feet touched the freezing floor and I padded over to the air vent. I stuck
my foot in front of the airway and pulled it back with a frown. The air conditioner
was on, not the heat. Had my mom mistakenly turned it on instead of the heat? I
exhaled and treaded wearily out of my room and into the hallway, which was only a
few degrees warmer than my bedroom.

"Mom?"

I waited for an answer, and after a few moments of silence I tried

again, walking towards my mom's bedroom. I paused outside of the door and knocked
gently. Still no answer. I opened it and peered inside to see my mom dead asleep on
the bed, her clothes still on. I sighed to myself and walked over to her closet,
grabbing an extra comforter and covering her.

"Geez," I muttered, frowning at her. "Don't overwork yourself this

much."

I exited the room and made my way to the thermostat. My mom had indeed
turned the air conditioning on instead of the heater. I turned the knob in the
opposite direction and set it to a very warm temperature. After that I stumbled to
the bathroom to take a shower.

The warm water felt relaxing on my back and I lingered a little longer than I
should have. My thoughts were preoccupied about the umber haired man. Who was he?
Would I be able to see him again? It was incredibly frustrating that he wouldn't at
least tell me his name!

When I was done washing my hair, I hopped out of the shower and briskly dried off
my body and towel-dried my hair as best as I could. I wrapped a towel around my
head and body and made my way back to my bedroom. It was my last first day of
school- and I wanted to look cute. Finally I decided on an outfit- a simple pair of
washed jeans, a black tank top, and a light blue plaid shirt that I knew would
bring out my eyes well.

When I was done getting dressed I went to my kitchen to eat a quick breakfast.
After I finished I slipped on my low-top converse, and slung my backpack over my
shoulders, stopping in the bathroom briefly to apply light make-up and brush my
teeth. In the middle of rinsing, my phone started vibrating. I quickly swished the
water in my mouth and spat it into the sink, wiping my mouth on a towel before
answering the phone.

"Morning," I greeted, trying not to yawn.

"Morning, Holly!" my best friend of six years, Casey Rivers, returned sounding
bright and chipper. "Are you almost ready? I'm outside your house now."

"Yep, I'll be out in a moment."

"Kay. See you soon," Casey responded and I heard a click.

I closed my cell phone and stuffed it in my pocket, hurrying out of the bathroom
and down the hallway. I took the stairs two at a time and stopped in the kitchen
quickly to write a note for my mom. Finally I snatched my house keys off he key
hanger and flung on a jacket before I exited my house, stepping into the frigid
air.

Casey was waiting on the steps. Her long brown hair cascaded down her back and blew
gently in the wind as she blew on her hands and rubbed them together to keep them
warm. She turned when she heard the door open, her brown eyes lighting up
excitedly. "Hi," she greeted me, the moisture of her exhale creating fog in the
air, her cheeks a rosy red.

"It's cold," I commented, pulling my jacket tighter around me as the wind nipped at
my cheeks.

"Yeah," Casey responded, nodding her head vigorously. "Thank god this is our last
year of walking to school."

I chuckled. "Agreed. But you know you don't have to walk with me. Don't you have a
car?"

Casey shrugged. "I get more exercise this way and it's more fun."

I shrugged back at her. "Whatever, I guess, let's just go. I don't know how long I
can stand being in this cold."

Casey nodded and together we set off down the sidewalk towards our school. It was
only a twenty-minute walk, but in the freezing cold it seemed longer than that. I
shivered at the unusual cold. It was usually still warm this early in the morning
in September, but for some reason this morning was colder than the others. I could
feel goose bumps on the exposed part of my knee and wished I had worn a different
pair of jeans.

"So," Casey started, turning to face me with a grin. "Any news about the mysterious
stranger you saved?"

Blushing, I shook my head. "I wish."

"That's too bad. I would have loved to meet him."

"I would love to see him again."

Casey suddenly smirked, an eager expression crossing her face. "You know what?
There's a new biology teacher this year."

"Really? Male or female?"

"Male," she responded, stuffing her hands deeper into her pockets. "I don't know
anything about him though, but I was thinking, what if he's your mystery man?"

I laughed. "No way. This guy was young."

"So?"

"Too young to be a teacher," I clarified.

Casey's expression dropped. "Bummer. Are you taking biology this year?"

I nodded, pushing a piece of my chestnut colored hair that had flown into my face
with a gust of wind out of the way. "Yeah. I took anatomy last year, so I was
forced to take biology this year."

Casey laughed. "I'm pretty sure everyone in our grade was forced to take anatomy
last year and biology this year."

"Probably. I like biology though, so I don't mind."

"I wouldn't mind if this new biology teacher was young and handsome," Casey stated,
a dreamy look coming onto her face.

I rolled my eyes. "There's no way. All science teachers are creepy. They are
usually all old and bald. Or they have a lot of facial hair. Or they look at their
students in inappropriate ways."

"Well, one can dream. But you're right."

"I'm always right," I told her with a wink. "I'm omniscient."

"Yeah, whatever," Casey responded, smirking at me.

We came to the gates of school and the building towered over us. I stared at in
slight awe. It had been over two months since I had last been this close to it. I
didn't remember it being this substantial. The familiar red brick walls blocked all
vision beyond them.

Casey grabbed my arm and started dragging me towards a group of people. I

recognized them as some of my school friends: Sadie, Lance, Danielle and Willis.
They were all huddled together, and I could hear them chattering excitedly.

"Hi guys!" Casey greeted them, catching Danielle in a hug.

"Holly!" Lance cried, pulling me into a tight hug.

I laughed, hugging him back. "Lance! Man have I missed you and your sexy British
accent!"

"So I'm sexy now?" he asked, pulling away from me with a wink.

"You wish," I retorted, shaking my head. "I know I just got here, but can we move
this little shindig inside? It's freezing."

The six of us trooped our way inside the school building, the welcoming warm air
defrosting our frozen bodies. Students filled the entrance hall, chattering with
friends; some were walking around with schedules in their hands, comparing their
pieces of paper to others.

"Let's meet up in the hall after we get our schedules," I suggested, wanting to
drop my jacket off in my locker.

"Sounds good to me," Casey responded, pulling off her hat and running a hand
through her hair. "See you in a bit."

The six of us split up, heading to our assigned homeroom. Lance and I were in the
same homeroom, so we went off together. He babbled on about his summer and how he
visited his friends back in England. He had moved here to Massachusetts a few years
back, when we were freshman, and we had been best friends since.

I entered my homeroom and walked to where my seat was for the past three years and
wasn't surprised to find my schedule on the desk. I picked it up and scanned it
quickly. The only name that stood out from the rest, and that I didn't recognize,
was Chris Heywood. He must be the new Biology teacher, I thought.

"What periods do you have double biology?" Lance called from across the room.

"Fourth and fifth," I returned, scanning down the sheet of paper for my locker
combination. I located it and read it a few times to memorize it.

"So do I!"

"Awesome," I responded, stuffing my schedule into my pocket. "I'm going to my

locker."

"Have fun."

I left Lance in the classroom and headed out into the now jammed hallway. A few of
my friends called out greetings to me as I passed by them. Maneuvering around the
crowds of students, I finally managed to make it to the back hall where my locket
was located. Right on the corner. I spun the combo slowly and surprisingly opened
it on my first try. A laugh left my lips when I noticed the small drawing off a
muffin I had drawn back in ninth grade was still on the door. The janitors still
couldn't get it off. I let go of the locker door and began to pull my arms out of
my jacket, only having a little difficulty. Suddenly, there was a quiet thud and my
locker banged shut, catching the edge of my nose.

"Ow!" I cried, pulling away from my now shut locker, and slapping a hand to my
nose.

There quick intake of air from beside me and I twirled around to come face-to-chest
with someone. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was a young man with messy
brown hair... A startled gasp escaped my lips when my eyes landed on the familiar,
attractive grey eyes of my mystery man. He looked just as surprised, if not more,
to see me. My mouth went dry and my mind blank. I definitely was not expecting to
see him here.

We continued our mini staring contest for a few more moments. Once again my eyes
were glued to his, focused on their unusual color. Eventually the young man came
out of his shock, and a small smirk slipped onto his face. "Don't go falling for my
good looks already," he commented, flicking my forehead.

I winced from the sudden contact and rubbed my forehead, glaring at the man while a
light blush spread to my cheeks. "I-I'm not. I just wasn't expecting to see you
here."

He furrowed his eyebrows. "Neither was I..."

I frowned at his annoyed expression. Why was this guy at my school? Was he a
transfer student? There was no way he could be a freshman, he looked way too old.
My eyebrows knitted as I tried to figure out his grade based on looks. Definitely
not a sophomore. Maybe a junior, but most likely a senior like me. Maybe he was a
transfer student!

"Hey."

I snapped out of my thoughts and looked back up at handsome transfer student.

"Yeah?"

"Can you tell me how to get to room 1054?" he requested, his eyes never leaving my
face. They held some kind of emotion I couldn't recognize in them...

I shook my head, repeating his question in my head. 1054. The room corresponded
with my locker number. Smiling slightly, I nodded to him and pointed the way he had
just come. "You go down this hallway, and take a right into the hallway that's
painted blue. It'll be the last door at the end of the hallway before the stairs."

He clicked his tongue and frowned. "I must have passed it. Oh well. Thanks."

"Sure thing," I responded, peeling my eyes away from his handsome face and back to
my locker. It was rude to stare.

After a few seconds I heard him start walking away, and I spun the combo to my
locker and opened it again. I stuffed my jacket inside and frowned, still miffed at
the appearance of the man. We didn't usually get transfer students. The school was
small, and not many people lived around here.

"Holly!" someone cried and I turned to see Casey running towards me. "Holly, oh my
god!"

"What?"

"I just saw the new biology teacher!" she exclaimed, looking excited. "He is hot!"
"Eh? Where'd you see him?" I asked, looking down the hall. "Is he still there?"

"No! He walked this way. Didn't you see him?"

"No, but listen-" I started, but she cut me off.

"Oh boy. Your thoughts about science teachers will be changing now. Wait until you
see him. He looks so young!" Casey gushed, her eyes wide with excitement. "What
period do you have bio?"

I laughed at her excitement. "Fourth and fifth."

Casey groaned. "You have to wait that long to see him?"

"Apparently so," I responded, shaking my head. "Listen to this-"

The homeroom bang rung and I scowled. Now I would have to wait until I could tell
Casey that the new transfer student was actually my mystery man. If she was that
excited over a teacher, I could just imagine her excitement over a new hot transfer
student. Transfer students were datable, unlike teachers.

I sighed and started off towards my homeroom. I had to admit I was kind of excited
to see the new biology teacher and that it was disappointing how I had to wait
until fourth period, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. He was just a
teacher.

When I entered my homeroom and searched for the mysterious, hoping to see him in my
homeroom. A frown spread across my face when I couldn't locate him. Hopefully I'd
at least be able to see him again today. It's be great if I had some classes with
him too... The announcements came on and I quickly hurried towards my seat next to
Lance. He grinned up at me and I smiled back. I just had to wait and find out.

*******************************************
[3] A Proscriptive Relationship: o3
*******************************************

"Holly!"

I turned when I heard my name being called from across the boisterous cafeteria. My
friend Tony was waving me over to him where he sat with a few of my friends. I
clutched my tray and began to maneuver my way through the throng of students to get
to him. He patted to a seat next to him. "Sit, sit!"

I smiled at him and shook my head. "Sorry. I'm going to sit with Casey and them. I
already promised. See you guys later though."

"Wait!" a girl named Allison stopped me. "Have you seen the biology teacher yet?"

I frowned slightly. What was up with everyone making a commotion about the new
biology teacher? "Not yet..."

Allison clicked her tongue. "He's very handsome."

"So I've heard," I responded wearily. "About one hundred times today. But I'm going
to go eat now."

"Have fun," Tony said with a grin.

I made my way back across the cafeteria to where Casey, Lance, Willis, Sadie and my
other friend, Katie, were. I took a seat next to Willis and set down my tray,
sighing to myself.

"How's your day been, Holly?" Willis asked, picking up his French bread pizza and
sniffing it cautiously.

"Pretty normal," I responded, grabbing my own piece of pizza and prodding it. A
disgusting oil liquid drooled out from the edge. I made a face, setting the slice
back down on my tray.

"That's because she hasn't had biology yet," Casey interjected, absolutely glowing.
"Just wait! Not only is he hot, he's funny, nice and he has the most attractive
voice. I don't ever think I'll be falling asleep in that class."

I couldn't help but laugh at her enthusiasm. "Someone has a crush."

"Hey," Willis interrupted, frowning at me. "Boyfriend present."

"For a boyfriend, you sure are calm about your girlfriend basically drooling over
another guy," Lance commented, shaking his head.

"She is drooling," I muttered, taking a look at Casey, who was wiping her mouth
with her sleeve.

Willis shrugged. "He's a teacher. Teacher-student relationships can never happen.

It's basically illegal."

"It is illegal," Lance corrected him.

"I'd be a little jealous if I were you," Sadie warned, smirking. "He's one good-
looking guy."

"See!" Casey cried, pointing at Sadie. "Just wait!"

Lance snorted. "I really doubt Holly is interested in teachers, Casey."

"Actually, I'm kind of interested," I admitted. "He's making such a commotion with
the students."

"No way," Lance responded, frowning at me. "Don't tell me you are going to fall
head over heels for him when you see him."

"Someone's getting a little jealous," Sadie teased, winking at Lance.

Lance sent a glare at her. "I am not!"

"It's hard to take Lance seriously with his accent," she commented, rolling her
eyes.

"I'm sorry I can't help it. American accents are too hard to copy."

"Come on Sadie, leave Lance alone," I said, laughing. "I like his British accent."

"Same," Casey and Katie agreed simultaneously.

"It's sexy," Lance mentioned with a wink.

"Now don't be too modest," I told him sarcastically, turning my attention back to
my food. "But Casey, I've been meaning to tell you something."

She cocked her head to the side. "What?"

"Remember mystery man?"

She nodded.

"He's a new student here."

Casey's eyes widened significantly. "Serious?"

I nodded. "Completely."

A grin spread across her face. "You have to point him out to me, okay? Is he in
this lunch?"

"Nope," I responded glumly. "I haven't seen him since this morning."

"I'm sure you'll see him again," Casey assured me.

"See who again?" Lance interjected quickly.

Casey pursed her lips at him. "Never mind. Eat your lunch, Lance."

The rest of lunch passed by quickly. So quickly in fact, I didn't bring up my tray
before the bell rang. Lance laughed as I quickly jumped up, heading towards the
front of the cafeteria.

"I'll see you in bio!" he called after me.

I struggled to navigate my way around the swarm of students exiting the cafeteria.
One kid bumped into me, sending my tray onto the ground. A groan of frustration
escaped my lips, and I quickly picked up tray, retrieving the trash that had fallen
off it. By now, the cafeteria was empty. I hurried to the trashcans and dumped my
tray, handing it off to the lunch lady.

I clicked my tongue as I made my way out of the cafeteria. I had to get my backpack
from my locker, which was on the other side of the school, and make it back to the
science wing in time. Hastening down the hall, I avoided the other students who
were also scurrying to get to class on time. By the time I got to my locker, I
hazarded a guess that I had about a minute left to make it to the biology room on
time. I pulled my backpack out of my locker and shut it, just as the bell rang.

"Crap," I muttered, slinging my backpack over my shoulder and speeding down the
hallway towards the science wing.

I was late to class on my first day of school. Not only that, but it was with a new
teacher- a handsome new teacher, apparently. I cursed myself and rushed down the
hallway and into the classroom.

"Sorry I'm late," I apologized, my eyes on the floor. "My locker-"

My mind went blank when I looked up, making me forget my excuse. It felt like a
boxer had kicked me in the stomach. Staring back at me was the same handsome brown-
haired guy that had run into my locker early- my mystery man. I blinked as I stared
at him in surprise.

So he really was a new student.

He glanced down at a paper in his hands, and once again a shocked look appeared on
his face. Looking bewildered, he turned to me, then back to the paper, and back to
me again. "You must be Miss Evers," he finally stated. "Glad you managed to join
us."

Now it felt like a freight train had ran into my gut. A quiet, startled gasp
escaped my lips. This man wasn't a student. He was a teacher, the new handsome
biology teacher that everyone had been talking about all day.

I felt my face grow hot and I looked at the floor. "Ah... Sorry."

The man chuckled. "It's quite alright. The first day can be hectic. But let's not
make this a habit, alright?"

"Y-yeah," I stammered, willing the blush from my face to go away.

"Why don't you take a seat?"

I looked around the classroom to see Lance sitting in the back, frowning at me. All
spots around him were taken. And so were the spots around the spots around him. I
slowly realized the only spot available was the front seat in the middle row. Front
and center. I bit my lip and made my way over to the desk, slinking into it. The
teacher's name was written on the board. Mr. Heywood. I repeated the name in my
head in a few times. It was an unusual last name.

"So as I was saying, this is my first year as a teacher, so I don't know much about
teaching a class full of high school students," Mr. Heywood started, standing right
in front of me, his hand resting on the edge of my desk. "And obviously you guys
don't know me, so let's get to know each other a bit today."

Sarah, the girl who sat next to me, shot her hand up quickly. "Can we ask you
questions?"

Mr. Heywood looked surprised, but shrugged. "If you want."

"How old are you?" she asked quickly, causing Mr. Heywood to smile.

"Twenty-two," he told her.

I stared at him in surprise. The other youngest teacher here was thirty. But this
guy was only twenty-two? Did that mean that he got a job fresh out of college? How
lucky was that?

"I got this job just as I finished up college this year," he continued with a
laugh, as if he was reading my thoughts. "It was a lucky break."

"Are you single?" a guy from the back asked, making the class erupt into laughter.

Mr. Heywood blanked for a minute, but quickly rearranged his features into a grin.
"In fact I am," he told the class. "However, I'm not interested in men."

He winked and the class erupted into laughter again. I chuckled slightly, glancing
up at him. Our gazes met and he froze for a minute, staring at me with the same
expression as earlier on. I blinked at him, and he quickly looked away. Confused I
lowered my gaze to the floor, frowning.

"What's your first name?" another person asked.

"Chris, but none of you can call me that."

"Favorite color?"

"Black and blue."

I smiled slightly. "Like a bruise."

The class laughed and I looked up again, seeing Mr. Heywood staring at me with
another startled expression. I narrowed my eyes at him in confusion. What was so
surprising about my statement? Finally he seemed to realize he was staring and he
quickly cleared his throat.

"Someone said the exact same thing to me a while back," he told me, scratching the
back of his head. "You surprised me."

"Sorry?" I apologized, still confused.

Mr. Heywood shook his head. "Um, next question?"

"Are you lactose intolerant?"

The class continued to have a question and answer session with Mr. Heywood. It was
pretty entertaining. Mr. Heywood had a good sense of humor, and seemed like an easy
person to get along with. After the questions ran out he handed out course
expectations and a list of materials we would need for the year, and then left us
to chat amongst ourselves. A flock of students went up to his desk and gathered
around it, talking to him animatedly. Lance came up to me and sat down in an
evacuated seat to my right. I turned to face him and stretched out my legs, sighing
deeply.

"Good job coming to class late," he said, shaking his head. "Now you're stuck with
the front and center seat."

I shrugged. "Whatever. I don't really mind."

Lance raised an eyebrow and lowered his voice. "It can't be because you too have
fallen for Mr. Heywood's good looks, can it?"

I snorted, feeling my face heat up the slightest bit. Hopefully Lance wouldn't
notice. "Of course not."

Lance let out a breathy chuckle. "Just checking. He seems to be very popular."

I nodded, looking at the crowd of students at the desk. Mr. Heywood seemed to be
enjoying talking to all of them. He had to be only four or five years older than
most of them. I quickly counted on my fingers to see how much older than he was
than me, only five years, and in about two months, only four. I was right the other
day thinking he wasn't that much older than me.

My shoulder sagged. Why did my mystery man have to be a teacher? That ruined any
fantasies I had about meeting him and falling in love. Lance raised an eyebrow
curiously at my change of expression. I shook my head at him, trying not to scowl.
It wasn't fair.

Soon the period ended, and the class began filing out of the classroom. I quickly
zipped open my backpack, stuffing my newly acquired papers into it as fast as I
could.
"I'm going ahead," Lance told me, standing up. "I don't want to be late."

"Wait!" I demanded, shoving the course expectation further into my bag. "Lance!"

Lance ignored me and kept walking as I fought with the stupid piece of paper. When
it was finally in, I quickly zipped my bag back up. In a rush, I stood up and flung
myself after Lance, only to trip over my desk leg. I landed flat of my face with a
weird sounding smack.

"Are you okay?" Mr. Heywood asked, sounding slightly amused and slightly concerned.

Red-faced, I pushed myself off the ground and nodded to him stiffly before trudging
towards the exit. If that wasn't the definition of embarrassing, I didn't know what
was. I heard him chuckle to himself as I exited, my face still burning.

"Don't be late tomorrow, Holly."

*******************************************
[4] A Proscriptive Relationship: o4
*******************************************

"I told you he was hot."

I looked up from my desk to see Casey standing over me, a smug smile on her face.
Trying to be as casual as possible, I shrugged. "He's alright..."

"Oh, come on!"

"Alright. He's really handsome," I admitted, a grin escaping onto my mouth. "But
listen. He's my mystery man."

Casey's mouth just about dropped to the floor. "No way."

I nodded my head somberly. "That's him."

"So I'm taking it that transfer student is actually new biology teacher?"

"Exactly."

Casey chuckled. "Well, that's an unfortunate turn of events."

I dropped my head onto my desk. "I know. And get this." I explained how I had been
late to class and how I tripped in front of him in my haste to catch up to Lance,
who had totally ditched me. She listened and when I finished she started laughing.
I frowned and crossed my arms.

"Way to go," she commented, shaking her head at me. "That's a good first
impression."

I scowled at her. "Shut up. It's not like I meant to. I wanted to catch up to
Lance!"

"What about me?" Lance came striding up behind Casey, an interested look on his
face.

I stared at him with a confused expression. "Why are you here? Didn't you finish
Spanish 4 last year?"
Lance frowned at me, and shrugged. "I failed last year. By one point."

"Why would you re-take the whole class again then?"

"I wanted to get four years in," Lance told me, pursing his lips. "Better for
college."

I nodded. "True."

"Guess what everyone?" the Spanish teacher, Ms. Elliot, started, walking into the
room. "Tenemos un prueba!"

The whole class groaned, myself included. This was the first class in which we had
got a first day of school quiz. Casey dropped into the seat next to me, and Lance
slumped onto my desk with another groan, sitting in the chair in front of me.

"We would have a quiz the first day of Spanish class," he muttered, making a nasty
face.

"Date la vuelta, Lance!" Ms. Elliot commanded, and Lance begrudgingly turned around
in his seat to face the front of the room.

The quiz was passed out and I felt relieved when I realized it was only one double-
sided page. It was mostly old vocabulary, and verbs to conjugate. I finished
quickly and flipped the paper over. Spanish had always been an easy subject for me.
To occupy myself, I drummed the tips of my fingers on the desktop.

The hectic first day was almost over. It had actually been a great last first day
of school- and not just because there was the new biology teacher. I couldn't
decide if Mr. Heywood was a good or bad thing. He seemed like an awesome teacher,
but he was also my mystery man. It was depressing knowing I couldn't be
romantically involved with him. Like Casey had mentioned earlier, he was indeed
young, funny, and did have a very attractive voice. You only read about these kinds
of teachers in cheesy romance novels...

"Holly!"

I jumped and pulled myself out of my little reverie and raised an eyebrow at Lance
who was pursing his lips at me. His fist suddenly slammed down on my fingers and I
gasped in pain, retracting them quickly. "What was that for?" I demanded in a
furious whisper, cradling my throbbing fingers.

"Your drumming was getting incredibly irritating," he responded, his voice as quiet
as mine.

"You could have just asked!"

"This was much more effective, don't you agree?"

"Lance! Date la vuelta! Ahora!" Ms. Elliot ordered, glaring at him from her desk.
"Do you want a zero on your quiz?"

"No," Lance muttered, turning slowly, and facing forwards once more.

"Yeah, take your little British accent and face forwards like a good boy," I
murmured, smiling to myself.

"American's are so boring," he responded with a wave of his hand. "It's okay to be
jealous."
I sighed and placed my head down onto my desk and shut my eyes. If only the day
would just end already. I couldn't wait to go home and take a nap... But first I
had to do the grocery shopping; otherwise it was cardboard for dinner.

"Is everyone done?"

I looked up and looked around, mimicking every one else. Everyone soon came to a
unanimous decision that we were all finished. Ms. Elliot then told us to pass the
quizzes to the front. I turned around to grab the paper from the person behind me
and realized that no one was there. Amazement swept through me. This was the first
time in my whole high school career no one sat behind me. It was a bit refreshing.

The rest of class was spent on reviewing the course outline and expectations. I
drifted off more than once and when the bell rang, it nearly scared me off my seat.
I regained my composure and stood up, slinging my backpack over my bag.

"Blah," Casey started as we walked out of the classroom together. "I don't want to
walk home..."

"You are so lazy," Lance commented with a smirk.

Casey scowled. "Like you don't complain about walking places."

"But I'm not lazy."

"Shut up."

"You shut up, lazy."

"I'm not lazy!"

"Oh no, you just don't want to walk home because...?"

"Because... because..."

"Both of you guys stop it," I interrupted, rolling my eyes at them. "It's not a
long walk."

"Hmph." Casey pursed her lips and adjusted her side bag. "Let's just go home."

The trip home went by quickly, and luckily it was nice out. I bid adieu to my
friends and climbed up the porch steps to my house, trying the handle. It was
locked. I sighed and pulled out my extra key, unlocking the door and entering the
house. My mom must have left for work.

I dropped my backpack off in the hall and kicked off my shoes, heading towards the
kitchen. There were a few twenty dollar bills on the counter and a note attached to
them saying "Food Money." I pocketed the money and yawned. First I wanted a snack,
and then I'd go to the grocery store. With a bag of Lays in hand, I trudged to my
bedroom, flopping onto the bed. It was time to be the definition of lazy.

I didn't realize I'd fallen asleep until I awoke with a start when an unnecessarily
loud commercial came on the television. Sitting up, I looked around dazedly. After
a second I realized I was in my room. The clock on my nightstand read six o' clock.

"Shoot," I muttered, hopping off the bed. I still had to do grocery shopping!

I looked out my window and frowned. The sky was beginning to change now, and soon
it would be pitch black out. I clicked my tongue and hurried down the stairs,
grabbing my keys of the table as I went by. The last time I had gone to the grocery
store late I had run into Mr. Heywood about to be assaulted in an ally way. I
didn't want a repeat of that.

I made it to the grocery store just as the last rays of sunlight faded. Sighing, I
grabbed a basket from the front of the store. After I got the essentials I was out
of here. There was no use in wasting time when it was getting colder by the second.
By the time I was done, it was completely dark outside. Just like the other night.

Butterflies appeared in my stomach as I started home, feeling paranoid. What if

those thugs were out again tonight? The thought made me shiver in fear. Maybe they
wouldn't remember my face. I slowed down as I approached the ally. Holding my
breath tightly I stopped just outside the mouth, listening carefully. When no
noises came from within it, I let out a sigh of relief.

"Damn it!"

A shriek of terror escaped my lips and I dropped my groceries, nearly having a

heart attack. I twirled around in a panic, bringing up my fists, ready to fight if
I had to. Nothing entered my vision. Slowly, I relaxed again, lowering my arms.
Maybe I was being too paranoid and imagining things.

"Excuse me-"

"No!" I shouted, moving forwards as a hand landed on my shoulder. "I didn't mean to
hit you with my groceries! It was an accident!"

"Holly?"

I froze, immediately recognizing the voice of the man speaking to me. Slowly, I
turned around, coming face-to-face with Mr. Heywood. He raised an eyebrow, holding
up his hands defensively. I flushed, but hopefully he couldn't see it because of
the dark.

"W-what are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here? It's dangerous for you to be alone at night," he said,
sounding a little irritated.

I frowned at him, nodding my head towards my groceries. "Grocery shopping."

"Don't you have a car or something?"

"My mom has it."

He pursed his lips at me. "Oh."

"What are you doing out here alone? Trying to get in another fight?" I questioned,
bending over to retrieve my groceries.

Mr. Heywood quickly leaned over and snatched them before I could. "Actually, my car
ran out of gas. I'm trying to figure out what to do seeing as how the nearest gas
station is a few miles away."

I hesitated for a moment, wondering why he wasn't handing my groceries over to me.
"Um, I think my mom keeps a few gallons in the shed for our lawn mower. If you want
you can-"
"Sounds good," Mr. Heywood cut me off, brushing past me. "Your house is this way,
right?"

"Um, yeah."

"Stick close to me. Who knows who is out here..."

My heartbeat sped up a little and I did as Mr. Heywood advised, looking around me
warily. He led the way back to my house, not having to ask for directions once. He
walked all the way up to my front door, then moved out of the way, waiting
expectantly. Watching him suspiciously, I dug my key out of my pocket, and opened
the door. He entered first, going in the direction of my kitchen. I followed behind
him quickly.

"How'd you know where my kitchen is?" I asked him, switching on the light.

Light flooded the kitchen as Mr. Heywood set the groceries down on the counter. He
glanced at me, shrugging. "I noticed it was here the other day."

"Oh," I responded lamely. An awkward silence passed. "Do you, um, want that gas
now?"

Mr. Heywood gave me a mysterious smile. "You aren't going to offer me coffee?"

I blinked at him in surprise. "You want it?"

"Well, all that walking made me thirsty..."

For a moment I hesitated, trying to decide what the best decision was. He was my
teacher. I probably shouldn't have him in my house. But then again, he was Mr.
Heywood. I didn't exactly want him to leave. It had been pure luck I had run into
him- why waste it by sending him on his way so quickly?

"Sure," I finally responded, smiling up at him.

*******************************************
[5] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 4-2
*******************************************
If you're confused, I rewrote the beginning of this story, so I had to add an extra
chapter because I wrote too much lol.

________________________________________________

"Here."

Mr. Heywood watched me intently as I placed a steaming mug of coffee in front of

him, making sure it was on a coaster. My mom would kill me if I damaged the wood on
her table. Mr. Heywood gave me a polite smile as he picked up the hot mug, putting
it to his lips, and taking a sip. He made a face, putting the cup back down on the
table. "Sugar?" he requested in a sweet voice.

"Um, sure, I'll go get it," I told him, treading back into the kitchen.

It took me a few moments to locate the small, porcelain jar that we kept the sugar
in. After grabbing a spoon and some half-and-half just in case he wanted it, I
returned to the living room. Mr. Heywood looked at me expectantly as I placed the
condiments in front of him.

"Thank you."
"You're welcome."

I awkwardly stood in front of him for a moment before taking a seat across from him
on the couch. He picked up the sugar, and began to pile spoonful after spoonful
into his cup. So much to the point where I doubted you could even taste the coffee.
"Isn't that a little unhealthy?" I commented as he raised the mug to his lips and
took a sip.

He shrugged. "Most likely. But I like it better this way."

"Like a kid," I commented, twiddling my thumbs.

Mr. Heywood chuckled. "I suppose, yes."

It went silent again and I awkwardly stared at the floor. I didn't know what to
say. I didn't know what I could say. I barely knew the man, how could I think of
small talk? Saying something like "how's the weather?" seemed incredibly lame. I
glanced up at Mr. Heywood quickly. He was staring at me with a pained expression.
Confused, I furrowed my eyebrows. Why was he giving me that look? He abruptly
looked away, a scowl appearing on his face. I dropped my eyes back to the floor
quickly.

Eventually the silence started getting to me, so I asked the question we both knew
I was going to ask eventually. "So the other day... Did you... did you know those
guys back there?"

Mr. Heywood nodded his head. "Yeah..." He hesitated for a moment before continuing.
"They were from the gang I used to be in."

I nodded as he spoke. And then what he said actually processed in my mind. My jaw
dropped. "You were in a gang?"

Mr. Heywood nodded, grinning at me. "Yep. Get me more coffee."

I stared at him, my mouth still hanging open. Did he actually just order me to go
get him more coffee when he was a guest in my house? What happened to the nice,
suave, and handsome biology teacher?

"Get to it," he said, shooing me with hands.

Still in shock, I stood up and went to the kitchen to make him another cup of
coffee. So, not only was our new biology teacher an ex-delinquent, but he either
had a split personality, or he was a total fake at school. There was also the
possibility that I was just reading into this wrong... No, that seemed almost
impossible. He was definitely ordering me around. But maybe he meant it in a
friendly way? I almost laughed at the thought. Yeah, right.

After I had finished his fresh cup of coffee I went back into the living room. Mr.
Heywood was pawing through a bowl of candy on the table, frowning deeply at the
bowl. He sure was making himself at home at my house. I set the new cup of coffee
down in front of him and he pulled it closer to him, pouring in heaps of sugar once
again.

I sunk back down onto the couch across from him. "You weren't really going to let
those thugs beat you up, were you?"

Mr. Heywood barked out a laugh. "No way. I could take them."
"You sound confident. What if they did manage to get you?"

"Impossible. No one can beat me. But it was funny when you hit that guy in the head
with a bag of cans."

I frowned at Mr. Heywood who was now downing his coffee. Was this guy serious? An
ex-gangster? How had he managed to become a teacher then? And did he still fight
for fun?

"More coffee."

"Are you kidding me?" I responded, gaping at him. "More than two cups in one
sitting? That's really unhealthy."

"Who are you? My mother?"

"No, but-"

"I want more coffee," he interrupted me, holding out the mug. "Now."

I jumped when he cracked his knuckles. This guy was really serious! I took the mug
from him and hurried to the kitchen, hurriedly making him his third cup of coffee.
I wondered momentarily how he could be so tall if he drank so much coffee, or how
his teeth could be so white. He must have gained immunity to it or something.
Lucky.

"This is your last cup," I told him as I gave him the mug back.

"I get to decide that," he told me, wagging his finger at me. "I'm hungry. Go make
me something to eat."

"No!" I cried, staring at him incredulously. "I just made you three cups of coffee!
Now you want me to make you something to eat?"

"Obviously... because I'm hungry," he said slowly, emphasizing every syllable.

I stared at him. "Get out!"

"No."

"No?" This man was unbelievable!

"What if the thugs are out there?" he asked with mock fear. "They might have come
back."

"I don't care!"

Mr. Heywood smirked and cracked his knuckles. "Should I teach you a lesson about
kicking me out?"

I stumbled backwards away from him, falling over my front table. My hands shot out
in panic as I felt my feet slip out from under me. I landed on my back with a dull
thud while I stared up at the ceiling in surprise. At least it didn't hurt when I
fell.

Mr. Heywood chuckled. "I'm not really going to beat you up."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. This was unbelievable. He seemed like such
a nice guy at school! But he was actually such a demanding devil! What happened to
my suave mystery man? How would the people in school take it when I told them?
"They won't believe it," I muttered to myself.

I heard Mr. Heywood stand up and he appeared over me momentarily. He brought down
his hand and grabbed the front of my shirt, pulling me to my feet. I scrambled up
myself to save myself from being choked. He smiled innocently at me. "I hope you
don't mean the students and or faculty at school when you say 'they'," he remarked.

"Oh yes I did," I told him. "When they find out you're actually like this..."

"But they aren't going to."

"What? Of course they are if I tell them."

"But you won't... right?" Mr. Heywood smiled at me, but I could sense the danger
behind his words. "You wouldn't want anything to happen to you, would you?"

Was he threatening me? I gawked at him. He definitely was. He still had that sweet
tone to his voice, but his eyes were screaming, "tell anyone, and you're dead."

I didn't want to die.

"Um, okay. I won't tell anyone," I muttered, looking to the side.

Stupid, blackmailing, devil of a teacher.

"Good. Now make me some dinner."

"What?"

"Make some food," he told me, frowning slightly. "Is your hearing okay?"

"It's fine," I snapped. "But why should I make you food?"

"I'm hungry."

Obviously. "Why can't you go home and eat?"

"Don't you have to make dinner for yourself? Why don't you just make me some as
well?"

After a moment of silence, I sighed in defeat. "Fine."

"Great."

"But you're going to help."

Mr. Heywood groaned, but he followed me to the kitchen. I ordered him to unload the
groceries while I got out the cooking utensils and supplies. So much for having all
that steak to myself. I grabbed a pan for the steak, a baking sheet for potatoes,
and a pot for vegetables. I didn't care what he wanted to eat, if he demanded I
made him something, he would eat what I wanted to eat.

"Wrap two potatoes in tin foil," I told him, tossing him the roll of tin foil. "And
then put them on the cooking sheet. When you're done, start peeling carrots."

He grunted in response and I heard him mutter a complaint, but I ignored him. After
a few moments of searching through the drawers, I realized my vegetable peeler was
missing. Frowning, I pulled out two knives as a replacement. I started peeling the
carrots as Mr. Heywood continued to wrap the potatoes in tin foil. When he was done
he sat next to me and picked up a carrot and knife.

I was aware of him watching me for a few moments as I peeled the carrots and
finally I looked over at him. "What?"

"You're good at that," he commented, slowly and awkwardly peeling his own carrot.
"Do you cook a lot?"

"Every night," I told him, continuing in my peeling.

"Where's your mom?"

"She has to work late in order to support us. I don't want her to have to worry
about unimportant things like cooking, laundry, cleaning, and stuff like that so I
do it."

"Impressive," he commented, nodding his head.

"What about you?"

"I live alone. I don't really like cooking, so I usually go out or something."

"That's unhealthy..."

Mr. Heywood chuckled. "Sometimes my neighbor will make me dinner. She's a nice
lady."

I hope you don't order her to do that, I thought to myself with a grimace. I
watched Mr. Heywood peel for a second and reached out my hand to stop his.

"What?" he asked, pausing in his motions.

"You're going to cut yourself like that!" I told him, taking the knife away. "Be
careful!"

"It was working fine," he told me, shrugging.

"Hold it going down and hold the carrot from the top," I ordered, putting the knife
back in his hand the correct way and showing him how to do it.

"Fine."

By the time dinner was finally finished, I was worn out. Cooking with Mr. Heywood
was something I didn't ever want to do again. It was like he was purposely doing
the wrong things. I placed both our plates at the dinner table, where Mr. Heywood
was already seated.

"Get me some water," Mr. Heywood demanded as soon as I sat down.

I smiled a fake smile at him and stood up. "My pleasure."

I went to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water for both him and myself and a
few ice cubes from the freezer. After putting ice cubes into two glasses, I brought
them over to the table. Mr. Heywood grabbed one of them and poured his water into
his glass, taking a large gulp.

"Well?"
"Well what?"

"Aren't you going to say thank you?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"Oh. Thank you."

I nodded approvingly, thinking he was just going to ignore me. We ate in almost
complete silence, with small comments here and there, or Mr. Heywood demanding
something. I started on my steak, and began shaking excessive amounts of salt on
it. Mr. Heywood's hand shot out to stop me.

"Whoa, relax on the salt!"

I frowned at him. "I like salt."

"You'll die early," he warned me.

"Like you should talk! You use way too much sugar in your coffee, and you drink too
much of it too!"

"But it's not as bad as salt," he told me, shrugging.

"How do you know?"

"I'm a biology teacher, remember?"

I blanked at that. I had completely forgotten he was a biology teacher! How could I
have forgotten I was having dinner with my biology teacher? With his soft looking
hair and an attractive voice and... I mentally slapped myself; what was I thinking?
He was my teacher! I couldn't be having these thoughts.

Mr. Heywood stood up abruptly, effectively pulling me away from my thoughts. I

stared at him curiously, puzzled by his sudden movement. He stretched for a
moment, and then waved at me. "I'm leaving now."

"You're not even going to help me pick up?" I asked incredulously. "Or finish?"

"Nope," Mr. Heywood responded with a wink. "I'll stop by some other time for
another meal."

"You can't," I told him, slightly surprised.

"Why not?"

"You're my teacher and I'm your student. It'd be... weird."

Mr. Heywood laughed. "No it wouldn't. It's not like we are doing anything bad. And
besides..."

"What?"

"You're the only one who knows, and will ever know, about my 'other' personality,"
he told me with another wink.

"Wait, don't you want me to get the gas for you?"

He shook his head. "It's cold outside, you should stay in here. I can figure it
out."
I frowned slightly. "After you open the barn door it will be the shelf directly to
the right."

"Thanks," Mr. Heywood responded, turning to give me a quick smile. "Goodbye, Holly
Evers."

*******************************************
[6] A Proscriptive Relationship: o5
*******************************************

"No way," Casey gasped, staring at me with wide eyes. "He ate dinner at your house?
With you?"

"Shh!" I hushed her, looking around the cafeteria warily for anyone who might have
heard. "You can't tell anybody!"

"I won't!" Casey responded, making an X over her heart. "Cross my heart and hope
to die."

I sighed and kicked the trashcan we were standing next to. It became a habit to
have private conversations near the trashcan for Casey and I, so everyone knew when
we were there not to come throw their trash away. Casey grinned to herself,
glancing at Mr. Heywood, who had just entered the lunchroom.

"There's your dinner guest," Casey commented, nudging me in the shoulder. "Go talk
to him."

"And be beaten to death? I think not," I responded, rolling my eyes. "I don't
trust that guy. He's got a split personality."

Casey laughed, shaking her head at me. "I don't know what you are talking about.
From what I know of him, that guy was about as mean as a nun."

"That didn't make sense at all."

"Shut up," Casey responded quickly.

I laughed. "Well believe what you want. You weren't the one that was basically
forced to make him a dozen cups of coffee and dinner."

She snorted. "I would have done it willingly anyways."

I rolled my eyes at her. "Oh, what do you know? ...Here comes your boyfriend. I'm
going to leave you two to talk."

Casey blew a raspberry at me. "Okay. But tell me if anything happens between you
and Mr. Heywood!"

"There's nothing going to happen between us!" I hissed at her, giving her one last
warning look before turning my back on her.

I looked around for Mr. Heywood quickly; I didn't want to run into him when
getting in line for lunch. To my luck, it seemed like he had left the cafeteria
already. I walked to a la carte and stood in line, shoving my hand into my pocket
to get my lunch money, and letting out a sigh.

"Why the sigh?"

 I jumped and twisted around to see Mr. Heywood standing behind me. He smiled
pleasantly at me, looking innocent. I eyed him suspiciously.

"Well?"

"Just thinking," I responded slowly, "about you."

"Falling for my good looks already? I thought you were different from most of the
girls here..."

"No," I snapped, frowning at him. "About your split personality."

"Shh!"

"Why?"

Mr. Heywood lowered his voice, giving me an urgent look. "If anyone finds out how
I used to be, I'll be fired, and I really need the money right now. So shut up
about it. Please," he added, trying to cover up for his rudeness.

I blinked at him. He said please? Maybe he wasn't as bad as I thought he was...

Well, as long as I ignored the "shut up" in his last sentence.

When we made it to the front of the line I noticed there was chicken soup on the
soup list. My favorite. Mr. Heywood cut in front of me and I frowned, but he was a
teacher and you had to let teachers cut, so I couldn't protest. He ordered chicken
soup, just like I was about to.

"What would you like dear?" the cafeteria lady asked when Mr. Heywood got his
soup.

"Chicken soup," I responded.

"Sorry, we just ran out."

I heard Mr. Heywood snort from in front of me. I stared at the lunch lady in
disbelief. It was just my luck. "I guess a cheese burger then..."

The lunch lady smiled and placed a cheeseburger on my tray. I made my way to the
cash register and paid for my cheeseburger. Mr. Heywood was paying at the other
one. When I got my change back I made my way back to my table but Mr. Heywood
stopped me.

"What?" I asked, slightly annoyed.

"Here," he said, placing the soup on my tray. "You can have it."

I looked at him in surprise. "Um, thanks. Why?"

"A thank you for yesterday," he responded before walking off with a wave.

I frowned after him for a moment. I really couldn't tell if this guy was nice or
not. He seemed nice, but a little pushy. Or maybe he was faking it. I pursed my
lips. He was so confusing.

I walked back over to my table where Lance and Willis were talking. Danielle and
Sadie were frowning at the pair looking irritated. I watched curiously from a
distance for a second before going to sit down. Danielle and Sadie looked at me
pityingly.
 "You should have waited before coming back," Danielle told me, stifling a yawn
with her hand.

"Why?"

"Listen," Sadie responded, pointing to the boys who were focusing on the wall on
the other side of the lunchroom.

"Ring ring," Lance said, his face impassive.

"Hello?" Willis responded, his expression mimicking Lance's.

"Ring ring," Lance repeated.

"H-hello?" Willis responded, his face still straight.

"Ring ring."

"He... hello?"

"Ring ring-"

"Okay!" I cried, slamming my fists down. "Must you two mimic stupid videos from
YouTube everyday?"

"Oh, chill Holly," Willis responded, laughing. "You haven't had to deal with it
all summer. I think it's catch up time."

"And you have the line wrong," Lance continued, frowning at me. "It's: You have a
bad connection!'"

I frowned at them as they continued laughing. Sadie and Danielle chuckled as I

rubbed my forehead.

"Told you," they both chorused.

"It could be worse," I told them. "At least they aren't reciting the whole video."

"True," Danielle responded, nodding her head. "I don't know how they manage to
memorize something like that, but boy do they get everything spot on."

I laughed. "Are you trying to be Lance?"

"No, why?"

"He uses phrases like 'spot on' and 'grand time' and 'jolly good' because he likes
the British stereotype."

"I don't use 'jolly good', Holly," Lance interjected, smirking at me. "Nice try."

I shrugged. "You do use 'spot on' a lot."

"Spot on!" Lance responded, swinging his arm. "Cheerio! Tea!"

Danielle and Sadie laughed while I just rolled my eyes. At least he didn't get
offended when we joked about British pronunciation or anything.

"So are you going to the fair this weekend?" Danielle asked me as I started to eat
my lunch.

"There's a fair?"

"Yeah, at the fair grounds," Danielle explained. "It's one of those traveling
fairs. I bet this will be the only time it's going there."

"Huh."

"So are you going to go?" Danielle repeated.

I shrugged. "Maybe. I don't think I have any plans. Who else is going?"

"Me!" Lance interjected. "And Casey and Willis."

"And me," Sadie added. "And Danielle, right?"

Danielle nodded her head. "Yep. So, basically everyone."

"Well I guess I am then," I said with a laugh. "Are we meeting up somewhere? What
time?"

"Seven," Lance informed me, stealing my milk.

"Hey!" I cried, reaching over to take it back. "I'm not done with that!"

Lance smirked and stood up. "That's too bad. Because lunch is over."

As soon as he finished talking, sure enough, the bell rang. I quickly stood up,
swiping the milk back from Lance and grabbing my tray. I cursed myself as I began
pushing my way through the throng of people leaving.

If I were late twice in a row, now that I knew the 'other' side of Mr. Heywood,
what would he do? I managed to avoid spilling my tray and gave it to the cafeteria
lady. I smirked to myself. There was no way I could be late today. I would just
skip stopping at my locker. We probably wouldn't need anything, anyway.

To be safe, I still jogged towards the class. The people in the hall were slowly
disappearing, but there were still a few so I knew I was still safe. I turned the
corner and stopped quickly, nearly running into a group of teachers walking down
the hall together. I scowled at them. They would have to walk a little faster;
otherwise I would have to push past them.

To my annoyance, they continued walking slowly. They were taking and laughing so
loudly they didn't hear my "excuse me" and "move" no matter how many times I
repeated them. I continued to scowl. Now I was going to be late for sure. But my
luck changed and they went into a classroom to our left. I started sprinting once
they were out of my way. I had maybe ten seconds, and the science hall was about
fifteen yards away. I could make it.

I turned the corner to the hall and ran into something hard, letting out a
surprised shriek and falling to the ground. I landed on my butt and winced,
groaning.

"I'm so sorry!" the person I bumped into apologized.

The bell rang and I hung my head in defeat. "It doesn't matter. It's already too
late," I sighed.
 A hand appeared in front of me and I grabbed it. I was pulled to my feet and I
nodded my head to the person I ran into in thanks. When I looked up I realized it
was a girl named Kat in the grade below me. I muttered my apology and sulked
towards the classroom.

I entered and all eyes were suddenly on me. Mr. Heywood looked at me and smirked
for a split second, but he soon replaced it was a frown.

"This is the second day in a row that you're late, Ms. Evers," he told me.

As if it wasn't obvious.

"I know," I responded, my face heating up with all the attention that was on me.
"Sorry."

Mr. Heywood smiled politely. "I excused you yesterday, but may I talk to you after
class today?"

I stared at him. Me? Alone with him? He'd probably beat me up or something for
being late. "Um..."

"Is there a problem?"

"No," I responded, my shoulders sagging.

"Please have a seat then," he said, gesturing me forwards with his hand. "We
haven't begun the lesson yet, so you're okay still."

I slunk to my seat and slipped in, sighing deeply. He had been nice so far today,
so maybe I was only going to get a gently scolding or something? I hoped so.

Someone poked on my shoulder and I turned to see my friend Amy smirking at me.

"You and him alone? You're pretty lucky. I think I might just be late to class so
I can stay after with him."

I snorted. "No, I wouldn't do that."

"Why?"

"This guy is-"

I shut my mouth quickly when I felt a hand on my shoulder, pressing down very
hard. I looked up to see Mr. Heywood smiling sweetly at me.

"Would you two girls please not talk during class?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Heywood," Amy responded, sounding flustered.

"It's quite alright, Amy," Mr. Heywood responded, smiling at her. "Just try to
hold it in when I'm talking."

"Okay!"

Mr. Heywood released my shoulder and I had to resist the urge to rub it. This guy
was most definitely evil. And I had to stay after school with him.

*******************************************
[7] A Proscriptive Relationship: o6
*******************************************

I hesitated slightly before knocking on Mr. Heywood's door. My heart was pounding a
mile a minute as I waited for him to answer. What was going to happen? Was I going
to be yelled at? Beaten up? Or maybe he was going to be nice about it and let me
off the hook and he just couldn't say so in class?

I heard the click of a lock and the door opened a sliver. Mr. Heywood's head
popped out and he looked left and right quickly. I watched him curiously until
suddenly he opened the door a little more and grabbed the front of my shirt,
pulling me into the room in a flash. He quickly shut the door after me and locked
it.

"Why are you locking the door?" I demanded, getting nervous. "Mr. Heywood?"

"Shh!" he shushed, a finger over his lips.

"Shh? Why?"

"Shh!"

"Tell me why, and I will-"

Suddenly Mr. Heywood's hand was over my mouth. He pulled me away from the door and
pushed me against the wall, his eyes never leaving the door. I tried to pull his
hand away from my mouth but his force was too strong. I could hear girl's voices
outside the door. They were giggling about something. I continued to try and pull
Mr. Heywood's hand away from my mouth because it was blocking my nose and mouth-
basically, I couldn't breathe.

Mr. Heywood glared at me and I went limp, trying to stay as silent as possible. I
even held my breath, even though I couldn't breathe in the first place. There was a
knock at the door. Mr. Heywood was now holding his breath as well. After a moment
there were a few more knocks.

"Is he there?" I heard a girl ask. "Try the door."

There was a jiggle of the door handle, and then a more violent one.

"It's locked," another girl responded. "Should we wait?"

"No, I've got to catch the bus," the other girl responded. "We can come back
tomorrow."

"Okay."

There were the sounds of footsteps, and after a minute all was silent. Mr. Heywood
sighed, uncovering my mouth. I gasped in the air, trying to fill my lungs.

"Oh, sorry," Mr. Heywood apologized nonchalantly.

"You don't sound sorry," I returned, still trying to catch my breath. "What was
that all about anyway?"

"They probably wanted to talk with me."

"Why didn't you let them in?"

 "It's annoying," Mr. Heywood responded with a shrug.

I smiled in annoyance at him. I really couldn't figure this guy out. First he was
nice, then he was a bastard, and then he was nice again. I sighed and ran a hand
through my hair.

"Come with me, Ms. Evers," Mr. Heywood said suddenly, beckoning me with his hand.
"I have a job for you."

I followed him curiously to the equipment room that was attached to the main room.
I walked in to find a bunch of boxes piled high. I turned to Mr. Heywood with a
questioning look. "What am I supposed to do?"

"I want you to unpack all of those boxes and put the items you have unpacked in
their right places," he explained, gesturing towards the pile of boxes. "Simple,
right?"

I gawked at him. "I can't do that!"

"Why not? You've been here longer than I have," he responded with a shrug. "I
don't know where everything goes."

"But there's so much!"

"You were late to class."

"I rather have a detention," I told him.

"Okay you have a detention with me today. This is what you will be doing," Mr.
Heywood responded with a smirk.

"I refuse."

"Oh? Okay, then I will tell the principle that you had a romantic dinner with your
teacher," Mr. Heywood said, shrugging.

"It wasn't romantic," I stated. "And you'd get in trouble too!"

He smirked. "Yeah, but I'll take you down with me."

We had a scowling contest for a few minutes and I sighed. This was so unfair. Why
did I have to do all this work just because I late? Had I done something wrong?
What was this devil-of-a-teacher's problem? I moved towards the first box and began
trying to open it with my hands. I frowned when I couldn't manage.

"Here."

I turned just in time to see Mr. Heywood throwing a knife at me. I jumped back,
trying to get out o the way and tripped over a box, landing flat on my back. Mr.
Heywood chuckled and shook his head. I scowled up at him.

"Don't throw knives!"

"Pay more attention."

"You could have stabbed me!"

"But I didn't."
 I was about to retort, but I saved it. There was no way to win with him. I pushed
myself off the ground and grabbed the knife off the ground and began cutting the
duck tape with it. When it was open, I began taking the items out and putting them
away in their correct places. Somehow I ended up telling Mr. Heywood where
everything went. The fourth box was full of test tubes.

"These go in the cabinets in the classroom because students use them," I told Mr.
Heywood, heading towards the door that led to the main classroom. Before I made it
out the door Mr. Heywood seized my wrist, stopping me. I nearly dropped the test
tubes.

"What?"

"Don't go out there," he ordered, pushing me back towards the boxes. "Just set
those test tubes on the counter. You can do the stuff in the classroom later."

"Why not now?"

"The girls here stick around for quite awhile."

"It's been an hour!" I stated with a surprise. "There aren't any more students in
school. Clubs haven't started."

"There are girls alright."

"It's only your second day, how could you know that?"

"They were here until six yesterday," Mr. Heywood told me seriously. "They
wouldn't stop talking and asking me personal questions. I swear if I hear 'do you
have a girlfriend' one more time..."

"You don't have a girlfriend," I stated, placing the test tubes on the counter and
going back to a new box.

"How do you know?"

"You said so in class yesterday," I responded, cutting the tape with the knife.
"Someone asked you."

"Oh, yeah," he responded, leaning against the counter, where he had been for the
past hour, watching me. "I thought you weren't listening."

I shrugged. "I listened."

Suddenly a shrill ringing filled the room. My hand automatically went to my cell
phone, but I was confused when it showed up as my screen. Whose phone was it? I
turned to see Mr. Heywood pulling out his phone.

"What?" he asked in an irritated tone to whoever the caller was. "No. I don't
care. I'm busy... No. Do it yourself. I told you no. You can't always count on me;
I'm a teacher now. No! I'm hanging up, goodbye." He snapped his phone shut and
shoved it back into his pocket, and irritated expression on his face. He noticed me
staring and narrowed his eyes. "What? Get back to work."

"Y-yes, sir!" I responded quickly, turning around and sawing through the next box.
In my rush, I accidentally missed the tape and ended up slicing myself. I hissed in
pain and shook my hand.

"What?"
 "Nothing," I responded, smiling at him, holding my hand behind my back, and
starting to saw the box open with one hand.

Mr. Heywood returned to the magazine he was reading, and I continued with the box.
With one hand, opening the box was a bit harder, but I eventually got it open. I
looked at my other hand for the first time after slicing it. The amount of blood
that had already come out of my cut caught me off guard. My jaw-dropped and I
slightly began to panic. Would I need stitches? The first thing I needed was a
bandage or something to stop the bleeding; otherwise I would get blood everywhere.

Suddenly a hand captured my wrist and held it still. I looked up to see Mr. Heywood
tearing off a piece of bandage with his teeth. I stayed silent as he wrapped the
bandage around my hand, sealing off my cut. He wrapped it with medical tape and let
go of my hand.

"Um, thanks," I said to him as he put the bandage back into what looked like a
first-aid kit.

"Be more careful," he warned, stuffing the box back in a cabinet. "You can stop
with the boxes for today. Show me where the stuff in the classroom goes."

I nodded, setting down the knife and grabbing some of the stuff that belonged in
the classroom. Surprisingly, Mr. Heywood grabbed the rest of the stuff for me and
helped me carry it. I told him where everything was, and he actually helped me put
it away. I was slightly impressed. After all, he had been slacking for the first
hour.

"Well that's everything," I said when I put the last beakers away. "Is that all?"

Mr. Heywood nodded. "For now."

"What do you mean, for now?"

"I'm going to make you a deal," he started, smirking at me. "I'm going to let you
keep your stuff in my room before you go to lunch that way you won't ever be late,
but you have to help me after school when I need it."

"No way," I responded without hesitation. I could make it fine as long as I put my
tray away in time.

He raised an eyebrow. "I should rephrase that. It's not a deal. You have to do it.
Otherwise..."

I scowled at him. "I don't care if you tell the teachers I had you over to dinner.
You practically forced me too! And I can just deny it."

"In that case..."

Mr. Heywood pulled out his cell phone and came towards me. I backed up until I was
backed up against the white board. He smirked and held up his cell phone.

"What's that for?" I asked.

"This."

Before I realized what was happening, his face was only inches away from mine. I
could feel his breath on my lips. I didn't have time to react before I felt his
lips pressing gently against mine. I froze, staring in surprise at Mr. Heywood, his
eyes piercing into my own. Instead of the teasing look in his eyes like I expected,
there was a nostalgic one. Something that made me think this wasn't the first time
we kissed, even though I knew it was. Suddenly I felt him nip at my lip. I shoved
his shoulder then, and he pulled away, snickering.

"W-what the heck?" I cried, covering my mouth with my hand. "Pervert!"

Mr. Heywood held up his phone. On the screen was a picture of him and myself
kissing. I stared at it with my mouth open.

"Black mail," Mr. Heywood stated. "Now if you don't help me, I can spread this
picture around."

This guy really was unbelievable. But I couldn't let that photo get out. I knew he
would get fired, and I would get in trouble. And earlier he had a very solemn
expression when he had said he needed money right now. I cursed my personality. Why
had I been born so kind?

"You can go home now," Mr. Heywood told me, a smirk still on his face. "I'll see
you tomorrow, right?"

"Yes," I responded through gritted teeth.

"You want a ride home?"

"No, thank you."

I grabbed my backpack and slung it over my shoulder, scurrying out of the room.
Once I was out, I stopped in the hall, making sure no one was around before
touching my lips again. My face began to heat up. That had just been my first kiss.

*******************************************
[8] A Proscriptive Relationship: o7
*******************************************

"It's not that funny," I growled, slamming a box down on the counter in the biology
equipment room.

"You're a senior, but I took your first kiss?" Mr. Heywood asked laughing so hard
he was out of breath. "You had your first kiss as a senior?"

I felt myself blushing and I looked at the ground. "I mean I've done quick pecks
and stuff, just nothing like that."

Mr. Heywood started snickering again. "How many boyfriends have you had?"

"Five," I responded, frowning deeper.

"Only five?"

"What about it?" I demanded, glaring angrily at Mr. Heywood. "I can't help it if
guys don't like me!"

Mr. Heywood looked surprised for a second, and than he smirked. "You're mistaken. I
think a lot of guys like you."

I raised my eyebrow at him. "How would you know? This is only your fifth day here."
"When you're a young, handsome, kind teacher, people tell you stuff," Mr. Heywood
responded with a shrug. "For example, your friend Sadie is going to be asked out
today."

"What?" I gasped. "By who?"

"Some kid named Sam?"

"I knew he liked her!" I responded, slamming my fist down into my hand. "It was
only a matter of time..."

"First kiss as a senior," Mr. Heywood snorted once more.

"Oh, will you drop it!" I snapped, unpacking the box that I had just placed on the
counter. "How'd you even find out about it anyway?"

"You're friend, Casey."

That little traitor. With unnecessary force, I ripped the tape off the next box.

"I'm going to go get a drink, do you want something?" Mr. Heywood asked, hopping
down from the counter.

"I don't have any money," I told him.

He shrugged. "It's on me."

"Really?"

"Don't be so shocked, you make me feel like a mean person," Mr. Heywood responded
with a sigh.

"You are though," I pointed out.

"I know."

"Bottle of water. Now go," I demanded, irritated again.

He left the room, and I continued to unpack in silence. There were only a few more
boxes left before they were all gone. I'd probably finish today. If I finished, did
that mean I was done helping him after school? For some reason, that thought made
my stomach turn a little. Why was I sad about it?

I shook the thought away and continued unpacking. After my third box I frowned. How
long did it take Mr. Heywood to go get drinks? I started on my fourth box and was
halfway through when he walked in, carrying a coke and a bottle of water. He set
them both down on the counter and ran a hand through his hair.

"Geez," he muttered, pushing himself back onto the counter.

"What took you so long?"

"I ran into some girl's at the vending machine," he explained, taking his coke and
opening it. "It took forever to get away from them."

"Why didn't you just say you didn't want to talk?"

Mr. Heywood gave me a flat look. I realized why he couldn't do that. He was the
"nice, handsome, young, amazing" new teacher. He couldn't ruin his image. I
grumbled as I grabbed my water. Why was it only me he was himself with?

"Thanks, Mr. Heywood," I said as I opened it and took a long drink.

"Call me Chris outside of class," he ordered, setting down his coke. "It's weird
being called Mr. Heywood when school's over."

"Okay, Chris."

To my surprise I blushed. It sounded a little intimate; calling a teacher by their

real name, that is. I faced away from him to hide my blush and continued unpacking
boxes. I actually felt a little lucky that I knew his real self. The girls that
already, or probably would, have crushes on him wouldn't know a thing, unlike I
did. It was like a secret between us. I smiled to myself, feeling slightly happier.

After a half hour, I finished the last box. I frowned when I turned and realized
there was no more. I turned to Mr. Heywood. "Mr. Hey- er, Chris?"

He looked at me, opening his mouth to speak, but suddenly his phone went off. He
placed the magazine he was reading down and held up a finger to me. He pulled out
his phone and looked at it. A scowl appeared on his face and he flipped the phone
open, putting it to his ear.

"What now?" he demanded into the receiver. "How many times do I have to tell you
no? No! I said I don't care, and I really don't care. Yeah. Do what you want, but
leave me out of it. Go ahead. Whatever. Bye." He snapped the phone shut and
glowered at it for a moment before tossing it onto the counter.

"Was that the same person from a few days ago?" I asked, my voice quieter than I
expected.

"Yeah."

"Is everything okay?"

"Sure," Mr. Heywood responded with a shrug. "What did you want?"

"Oh, um, all the boxes are unpacked and put away," I told him, gesturing to all
the empty boxes behind me.

"Oh. Well I guess you can go home for today," Mr. Heywood responded, looking
slightly surprised, and a little disappointed. "That took less time than I
expected."

I waited for him to say more, but when he didn't I frowned. Was this really it?
Was I off the hook now? No more chores from him? I didn't know why, but not only
did I feel sad, but I actually felt a little bit lonely. I hesitated by the
counter, taking my time finishing my water so I didn't have to leave.

It was much more fun to be here than to be at my house all by myself since my mom
didn't come home until late due to work. If I was here doing the work for Mr.
Heywood, I actually had someone to talk to and interact work, even if it was just
orders, and being made fun of for me.

When my water was gone I sighed and threw it into the recycling. I stooped down
and picked up my school bag, lingering. I pretended to be interested in a poster on
the wall. After a few minutes I heard the jingle of car keys. I turned to see Mr.
Heywood holding them out to me.
 "Want a ride home?"

I smiled to myself. "Sure."

It was sort of awkward sitting in Mr. Heywood's car. He had a pretty fancy BMW. It
made me wonder how he could afford it. I didn't say anything though, I knew better
than that. I sat in the passenger's seat with my hands on my lap, staring straight
ahead.

"Do you mind if I stop for gas?" Mr. Heywood asked, quickly glancing at me.

"No," I responded quickly.

He looked over at me suspiciously. I regretted answering so quickly. He probably

thought I liked him or something now.

"I, er, don't really want to go home yet," I started, fiddling with my fingers.
"No one is ever home, so it's boring, you know?"

"I see," Mr. Heywood responded, his eyes on the road again. "Where are your
parents?"

"My dad died about two years ago," I explained while looking out the window. "Some
car hit him, and killed him."

I waited for Mr. Heywood to say the clichéd line, that everyone else had told me
when I mentioned my father's death. But to my surprise, he didn't even mention it.
However his grip tightened on the steering wheel.

"What about you mom?"

"She's alive," I told him. "And she works her butt off to support the two of us.
She's got this crazy idea in her head that I need to live in a big house and wear
brand name clothing like all the kids at school. But I don't really like taking
money from my mom. It feels weird."

"I know what you mean," Mr. Heywood responded.

I stared curiously at him. "You do?"

He nodded. "I never had a good relationship with my parents. It was always weird
asking them for money. I felt like a moocher or something since I never really saw
them."

I realized Mr. Heywood was speaking in past tense. "They're dead?"

Mr. Heywood nodded. "Both of them died in a car crash about two years ago," he
started slowly. "They hit a man in the street, and my dad, who was driving, veered
to the right, straight into a telephone pole which killed them both."

My mouth went dry. I remembered my mom telling me that the couple in the car that
had hit my dad had died as well. I swallowed, licking my lips. Did this mean what I
thought it meant? Did Mr. Heywood's parents kill my dad?

"I'm sorry," I apologized out loud, hanging my head in shame. "I'm sorry, Mr.
Heywood, I just thought something really bad."

Mr. Heywood chuckled. "I said call me Chris. And I'm sure I just had the same
thought as you."
 "You're parents killed my dad?" I whispered, staring at him.

"Your dad killed my parents," he responded, rolling his eyes. "But I promise you
that's not what I think. The thought just popped into my head."

"Same with me!" I told him quickly. "I couldn't help it."

"It's fine."

"It's weird though," I said, looking out the window again. "When I thought about
the other two people in the car crash, I never thought about if they had a kid or
anything. I just thought 'those people killed my dad'."

"That is what's normal to think," Mr. Heywood responded. "I thought the same
thing. I never thought about you or your mom. It's in the human nature only to
think of yourself."

"I still feel guilty."

Mr. Heywood raised an eyebrow at me. "You're an interesting person, you know?"

"Eh? Why do you think that?" I responded, staring at him.

He chuckled. "No reason."

"Okay..."

"It's a small world, no?" he suddenly said, his lips twitching.

For some reason, it sounded like Mr. Heywood had a double meaning to his words.
Some kind of inside joke only he got. I pushed the thought aside and nodded in
agreement, glad for the change of subject. "Yeah."

I stared at Mr. Heywood thoughtfully. So he had gone through the same grievance as
I did as the same time I did. Except while I only lost one parent, he had lost both
of his. I couldn't imagine what I had gone through being doubled. The thought of
losing my mom was horrible. But losing both my parents at the same time? I couldn't
even begin to imagine what Mr. Heywood had been through? To my surprise, tears were
starting to form in my eyes. I tired to subtly wipe them away.

"What's wrong?" Mr. Heywood asked, glancing over at me.

I blushed; embarrassed I had been caught. "Nothing, I was just thinking..."

Mr. Heywood smiled gently at me. "It's all in the past now, so don't worry, okay?"

I stared at him with my mouth open. What was that smile? I took a mental picture
of it, because I doubted I would ever see it again. Mr. Heywood noticed me gawking
and smirked.

"I knew you would fall for my good looks."

"Who did?" I muttered, rolling my eyes.

He pulled into the gas station and pulled up next to a pump. He turned off the car
and waited, staring at me expectedly. I returned his gaze with a confused look.

"What?" I finally asked.

 "Go pump my gas."

"What? No!"

A minute later I was out of the car and pumping the gas while rubbing at my arm,
where a bruise was sure to appear later. That guy was abusive. But somehow I was
relieved that we had managed to stay away from the awkwardness of finding out how
our parents were connected. If it was anyone else, I'm sure it would have been
awkward. But I was very glad it was Mr. Heywood.

When I finished pumping the gas I got back into the car while Mr. Heywood put his
credit card into the machine and paid. We were silent on the way back, arguing
slightly at a dumb comment every now and again. When we pulled up at my house I got
out of the car and leaned over before shutting door.

"Well, it's been fun working for you after school," I said, trying to sound
sarcastic, even though it was the truth for me.

"What are you talking about?" Mr. Heywood replied, leaning over the seat to look
at me. "This is just the beginning."

With that, he shut the door and with a small wave, began driving away from me. I
waved after him for a moment, a smile slowly spreading onto my face. He was right.
It was just the beginning.

*******************************************
[9] A Proscriptive Relationship: o8
*******************************************

"That's intense," Lance commented, sitting on my computer chair,

tapping a pen against his shoe mindlessly.

"You and Mr. Heywood meeting is like, fate, Holly!" Casey cried,
staring at me with wide eyes. "You, the daughter of the man his parents killed.
It's like a romance! He'll feel like he has to take care of you because he's a man
while you're but a young lady. A romance will bud!"

"You're thinking into this way to much, Casey," I responded, grinning

at her crazy idea. "But it is a coincidence."

"I'll say," Casey said, nearly shaking with excitement.

"Why exactly were you alone in his car with him again?" Lance asked,
frowning at me.

I sighed. "It's not what you think, Lance. He was just bringing me home
because I helped him after school as my punishment for being late."

"But it was the second day of school! Why should you be punished for
being late?"

"Calm down, Lance," Casey responded before I could. "This is a good

thing for Holly. He's an attractive, experienced, young man, and she's a cute,
young, lady who is still a virgin. He could help her."

"Casey!" I cried, my face growing red.

 "You-" Lance growled, scowling at her.

Casey laughed. "Chill guys, I was just joking."

I sighed, but couldn't help a smile from slipping onto my lips. I shook
my head and chuckled. Casey grinned at me shamelessly.

"I still don't think it's fair he is punishing you," Lance stated
stubbornly, crossing his arms.

I shrugged. It wasn't like I minded helping Mr. Heywood after school at

all. Honestly, I actually enjoyed it. It was better than being alone at home and
bored. Though, Mr. Heywood had told me not to tell anyone I stayed after with him.
I figured he didn't want the other girls getting in trouble just so they could stay
after with him. A wry smiled made its way on to my face. I couldn't blame him for
not wanting that.

"I just don't like how you have to help that guy every day after school," Lance
stated, still looking irritated. "He's using you."

"Are you jealous?" Casey teased.

"No," Lance snapped, "but what if Holly wants to hang out with friends?"

"I'm sure he'd let me hang out with friends," I told Lance. But honestly I wasn't
sure. That man was so confusing. One second he'd be nice, the next he'd be a bully.

"Still..."

"It doesn't matter!" Casey chirped, getting off my bed. "The fair is today, so
let's look forward to that! And who knows, maybe Mr. Heywood will be there, Holly."

I rolled my eyes. "Why does that matter?"

"Romance," she said with a French accent.

"Didn't we just go over this?" Lance demanded sounding irritated.

"You never know," Casey huffed. "Something might happen."

I laughed. "Casey, he's a teacher. I'm a student. That wouldn't work out. In fact,
it's illegal. And kind of gross."

"It's only, what? A four-year difference? My parents are ten years apart," she
responded defensively.

"Still, he's a teacher," Lance interjected. "And she's a student."

"That's doesn't matter either."

I sighed and flopped onto my back on the bed, hoping for the subject to drop. The
fair started in only an hour. I still had to get ready. Casey spun around in my
computer chair and logged onto the computer, going on Facebook. Lance started
tinkering with things on my desk and I watched Casey with a bored expression. After
about half an hour I went to the bathroom. When I got back I sat down on the bed
and stared at Lance, who was coloring on my binder now.

"Oh my God!!" Casey gasped suddenly.

"What?" Lance and I responded simultaneously.

"Sadie is in a relationship with Sam!"

"No way!" I cried, standing up and going over to the computer.

Sure enough, on Facebook, Sadie's relationship status went from single to in a

relationship with Sam. I stared at the screen in shock. Mr. Heywood was right!

"I thought she liked him," Lance commented, also coming over and taking a look.
"Kind of sudden though."

"Now I can go on double dates with her!" Casey said, grinning. "You two really need
to find someone to go out with."

"I don't like anyone," I responded with a shrug. "And I wouldn't go out with
someone I didn't like."

"What about you, Lance?" Casey asked, turning to him.

He blushed immediately. Casey and I exchanged glances and smirked.

"Aww, Lance has got a crush!" I cooed, elbowing him. "Who is it, huh?"

"I'm not telling you!" Lance responded, shaking his head. "No way."

"Aw, come on!" Casey interjected. "You have to tell us now!"

"No I don't," Lance responded, his mouth in a straight line. "And you won't ever
know."

"Why don't you ask her out?" I asked him.

Lance snorted. "She wouldn't go out with me."

"What are you talking about? Everyone wants to go out with you!" I responded and
Casey nodded in agreement.

"Not this person. She's different."

"Who is she?" Casey and I demanded together.

"I won't tell you guys."

"Come on! Please!" I begged, putting on my best puppy dog eye look.

Lance shook his head. "No. Now I'm leaving to get ready for the fair, you should
too Casey."

Casey nodded, logging out of Facebook. "I probably should."

I frowned. My puppy eyes look never worked. I needed to work on it.

Lance and Casey left and I went to take a shower. When I was done I blow dried my
hair and went to my room to start straightening it. The phone rang half way through
the process and I set the straightener down for a second, walking over to the phone
in my room and picking it up.

"Hello?"
"Hi honey, it's mom."

"Hi," I said, going back to my hair straightener and continuing to straighten it.

"Work's going to go really late tonight. I'm just going to stay at a friends so I
don't have to drive all the way back home," she informed me and I heard something
fall in the background. "Shoot," she muttered. "Is that okay with you? What are
your plans for tonight?"

"That's fine," I responded, shutting off my straightener. "I'm going to the fair
with Lance and Casey in a little bit."

"Why don't you invite Casey to sleep over then? I feel bad leaving you alone."

I rolled my eyes. "Mom. I'm a senior. Pretty soon I'll be living by myself
anyways."

"Not too soon," she responded, sounding a little sad.

"Okay, let me rephrase that. In a little while I could be living by myself, but
probably won't be."

She laughed. "Sounds better. My break's almost over though, so I have to go."

"Okay mom, I love you."

"Love you too," she responded. "Bye."

"See ya."

I clicked the end button and set the phone down. I glanced at the clock. 7 o'clock.
That meant I'd have to leave in about five minutes to make it to the fair grounds
for half past. I went to my closet and threw on a pair of jean skinny jeans, a
black tank top, and a white and green plaid shirt. Slipping on my shoes and
grabbing my wallet and iPod, I went out the door, locking it behind me.

I stuck my headphones into my ears and set it on shuffle. Music blasted from them
as I started down the street in the direction of the fair grounds. It was starting
to get dark, which was the perfect time for going to a fair. The millions of lights
that came off every ride was a stunning sight. As I grew closer, more people were
walking on the sidewalks. I maneuvered around an old couple that was walking slowly
and finally made it to the gate where I was meeting Casey, Lance, and the others.

In a little while Sadie and Sam showed up. And then Casey, and finally Lance. We
bought our tickets and entered the area where the fair was. There were gaggles of
people. Little kids were running around everywhere, teenagers walked around in
groups, and couples were holding hands. Vendors called out to us as we walked by
them, offering three darts for five dollars, and one dart for two.

"I'm hungry," I complained after we walked a loop around the fair once to see what
was there. "I'm going to eat."

"I'll come with you," Lance offered.

"Casey, are you coming?" I asked, turning towards her.

She shook her head. "Willis is meeting me by the Ferris wheel and we're going to go
on with Sadie and Sam."
"A date on a Ferris wheel, huh?" Lance said, laughing. "Have fun."

"I will!" she responded with a wave. "See you guys later."

"Bye," I responded, waving back.

Lance and I headed back towards the food stands, dodging around the throngs of
people congesting the area. We passed a large line at the fried dough stand, and a
considerably smaller one at the fried Oreos.

"What are you going to get?" Lance asked, narrowly avoiding a giggling couple.

"Baked potato," I responded immediately. "They're basically the only reason I go to

fairs."

Lance laughed. "Okay, with everything on it?"

"Yeah," I responded. "But I'll buy my own."

"Don't worry about it, I got it," Lance responded, heading over to the vendor.
"Think of it as repayment for lunch money I've borrowed from you."

"You're going to have to buy me like fifty potatoes then," I responded with a
laugh.

"Shut up and go sit down," Lance ordered, shaking his head and grinning.

Throwing another smile at Lance, I turned and followed his orders. A few minutes
later Lance appeared, sitting down across from me with two baked potatoes. He
placed mine in front of me and gave me a fork.

"Thank you," I responded, stabbing my fork into it immediately and taking a bite. I
exhaled quickly, the potato burning my mouth. "Hot!"

Lance laughed. "Duh."

Ignoring him, I continued to eat my potato, this time being more wary. After a few
moments I glanced back up at Lance and noticed him staring at something. I looked
behind me and saw my friend Sarah standing a few feet away, standing with her
boyfriend, Erik. I frowned slightly. Then it hit me.

"Oh!"

Lance blinked and shifted his gaze to me. "What?"

"You like Sarah?" I questioned, a smirk appearing on my face. It definitely made

sense! Lance had said that the person he liked couldn't like him back, and Sarah
had a boyfriend.

"What? No," Lance responded sounding confused. "Why do you think that?"

"Weren't you just staring at her?"

Lance shook his head. "I was just looking."

I frowned. "Well tell me whom you like," I ordered, staring at him intently.
"Casey's not around, so it's okay, right?"
Lance sighed, shaking his head again. "I'm not telling you."

"Why not?" I whined. "Aren't we best friends?"

"It's not something I can tell you," Lance responded, frowning. "And I already told
you it doesn't matter because she won't like me back or date me."

"Everyone likes you," I responded rolling my eyes. "And I already told you anyone
would date you."

"Would you date me?" he asked, giving me a sarcastic look.

I laughed through my nose and shook my head. "No way!"

"See?"

"But that's because we are best friends, Lance," I told him, sighing. "It's
different with other girls."

"Nope. I can guarantee you she would never date me."

I scowled at him. Why was he so pessimistic? "Well fine. If you want to be that
way, I hope she never dates you!"

"Harsh," Lance responded with a grin.

"Mhm."

Lance suddenly stood up, looking around. "I'm going to go get a drink. Want
anything?"

"Coke," I responded, putting my elbow on the table and resting my head on my hand.

Lance nodded and started walking back to the food area. I watched his back until he
disappeared from my vision, leaving me to stare blankly at strangers as they walked
by. There were a lot of couples out. One couple stopped right in front of me and
started making out. Intensely making out. I looked away slightly disgusted and saw
a familiar face.

Mr. Heywood was walking with two suspicious looking men. One of the men had short,
cropped blond hair, and the other had longer, brunette hair. All three of the men
didn't look happy. The two on either side of him seemed to be holding onto him,
grasping his arm tightly as to not let him escape. I watched curiously and bit my
lip. What were they doing? And where were they going? After a minute I stood up and
decided to follow them. I looked around for Lance, but couldn't find him. He was
still off getting us drinks. Mr. Heywood was now beginning to leave my field of
vision, so I muttered an apology to Lance and hurried after my biology teacher. I
dodged people filing around me until I was close enough to them so I could keep an
eye on them without being noticed. It seemed like they were heading towards the
woods.

I followed as they left the tangled madness of the crowded path that led to the
rides. They slipped onto a vacant path, which lead to the back off he rides, and
towards the forest. Now there were no people to hide behind, so I waited for a few
moments before continuing to follow them. For some reason, I was getting a
forbidding feeling, but I continued anyway.
*******************************************
[10] A Proscriptive Relationship: o9
*******************************************
I followed the three men for quite a while as they marched behind all the
attractions. It was hard to keep up at times because of the cords on the ground
that were masked by the darkness, causing me to stumble over them. When the three
men in front of me stopped I stopped as well, hiding behind the edge of the Ferris
wheel's support frame.

Voices were carried back to me and I held my breath tightly, trying to distinguish
what they were saying. I strained my ears, listening as hard as I could, but I
still couldn't make out a word. They started moving again, but this time into the
woods.

For a second I debated whether or not I should go after them, but when I started to
lose sight of them, I threw all caution to the wind and hurried to catch up to
them. I matched my steps in time with theirs, so I could cover the sounds of
crunching leaves I made with each footfall. There was this weird feeling in my
stomach- just like the kind of nervous feeling I got before going on a terrifying
ride.

We continued traversing through the forest for at least ten minutes. I began to
grow uneasy and I kept looking all around me nervously. What if we ended up getting
lost? Of if some animal came out of nowhere and attacked me? I swallowed, wanting
to close the distance between the trio and myself, but knowing I couldn't afford to
do that. If I was caught... I didn't want to think about what would happen. I had
no idea who these people were.

The man with blonde hair looked over his shoulder and I froze, staring wide-eyed at
him, holding my breath tightly. He made no sign of alarm, so I figured he hadn't
noticed me. He turned back to the front and shoved Mr. Heywood in front of him
roughly. Then the same man put his head near the brunette's head and I hazarded a
guess he was saying something he didn't want Mr. Heywood to hear.

The brunette nodded to the blonde and suddenly started going to the left, leaving
Mr. Heywood alone with the blonde. The one leaving crashed through the forest,
seemingly uncaring about the amount of noise he was making. My gaze stayed on him
until he was out of sight. When he was, I returned my attention back to Mr. Heywood
and the other guy, realizing they were almost out of sight. I hurried after them,
going through the woods as fast as I could without tripping.

Mr. Heywood and the other man entered a large clearing, and I stopped at the edge
of it, hiding behind a conveniently placed tree. Its' trunk was big enough to cover
me and it had Y-shaped branches, so if I stood on the tips of my toes I could just
barely see through the small hole it made. My eyes widened when I realized there
were now two other men in the clearing along with Mr. Heywood and the first. The
other two men stood in rigid positions, as if ready to attack. One of the men was
completely bald, and the other hand long, shaggy red hair.

The blonde one holding onto Mr. Heywood led him over to the other two, both of
which were shooting daggers at Mr. Heywood. Mr. Heywood still looked calm however,
his shoulders relaxed, a bored expression on his face. An idea suddenly hit me.
Were these guys his old gang members? I took in a sharp inhale of breath. I thought
he was joking when he said he was an ex-gangster! He had been telling the truth? He
had seriously been in a gang?

"You can't leave just like that!" the bald guy suddenly shouted, making me jump in
fright.

I held my breath and shut my eyes, straining to hear everything that they were
saying. Mr. Heywood's voice was a lot quieter and harder to make out. Whatever he
was saying was incoherent to me.

"The boss will be here soon, do you really want to deal with him?" the red head
demanded, sounding amused.

I opened my eyes and stared in disbelief at him. The boss? Did that mean the gang
leader? Were they going to attack Mr. Heywood in the woods? Is that why they
brought him all the way out here?

Mr. Heywood laughed loudly, the sound echoing slightly. "He couldn't beat me up in
his dreams."

My hands tightened on the tree bark. What was Mr. Heywood doing? Did he want to be
killed? I stared at the four men, unable to pull my gaze away. How could Mr.
Heywood stay so calm when the other three men were putting up such threatening
fronts?

"I wouldn't be so cocky," the other gangster warned, cracking his knuckles
threateningly. "We dragged you out here for a reason, you know."

"If it was to assault me, I know," Mr. Heywood responded calmly. "That's why I
came- because I was sure I could handle Twinkies like you."

I snorted. Had he really just used the word Twinkies as an insult? The smile
disappeared from my mouth when one of the gangsters swung towards Mr. Heywood
without warning. Mr. Heywood took a step back, avoiding it was ease. A breath of
relief left my lips.

The blonde scowled. "What did I say about being cocky?"

"I don't remember," Mr. Heywood responded mockingly, a fake frown on his face. "I'm
sorry."

Suddenly I felt a hand over my mouth. My eyes almost bulged out of their sockets
and I took a sharp inhale of breath through my nose, my heart rate increasing
significantly. I struggled in the grasp of whoever had me as an arm wrapped around
my waist, pulling me closer to my captor. By the feeling of the chest it was either
a very flat and bulky female, or a male. I struggled harder, terror filling my
veins.

"What do we have here?" a husky voice whispered in my ear. "A spectator?"

I froze up, my breath shaky. Was this one of the gangsters as well? I looked over
my shoulder slightly, recognizing the brunette man from before- the one who had
been with Mr. Heywood at first, then went off his own way. I tried to say
something, but his strong hand muffled my words. The man yanked me away from the
tree. My fingernails scraped against the bark, getting it stuck between the nail
and skin as I tried to keep my grasp on the tree. I winced in pain.

"It would really be bad if I let you loose and you told someone about what was
going on here," the thug commented, resting his chin on my shoulder. "We wouldn't
want that."

I tried to bite his hand, but only managed to lick it. I made a face as he
chuckled. "How did you know I enjoyed that kind of thing?"

I almost gagged. His hand moved to my stomach and my muscles tightened as he rubbed
it gently. "You have such a flat stomach. And you're pretty good looking too," the
thug commented in a thoughtful voice. "I bet we could have some fun with you."

That's when I snapped. I bought my head back as hard as I could, smashing it into
his. He groaned in pain and I quickly shoved my legs against the ground, throwing
us both off balance. The thug toppled over backwards and I fell with him. To save
himself from hitting the ground full force, he let go of me, and I quickly rolled
to the side and was on my feet in a matter of seconds. Thank god for adrenaline.

The thug flung out his arm, in aim for my feet, but I quickly dodged, stepping out
from behind the tree. I made to run through the woods and back to the fair, but my
eyes roamed to the clearing and I gasped. The bald man was creeping up behind Mr.
Heywood, a bat raised high in his hand. The other two men were holding onto Mr.
Heywood's arms, keeping him faced away from the man with the baseball bat.

"Mr. Heywood!" I screamed, throwing all caution to the wind.

All four men in the clearing turned to me. My eyes met Mr. Heywood's. He stared at
me, half in horror and half in shock. The bald man moved in again.

"Behind y- ah!" Something hard slammed into my side, cutting me off, and knocking
me to the ground. I fell hard, and my breath was knocked out of me. My head landed
on its side, facing towards the clearing. I watched as Mr. Heywood avoided the bat
by an inch. I let out a sigh of relief, but it turned into a grunt as I suddenly
felt pressure on my head.

"Next time you try that, I'll break your neck," the brunette whispered, pressing my
head into the ground.

Mr. Heywood looked at me for a split second, his face in a tight line. The thug
with the bat raised it again while Mr. Heywood was still focused on me.

"Mr. Heywood!" I screamed again, half in a panic and half in annoyance of how he
kept looking away from the enemy. He couldn't be that stupid.

A fist collided with the side of my head, and a groan escaped my lips. My vision
went black for a moment, but before I could panic it returned. Mr. Heywood ripped
his arms out of the two gangster's grasps, thrusting his elbow into the bald man
with the bat's face. The thug dropped the bat and raised his hands to his face,
swearing loudly. Mr. Heywood turned and swung his right fist at his head, striking
him down.

My head throbbed as I watched Mr. Heywood turn to the other two gangsters, who were
in fighting stances. Mr. Heywood swung towards the one on the right, who avoided it
with a block and the one on the left swung at Mr. Heywood. Mr. Heywood dodged,
spinning, and sending his fist into the right one's face. I watched slightly
impressed, slightly awed, and slightly afraid as Mr. Heywood proceeded to pummel
the two gangsters.

The one pinning me to the ground clicked his tongue and loosened his grasp on me,
starting to push himself onto his feet. I took the moment to my advantage. With my
head still slightly spinning, I rolled out from under him, and swung my leg out
hitting him where the sun didn't shine. He groaned and fell back to the ground. I
kicked him in the side hard.

"That's for punching a girl!" I told him, and turned to Mr. Heywood.

Only one gangster was still standing. I watched as the gangster picked up the bat
the unconscious one had dropped. I stared incredulously. He was really going to
bring a weapon into the fight again when Mr. Heywood didn't have one?
"A bat won't help you," Mr. Heywood stated, rolling his eyes. "Hell, even if you
had a gun, it still wouldn't help you."

The gangster swung at Mr. Heywood. I winced as I heard it collide with his arm.
When I opened my eyes, I expected to see Mr. Heywood holding his arm in pain, but
to my surprise he was smirking at the gangster.

"What did I tell you?"

Suddenly the bat was yanked from the other gangster and before I knew it, he was on
the ground. Mr. Heywood cracked his knuckles and brushed off his hands before
stretching. He turned towards me, and his smug face turned to shock.

I looked at him curiously. Did he forget I was here? He started sprinting towards
me, his hands in fists again. I stared blankly at him. Why was he charging at me?
He got closer and brought up his fist. I screamed, putting up my hands in defense.

To my surprise, his swinging fist missed. Or that's what I thought at first. I

heard it smashing against something, and looked over my shoulder to see the
gangster I had kicked earlier falling to the ground behind me. I turned back to Mr.
Heywood, my face white. He glared at me, putting his hand down on my shoulder, and
squeezing it painfully.

"Ow!" I cried, pulling at his arm. "That hurts!"

"What are you doing here?" he demanded, his voice seething with anger.

"I saw you with those two suspicious men so I followed you!" I explained quickly,
still pulling at his arm. "Mr. Heywood, that really hurts!"

He let go of my shoulder, shaking his head in disbelief. "I can't believe you."

"What did I do?" I demanded angrily. "If I wasn't here, you could have been
killed!"

"I'm fine on my own!" Mr. Heywood snapped. "But look at you." He raised a hand to
my face and touched is gently.

I gave him a confused look and when he pulled his hand away, there was blood on it.
Surprised, I raised my own hand to my cheek, and sure enough something warm and
sticky was on it. Nausea washed over me, and I staggered forward, suddenly dizzy.
Mr. Heywood quickly steadied me, putting his hands on my shoulder again- this time
more gently.

"Are you okay?" he asked in a worried voice. "Did that bastard do anything else to
you?"

I shook my head. "No, I'm just not good with blood."

"Why did you follow us?" Mr. Heywood asked still supporting me. "Holly, you don't
follow quote, unquote, suspicious looking men."

"I thought something bad was going to happen to you," I responded in a small voice,
dropping my gaze.

"That doesn't give you reason to follow three men into the woods! Who knows what
would have happened if you hadn't came out from hiding when you did!"
"You would have been beaten by a baseball bat!"

"You could have been kidnapped!" Mr. Heywood cried, irritation dripping in his
tone. "And worse, if you understand what I mean."

I knew what he meant immediately and I bit my lip. Yeah, I knew it wasn't a smart
idea. But I didn't want to let him just go alone. He could have been killed! "I
didn't know you were serious about being an ex-gangster," I admitted, pushing Mr.
Heywood's arms off me. "I thought you were joking, so I would have never guessed
something like this would happen."

"Something like this happens all the time, Holly," he responded, shaking his head.
"It's because I left so suddenly."

"Left?"

"The gang," he told me.

I frowned slightly. "Why were did you leave?"

"I'll explain it later," Mr. Heywood responded, looking around warily. "First let's
get out of here before any of these guys wake up."

I nodded in agreement and Mr. Heywood started leading me back to the woods. I
stepped over the body of the gangster who was trying to sneak attack me and made
sure to tread on his face. Mr. Heywood chuckled slightly.

"You're so immature."

I ignored his comment and followed him as we made our way out of the woods. I
looked behind us continuously, afraid someone would pop out. Mr. Heywood noticed
after a few minutes. "Don't worry," he started, suddenly looking solemn. "If
someone comes... I'll protect you." He turned back around, his back suddenly
tensed.

I stared after him curiously for a few minutes, frowning the tiniest bit. My heart
thudded in my chest- and it wasn't due to lack of oxygen. Why did his words make my
heart beat so fast?

*******************************************
[11] A Proscriptive Relationship: 1o
*******************************************

********************************************************

When I finally saw the lights of the fair I raised my eyebrows, slightly impressed.
I wouldn't have ever been able to find my way out of the forest. Mr. Heywood
seemingly knew these woods by the back of his hand. He even told me where there
were dips on the ground so I wouldn't trip. While the lights distracted me, my foot
got tangled in a root, and I plummeted to the ground face first. My already
pounding head smashed against the hard ground, causing my vision to go black for a
few seconds. Surprised, I tried blinking a few times, trying to regain my vision.

"Are you okay?" a slightly amused voice asked from above me.

"I can't see!" I cried, scrambling to push myself to my feet.

A strong pair of hands suddenly wrapped around my waist and I was pulled to my feet
before I could protest. Shakily, I reached out to find something to support me. One
of the hands on my waist disappeared, and seconds later something warm enveloped my
outstretched hand.

"Stand still," Mr. Heywood ordered in a soothing voice. "You're vision will come
back in a second."

I did as he commanded, trying to slow my racing heartbeat. With my eyes shut, I

concentrated on my breathing for a few minutes, and when I opened them again, I
could see. Dizziness swept over me, and I staggered a little. The hand on my waist
quickly became an arm wrapped around it.

My cheeks blazed from the gesture. "Let me go," I said, trying to escape from his
hold.

"No," Mr. Heywood ordered. "You'll end up killing yourself."

"Let go!" I reiterated.

I was very aware of his arm wrapped around my waist. Too aware. My body was growing
hotter by the second. I avoided looking at his face as I continued to struggle to
break out of his grasp. He was my teacher. I shouldn't be blushing because he had
an arm around my waist. Albeit he was a young, and very handsome, teacher, he was
still a teacher. It was wrong. And yet here his touch was embarrassing me. I liked
his touch.

"If you don't stop struggling, I'll have no choice but to carry you," he warned,
holding onto me tighter.

I ground my teeth together, and tried again to yank myself free once more. I
couldn't flat out tell him what he was doing to me. That would be incredibly
awkward and uncomfortable. But I wasn't used to guys touching me, so maybe that was
it. It wasn't just because Mr. Heywood was the one with his arm wrapped around me.
I tried once more to pull myself away, but only ended up tripping over my own feet.

Mr. Heywood sighed and put his other hand on my waist again. "You asked for it."
Suddenly I was hoisted up in the air and over his shoulder. I opened my mouth in
shock, but nothing came out. He adjusted me slightly and placed a hand just above
my bottom. Blood rushed to my face and I tried to get away again.

"Don't move or you'll fall, and I'm not sure how much more damage you can take to
your head without dying."

I stopped moving. I didn't really want to take that chance. Mr. Heywood started
walking again, and I bounced with his each stride. He didn't even seem affected by
taking on an extra hundred and ten pounds.

"Aren't I heavy?" I asked in a quiet, embarrassed voice.

He snorted. "Yes, you are."

I kicked my feet, hoping to land a strike on his face. He chuckled and readjusted
me on his shoulder. "I'm joking."

"It wasn't funny," I responded, bringing my hand down to slap him. Right before my
hit landed, I stopped my hand, realizing I was just about so smack his butt. A
small breath of relief left my lips. How awkward would that have been? Stretching
my arm lower, I began to pound my fist in the lowest part of his leg that I could
reach. It didn't even affect him. He just chuckled again. Scowling, I hit him
harder and repeatedly, which only made him laugh more.

"Two can play at that," he let me know, amusement in his tone.

I paused for a second, confused, until I felt a slap to my butt. For a second I was
shocked speechless, my face growing warm. I opened my mouth in outrage and but
couldn't say anything coherent. "Why did you smack my butt?" I finally demanded,
still blushing furiously.

"Easiest place to reach."

I struggled against him now, trying my best to be let go. I didn't care if I fell
on my face at this point as long as I got away from this perverted teacher. He
started chuckling, again, and placed his free hand on my waist, hoisting me off his
shoulder, and onto the ground. I took a step away from him and glared at him. "You
didn't have to slap my butt!"

Mr. Heywood rolled his eyes. "What? Should I have waited and smacked your head?"

"No! You shouldn't hit me!"

"You were hitting me," he responded in a mockingly whiny voice.

"But I didn't hit your butt!"

"You were thinking it."

My face grew even hotter, if that was possible. Mr. Heywood smirked. I shook my
head vehemently at him. "I wasn't!"

He chuckled. "Yeah, okay. I can tell when you're lying. You're really bad at it."

I scowled at him. How could he read me so easily? I stared at the ground in

embarrassment. My eyes were starting to burn and I blinked rapidly to stop my eyes
from watering. Why did he always embarrass me? It was seriously unfair.

Mr. Heywood sighed. "You really have zero experience with guys, huh?"

I glared at him. "So what? I'm sorry I can't help it if guys don't like me! I'm
sorry I'm not used to guys touching me! I'm sorry I'm not popular and pretty, Mr.
Heywood! If you want to go talk to popular and pretty girls, actually let them into
your classroom at school instead of hiding from them! I bet they would do all kinds
of things with you!"

Mr. Heywood looked at me in surprise. I breathed heavily from my sudden outburst.

When my anger died down, newfound embarrassment made my face burn once more. Mr.
Heywood just continued to stare at me, almost in awe. I looked away when I felt
tears welling up again. Sometimes I wished my tear ducts weren't triggered by my
embarrassment and anger. I tried to discreetly wipe away the few tears that were
escaping. It didn't really work.

What was my problem? There was no reason for me to get all worked up. And I knew I
had taken my outburst too far. I didn't know why I even mentioned crap about the
girls at school. Mr. Heywood probably thought I was immature now. I grit my teeth
together in frustration. Maybe I was PMS-ing.

A gentle hand was at my cheek and it turned my head to the left slightly. Mr.
Heywood used his other hand to wipe away a stray tear. I attempted to look away,
but he held my head fast.
"I'm sorry," he apologized, sounding very sincere.

My mind went blank for a second. Mr. Heywood was apologizing to me? Shouldn't it be
the other way around? I was the one who had blown up with him. I opened my mouth to
say something but he shook his head.

"I'm not done," he told me, so I shut my mouth. "I really didn't mean anything
offensive by what I said. I keep forgetting you're Holly Evers, my student, which
is my fault. But I can't help but to tease you when you have such cute reactions."

I would've have blushed if my face wasn't already as red as a tomato. What did he
mean by how he kept forgetting I was his student? Did that mean he...? I shook my
head quickly. He definitely did not mean what I was thinking. I was getting way to
ahead of myself.

Mr. Heywood let out a quiet chuckle, and I raised an eyebrow at him. "What?"

He shook his head, smirking. "Where in the world did you get the idea that I wanted
to do 'all kinds of stuff' with pretty and popular girls?"

I swallowed nervously and pursed my lips, my face still in Mr. Heywood's firm
grasp. "Well... I just figured since you're young and single you might, you know,
want to have... have some fun?"

Mr. Heywood snorted and started laughing so hard he let go of my face and doubled
over. I stood awkwardly, watching as he began to gasp for breath from laughing so
hard. "You know that's illegal, right?" he asked when he was finally finished.

"Yeah," I responded. "But that hasn't stopped other people... and since you're a
gangster and all, I thought it doesn't matter."

"Ex-gangster," he reminded me with a frown. "And I wouldn't have an affair with a

student. I'm a teacher, Holly. That would be extremely wrong and I would lose my
job if I were ever caught. I might even-" He suddenly cut himself off, a surprised
expression on his face. "I might even go to jail..."

For some reason, my chest ached. I shrugged it off though. It wasn't like I was
planning to be in a relationship with this man. He was a perverted, spiteful,
annoying, teacher. Who happened to also be an ex-gangster. The consequences of a
relationship like that were too severe too. It wasn't worth it.

"But I have to say," he mused, putting on a smug smile once again. "I don't usually
go for the pretty and popular girls."

"What kind of girls do you go for?" I blurted out without thinking. Immediately I
ducked my head, my cheeks flaming again.

Mr. Heywood opened his mouth to respond, but shut it quickly. For a split-second I
thought there was an expression of pain on his face, but before I could be sure, it
was gone. He glanced at me and smirked. "Well, I go for the kind that don't have a
lot of experience. They are the cutest, you know. Now, shall we go?

He walked by me, his shoulder just barely brushing by mine. I stared after him for
a moment, his last words echoing in my mind. What did he mean by that? Was he
insinuating something? I shook my head violently. It meant nothing. He was just
teasing me like usual.

I hurried to catch up with him, my dizziness completely gone now. We were behind
the rides now. I made sure to step over all the cables, being extra cautious not to
trip. When I caught up to him he looked at me from the corner of his eye, an amused
smile playing on his lips. "You know you look like hell, right?"

I gave him a wry smile. "Thanks."

He chuckled. "Don't worry. I have a comb in my bag."

I raised my eyebrows slightly. Even I didn't carry around a comb in my bag. "You
have a comb?"

"I need to look good in front of the ladies, right?"

I rolled my eyes and attempted to push past him but he stopped me, grabbing the
back of my shirt. After releasing me, he dug into bag for a few seconds and pulled
out the comb. With a finger he gestured for me to move closer to him. I did so, and
held out my hand for the comb. He smirked, pulling the comb out of my reach. "I'm
doing your hair for you."

"No you're not," I responded quickly. "No way." I attempted to back away but his
hand shot out and grabbed my shoulder, pulling me closer again. I sighed. It wasn't
even worth bothering to even try and escape his grasp.

"Keep your head still," he ordered.

"Yes sir."

His hand ran through my hair, getting out the largest tangles. I stood restlessly,
letting him have his way. I had to admit, he could get out snarls without it
hurting me the slightest bit. He ran the comb through my hair now, getting out the
rest of the snarls. When he was finished, I ran a hand over my head. Not a single
knot.

"You wouldn't have been able to get out the ones in the back of your hair if you
did it," he told me, putting the comb away.

"That's true."

"Now," Mr. Heywood said with a serious face. "Do you want me to drive you home now?
I think you've had enough fun for a night."

I faked a laugh. "Yeah, fun."

Mr. Heywood grinned. "Well at least I had fun. And I'm ready to go home too, so
it's no trouble."

I frowned slightly. I did want to go home. But I really wanted to go on the Farris
wheel. I looked at Mr. Heywood pleadingly.

"You want something?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I want to go on the Ferris wheel before we leave," I told him, adverting my gaze
to the ground. "Do you... um, want to come with me?"

I didn't have to look up to know he was smirking.

"Of course. I can take the time on it to explain a few things to you as well, since
you'll now be caught up in some of my problems."
I looked up at him again, giving him a questioning look. What problems did he have?
When he noticed my look he gave a half shrug. "I said I'd explain on the Ferris
wheel."

"Okay."

*******************************************
[12] A Proscriptive Relationship: 11
*******************************************

I climbed into the slightly swaying compartment on the Ferris wheel carefully,
holding tightly onto the railings. When my whole body was over the gap between the
compartment and dock, I quickly sat down so I wouldn't fall. Mr. Heywood followed,
casually stepping in without a worry. He sat across from me and the worker closed
the gate, sending me a knowing smirk. I blushed, looking away from him. My gaze
fell on the crowd waiting in line. "What happens if someone sees us?"

Mr. Heywood chuckled. "Depending on who it is, either we'd have to think of a
pretty convincing excuse as to why we are riding the Ferris wheel together, or it
wouldn't matter. There's nothing wrong with a teacher and student going on a ride
together, unless you think of it the wrong way."

I nodded and the compartment suddenly lurched forward. We moved for about thirty
seconds and it stopped again, to unload people and have people get on. Mr. Heywood
sighed and looked at all the people below us.

"Do you like Ferris wheels?" I inquired, frowning slightly. I hadn't even asked if
he was fond of them or not. He might have a fear of Ferris wheels for all I knew.

Mr. Heywood shrugged. "I don't hate them," he responded insouciantly.

"Oh."

The compartment began to move again, going up higher into the air. I licked my lips
nervously. In my excitement to go on the Ferris wheel, I had forgotten I was afraid
of heights. How ironic was that? I placed my hands securely on the seat, hoping the
compartment would stop swaying. When we were about halfway from the top, the Ferris
wheel started moving full speed. I stared wide-eyed at the ground below us. Since
when did Ferris wheels go so fast? I reached out and gripped the pole in the
middle.

"Are you scared?" Mr. Heywood asked in a teasing voice.

"No," I lied, swallowing hard as we continued to go higher.

"You won't mind if I rock the compartment then, would you?"

Before I could protest, Mr. Heywood stood up and started shaking the compartment. I
wrapped my arms around the pole and held on tightly as he violently shook the only
thing keeping us from falling and dying.

"Scared now?" he asked.

"Stop!" I cried, my heart racing. "Please, stop!"

Mr. Heywood laughed. "Say you're scared."

I glared at him and forced myself off the seat. Clinging onto the pole, I kicked
him as hard as I could. He lost his balance and fell towards me. I screamed as his
weight pushing on me made it impossible to hold onto the pole and we both fell onto
my seat, making the compartment rock even more violently than it already was.

I frantically grabbed onto Mr. Heywood, wrapping my arms around him, and gripping
onto the back of his jacket. My breath quickened, and I squeezed my eyes shut,
waiting for the rocking to stop. Mr. Heywood sat up, dragging me with him. Although
I was pissed at him, I couldn't bring myself to let him go. Soon the compartment
was only rocking a little and I opened my eyes, my hands still shaking and attached
to his jacket.

"You're a jerk," I accused, my voice cracking.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, looking amused. "I didn't think I'd fall..."

"Why are you like this?" I demanded, slowly making myself release him.

He straightened out his jacket, smoothing the wrinkles I had made. "Like what?"

"This! You always say something mean to me and than apologize and think everything
is okay!" I cried, throwing up my arms. The compartment shook again and I leaned
forwards, grabbing onto Mr. Heywood again. He put his hands on my shoulders and
after I moment, I let go of him.

"I'm sorry," he said, frowning. "It's just my personality."

"Well it's not a good one!" I told him.

"I know," he responded.

"Yeah- wait, what?" I said, staring at him.

"I know I have a horrible personality," he told me, rolling his eyes. "I'm not
blind."

I felt the compartment stop and looked around me before I could stop myself.
Dizziness swept over me when I realized we were stopped at the top. Usually I would
be feeling excited, but after my near death experience, I was feeling sick. I
pushed myself away from the side, but before I could sit back Mr. Heywood grabbed
me and pulled me towards him.

"Wait," I said, trying to pull away from him.

He held me tighter and slid me down right next to him. "No. I know you're scared,
so it's okay."

I chewed my lip, but sighed. He was right. I was scared. And being closer to him
made me more comfortable- not that I was going to let him know that. "Fine. But now
you tell me why those men tried to assault you in the woods."

Mr. Heywood chuckled. "Straight to the point, huh? Don't you want to know why I
became a gangster?"

I looked up at him. If I said yes, would he tell me? Or would he be his usual self
and say something along the lines of "like I would tell you". After a moment of
hesitation I nodded. He was the one who offered.

He snorted. "Like I would tell you."

I tried to move away from him. I knew it. He held me fast though, and laughed
quietly. "Just kidding," he said, smirking. "I'm not sure exactly when I started.
Either my freshman or sophomore year of high school. It just so happened that the
school I went to had a bunch of members from the town's gang attending it too."

"That doesn't mean you have to join them," I pointed out.

Mr. Heywood hesitated for a moment, looking uncomfortable. He let out a long sigh
before continuing. "That's not it. I didn't join out of my free will right away. At
first I was just like every other normal student. I got good grades, played soccer
on the school's team, and had friends. But one of my friends was a complete
stereotypical nerd who was made fun of all the time."

I stayed quiet, nodding my head when I felt the need to. Mr. Heywood stretched,
resting his arms on the top of the seat. I leaned forwards, to make sure that I
wouldn't accidentally lean back onto his arm. Sitting next to him like this made me
feel like we were a couple taking a ride on the Ferris wheel. My face heated
slightly at my thoughts. Luckily, Mr. Heywood's voice interrupted them.

"I'm not sure about nowadays, but back when I went to school, we had the classic
bullies who literally beat people up for lunch money and all that."

"Weren't you in high school like four years ago, Mr. Heywood?" I asked.

He raised an eyebrow, ignoring my question. "I told you to call me Chris out of
class."

"Sorry, er, Chris," I responded, looking at my lap. "Please continue."

He chuckled. "Anyways, I bet you guessed it, but my friend was beaten up
constantly. He never told me though. So one day after soccer practice I was walking
out of the locker room and I ran into four guys beating him up. Without thinking, I
dropped my equipment and attacked them."

"All four?"

Mr. Heywood nodded. "It was easy. They were all down for the count in five minutes
flat. It just so happened the leader of the school's gang was watching and he
wanted me to join them. Do you know what happens when you refuse to join a gang?"

I shook my head. Mr. Heywood suddenly started to take off his shirt. I grabbed it
and pulled it back down, blushing madly.

"What are you doing?" I demanded, avoiding eye contact.

"Relax," Mr. Heywood responded with a snicker. "I'm just going to show you
something."

I frowned and let go of his shirt. He pulled it up again and showed me his back. My
breath caught when I saw a large, pale, scar across the top of it. I slowly reached
out and touched the smooth skin.

"What did they do?" I whispered.

Mr. Heywood let out a bark of laughter. "What do you think? They all got together
and beat me up until I said I'd join."

I looked lower on his back and saw another scar. I touched it and Mr. Heywood
arched his back slightly. "What is this scar from?"
"Lighters," he responded.

"Oh my God," I said, pulling my hand away. "You didn't tell the police?"

"And get myself killed?" Mr. Heywood responded, pulling down his shirt again, and
looking at me with an eyebrow cocked. "I don't think so."

"But-"

"They knew I was stronger than the leader," Mr. Heywood explained, ignoring me.
"That's why they all got together to force me to join. If there had been only like,
five or seven of them I could have taken them. Twenty, not so much. And since I did
join, I was able to easily stop the bullying at the school. My friend was never
harassed again."

"So why didn't you just join before they beat you up?" I asked.

Mr. Heywood shrugged. "I hadn't thought about being able to stop the bullies at
school if I was in the gang, so that's why I refused at first."

"So you went through all that just for your friend?"

"Pretty much," he responded with a shrug. "But it was also for everyone else who
was being bullied as well."

I stared at Mr. Heywood. I had been wrong about him all along. He wasn't some jerk
who didn't care about anyone but himself. In fact, it was like he cared about
everyone else more than himself. He had gone through all that, plus having both his
parents die? Guilt washed over me. It felt like my heart had dropped into my gut. I
was the jerk here. Not him. Suddenly my eyes felt wet, and I blinked furiously. Mr.
Heywood put a hand on my shoulder, and I looked up at him. He looked almost as
guilty as I felt, which threw me off guard. What was he feeling guilty about?

"Are you okay?" he asked in concern. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry..."

That's why he felt guilty. I shook my head quickly. "That's not it... It's just...
I had pinned you as a self-centered jerk, but I didn't know you at all, so I was
just assuming things and I feel really bad about it because you're actually a nice
person who would do all that for you friends... And yet the whole time I knew
you..."

Mr. Heywood's face twisted into an expression I didn't recognize. "It's okay. Being
a jerk is part of my personality as well. That just isn't my whole personality."

"I'm a jerk too," I pointed out.

"No you're not," Mr. Heywood said with a sigh. "You're just an honest girl... who
cries easily. And who is probably very gullible," he added as an after thought.

"How'd you know?" I asked.

Mr. Heywood grinned. "I just get a feeling from you."

I couldn't help but smile back at him. I was seeing him in a new light now. But
seeing him in this new light made my heart beat increase, and my stomach churn. I
couldn't pull gaze away from his handsome face. Even though I hadn't had much to do
with guys, I definitely recognized these feelings. And it wasn't a good sign.
*******************************************
[13] A Proscriptive Relationship: 12
*******************************************

The air had become considerably colder after two more go around on the Ferris
wheel. Now that I had become use to the height the Ferris wheel went up to, I was
enjoying the ride. Mr. Heywood sat beside me, keeping silent after spilling part of
his past. The ride suddenly came to a halt, stopping us at the very top. I moved
close to the side of the compartment so I could look down. Mr. Heywood moved as
well, shaking the compartment. A startled gasp escaped my lips and I jerked away
from the edge, smashing my head against Mr. Heywood's.

"Ow," I complained, bring a hand to the back of my head.

Mr. Heywood grinned at me. "You have a hard head."

"No, you do," I responded, frowning.

Mr. Heywood rolled his eyes, nodding to the left. "Aren't those your friends?"

Following his finger, I located a few familiar faces that sent of a jolt of
surprise through me. Lance and Casey were standing in line for the Ferris wheel
along with Sam and Danielle. Panicked gripped me, and I looked back at Mr. Heywood-
who looked seemingly unconcerned.

"They are going to see us!" I told Mr. Heywood in a frantic whisper.

"Why does it matter?" he responded, vaguely bemused.

"Because," I started, ducking my head, "Casey has it in her head that something
might be going on with us, or will be, so if she sees us together she'll think
she's right. And Lance... ugh, I don't even want to think about what he'll do. I
ditched him to follow you and didn't even leave him a note or anything so he
probably hates me."

Mr. Heywood chuckled. "You seem to have dug yourself a pretty deep grave."

I glared at him. "Thank you for your concern."

"Anytime," he responded with a wink.

Rolling my eyes, I dropped my head into my hands, thinking hard. How would I be
able to get us out of this situation? It was impossible. I quickly counted the
groups of people in like, and then the number of compartments ahead of ours. Just
our luck. They got to have our car. That meant they'd definitely see us.

"Put your head down," Mr. Heywood ordered, motioning to his chest.
"Face into my chest, and wrap your arms around my neck."

"What? Why?"

"Just do it," Mr. Heywood ordered, taking the back of my head and
forcing it into his chest.

A muffled cry escaped my lips and I felt Mr. Heywood's chest

reverberate with quiet laughter. Mr. Heywood then grabbed my arms and wrapped them
around his neck. A few seconds later I felt him pulling my hair over the bit of my
face that was showing. I kept my face pressed into his chest, sitting as still as
possible.
 "Can we go once more around?" I heard Mr. Heywood ask in a very
persuasive voice.

"Sure," another voice, I presumed the worker's, responded, and the

compartment kept moving.

"Hey Mr. Heywood!" I heard Casey cry and felt Mr. Heywood nod in
response.

I bit my lip in anxiety, silently begging for Casey not to notice me.
After a minute I felt Mr. Heywood pulling away from me, and I quickly tightened my
arms around his neck.

"Holly," Mr. Heywood started, prying his hands off me. "It's all clear.
They got on a few compartments below us."

My face blazed and I quickly pushed myself away from them. "Um,
thanks."

"Anytime," he responded with a grin.

When the Ferris wheel came back full circuit, the worker opened the compartment
door to let us out. I nearly jumped out, keeping my head down. Mr. Heywood
followed, also keeping his head down, and together we hurried as fast as we could
away from the attraction.

"Let's get you home," Mr. Heywood said, pulling me in the direction of the parking
lot.

We made it to the parking lot without trouble. A chilly wind nipped at my exposed
skin and I shivered, pulling my jacket tighter around me. Mr. Heywood guided me
through the dark, coming to a stop at his car. He fumbled with his keys for a
second before opening the passenger door for me. I quickly slid in while he hurried
to the other side of the car, climbing in the driver's seat.

Mr. Heywood started the car and glanced at me. "Do you have service on your cell
phone?"

My eyes widened and I gasped, digging my hand into my pocket. My cell phone! I
fumbled with it for a minute, realizing it was off. Scowling, I pressed the on
button. My phone had a horrible habit of turning off randomly. When it loaded, text
message after text message arrived. After fifteen text messages, my missed calls
showed up. There were thirty of them. I checked those first. Fifteen from Lance,
ten from Casey, three from Danielle and two from Sam. I didn't even bother to read
the text messages. I flipped open my phone and held down the one button, speed-
dialing Casey.

"Holly!" Casey cried after the first ring.

"Hi."

"Where are you?" she demanded. "Do you know how long we've been looking for you? I
thought you got kidnapped! Lance said you were there one second and than you were
gone! And Sam said he saw you going into the forest!"

"Calm down," I said, looking over at Mr. Heywood, who was focusing on the heat, but
I knew he was eavesdropping. "I'm okay, I just ran into... an old friend."
Mr. Heywood glanced at me, smirking. Blushing, I turned away from him. I wasn't
good at thinking on the spot.

"You could have at least called!" a new voice with a British accent cried.

"Lance!" I heard Casey shout. "Give that back!"

"In a minute," Lance responded. "You could have at least called, Holly!"

"Sorry," I said with a sigh. I had really hoped I didn't have to talk to Lance. "I
forgot I had my phone. It was off."

"You had me- us worried sick!"

"Sorry," I apologized again. "It's just, I didn't want to let him out of my sight."

"Him?"

Crap. "Yeah, my friend."

"Where are you now?"

"On my way home.

My phone beeped and I looked at it quickly. The low battery sign was flashing.
Sighing I placed the phone against my ear again. "Look," I started, "I've got to
go. My phone is dying."

"Are you with the guy now?"

"Yeah, he's bringing me home. I'll talk to you later," I responded quickly, my
phone beeping again.

"Wait, Holly!"

"Bye!"

Hitting the end button, I disconnected the call and shut off my cell phone. I put
it back into my pocket, letting out a little yawn. Mr. Heywood smirked at me, now
pulling out of the parking lot. "Lance seemed very worried about you," he commented
casually.

"Yeah," I responded wearily. "That's just him though. It's okay. I'm used to it."

"That's sweet," Mr. Heywood responded with a nod. "Maybe he likes you?"

I cocked an eyebrow. "No way. He's my best friend. Besides, he likes someone else."

"Who?"

"He won't tell me," I responded with a shrug. "He's sure she won't go out with
him."

"Why does he think that?"

"I don't know. We were talking, and he said there was no way she would go out with
him. Even though I personally think anyone would go out with him."

"Would you?" Mr. Heywood asked, looking at me from the corner of his eye.
I shook my head. "What? No, we're just friends. I've never thought of him like
that... we're just friends." For some reason, I felt like I was explaining my
friendship with Lance to my boyfriend.

Mr. Heywood chuckled. "Did he ask you that too?"

I nodded. "I gave him the same answer. But it's only me, I'm sure everyone else
would want to."

"You're so..."

"What?" I asked.

"Never mind," Mr. Heywood responded, shaking his head and grinning. "I guess it's
best if you don't know."

"Don't know what?"

"I don't know," Mr. Heywood said, still smirking.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, letting the subject drop. "Whatever."

It had been one heck of a night. I stole a sidelong glance at Mr. Heywood, who was
now focusing on the road. His messy brown hair was more messy than usual, and some
of it hung loosely in his face. After a moment I caught myself staring and blushed.
He's my teacher, I told myself. Nothing good could come out of liking a teacher. I
had to stop whatever feelings I was beginning to have before they came. Sure, he
was a caring, handsome, strong, intelligent man, but that was all.

I almost snorted. Who was I kidding? He was like the dream guy, well besides the
ex-gangster part. But that aside, he was still the type of guy all the girls
wanted. And here I was, sitting in his car all alone with him, trying to stop
myself from having feelings for him. A wry smile graced my lips.

"How do I get to your house?" Mr. Heywood suddenly asked, breaking the
silence. "I think I remember it being somewhere around here..."

"Just go down this street," I told him, pointing to the street that was
coming up to our right.

He put his blinker on and made a sharp turn, making me fall against the
window. He let out a small snicker and I glared at him, turning my head, and
looking out the window. To my surprise, he remembered which house was mine. I
looked up at the large, empty, dark house, immediately scolding myself for not even
leaving the outside light on.

"Is anyone home?" Mr. Heywood asked, staring up at my house.

"My mom is staying over a friend's house due to work," I told him,
unbuckling my seatbelt. "She won't be back until tomorrow afternoon."

Mr. Heywood frowned. "Are you going to be alright alone?"

I shrugged. "I guess. I've done it before... well not the whole night,
but close enough." Opening the door, I hopped out, sticking my head back in for a
second. "Thanks for the ride. I'll see you Monday."

"Sure," Mr. Heywood responded, looking at me apprehensively. "You sure

you'll be alright?"

"Don't worry. I'm fine."

Mr. Heywood looked like he was about to say more, but before he could I
shut the car door. He stayed in the driveway, his headlights lighting up the way to
my front door for me as I climbed the path, digging in my front pocket for my keys.
When I couldn't locate them I frowned, sticking my hand in my other front pocket.
They both came up empty. Now beginning to panic, I checked my back pockets and came
up short again. I looked under the mat for the spare key. It wasn't there. A groan
of frustration left my lips and in one last urge of hope I tried the door, hoping I
forgot to lock it. It didn't open.

"You're kidding me," I muttered, glaring at the door. Now what?

Mr. Heywood honked his horn and I jumped violently, turning around to
glare at his car. He honked again and I slowly made my way back down to the bottom
of my driveway. Opening the passenger side, I stuck my head in to frown at him.
"What?"

"Why aren't you going inside?" he demanded, leaning over to look at me

better.

I blushed in embarrassment and looked at the ground, wondering if I

should tell him the truth or not. "I, er... lost my keys."

"Don't you have a spare?"

"It must be inside or something..."

"What are you going to do?" he questioned, frowning at me.

"I'll just call Casey or Lance and ask if I can spend the night there,"
I told him, pulling out my cell phone. I pressed the on button a few times before I
remembered it was dead. I groaned in frustration, putting it back in my pocket. I
didn't know either of their numbers by heart.

"Guess I'll be camping," I muttered, straightening up. "See you."

"Whoa, wait!" Mr. Heywood cried and I stopped, looking at him

curiously. "You're not going to stay outside all night," he told me in a firm
voice.

I rolled my eyes. "What am I supposed to do then? Break into my own

house?

Mr. Heywood smirked.

"No, I'm not doing that."

He laughed. "No, I'm not telling you to break into your house. You're coming to my
house for the night."

I blanked at him. "What?"

"Get in," he ordered.

"Um, I don't know..."

He raised an eyebrow. "What? Do you want to stay out in the cold?"

I shook my head. "No, but..."

"But what?"

"You're my teacher," I murmured, ducking my head. "I don't think it's a good idea."

Mr. Heywood let out a long sigh. "It'd be worse of me to leave my student out in
the cold all night, wouldn't it? Teachers are supposed to help their pupils. Now
get in before I force you in."

I glared at him. "Please?"

"You don't need to say please," he responded with a smug smile. "We both know you
want to come over."

"Now don't be too modest," I muttered, dropping into the passenger's seat. "I'm
only doing this because I don't have anywhere else to go."

"Whatever you say, Holly."

I stared out the window, refusing to let him get on my nerves. There were
butterflies in my stomach as he pulled out of my driveway, heading back down my
street. Contrary to my words, I actually was excited to be going to his house- even
if he was only helping me because he felt bad.

*******************************************
[14] A Proscriptive Relationship: 13
*******************************************

"This is my apartment," Mr. Heywood said, opening the white oak door to apartment
two hundred and fifteen. "Sorry, it's kind of messy... I'm missing a lady's hand,
you know?"

Raising an eyebrow at him, I stepped into the apartment. It was too

dark to see anything so I stood idly by the door, feeling Mr. Heywood brush past
me. Seconds later light flooded the room. I surveyed the room while slipping off my
shoes. It seemed like Mr. Heywood liked to color code. A love seat, a recliner, and
a couch that surrounded a large plasma television were all made out of the same
crimson leather that matched the color of the paint on the walls. White pillows
were set up on the furniture, matching the trimming of the room. There was a deep
brown coffee table in the middle of the furniture, and on it was a small bowl of
candy, filled with M&Ms. A large shelf of DVDs was set up next to the television.

There were a few magazines and newspapers scattered around on the ground, a few
dishes were on the coffee table, and a few jackets were tossed on the backs of the
furniture, but other than that it looked rather clean to me. Especially for a
single man living alone.

"It's actually a nice place," I finally commented, going over to the

leather sofa and pushing my hand into it. "And clean."

Mr. Heywood chuckled, picking up some of the dishes off the coffee
table. "Thanks. Are you hungry?"

As if on cue, my stomach rumbled. I looked down in embarrassment while

Mr. Heywood sniggered.
 "I'll take that as a yes. I'll order some pizza. Take a seat and make
yourself at home. Is pepperoni alright?"

"Yep."

Mr. Heywood disappeared into the kitchen and I walked up to the T.V,
picking up a photo off the stand, and looking at it. A younger Mr. Heywood was
standing with two people I assumed to be his parents. He had a carefree grin on,
his messy hair falling in his face. His jaw had the same low, square structure as
it did in the present. Smiling, I set the picture down and wandered out of the
living room, going into the hallway attached.

The first door was open, revealing a very clean and white bathroom. For
moment I was tempted to see what kind of shampoo Mr. Heywood used but I forced
myself away. What was I, a stalker? The next door was the laundry room- which
showed Mr. Heywood's true nature. Piles of laundry that nearly reached the ceiling
resided there. I quickly shut the door and moved on. The last room was Mr.
Heywood's bedroom.

Pausing by the door I stuck my head in and looked around. It was a

pretty average room. The walls were brown, and the floor was made out oak wood.
Another large flat screen T.V was on the wall, and there was a big, brown, leather
couch across from it. A large king sized bed was placed against the far corner of
the room. To my surprise, it was made. The comforter was the same color as the
walls, and the pillow sheets lighter shades of brown and white. Mr. Heywood was
very coordinated.

Just as I sat down on the leather couch in the living room, Mr. Heywood
came out of the kitchen, holding the phone. He put it back on the receiver by the
door and took a seat on the couch next to me, turning on the T.V. "Do you want to
watch anything in particular?" he inquired, giving me a sidelong glance.

I shook my head, keeping my hands clasped tightly on my lap. Mr.

Heywood flipped the channel to a soccer game, turning up the volume. My palms grew
sweaty and I quickly wiped them on my pants. What was there to be so nervous about?
Oh yeah. I was alone with my teacher, in his apartment, on his couch, with these
feelings I was trying to force away before they came something. This situation
wasn't helping at all- but it wasn't like I had any other choice. No one liked
sleeping outside in the cold. And no one in his or her right mind would choose that
over going to spend the night at someone like Mr. Heywood's house.

"And that's why you don't give the ball to Bashista," Mr. Heywood
suddenly muttered as the crowd on T.V boo.

A small laugh escaped my lips and I quickly covered my mouth with my

hand. Mr. Heywood turned and raised an eyebrow. "What?

"Nothing... I just never would have guessed you were so... normal, you
know?" I told him with a shrug. "It's weird."

"What do you mean?" he asked slowly, his eyebrows knitting together in

confusion.

Boy did he look cute when he was confused- I violently shook my head,
feeling my face heat up. I couldn't be having those thoughts!

Mr. Heywood tilted his head to the side. "Well?"

I snapped out of my thoughts, shrugging at him. "I don't even know. I just thought
you'd like, come home and read about science or something. Or start beating up a
punching bag. Or your house would be a mess. Stuff like that."

Mr. Heywood laughed. "Sorry to disappoint you, but I am a normal person

as well."

"I'm not disappointed," I responded without thinking.

Mr. Heywood stared at me for a moment before shrugging and turning back
to the television. I blushed again and focused on the soccer game on the T.V. After
about twenty minutes, the doorbell rang. Mr. Heywood stood up and went to answer
it, opening the door to reveal the pizza guy. A few moments later, Mr. Heywood
closed the door, pizza in hand. "Do you need a plate?" he asked, coming back over
to the couch.

I shook my head. "Nope, I'm good."

"Good, now I won't have to wash as many dishes," he responded, setting

the pizza box down between us.

He opened it and took a piece out. I copied him, picking up the warm
piece of pizza and bringing it to my lips. The cheese slid off, burning my fingers
and mouth, so I quickly let go. It landed on my pants, now burning my leg through
my pants. "Ow, ow, ow," I muttered, picking the pizza up and tossing it back into
the box.

"Good job," Mr. Heywood commented, smirking.

I pursed my lips at him before turning to the mess on my pants.

"Napkin?"

"Here," he said, reaching to his side and tossing me a few napkins.

I wiped off the pizza sauce and cheese the best I could, but there was
still a large stain left on my pants. Sighing, I put the dirty napkins on the top
part of the pizza box, letting the next piece I took cool off before eating it.

By the time the game was over, the pizza was gone and I was half asleep
on the couch. Mr. Heywood stood up, picking up the pizza box as he did so. I stood
up as well, and followed him to the kitchen drowsily. The clock on the kitchen wall
read one in the morning. A yawn escaped my lips, and I rubbed my eyes tiredly.

"Follow me," Mr. Heywood ordered.

I did as he asked and followed him back to his bedroom. He dug around
in his dresser for a few moments before tossing me a pair of pajama bottoms and a
t-shirt. I looked at them and looked back up at Mr. Heywood, confused.

"Wear those to sleep in. I don't want you wearing your dirty pants in
my bed."

I stared at him, my eyes widening. What did he mean in his bed? Was he
expecting me to sleep with him? He must have seen my bewildered expression because
he chuckled, a smirk gracing his lips again. "Don't worry, I'm not going to take
advantage of you. I'll be sleeping on the couch." He pointed to the brown leather
couch.

"I'll sleep on the couch," I said quickly. "It's fine."

 "No," he responded sternly. "You're the guest, so that means you get
the bed. And you're a girl. Now go to the bathroom and change. However, if you want
to change in front of me, I'm not stopping you."

I blushed and shook my head violently, heading towards the bathroom.

After shutting the door and locking it, I stripped and pulled on the pajama bottoms
and t-shirt. Both articles of clothing were way too big for me, so I had to tie the
pajama bottoms' string tightly. The bottom of the t-shirt reached mid-thigh. I used
the toilet and washed my face before going back to the bedroom. Mr. Heywood was in
the middle of taking off his shirt. He looked over at me with an amused expression.

"Sorry!" I apologized, looking away immediately as my cheeks warmed.

"It's fine," Mr. Heywood responded. "I sleep without a shirt on."

I looked back over at him; he was now completely shirtless. He went

searching in his dresser again and I took the opportunity to check out his naked
chest. He had well defined abs. Not surprising, since he was an ex-gangster. He
really had a nice body. I shook my head, mentally slapping myself. I couldn't check
out my teacher! It was wrong!

Mr. Heywood raised an eyebrow. "Are you checking me out?"

"No!"

He chuckled. "Whatever you say."

A yawn escaped my lips when I opened them to defend myself. Mr.

Heywood smirked again, nodding towards the bed. "Get in," he ordered.

Immediately I hurried over to the bed, pausing next to it awkwardly for

a second before climbing into it. The sheets were cold as I quickly pulled them
over my body. Mr. Heywood went over to the light switch and turned it off, darkness
flooding the room. His silhouette was illuminated by the moonlight as he returned
to the coach. He let out a quiet sigh, flopping onto his back on it. "Night,
Holly."

"Night," I responded quietly. My heart was beating excitedly at the

thought of being in Mr. Heywood's bed. I took a deep breath and a pleasant scent
filled my nose- Mr. Heywood's scent. A quiet sigh escaped my lips. This was wrong,
but I couldn't help myself from feeling happy.

My stormy thoughts kept me awake for a while. The sound of Mr. Heywood's even
breathing also kept me distracted. Sleep crept up on me like a ninja, and before I
knew it, I was off in dreamland.

Something hot was covering my back. My eyes opened groggily, seeing

only the blackness of the room. I attempted to roll over, but whatever was covering
my back wasn't going anywhere. That's when I noticed the arm under me. My eyes
widened in surprise as I next took in the arm over me. Then I noticed who the arms
were attached too. My head turned slowly to see Mr. Heywood's chiseled, sleeping
face right next to mine. I swallowed nervously, trying to move myself out of his
grasp without waking him. His naked chest was moving up and down slowly as he
breathed. I resisted the urge to touch him.

When did he climb into the bed? Why did he? I struggled to slide out of
his arms, but they suddenly tightened up. A small groan of frustration left my
lips. This wasn't good. His arms were revealing my true thoughts. I really didn't
want to move away from his arms. What I wanted to do was snuggle closer to him and
go back to sleep. But there was no way I could do that.

Whatever happened to my commitment of stopping my feelings before they

became too much? It didn't seem like I was doing a very good job. My stomach was
tingling from my awareness of his body so close to mine. Shaking my head, I held in
a sigh. What was wrong with me? How could I have feeling for this devil of a
teacher? I glanced back at his peaceful face and caught my breath. He was really
handsome...

Suddenly something entered my field of vision. I froze, my breath catching once

again. But not because of Mr. Heywood. A rather large, brown spider was crawling on
the pillow. In my direction. Immediately I screamed, shoving back violently,
knocking Mr. Heywood off the bed and going with him. I struggled frantically,
trying to escape the tangle of sheets we were caught in.

"What's wrong?" Mr. Heywood demanded, sitting up, his hands made into
fists.

"Spider!" I gasped, crawling over his chest, and finally leaving the
tangled mess of the sheets.

He blinked at me for a second before chuckling. Pushing himself to his

feet, he peered over the bed. "Where?"

"Pillow!"

I watched as reached over to the pillow, scooping up the creepy

crawler. He came over to me, smirking, and held it out toward my face. "Stop!" I
cried, scrambling back away from him.

"It's harmless," he told me, letting it crawl around his hand. "See?"

"Bring it outside," I begged, giving him the puppy-dog look.

He looked at me with an amused expression. "Don't you want me to kill

it?"

"Why? It didn't do anything."

Mr. Heywood stared at me for a moment, his face twisted into an

unrecognizable expression. "That's different," he finally commented quietly.
"Alright, I'll bring it outside."

He disappeared out the door and I took the time to recollect myself. I
picked up the blanket and sheets I had knocked to the floor and tossed them back on
the bed. Then I went to the bathroom and quickly washed my face. When I was done I
wandered out to the living room just as Mr. Heywood was coming back in. He let out
a yawn, the muscles in his arm rippling as he stretched. My eyes ran over his toned
stomach involuntarily and I blushed, looking away quickly.

"Boy it was hot last night," he commented, rubbing his stomach.

"I wonder why," I responded sharply, glaring at him accusingly.

He held up his hands in defense. "I got cold, okay? I didn't think it'd
matter if I just slept on the other side of the bed... If it makes you feel better,
I was hoping I'd wake up earlier than you so you wouldn't notice."
 I rolled my eyes. "How would that make me feel better?"

He shrugged.

"Mr. Heywood-"

"Chris," he corrected me.

"You can't sleep in the same bed as me! You're a teacher and I'm a student. It's
wrong."

"We aren't at school," he responded with a frown. "And I know it's

wrong. That's why I didn't try anything with you."

I stared at him, my mouth slightly open.

"Joking," he added quickly, but a smirk came onto his face. "But you
look extremely cute while you sleep."

My face burned and I quickly adverted my gaze. He was unbelievable. He

wasn't helping my situation at all! I knew he didn't know what my situation was,
but I was falling deeper and deeper into a hole that would be very difficult to
climb out of. Calling me cute was just digging it deeper. But I couldn't deny it
anymore. They were my feelings, and I had to deal with them.

I was falling for my biology teacher.

____________________________________

Ha. I bet you expected something more ;) Sorry :P We get more of the plot next
chapter.

********* click "open external link" at the right! You know you want to join my
facebook page :D eh, eh. More fans = more chapters! And good support for me x) and
we can interact! ***********

*******************************************
[15] A Proscriptive Relationship: 14
*******************************************

An abundant arrangement of food was set out before me when I walked into the
kitchen about an hour later. I gaped at the tempting buffet in astonishment. Mr.
Heywood's smug face greeted me when I finally looked up from the food.

"Why did you make so much?" I inquired, gesturing towards the wide
arrangement of food.

"I don't know what you like, so I just made a bit of everything," Mr.
Heywood responded with a casual shrug.

"A bit?" I choked, looking at the enormous stacks of French toast and
pancakes.

"Does it not look appetizing?"

"No, that's not it!" I uttered quickly. "It's just... I thought you
couldn't cook."

Mr. Heywood chuckled, putting a hand on my shoulder and steering me to

the table. He pushed me down on one of the wooden chairs and proceeded to take the
seat across from me. "I lied."

I opened my mouth to retort, but he cut me off. "Well let's not waste it, shall
we?" he asked, reaching for a large bowl of scrambled eggs.

I nodded meekly, biting back my retort, still in shock by the enormous

amount of food he had made in just under an hour. The French toast was calling my
name, so I took two pieces, setting them on my plate. I drizzled some maple syrup
on it and used a knife to cut off a small piece. Cautiously, I put it up to my
mouth, hesitating for a moment. Mr. Heywood was staring at me so I abruptly shut my
mouth, feeling a blush coming on my face. He frowned.

"Are you afraid to try it?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No... I'm just not comfortable eating while people
are staring at me."

Mr. Heywood smirked. "I see."

He put his elbow on the table and rested his chin on his hand, gazing
at me more intensely than before. I glowered at him. He was doing it on purpose. I
wanted to slap that stupid, sexy, smirk right off his face. Wait? Sexy? I mentally
slapped myself. I couldn't be having those thoughts. Especially after I had spent
the night in the same bad as him. It was wrong. How many times did I have to tell
myself that? Maybe you should just accept it, a thoughtful voice commented in my
head.

Mr. Heywood's phone suddenly went off. I knew his ring tone by heart
now. I took the time that he looked away from me to stuff a piece of French toast
in my mouth. It felt like I had just taken a bite of heaven. I chewed slowly and
swallowed, trying to savor the taste. Mr. Heywood was still looking at his phone so
I quickly shoved a few more pieces into my mouth.

When he looked back up, I was in the middle of chewing all the pieces
that were in my mouth. My cheeks were blown out just like a squirrel's were when it
had nuts in its mouth. Mr. Heywood snorted, trying to keep his face straight. My
face flushed in embarrassment and I quickly tried to swallow the rest of the French
toast without chewing. I managed to get half down before choking. Heaving, I
covered my mouth with my hand, my embarrassment continuing to grow as I choked.

Mr. Heywood was in all out laughter now. I continued to hack into my
hand until my throat was cleared. Before I swallowed the rest of food in my mouth,
I chewed it slowly and thoroughly. Mr. Heywood was still laughing. I glared at him.
"It's not that funny," I told him, my cheeks flaming.

"Yes, it is," Mr. Heywood responded, shaking his head, trying not to
laugh. "But I'm glad you like it so much."

"It's really good," I admitted, looking down at my plate.

"Well eat some other things too," Mr. Heywood enjoined, waving his arm
over the food. "I suggest trying the home fries. They are my specialty."

I opened my mouth to say something in return when Mr. Heywood's phone

went off again. He scowled and I shut my mouth quickly as he opened it.

"These girls just don't leave me alone," he muttered, tapping away at

his phone.
 "Who?" I asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Some girls from you class," he told me with a sigh. "I gave them my
phone number because they thought they were going to have trouble with their
science homework. I told them they could text me if they had any questions, but
they've been texting me about other things."

I felt a pang of jealously in my gut, and it surprised me. Was I

jealous just because those girls had Mr. Heywood's phone number while I didn't?
That was so shallow! I wanted to grab something hard and repeatedly strike my head
with it. "Um, why don't you tell them to stop texting you?" I suggested, shoving
aside my jealousy.

Mr. Heywood shook his head. "I'm not the mean teacher, remember?"

"But that's not being mean!' I responded quickly. "I mean you are a
teacher and they are students. They shouldn't be texting you in the first place. I
don't understand why you'd give them a personal number. Why not like an e-mail or
something?" I knew I was babbling so I quickly shut myself up, grabbing a glass of
juice in front of me and putting it up to my lips before I could say anything more.

Mr. Heywood chuckled slightly. "Are you jealous?"

I coughed out my drink. The juice dribbled down my chin as I stared at

Mr. Heywood's complacent face. Just as I opened my mouth to deny his accusation, a
loud pounding from the door sounded abruptly. I jumped, slopping the juice over my
shirt. An annoyed groan left my lips, and I peeled away the wet cloth from my skin.
Mr. Heywood snickered and stood up, walking out of the kitchen to answer the door.
I looked around for a napkin and when I spotted one, I grabbed it and began to spot
my wet shirt.

Muffled voices came from the living room as I picked up a home fry with
my fork. As I expected, it tasted excellent. Mr. Heywood was a really good cook. I
popped a few more in my mouth and chewed them slowly, trying to make out the voices
in the other room. When I heard footsteps returning to the kitchen, I turned in my
chair. Mr. Heywood came in with another man behind him.

I gawked at the man behind Mr. Heywood for a moment. He had messy,
blonde hair and bright green eyes. He was exactly Mr. Heywood's height, and had
almost the same build- except this guy was a little more buff. To my ongoing
amazement, he looked like he was only about eighteen years old!

When our gazes met, his jaw dropped. His eyes looked like they were
about to pop out of his head. "Holy shit," he uttered, turning to look at Mr.
Heywood. "Holy shit, Chris."

"Shut up," Mr. Heywood hissed, jamming his elbow into his friend's
side.

"Look at her," the blonde murmured, staring intently at me. "Hey."

It took me a minute to realize he was speaking to me. "Hi," I responded in a quiet

voice, his intimidating look getting the best of me.

The blonde man chuckled, nudging Mr. Heywood in the side. "What did you
do to her?"

"Nothing," Mr. Heywood responded, sounding annoyed with the man. "Why
did you follow me into my kitchen?"

"Because I have something to tell this pretty little lady," the blonde
one informed Mr. Heywood.

"How could you possibly have something to tell her if you've never met
her?" Mr. Heywood responded with a sigh.

The blonde man came over to me and squatted down to my sitting height.
He grinned at me and I returned with my own small, sheepish smile. He held out his
hand and I took it. He squeezed my hand hard, nearly crushing me. "My name's
Jeremy," he apprised me. "You're Holly, right? Interesting name." He shot a
secretive smile at Mr. Heywood that I didn't understand. Mr. Heywood gave Jeremy a
flat look.

"How do you know my name?" I asked curiously.

Jeremy laughed. "News travels quick."

"News?" I shot a look at Mr. Heywood who rolled his eyes and shook his
head.

"Yeah. How you got in a fight with the second in command of our gang,"
Jeremy told me, smiling slightly.

"I didn't really get in a fight with him..."

He laughed. "Even so, you're in a little trouble."

"What? Why?" My pulse increased significantly. I was in trouble? What

did that mean?

"Because technically you have opposed the gang," Jeremy explained. "And
also because you were tying to help Chris at the scene. That was reported."

"That doesn't have anything to deal with her," Mr. Heywood cut in.
"It's not like they'll gang up on her... she's a girl."

Jeremy shook his head. "Times have changed since you left, Chris."

"They attack girls now?" Mr. Heywood asked skeptically.

"Yeah. That asshole Shawn took over now."

Mr. Heywood shook his head in disbelief. "Shawn? Are you kidding me?
They couldn't have chosen someone worse."

"I know," Jeremy responded with a nod, "which is why I came to warn
little Holly here."

"Warn me for what? What are they going to do?" My eyes were wide as I
stared at the pair of men before me.

"Well they might target you," Jeremy enlightened me. "Either as bait to
lure Chris somewhere since they still have hard feelings from what happened, or for
revenge for getting in a fight with the second in command."

"But I didn't do anything," I responded, feeling panic beginning to

course through me. "Are they going to kill me? Are they going to do what they did
to Mr. Heywood? What's going to happen to me?"

My hands were shaking now and my eyes were wide as I stared at the pair
of men before me. I didn't know a single thing about gangs! I did know, however,
that they could kill people and get away with it. But they wouldn't kill someone
for just getting into a small fight, right? I tried to calm myself, taking deep
breaths and letting them out slowly. Nothing was going to happen to me.

"Look! You've got her all worked up now!" Mr. Heywood accused Jeremy,
coming over to me, putting a hand on my shoulder, and pressuring it gently.

"I'm sorry, but it's better if she knows so she can be more on her
guard," Jeremy responded, frowning at me.

"Why would they go after her though? It's not like she's of any
importance," Mr. Heywood said to Jeremy. "It's me they are after."

"But she was with you back when you were attacked the other night,"
Jeremy pointed out. "That can be misleading. For example, they could think you're
rallying people to make your own gang. Or if she was your girlfriend, they could
use her for bait. Stuff like that."

Mr. Heywood muttered a few curses. "I can't just have a peaceful life,
can I?"

Jeremy laughed. "That's what you get after what you did."

"What did you do?" I asked Mr. Heywood, calmed down now.

"I told you," he responded smoothly.

I frowned at him. "No... you just told me why you joined. Not anything
that happened or why you left."

"Well it doesn't matter," he replied quickly. "Eat more food."

I frowned and put some scrambled eggs and bacon on my plate. Jeremy and
Mr. Heywood went into the other room to talk in private. Scowling, I shoved the
eggs into my mouth. My scowl faded into a small smile at the taste. How could I be
angry with this delicious food in front of me?

But the food didn't change that now I was involved with some kind of
gang. And I didn't know how dangerous it was going to be.

********* click "open external link" at the right! You know you want to join my
facebook page :D Good support for me x) and we can interact! ***********

*******************************************
[16] A Proscriptive Relationship: 15
*******************************************
Mr. Heywood pulled into my drive way and drove all the way to the top of it. When
he stopped the car he looked over at me.

"Is your mom home yet?"

"Not yet. Her car isn't in the drive way," I told him, unbuckling my seat.

"You're welcome to come back to my house and I can bring you back later," Mr.
Heywood told me. "I don't mind."

My first instinct was to say yes, but I bit my tongue to stay quiet. Spending the
night at Mr. Heywood's was enough. I wasn't sure how much longer I could stay with
Mr. Heywood before I fell for him more than I already was.

"It's day time now, so I'll be okay. She'll probably be home soon anyway," I
explained, turning to face him. "Thanks for the ride."

"Anytime," Mr. Heywood responded.

I reached out to grab the door handle when I felt a hand at my arm. I turned around
to see Mr. Heywood staring at me curiously.

"What?" I asked, raising a hand to my face subconsciously.

"Huh? Oh." He let go of my arm. "Nothing. Never mind. See you later."

"Okay..."

I turned back around to open the door when something coming out of the front door
caught my attention.

"Oh no."

I turned to Mr. Heywood, who was smirking. He glanced over at me and let out a
laugh.

"Have fun."
My plan was to quickly get out of the car and have Mr. Heywood leave as soon as
possible. When he started rolling down the windows, I stared at him in horror.

"What are you doing?" I hissed, reaching over and trying to shove his hand away
from the window control.

He shoved my hand away and stuck his head out the window. He honked the horn before
shouting, "Hey, Lance!"

Lance looked up from his head down position on my front steps. He looked at the car
for a minute in confusion, then his expression turned to shock, and then into
suspicion. Finally he narrowed his eyes at me.

"You are such a jerk," I muttered, narrowing my eyes at Mr. Heywood.

"I know," he responded with a smirk. "Now get out of my car."

I heaved a heavy and irritated sigh before reaching for the door handle. I winged
it open and slammed it as hard as I could. I smirked a little to myself when I
glanced back and out of the corner of my eye saw Mr. Heywood with an annoyed
expression.

Suddenly the car horn blasted and I jumped, nearly slipping on the gravel on the
driveway. I turned back, my face flushed with embarrassment.

Mr. Heywood gestured with his hand for me to come over to his side. I obeyed, only
the slight bit reluctant.

He rolled down his window and I stuck my head into it, looking up at Lance warily.

"What?"

"Be careful."
I rolled my eyes and looked over to give him a sarcastic look when I came face to
face with Mr. Heywood's serious expression. I blanked for a second, surprised by
the intensity of it. All remarks in my head were gone.

Why did he look so serious all of a sudden? For some reason, it made me feel
uneasy. But soon Mr. Heywood's face turned into a smirk.

"Aw, you look all worried now."

"Who wouldn't?" I demanded angrily, pulling my head back out of the window. "See
you later, Mr. Heywood."

"Holly, wait!"

I waved my hand at him in dismissal without looking back. I heard the rev of his
engine and than heard it backing up my driveway. Soon, the sound of the car
altogether disappeared and I sighed.

I usually didn't mind Mr. Heywood teasing me, in fact I thought I secretly enjoyed
it, but when it had to do with my safety, it was a different story. And since it
had to do with both Mr. Heywood's and my own safety, it was a much different story.
But he didn't seem to be taking it too seriously.

"What were you doing with him?" Lance demanded when I was in earshot.

I sighed. "Why are you at my house, Lance?"

"I wanted to see if you made it home safely last night," Lance muttered, looking
down at the ground.

I smiled slightly. "Aw, shucks, Lance!"

Lance rolled his eyes at me. "Anyways, back to the main topic; what were you doing
with Heywood?"
"Did you bring your extra key?" I asked Lance, trying to avoid the subject.

"Yeah. Now stop trying to change the top-"

"Why didn't you let yourself in?"

"Because I wasn't going to invite myself in if no one was here," Lance explained,
looking slightly irritated.

"Well I want to go inside now, so can we go in?" I asked, frowning at Lance.

Lance shook his head and took the key out of his pocket. He handed it to me and I
used it to unlock the door. I opened the door in relief and sauntered in, relieved
to be able to get inside now. Lance took the key back out of my hand and put it in
his pocket.

"You're lucky you thought of giving me an extra key," Lane told me, smirking.
"Otherwise you'd be locked out."

I laughed. "I'm glad too. I always seem to lose my keys..."

"Yeah. Why don't you- hey!"

"Hey?" I repeated.

"You're trying to change the subject again!"

I sighed in defeat. "Okay. I stayed at Chr- Mr. Heywood's place last night because
I was locked out of my house and he didn't want me to have to sleep outside by
myself. Nothing else." I narrowed my eyes at him slightly. "We don't have some
secret affair going on, and if you think that, Casey's been getting into your head
too often."
Lance blushed slightly. "I didn't think that..."

I chuckled and nudged Lance in the side with my elbow. "Come on, Lance! Me dating a
teacher? That's gross!"

"Yeah," Lance responded slowly. "You're right. I couldn't ever see you breaking the
law by dating a teacher. And it'd just be wrong."

I frowned slightly. It was okay when I said it, but for some reason I didn't like
when other people said that it was wrong. I especially hated when they brought up
that a relationship like that was illegal. However, I shook those thoughts away
quickly.

"Did you eat already?" Lance asked, leading me to the kitchen. "I can make you
something if you want."

"Nah, Mr. Heywood already made me breakfast."

A huge, delicious, seemingly professional breakfast.

Lance frowned slightly. I mimicked his expression. Why did he always frown whenever
I mentioned Mr. Heywood? He didn't have any reaction when Casey or Danielle
mentioned him, so why me? Was it because I was his best friend?

But what was he worried about in the first place? I ran a hand through my hair. Why
were men so difficult to understand?

"Do you like anyone?" Lance asked suddenly.

I stared at Lance curiously. "We've been over this already, Lance. I don't like any
one."

"Not even the slightest bit?"

I opened my mouth to say no, but closed it after thinking a moment.

I couldn't deny that I had a little crush on Mr. Heywood. A little, tiny, itty-
bitty crush that any girl would have if they saw him. But I couldn't tell Lance
that. However, I didn't want to lie to him either. I chewed on my bottom lip and
looked at the floor.

"Holly?"

"Who do you like?" I asked, trying to avoid answering him.

Lance rolled his eyes. "I'm not telling you."

"Then I won't tell you who I like," I responded with a smirk.

Lance narrowed his eyes. "That's not fair."

"Yeah, it is," I responded. "You don't tell me, I don't tell you. That's fair."

"But you said you didn't like anyone!"

"Maybe I lied."

"Never mind, let's just drop it," Lance responded with a sigh.

I stared at him, extremely confused. Why did he even bring it up in the first
place? I shook my head. Lance was so confusing sometimes.

"Do you want to go to dinner tomorrow night?"

"Huh?"
 "You know, dinner. What you eat at night," Lance explained sarcastically.

I rolled my eyes at him. "I'll go. Have you asked Casey yet?"

Lance shook his head. "Just you and me."

I shrugged. "Okay."

Lance's face lit up. "Really?"

I nodded. "Why wouldn't I?"

Lance stared at me for a split second with a weird expression before

shrugging. "I don't know why you wouldn't want to."

"Well maybe I'm sick of you."

Lance looked at me with a fake horrified expression. "No!"

I laughed and nudged him in the shoulder. "You know I can't get tired of you,
Lance. You're one my best friends and will always be one of my best friends."

"What if I-" Lance cut himself off and cleared his throat.

"What if you what?"

"Never mind," Lance said quickly, forcing out a quick laugh. "I'm going to go home,
so see you later Holly."

"You're leaving already?"

He nodded. "I only came over to make sure you got home. No other reason. So I'll
talk to you later."

"You're too nice," I laughed, giving him a bear hug. "I'll see you tomorrow in
school then."

Lance pushed me away from him. I looked at him in surprise. His expression almost
mimicked mine.

"Um, sorry," he apologized, his brow furrowing.

"It's alright..."

Lance grinned at me for a second before waving and heading out of the kitchen.

********* click "open external link" at the right! You know you want to join my
facebook page :D Good support for me x) and we can interact! ***********
*******************************************
[17] A Proscriptive Relationship: 16
*******************************************
Loud, excited, talking met my ears as soon as I opened the locker room door. I
frowned, but walked to the changing area to see what all the commotion was about.
Casey was halfway through putting her shirt on when she noticed me.

"Holly!" she cried, yanking down her shirt quickly. "Guess who is subbing for gym
class?"

I knew right away by all the excited girls, but decided to play along. "Who?"

"Mr. Heywood!"

"Cool," I responded, setting down my gym bag and starting to take off my shirt.
"Why aren't you more excited?" she asked, tossing her clothes in one of the
lockers.

"Why should I be excited?" I responded, unbuttoning my pants. "This just means all
the girls will be trying to impress him."

"Well I think you should be happy."

"Why's that?"

Casey winked. "He gets to see you in your cute little short-shorts."

I blushed, looking down at the shorts in my hand. "My shorts aren't that short!"

"Still, you never wear shorts except for gym."

"He's a teacher, Case, I don't think he cares what high school girls look like in
short shorts," I told her, rolling my eyes. "When will you get it out of your head
that Chris and I have a thing for each other?"

"Chris?" she repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"I meant Mr. Heywood," I corrected myself quickly.

Casey smirked. "Sure you did. Lance told me about how you and Mr. Heywood were in
the same car together yesterday morning."

I scowled and silently cursed Lance. But I had never told him not to tell, so it
wasn't al his fault.

"Whatever, let's just go up. Everyone has already finished changing and I bet the
bell-"
Before I could finish my sentence, the bell went off. Casey made a face and
together we ran for the stairs that led up to the gym. I pushed the door open and,
sure enough, there was Mr. Heywood with a gaggle of girls surrounding him.

"I want to go talk to him," Casey complained as I dragged her to where Lance and
Willis were.

"Hey babe," Willis greeted Casey, giving her a one armed hug.

"Hi," she responded with a sigh.

Lance laughed, patting Willis on the back. "Looks like she was struck by the
Heywood love bug too."

Casey laughed while Willis shot Lance a dirty look.

"I'm not in love with the man, Lance, that's be creepy," Casey told him, rolling
her eyes. "He's just attractive for a man of his age."

"Can we not talk about this?" Willis asked.

"You're still my favorite, Will," Casey told him, enveloping her hand in his.

I frowned to myself and looked at the ground. Casey thought it was creepy to be in
love with Mr. Heywood? Did that mean I was creepy?

I quickly slapped myself, earning curious looks from the trio in front of me. I
blushed and just shrugged at them.

"A mosquito," I lied.

"In the gym?" Lance asked with an eyebrow raised.

"I guess so."

Lance laughed and shrugged. "Whatever, Holly."

I turned away from them so they wouldn't see the blush growing on my face. What was
I thinking? I wasn't in love with Mr. Heywood! It was a silly crush!

"Oh, Mr. Heywood! You have really big muscles!"

My eyes shot over to where he was. One girl was feeling the muscles on his arm as
he flexed for her. I narrowed my eye slightly, getting irritated. I just wanted to
take that girl's arm and rip it off-

I slapped myself again; however, this time mentally. Now what was I doing? Getting
jealous? There wasn't anything to be jealous of, and yet I was getting jealous
still! I ran a hand over my face and through my hair.

I did not like these feelings.

"Okay class, gather 'round!"

I looked back at Mr. Heywood, who was waving his arms to catch everyone's
attention. His eyes locked onto mine and I swear I saw him quickly check me out.
Either that or I was just getting ahead of myself. Which was probably more likely.

Lance pushed me from behind and I stumbled towards Mr. Heywood. When everyone was
gathered, he cleared his throat.

"Okay guys, we have two choices today. We can either play handball or badminton."

Everyone started to shout what to play all at once. I heard about an even amount of
handball and badminton. I personally didn't want to play badminton, since I sucked.
I could do almost any sport fairly well. Except badminton. I had no hand-eye
coordination whatsoever with a racquet.

Mr. Heywood rolled his eyes. "You can't all shout at once. Raise your hand for
handball."
Ten people raised their hands.

"Badminton?"

Ten people raised their hands.

A few of the girls twittered with laughter. I rolled my eyes. Because having an
even amount of people who wanted to play each sport was just so funny.

I pinched myself on the arm. Great. Now I was thinking mean thoughts about girls
that didn't even do anything. Jealousy is such an ugly emotion.

"Well, Holly, what do you want to play?"

I stared at Mr. Heywood. He was going to make me choose? I flushed slightly as all
the attention was drawn on me.

"Uh, well... I don't really care. But I'm kind of bad at badminton."

"Well then badminton it is!"

There was a cheering from the people who wanted badminton and a booing from the
people didn't. I stared at Mr. Heywood with a dumbfounded look. He smirked.

"I'll go get the equipment. Come help me, Holly," he ordered, gesturing with his
finger.

Before I could respond someone pushed passed me.

"I'll help you," a girl named Lauren offered, looking eager.

"I will too!" my friend, Kelsey, added.

I rolled my eyes, turning around. "Looks like you don't need my help."

"Holly-"

"I'll help," Lance cut in, an annoyed look on his face. "Girls shouldn't be going
down to the locker room anyways."

"Sure," Mr. Heywood responded, looking relieved for some reason. "Everyone else set
up the nets."

He and Lance exited the gym to go to the storage room while a bunch of guys took
off towards the nets. A few minutes later they returned and the nets were set up.
Everyone grabbed a racquet. I held mine glumly and joined Lance, Casey and Willis
at one net.

"Casey and me against you and Lance," Willis announced, looking at me. "So stay on
that side."

"Sure," I responded.

"What? Why am I stuck with her?" Lance complained, a grin on his face.

I lightly hit him with my racquet. "Shut up."

He laughed. "Don't worry, I'm good so I'll make up for your lack of ability. You
serve first."

I rolled my eyes, but tossed the shuttlecock in the air and swung at it violently.
The shuttle fell to the ground and I sighed, bending down to pick it up. I threw it
up again. No luck.
"You can do it, Holly!" Casey cheered from the other side.

I gave her a flat look and tried once more. I missed yet again. I scowled;
frustrated now. I through it up and swung my racquet as hard as I could. Not only
did it miss, but also my racquet went flying out of my hand.

I gasped, twisting around to see it nearly hit my friend Tom. He turned to me, his
face in shock. I grinned sheepishly. He shook his head at me.

"Be right back," I told Lance, and jogged over to pick up my racquet.

"You almost knocked me out!" Tom complained, handing the racquet to me.

"I'm sorry," I apologized. "I don't know how to hit the shuttle."

"I'll show you."

I jumped and turned around to see Mr. Heywood, a grin on his face. I guessed he had
witnessed my attempt at Tom's murder. He followed me back to the court. Casey's
face brightened immediately.

I felt very self-conscious as Mr. Heywood took my hand and repositioned the
racquet.

"Swing your arm like this," he instructed, slowly bringing my arm up. "Don't make
quick short strikes, make long ones."

"That doesn't exactly help me hit the shuttle," I muttered, copying the movement of
my arm again.

"Just keep your eye on the shuttle and swing. Don't worry about hitting or
missing."

I nodded and he stepped away. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Lance glaring at
Mr. Heywood. I ignored it. I tossed the shuttle in to the air and copied the
movement Mr. Heywood had shown me with my arm, keeping my eye on the shuttle.

It struck.

Casey and Willis started clapping excitedly. It didn't make it across the net, but
I still had hit it. I couldn't help a grin spread across my face. I turned to Mr.
Heywood to thank him, but girls surrounded him again.

"Teach me how to hit too!" one of the more good-looking girls, Ally, requested.

"You were doing it just fine five seconds ago," Mr. Heywood told her.

"But I'm not sure if I'm doing it right!"

"Me either!" another girl said.

I scowled and picked up the shuttle again. "Stupid girls," I muttered.

I swung the racquet hard, keeping my eye on the shuttle. It landed again and flew
across the gym. Casey went after it and hit it back to me. I slammed it again,
letting out my frustration.

"You got better quick," Willis commented, receiving one of my hits. "You're not
letting Lance get it a hit at all!"

"I've got this one!" Lance called, lunging for the shuttle.

He hit it straight up and I ran over to rebound it. Lance moved his leg at the last
possible second; tripping me and making me fall straight down onto my face. I
landed on the gym floor with a loud smack and my racquet slid a few feet away. My
wrist panged painfully.

"Shit, are you okay?" Lance asked, hovering over me.

"I'm fine," I responded, putting my hands under my body to push myself up.

A stabbing pain went through my wrist and I quickly removed it from under me,
falling down again. Lance laughed.

"What are you doing?"

"I think I hurt my wrist," I muttered, pushing myself back up with my other hand.

"You should probably go to the nurse," Casey suggested, suddenly next to me.

"Holly, are you okay?" a new voice asked, sounding slightly amused and slightly
worried.

"I'm fine, Mr. Heywood. I just hurt my wrist."

Mr. Heywood took injured hand and gently touched it. His touch sent a tingling
feeling through my arm and I wanted to rip it away, but I kept myself under
control. He frowned.

"It might be sprained, so why don't you go to the nurse."

"Okay," I responded. "I'll go now."

"But Holly, can you stop by my room before you go home? I need to... talk to you
about something," Mr. Heywood continued, a hint of a smile on his face.

Casey caught eye contact with me and wagged her eyebrows. I rolled my eyes at her.
But part of me was excited.

"Sure, I'll see you later then," I told him, trying to keep my face. "I'm going to
go to the nurse now then..."
"See ya."

"Mr. Heywood! I think I got it! Watch me!" a girl cried from the other side of the
room.

"Sure!" Mr. Heywood responded.

He did a mini eye roll at me before turning around and jogging over to the girl. I
smiled slightly to myself as I turned and headed back to the changing room.

************You can just ignore this if you've joined my facebook page. But if you
haven't, PLEASE do :) It makes me really happy! Click open external link at the
right!************
*******************************************
[18] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 17
*******************************************
What is this? This story made it onto the first page of the what's hot list? It's
the bottom but still. I never would have thought any of my writing would be able to
make it there lol. Well thanks to all my awesome readers :D

I went to Bamboozle on Sunday night. It was fricking sweet. All Time Low, Good
Charlotte, Simple Plan, Boys Like Girls, LMFAO, Forever The Sickest Kids and Third
Eye Blind. They were all awesome. LMFAO really got the crowd moving even though I
hate that band. And All Time Low was hilarious :) It was my second time seeing
them. Boys Like Girls messed up "thunder" but they started off with Love Drunk and
I thought that was perfect haha.

Anyways. You don't care. Onto the story lol.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"I'm coming in," I said as I opened the door to Mr. Heywood's classroom.
No reply came and I looked towards his desk. He wasn't there. I frowned in
confusion. Hadn't he told me he needed to talk to me?

I heard laughter from the supply room, so I headed over to it. Just as I was about
to enter, a girl appeared in front of me. Her shocked expression must have mimicked
mine.

"Oh, excuse me," she said, blinking and then walking by me.

I turned around and watched her exit the room. What was she doing in Mr. Heywood's
supply closet? I faced the supply room again and walked into it. Mr. Heywood was
standing by the refrigerator, fixing his shirt.

It felt like a brick had dropped into my gut.

He noticed me and grinned, but his grin quickly went away. "What's wrong?"

"What were you doing?" I demanded, sounding more accusing than I had meant to.

"What do you? Oh," he said, dropping his tie. "Do you mean what was I doing with
Susan?"

I nodded, narrowing my eyes slightly.

Mr. Heywood laughed. "What do you think we were doing?"

Why was he laughing? Wasn't it obvious? They were both in the supply room, and he
was fixing his shirt. When I didn't reply, Mr. Heywood shook his head and sighed.

"We weren't doing anything bad, Holly," he informed me. "I was helping her with her
science project."

He pointed to a tray on the counter.

"Why are you fixing your shirt then?"

"Because it was messed up?" he responded, raising an eyebrow.

I blushed instantly. What was I thinking? This was school. Mr. Heywood wouldn't be
making out or anything with students in the school. I was just letting my jealousy
get the best of me again.

I looked at the floor and clenched my hands. It was Mr. Heywood's fault for making
me feel this way. If he treated me like he treated every other student, I wouldn't
have these unchecked emotions.

I felt something hard on my shoulder and I jumped.

"Were you jealous?" Mr. Heywood asked, his jaw moving on my shoulder when he
talked.

"No," I lied, turning my head away.

He chuckled and lifted his head off my shoulder. "You're cute, Holly."

My face grew hotter and I frowned at Mr. Heywood. "Mr. Heywood, don't say stuff
like that."

"Why not?" he responded, going back over to fridge.

"We are in school. You are a teacher. I am a student."

Mr. Heywood turned around and looked at me with a sad expression. "I thought we had
something special?"

I narrowed my eyes. This is what I didn't like about Mr. Heywood. When he
complements me, I don't know whether he's joking or not, because he always says
something jokingly afterwards.

I sighed. "What do you want?"

"Oh yeah," Mr. Heywood said, going over to the closet.

He began to shuffle through some stuff and finally pulled out a small paper bag. He
tossed it to me. "You left your shirt at my house."

I grabbed the bag and looked inside. Sure enough, my shirt was in there. It was
folded and clean too. "Um, thanks."

"No problem."

"Okay, well, I've got to go home now," I told him, a little reluctantly.

"Already?"

My heart skipped a beat. Did that mean he didn't want me to go home either? I
cursed myself silently. Why today of all days did Lance want to go to dinner?

I sighed. "Yeah. I'm going to dinner with Lance in a little while."

"Oh," Mr. Heywood responded simply. "I didn't know you two were dating."

"What?" I cried, making Mr. Heywood jump. "We aren't dating!"

Mr. Heywood turned to look at me, a confused expression on his face. "You're not?"

"We are going to eat as friends."

Mr. Heywood suddenly started laughing. "Poor Lance."

"What? Why?"

Mr. Heywood shook his head. "You really are cute, Holly. Cute, but dense."

"Well you're cute but a jerk!" I responded, freezing when I realized what I said.

Mr. Heywood smirked. "I'm cute, huh?"

I blushed. "Never mind. I meant you're really ugly!"

"Sure you did," he said with a laugh.

"I did! Now goodbye!"

"Be careful!" he called after me, still laughing.

I sped out of the room, my face burning. I couldn't believe I had just said that.
It was so embarrassing! Did he think I had feelings for him now? Did he have
feelings for me?

I shook my head violently. I was getting ahead of myself. I needed to get home and
get ready to go to dinner with Lance.

The walk home was slow. When I finally made it to my house, I wasn't in the best of
moods. I was so used to having Mr. Heywood drive me home, I wasn't used to walking
long distances.

The door was locked so I reached for the spare key. This time it was where it
should have been, and I opened the door and went in, sticking the key in my pocket.
The phone started ringing and I smirked. Perfect timing.

I went into the kitchen and quickly grabbed the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's Lance."

"Hi," I responded, heading towards my room. "What's up?"

"Do you care if we eat a late dinner? We can't get in until eight."

"That's fine with me," I responded, narrowing my eyes slightly.

Where was Lance planning on taking me? Was it somewhere fancy? I hoped it wasn't.
That would cost a lot...

"Okay, so I'll pick you up at like seven thirty."

"You're driving?" I asked skeptically. "I'm not so sure I want to go now."

Lance laughed. "Hey! I'm a good driver!"

I snorted, rolling my eyes. "That's why you've been in two car crashes over the
past six months?"

"I just have bad luck," he responded, amusement in his voice.

"Whatever, see you then," I told him. "I'll be writing my will in the mean time."

"You're such a bummer, Holly," he responded with a sigh.

"I'm joking," I said with a laugh.

He laughed too. "I know."

"Bye."

"See you later."

I hit the off button on the phone and threw it onto my bed. I frowned. Now I didn't
have anything to do. I could have stayed with Mr. Heywood at school. What a
waste...

The television was calling for my attention, so I went into the living room and
turned it on. It was on the music video channel. I shrugged and kept it there. I
plopped onto the couch and settled into a more comfortable position.

I woke up with a start. My cheek was wet and I made a grossed out face and wiped
the drool away. I checked the clock to see what time it was. Two and a half hours
had passed. It was now 4: 30. Time for a shower.

I sighed and went back to my room and to my dresser. The top drawer was part way
open so I shut it before opening the one underneath it. I grabbed a pair of light
wash jeans and went to the next drawer, grabbing a light blue plaid shirt. I hoped
we didn't need to dress fancy for the restaurant.

I went into the bathroom and took a quick shower before changing into my new
clothes. I wrapped a towel around my head before going back to my room.

I picked up my cell phone and opened it to see if anyone had texted me. To my
surprise, there were ten missed calls from a number I didn't recognize. I jumped
when my phone suddenly went off. It was the same unknown number that had called
before.

I hesitated a moment before answering it. "Hel-"

"Why haven't you been answering your phone?" an irritated voice demanded.
I blinked in shock. Who was this guy? "Um, I think you have the wrong number-"

"Holly, it's Chris."

Chris? Oh! "Mr. Heywood?"

"Yeah," he responded. "But I told you to call me Chris."

"Sorry," I apologized. "But how did you get my number?"

"I asked Casey for it," he told me.

I sighed. It had to be Casey, didn't it? I was in for some questioning now. "Why
did you need my phone number?"

"I wanted to know where you were going for dinner. Is it downtown?"

"I don't know," I responded. "Why?"

"Because that's our territory."

"I don't own any territory?" I asked, confused.

Mr. Heywood laughed, but turned serious again. "Gang territory."

"Oh."

"Yeah."
I licked my lips. "What does that have to do with me?"

"It will be dangerous for you down there," he told me.

"Why? I didn't even do anything!"

Mr. Heywood sighed. "I know you didn't. I got you caught up in this. But you still
are involved, Holly. Whether you want to be or not isn't your decision."

"So I can't even go downtown without worrying about being attacked or whatever they
want to do?" I demanded, my eyes wide.

"During the day time, sure, since there are people around. I'm more worried about
nights... like tonight."

"Well we are only going to eat," I told him.

"But still..."

I smiled slightly. "Are you worried about me, Mr. Heywood?"

"Yeah, I am."

I blinked in shock. I wasn't expecting a truthful remark, let alone a serious one.
"Oh, um, thank you."

Mr. Heywood sighed. "Just promise me you will have your phone at all times. And
stay with Lance."

"Promise," I told him. "You don't really think something will happen, do you?"

Mr. Heywood laughed. "No. But just in case."

"Okay."

"And make sure you actually answer your phone."

Now it was my turn to laugh. "Okay."

"Talk to you later then."

"Bye, Mr. Heywood."

"Holly?"

"Yeah?"

"Have fun on your date."

"It's not-" I started but I heard a click and knew he hung up.

I scowled, tossing the phone onto the bed. Stupid Mr. Heywood.

******** You know the drill~ join my facebook page? Link is under "open external
link" :D ********
*******************************************
[19] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 18
*******************************************
I call this chapter the "chapter-that-clears-up-what-people-misconceived". But then
I wanted to keep things open, just in case I wanted to change my mind ;D

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The doorbell rang and I immediately jumped up from my compute chair. I checked my
reflection once in the mirror before hurrying downstairs. I held my breath for a
moment before opening the door; hopefully Lance was dressed casually too.

Lance knocked again, so I opened the door. Lance was dressed in casual clothes as
well. I sighed in relief.

"You ready?" he asked with a grin.

"Yep," I responded, stepping out and shutting the door behind me.

Together we made our way down to the car. I raised an eyebrow at the Subaru
Outback. Lance laughed.

"My mom's car, remember?"

"She needs a new one," I told him, getting in the passenger's side.

Lance slid into the driver's seat and shrugged. "I think it's fine."

He started the engine and quickly pulled out of my driveway, barely checking to see
if anyone was coming. I nervously looked out the window.

Driving with Lance definitely wasn't one of my favorite things to do. He was a very
reckless driver. He turned on the radio and flipped through the stations, barely
paying attention to the road.

"The road, Lance," I snapped, batting his hand away from the radio. "Pay attention
to the road!"

He laughed. "Chill, I can drive fine."

I rolled my eyes. "Right. Where are we going anyways?"

"A place downtown," Lance responded vaguely.

I immediately thought of Mr. Heywood's warning. It felt like he was foreshadowing

something. I quickly shook the thought of my head. It wasn't like anything could
happen inside the restaurant.

When we arrived at the restaurant I relaxed completely. It was brightly lit and the
parking lot was right next to the building. We even got the parking place closest
to the building.

Lance shut off the car and quickly got out. I unbuckled myself and opened the door.
There was a thump and a grunt.

I looked out the window and noticed Lance standing there, rubbing his side.

"What are you doing?" I asked, waiting for him to move back a few steps before
opening my door fully.

"I was going to open the door for you," he told me.

I laughed. "There's no need. I can do it myself."

Lance frowned at me. I returned his look.

"You don't..."

"Don't what" I asked.

"Oh, never mind," he said with a sigh. "I should have known."
"Should have known what?" I demanded, frowning deeper.

Lance put his arm around my shoulder. "Forget about it."

"I wanna know now."

"Too bad."

I fake growled at him. He poked me in the side.

"What are you? A tiger?"

I ignored him and he continued poking me.

"Stop poking me, Mr. Hey-" I cut myself off when I realized what I said.

I couldn't believe I had just said Mr. Heywood's name! And in front of Lance! He
probably had Casey's idea in his head too.

Lance raised his eyebrows. "Mr. Heywood?"

I blushed. "Sorry. I meant Lance."

Lance's mouth turned down slightly and he sighed again. "I knew it."

"Knew what?"

"Sorry, talking to myself," Lance said with a wink.

"Lance!"

He laughed and led me to the entrance of the diner. It seemed like a pretty casual
place. I didn't know what Mr. Heywood was thinking when he said this was a date. It
was two friends going out to dinner together.

"Name?" a young man dressed in a suit asked almost as soon as we entered.

"Lance and Holly," Lance told him.

The man looked down at a piece of paper and after a moment he nodded. "Follow me."

"You had to make reservations at a place like this?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"Believe it or not, this place is really popular."

I took in the amount of people that were in the diner. Every booth and table was
filled. Lance noticed me looking around and smirked.

"Told you."

"Shut up."

The waiter stopped at our table and Lance and I took our seats, opposite of each
other.

"Can I start you off with something to drink?"

"Coke," Lance and I responded at the same time.

"Jinks! You owe me a coke!" I said quickly.

"Sure. But you pay for dinner."

I frowned. "That's not fair."

Lance shrugged. "For what you did, I think it's fair."

"What did I do?" I asked.

Lance sighed, shaking his head. "Never mind."

I glared at him. "What's up with all the 'never minds', Lance."

He sighed. "Do you think this is a date?"

I shook my head quickly. "Not at all."

Lance smirked. My mouth opened a little when I realized what he was trying to
imply.

"Wait. Did you mean for this to be a date?"

Lance smirked wider. "Maybe."

"Oh," I responded, staring at him. "Crap. Lance, I'm sorry-"

He held up his hand. "Save it. I figured you thought we were just going out as
friends. I was just trying to be a jerk with trying to let you know what I thought.
But I got it now."

"I feel bad though," I responded. "I didn't know... you liked me like that."
Lance laughed. "Wait a second. Don't think I like you like that."

I looked at him curiously. "What?"

He shrugged. "I thought I might. That's why I took you out to dinner."

I raised an eyebrow. "But you don't...?"

Lance snorted. "Even if I found out I did, it wouldn't matter."

"Why?"

"Your stupid lover boy... well man."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "I don't have a lover?"

Lance rolled his eyes. "Oh come on. Do you think I don't know?"

"Don't know what?"

"You and that teacher."

"Mr. Heywood? Whoa, no!" I responded, raising my hands. "There's nothing going on
between us!"

Lance rolled his eyes again. "Maybe not. But it's obvious you like him."

"I don't!" I denied.

"You stare at him all the time in class."

I felt my face heat up and I looked down. "I do not."

Lance shook his head. "Out of all the people you could like, it had to be a
teacher, huh? And not even a good teacher. There's something strange about that
guy. Or dangerous. And I don't like how he looks at you either."

I snapped my head up to look at Lance. How good of an intuition could one person
have? He got it straight on that I liked Mr. Heywood, but he even thought something
was dangerous about him? That was crazy. That was...

Wait, what did Lance say?

"What do you mean how he looks at me?" I questioned, my heartbeat increasing

slightly.

Lance scowled. "I don't know how to describe it. Sometimes it's like he's
worried... sometimes it's like a mother looking at her child. And sometimes it's
like how you look at him."

I stared at Lance, my eyes wide. He returned my stare, his eyes slightly narrowed.

"There's something up with you two. It may not be romantically, but there's
something," he accused.

I forced out a laugh. "No, there's nothing going on between us."

"Holly," Lance started seriously, "do you really plan on lying to your best
friend?"

My face fell at once. He was right. I didn't want to lie, but it wasn't like I
could exactly tell him either.

"Even after you thought this wasn't a date when I thought it was?" Lance added,
heaving a loud huff of air. "I see how it is."
I couldn't help a smirk spreading onto my face. "I said I was sorry about that."

Lance rolled his eyes. "You're lucky I'm not head over heels for you. 'Cause then
this would suck completely."

"Do you like me or not?" I demanded, crossing my arms. "How come you can't give me
a yes or no answer?"

"Because, like I said, it doesn't matter if I do or not."

"How would you know?"

"Would you go out with me if I said I did?" Lance asked.

I hesitated, biting my lip. "Um..."

"There you go."

"But-"

Lance held up his hand. "I know there isn't a way for you to like me right now. So
that's why I'm going to stop myself from liking you before I can really start to."

"How?"

"You tell me you're in love with him."

I blushed again. "I'm not in love-"

Lance raised his eyebrow. "I'm not stupid, Holly. Now say it. Otherwise I'm going
to fall completely in love with you and ruin all your chances with any boy until
you love me back."

I scowled at him. "Ok."

Lance smirked. "I'm waiting."

I took a deep breath. I didn't want to admit this. Not even to myself. But I didn't
want to lead Lance on. He was my best friend. And I didn't want to lose him.

"I'm..." I stopped, looking down at my lap.

"Say it. Look at me."

I looked up at Lance and stared him straight in the eye. "I'm in love with Chris
Heywood."

Join my facebook page! Do it! You knowww you wannnaaaa!! :D

Click "open external link" over there! >>>>> :)

*******************************************
[20] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 19
*******************************************
"You know it's illegal... right?"

I looked up from my dinner at Lance, who was frowning at me. I raised an eyebrow.

"Do I look stupid?"

Lance smirked. "Do you really want me to answer that?"

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. "I know it's illegal, Lance. Just because I
like-"
"Love."

"-Like," I repeated forcefully, "him, doesn't mean I will be romantically involved

with him."

"You've admitted you love him!"

"It's something I will never repeat again, Lance," I told him, looking back down at
my food and picking up a piece of steak and putting it in my mouth.

"Even when you confess?" he responded, sounding confused.

I nearly choked on the steak. I swallowed and looked at Lance, my eyes wide. "I'm
not going to confess to him!"

Lance looked at me bewildered. "Why?"

"Because," I started, chewing on my lip.

"Because why?"

"It's illegal, Lance," I told him, looking at my lap. "Not only is it illegal,
people think it's disgusting. Even just talking about it, people get these
disgusted looks on their faces."

"That's why? You won't confess because people will think you are disgusting?"

I looked back up at Lance, surprised by his angry tone. He stared at me, his mouth
twisted into a small scowl.

"It's not only that," I responded, casting my eyes down again. "He could lose his
job. And I'd be in trouble too."
Lance scoffed. "So what?"

I stared at Lance in surprise. Wasn't he the one who said in the beginning of the
year that it was creepy for a student to like a teacher?

"If you really love someone Holly, you wouldn't care about any of those things," he
informed me, his mouth pressed into a firm, straight line. "There's nothing wrong
with two people being in love! In a year, you won't even be a student anymore. And
there isn't even that big of an age difference between the two of you."

My mouth was slightly open now. Lance clucked his tongue impatiently.

"Why do you care?" I managed to ask, still in slight shock by his outburst.

"Because, Holly," Lance started with a sigh. "You're my best friend. I care about
you a lot, in a friend way," he added quickly.

I laughed. "Yeah, we've been over that."

"Anyways, I want you to be happy. And if being with that teacher is what will make
you happy, I'm going to support it. Even if I don't like it. And if you say you
can't be with him, I'm going to force you to be with him because I know that's what
you want."

I suddenly felt like crying. My eyes were beginning to water, so I blinked rapidly
to keep any tears from spilling over. I swallowed a lump in my throat too.

Lance was too sweet. He cared about me far too much more than I deserved from him.
I wasn't nearly as kind to him.

Like the time I had left him all alone at the fair. And when he called to check up
on me when he was worried I had just blown him off pretty much.

I was the hugest asshole ever.

"Whoa. Holly, what's wrong?" Lance asked, leaning forward. "Why are you crying?"

I shook my head. "I'm not..."

How could Lance have figured out so many of my fears about liking Mr. Heywood so
quickly? I hadn't even mentioned anything about Mr. Heywood at all, and yet he
managed to figure out my deepest secret.

Even after all that I had done to him... he still wanted to help me.

I rubbed my eyes and than reached my hand across the table, grabbing Lance's. I
squeezed it and he returned the squeeze.

I swallowed the lump in my throat again and looked up at Lance. "Thank you, Lance."

"You're welcome," he responded, a warm smile on his face.

"You're the best friend anyone could ever have," I told him, giving him a watery
smile. "And I'm sorry for ditching you that time at the fair, and when you called
because you were worried. And-"

Lance laughed, cutting me off. "Holly, we are best friends. Not lovers. You're
making me feel like we are a couple that are making up after a huge fight."

I chuckled, pulling my hand away. "I guess you are right."

Lance nodded. "And since we are speaking of couples again, good luck with that
teacher."

"He has a name you know," I responded, frowning slightly.

"I don't like him for taking you away from me, so I won't call him by his name,"
Lance responded, rolling his eyes.
"Taking you from me?" I echoed.

"You know. If you two start dating or something, I'm sure you won't have time for
poor, old, Lance."

I shook my head frantically. "I'll always make time for you! And Casey!"

"You promise?"

"Promise!"

Lance laughed. "Good. And while you're at it, you can help me with something."

"Anything," I told him.

"You have to help me find a girlfriend, " Lance said with a wink.

I grinned. "Sounds good."

Lance returned my grin. I suddenly felt at ease. Like all my worries about liking
Mr. Heywood went away.

I could actually say I love him, and nothing in my mind made me want to deny it. I
could say it.

"I love Mr. Heywood," I said aloud.

Lance raised an eyebrow. "I know..."

"I love him!" I repeated, smiling. "I actually love him. Out of all people."
Lance pursed his lips. "Are you okay?"

I laughed and nodded. "I'm fine! After talking to you, it feels like a weight has
been lifted of me. It feels nice."

"Hmm, maybe I should become a counselor then..."

I froze, staring at Lance. Him? A counselor? I could imagine the poor person he was
counseling now. Lance would ask what was wrong, and the person would reply about
something in their life that was bad, and Lance would go, "Oh... Sucks to be you."

I snickered. It was so him. Lance raised an eyebrow.

"I hope you aren't imagining me as a counselor right now," he said in a slightly
offended voice.

"Nah," I lied, smiling again.

We finished our dinners and had a quick desert. The waiter bought the check and,
due to Lance's pestering, I ended up paying for dinner. He paid for the drinks.

"I thought this was supposed to be a date," I muttered as we exited the diner.

"It was supposed to be but you didn't think that at first, so it turned into a
regular dinner among friends," Lance responded.

"I would have preferred it to be a date if I knew I would have to pay for dinner if
it wasn't," I told him.

Lance laughed. "Sucks for you."

We rounded the corner to where the car was parked. Lance suddenly stopped and I ran
into his back. I rubbed my nose and looked around him to see what the problem was.
"Lance... where's the car?"

Lance looked at me, shock on his face. "We parked here, didn't we?"

I nodded. "Yeah, but where's the car?"

"I don't know! Holy shit. Did it get stolen?" Lance asked, his voice panicky.
"Shit, my mom is going to kill me!"

"How could of it have been stolen? There are tons of people around!" I reasoned
rationally. "Someone would have noticed. You have the keys, right?"

"Yeah I-"

"Hey!" a loud, disgruntled voice shouted from behind us.

I jumped, twisting around quickly to see who it was.

An old man in a black suit was walking towards us. Lance stepped in front of me in
a protective manner. I stared at him curiously.

"Yeah?" he called to the man.

"Are you the owner of the Subaru Outback?"

Lance nodded in response.

"Take a look at that sign behind you," the man ordered.

I turned to see the sign he was pointing to. In large, red letters were the words:
"No parking. Violators will be towed."

I heard Lance groan. I rolled my eyes. It was so like Lance to park in a no parking
spot.

"Lucky for you and your girl the towing place is only down the block," the man told
us, smirking slightly.

"Yeah," Lance muttered. "Let's go get it then."

I sighed, and started following behind Lance. We left the parking lot of the diner
and got onto the brightly lit street.

"Smart move," I commented, pulling my shirt tighter around me.

"Shut up," Lance responded, rolling his eyes. "You didn't see it either, smart
ass."

I scowled at him. "I wasn't the one driving."

"Only adds to my point," Lance said with smirk.

I sighed, letting the subject drop. We were close enough to the towing station. If
it had been a few miles, I would have been angry. But it was a nice night for a
walk anyways.

As we left the main street, it could considerably darker. Now the only light we had
were the streetlights that were spread very far apart. There were patches of dark
in-between each set of lights. I moved close to Lance, gripping the back of his
shirt.

"What's the matter? Scared?" he asked in a joking tone.

I scowled at him. "No."

"Sure."

We continued down the street in silence. I kept my eyes peeled. Mr. Heywood's
warning was back in my head again. I clutched Lance's shirt tighter. We were almost
at the station now.

A movement to my left caught my eye and I froze, staring at the place where I had
seen the motion. Lance stopped, looking over his shoulder at me curiously.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Did you see something move over there?" I whispered, pointing.

Lance scrunched his face up and watched the area for a few moments before
shrugging. "Nothing."

"You sure?"

"Paranoid much?" Lance laughed. "Come on, let's go."

He grabbed the collar of my shirt and pulled me in front of him. He began to push
me down the street in a forceful manner. I had to stay focused on my feet in order
to not lose my balance.

When I looked up again I realized we were at the towing station. Relief swept
through me. Mr. Heywood was just being silly. No one was going to attack me in the
middle of town.

Lance and I entered the towing station. There were only three people in there. A
man at the counter, that was on the phone, and two men in the corner, their backs
to use as the read papers posted on a billboard.

"You can wait here," Lance said, pointing to a chair by the door. "I'll get my car
issue settled."
I nodded and took a seat at the chair as Lance went to talk to the man at the
counter. The man at the counter held up a finger, signaling Lance to stay quiet
while he was on the phone. After a few moments the man hung up the phone and began
talking to Lance.

My gaze wandered to the two men in the counter. They book looked pretty young, and
buff. I smirked slightly. Was every buff these days? I glanced back at Lance. He
was average muscled, like Mr. Heywood. But both men were still very strong.

Lance turned to me with a frown. "Holly!"

I was still focused on the two men and didn't realize he was calling me.

"Oh look, it's Mr. Heywood!"

My head snapped in the direction of Lance. He grinned at me and I felt myself

blush.

"Do you have any money on you? I'm a few dollars short of-"

The rest of what he said, I didn't catch. I was too busy staring at the two men who
had now turned around and were looking at me.

My mouth went dry as I saw one of them smirk. He said something to the other guy,
and a flash of realization spread across his face. I quickly stood up, walking
towards Lance.

"Here," I said, quickly pulling a ten out of my pocket and giving it to the man.
"Keep the change."

"Alright, you're free to go then," the man said, taking the ten. "Your car is in
the back of the lot, by the dumpster."

I grabbed Lance's arm and began to quickly drag him out of the store.
I felt like I was going to be sick. My heart was pumping furiously and my hands
were sweaty and shaking. I pulled on Lance with urgency, trying to make him go
faster.

"What's the matter?" Lance asked, laughing slightly. "That guy wasn't that scary."

It wasn't the guy at the counter I was worried about. I looked over my shoulder and
saw the other two guys exiting the building, and heading towards us.

I pulled out my phone, starting a new text message. I quickly tapped away at my
phone, my hand shaking, making it hard to click on the right letters. When I
finished I closed my phone, sticking it in my pocket.

I looked over my shoulder again. The two men were still there.

The same two guys that Mr. Heywood had beat up at the fair.

____________________________________

I bet just about all of you were expecting that!

When I was reading the comments, I couldn't stop laughing. Ever since one of you
said that maybe Mr. Heywood was behind her, the most of the rest of you were like
"maybe he's behind her!" after that. Or "maybe there's a thug!"

I LOVE when people try to guess what's going to happen next. Because I can either
a) go along with it , or b) make it not happen and be amused.

Not in a jerk-ish way lol :) But I have a feeling a lot of you wanted that to
happen, so I'm sorry. But that's not what I wanted to happen :O

ANWAYS. Join my facebook page!

Click "Open External Link" at the right >>>>>>

*******************************************
[21] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 20
*******************************************
The two thugs were a few hundred feet behind us. I figured if Lance and I kept a
brisk pace, we would be able to make it to the car before they caught up with us.
And once we were in the car we could lock the doors and I could call the cops. Or
Mr. Heywood.
But I still was extremely paranoid. I wanted to get to the car as quickly as
possible.

"Hurry up, Lance," I begged, out of breath. "Please."

"What's wrong?" Lance asked, serious now. "Holly?"

I glanced at Lance, who looked extremely worried. He glanced over his shoulder and
a surprised look passed over his face. I followed his gaze and saw the two men now
running towards us.

"Run!" I screamed, grabbing Lance's hand and bolting down the aisle of cars.

Lance stumbled after me, looking behind him. Eventually he faced the front again,
sprinting by my side.

"What's wrong? Who are they?"

"I'll explain later, we just need to get away as soon as possible-"

I stopped abruptly, making Lance knock into me, sending me sprawling onto the
ground. I landed hard and smacked my head against the hard dirt. I groaned, and
pushed myself off the ground.

When I looked up I came face-to-face with two more men, but these two were
unfamiliar.

"Hey, let go of me!" I heard Lance demand.

My head snapped towards him and I saw the two thugs from before holding onto his
arms tightly.

"Let him go!" I demanded. "He doesn't have anything to do with this!"

"He knows Chris." I noticed the man who was holding me, was the man I had punched
in the face back in the woods at the fair responded. "That's enough reason."

A pair of rough hands on my shoulder yanked me from the ground and forced me to my
feet. I broke out from under them and ran towards Lance, only to be tackled down
from behind.

I groaned in frustration when my head once again slammed down on the hard dirt. I
really needed to think before I acted.

"You're a feisty one, huh," the man pinning me down commented. "I've heard a lot
about you."

"Get off her!" I heard Lance shout. "Who are you guys?"

"Shut up," one of the other men responded to him.

"No! You're hurting her!"

I heard the sound of a fist being slammed into a gut and someone groaned. My heart
skipped a beat.

"I hope you think before you talk now," the same man who had spoke before said.
The man pinning me to the ground rolled off me and there was a pressure on my back
and I winced, hearing the scuffing off dirt. When the man was finally standing up,
he grabbed my hair and forced me to my feet.

"You take the girl and I'll take the British brat, Dan," the one holding me
offered.

"Good idea, Jack."

So the person I had punched before was named Dan. Good to know.

"I think she owes me an apology anyways," Dan continued, gesturing Jack closer to
him.

I was forced into Dan's arms as Lance was shoved to Jack. Before Dan had a good
grasp on me, Lance suddenly swung his fist, hitting Dan squarely in the face. With
his other hand, Lance quickly brought his fist into Jack's face. Jack fell to the
ground and didn't move.

I blinked in amazement. I didn't know Lance could fight.

"Holly! Behind you!" Lance shouted, his eyes widening slightly in surprise.

I twisted my body around, only to see a fist coming straight at me. I gasped,
twisting again to avoid it. Dan scowled at me, his arm outstretched. Before I knew
what I was doing, I kicked him where the sun didn't shine.

Dan groaned and hunched over. Lance immediately grabbed my wrist, squeezing it
painfully. I gasped as Lance pulled me away from Jack and Dan. I stumbled over my
own feet, but managed to quickly gain my balance.

Lance ran forward, and suddenly I was tugged backwards. I cried out from the pain
of my wrist being yanked back while Lance was still trying to pull it forward.
Lance paused and turned back with scowl.

"Behind you!" I gasped, pointing at one of the unfamiliar men who suddenly appeared
behind Lance.

Lance let go of my wrist, and twisting on his heel, brought his fist flying into
the other man's face. I watched in amazement, until I realized the other man from
the fair still had a grip on me.

I felt him pull on my hair and I twisted my head, biting his arm. He cried out in
shock and ripped his arm away from my face, releasing my hair. I noticed a pile of
tires behind the man, so I shoved him in the chest with all the force I could
muster. Luckily, it was enough to make him take a few steps back, and he topped
over the tire.

I felt Lance's hand at my wrist again.

"Run!"

Together we booked down the aisle of cars again. I could see Lance's car now. It
was only about twenty more cars down. And I didn't hear any footsteps behind us. We
could make it!

We were ten cars away when suddenly a bat came swinging out of nowhere. I watched
in horror as it made contact with Lance's head. I screamed as Lance crumpled to the
ground instantly.
"Lance!" I screamed, dropping to my knees beside him.

He didn't reply. I grabbed his arm and lifted it up. When I let go it fell to the
ground limply.

Tears sprung to my eyes. "Lance! Wake up!"

"He's out cold, girly."

I looked up and saw Dan hovering over me, a smirk on his face. A baseball bat was
resting across his shoulders. I glared at him angrily.

"What did you do?" I cried, clenching my fists.

"Just making sure there were distractions," he told me. "That guy was in the way."

"He's my best friend!" I shouted, now pushing myself to my feet. "I'm going to kill
you!"

Dan laughed. "Okay."

He suddenly reached out and grabbed the front of my shirt, pulling me closer to
him. I cringed at the proximity of us. I could smell his deodorant and cologne. He
lowered his head down.

"I believe I still owe you from last time..."

I was about to ask him what he was talking about, when his fist struck the side of
my head. I stumbled backwards from the force. I raised a hand to my cheek, which
throbbed painfully. Shock was written all over my face.

He had just hit a girl! Had this guy no sense of manners? Who hit girls? Before I
could answer my own questions, I was struck again, in the same spot.

I cried out, stumbling backwards, hitting a car and falling onto the hood. Dan
appeared before me. He rested his hand on my stomach, making sure I couldn't move.

"How does it feel to be punched?"

"I punched you once," I responded, shoving his hand off my stomach. "That's not
fair."

Dan narrowed his eyes. "You don't realize you are dealing with a gang here, do you?
There's nothing 'fair' about this. But you also kicked me..."

"Ugh."

Both Dan's and my own attention snapped to Lance, who was pushing himself up into a
sitting position. Relief washed through me. He was okay!

"Do I have to bash him over the head again?" Dan groaned, turning around.

I seized the opportunity to take advantage of him. I grabbed the baseball bat from
his shoulders and easily slid it out of his grasp. He turned in surprise and
without any hesitation I struck him in the head.

He tottered on his feet for a second, but didn't pass out. I stared in horror as he
scowled at me.
What had I just done? I changed my gaze of horror from him to the bat. Had I really
just hit him in the head with a bat?"

"You," the man growled.

It was either fight. Or be harmed.

I swung the bat back for a second hit but he quickly grabbed my forearm, twisting
it painfully.

I cried out, my fingers straightening from the pain. The bat fell to the ground.

"You just keep digging yourself a deeper grave, don't you?" Dan growled, still
twisting my wrist.

"Stop," I begged, trying to twist my body with my wrist so it wouldn't snap. "Oh my
God, please, stop!"

Dan stopped, dropping my wrist. I breathed a sigh of relief until I realized he had
picked up the baseball bat. He raised it high above his head. I froze, staring at
him with my mouth wide open. He wouldn't... would he?

My question was answered when he suddenly swung the bat down. I raised my arms to
cover my head. There was the sickening sound of wood hitting bone, but no pain.

My eyes shot open to see a tan, muscled arm stopping the bat, inches from my head.

"Sorry I'm late," a smooth voice apologized.

I watched as the arm blocking the bat from me, turned. The hand attached to the arm
gripped the bat, yanking it from Dan's hand.

Dan had an expression of mixed fear and anger on. I knew who was behind me. The bat
was pulled over my head and I was suddenly shoved to the left. I kept my balance,
staggering only for a moment.

I ignored the cry of pain behind me and made for Lance, who was now leaning against
a car, holding his head. After a step, I was overcome with dizziness. I swayed for
a moment, before fixing myself and continuing over to Lance.

"Are you okay?" I asked in a breathless whisper.

Lance looked up at me and winced slightly. "Ow. I'm okay. What the hell is
happening, Holly? Who the hell-"

"Save the questions for later," I ordered, my head throbbing from just talking. "I
really don't feel like explaining anything right now."

There was silence from behind us now and I heard footsteps approaching. Lance
looked behind me and his expression became so shocked I whipped around quickly,
expecting to see one of the thugs.

Mr. Heywood stood there, the sleeves to his black shirt pushed up. He held the bat,
and his face was emotionless, his mouth a flat line. He lowered the bat, coming up
to me and placing a hand on my cheek.

"Ow!" I cried, pulling back and raising a hand to my cheek.

I touched it gingerly. It throbbed angrily. I frowned. That would really hurt in
the morning.

Mr. Heywood looked behind me. "Are you okay, Lance?"

"You," Lance growled. "Do you have something to do with this? Why were those men
after Holly! Where are the other three guys?"

"I've already taken care of them," Mr. Heywood responded simply. "As for your other
questions, it's up to Holly to let you know or not."

My head throbbed painfully and I staggered forwards. I clutched it, putting as much
pressure on it as I could without hurting it too much. The pounding continued and I
fought to keep myself straight.

"What's wrong?" Lance asked worriedly.

"Nothing," I told him, my voice constricted with pain. "My head just really hurts."

"Give me your car keys, Lance," I heard Mr. Heywood order.

I heard Lance grumble, but after a second I heard the jingle of keys. Then suddenly
I was swooped off my feet. My surprise from the motion made the pain go away for a
minute.

"I can walk fine," I muttered, keeping my head down to make sure no one could see
my blush.

"Shut up and let me carry you," Mr. Heywood responded, rolling his eyes.

I kept my mouth shut, frowning slightly. It was awkward. Mr. Heywood was carrying
me princess-style and Lance was right there. He wagged his eyebrows at me.

That's when I noticed the large bruise on the top of his head, which was bleeding
slightly. I gasped, my eyes widening slightly.

"Lance! You're head!" I cried, staring at it dismay.

Lance shrugged. "I'm sure it looks worse than it is. See?"

Lance shook his head, but his face constricted in pain, giving away his façade. I
frowned at him and he sighed.

We got to the car and Mr. Heywood put me down in the back seat. To my embarrassment
he reached over and buckled me.

"I can do that by myself," I told him, blushing from his proximity.

"I know," Mr. Heywood responded.

I swear I saw him smirking before he pulled himself out of the car and shut the
door. Lance got into the passenger's seat and Mr. Heywood got into the drivers. He
started the car and pulled out of the lot.

"Where are we going?" I heard Lance ask.

"My house," Mr. Heywood responded, looking in his rearview mirror at me. "We have a
lot to talk about."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Woo~ So I haven't thanked you guys for being so supportive in awhile, so here it
is, THANK YOU <3 I loooove reading all the comments you guys leave me :D And I
literally read everyone. I sit in front of my computer, going through my e-mail (I
use the e-mail alerts to read them) and just grin, and laugh sometimes. It's fun :D
So yeah thank you soooo much!!!

Now now, we all know this. But if you click "open external link" to the right, you
get to my facebook fanpage! WOO! Join if you haven't ;D

*******************************************
[22] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 21
*******************************************
"Ow," I hissed, trying to pull away from Mr. Heywood's grasp. "Stop it! That
hurts!"

Mr. Heywood sighed for the umpteenth time. "I need to disinfect the cuts, Holly."

"Yeah, stop being a baby," Lance called from the couch.

I turned to scowl at him. "You made more of a fuss then I did!"

He blushed slightly and looked away from me with a huff. When he did, I saw the
bandaged wrapped around his head. I felt guilty immediately.

Mr. Heywood forced my head back to the front. I immediately locked gazes with him.
His gaze was so piercing it made me embarrassed and I had to look down at the
floor.

Mr. Heywood continued to gently clean my cuts with disinfectant and cotton balls.
Every now and then I'd hiss in pain, but Mr. Heywood's constant, regular breathing
kept me calm.

After what felt like forever to me, but in reality was actually only five minutes,
he was done. He placed two band-aids on the biggest cuts, and left the rest alone.

"You know, if you weren't clumsy, you wouldn't have any cuts," Mr. Heywood informed
me, a smirk playing at his lips.
"Shut up," I muttered, turning pink. "The only reason I fell was because Lance
threw me off balance the first time. And the second time I was tackled down
football style, so I don't think this was my fault."

Mr. Heywood sighed. "I'm sorry. I knew something was going to happen. I should have
stayed closer."

I shook my head. "I didn't expect to have to leave the diner. We had parked right
next to it."

"But Holly didn't see the no parking sign," Lance added.

I snatched the box of band-aids from Mr. Heywood's hands and chucked them at Lance.
They hit him in the bandaged area and I heard him suppress a groan of pain.

"But still," Mr. Heywood continued. "I got you into this mess. The least I could do
is protect you from getting hurt, and I couldn't even do that. What's worse is that
I dragged another person into it. And it's another teenager on top of that."

I placed my right hand on Mr. Heywood's shoulder. He looked at me flatly.

"I hate this. I hate how I was dragged into this. I hate how Lance was dragged into
this. I hate being injured. I hate everything about gangs and wish I was never
involved with them."

Mr. Heywood blinked, looking surprised. He opened his mouth to speak, but I cut him
off.

"But since it's too late for all that, all I can do is do my best to stay safe,
keep you safe, and now keep Lance safe. I don't want to see anyone else get hurt."

Lance snorted. "Save the soap opera stuff."

I scowled, looking for something else to chuck. Mr. Heywood chuckled, patting my
head.
"You're a good girl, Holly."

I half-smiled. "But why do they hate you so much? So much that they even go after
one of your students?"

Mr. Heywood smirked. "Remember? I told you I did something bad. And I left the
gang, which just makes it worse."

"But what did you do?"

Mr. Heywood shrugged. "Who knows?"

"Chris."

Mr. Heywood raised his eyebrows. "You remembered to call me Chris!"

"Don't change the subject!"

"Lance," Mr. Heywood said, turning to look at him. "Are you ready to hear my tragic
story of woe?"

Lance rolled his eyes. "It better be good. Otherwise I'm going to beat the shit out
of you for dragging Holly into something so dangerous."

"Lance!" I cried, half shocked, half amused.

Mr. Heywood chuckled. "Trust me, I'll let you beat me up anyways."

"Right. Now explain to me from the beginning. Everything."

Mr. Heywood sighed and began to explain. I already knew the story, so I went into
the kitchen, aiming for something to drink. After a few minutes of fruitless
searching I returned to the living room, empty-handed.

Mr. Heywood glanced at me, pausing in his story. "Need something?"

"I'm thirsty."

Mr. Heywood chuckled. "Sorry, I haven't been to the grocery store lately.
There's some change on the counter. Grab that and go down to the vending machine."

I opened my mouth to refuse, but Mr. Heywood's look gave me the impression
that I wasn't allowed to say no. I turned on my heel went to the counter, swiping
the change off of it and clenching it in my hand.

"I'll be back then..."

Lance grunted in reply and I couldn't help an amused smile from slipping onto
my face.

I exited into the apartment hallway and headed left. It took me a moment to
realize I didn't even know where vending machines here, let alone where they were.
I hesitated before continuing down the hallway.

What kind of fancy apartment was this to have vending machines? I furrowed my
brow, but continued until I made it to the stairwell. There weren't any vending
machines in sight. I frowned, and went down to the first floor.

There were three doors now. I peeked through one, which seemed to lead to the
parking lot. The other lead to another hallway, and the last led to a room with the
vending machines in it.

I went in and made a beeline straight for the machine. I popped in the coins
and pressed the button for a coke. It dropped down, and I bent down to pick it up,
immediately pressing it to my sore cheek.

I let out a sigh of pleasure. Oh the wonders cold drinks could do for wounds.
 Suddenly, there was a pair of hands on my shoulders. I jumped, letting out a
strangled cry, and knocking my can of soda against my cheek, making me hiss in
pain. I struggled to get free of however had a grip on my shoulders.

When they finally let go I turned to see a very tall, young man with messy
blonde hair grinning at me. I stared at him curiously for a moment. Why did he look
so familiar?

"Holly? You remember me?"

"Umm..." I hesitated.

The blonde frowned in mock disappointment. "I'm slightly offended that you
don't remember me..."

I bit my lip, quickly thinking. Who was this man? I know I had met him
before, but I couldn't remember where. But he wasn't an enemy... maybe one of Mr.
Heywood's friends...

"Jeremy!" I said suddenly as the name popped into my head.

Jeremy's expression brightened, and he nodded, a grin back on his face. "You
do remember me!"

"Yep," I responded, smiling slightly.

"Are you going back to Chris's apartment?" Jeremy asked me, surveying me with
his eyes.

I looked away from his gaze and nodded.

"Me too! I'll accompany you!"

 I nodded, and together we set off back to the stairwell and towards Mr.
Heywood's apartment.

"So... how are you?" I asked, trying to be polite.

"I'm great! I'd ask you how you are, but it looks like you're a little down
for the count."

I chuckled. "You could say that..."

We started climbing the stairs to the second floor. Jeremy held open the door
that led to the hallway for me. I nodded in thanks.

Jeremy studied me seriously. "Were you attacked?"

I nodded.

"Where's Chris?"

"Back in his apartment with Lance."

"Lance?" Jeremy repeated.

I took a deep breath. "Long story-"

I was interrupted by a loud crash from down hallway. Jeremy and I exchanged
startled looks. Muffled yelling could be heard now, and I sprinted the last steps
to Mr. Heywood's apartment.

I burst through the door, surveying the place quickly.

I caught sight of Lance and Mr. Heywood just in time to see Lance punch Mr.
Heywood in the face. I gasped, running towards Lance.
 "You stupid bastard!" Lance shouted, bringing back his fist again

Mr. Heywood stood there, making no indication that he was hurt, and also not
even attempting to protect himself.

"Lance!" I cried, attempting to stop Lance from punching Mr. Heywood.

"Lance!"

Lance ripped his arm from my grasp roughly, making me fall forwards. Mr.
Heywood put out his arm to steady me. Lance attempted to shove Mr. Heywood's arm
away and steady me instead, but only managed to knock his hand into my bad cheek.

I groaned in pain, falling over the two of them anyways. Mr. Heywood managed
to stop me from falling completely. He effortlessly placed me upright on my feet
again. I rubbed my lip gently, glaring at Lance. He looked back at me guiltily.

"Holly, I'm sorr-"

"What are you doing?" I demanded. "You can't punch a teacher, Lance!"

"Holly, it's okay," Mr. Heywood cut in. "I deserved it."

I twirled around, staring at him in shock. "How did you deserve it?"

"For making you involved with those gangsters!" Lance responded, glaring
angrily at Mr. Heywood. "I didn't know they were after you precisely, let alone
that it was this asshole's fault!"

"Lance," I reprimanded sharply. "Watch your mouth. And it's not completely
his fault!"

Mr. Heywood sighed, shaking his head. My heart was pounding so hard I swore
people ten miles away could hear it. My hands shook, and my breaths came short,
quick and quivering.
 "You could get her killed!" Lance accused, crossing his arms.

"I know the consequences well, Mr. Greyson," Mr. Heywood snapped, returning
the glare.

"It's not his fault!" I repeated, turning to glare at Lance. "I'm the one
that followed him the night at the fair!"

Lance's eyes widened slightly. "The fair?"

I quickly shut my mouth, blushing. That was right. I hadn't told Lance about
that incident!

"What do you mean, Holly?" he demanded.

"I got Holly caught up in a fight," Mr. Heywood told him before I could think
of any excuses.

I opened my mouth to protest, but Lance pushed me out of the way, after Mr.
Heywood again. I stumbled backwards, and a different pair of arms steadied me this
time. I turned to see Jeremy frowning at the pair in front of him with a sober
face.

I turned to them as well now. Mr. Heywood had Lance's arms locked behind his
back. Lance scowled and tried to pull himself free, but it was to no avail.

"You need to calm down," Mr. Heywood ordered.

"Like hell I'll calm down! You put Holly in danger!"

"I put myself in danger!" I told him exasperated. "Don't listen to Mr.
Heywood! He's lying!"
 "Holly," Mr. Heywood said sharply.

"Just stop fighting," I begged, my eye beginning to water. "Please..."

Mr. Heywood's gaze softened and he released Lance, whose expression had
softened as well.

"I want to go home," I told the pair.

"I'll bring you," Mr. Heywood offered immediately. "It's too late to walk."

I shook my head. "No."

Mr. Heywood looked at me in surprise. "I'm not letting you go myself."

"I'll go with her," Lance interjected, scowling at Mr. Heywood.

I shook my head again. "I don't want to go with you either, Lance."

Lance's expression now matched Mr. Heywood's again.

"You're not going alone," the both warned together.

"Oi," Jeremy cut in. "I'll take her."

Mr. Heywood's attention snapped to the man behind me. "When did you get
here?"

"Who's he?" Lance demanded.

 I groaned, holding my head. "Enough questions! I want to go home."

Jeremy put a hand on my shoulder. "Trust me, I'll get her home safely."

Mr. Heywood narrowed his eyes slightly. "You better."

Jeremy chuckled. "Unlike you, I'm not interested in high school girls."

I glanced at Mr. Heywood, who stared at Jeremy, looking stunned. Jeremy

smirked, and I couldn't help a small smirk slipping onto my lips as well. It was
impossible Mr. Heywood felt that way, but it was still amusing to see that
expression on his face.

YAY! I made it today! I'm so proud of myself!

Anyway, this chapter is slightly confusing. I'll try to explain it more in the next
chapter. The characters are a little OOC, but what can you do.

I have a feeling you guys will really like Jeremy's character ;D

Until next time! Join my FB page :D click open external link at the right~
*******************************************
[23] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 22
*******************************************
"Holly, what happened to you?"

I winced at Casey's loud outburst. "Why are you shouting so early in the morning?"

"You're face," Casey commented, touching her own cheek to show me what she meant.

"I fell down the stairs," I mumbled, avoiding her gaze.

Casey laughed. "You're so clumsy."

I forced out a laugh too, even though guilt was washing through me. I was lying to
my best friend. And she easily believed me- proof of how much she trusted me.

My shoulder's sagged. I was an awful person.

Casey must have noticed my bad mood. She jabbed me in the side. "Well let's get to
school! I'm sure whatever reason you are upset about won't matter when you see Mr.
Heywood!"

I grimaced. Casey didn't know he was part of the reason of my bad attitude.

It had only been one day since the fight had gone down between Mr. Heywood and
Lance. I hadn't gone to school yesterday, hoping to have my injuries heal a little
more before returning, and apparently Lance had the same idea.

I was still angry with him, there was no doubt about that. He had punched Mr.
Heywood in the face for no reason! That wasn't acceptable at all.

But Lance was just worried about you, another part of me told myself.

I held in a sigh. I was right. Lance was just worried. It's not like he punched Mr.
Heywood for no reason. But still...

"Holly, Holly, space to Holly!" Casey said, waving her hand in front of me. "Did
you hear anything I just said?"

I snapped my attention onto her, smiling sheepishly. "No, sorry. What did you say?"

"I said it was weird how you, Lance, and Mr. Heywood were all absent yesterday,"
she told me.

"Mr. Heywood was out?" I repeated.

Casey nodded. "Yeah, we had a substitute."

I frowned slightly. Did Mr. Heywood skip? Or did he suddenly get sick over night?
Did something happen?

I suddenly felt sick with worry. I tried to shake it away. I was just being
paranoid. Mr. Heywood was fine.

When we arrived at the school, Lance was waiting by the gates, his arms crossed.
When he noticed Casey and me, he pushed himself off the wall and came towards us.
Casey let out a little gasp and hurried forwards.

"What happened to you?" she cried, her eyes wide. "That's a horrible bruise!"

Lance raised a hand to his face and shrugged. "I fell down the stairs."

Casey whipped her head towards me, and I quickly threw on a shocked expression.

"Holly did too!"

Lance raised his eyebrows at me, an amused smirk appearing on his face. "Is that
so?"

I nodded, giving him a quick smile, then looking away. Casey looked suspiciously
between us.

"Huh."
I gave Casey a questioningly look. She returned it.

"Did you two have a fight?"

My heart skipped a beat. How could Casey have figured that out already?

"No," I said quickly, waving my hand. "Why would we-"

"We did have a fight," Lance cut in with a sigh.

Casey's eyes widened in surprise. "You did?"

Lance nodded. "Yes, and I'd like to talk to her in private about it."

Casey shot me a look. I returned it with a please-don't-leave-me-here-alone one.

She smirked and held up her hand.

"Say no more," she told Lance. "I'll just go over here for a bit..."

I frowned as Casey began to saunter away towards the large oak tree that was on the
other side of the gate entrance. Lance turned to me with a frown. I kept my face
expressionless.

What was there to talk about? I knew I had to apologize, but what did Lance have to
say? Was he going to scold me more for getting into this gang problem? It wasn't
like it was my fault... I grimaced. Well, it was partially my fault.

Lance took a deep breath. "Holly."

I watched him carefully. "Yes?"

"I'm sorry," he muttered, casting his eyes down.

My eyes widened and I stared at him, my mouth hanging open slightly. Why was he
apologizing? What did he have to apologize for?

"For what?" I forced out.

Lance shifted uncomfortably. "I yelled at you a lot yesterday... I don't want you
to be angry."

I blinked, my face expressionless. "You think I was angry because you yelled at
me?"

Lance gave me a confused look. "Aren't you?"

I returned Lance's look with my own exasperated one. "No! Are you stupid? I could
care less about that!"

"Then what?"

"Lance, you punched the guy I... you know," I muttered, my face heating up.

"Oh," Lance responded, frowning again.

"Not to mention, this isn't all his fault!" I continued quickly. "I don't know what
he told you, but I'm sure he blamed everything on himself, which isn't true at all!
And I'm not angry with you Lance, I was actually going to apologize too."
"You were?" Lance responded, raising any eyebrow.

I nodded. "I know you only got angry because you were worried about me... and I was
a jerk about it."

Lance laughed. "Holly, don't worry about it. I kind of understand."

I gave him a questioning look. "Understand what?"

"If I was in Mr. Heywood's position, I would also take the blame onto myself. And I
guess it was a little out of line to actually punch him... so sorry about that
too."

"You need to apologize to Mr. Heywood about that, before I forgive you," I told
Lance, crossing my arms.

Lance's eyes nearly bulged out of his sockets. "There is no way in hell that I will
ever apologize to him!"

"Then you're apology to me won't be accepted," I responded stubbornly.

Lance scowled. "Why can't you just accept it?"

"Because I'm not the one you punched!"

"But-"

"No buts," I said quickly. "You will apologize for punching him. He could press
charges you know."

Lance scowled. "I know."

"Make sure you apologize to him."

Lance rolled his eyes. "If I do that, are we good? No hard feelings?"

I laughed, lightly punching Lance on his shoulder. "Lance, we are best friends. If
there were 'hard feelings' over something like this, I'd be worried about our
friendship."

Lance grinned. "That's true. And what would you do without a handsome man with a
sexy British accent around?"

"Tell Mr. Heywood to talk in a British accent all the time," I responded, smirking.

Lance shook his head. "I think I liked it better when I wasn't positive that you
liked him."

"Wait," I started, staring at Lance. "You said you already knew when you told me to
admit it."

Lance snorted. "How am I supposed to know, Holly? You didn't tell me anything!"

I stared at him, my mouth open in shock. "So you lied?"

"I got you to admit it, didn't I?" Lance responded with a smirk.

"But still-"
"Mr. Heywood! What happened?" I heard Casey cry.

Lance looked over my shoulder, an amused expression on his face. I quickly turned
around to see Casey staring at Mr. Heywood in shock. A noticeable bruise on his
cheek caught my attention quickly.

I quickly shot Lance an annoyed look. He covered his mouth, trying not to laugh.

"I fell down the stairs," I heard Mr. Heywood tell Casey.

Casey's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. She quickly looked over and Lance
and myself, gesturing with her hands frantically. She pointed at Mr. Heywood, then
her cheek, and made some more frantic gestures.

I tried to hold in my laugh, but Casey's face made it impossible. I burst out
laughing, turning away from the pair.

Casey came over to us, Mr. Heywood trailing behind her.

"Did you hear that? Mr. Heywood fell down the stairs too!" Casey told me, her eyes
still wide.

I cleared my throat, glancing at Mr. Heywood, who was staring at me questioningly.

"What a coincidence," I responded, faking shock.

"And you all have bruises on your cheeks..."

For one panic-stricken moment, I thought I saw suspicion flash across Casey's face,
but before I was positive, it was gone. I relaxed slightly. There was no way she
could figure out what happened.

That thought brought guilt back to my gut. We were all now lying to Casey. Even if
it was for her own good, I felt awful about it. She had been my best friend for so
long... I shook my head. I'd rather lie to her and have her safe, than tell her the
truth and put her in danger.

"I'm going to class," I heard Lance mutter.

I jumped, momentarily forgetting he was there. I turned to see him with an

irritated expression on his face. I frowned slightly.

Lance looked at me for a second, his eyes narrowed. Then he turned to Mr. Heywood.

"You," Lance started, getting Mr. Heywood's attention.

"Yes?" Mr. Heywood responded politely.

"Sorry about yesterday," Lance apologized, his voice hard and strained.

Shock passed across Mr. Heywood's face. Lance turned and started hurrying towards
the school building. Mr. Heywood turned to me, his eyebrows raised.

"What was that about?" Casey asked, looking after Lance.

"Yesterday, he knocked into me at the grocery and store and I dropped everything.
It wasn't a very big deal," Mr. Heywood lied smoothly, smiling at Casey.
"Oh, I see," Casey responded, tapping her chin.

"Casey!" a familiar voice called suddenly.

I looked up to see Willis hurrying towards Casey. She grinned and waved.

"Hey!" she called back.

"Casey," Willis panted again when he was closer. "I have to show you something!
Come here!"

Casey grinned at Willis, shaking her head. Then she turned back to Mr. Heywood and
myself. "Apparently I have to go see something, so I'll see you two later."

Before I could say anything, Willis grabbed Casey's hand and started dragging her
away, leaving me alone with Mr. Heywood.

I did my best to avoid his gaze, staring at the ground as hard as I could. I could
feel his eyes on me, but I refused to look up.

What was I supposed to say? Should I apologize? Should I be mad? I didn't know. I
wanted to be mad. He had put all the blame on himself. But being mad about that
made me feel like a jerk. He was only trying to help me.

I sigh slipped out of my mouth. I quickly covered my mouth, blushing.

"Holly, look at me."

Involuntarily, my head whipped up to look at him. He was frowning at me. I slowly

frowned back.

"I see you got home safely," Mr. Heywood commented.

I raised my eyebrows. That was the last thing I had expected Mr. Heywood to say
just then. I couldn't help a smile from slipping onto my mouth.

"Yeah, Jeremy's a nice guy," I told him.

Mr. Heywood nodded. "I agree..."

There was an awkward silence again. I adverted my gaze from Mr. Heywood again.

"Holly, are you mad at me?"

I quickly looked at Mr. Heywood again, cringing as my neck cricked. I rubbed it,
muttering a colorful word.

Mr. Heywood watched me with an amused look.

"I'm not mad," I told him.

He looked relieved. "Good-"

"I'm irritated."

Mr. Heywood frowned. "Why?"

"Because! You put all the blame on yourself, Mr. Heywood!" I responded, clenching
my fist. "That's what caused Lance to punch you! You should have just said that it
was my fault too!"

Mr. Heywood rolled his eyes. "Holly, get over yourself."

I stared at him in shock, my face reddening. "Get over myself?"

Mr. Heywood nodded, putting a hand on my head. He ruffled his head. "You're a good
girl."

I stared at Mr. Heywood in confusion. He wasn't making any sense at all! Mr.
Heywood chuckled at my expression.

"Make sure you don't have any plans after school for awhile," he told me, changing
the subject.

I was about to tell him not to change the subject, but I dropped it.

"Why?"

"You've got a lot of work ahead for you if you don't want me to press charges on
Lance."

Mr. Heywood smirked, ruffling my hair once more. I stared at him, stupefied. Before
I could say anything, he turned and began walking towards the school building.

I scowled. That stupid, blackmailing, devil of a teacher.

_____________________

Join my facebook page~

Click open external link to the right (Y)

*******************************************
[24] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 23
*******************************************
"Mr. Heywood? I'm coming in," I called through the closed biology room door.

I opened it slowly, peering in. Mr. Heywood was nowhere to be seen. I frowned
slightly, walking further into the room.

"Mr. Heywood?"

No response.

I walked towards the supply room. I reached out and grabbed the door handle
slowly, pulling the door open. Suddenly a hand shot out grabbing my arm and pulling
me into the supply room. The door was shut behind me quickly, and I felt myself
being pushed against it.
 I looked at Mr. Heywood in surprise, my heart pounding heavily. "Y-you scared
the crap out of me!"

He chuckled smoothly, his hands on either side of me. "Sorry to surprise

you."

I nodded, and blushed, now realizing how close to me he was. He was barely a
foot away. He smirked when he noticed my blush. He leaned in closer to me.

"I love it when you blush," he whispered, his lips at my ear. "It's very
cute."

I caught my breath, my eyes widening. "Mr. Heywood, are you feeling okay?"

He chuckled, pulling his head away slightly. His eyes smoldered.

"I don't know," he admitted. "Lately I've been getting these urges..."

"What kind of urges?" I asked him quietly, my mouth dry.

"It'd be easier to show you than tell you," he responded, a smirk playing at
his lips.

"How can you show me?" I asked; my eyes glued to his.

"Like this," he responded, leaning closer.

He gently pressed his lips against my neck, making me freeze. My eyes

widened. What was he doing?

He slowly kissed up my neck, to my jaw line. He followed that along to the

base of my ear and placed a kiss in the hollow beneath it. I shuddered, breathing
out in a rush, and turning my head.
 "Look at me, Holly," he ordered.

I turned my head back again, staring into his eyes once more. He smirked as
he leaned closer once more. His face was only inches away, a few more inches and-

"Ms. Evers... Ms. Evers, are you paying attention? Ms. Evers, wake up!"

I quickly sat up, looking around the room alertly. Mr. Heywood was standing
in front of my desk, an amused smirk on his face.

"Is my class so boring you feel the need to sleep in it, Ms. Evers?"

A few girls in the class giggled, and I blushed.

"S-sorry," I muttered, looking down at the floor.

Mr. Heywood laughed and I felt him put a hand on my shoulder. "It's fine,
just don't do it again."

My face grew hotter as I remembered what I had been dreaming about. I stared
at the floor, shaking my head in disbelief. This had been the first dream I had of
Mr. Heywood. It was so embarrassing.

"We're on page 234, Ms. Evers," Mr. Heywood told me, before going back to the
front of the classroom.

I quickly flipped my book a few pages, still blushing slightly. It was weird
hearing Mr. Heywood call me by Ms. Evers. I remembered he used to do that, but he
had suddenly switched to calling me Holly... I frowned slightly. When had he
started calling me by my first name? I couldn't remember.

Class passed by quickly, and Mr. Heywood let us pack up ten minutes before
the bell. I watched him curiously, wondering why he let the class off so early.
 "Remember," Mr. Heywood started, gathering the class's attention, "the field
trip forms are due this Thursday if you want to go on the over night beach trip
Saturday. Make sure you get your parent or guardian to sign it for you. You don't
want to miss out."

"Beach trip?" I repeated, furrowing my eyebrows in confusion.

"I don't know what he's talking about either," a voice commented from beside
me, sounding confused.

I jumped slightly and turned around to see Lance towering over me. He
grinned.

"Have a nice nap?"

"Shut up," I muttered.

"Are you going to be going?" a girl named Vanessa suddenly spoke up,
directing her question towards Mr. Heywood.

Mr. Heywood smiled at her and shook his head. "No, only a limited amount of
chaperones could go, and other teachers wanted to go more than me, so I let them."

My heart sank slightly. Mr. Heywood wouldn't be going to the beach? It

wouldn't be as fun without him...

I mentally slapped myself. What was I thinking? It didn't matter if Mr.

Heywood went to the beach or not. If I went on the trip, it'd be to have fun with
my friends, not about hanging out Mr. Heywood.

"It won't be as fun without you," Vanessa complained.

Mr. Heywood smiled slightly. "I'm sure it will be the same even if I don't
go."
 "No!" Vanessa responded, pouting.

I grimaced in annoyance. If Mr. Heywood did go, girls would surround him
anyway.

The bell rang and I quickly closed my biology book, stuffing it into my
backpack.

"I'm not waiting," Lance informed me, and started walking away.

"You never do," I responded, rolling my eyes.

I hitched my backpack over my shoulder, making for the exit. I was the last one to
leave, but before I reached the door, Mr. Heywood stopped me.

"Holly," he started, making me freeze.

Images of my dream came bursting into my head and I had to quickly shake them away,
my cheeks faintly heating up.

I turned slowly, offering him a smile. "Yes, Chris?"

He raised an eyebrow. "We're in school, Holly. Don't call me Chris."

I blushed when I realized my mistake. "I'm sorry, I-"

Mr. Heywood chuckled. "No harm done. No one is around."

"What do you want?"

 "To remind you to come to my room after school today... and while you're at
it, bring me a snack from the school store."

"Can't you get one yourself?"

"I could," Mr. Heywood responded, a smirk slipping onto his face, "but I
don't want to."

I scowled. "I'm not getting you a snack."

"Really now?"

Mr. Heywood moved away from his desk, walking over to me slowly. I stood my
ground, staring at him determinedly. He stopped about a foot away from me.

"Hmm..."

I watched cautiously as Mr. Heywood studied my face. He frowned slightly,

raising his hand. I resisted the urge to take a step back. I shut my eyes quickly
when he touched my face.

"This looks really bad," he commented quietly.

My eyes shot open and I stared at him. Where did that come from? Wasn't he
going to black mail me into getting him a snack? I watched him warily.

"It's not as bad as it looks," I told him, attempting to turn my head.

He held it in place, frowning at the bruise. "Have you iced it?"

I nodded. "For about two hours last night. What about yours?"

Mr. Heywood smirked slightly. "Someone like me doesn't need to ice his
wounds. I can suck it up."

I scowled at him. "You're such a-"

Suddenly, a loud noise filled the air. I was confused for a moment until I
realized it was the bell. Mr. Heywood dropped his hand and his smirk grew wider.

"You're late."

I glared at him. "Like I don't know that! Where's your class?"

"I don't have one this period," he told me, shrugging. "Now I suggest you get
going..."

"Can't I have a late pass?" I begged.

"Are you going to get me a snack after school?" he responded, his eyes
lighting up with amusement.

I scowled at him for a moment before sighing in defeat. "Fine."

He chuckled, walking back over to his desk. He grabbed one of the yellow
slips of paper and began to write on it. When he finished, he gave me the piece of
paper.

"You'd better hurry. I put the time that you left two minutes ago... you
should almost be to you class by now..."

My eyes widened and I quickly turned and dashed out of his room and into the
empty hallway. I sprinted down the hallway, hoping to reach my next class quickly.

I scowled to myself. Mr. Heywood was such a jerk.

 When the last bell sounded signaling the end of the day, I slowly trudged my
way to the school store. I didn't even know what Mr. Heywood wanted! I stood in the
line for the store, frowning to myself.

Suddenly there was a pair of arms around me, and a wait on my back. I
staggered forwards a few steps, looking behind me to see Casey. She grinned, still
clinging onto me.

"What are you doing?" I asked, peeling her arms off me.

"I was going to ask you the same thing," she responded, laughing.

"Buying food from the school store?" I responded, smiling slightly.

"I knew that," Casey said. "But you never buy food from the school store, so
it's weird."

"It's not for me," I responded with a sigh.

"Who is it for then?"

I opened my mouth to reply, but cut myself short. I couldn't tell Casey whom
I was buying the food for. With that stupid forbidden love idea of hers, she'd
tease me about it for who knows how long. I grimaced slightly.

"Um, myself," I told her.

"Okay..." she responded, sounding confused. "Anyway! What are you doing right
now? Do you want to go downtown?"

I shook my head. "I have to stay after school."

"Why?"
 I hesitated for a moment. "Detention..."

It wasn't a complete lie. What I was doing was basically detention. Well no, it was
black mail, but I would never tell anyone that. And if I did, Mr. Heywood would
surely beat me up.

"For who?" Casey asked, continuing her mini interrogation.

"Mr. Heywood," I said with a sigh.

Casey blanked for a moment, and then a huge smirk spread across her face. "Oh, is
that so?"

"Yep."

"What did you do this time?"

"I, er... fell asleep in class," I told her.

Again, it wasn't exactly a lie. That could have gotten me a detention in another
class, so why not Mr. Heywood's?

"How could you fall asleep in that class?" Casey gasped. "Surely even if the class
was boring, just looking at Mr. Heywood should keep you awake."

I snorted. "You sound like a fan girl."

"He's cute," Casey responded with another smirk. "I can't help it."

"And what does Willis say about this?"

Casey shrugged. "Willis doesn't care because he knows Mr. Heywood is too old for
me."

"There you go."

"But he's not too old for you," Casey continued, nudging me in the ribs with her
elbow.

I rolled my eyes at her, entering the mini store. I searched the items quickly,
deciding on a bag of salt and vinegar chips. I smirked slightly to myself. Hardly
anyone I knew besides myself liked this flavor of chips, and I hoped Mr. Heywood
didn't either. He never told me specifically what to get, so it couldn't be helped
if he got something he didn't like.

"Well you have fun with your detention," Casey said, exiting the store with me.
"And I want to hear about it tonight."

I rolled my eyes. "There will be nothing to hear about."

Casey smirked. "You never know."

I sighed, shaking my head. Casey laughed, giving me a quick hug.

"See you tomorrow."

"Adios," I responded, waving once.

With the bag of salt and vinegar chips in my hand, I started down the first floor
highway towards the science wing. When I reached Mr. Heywood's hall I felt my
heartbeat began to increase.

This was the first time I'd be completely alone with him with no one to interrupt
us since Lance made me confirm my feelings. I swallowed nervously.

Here I go.
*******************************************
[25] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 24
*******************************************
"How did you know salt and vinegar were my favorite flavor of chips?"

I stared blankly at Mr. Heywood. He couldn't be serious. He smirked back at me,

opening the bag of chips and eating one. So much for that idea.

I glanced around the room and my attention was drawn to the homework section on the
bored. Getting the permission slip for the field trip signed was under my grade's
homework.

"What's the field trip?" I asked, turning back to Mr. Heywood.

He stared at me curiously for a moment, and then realization swept across his face.
"Oh, that's right. You were out yesterday."

"How do you know ? You were out too."

"Attendance form," he informed me, an amused smirk on his face.

"Oh," I responded simply.

"There's a class trip to the beach on Saturday," Mr. Heywood started, going over to
his desk. "I have a form somewhere if you want one... They are staying over night
at a hotel by the beach."

"I want one," I told him quickly.

He frowned at me. "Are you sure?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

Mr. Heywood shrugged. "Never mind."

"Okay...?"

Mr. Heywood pulled out a sheet of paper, and handed it to me. I scanned it quickly,
and put it into my backpack.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

A thought suddenly popped into my head and I frowned slightly.

"Say, Mr. Heywood..."

"Chris," he corrected me, raising an eyebrow.

"Chris," I said and rolled my eyes. "Why don't you ever have a detention list on
the board?"

Mr. Heywood eyed me for a moment before shrugging. "I didn't realize I had to have
one."

"You don't, but most teachers do to remember who had a detention," I told him,
looking at his desk. "And I've also noticed that you don't have any detention slips
either."

"They're just in my drawer."

I frowned deeper. "Come to think of it... I've never heard anyone say they've got a
detention from you, either." I looked at him curiously. "Why is that?"

Mr. Heywood cleared his throat. "I don't know what you're talking about. I give
detentions."
"Yeah, to me," I snorted. "But how come I've never heard anyone else say they
have?"

"I don't know," he responded casually.

"The girls would surely gloat about it, and the guys would complain... but ever
since you started working here, no one has said anything about a detention with
you."

Mr. Heywood sighed and looked at me. "Why are you so interested?"

I shrugged. "No reason really, the thought just suddenly popped into my head."

Mr. Heywood stayed quiet for a moment, and I went over to the white board, debating
on asking whether I should clean it for him or not. It wasn't like he seemed to
have anything else planned for me to do.

"I'm not allowed to have students serve detention with me," Mr. Heywood said,
breaking the silence.

I turned to look at him in surprise. "What? Why?"

Mr. Heywood looked over at me with a smirk. "Can't you figure it out? A young,
exteremly handsome, kind, man like myself being alone in a room with a high
schooler?"

I rolled my eyes. "You're a teacher. Nothing could happen since it's illegal."

"Mmm," Mr. Heywood responded, frowning at me.

For some reason, I felt like what I had said had dampened his mood slightly, but
before I could comment on it, another thought popped into my head. I glared at him.
"If you weren't allowed to give out detentions, how come I got one the first week!"
I demanded, crossing my arms.
Mr. Heywood smirked, shrugging slightly. "I had a feeling you'd be a fun person to
tease... and boy was I right."

"You're a jerk, you know that?"

Mr. Heywood laughed. "And I take pleasure in the fact."

I scowled at him. "Well now I know that if you ever give me a detention again, I
don't have to go."

"You'll go anyway, though."

I stared at him, my mouth drying slightly. Had he figured something out? Why would
he make that comment? He must have mistaken my look for a confused one.

"Because it'll be blackmail, of course," he continued simply.

I gave him a flat look. "Don't say such things so lightly."

Mr. Heywood laughed, his unruly hair falling into his face. I was taken aback by
his looks for a moment, and forced myself to look away as a warm blush spread onto
my face. I needed to learn how to control my horrible blushing habits.

A silence settled in and I awkwardly played with my fingers while Mr. Heywood
stared at me. I finally snapped my attention to him. He raised an eyebrow.

"What do you want me to do?" I demanded, the silence getting to me.

Mr. Heywood looked at me curiously. "What do you mean?"

"Obviously you need me to do manual labor," I responded. "Otherwise you wouldn't

have blackmailed me into coming."
Mr. Heywood laughed. "I wouldn't really call it blackmailing..."

I stared flatly at him. He grinned back.

"Whatever," I responded, sighing deeply.

"Follow me," Mr. Heywood said suddenly, beckoning me towards the supply room.
"While we're waiting for him, you can help me store today's materials from the
labs."

"Him?" I echoed, following Mr. Heywood into the supply room.

I blushed faintly, remembering my dream, but quickly shook it out of my head. There
was no way that would ever happen.

"Wash out those test tubes,"Mr. Heywood ordered, ignoring me completely.

I sighed, walking over to the sink where the test tubes were. Something hit me in
the back of my head and I turned around to see Mr. Heywood nodding to the ground
where the thing that hit me lay. I looked down to see a pair of gloves.

"Wear those just in case," he suggested, before turning his back to me.

I looked at the test tubes warily before picking up the gloves and putting them on.
"What chemicals were you using exactly today?"

Mr. Heywood looked over at me with a smirk. "Nothing too bad."

I rolled my eyes, picking up one of the test tubes. If anything happened, at least
I could sue him. The thought brought a smile to my face.

I turned on the sink and began washing the test tube out, filling it with water,
shaking it, and pouring the water out. When I was done, I put it upside down on a
paper towel and started on the next one. About halfway through them, I felt a
presence next to me.

"You're slow," Mr. Heywood commented, looking over my shoulder.

"Look, I'm going as fast as I can!" I snapped, raising the hand with the test tube
in annoyance.

Water from the test tube sloshed out, going over my shoulder and into Mr. Heywood's
face. I quickly turned around in shock to see Mr. Heywood frowning at me, water
dripping down his face.

"Sorry," I apologized, trying not to laugh.

Mr. Heywood rolled his eyes, wiping his face off with the back of his sleeve. "I
need to go to the conference room for a minute. Stay here."

"Okay," I responded, turning back to the sink.

Mr. Heywood ruffled my hair and chuckled to himself before exiting the. I looked
after him for a minute, trying to fix my hair with my forearm. Why did he do that?
As if my hair didn't look bad as it was without him having to mess it up. I sighed
to myself, picking up the next test tube.

Hair mussing... that was like a brotherly gesture. Or a fatherly one... I froze, my
mouth falling open slightly. Did Mr. Heywood think of me as a dad would his
daughter? The thought made me sick, but it was possible. I shook my head violently.
That wasn't it. It couldn't possibly be it, and if it was, then I would change
that.

Suddenly I felt a pair of arms encircle my waist. I screamed and jumped violently
in surprise, dropping the test tube in my hand. It fell to the ground and smashed.
I struggled for a moment, trying to release myself from the mystery person's arms.
The person holding me chuckled, not letting go of me.

"Did I surprise you?" a familiar voice asked.

"Jeremy?" I asked, turning my head and coming face-to-face with the blonde man.
"Hi there," he responded with a grin.

"Holly? What's wrong?" a new voice called in a worried voice.

Jeremy turned me around, his strong arms still around my waist. I struggled for a
moment until I realized I had no chance of escaping his grasp. Mr. Heywood
appeared, his eyes flashing around the room before landing on Jeremy.

"Oh, it's just you," Mr. Heywood said, a frown on his face, but looking relieved.
His eyes moved to Jeremy's arms around my waist. "What are you doing?"

"Showing the love," Jeremy responded, squeezing me.

"Hey," I said, trying to get out of his grasp. "What love?"

"That's cold," Jeremy stated. "I thought last night meant something..."

"Let her go," Mr. Heywood ordered, rolling his eyes. "I thought you 'aren't
interested in high school girls'?"

Jeremy chuckled and released me. "Feelings change, you know."

"In two days?"

"Maybe."

Mr. Heywood rolled his eyes again. "Whatever. Holly, let's go."

"Let's go?" I repeated, giving him a questioning look.

Mr. Heywood nodded. "Now that Jeremy's here, we can get started."

"With what?"

"Teaching you how to fight, obviously," Jeremy responded for him, looking at me
like I was the densest person on earth.

I stared back at him.

What?

_______________________________________

If you guys can't guess, I'm having major writer's block on this story. So sorry
about that =/

Anyways... join my FB page if you haven't... you can also add me as a friend, the
links there. Open external link at the right... and, of course, VOTE! :D Vote for
my horrible week to become better! lol
*******************************************
[26] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 25
*******************************************
"Teaching me how to fight?" I responded, raising my eyebrow.

"That's what I said... you aren't that bright are you?" Jeremy responded.

I ignored him, turning to Mr. Heywood. He gestured me towards him. I moved around
Jeremy and walked up to him.

"Why do I need to know how to fight?" I asked him. "I mean, I know some basics
but..."

"In case something like the other night happens and for some reason I'm not there
to save you," Mr. Heywood explained, flicking my forehead. "I don't want to see you
get seriously injured because of me."
"I'm not sure if fighting against them is the smartest idea though," I responded
honestly. "Won't it just give them more of a reason to come after me?"

Jeremy scoffed. "They have reason enough already. Haven't you got into a mix with
them twice already? Just knowing you know Chris is enough for them."

I frowned. That's what they said about Lance when I had told them to leave him
alone the other night. What kind of people were these gangsters? Why did they hate
Mr. Heywood so much?

"Mr. Heywood," I started, looking up at him.

"Chris," he corrected me.

"Chris," I said, frowning. "What exactly did you do to make them hate you so much?"

Mr. Heywood suddenly tensed, his fists tightening. "I told you already, didn't I? I
left the gang."

"That's obviously not the only thing you did!"

"It is, now shut up about it."

"I'll shut up when you tell me the truth!" I argued, stepping in front of him.
"Just tell me."

"Drop it, Holly."

"No!"

"Yes, now let's go," Mr. Heywood ordered, putting a hand on my shoulder, and
pushing me forwards.
"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me," I responded boldly.

Mr. Heywood rolled his eyes. "Jeremy, grab her and take her out the back. I'll go
meet you at my house."

"Will do," Jeremy responded, appearing behind me and grabbing me. "Let's go, kid."

"No," I said firmly, keeping my ground. "I want to know why they hate Mr. Heywood
so much and why, otherwise I'm not moving anywhere."

"Chris," Jeremy corrected me, putting his hands on my waist. "Now let's go."

He suddenly hoisted me off my feet and over his shoulder. I gasped, flailing my
arms widly. Jeremy chuckled, placing a hand on my lower back to keep my steady.

"Let me go!" I demanded, struggling against him. "This could be considered kidnap!
Chris!"

Mr. Heywood looked at me with an amused expression. "Yes, Ms. Evers?"

"Tell him to let me go!"

"Will you willingly come along then?"

I hesitated, scowling at him. "Yes..."

Mr. Heywood chuckled. "Sure you will. Go on Jeremy. And watch your hand."

Jeremy laughed. "Okay."

Jeremy left the room with me in tow. I struggled to get out of his grasp. He
chuckled at my fruitless attempts.

"What is up with adults thinking I can't walk by myself?" I growled, giving up.

"Technically, I'm not an adult."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty," Jeremy responded simply.

"That's close enough. You can be considered an adult at eighteen,' I told him,
looking around to make sure no one was in the hallways.

"But technically, you're considered an adult at twenty-one, and you can drink at
that age."

"Why does that matter?"

Jeremy laughed, turning a corner in the hallway. He looked behind him for a second,
and then put me down. "What Chris doesn't know won't hurt him, so don't run away."

"I won't run away," I responded, frowning slightly.

"Good, now hurry, I want to beat Chris to his house."

Jeremy grabbed my upper arm and began jogging out of the building. I stumbled
along, trying to keep up with him. His strides were longer and quicker, so I had to
basically run to. We came to what I assumed to be his car, and he gestured for me
to get in and buckle. I did so, and he got in, and not even five seconds later he
was peeling out of the parking lot.

I looked over at Jeremy warily. "Don't tell me..."

He grinned back, shifting gears. "We are so going to beat him."

Fifteen terrifying minutes later, we pulled into Mr. Heywood's apartment's parking
lot. Jeremy pulled into a parking spot and shut off the car. I stayed seated for a
few moments, one hand still gripping the cup holder, the other holding onto the
dash.

"That... was scary," I finally said, turning to look at Jeremy with wide eyes. "You
drive like a maniac! I'm pretty sure we were over the speed limit the whole time!"

"I took back streets," Jeremy responded with a wave on the hand.

"It's still dangerous!"

"We are fine!"

My door suddenly opened and I turned to see Mr. Heywood frowning down at us.

"Holly, what's wrong?"

"I am never driving with Jeremy again," I told him, swinging my legs out the door
so I could get out.

Mr. Heywood chuckled, moving out of the way. I heard Jeremy sigh deeply behind me.

"How did you get here so fast?" he huffed, crossing his arms. "I swear you left
after us."

Mr. Heywood smirked. "Who used to win all the street races?"

"Street races?" I gasped, looking between the two.

"Forget it, let's go inside and get started," Mr. Heywood said, brushing me off. "I
have somewhere to go at five."

The three of us trooped inside, and then up the stairs to Mr. Heywood's apartment.
He took out his key and unlocked the door, gesturing us inside first. I went in
eagerly. It was my third time being to his apartment, but it was still just as
exciting.

"Holly, make me some coffee," he ordered.

I turned to him with a skeptical look. "This is your house."

He raised an eyebrow. "And?"

I scowled at him for a moment, but went to his kitchen anyway. I didn't even know
where the coffee was!

"Stupid teacher," I muttered, opening the pantry and locating the can of coffee.

Five minutes later, I returned to the living room with three steaming mugs of
coffee. I did my best to keep my smirk hidden as I placed Mr. Heywood's cup in
front of him. I added an extra little surprise into his. I went back into the
kitchen to grab the container of half and half I found in his fridge and the sugar
jar.

I watched as Mr. Heywood poured unnecesary amounts of sugar and half and half into
his cup. A habit I know found sort of cute. I blushed, looking down at my own cup
and putting a few carefully measured spoonfuls of sugar. When I looked back up, Mr.
Heywood was raising his cup to his mouth.

I couldn't help the smirk from spreading to my face as the cup pressed against his
lips. He took a long drink, and to my surprise and disappointment, didn't even make
a face. He let out a sigh and placed the cup back on the ground. When he caught me
staring he raised an eyebrow.

"What?"
I frowned. "Nothing..."

Surely the tobasco sauce and salt I added to his cup would have made some
difference. Or was he just sucking it up because he didn't want to let me know he'd
been tricked?

Suddenly there was a gagging to my right and I looked to see Jeremy looking at his
cup in disgust. He looked at me, his eyes narrowing.

"Just because I drove fast in the car doesn't mean you have to poison me!"

I gaped at him, trying not to laugh, but at the same time feeling bad. "I'm sorry!
I don't know."

"Ugh," he groaned, covering his mouth. "I think I'm going to be sick... I need some
water to wash this taste away."

He stood up and went into the kitchen. I heard the running of water and the clink
of a glass being taken from the cupboard. I looked at Mr. Heywood who was
innocently sipping his coffee. I sighed inwardly and picked up my own, taking a
sip.

My eyes widened and I gagged instantly, doing my best to swallow the bilge in my
mouth. Mr. Heywood looked at me curiously, a smirk slipping onto his face. I
blushed and looked away.

How he had managed to slip whatever he did into my drink- it tasted like mustard- I
didn't know, but I wasn't going to let him have the glory of tricking me. I
wouldn't let him know.

Five seconds later, my resolve dissolved and I rushed to the kitchen, grabbing
Jeremy's water out of his hand and quickly taking a sip, gargling and spitting it
out.

"You don't screw with the master," I heard Mr. Heywood's voice float into the
kitchen.
I lowered my head in defeat. He'd gotten me.

"Right, so show me how to make a fist," Mr. Heywood said, when we were all settled
with fresh cups of cofee ten minutes later."

I frowned, holding out my hand. I clenched my fist, tucking my thumb between my

middle finger and pointer finger. Jeremy snorted, bowing his head in silent
laughter. I frowned at him.

"What?"

"Holly... how did you manage to punch those guys before with a fist like that?" Mr.
Heywood said with a sigh. "Come here."

I moved myself over to the other side of the couch, where Mr. Heywood grabbed my
hand, unclenching it. I blushed slightly at the contact, but tried to shake it away
quickly. Mr. Heywood folded my fingers into a fist again, and then placed my thumb
over my over my pointer and middle fingers.

"If you tuck your thumb, it will be easily broken," Mr. Heywood informed me. "Even
if it's someone like you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Punch me," Mr. Heywood said.

"What?"

"Punch me," he repeated, rasing an eyebrow. "Surely you know what that means."

"I do, but why?" I responded, looking at him crazily.

"I want to see how hard you can punch. Do it, you won't hurt me, I promise."
He stood up and then forcefully pulled me to my feet. I scowled at him for a
moment, yanking my arm out of his grasp.

"Well, you asked for it."

Using as much force I could I brought back my arm and then brought it forward,
aiming to land a forceful hit on his chest. Before my eyes could catch what was
happening, Mr. Heywood blocked my fist with his hand in ease. I blinked as he
curled his hand around my fist.

"Well, you have some force," he commented, releasing my fist.

I pulled my hand back and frowned at him. "Teaching me how to fight won't help me
win against whovever I'm fighting if I lack skill."

Mr. Heywood looked at me in surprise for a second, and then his face turned
serious. "Holly, I'm teaching you how to defend yourself and be able to make a
getaway. I don't want you even trying to take on anyone, that's too dangerous. If
you aren't able to contact me, call Jeremy, or even the police if you have to."

"Whoa, no, I can't get involved with the police. My mom will flip!"

"It's better that than you dead," Mr. Heywood responded in a hard voice.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "So what are your tips for running away then?"

Mr. Heywood's face softened and he nodded his head. "There's a few key things to
know if they try to attack you while fleeing- which they undoubtably will."

Jeremy rolled his eyes and propped his feet up on the coffee table. "I still say we
just let her fight them."

"I'd be killed," I stated, frowning. "I don't even want to delude myself into
thinking I could take on a gangster..."
Mr. Heywood nodded, sending a glare at Jeremy. "The most important thing is keeping
you safe."

"How much do you know about fighting?" Jeremy cut in, looking at me curiously.

"I've watched a few movies," I responded, furrowing my eyebrow. "I know right
hooks, left hooks, uppercuts..."

Jeremy looked impressed. "Anything else?"

"I took Karate for awhile when I was younger."

Jeremy looked at me in surprise then to Mr. Heywood. "Why didn't you just say that
in the first place!"

I stared at him in confusion. "What difference does it make? That won't help me
now!"

"The point is that you know some things, which means we only have to give you some
advice the deals with fleeing or defending!"

Mr. Heywood cleared his throat. "Speaking of which, may I get started now?"

Jeremy grinned and nodded. "Aye, aye, sir."

"Let's start with punching. If you feel the need that you have to fight back, and
by have to, I mean have to," Mr. Heywood started, putting emphasis on his words,
"aim for the nose and lips."

I stared at him, blanking in surprise. "What? Why? The head is where it'd hurt--"

"You could easily break the smaller bones in your hand or collaspse your knuckle,"
Mr. Heywood explained. "Especially if you're a girl. The nose is the best spot. The
temples, then the throat, and moving lower aim for the kidneys."
I raised my hand. Mr. Heywood's expression became amused for a moment and he
smirked.

"Yes, Ms. Evers?"

"What do I do if my hands are... unable to be used," I said, wording my sentence

awkwardly. "Like if they were holding my arms or something."

"Kick," Jeremy responded simply. "You're a girl. It shoudld be in your nature to

kick violently if some man has his hands on you when it's not wanted."

Mr. Heywood nodded. "Kicking is correct. However, don't aim for the head."

"Why not?"

"They may be aiming to kill you, but I highly doubt you want a murder on your
hands."

My eyes widened slightly, and I shook my head. "No..."

"Good because killing someone never leads to good things, right Chris?" Jeremy
added, nudging Mr. Heywood in the shoulder.

Mr. Heywood shot him a glare before rolling his eyes. "Everyone knows that."

I frowned. "Yeah..."

"If you fall on the ground, roll," Mr. Heywood said, turning his attention back to
me again. "Trust me when I say, they will not hesitate to kick you will you're
down... or stomp on you."

I winced at the mental image in my head. "Will do..."

A phone ringing suddenly pierced the silence and Mr. Heywood stood up abruptly. He
pulled his phone out of his pocket and looked at the caller ID.

"I'll be right back," he muttered, glaring at the phone before turning and going
out into the hall way.

Jeremy and I exchanged curious looks, but I shrugged it off. Mr. Heywood always
seemed to be chatting to someone on the phone. And he usually didn't end the call
in a good mood. Jeremy patted my shoulder.

"I don't know about you, but I think Chris should just stick to teaching Biology.
His... quote-unquote teaching about fighting isn't very good in my opinion."

"Eh," I muttered not in agreement, but no in disagreement either.

"Tell you what, I'll teach you some things on my own," Jeremy offered. "So you'll
be better prepared. But you can't tell Chris."

"Why not?"

Jeremy smiled slightly. "I don't think he'd be happy about it. He's such a mother
hen when it comes to you. I don't think I've seen Chris this worried over
anything."

I looked down at my lap. "Like a mother worries over her childen, huh..."

Jeremy abruptly started laughing, and ruffled my hair. "No. A man worrying for
someone he cares about."

I blushed and shook my head. "Not in that way!"

Jeremy smirked. "Oh, so you like him in 'that way'?"

"I don't love him!"

"Whoever said I was talking about love?" Jeremy responded, his smirk growing wider.
"This is just too cute. You guys will make a great couple!"

I blushed harder and glared at him. "It's obvious he doesn't like me like that."

"I think he does."

"You're stupid then," I told him.

I did not want to get my hopes up. And after all, I was still a high school girl
while he was an adult.

"You don't know him like I do," Jeremy responded. "I think you'd be good for him...
especially because of how his life has been like up until now."

I looekd back up at Jeremy, who was frowning now. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that--"

The door opened and before I realized what was happening, Jeremy pulled me into a
deep hug. I blushed, trying to get away.

"What are you doing?"

"Making him jealous."

I heard footsteps across the floor, and then they stopped behind me. I swallowed
nervously, trying to slide my way out of Jeremy's grasp.

"I was gone not even five minutes, and you throw yourself on here?" Mr. Heywood
asked, grabbing my shoulders and forcibly yanking me away from Jeremy.

I stumbled and fell back into his chest, blsuhing once again. Mr. Heywood steadied
me before letting me go. I looked up at him and he thew a disapproving look to
Jeremy.

"Can I trust you to take her home? Or will you attack her in the car?"

"I might," Jeremy said with a smirk on his face.

"I don't have time for this," Mr. Heywood snapped, glaring at the man. "Yes or no."

Jeremy sighed. "Yes. What's got you all hyped up? A date?"

Mr. Heywood smirked. "Something along those lines..."

Jeremy blanked and I froze.

Mr. Heywood had a date?

Sorry this is out so late! My dial-up was being poopy, so i went upstairs to led it
load for awhile and I fell asleep lol. But hey, it's only 10PM. It's still today so
woo!

VOTE VOTE VOTE. Because this chapter is longer than usual and you should vote
anyway ;D

and clickkk open external link to the right!

*******************************************
[27] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 26
*******************************************
"Holly. Holly? Holly!"

Something hit the top of my head and I jumped, coming out of my daze. I looked to
my right to see Lance frowning at me.

"I've been calling your name for the past minute!"

"Sorry," I responded, stretching.

"Can I have your extra pizza sticks?"

A grin made it's way onto my face and I shook my head, sliding my lunch tray over
to Lance. "You wanted my attention just to ask me that? Usually you just take
them."

"Can't I be a gentleman once in awhile?"

Lance grinned at me, and I rolled my eyes back. The small scar on his head from
when the bat hit him caught my attention. He caught me looking and frowned.

"It doesn't hurt," he informed me, running a finger over it. "It just is sort of
ruining my good looks."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, okay."

Silence fell between us again and I moodily picked through my trail mix. I had
already picked out the M&Ms and the only things left were all the nuts and raisins.
Both food items gross in my opinion.

I absently wondered if Mr. Heywood liked peanuts. Or if he liked chocolate... I

frowned slightly after a moment. I didn't actually know anything about him, besides
his past as a gang member, and I didn't even know all that. He was keeping
something from me. But he never shared what he liked, or disliked. He never told me
what he likes to do, or where he came from...
He probably wouldn't tell me who he went on a date with.

I huffed, crushing a peanut between my fingers. Who did Mr. Heywood know that was a
girl besides the faculty and students here? And more importantly, what did he see
in her? Mr. Heywood had never mentioned a girl before! And Jeremy didn't even know
who he was dating.

I wanted to know who she was, but at the same time I didn't. What if she was a
beautiful woman who I couldn't compete against? It was possible. Mr. Heywood was
very handsome...

I heaved a heavy sigh, slumping onto the table. Love was a very unfair thing.

Suddenly I was forced into a sitting position and I looked around in shock and my
eyes landed on Lance's hard face. He looked at me accusingly and crossed his arms.

"Holly Evers. You tell me what's wrong with you this instant!"

"Huh?" I looked at him in surprise. "What are you talking about?"

"You've sighed at least fifty times since lunch started," a new voice from my left
pointed out.

I jumped again, turning to my left to see Casey watching me with concerned eyes.
"When did you get here?"

"I've been here the whole time," she told me, raising an eyebrow. "You didn't
notice me?"

"Oh... no."

"Because she's too busy being in the dumps about something she won't share with
us," Lance interjected, frowning at me.
"Tell us what's wrong," Casey prompted. "Obviously there's something going on."

I shook my head. "Nothing's going on."

Lance and Casey gave me skeptical looks.

"Really," I assured.

"Not even the slightest?"

"Fine. I didn't study for the math test," I lied. "All the formulas got to me and I
said screw it, I can afford to fail. So it's not that big of a deal. And even if it
was--"

"Holly, don't faff."

"Don't what?"

Lance rolled his eyes. "Americans..."

"Listen, sometimes there are problems I have that you wouldn't want to hear about,
Lance. And it just so happens that this one happens to be about a man you don't
really like."

Lance's eyes widened in shock. "Oh, Mr. Hey--"

I shot him a warning glare.

"H-hey now, hey now, this is what dreams are made of!" he sang quickly, making his
voice high-pitched as he sang.

I shook my head, and caught Casey grinning widely at me. I watched her carefully.
"It's about Mr. Heywood isn't it?" she said, looking smug.

"What? No!" I responded too quickly, glaring at Lance, who was still singing.

Casey grinned wider, if that was possible. "Oh, I think it is." She turned to
Lance. "Don't you think so too, Lance?"

They stared at each other for a minute. Lance held up his side for a minute, but I
could see him start to falter under Casey's intimidating gaze.

"Ah... I think so too."

"Lance!"

"C'mon, just tell us," Casey urged.

"Where's Willis?" I asked, trying to change the subject. "And Danielle? And Sam?"

"Away," Casey responded quickly, she put on a pouting face. "Holly, just say it. We
won't judge you. I'm your best friend, you can tell me. Besides I already know how
you feel about him."

Lance coughed quietly and I shot him another glare.

He looked back sheepishly. "It's Casey... you know how she is. She just doesn't
bugger off until you tell her. She just continues to harass you until you just
can't take it anymore! She's so conniving."

"But it was a secret Lance!" I snapped back, ignoring his excuses.

"So it is true!" Casey gasped, staring at me with wide eyes. "I didn't believe it
when Lance told me! But I knew you'd fall for him! I felt the chemistry. I knew
he'd like you too."

I let out an exasperated sigh. "Don't get ahead of yourself, Casey..."

She stared at me curiously. "What do you mean?"

"Just because I like him--"

"Love him," Lance interjected.

I sent him a harsh glare. "Doesn't mean anything will happen... besides, he's got a
date."

Casey's eyes widened more. Even Lance looked surprise.

"So that's your problem," he commented, frowning slightly.

I glared at him, letting out a 'hmph'. He snickered at me.

"Aw, is Holly jealous?"

"I'm not jealous," I snapped at him.

"You're in denial," Casey interjected, patting my shoulder.

"I'm not!"

She raised her eyebrows. "Sounds like denial to me."

"But I'm not!" I argued, clenching my fist. "I'm not jealous. Why would I be
jealous? He can date any woman he wants. I'm not stopping him. I can't stop him,
it's not like we are a thing. He's probably dating a model."

Lance watched me with an amused expression. Casey started laughing.

"Oh, Holly, have more confidence in yourself," Casey said, patting my back. "You're
not that ugly."

"I never said I thought I was ugly!"

Casey laughed. "I'm kidding. But, it was a little surprising that you told Lance
and not me. I mean, we are best friends, and both girls right?"

I groaned inwardly. Casey always played the guilt game with me when I hid something
from her. She pouted at me slightly. I gave Lance a hard look.

"Lance wasn't supposed to know either," I told her, trying to make her feel better.

"Well how did he know then?"

"He... eh..." I trailed off, trying to think of an excuse. Saying, "oh, hey
basically blackmailed me" wouldn't work so well.

"I read her diary," Lance said, sounding unsure.

Casey snickered. "Should have guessed. I found Holly's diary in sixth grade once. I
thought I told her to hide it better..."

"Oops," I responded with a forced laugh.

I rolled my eyes at Lance. He couldn't have thought of a better excuse, could he? I
hadn't wrote in a diary since sixth grade!

Casey smirked smugly. "Well. I knew it. But you guys wouldn't be keeping any other
secrets from me, would you?"

Lance and my eyes met once more, looking wary. I turned back to Casey, shaking my
head.

"No..."

It was for her own good she didn't know about the whole gang thing. I didn't want
to put her in danger, even if that meant I had to lie to her. But I still felt
guilty.

"That reminds me! Holly, are you going on the beach trip on Saturday?" Casey asked
suddenly, looking excited. "I am!"

I nodded. "Yeah, I got the papers signed last night. I'm going to give them to Mr.
Heywood next period."

"It's too bad he's not coming, huh," Casey responded with a sigh. "You guys could
have fun," she added with a wink.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Now I would have to put up with Casey's
teasings. I shot Lance another glare, and he sent me an apologetic look.

"Are you going, Lance?" Casey asked, oblivious to my glare to him.

Lance turned to her and shook his head. "I have to work."

"You work?" I questioned, looking surprised.

Lance smirked. "Now I do. I got a part time job at the super market downtown."

"Lucky," Casey said, frowning. "I need a job."

"Me too," I agreed.

"I'd say I'd hook you up, but they aren't looking for any more help," Lance
explained with a shrug.

"Speaking of down town, did you hear they found three guys knocked out at the
towing place?" Casey started, lowering her voice. "It seems like there was a fight
there."

I froze, locking gazes with Lance once more.

"Um, no, where'd you hear that?" I asked, forcing myself to sound calm.

"It was on the news," Casey responded. "But isn't it weird? There hasn't been any
fights in our town in so long... well ones bad enough to make the news."

"Maybe it wasn't a fight," Lance suggested. "Maybe they were just passed out from
drinking too much."

"But they were injured," Casey said. "And one had a bat. Definitely a fight."

I forced out a laugh. "Well, it doesn't involve us."

"True," Casey responded with a nod.

The bell rang, signaling lunch was over. I sighed in relief. I didn't want Casey to
get suspicious. However my sigh of relief turned into a groan. I still hadn't
brought my tray up.

"Better hurry and bring your tray up so you aren't late for biology," Lance taunted
before following Casey out of the cafeteria.

"Shoot!" I muttered, grabbing my tray and heading towards the front of the
cafeteria.
I carefully maneuvered myself through the crowds of people, making sure to not have
my tray bump into anyone. I made it to the trash can safely, but when I was about
to dump my food, someone knocked into my hand, making me drop the tray. I groaned,
and turned to glare at the person.

Mr. Heywood stared back, looking amused.

"Holly... sorry about that," he apologized, trying to hide a grin.

My eyes opened wider and I immediately looked down at the ground, my face heating
up slightly. He was the one person I did not want to see right now. Granted I was
about to see him in class, but that wouldn't have been just the two of us.

He appeared in my vision again, grabbing my lunch tray. I watched as he brought it

to the lunch lady. They chatted for a moment, and then Mr. Heywood came back over
to me.

"So did Jeremy try anything in the car last night?"

I looked up at Mr. Heywood in surprise. "What? No."

Mr. Heywood stared at me for a moment, then nodded. "Good."

I frowned back. "Why does it matter, even if he had? Maybe he did, I could be lying
to you."

Mr. Heywood looked at me in amusement. "Holly, you wouldn't lie to me."

"I wouldn't be so sure."

He sighed, ruffling my hair. I pulled away with a frown.

"If you're jealous, just say it."

"What?" I responded, my face turning red. "I'm not--"

"I mean, any girl would be jealous if I went on a date that wasn't with them,
right?" he continued, smirking.

I glowered at him, pushing his hand off my head. "You are so narcissistic."

Mr. Heywood chuckled. "I was kidding, Holly."

I gave him a blank look and he sighed.

"Anyway, you don't have to stay after today," he told me, rubbing his head.

"Eh? Why not?" I asked, a little disappointed.

Mr. Heywood smirked. "I've got to go out..."

"Another date?" I responded, my heart beating faster.

"If you mean like last night's date, then yes."

Mr. Heywood watched me carefully. I struggled to keep my face straight. I wouldn't

let him know I was jealous. Why was he even telling me that? He could have just
said he was busy! I clenched my fist. Two could play at this game.

I smiled, making Mr. Heywood raise and eyebrow.

"How perfect does that work? Jeremy asked if he could take me out after school
today. I told him no since I had to help you, but now I don't. I'll just give him a
call."
Mr. Heywood's eyes widened in surprise, but they quickly returned to their normal
state. A frown slipped onto his face.

"How do you have Jeremy's number?"

"He gave it to me," I responded simply.

"Oh really?" Mr. Heywood said, narrowing his eyes.

"Yeah, want me to prove it?"

Mr. Heywood nodded. "Prove it."

I pulled out my cell phone and flipped through the contacts until I got to
Jeremy's. I held it up to Mr. Heywood. "See?"

He smirked, taking my cell phone out of my hand. "Confiscated. No cell phone use in
school, Ms. Evers."

I stared at him with my mouth open. Was he joking? He had to be joking.

The bell rang and I jumped. Mr. Heywood shook his head at me.

"Now you're late."

"Give me my phone!" I demanded, reaching for his hand.

"Nope," he responded simply, putting my phone into his pocket. "You know the rules,
Ms. Evers. You can have it back when your mom comes and gets it from the school."

"You asked me to prove it!"

"I didn't ask you to take out your phone."

I shook my head angrily. "You're unbelievable, you know that?"

Mr. Heywood simply shrugged. "Rules are rules. And you're also late... But since I
have a date after school, I can't give you a detention."

"You can't give me one in the first place," I pointed out, putting my hands on my
hips. "Remember what you told me?"

"Remember Lance punching me in the face?"

I glared at him for a few moments. He simpered back, looking highly amused. I
huffed angrily and turned around, stalking away from him.

"Where are you going?" he called.

I turned around, narrowing my eyes. "To class."

For once, I was glad there were empty seats in the black of the classroom. I went
to the one near Lance and sat down, scowling. Mr. Heywood entered the room a few
seconds later looking pleased with himself.

"Sorry I'm late," he apologized to the class.

He went straight into a lecture about evolution. I glared moodily at him the entire
time, and every time he looked at me, he'd smirk in amusement. I clenched my fist.

Why would he take my cell phone away? I knew he was a jerk, but that was a total
ass move. Did I do something to upset him? Or did he just like teasing me? I
scowled when I realized it was probably the latter. Either that or he didn't want
me to contact Jeremy...
My eyes widened in realization. That could be it! That was why he took my cell
phone. He didn't want me to get in touch with Jeremy. But what did that mean? I let
out a quick rush of air.

Was Mr. Heywood jealous of Jeremy?

I smirked to myself, tapping my desk. Two really could play at the jealous game,
couldn't they. I sent Mr. Heywood a sweet smile when we caught eye contact again.
He looked confused and stumbled on his words. I laughed.

This would be fun.

----------------------

Ok, I like how this came out much better. I know there's no date anymore, but don't
worry, I am sooo going to make it up to you guys within the next five chapters. I
have a pretty good idea of how I want the story to move along, and I'm sure you're
all like it. We learn a lot about Mr. Heywood's past. But what could make Mr.
Heywood finally tell Holly?

Maybe some danger... or someone getting hurt? Or dying? Who knows.

Also, in my mind, Mr. Heywood just didn't seem like the type of guy who'd ask
someone like Holly out directly. He has fun teasing her. So when I wrote the
original chapter, I have no idea what I was thinking. All I know is that I didn't
like it, so I re-wrote it and now it's this :D

Besides, I think the jealousy thing will be fun to continue with...

And it's longer, no? :D

Alrighty! Thanks, and I hope you like this one even though there's no more date!
*******************************************
[28] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 27
*******************************************
"Casey!" I called, running down the hall after her. "Case!"

She stopped and turned around, waiting for me to catch up with her. I paused beside
her, trying to regain my breath.

"I've run around this whole school looking for you!" I explained, holding my side.

"Why?" she responded, looking slightly amused.

"Want to walk home with me?"

Casey raised her eyebrow at my request. Well, it sounded more like I begged her
rather than asked her.

"Why are you asking?"

"Because lately we haven't been walking home together since I've been getting
rides, or you've been getting rides... mostly you," I said, narrowing my eyes
accusingly. "And it's too boring to walk home alone."

Casey smiled sheepishly. "Actually..."

"Casey!" a new voice called, and Casey looked behind me, a smile spreading on her
face.

I turned around and Willis grinned at me.

"Oh," I responded in defeat. "You're going home with him?"

"Him?" Willis responded, sniffing. "I do have a name."

"Sorry," Casey responded, bowing her head. "It's our one year and a half
anniversary so..."
I waved my hand. "Don't worry. You two go have fun."

Willis grinned, wrapping an arm around Casey's shoulder. "You can join us if you
want, Holly."

"Nah, I don't want to intrude," I told him.

"You need to get a boyfriend so we can double date," Willis commented, frowning
slightly.

Casey laughed. "Oh, trust me. We couldn't double date with the guy she's got her
sights on."

"Casey!" I warned, glaring.

"Don't worry, I can keep a secret, Holly."

"I know but..."

"What are you two talking about?" Willis interjected, looking curious.

"Never mind," I said quickly. "You two go have fun... I'm going to go walk home...
alone... I could be kidnapped... maybe even killed--"

"Stop being over-dramatic, Holly," Casey reprimanded, rolling her eyes. "See you
later."

I grinned, shaking my head. "Okay, bye."

I watched as they walked off towards Willis's locker. When they were out of sight I
sighed, turning around and walking straight into someone. I winced at the contact
of my face and their hard chest.
"The tables have turned," a familiar voice commented. I looked up to see Mr.
Heywood smirking down at me. "Watch where you're going, Holly."

I scowled, stepping away from him. "Right."

I turned around and started walking for the back exit of the school. All the other
students went out the front where the buses were, and I didn't feel like dealing
with the chaos. I heard footsteps behind me that told me Mr. Heywood was following
me.

"You're not angry about me taking your phone away, are you?" he questioned, falling
into step with me.

I ignored him, concentrating on the door so I didn't snap at him. He chuckled

beside me.

"Or maybe you're jealous of my date again?"

I swallowed, willing myself not to talk. I couldn't let him know I was the least
bit jealous, otherwise he'd mock me. Or figure out I liked him.

The thought passed through my head and I almost froze in surprise. Well I did
freeze for a split second, but I forced myself to keep walking. I pushed open the
doors that led outside to the parking lot.

What if Mr. Heywood did figure out I liked him? Would he ignore me? Would I be
scolded? Would I get in trouble? Or maybe he would tell me he liked me too...

I shook my head. Impossible.

"Holly!"

I heard a horn blare, and a rough grip on my arm made me stumbled backwards, back
into Mr. Heywood's chest again. I looked at him in surprise, he stared down at me,
his eyes hard.

"Don't walk out into the road without paying attention! You almost just got hit!"

I looked to my right to see a black car with tinted windows stopped about a foot
away from Mr. Heywood and myself. The car door opened and, to my surprise, someone
familiar stepped out of it.

"Jeremy?" I gasped in disbelief.

"Holly, Chris," he greeted with a grin.

"What are you doing here?" Mr. Heywood asked, a frown slipping onto his face.

"I've come to pick up Holly."

Mr. Heywood glanced at me, and I smiled smugly back at him.

"How..." Mr. Heywood trailed off, his eyes narrowing.

I shrugged. "I don't know. You took my phone away so I couldn't call him."

"Is that why you weren't answering my texts," Jeremy commented with a frown.

I nodded, hooking a thumb towards Mr. Heywood. "He tricked me and took it away."

"That's not very nice, Chris," Jeremy commented, frowning at Mr. Heywood.

Mr. Heywood scowled slightly. Jeremy shrugged and gestured me towards his car with
a nod of his head. I nodded, walking away from Mr. Heywood and going to stand by
Jeremy.
"Where are you going?" Mr. Heywood asked.

"Some place," Jeremy responded vaguely.

"Have fun on your date," I added, doing my best to keep a straight face.

I walked around the car and got into the passenger's side of the car and got in.
Jeremy climbed into the driver's side. Mr. Heywood was hovering beside his window,
frowning. Jeremy rolled down his window a little bit.

"Seriously. Where are you guys going?" Mr. Heywood asked.

"On a date," Jeremy responded, a grin spreading on his face "See ya later, Chris!"

Mr. Heywood opened his mouth to respond, but Jeremy quickly rolled up his window,
cutting him off. I turned my head so Mr. Heywood couldn't see me snickering. Jeremy
pressed on the gas pedal, and we left Mr. Heywood standing in the middle of the
road with a scowl on his face.

I started laughing. "That was great, Jeremy!"

Jeremy smiled, keeping his eyes on the road. "I only think it's fair. After all,
he's trying to make you jealous, so two can play at that."

I sighed. "Even though you say that, and I want to, Mr. Heywood would never be
jealous."

"I wouldn't so sure of that."

"Eh?"

"Well he took your cell phone away, right? Chris is an ex-gangster. Do you
seriously think he enforces the school rules on people? And isn't he one of the
student body's favorite teacher?"
"Well no, but..."

"Why did you even have your cell phone out?"

"He wanted me to prove I had your number," I responded, frowning. "He tricked me
though. That's when he took it."

Jeremy started laughing. I scowled at him.

"It's not funny. I need my phone and my mom works all day."

"Holly, did you ever think the reason he took your phone was because he didn't want
you to contact me?"

"Yeah, but that's impossible."

"Why do you think that?"

"Because he's a man... and I'm just a high school girl."

"That wouldn't stop me," Jeremy pointed out, giving me a side-long glance.

"But you said--"

"The point I'm trying to make," he started, cutting me off, "is that you should
have a little bit of confidence in yourself."

"But he's got a date," I muttered, looking out the window.

"Date, Holly. That doesn't mean girlfriend. You and I are out on a date, aren't we?
And I'm not your boyfriend... unless you want me to be."

I smiled, shaking my head. "You're right... they're just on a date."

"You can always steal him back."

"I never said I liked him," I pointed out, turning to look at Jeremy.

"You didn't have to. It's obvious."

I blushed, quickly looking out the window again. "Is it really?"

"To everyone who has seen you interact outside of school, then yes. Well except to
you and Chris, I guess."

I sighed. "There's no way he could like me."

Jeremy smirked. "If you ever get the chance, look at his cell phone."

"Eh?"

Jeremy shrugged, focusing all his attention on the road again. I watched as we
passed the downtown area, and soon the outskirts of town. I frowned slightly,
turning back to Jeremy.

"Where are we going?"

"It's a secret," he responded in a teasing tone.

I frowned, but let it go. I watched out the window as we pulled onto a dirt road
that led into the forest. The deeper we drove into it, the more dense it became. I
glanced at Jeremy nervously.
"You're not bringing me out here to kill me, are you?"

Jeremy laughed and shook his head. "No, I'm going to show you something you might
appreciate."

"All the way out here?"

"Look."

I looked out the windshield and my eyes landed on a huge building. I could tell it
was abandoned; the paint was peeling, the windows were broken, the lawn was
overgrown, and part of the roof had collapsed.

"Oh joy. A rape hut," I said sarcastically.

Jeremy snorted. "A what? What the hell is that? But no... it's not 'a rape hut'.
This is mine and Chris's old gang hang out place."

"Really?" I looked at the building with new respect. "What happened?"

"A few years back a storm knocked a tree into the roof, and none of us were
carpenters, so we had to ditch it."

"Why not just call a carpenter?"

Jeremy raised an eyebrow. "And exploit our hideout? I think not."

I nodded in understanding. It was kind of exciting to have a secret hide out spot.
I wouldn't want anyone to know where mine was if I had one. But it was a sad thing
to have to abandon it.

Jeremy parked the car and I unbuckled myself, getting out quickly. I started across
the lawn, eager to look inside.
"Wait up, kiddo!" Jeremy called after me and I heard his footfalls as he ran to
catch up. "It's dangerous in there, so don't wander off alone."

"Dangerous?" I repeated, turning with a frown. "How?"

"Can't you tell? It's falling apart. I haven't been here in a few years, well no
one has been here in a few years. Who knows how safe it is?"

"I still want to go inside," I complained. "We drove all the way out here."

Jeremy looked at me for a moment, and then sighed. "Fine. But if anything happens
to you, you tell Chris it's not my fault."

I grinned. "Deal."

With that, I turned around and hurried towards the porch, stepping up the creaky
stairs. I tried to the door, and was pleasantly surprised to find it open. I turned
around to shoot Jeremy a grin. He smiled back, making his way slowly up the steps.

I opened the door and a heavy sent of mothballs and dust filled my nose and I
coughed for a second, trying to adjust myself to the musk. When I did, I entered
fully entered the house, only to be enveloped in darkness. The only light came from
the door I had just entered from.

"Is there a light switch in here?

"To your left," Jeremy responded, coming into view at the door. "But I highly doubt
if--"

Light filled the room as I switched on the light switch Jeremy was talking about.
He looked at me in surprise.

"Maybe the electric company didn't notice yet?" I suggested, shrugging.

"Maybe," Jeremy murmured in agreement.

I surveyed the room in front of me. It was very large, and very bare. The only
pieces of furniture in the room were a ratty old couch that was against the far
left wall, with a recliner to accompany it, and scattered chairs against the right.

There was a stair case on either side of the room, that led up to a balcony that
hovered over the last quarter of the room. It was very grand.

"What was this room used for?"

"Fights," Jeremy replied simply. "Mock fights. Challenges. Practice."

I stared at him in awe. "You actually fought here?"

"It was our base for a reason, you know," Jeremy responded, raising an eyebrow.
"C'mon, I'll show you something cool."

"Okay."

I followed Jeremy towards a set of stairs on the left, and he carefully began
stepping up them. He took one step at a time, testing each stair with his weight
before stepping on it fully. When we finally made it to the stop without incident,
he gestured me toward a door directly across the hall.

"This is our hall of fame in a way," he told me, opening the door the room.

I peered in and furrowed my eyes in confusion. "What are all those papers on the
floor?"

"What?" Jeremy looked around me and he let out a little gasp. "What happened here?"

The room was scattered with papers all over the floor. There were also a few
miscellaneous items lying around as well. Jeremy pushed me aside and walked into
the room, frowning deeply.

"I wonder who did this," he commented, squatting down and picking up one of the
papers.

I walked further into the room and bent down and picked up what looked like a
photograph. I turned it over to the front and was staring at a familiar face, only
a few years younger.

"Jeremy," I started, walking over to him. "Is this you?"

Jeremy stood up, taking the photo out of his hand. He looked at it for a second and
grinned. "That's me. Back when I was a junior."

"You were so cute!" I commented, taking the picture back. "I would have totally
dated you."

"Hey," he said, sounding offended. "I'm only four years older now."

I ignored him, bending down and picking up another piece of paper. This time it was
a news article cutout. I scanned it quickly. There was a picture of a teenager, who
was a little bit handsome, on it. In a nutshell, the article was about the teen who
had beaten another nearly to death.

"That's Jason," Jeremy commented, making me jump. "He was arrested though."

"Why is the clipping here?"

"Didn't I tell you? This is our hall of fame. Granted, everything used to be on the
wall though... I really wonder who tore it all off."

"Hall of fame? As in..."

"As in if you did well in a fight, you're picture would be up on the wall. On the
back it'd say your name, age, opponent, and how long the fight took. You could also
get on the wall if you got into the newspapers. There were other ways of getting on
it, but I'm not going to explain."

I looked at the picture of Jeremy when he was a junior. Sure enough, there was
writing on the back. "So it took you ten minutes to beat this guy named Aaron?"

Jeremy nodded. "It wouldn't have taken so long if the bastard hadn't surprised me
with a knife.

I let out a startled gasp. "Is that legal?"

Jeremy gave an exaggerated sigh. "There's nothing illegal or legal in fighting...

well, technically speaking."

"But that doesn't seem fair..."

"Nothing's fair in fighting, Holly," he informed me. "You'd do best to remember

that."

"O-okay," I responded, turning my attention back to the papers on the floor.

I continued to look at the backs of photos and random news articles about all the
different people who were in the gang. There were quite a few of Jeremy. All the
ones I found with him I put in my pocket to save.

"Found it!"

I jumped at Jeremy's sudden outburst. "Found what?"

"Look, look!" he said excitedly, shoving a photo into my hands.

The photo was of a very handsome teenager, who was glaring at the camera. I had to
resist the urge to snicker.
"Was he always like this?"

Jeremy laughed. "Chris would never smile for any pictures... however there is one
in here."

"He's so cute. I wish I knew him when he was younger," I commented, flipping the
photo over. "Eh? Why aren't there any names on it?"

"Because, he was our gang leader."

---------------

Facebook link to the right!

*******************************************
[29] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 28
*******************************************
"You're kidding me."

Jeremy laughed, taking the photo from my hands. "Hmm, I believe this was Chris in
his freshman year of college..."

I looked at the photo again. "No way, he's too young."

Jeremy raised an eyebrow. "Don't you know? Chris skipped two grades in middle
school."

I gasped, my eyes widening. "What? Really?"

Jeremy nodded. "He graduated at age sixteen. After that he went straight to
college, and managed to graduate with his teaching degree in only three years ."

My mouth was open in shock as I digested this information. Just how smart was Mr.
Heywood?
"So wait... he was gang leader at age sixteen?"

"Eighteen," Jeremy corrected me.

"Then why doesn't this picture have names?"

"This is why."

I watched as Jeremy unfolded a piece of paper. He handed it over, and it crinkled

in my hand. The edges were yellow from age. I scanned down the paper. It was full
with names, and fight durations.

"It can't be..."

"Oh, yes it can. Flip the paper over."

I did Jeremy commanded, and my eyes met more names. "This is crazy!"

"He is a crazy good fighter," Jeremy responded. "Over one hundred matches won
within half a year. Two hundred by the end of it. The only reason Chris didn't
become gang leader as soon as he joined was because he wouldn't accept."

I shook my head in disbelief. "This isn't impossible... it's almost inhuman."

"You've seen Chris fight, right?"

Images of Mr. Heywood's one hit knock outs flooded my mind. I nodded my head
vigorously.

"There you go."

I frowned at the photo for a few moments. "Okay... so if he joined the gang when he
was either a freshman or sophomore--"

"Sophomore," Jeremy corrected me. "And how'd you know that?"

"He told me," I responded, before returning to my thoughts. "That means he was part
of the gang since he was around fourteen... then at seventeen he went to college,
and was still part of the gang. At twenty he graduated..."

"Where are you going with this?" Jeremy commented, sounding confused.

I turned my attention onto him. "Why didn't Mr. Heywood start teaching when he was
twenty-one? Why wait until a year later? And he didn't quit the gang until this
year, when he started teaching... so what did he do in that year between graduating
and starting as a teacher?"

Jeremy suddenly looked uncomfortable. He squatted down and began searching through
the papers on the floor again, ignoring my questions and stares. I walked over to
him and lowered myself to his level.

"Tell me what Mr. Heywood did during that time, Jeremy."

"It's not my business to tell, I'm afraid," Jeremy responded quietly. "There's some
stuff I can tell you, however, this is not something I feel I should divulge to
you. Chris will tell you if he wants you to know."

"Does this have to do with why your old gang wants him dead?" I demanded, my gaze
hardening.

"Oh look what I found!" Jeremy cried excitedly, standing up.

I followed suit, a small scowl on my face. "Don't ignore me, answer my question!"

"Look, Holly. Isn't Chris so cute when he smiles? This was his graduating year at
college."
Jeremy dangled the photo in front of me. I tried to focus on it, but with the
swaying of his hand, he made it impossible. I snatched it from his grasp and held
it out in front of me.

A silly grin made its way onto my face as I looked at the picture. Mr. Heywood was
dressed up in a pair of faded jeans and a black button-up shirt. He was with Jeremy
, and they both grinning at the camera, their arms wrapped around each other.

"Aren't we so cute?" Jeremy asked with a sigh. "This picture was taking on one of
those rare days when Chris would actually smile."

"I feel like I'm looking at a totally different person," I told him, staring at the
photo in awe. "I mean, I know Mr. Heywood is younger in this picture, but I've
never seen him with this expression on."

Jeremy nodded. "He used to be a lot more carefree before the accident..." Jeremy
trailed off, looking everywhere but at me.

"The accident?" I repeated.

"Aha, I don't know what you're talking about," Jeremy responded, giving me a crazy
look.

"But you--"

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"

My head snapped towards the door way and my gaze landed on a man around Mr.
Heywood's age. He had gelled black hair, and stood at an alarming height. I quickly
shot a glance at Jeremy, who was scowling at the man.

"What are you doing here, Shawn?"

Shawn? The name clicked in my head, but I couldn't remember where I heard it from.
I cursed my forgetfulness.
"I could ask you the same question," the tall man named Shawn responded, looking
amused. "How dare traitors show their faces around here."

Jeremy slowly stepped in front of me, his arm going up protectively. "This place
hasn't been used for years..."

"Well you're wrong about that, aren't you?" Shawn responded sarcastically.

"Apparently."

A moment of silence passed between the two. Finally Shawn's eyes snapped onto me.

"This wouldn't happen to be the famous girl I've heard so much about, would it?"

"No," Jeremy responded quickly. "She's my girlfriend."

"Really? She looks exactly like the girl that Dan told me about..."

Dan? Horror washed over me when I realized that was the man I had attacked two
times now.

"Well you're wrong," Jeremy said, glaring at Shawn. "Now if you don't mind, we'll
be taking our leave."

"Not so fast."

I stared at Shawn, who smirked slightly.

"Since you are both here, shall we have some fun? I've been meaning to get back to
you for ditching the gang to join Heywood's side."

Jeremy tensed, his hands clenching into fists. "I'll fight you, but let Holly go."
Shawn stayed quiet for a moment before nodding. "Very well."

"What? I'm not leaving you here," I whispered urgently, gripping onto Jeremy.

"The most important thing is to keep you safe," he whispered back, never taking his
eyes of Shawn.

"Shall we escort her outside then?"

Jeremy nodded. "Let's go."

"I'm not leaving without you," I repeated stubbornly. "Even if you leave me
outside, I'm coming back in to get you."

Jeremy looked at me, an amused expression on his face.

"Now I know why Chris does what he does."

Before I could ask him what he meant by that, he was across the room. He grabbed
the surprised Shawn's shirt and yanked him into the room. Jeremy turned and sent a
punch into Shawn's face, which made him stagger backwards.

"Run!" Jeremy ordered, gesturing me towards him.

I maneuvered myself around the shocked man, and followed Jeremy out the door.
Jeremy slammed it behind me and and began ushering me towards the staircase. He
stopped when he noticed two men coming up them towards us.

Jeremy clicked his tongue. "Holly, go down the other way. I'll take out these two,
and meet you at the front door. No arguing. Go."

I nodded, and took off in a sprint across the balcony. I heard the sound of Jeremy.
talking to the two thugs that were coming up the stairs, and then the unmistakable
sound of someone being punched. I winced slightly, hoping it wasn't Jeremy.

I was about ten feet away from the stairs when someone grabbed my hair. I cried out
in shock, coming to an immediate halt.

"And where do you think you're going?

' I turned around to glare at Shawn, who let go of my hair. He gripped my forearm
tightly with one of his hands instead.

"I don't have time for this," I said, and with that, I brought my fist as hard as I
could into his face.

Instead of letting go of me, like I thought he would, his grasp tightened and he
looked at me in amusement.

"You must be the girl Dan was talking about, you're feisty," he commented. "But
you're still a girl, and that punch was still weak."

I scowled. "Then we do this the old fashioned way."

Shawn stared at me curiously. I brought my knee up as hard as I could into his

crotch. This time he let go of me in surprise and I twisted on my heel, fleeing
before he got over the shock.

I shook my fist lightly. That had definitely not been a weak punch. And Mr. Heywood
had even said I had a good punch. Who was this guy? Why was he so tough? I was
lucky I managed to surprise him with my knee attack, otherwise I wouldn't have been
able to escape.

I came to the stairs and quickly descended them. On the fourth stair I stepped on,
my foot went through it, followed quickly by the rest of my body. I screamed in
surprise, as my body plummeted down the rotten step. I frantically grabbed onto the
step above me, catching myself before I fell all the way.

I immediately tried pulling myself back up, but almost just as quickly found it to
be impossible. I had almost no upper body strength. I struggled for a minute more,
trying to force myself up, but only made my arms more tired.

I grunted as I hung in the air, frustrated. I'd definitely break a leg, or ankle,
or something, if I just dropped down.

A sudden pressure was applied to my fingers and I cried out in pain.

"You think you can get away after doing that to me? Who do you think you are?"

I couldn't see who it was, but the voice told me it was Shawn. I scowled. Couldn't
he stay in pain for at least a minute longer?

"I think it'd be fun to let you fall, so that's exactly what I'm going to do."

I winced as he ground his head into my fingers, making them ache painfully. After a
few seconds, I already felt like they were going to break.

"Stop!" I begged, my hands becoming slippery with sweat.

"I can't hear you," he taunted, switching hands.

I hissed in pain, trying to control the shaking off my other abused hand. My arms
screamed in protest to the unusual treatment of my muscles. I groaned in
frustration.

"You're tough. But you won't be tough when I break your fingers."

I sucked in a breath when he took his foot away. Was he going to stop on them?

"Holly, let go!" a voice cried from under me.

Without a second thought, I shut my eyes and let go of the staircase. A piece of
the stair scratched my cheek as my head went by it. I screamed as I fell through
the air for a split second, and then abruptly cut it off when I landed in someone's
arms. I opened my eyes to see Jeremy staring at me.

"Let's go," he demanded, putting me down and grabbing my hand.

He yanked me towards the door, running faster than I could keep up with. He forced
me out, and then slammed the door behind him. I was quickly ushered down the stairs
and to the car.

"Get in," he demanded.

I didn't hesitate to wrench the car door open and hop it. Jeremy did the same and
stuffed the car keys into the ignition. He started in in one swift movement and
peeled out of the drive way. Soon, we were speeding down the dirt road away from
the house.

I let out a deep sigh of relief, trying to catch my breath.

"I, for one, am sure glad we didn't have a horror movie scene where the car
wouldn't start," I commented, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly.

-----------------------

Woo! Another long-ish chapter! This chapter was fun to write :D

Okay, onto the main topic.I now have a oneshot and a small series for this story
written by two wonderful fans :D They both are for Chris and Holly. Make sure you
go check them out, okay? They are fun :D

If you want to make your own oneshot/mini story about any two characters
(Chris&Holly, Lance&Holly, Jeremy&Holly, heck, Chris&Jeremy xD hahaha) feel free to
:) Just make sure you let me know, and be willing to share it :D If there is a
scenario you want to happen between the two characters, feel free to write it your
own way for your, and other people's, viewing pleasure! I don't mind at all :) I
enjoy reading them.
And as I've mentioned, if someone likes your writing, they might check out your
other stuff ;D I know I would.

So here are the links to the two fanfics already done;

http://www.wattpad.com/560459-a-proscriptive-relationship-hidden-chapter (search
the title "A Proscriptive Relationship Hidden Chapter", or xLizzyIsMe to make it
easier)

http://www.wattpad.com/567904-a-proscriptive-relationship-one-shot (search "A

Proscriptive Relationship: One Shot" or TemporaryInsanity

:D Message me if you want to make one!

Open external link for Facebook page!

*******************************************
[30] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 29
*******************************************
"Are you hungry?"

I glanced at Jeremy, who was looking at me from the corner of his eye. I shook my
head, shifting in my seat. I stifled a yawn, turning to look out the window again.
It was night already, and I could barely make out blurred objects as we drove by
them.

"It's hard to believe it's almost October, huh."

"I'll say," I responded. "It feels like a years gone by in such a short amount of
time."

"Well a lot has been going on. Isn't your class trip tomorrow?"

"Oh yeah!" I sat up straighter, shock passing my face. "I haven't even packed or
asked my mom for money yet!"

"I wish I could go," Jeremy said with a sigh. "I want to go to the beach while the
weather is still okay..."
"To be honest, I don't know why we are going in October since it's been chilly
lately, but it's supposed to be warm tomorrow. Why don't you just come down for
fun?" I suggested.

"Can't. I've got to watch my sisters," Jeremy responded, his eyes on the road.

"You have sisters?"

"Yup."

"How old?"

"I have a thirteen year old sister, and a seven year old sister," he told me,
smiling slightly. "They're cute. You'll have to meet them sometime."

"Sure," I responded, smiling too now.

We lapsed back into silence as we entered the downtown area. As we passed the
grocery store, I vaguely wondered if Lance was working. I sighed softly. I wanted a
job too.

Jeremy pulled into my driveway and I unbuckled myself, grabbing my backpack from
the floor. He turned to me and smirked slightly.

"Get a wipe out of the glove and wipe your face," he suggested. "It's bloody from
where you got cut."

I sucked in a quick breath. Good thing Jeremy had caught that, because I wouldn't
have remembered. I quickly opened the glove compartment fished around until I
grabbed a wipe. I tore open the package and pulled down the visor. To my dismay,
there was no mirror.

"Let me do it," Jeremy offered.

I nodded and handed him the wipe. He grabbed my head and turned it towards him, and
gently began to wipe of my cheek. I hissed slightly.

"Why does it hurt?"

"It's got disinfectant," he responded, wiping my cheek a little more roughly now.
"My sisters fall down a lot, so I have these things handy."

"Oh," I responded, wincing as my cheek throbbed.

When he was done, Jeremy chucked the dirty wipe into the back seat and turned to me
once more. "Well it's been an interesting day," he commented. "Will Chris being
hearing about this?"

"No way," I responded quickly, shaking my head. "I think he might kill me if he
found out I got involved with gangsters again... especially if it's the leader."

Jeremy chuckled. "Good point. Have a good night, kiddo. Have fun at the beach
tomorrow too."

"I'll try," I responded with a small smile. "Tell your sisters I said hi."

"Sure."

I climbed out of the car and shut the door behind me. I waved to Jeremy before
heading towards the house. I could barely make out anything in front of me due to
the darkness. Had Jeremy and I really been gone that long?

Out of habit, I tested the door handle while reaching for my key with my other
hand. I blinked in shock when I found the door open. I pushed it open slowly,
frowning. Was my mom home early?

I walked in and the scent of coffee filled the air. I inhaled, following the smell
towards the kitchen. Yep, definitely my mom. I yawned, pushing open the kitchen
door.
"Mom, why are you home early?"

"Mom?" a masculine voice responded sounding amused.

My eyes snapped open and I came face-to-face with Mr. Heywood. He raised an eyebrow
as I felt my face begin to heat up. With my eyes wide, I looked past him to see my
mom sitting at the kitchen table, sipping a cup of coffee.

She watched me for a moment, and then stood up. I watched her warily as she came to
a stop right in front of me. I braced myself, preparing for the worst.

"Welcome home!" she cried, throwing me into a big hug. "How was school? Was
everyone nice to you? I hope so! I don't want to have to make any calls to the
principal!"

Yep. My mom was a doting mother.

I rolled my eyes, giving my mom a short squeeze before trying to squirm out of her
grasp. "Today was great, mom."

"And your date? How come I've never met this man before?" she continued, beginning
to frown. "How old is he?"

I shot Mr. Heywood a glare. He was biting his lip, trying not to laugh. That only
made me more irritated.

"Mom, why is my teacher here?" I asked, trying to change the topic.

My mom grinned, pulling me over to Mr. Heywood. By now he had his laughter under
control and he was smiling pleasantly at my mom.

"We ran into each other at the grocery store," he explained, a smirk on his face.
"Literally," my mom interjected. "And then I found out he was your teacher, so I
invited him here to have dinner. He's so young and handsome, how come you haven't
mentioned him before, Holly?"

"She's never mentioned me?" Mr. Heywood asked, frowning slightly.

"When we have time together, mom, I'd rather not talk about school," I told her.
"Since you're so busy all the time, it just never came up."

My mom nodded. "I see." She turned to Mr. Heywood. "Work keeps me busy so I'm
almost never home."

Mr. Heywood nodded his head understandingly. "I'm sure being a single mom with a...
teenage daughter must be hard."

I scowled at Mr. Heywood for a second. I knew he was going to say something
offensive about me before he corrected himself. He smirked back. My mom was
oblivious to the exchange completely.

"Well, shall I get supper started then?" she asked, looking between Chris and
myself.

"You won't," I told her, an amused smirk slipping on my face. "Face it, mom, you
can't cook at all."

My mom blushed, looking down in embarrassment. "I could still try..."

"I can cook something," Chris offered. "Believe it or not, I'm a good cook."

My mom turned to him with a grin on her face. "Really?"

"Really."

"Well, it's settled then. Holly, would you help him?"

"Uhh..."

"Good!" my mom said with a smile, putting a hand on my back. "I'm sure the two of
you can figure out something good. There are steaks in the fridge. If we don't cook
them soon, they might go bad. There's also onions in there too, and some potatoes.
It could make a good dinner-"

"Mom," I started, cutting her off, "if you want a steak dinner, you just have to
ask."

She blushed again, laughing sheepishly. "Right... sorry."

"No worries, I can make a great steak," Mr. Heywood responded, a charming smile on
his face.

I rolled my eyes. Was he trying to flirt with my mom? That was gross!"

"Great!" my mom responded enthusiastically. "Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'll
take this time to make a few business calls..."

My mom smiled at Chris again and ruffled my hair before leaving the room. I
frowned, trying to smooth my hair out. Mr. Heywood watched me with an amused look.
I turned my frown onto him.

"What?"

"I didn't know your mom was a doting parent," he commented.

I shrugged. "She wasn't always. She was much more manageable before my dad died."

"You can sit in that chair right there," Mr. Heywood pointed to one of the kitchen
chairs, "and let me do the cooking. It seems like you had a rough day."
"Huh?" I responded, raising an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

Mr. Heywood gave me a flat look. I returned it with my own confused one. He started
walking towards me, and I stood my ground. He stopped about a foot away and raised
his hand up to my face.

I jumped slightly when I felt his hand on my cheek. I looked up at him, and his
piercing gaze made my face heat up.

"There's a cut on your cheek," he commented, running his thumb over it, sending
tingles to my toes. "Your shirt sleeve has a hole in it, and you have bruised
knuckles."

I looked down at my hands in surprise. Like Mr. Heywood said, on my right hand, my
four base knuckles from where Shawn had stepped on me where bruised. I looked back
up at Mr. Heywood in shock. How had he noticed that?

"Should we talk about this now, or later?" he demanded, his mouthing twisting into
a frown.

"There's nothing to talk about," I responded, realizing his hand was still on my
face, and pushing it away. "Nothing happened."

He rolled his eyes. "Haven't I told you that you can't lie to me before?"

"I'm not lying," I stated stubbornly.

"Fine," Mr. Heywood responded simply, turning around, and walking away from me. "I
trust you enough to believe you."

I narrowed my eyes slightly. Was he trying to make me feel guilty? Well, it

wouldn't work. I could handle the guilt. After all, I had to handle the guilt of
lying to Casey anyway.

"I'll just beat the truth out of Jeremy."

I sighed, hanging my head in defeat. "No, don't do that."

"So you'll tell me?"

I bit my lip, staring at the floor. "You won't like it..."

There was a sudden hand on my shoulder and I jumped slightly, unaware that Mr.
Heywood had come back across the kitchen again. His eyes pierced into mine again,
and I had to look away.

"Holly, I know I won't like it, but it's important that you tell me if something
has happened."

"Don't be mad at Jeremy," I said in a quiet voice.

"Stop worrying about Jeremy, Holly!" Mr. Heywood demanded, sounding slightly angry.
"Worry about yourself!"

I looked at him, a bit taken aback. He gaze was hard and I swallowed nervously.

"Jeremy, uh..." I struggled to form a coherent thought. With Mr. Heywood so close
to me, and how nervous I was, it wasn't working so smoothly.

"Jeremy?" Mr. Heywood urged, taking a step away from me.

I immediately relaxed, and looked up at him, frowning. "Jeremy took me to your old
gang hideout..."

Mr. Heywood tensed, but didn't say anything, so I continued.

"And after awhile this guy from the gang came, and we had to leave. And I fell down
the stairs," I told him, cutting out a lot of the story. "Well I didn't technically
fall down the stairs, I actually fell through a step, and that's how I got the cut
on my cheek, but Jeremy was below to catch me."

Mr. Heywood pursed his lips. "Holly, it's obvious you left a lot out."

I scratched my head, looking back at the ground. "This guy had back up... so Jeremy
took out the back up... while the guy came after me... and well he didn't do
anything," I said quickly, catching a look of Mr. Heywood's dark face. "When I
fell, he just stepped on my fingers, so I guess that's how I got the bruises. Or
maybe it was when I punched him, but that didn't affect him at all..."

Mr. Heywood sighed, shaking his head. "Holly..."

"But Shawn had me and I didn't want to die!" I said in defense.

"Shawn?" Mr. Heywood repeated in a serious tone.

I mentally slapped myself in the face. I wasn't going to tell Mr. Heywood it had
been Shawn who found us.

"I'm going to murder Jeremy," Mr. Heywood muttered dangerously under his breath.
"That little brat..."

"It's not his fault!"

"Shawn, Holly, is the leader. You attacked the leader! Are you stupid?"

"Sorry for wanting to defend myself," I responded, clenching my fist. "While you
were enjoying your stupid date, I could have been injured or killed. Do you really
think I'd just let him do whatever he wanted with me?"

Mr. Heywood ran a hand through his hair, taking a deep breath and letting it out
slowly. "I'm sorry, Holly."

"It's okay," I responded softly.

"You just don't understand how serious this is."

"Then tell me!"

Mr. Heywood shook his head. "I can't."

"Why not?" I demanded, crossing my arms. "It's all secrets with you, all the time!
Don't you even trust me a little?"

Mr. Heywood gazed at me for a moment, before turning to the fridge. "Sit. I'm going
to get dinner started, Holly."

I went over to the chair and slumped to the table, watching as Mr. Heywood rummaged
through my kitchen. I couldn't pull myself away from looking him. His unruly brown
hair, his sturdy build, and his beautiful grey eyes whenever he'd take a quick look
at me. When our eyes met, I blushed, and looked away.

I pressed my forehead against the tabletop. Why hadn't he answered me when I asked
if he trusted me a little bit? Did that mean he didn't? Or was he just teasing me
again? I sighed quietly. Why did I have to fall for such a confusing guy? Not only
that, but he was almost five years older than me, and he was my teacher. Hell, my
mom probably had a better chance with him than I did.

I laughed slightly at that. My mom was young, but not that young. And it didn't
matter anyway. Mr. Heywood had a girlfriend now. Or at least, he was dating
someone. I let out a quiet frustrated sigh.

"Here."

I looked up to see a steaming mug placed in front of me. I looked up at Mr. Heywood
who was frowning slightly.

"Thanks," I said slowly, pulling the mug closer to me and peering in.

"Hot chocolate," he told me, "but I added a few extra ingredients."

"Oh."

I took a sip of the liquid, surprised when it didn't burn my tongue. The taste was
even more surprising.

"What's in here? It's really good."

Mr. Heywood smirked. "It's a secret."

Before I could reply, he turned and walked back to the stove, where he was now
cooking the steaks. I frowned for a moment, before returning my attention to the
hot chocolate he had made me. I took another sip, savoring the taste.

By the time I finished the hot chocolate Mr. Heywood had finished dinner. My mom
entered the kitchen just in time. She looked very pleased.

"Something smells wonderful," she commented, taking a next to me at the kitchen

table.

"Here," Mr. Heywood said, placing a plateful of food in front of her.

"Thank you," she responded.

Mr. Heywood nodded, and placed a plate in front of me. I nodded my thanks and
watched as he sat down across the table from me with his own plate. My mom was the
first to take a bite. She moaned her approval. I blushed, embarrassed by her
reaction.

"If you were twenty years older, I would marry you," she commented, a smile on her
face.

"If only," Mr. Heywood responded with a laugh.

I rolled my eyes, cutting off a piece of steak and putting it in my mouth. I
frowned when I realized how good it actually was. Not that I'd tell Mr. Heywood
that after what my mom said.

"You can marry Holly instead."

I choked on my steak, banging my hand on the table in an automatic reaction. My mom

looked at me worriedly. I coughed, trying to dislodge the piece of meat from me
airway. When I had finally managed too, I still continued coughing, my face hot in
embarrassment.

"M-mom," I started, turning towards her. "Don't say those things. He's my teacher."

"Only for a year longer," she responded, wagging her eyebrows.

I looked down at my plate, too embarrassed to look at Mr. Heywood. I had to

remember never to let my mom and Mr. Heywood meet ever again. Even if I had to
murder to stop it.

My mom and Mr. Heywood got into an animated chat as I silently ate my dinner,
refusing to look up from my plate. I made sure to eat slowly, so I wouldn't be the
first one done. When I finally finished, I noticed my mom and Mr. Heywood were long
since finished eating.

My mom yawned, and stood up. "Let's clear up. I want to go to bed soon."

I stood up with her. "I'll take care of it, you can head up to bed now if you
want."

"You sure?"

I nodded, shooing her with my hand. "It's fine. Go rest."

She nodded, and turned to Mr. Heywood. "Well, thanks for coming to dinner... and
making it."
"No problem, thank you for having me over, and sorry for running into you," Mr.
Heywood responded in a polite tone.

"Don't worry about it! Let's do this again sometime."

I looked at her in mock horror. Something like this should never happen again!

"Of course," Mr. Heywood said, contrary to my thoughts.

I sighed, watching as my mom bid one last goodbye before going to her room. I
started picking up the plates, and a hand snatched them away from me. I looked up
to see Mr. Heywood carrying them towards the kitchen.

"I can do it," I protested, following him.

"Shut up and let me do it."

I scowled slightly, but let it go. If he wanted to help me out, I wasn't going to
stop him. It was rare, and I should enjoy it while I could.

I watched as he put the dishes in the dishwasher after rinsing them. I was a little
impressed. Most guys who lived alone slacked in the cleaning area. Mr. Heywood
smirked at me when he finished.

"What are you looking at?"

"Nothing," I responded, a blush spreading on my face. I really needed to stop

blushing.

Mr. Heywood chuckled. "Sure."

"Really."
"Whatever you say, Holly."

I ignored his jibe, and turned my attention to my hands. "Sorry about my mom.
She's..."

"Amusing," Mr. Heywood finished for me. "Nothing to apologize about."

I smiled slightly. "Right."

"But, I'm going to head home now," he told me, stifling a yawn. "I'll see you
Monday."

Disappointment washed over me when I remembered Mr. Heywood wasn't going on the
beach trip tomorrow. I shook it away. I could still have fun with my friends.

"Yeah, okay," I said, following him to the door.

He opened it and turned back at me before exiting. "Goodnight, Holly."

"Night, Mr. Heywood."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Chris," I corrected myself, feeling a blush coming up again, but I fought it back.
"Goodnight, Chris."

He smirked, stepping out the door. I sighed in relief, and went to close it, but it
suddenly flew back open, smacking me in the face.

"Ow!"
"Sorry," Mr. Heywood apologized sounding more entertained than amused. "But I
forgot to give you this."

I looked at him in confusion, before looking down at his hand. In it was my cell
phone.

"It's a Friday, and you're going out tomorrow, so I wanted to return it," he
explained, giving it to me. "Now that's it. Goodbye."

"Thank you," I called before the door shut.

I grinned, looking at the phone in my hand. Mr. Heywood could be unexpectedly nice.
I flipped open my phone to check my text messages. I stared in surprise at my
background.

Instead of Lance and I as my background image as it was before, it was now replaced
by Mr. Heywood making a funny face. I couldn't help but giggle at it. And I wasn't
going to change it back either.

-------------------------------------

BEFORE I FORGET! This chapter is dedicated to Laura Victoria Bowman! Because I was
actually supposed to dedicate a chapter to her a few weeks ago, but I forgot xD

There was something else I wanted to talk about, but I can't remember it for the
life of me Dx

This chapter was mostly written because I wanted to introduce Holly's mom, and we
needed some Chris in it too.

Anyway~ The list of oneshots is ever growing, so from now on I'll be listing the
links at the end of the stories :3 You should read them if you haven't! They are
all really good!

Here we go! Because you can't simply copy from this for some reason, go to "select
all" under edit at the top of your screen and copy all of it, and paste it to like,
a notepad/word document, so you can easily get the link you want instead of typing
it in by hand.

Make sure you check them out! They are all really good :)

Some oneshots are on Quizilla:

http://quizilla.teennick.com/stories/17200160/a-proscriptive-relationshiponeshot-
for-xxskater2girl16xx

http://quizilla.teennick.com/stories/17195631/proscriptive-relationship-hidden-
chapter

Wattpad:

http://www.wattpad.com/570275-holly-would-you-turn-me-on-a-proscriptive

http://www.wattpad.com/567904-a-proscriptive-relationship-one-shot

http://www.wattpad.com/569573-everything-but-her-apr-fanfiction-chris&holly

http://www.wattpad.com/571487-apr-a-teacher-student-love-story-one-shot-h

http://www.wattpad.com/574267-dr-love-apr-fanfiction-casey

Open external link for facebook fanpage!

*******************************************
[31] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 30
*******************************************
"Holly, let's go swimming!"
I looked up at Casey as she hovered over me, her hands on her hips. I raised an
eyebrow.

"Right now?"

"We've been here for four hours, and all you've done is sit there and be
depressed," she accused.

"I haven't been depressed," I accused, frowning. "What is there to be depressed

about?"

"Hmm, let me think," she started, putting a finger to her chin. "Could it be that
Mr. Heywood isn't here?"

"What? No! I-I... it isn't that," I stuttered, feeling my face heat up.

Casey rolled her eyes. "I don't see why you don't just tell him you like him."

"Shh! Lower your voice!"

"Sorry," she said, quieting voice. "But if you like him, I think you should just
tell him."

"I can't!" I cried, my eyes widening. "Casey, you don't understand the situation."

"What's the situation?"

"Oh, I don't know... he's a teacher and I'm a student?"

"And?"

"That's illegal, Casey."

Casey waved her hand. "You're a senior. It shouldn't matter."

"He doesn't even like me," I continued, digging a hole in the sand with my bare
foot and burying it in it.

Casey heaved a sigh, shaking her head. "You don't know that."

"He's got a girlfriend."

Casey's eyes widened in surprise. "Did he tell you that?"

"Well, not in those words," I responded, biting my lip. "But lately he's been going
on dates."

Casey rolled her eyes. "Holly, it sounds to me like your making up excuses not to
like him."

I gaped at Casey, unable to think of a reply. She frowned at me, crossing her arms.

Was I making up excused not to like him? No, that wasn't it. I was just being
rational. Yeah!

"I'm just being rational," I explained, furrowing my eyebrows. "I don't want to get
my hopes up."

"Well, even if he doesn't like you, there's something special about you to him,"
she pressed. "Why else would he keep making you stay after school?"

"Because he's a black mailing devil," I muttered.

Casey sighed. "Holly. C'mon."

I glanced up at her with a frown. "Casey, let's forget about it. It's wrong, and
impossible, and I just don't want to think about it anymore, okay?"

"Fine you keep on making up excuses," Casey responded, her face serious. "But when
he stops chasing after you, and you lose any chance you have with him, don't come
crying to me. You need to stop thinking of wrong and right, Holly, because when it
comes to love there's no such thing. When you love someone, nothing should be able
to come between the two of you. You're just going to be hurting yourself thinking
along the lines as 'he can't like me, it's impossible'. Nothing is impossible."

And with that, she turned and started walking away from me. I watched her walk
away, my mouth hanging open slightly.

My best friend had just scolded me about love.

Her words sunk in to my mind, and I knew she was right. I groaned, putting my head
in my hands.

I was making up excuses. But it wasn't that I didn't like Mr. Heywood, no, I knew I
liked him, loved him. But what was there not to love? He had beautiful grey eyes
that seemed to pierce right into your soul. His somewhat messy, brown hair could
make him look boyishly cute, or look like a young handsome man. Sure, he had a
split personality, but it was sort of a charm point.

I groaned again. But there was something else that kept me from really accepting my
feelings, something I didn't want to admit to myself.

I didn't know anything about Mr. Heywood.

What I liked was his looks, his actions, and personality. But I didn't know a
single thing about his past, besides that he was a gang leader, and he did
something that now has the gang wanting him dead. And I didn't know what that was.

What if it was something really bad? Would that change my views of Mr. Heywood?

I rubbed my forehead, trying to clear my thoughts. For now, I couldn't let Mr.
Heywood know of my feelings. I didn't want him to think they weren't real. That I
was just like all the other girls at school. For now, I'd deal with my unrequited
love, even if it hurt. I could deal with it.

My phone suddenly went off and I jumped, my heart rate spiking. I reached into my
pocket and pulled out my phone. The caller I.D showed Lance. I flipped open my
phone and put it to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Holly! How's the beach?"

"Okay."

"You sound excited," he commented with a chuckle.

I laughed. "Don't I? I thought you were working."

"I am," Lance responded. "I'm on break."

"Oh. How late do you have to work till?"

"Closing."

"Fun," I responded, playing in the sand with my feet again.

"Is Heywood there?"

"No."

"That's why you sound so depressed."

I opened my mouth in shock, narrowing my eyes. "I'm not depressed! You're just like
Casey!"

"Hey, I'm just stating the truth," Lance defended, amusement in his voice. "Admit
it."

"Have a good shift, Lance!"

"Holly-"

I snapped my phone shut in a huff, blushing furiously. I wasn't depressed! I was

just...

I looked around me to see I was the only one sitting on the bench, dressed fully.
Everyone one else was running around the beach playing Frisbee, or volleyball, or
they were playing in the water.

I scowled.

I wasn't depressed.

Kicking up sand, I stood up, marching towards the changing area with my bag. I
didn't need Mr. Heywood to have fun.

Casey mock wolf-whistled at me when I came back to the beach after changing into my
swimsuit. I blushed, glaring at her.

"Nice legs, daisy dukes, make's a man go," she paused to wolf-whistle again. "The
bikini top is a nice addition."

"I hate them though," I muttered, crossing my arms in front of my chest

subconsciously.

I glanced at my blue and white bikini top. It was tied by strings, which I thought
was a bad idea. There were some real idiots in my grade, and I didn't really want
to take the chance of having one of them untie my top.

"If you don't like bikinis, then why are you wearing them?"

I gave her a sour look. "My mom replaced all my swim suits with bikinis. She took
my board shorts too, and there's no way I'm walking the beach in just a bikini."

"Flaunt what you got, Holly," she told me, rolling her eyes.

I stuck my tongue out at her childishly. "Sorry, I like having some modesty."

She just rolled her eyes at me. "Come swimming."

I shook my head. "I'm going to go for a walk. I want to go check out those rocks."
I pointed to the rocks in the distance that led out into the ocean.

"Oh! Can I come?"

I nodded. "No Willis though."

We both glanced at Willis, who was roughhousing in the water with some boys from
our class. Casey smiled for a second while staring at him, but then turned back to
me, waving her hand dismissively.

"He won't even notice I'm gone."

I chuckled, pushing my hair behind my ear. "Fine, let's go."

Together we started down the beach, walking along the thin wash of broken waves.
Our feet splashed in the shallow water, the current trying to drag our feet back to
see. Casey began hopping over the small waves of foam that came after the wave
breaks.
"I want to skimboard," she complained, kicking a wave, and sending the water
spraying up at us.

I winced at the cold feeling on my arm. "Did you bring a skimboard?"

"No," she muttered moodily.

I laughed, pushing her slightly. "Then that's your own fault. Borrow one from
someone."

Casey sighed. "I guess I'll have to at some point. But it's almost curfew. I'll
have to do it tomorrow."

The walk to the rocks was taking longer than I had expected. I must have misjudged
the distance. The closer we got, however, the larger the rocks appeared. Casey sped
up slightly.

"Look at that!" she cried, her eyes wide. "It's like a fort! Hurry, Holly!"

"Casey, we still have a way to walk- argh!" I cried out as she suddenly grabbed my
wrist and started sprinting. "Casey!"

"C'mon, c'mon!"

I scowled slightly, but didn't dare to stop running. Knowing me, I'd probably end
up tripping over my feet and fall into the water at my feet.

When we finally reached the rocks, we were both panting, and holding stitches in
our sides. I leaned against one of the large, cool, black rocks trying to catch my
breath. Casey regained her breath quicker and admired the rocks.

She started climbing one, and I followed in pursuit. The top of the rock was flat,
and stable to stand on. Casey started hopping to the next one, which had a two feet
crevice between the one I was on and it. I stepped over it cautiously, looking down
to see a black hole.
"Casey!" I cried as she jumped from the rock, into a crevice.

"Follow me," she responded.

I looked over the crevice to see Casey at the bottom looking up at me. The crevice
was taller than her head. I nervously lowered myself down, dropping onto the sand.
Casey started walking down the crevice and I followed, running my hand against the
moist rock walls.

Casey turned a corner, and I followed, surprised to see it led to a small section
of the beach, even though rocks sectioned it off. Casey turned and grinned at me.

"This is so cool."

I couldn't help but return her grin with one of my own. "You've always been good at
exploring."

Casey smirked smugly, before walking to the other side of the small beach area. I
followed, staring in wonder at the area I was looking at. It was literally a part
of the beach that was sectioned off by rocks. The large black rocks even went about
ten feet into the ocean, and the tops of the walls also went higher than the flat
tops of the rocks we had first came off. It was totally private.

"I bet people like to have sex in here," Casey commented, grinning cheekily. "It's
so private."

"You have such a dirty mind," I responded, rolling my eyes.

"Check this out."

I walked over to where she was, and peered around her. There seemed to be a tunnel
in the rock.

"Should we go in there?"
I shook my head. "There's probably only trash and stuff. Let's go climb the rock
pier before the curfew comes."

Casey stared longingly at the small cave before sighing. "Yeah."

We made our way out of the little private area, and with some effort, pulled
ourselves out of the crevice and onto the flat rock. The sun was beginning to set
now.

"Should we go back?" Casey asked.

I glanced back at the beach where our class had set up, and could still see people
playing in the water.

"I think we're okay," I told Casey, who was also looking.

"If we go fast."

We nodded at each other and started carefully climbing across the rocks that led to
the rock pier. I wanted to make it out to the last rock. There were puddles of
water on some of them, and every now and again I'd step on one and scare myself.

Casey was kicking a rock, expertly getting across crevice after crevice as I barely
managed to stumble from rock to rock without falling in one. There was a large
crevice between the rock and the one we were currently on, so Casey gave a hard
kick to the rock, sending it soaring. It went way past the other rock.

I snickered as Casey flushed in embarrassment.

"Ow!"

Casey and I looked at each other in surprise and scrambled across the crevice,
looking down the other side of the rock. A pair of teenage boys was standing below
us. One of them had shaggy brow hair, and the other had a buzz cut. The one with
the buzz cut was holding a hand to his head and holding the rock in his other hand.
Casey jumped down before I could stop her, and jogged up to the boy with the buzz
cut.

"I am so sorry!" she apologized.

"I think I'm bleeding," he said, pulling his hand away from his head for a second,
before quickly replacing it. "Yeah, definitely bleeding."

I rolled my eyes. Yeah right.

"Sorry!" Casey apologized again, sounding flustered. "Let me check it out."

Casey reached a hand up to the teen's head, but before I could protest, the teen
grabbed her wrist, a smirk spreading across his face. I immediately tensed up,
watching them carefully.

"Let go," Casey demanded, trying to yank her wrist free.

"Are you alone? You don't look busy right now, so why don't you have some fun with
us?"

"I'm here with my boyfriend," Casey retorted, trying to pull her hand away.

I scowled, preparing to shout at the guy. Then the guy with the brown hair finally
made his mouth, grabbing Casey's other arm.

"It'll be fun," he told her.

"Let go!" Casey repeated, with more force.

I caught my breath and watched nervously. What should I do? Go get someone? No,
there wasn't time for that.
I realized they hadn't noticed me, so I quietly backed away from the rock, and
started going around it. I could hear Casey's angry voice and the boys' joking ones
as I slyly came up from behind the boys. I quietly begged Casey not to look at me.

"Stay still," the one with the buzz cut said, jerking Casey's arm hard.

"Ow!" she cried, being pulled forward.

I quietly dropped behind the pair of boys, trying to make the least amount of noise
as possible. To my dismay, I landed with a thud. They heard me land, and turned in
shock.

The buzz cut boy smirked. "I see you want in on the fun."

Without thinking, I punched the buzz cut teen in the face, using my full force. He
let go of Casey in surprise, stumbling back a few steps. I silently scolded myself.
I needed to stop punching people.

After I got Casey away.

I turned to the shaggy haired one, holding up my fist threateningly.

"Let her go."

He snorted. "You may have caught him off-guard, but you won't-"

I sent my fist into his face, cutting him off. Casey managed to free herself, and
started sprinting away, grabbing my arm and dragging me with her. The buzz cut guy
looked up at me with a scowl and flipped me off.

"At least I wasn't beat by a girl," I yelled back childishly, rounding the corner
with Casey.
We scrambled up the crevice, quickly making our way across the rocks, and back to
the beach, were we continued running back to the class site. I feet splashed
through the cool water as I kept throwing cautious glances before me.

I wasn't that worried. I had taken on a gangster before; I could take on two
teenaged guys.

We didn't stop running until one of the chaperones on the trip was in our sight. We
slowed gradually to a walk, and the finally slumped onto the benches, out of
breath. I leaned back, my throat burning.

"I hate running," I panted.

"Where," Casey started, taking a deep breath. "Did you learn... how to punch...
like that? I thought you couldn't even make a fist."

I gave a noncommittal shrug of the shoulders, and Casey let it go.

Like I would tell her I needed to learn how to punch someone because I was involved
with gangsters. Hah.

"If anyone asks, that didn't happen," Casey said seriously, her breath regained.
"Willis would kill me."

"I'm bleeding," I mocked, a smirk on my face.

Casey scowled. "I was being polite."

I rolled my eyes. "This is why I don't like the beach. There are tons of perverts
around, waiting to scoop up girls in bathing suits."

Casey stuck out her tongue. "Not always."

I laughed, letting out a sigh of relief with it. At least it wasn't anything
serious. I have expected something like that to happen anyway. I mean it happened
in movies all the time.

Suddenly I remembered we hadn't made it out to the last rock on the rock pier.

I groaned and Casey looked at me with a worried expression.

"We didn't get to go on the rock pier!"

Casey shoved me hard. "There's always tomorrow."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This is what we call a "setting the scene" chapter... in more ways than you can
possibly guess. Ten bucks says you can guess two out of the many things I am
foreshadowing here, but please refrain from doing so for the others who aren't as
bright, so it can be a surprise.

Yeah, this chapter is boring. I don't want to hear about it. Yeah, there's no
Chris. It's the beach trip. And who doesn't love Casey?

One other thing, this is not a short story, no. I'm actually planning on it being a
very long story. That means I am NOT going to make Holly and Chris's relationship
move fast. Please people, it's illegal. And technically, it's only been a month in
the story. And if/when Chris and Holly get together, I can almost guarantee the
story won't be as good because it loses a lot of the anticipation. This is a story
with a plot, not just a love story. Hopefully you understand where I am coming
from, hm?

Ok, I'm updating a day earlier :p Stop telling me to update now. That was the deal,
a day earlier.

I've started putting up banners people have made me (they are all on my facebook
page) where the images go. Unfortunately, I can only put one image at a time, so if
you made one, it might be awhile before yours comes up since I have over 20 haha :)
Facebook page in external link :D
*******************************************
[32] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 31
*******************************************
I woke in the morning to the excited sounds of twittering girls. I scowled, rolling
over and pressing my head against my pillow.

"I can't believe it!" Danielle cried excitedly.

"Me either! Holly! Holly, wake up!"

"No," I moaned, covering my ears. "I want to sleep..."

"Holly, it's noon. Half the class is already at the beach!" Casey responded, nearly
shouting. "Plus, there is something I want you to see!"

"Trust me, you'll want to see it!" Danielle added.

"Come on, get up and get ready!"

I felt the covers being ripped off of me and I clung to them for dear life. I heard
Casey grunt, and yank harder.

"No," I moaned, keeping a firm grasp. "Just a little longer..."

"No!"

With tremendous force, Casey was able to pull the comforter off me. I sat up
straight, scowling at her. Danielle's hands were also on the blanket. She dropped
them immediately, a sheepish grin on her face.

"Sorry, but we should go to the beach," she said, and Casey nodded.

"Fine," I said, sighing in resignation. "Let me change into some clothes-"

"Don't bother," Casey responded quickly. "We'll be swimming and stuff, so just
throw on your swimsuit."

I frowned slightly. "I'm at least wearing shorts..."

Casey rolled her eyes. "Fine, wear shorts then, but hurry up! And do something with
your hair."

I gave her a quizzical look. If we were going swimming, why would I have to do my
hair? Sighing, I climbed out of my bed and walked over to my backpack. I grabbed my
bikini top and bottom, a pair of shorts, and my hairbrush before going to the hotel
bathroom.

I used the toilet, and washed my face before stripping out of my clothes and
pulling on the bathing suit and shorts. I brushed out my hair, fixing my bangs.
When I thought they looked presentable, I left the bathroom, snagging my beach
towel from the towel hanger on the way.

"You ready?" Casey asked, waiting by the door with Danielle.

I nodded, slipping on my flip-flips, and following them out of the hotel room. The
door locked behind us, and I hoped either Casey or Danielle had the hotel key.

We made our way to the hotel lobby, where a few kids from out class were hanging
out in the very comfortable looking recliners. They seemed to be playing catch with
a hacky sack. Ms. Kirk was there too, probably keeping an eye on them. She waved at
us as we walked by and I returned the wave.

I yawned as we stepped outside the hotel. A cool breeze nipped at me immediately

and I looked at the sky with a frown. It definitely looked like it was going to
rain. However, it was still warm enough to go swimming, so as long as it didn't
rain for a while, I didn't mind.

We trudged across the street that led to the beach, and climbed up the boardwalk
that went over the dunes. At the top, the ocean suddenly spread out in front of me,
stretching out for what looked like forever. I smiled at the sight of it; it was so
refreshing.
A large group of people were playing beach volley ball off to the right a little. I
caught Casey looking at the group of people with a grin. She looked at me, and
nodded her head at the group of people.

"Want to go play?"

I raised an eyebrow. "No..."

"Are you positive?" she asked, slowly frowning. "Do you not see...?"

"Let's go closer," Danielle suggested, pushing my back and leading me down the
other side of the dune, to the beach.

I stumbled for a minute, but managed to maintain my balance as she pushed me down
the boardwalk. Casey trailed behind us, an excited grin still on her face. For some
reason, I felt weary for the reason of Danielle and Casey's giddiness. I hope they
weren't planning on a surprise attack on me with water guns or something...

The closer we got to the group playing beach volleyball, the louder they became. A
few people on the sidelines were cheering, and the girls playing were making loud,
unnecessary squeals and shouts. I rolled my eyes slightly.

That's when my eyes caught sigh of him.

I froze, my eyes widening. Were my eyes playing tricks on me? I glanced at Casey,
who grinned back at me.

"Now are you glad you came?"

I turned back the group playing volleyball, putting a hand over my eyes to shade
them against the small bit of sunlight that was peeking out from the many clouds.
There was no way I was imagining things.

There stood Mr. Heywood in all his bare-chested glory.

But then a girl falling into him blocked his body from view. I narrowed my eyes
slightly. Was that an accidental trip, or was it on purpose? Casey's smile slowly
disappeared and she turned to me sheepishly.

"Okay, well... there may be girls all over him, but he's here!"

"I don't care if there are girls all over him," I stated stubbornly, crossing my
arms.

"I do," Danielle interjected, scowling at the girls who stood at a two feet radius
around Mr. Heywood. "I mean, you have positions in volleyball! Why are they all
standing so close to him?"

"You jealous?" Casey asked, jabbing her in the side.

"Yeah," Danielle admitted without hesitation. "It's annoying."

Something in my gut twisted, and I stared at the ground, biting my lip. It was
funny. I was feeling jealous of someone being jealous. I almost laughed out loud at
the idea.

"Let's go join in then," Casey suggested, nodding her head towards the game.

"I'm in," Danielle said, grabbing Casey and dragging her towards Mr. Heywood.

"Coming, Holly?"

I opened my mouth, about to say no, but decided against it. A smirk made it's way
onto my face. "Yeah, I'll play."

Casey beamed at me; happy I was actually going to play. Volleyball wasn't my sport.
We trooped over to Mr. Heywood, and he glanced at us briefly but then did a double
take.
I pretended to be interested in the sand as we got closer. I heard Mr. Heywood call
time, and a resounding chorus of "okay" came soon after from the girls playing.
Casey suddenly stopped and I nearly ran into her.

"Hey, Mr. Heywood," Casey started, and I had to resist the urge to look up. "Got
room for three more players?"

"Of course," Mr. Heywood responded without hesitation. "It'll make it even, but one
of you will have to go on the other team."

I looked up now, raising my hand. "I'll go on the other team."

"You sure?" Casey asked, turning around in surprise. "I don't mind-"

"No," I assured her, "I want to."

My gaze met Mr. Heywood's for a brief moment. For one split second, his eyes
dropped and I had the impression he was just now noticing I was only in my bathing
suit. Good thing I decided to wear shorts.

I walked to the other side of the volleyball court, ducking under the net. I
glanced at my team. Luckily, they were all people I was sort of friends with. Also,
Sadie was on this team. She grinned at me, and pointed to the spot next to her. I
walked over to her and took it.

"You're serving," she informed me, handing me the volleyball.

"Umm," I hesitated, looking at the white ball in my hands. "I actually don't
think-"

Someone blew a whistle and I jumped, nearly dropping the volleyball. I glanced at
Mr. Heywood as the whistled bounced against his chest as he dropped it. He smiled
in amusement.

"Serve at will, Ms. Evers."

I took a deep breath, staring nervously at the ball in my hand. I didn't even
remember how to serve! Why had I decided to play again?

Oh yeah. To try to show up Mr. Heywood.

But how could I do that when I didn't even know how to serve? I groaned internally,
letting out my breath. Here goes nothing.

I balanced the ball on top of my left palm, and curled the fingers on my right
hand. As fast as I could, I brought up my right hand, and slammed the heel of my
hand into the volleyball.

Suddenly there was pain in my face, and people laughing. My face flamed as the
volleyball dropped to the ground after bouncing off my face. I rubbed my nose,
avoiding eye contact with everyone.

How I managed to hit myself in the face with a volleyball, I would never know.

Scowling, I bent down and readjusted the volleyball onto the flat of my left palm
again. This time, instead of looking at the volleyball, I looked straight at Mr.
Heywood, who was smirking in amusement. I stepped forward with my right foot,
exerting my pressure to the swing of my arm. The heel of my hand connected with the
volleyball, and this time it went sailing across the net.

All the way to the out of bounds area.

Both teams erupted in laughter again, and I heard the sound of a whistle. I hung my
head in embarrassment, a sigh escaping my lips. Discreetly as possible, I stole a
glance at Mr. Heywood. He was just about laughing his head off.

My face burned again as the other team rotated. Sadie caught my attention and
mimicked my motion of hitting the volleyball, and then pretended to get hit in the
face. Then she mimicked me again, hitting the pretend volleyball, and then looking
into the sky, with her eyes shaded by her hand.

"Where'd it go?" she shouted, looking around in the sky.

I scowled at her as my team broke out into fresh laughter. "It's not that funny!"

"Guys, come on, let's continue the game," I heard Casey call from the other side,
but I could tell she was trying not to laugh as well.

The game continued, and luckily, the ball never came to me. Sadie landed a point
for our team, and we rotated. This time I was in the middle. My team gave me
nervous looks and I returned them.

"Good luck," one of the girls, Anna, said.

"I'll need it," I responded glumly.

Sadie was serving now. She hit a clean serve to the other side of the court, which
was returned by Casey. The volleying continued until Mr. Heywood made a hard spike,
that landed just at Anna's feet.

I glared at him as his team cheered, the girls rushing to give him high fives.
Scowling, I rotated out of the center. Now Mr. Heywood was serving on the other
team. For five straight serves in a row, he got a point for his team. If someone
had been walking by, they would have thought there was a mass murder or something
from all the screaming.

"Ms. Evers, this one is for you," Mr. Heywood called, gaining my eye contact.

I blushed and looked away, until I remembered he said he was serving to me. My head
snapped up, just in time to see the volleyball coming. Panicking, I tried to
remember what move was best to hit the upcoming volleyball. Wildly, I returned it
with a set.

Everyone watched as the ball went sailing to the other side, and landed in the dirt
before anyone could reach it.

And it was in bounds.

Suddenly, people cheering surrounded me, and even the other team was clapping.
Casey wolf-whistled at me. A smug smirk slipped onto my face as I looked at Mr.
Heywood. He smirked back, mouthing something. I cocked my head in confusion, and he
repeated it.

"I gave you an easy serve."

I scowled at him, not even bothering to respond. Anna was serving now. I watched as
she hit the ball easily over the net. It was returned with a dig from Casey, and
then returned again with a set from Sadie. Mr. Heywood stepped forwards, grinning
at me. I braced myself, ready to return his hit.

He set up for a set, so I relaxed myself slightly. At the last moment however, he
spiked it. Unprepared for the sudden volleyball whizzing at my face, I let it smack
into me. I stumbled backwards and fell over from shock, my face stinging painfully.

"Holly!"

"Ow," I moaned, bringing a hand up to my face.

Casey's face appeared over mine, looking half worried, half amused. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I just wasn't expecting it."

Mr. Heywood appeared over me now, frowning. He held out a hand and I hesitated for
a fraction of a second before taking it. Without any effort, he pulled me to my
feet.

"Sorry," he apologized, running a hand through his hair. "I wasn't aiming for your
face..."

"I'm fine-"

"Holly! Your nose is bleeding!" Casey cried, her hand covering her mouth.

I raised a hand up to my nose in surprise, and pulled it away, finding it covered

with blood. A lot of blood. For a moment I swayed, the sight of so much blood
making me queasy.

"Come on," Mr. Heywood started, grabbing my shoulder. "I have the first-aid kit on
the bench."

Mr. Heywood pushed me towards the benches. I plugged my nose, tilting my head back.
The feeling of the blood trickling down my throat almost made me gag.

"Don't lean your head back," Mr. Heywood scolded me. "Forwards."

I did as he said, and leaned forwards. Mr. Heywood continued to guide me until we
made it to the bench. He sat me down, and pulled out a large black box from under
where I sat.

"Here."

I looked up and saw Mr. Heywood holding out a package of tissues to me. I grabbed
them, trying to open them with one hand. It wasn't working out to well. Mr. Heywood
chuckled, taking the tissue pack back and opening the plastic for me. This time he
gave it to me and I could pull out a few. I took my hand away and crumpled the
tissues up and put them to my nose.

"Sorry about that," Mr. Heywood apologized again. "But the face you made was
hilarious- before and after the ball hit."

I blushed and frowned. "I didn't know you were going to spike."

"Your pinching the wrong part of your nose," he told me, grabbing my hand and
lowering it until I pinched the soft portion of my nose.

It was a good thing I had been blushing from the earlier comment, otherwise the
blush I had know might have made him curious. He removed his hand and I nodded my
thanks.

"Why are you here?" I asked, my voice sounding funny due to my nose being pinched.
"I got called in as a replacement chaperone," he told me, sitting down on the
bench. "Mr. Cole got sick last night, so I was asked to drive up here today."

"Oh," I responded.

"Lucky me."

"Was that sarcasm?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Mr. Heywood sighed, shaking his hair out of his face. "Trust me. Being around half
naked high school girls isn't as fun as it seems. Especially when they try to flirt
with you or rub against you every five minutes."

Jealously was bubbling inside me again, but I forced it away. There was nothing to
be jealous about!

"You know, must guys would like that," I tried to say in a teasing voice, but it
ended up sounding relieved.

"Yeah, well if you haven't noticed, I'm not most guys."

I looked up at Mr. Heywood who had a smirk on his face. I chuckled slightly,
returning my gaze back to the ground.

"Right. You're a handsome teacher who is an ex-gangster, and your old gang is out
to kill you for some reason, and you won't let me know the reason even though I was
dragged into your problems. Not to mention you like blackmailing people, and have a
split-personality. Oh and did I mention the fact that you lied and said you
couldn't cook and then went I had to stay at your house, you suddenly were a great
chef? And then you made dinner for my mom and myself which was equally as
delicious."

I paused, taking in a deep breath. Warmth was spreading across my face from my
sudden outburst.
"You think I'm handsome?" Mr. Heywood asked, a smirk on his face, and an eyebrow
cocked.

I scowled. "Was that all you got out of that entire rant?"

"I also caught the part where you said I was a great chef, and that what I made was
delicious."

"Narcissistic," I muttered, shaking my head.

Mr. Heywood laughed. "I'm just kidding, Holly."

I pursed my lips at him. "Why do you call me Ms. Evers in front of others? You call
everyone else by their first name in."

"Are you going back to the hotel?" he asked, ignoring me completely.

I scowled. "No, are you?"

Mr. Heywood shook his head. "No, I have to stay on the beach to watch everyone.
What are you planning to do?"

"Not play volleyball again."

He chuckled. "Good plan."

"Mr. Heywood!"

I looked up to see Vanessa waving frantically at Mr. Heywood. I rolled my eyes at

her bikini top. Was that bathing suit even considered a bikini top? There was
barely anything there!

"Come back, we want to play again and we need you!" she shouted, gesticulating with
her hand.

Mr. Heywood sighed, pushing himself off the bench. He stood in front of me for a
moment, and I got a view of his chest, and six-pack. Slightly surprised, I gazed at
his stomach. How had I not noticed he had abs? But then again, it shouldn't have
been too surprising seeing how he was in a gang for about five years...

"See something you like, Holly?"

I blushed, glaring at him. "Yeah, I would if you took two steps to the right. It's
the brown haired guy, right behind you."

Mr. Heywood whipped around, and I chuckled. Frowning, he turned back to me.

"Maybe it's because you're special."

With that, he started jogging back to the volleyball area. I stared after him for a
moment, completely confused. What did he mean by that? It didn't make any sense!

Then it hit me. He was answering my early question.

Why do you call me Ms. Evers in front of people?

Instantly my face flushed.

Special as in what though? That I knew of his other personality? That I knew he was
an ex-gangster? That I knew he was a good cook? That I knew how he was like outside
of school?

Or was it special as in...

I shook my head. Don't even go there, Holly, I told myself. It was impossible...
That I was special to him.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Well, as promised, I updated this story a day earlier. But this chapter didn't turn
out as planned because it was too long :L So I had to split the beach thing into
two different chapters. This one is fun and light hearted~! The next one will have
you heart racing >:D I just need to write it now, hahahahaha.

I thought the music video accompanied with this chapter is quite amusing, and
relating to my story, in a way, so watch it haha. Plus, it's All Time Low. It's
impossible not to like them!

Vote, comment, join my facebook page in external link, enjoy new banner!
*******************************************
[33] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 32
*******************************************
Waves splashed against the black rocks as I gazed into the deep blue ocean,
entranced by it. It was such a dark blue, it was almost impossible to see through.
And of course the cloudy day wasn't helping it at all.

I looked up at the sky for a moment. It had gotten considerably darker since I had
come out here...

I lowered myself into a squatting position, suddenly terrified of falling in. I had
no clue how deep it was down there. Glancing back at the shore, judging by the
distance, I figured it was pretty deep.

Barely anyone was on the rock pier today. Yesterday, it had been crowded, but
today, only a few stray fishermen lined the rocks leading out, but none of them
were as far as I was. I had walked all the way to the end of it, where the little
white post was.

Getting here had actually been a difficult task. Not all the rocks were flat on the
top and connected, so I had to jump a lot of gaps between the rocks. It wasn't so
bad, but it was terrifying if you thought about falling into the ocean. There was
at least a seven-foot drop from the rocks to the ocean. But as you grew closer, the
ocean level rose, so where I was standing currently, there was only about a half-
foot drop.
Casey was too busy playing volleyball, so she didn't come with me this time. I
sighed, staring back at the mesmerizing ocean. To me, it was an entrancing, yet
terrifying body of water. My worst fear was falling in and either drowning, or
having some kind of sea creature attack me.

I chuckled at my next thought. What if there was a kraken or something in it? I

wouldn't be able to see it because of the overcast and deep water...

I slowly moved away from the edge of the rocks. Curse my imagination and ability to
be scared easily. Krakens didn't even exist! I sent one more nervous peek at the
ocean before turning my attention to the white post.

Hundreds of names and initials were etched into it, or written on with marker. I
ran my eyes along the rocks until I spotted a small and sharp one. Bending down, I
grabbed it, and began carving my own initials into the post.

As a second thought, I made a heart after my name and added the letters C.H. next
to it. When I was finished, I chucked the rock into the ocean, hearing it land with
a plunk. I giggled a little at my childish idea. Hopefully Mr. Heywood wouldn't
come out here.

I felt something moist on my bare skin and I looked up with a frown to find it
drizzling slightly, and even darker than before. I sighed, knowing I should head
back. I didn't want it to be pitch black as I tried to make my way off the rock
pier.

Stretching, I adjusted my bikini top, wishing I had worn a sweatshirt, or shirt at

least. With the rain and slight wind, it wasn't a really warm temperature as it had
been earlier.

To make it easier to walk, I took off my flip-flops and held them in my hand.
Making my way carefully from each rock to the next was turning out to be more
difficult on the way back then to. The rain was quickening now, making the rocks
more slippery. Scowling in annoyance, I cautiously maneuvered myself around a rock
I couldn't climb over.

My foot slipped, and a strangled cry escaped my throat as I fell forward. For one
gut-wrenching second I thought I was going to topple over the edge, but I managed
to catch myself on the next rock before I could do so. I pulled myself back into a
standing position, my heart hammering against my chest.
I should have at least told someone I was coming here. Stupid, stupid Holly.

Gathering up my courage, I continued at a snail-like pace across the rocks. I kept

my eyes off of the ocean below, knowing it would only frighten me more. As I slowly
approached the shore, the sky rain fell heavier, and the sky grew darker. When I
finally made it to the relatively flat portion of the rocks, I relaxed immediately.
At least now I couldn't fall into the ocean.

When I finally made it to the shore, I did a little dance of victory. Somehow I
managed to let go of one of my flip-flops. I scowled as it fell down one of the
crevices. Getting on my hands and knees, I crawled to the edge of the crevice,
looking down. My flip-flop was lying in a puddle of water at the bottom.

Positioning my right hand across the crevice for support, I leant my upper body
down, and reached with my left hand. My fingertips just barely brushed the top of
my flip-flop. I tried to force myself further down the crevice, but my shoulders
were too wide.

Suddenly I heard a wolf-whistled behind me. Casey. I retracted myself out of the
hole with a sigh.

"Casey, I dropped my flip-flop and..." I trailed off when I looked up at the person
who wolf-whistled.

He was definitely not Casey.

It was hard to make the person out in the rain, but I could definitely tell that it
was a man. I slowly stood up, forgetting my flip-flop for the moment.

"Well look who it is," the man commented, taking a step closer. "It's the bitch
from yesterday."

As soon as the man took two steps closer, I recognized him as the buzz cut dude I
had punched yesterday. Internally, I groaned. It was just my luck to run into him
now. Why did this kind of stuff always happen to me?

Better you than Casey, a voice in my head said. I had to agree with that.
"Ryan," the buzz cut dude called, "come look!"

A few moments later, Ryan appeared in my vision. I realized with a shock that he
was brown haired guy that was with buzz cute dude yesterday. Ryan raised his
eyebrows, a smirk slipping onto his face.

"Good find, Paul," Ryan laughed, patting his friend on the back.

"I need to go back to my class before they get worried," I told the pair through
gritted teeth. "Although I'd love to stay and chat."

"Then stay," Paul said with an evil grin. "Let them worry."

"No, it's alright."

I started to walk around the pair, but they stepped in my way. I tried the other
way, and they stepped in my way again. I scowled, glaring as best as I could. They
returned my looks with amused ones.

"You don't think we're just going to let you off after what you did yesterday, do
you?"

I narrowed my eyes. "If I got you both yesterday, what makes you think today will
be any different?"

Paul smirked and reached into his pocket. What he pulled out made my blood turn
cold.

He had produced a switchblade. I stared at it apprehensively for a moment, and then

back at him.

"Those are illegal to carry around," I stated, trying to sound calmer than I really
was.
Paul snorted. "It's not like anyone will know I have it. Grab her, Ryan."

Ryan stepped forward, reaching out his arm to grab me. In a slight panic, I slammed
my remaining flip-flop into his face. He cried out in surprise, his arm dropping
away from me. I let my flip-flop go and spun around, jumping across the crevice,
and racing over the rock.

"Get her!" I heard Paul shout.

I slid on the slippery rock surfaces as I tried to climb from rock to rock without
falling. Twisting my ankle didn't sound to pleasant to me at the moment. I
scrambled past the crevice that led to the sectioned of beach Casey and I found the
day before. My mind wandered briefly if that was a good place to hide, but I
figured I wouldn't be able to get in without being noticed and followed.

Instead, I went further along the rocks, my heart racing. I had no clue where I was
going, or where the rocks led to, I just knew I had to get away from the man with
the switchblade. I could probably take on the Ryan guy...

I glanced over my shoulder, trying to see if they were on my tail. Relief swept
through me when I realized they weren't in my vision. Suddenly, I was falling. I
held in my cry of pain as I felt my ankle twist painfully. I landed on a different
rock, sliding down its slippery surface until my face came to a crevice. My head
fell in, but I managed to pull myself up in time before my whole body could fall.

I heard a voice now and I held my breath tightly, looking up from where I fell from
fearfully. Ryan passed, not even looking in my direction. He disappeared from view
after a few moments. I was about to let out a sigh of relief when Paul, the one
with the switchblade, came out. My stomach tightened, and I silently begged him not
to look down.

He didn't. He continued following Ryan, and my eyes bulged with disbelief. Since
when had I become the luckiest girl on earth? I waited a few moments until I was
sure they were gone before climbing to my feet. My ankle throbbed painfully and I
hissed in pain.

Okay, so maybe I wasn't the luckiest. But a twisted ankle was better than being cut
with a switchblade. I forced myself to ignore the pain in my ankle, and climb back
to the flat top of the other rock where I had fell from. My ankle protested as I
slipped once or twice, but I kept going.
Slowly.

I went back the way I had come from, hunched over, gripping rocks for support so
all my weight wasn't on my injured ankle. My heart was pounding with adrenaline and
anticipation. Those two could return at any time...

I came back to the crevice where the hidden area was and wondered for a split
second if I should hide, or try to go back to where the class was.

"Found you!"

I startled gasp left my lips and I twisted on my good heel to come face-to-face
with Ryan. I relaxed slightly.

That was, until he started reaching into his pocket.

Without thinking, I kneed him in the crotch as hard as I could. He shouted in pain,
bending over. I panicked, not knowing what to do. I saw he was reaching for his
pocket again, so I did the thing I found I was best at.

I punched him.

He fell to the ground unconscious. I stared at him for a moment in wonder, then to
my fist, in horror.

I had to stop punching people! I didn't have to resort to violence every time! And
I had actually knocked someone out this time! I could have seriously hurt him. I
bent down to check that he hadn't landed on a rock that was jutting out, but found
him uninjured for the most part.

I sucked in a deep breath of air when I realized Paul had probably heard Ryan's
cry. Quickly, I jumped down into the crevice. My ankle stung, but I did my best to
ignore the throbbing pain. I moved slowly backwards, keeping an eye on the opening
of the crevice above me. I trailed my hand along the moist wall, making sure I
didn't fall.
I felt the corner, and slowly turned myself, still keeping an eye out for any
motion above me. I felt safer now, out of view from the crevice. Hopefully, now
they wouldn't be able to find me-

I froze, bumping into something too warm to be rock behind me. I felt a chuckle
reverberate through his chest.

"Found you."

I felt my hair being yanked and I bit my tongue to keep from shouting out. I was
yanked into the beach area, my ankle growing worse and worse with each step. Paul
continued dragging me, oblivious to my pain.

I was pushed against the rock, and pinned there by Paul's knee between my legs. I
scowled at him, trying to not let fear get the best of me. Paul scowled back,
tapping his switchblade angrily.

"Where's Ryan? Damn it," he muttered, glancing at the way we came.

My heart skipped a beat, and I tried to keep a straight face. I didn't want to know
what he'd do if he found out I knocked out his friend. But I was also terrified
that Ryan would wake up and come in here.

"How did you get in here?" I whispered; knowing Paul had walked by me earlier.

He raised an eyebrow. "Did you think you were the only one who knew of the place or
something?"

I shook my head. No, I knew others would know of it... I just assumed these guys
didn't. I sighed inwardly. Assuming never led to good things.

"There are two ways in," Paul told me, jerking his head towards the other side of
the enclosed space. "Have you ever heard of jumping?"

I blanched, realizing how ignorant I was. Of course people could just drop in here!
It wasn't covered! It was a stupid idea to come in here if there was only one
entrance. How could I have been such an idiot? I felt like I was going to cry.
The feeling of cool metal against my skin snapped me out of my reverie. My eyes
widened as I locked gazes with Paul. He smirked, his eyes glowing with excitement.

"I'm not waiting for Ryan," he told me, even though I could care less. "But I don't
know what to do to you yet..."

I tried my best not to show him any weakness, but the switchblade pressed to my
throat terrified me. "Please, don't kill me," I whispered, finding it hard to
breathe.

Paul chuckled. "I'm not going to kill you."

I relaxed the slightest bit, but the blade was still pressed against my neck. I
watched Paul cautiously, trying to control my breathing.

"But I can't say I won't hurt you."

With that he started to move the switchblade up, and he pressed down a little
harder right under my jaw. I flinched away as I pain shot through the spot where he
had now broken skin.

The blade was withdrawn and I let out a shaky breath, but it turned into a cry when
I felt a hard slap to my face. Paul glared at me.

"That was for punching me yesterday."

I raised a hand to my cheek in shock, unable to say anything. It throbbed painfully

as I rubbed it. Paul grinned down at me.

"You know... you really shouldn't wear strings."

I looked at him in confusion. What did he mean? I wasn't wearing strings... One of
his hands went to my neck. I winced, preparing to be strangled, but to my surprise,
nothing happened. He returned his hand to his side, his mouth smirking.
Suddenly I felt my bikini topped being ripped away from. I cried out in surprise,
immediately covered myself with my arms. Paul frowned at me.

"The point of taking it off wasn't so you could cover yourself."

I glared at him, tears now prickling at the corners of my eyes. "You're an

asshole," I spat, clutching my arms tighter against my chest.

There was suddenly a shout from the entrance. Paul's head snapped towards it, a
smirk appearing on his face. "That must be Ryan. Finally he figured out where we
are."

I froze, my heart dropping into my gut. Was he serious? How was I supposed to get
out of this now? My chest tightened, and I blinked rapidly, making sure no tears
spilled down my face.

Paul glanced at me with a frown. "I'll be right back, stay here... Well, you don't
have anywhere else to go, so I guess saying that is pointless."

He headed back towards the entrance and when he disappeared from view, I began
sprinting to the other side of the enclosed area. I spotted the small cave I had
refused to go in the day before. However, know it was my only chance of safety. I
dropped to my hands and knees and crawled in.

I could barely fit. It looked so much bigger from the outside. I managed to squeeze
my way a fairy far distance from the entrance. I pulled my knees up to my chest,
cursing myself about not grabbing my bikini top before running.

I put my head onto my knees, trying to calm my racing heart. What was I going to
do? I felt so... helpless for once. I was trapped and no one knew where I was, and
there were two guys after me because I had punched them yesterday.

I really needed to stop punching people! And getting myself caught in such
dangerous positions!

I couldn't even attack them without my bikini top. There was no way I was going to
leave my chest uncovered. Besides, they had switchblades. It was too dangerous to
try to attack them.

There was really nothing I could do.

New tears prickled at my eyes and I rubbed them furiously, hating feeling this
helpless. I never thought this would happen to me. It always happened in movies,
but I never thought it'd actually happen to anyone I knew in real life, let alone
me.

I drew my knees closer to me, my body shaking. I hadn't realized how cold and wet I
was. It felt like I had gone swimming.

"You," a voice growled.

I immediately looked up to see Paul glaring at me.

"Get out here. Right now."

"No," I responded, staring at him with wide-eyes. Was he crazy? There was no way in
hell I was leaving!

He growled in frustration. "You know, I do have a friend who can easily fit inside
there and grab you."

My eyes widened the slightest bit. "No you don't."

Paul chuckled. "Oh, yes I do. He's only about five minutes away from here. In fact,
if you want I'll give him a call now..."

I couldn't tell if he was bluffing or not, so I stayed silent. He sighed and a

moment later I heard him talking to someone.

"Yeah, I need your help. It's the cave again. Yeah. I don't know why they always
hide in there. Okay, I'll meet you by the entrance."
I listened very carefully. Was he faking the phone call? And what did he mean
again? Did he chase girls in here often?

Paul ducked down again, looking in at me. "I'll be right back. You can come out if
you want, I'll be by the entrance."

He disappeared, leaving me staring after him in disbelief. He wasn't kidding. New

tears formed at my eyes and I quietly sobbed into my knees. This was unbelievable.
Why me?

How pathetic could I be? I was hiding in a cave, topless, and crying. I smiled in
wry amusement. I guess I was like a cave women or something.

Footsteps outside the cave sent my heart flying, and my body palpitating in terror.
Why so fast? I hadn't even thought of something that could help me in the least?
Another sob escaped my lips.

"Holly?"

My head snapped up so fast it cricked. I ignored it though, staring in incredulity

at the man standing before me. It wasn't Paul. Or Ryan.

It was Mr. Heywood.

He was peering at me, his expression relieved. He was dressed in jeans and a
sweatshirt, but looked soaked.

"How?" I whispered, tears flooding my eyes again. "How did you find me?"

"The man passed out and your flip-flops were good clues," Mr. Heywood responded, a
small smile on his lips. "Come out here, quick."

I shook my head violently. "I c-can't!"

"Why not? Are you hurt?"

"No," I responded, shaking my head again. "My, er... My bikini top... is out
there."

Mr. Heywood froze for a minute, and then I saw him looking around. After a moment,
he took off the hoodie he was wearing and threw it to me. It landed directly in
front of me and I snatched it up. It was soaked, but I didn't care.

"Put that on."

"Look away," I requested, really not caring at this point whether he did or not.

He did though, and I quickly slipped on the hoodie, pulling it over me securely.
Feeling much better, I crawled forwards, and out of the cave. Immediately Mr.
Heywood pulled me to my feet.

I gazed at him for a moment, feeling the overwhelming urge to hug and kiss him, but
I fought it back- with very much difficulty.

He inhaled sharply. "What happened to your jaw?"

"Um, switchblade," I muttered, adverting my eyes.

"Holly," Mr. Heywood groaned, running a hand through his dripping wet hair.

It made me wonder how long he had been searching for me for his hair to be so wet.
My eyes came across my bikini top lying in the sand. I made a move to grab it, but
became paralyzed with fear. What would happen if Paul came back and I wasn't close
to Mr. Heywood?

Swallowing, I grabbed onto the back of Mr. Heywood's t-shirt. He looked at me

curiously and I felt my eyes well up again. I blinked them away as quickly as
possible.
"Holly, what's wrong?" Mr. Heywood asked, his eyes soft and his voice quiet. "What
happened?"

"Nothing," I responded, rubbing my eyes. "I'm just scared... There was nothing I
could do, Mr. Heywood! I thought I was just going to be stuck in that cave until he
came to get me out! I thought no one knew where I was and no one was going to come
help me, and to make it worse I was topless and I couldn't do anything. I was
helpless, and scared."

I wasn't sure if he understood the last few things I said, because I had started to
cry by then. I felt Mr. Heywood pull me into a warm and protective embrace. I
didn't even think to be embarrassed. I clung onto him, still sobbing. He rubbed my
back soothingly.

"I'm sorry I didn't find you earlier," Mr. Heywood said quietly.

"It's not your fault," I sniffed, gaining control of my sobs.

Mr. Heywood pulled away from me, his face an unreadable expression. I stared at him
for a moment, trying to decide what it meant, but found it nearly impossible. Mr.
Heywood ran a hand through his hair.

"Come on, we've got to get back before you get in some serious trouble."

"Please don't tell anyone what happened," I begged, grabbing onto his shirt again.
"Please... Chris."

His eyes widened in surprise and he opened his mouth, but no words came out.
Eventually he just nodded.

"I won't tell anyone," he promised. "I'll tell them you got lost or something...
but we should still go."

I nodded. "Okay, thank you."

"Don't mention it," Mr. Heywood muttered, turning towards the entrance.

Realization swept over me and I grabbed Mr. Heywood's shirt again. He halted,
throwing me an amused glance.

"Now what?"

"How'd you get in here?" I whispered.

"I heard you crying, so I just jumped from... Holly, what's wrong?"

My expression must have made Mr. Heywood worried, because he looked over his
shoulder and looked back with a confused expression. And then we heard voices.

"They're back!" I cried in a whisper.

"Who are?"

"The men who are after me," I told him, my eyes widening.

Mr. Heywood didn't seem phased, in fact he looked eager. He pushed me behind him
completely, and stood still, waiting for the men to come into view. In a few
seconds, three men appeared. Ryan, Paul, and the new small guy.

So Paul really wasn't lying.

Paul narrowed his eyes at Mr. Heywood. "Who are you?"

"Your worst nightmare," Mr. Heywood responded, cracking his knuckles. "Which one of
you cut this poor girls jaw?"

Paul's gaze hardened. "That would be me."

Before I could protest, Mr. Heywood was in front of Paul, sending a fist flying
into his face. My jaw dropped as Paul fell a few steps back, but not down. Since
when did men stay conscious after being punched by Mr. Heywood?

There was a glint of metal and I noticed Paul had the switchblade out again. I took
a step backwards, shaking my head.

"M-Mr. Heywood," I croaked, watching the three men close in on him.

Mr. Heywood sent me a smirk. "Remember, Holly, I was gang leader for a reason."

The first one down was the new guy. He didn't even stand a chance against Mr.
Heywood's fist. I almost missed Mr. Heywood's fist landing in Ryan's face, and Ryan
fell backwards, another one hit K.O.

Paul swung the knife out. To my astonishment, it actually came in contact with Mr.
Heywood's arm.

"Mr. Heywood!" I cried, shocked.

But that's when I realized he had let it get him on purpose. Mr. Heywood yanked the
switchblade out from Paul's hand and turned it onto him. Paul's face immediately
whitened, and he stepped back.

"W-wait," Paul stammered, holding up his hands.

Mr. Heywood pressed the switchblade against Paul's throat. I gasped, staring with
wide-eyes.

"Mr. Heywood! What are you...?" I trailed off, unsure what he was planning.

"I think you should have a reminder of what you did tonight," Mr. Heywood said in a
dangerously low voice.
He dragged the blade up Paul's neck slowly- the same way Paul had done to me
earlier- and rested it just below his jaw. With one quick slice, blood appeared and
I gasped, covering my mouth. It wasn't a deep wound, but it still surprised me.

A fist was sent into Paul's face, and he fell to the ground. Mr. Heywood turned
around, an amused smirk on his face. When his eyes landed on mine, his smirk
automatically dropped. I stared back at Mr. Heywood, caught between awe and horror.
He turned and looked at the three boys now unconscious on the ground.

"Holly, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I responded quickly. "You're arm-"

"Don't worry about it," Mr. Heywood said cutting me off. "Damn it." Mr. Heywood ran
a hand down his face. "How could it almost happen again?"

Let what happen again? I opened my mouth to question him, but I realized now was
definitely not the time to do so.

Afraid the men might wake up again, I jogged up to Mr. Heywood, grabbing his arm.
Immediately he ripped it out of my grasp. Slightly hurt, I looked at him with wide
eyes. He glared at me for a split-second before softening his gaze.

"Sorry, Holly," he murmured, his hair falling in his face, covering his eyes.

My heart was beating once more, but not due to that fact that I was afraid. And it
wasn't due to the fact that I was happy. It was Mr. Heywood's expression.

It was one full of grief and regret.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

There. Some Holly in distress. Some Chris to the rescue. Some plot... That should
make you happy, right? :D
I'm thinking about having maybe one more light and aloof chapter... and then either
ending it with a cliff hanger, or waiting until the chapter after it to bring in a
major plot happening. Someone gets... let's just say, hurt, for now D; But who?!
and why!? and will Mr. Heywood's secret finally be revealed?! :o

Instead of a banner today, I put up the drawing a fan made me (April P, thank you
so much!) of Chris and Holly! Check it out :) To really look at all the banners I
have, you have to go to my facebook page and look through the albums. The link's in
the external link to the right.

Vote! Comment!

Here's a question: Who is your favorite character? Or top two, or three!

OK! I just got a link to a new one-shot written by someone using Quizilla, so the
link is in the external bar. Read it! It's aaaamazing!! It's the last chapter, but
in Chris's Point of View. and you don't want to miss it!

To get to my facebook page, just search "XxSkater2GirlxX" because I spelled my

username wrong on it and you can't change it xD
*******************************************
[34] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 33
*******************************************
"I still can't believe you got lost at the beach," Lance said, cracking up yet
again. "I mean, how can you get lost at a beach?"

"You just can," I snapped, stabbing my fork into my mashed potatoes.

"I don't think she minded," Casey added, a small smirk on her face. "After all, Mr.
Heywood was sent out to find her, and he was gone for awhile."

I kept my mouth shut, trying not to be angry with them. They didn't know what had
actually happened, nor did I plan on telling them, so it wasn't their fault. But
their comments were getting irritating.

"So, what, are you and Heywood dating now?" Lance asked, frowning. "If I ever see
you two snogging I swear I'll be sick."

"We aren't together," I snapped, flushing. "And here we call that making out, not
snogging."

"Oh, come on, Holly," Casey started with a smirk. "You guys were gone a really long
time."

"Drop it," I snapped, growing more and more aggravated.

Casey opened her mouth to continue to tease me, but the lunch bell cut her off. A
smug smirk slipped onto my face as I stood up, grabbing my bottle of water, and
mixed myself in among the gaggle of students leaving the cafeteria. I heard Casey
call after me, but I ignored her, hurrying out.

I nearly ran all the way to biology, stopping by my locker to quickly grab my
backpack. Before entering, I took a few deep breaths to regain my breath. What
would Mr. Heywood say if I was first to class instead of last or close to last for
once? A smirk appeared on my face and I entered the room.

To my pleasure the room was empty except for Mr. Heywood who sat at his desk,
looking at a piece of paper. When he heard me, he looked up. Shock flitted across
his face before a smirk slowly appeared.

"Well, Ms. Evers, congratulations on being first for once."

"Shocking, isn't it?" I asked, a smile on my face now.

Mr. Heywood chuckled, before suddenly turning serious. "How are you feeling?" "Um,
fine," I responded, frowning at his sudden change of tone. "How's the cut on your
arm?"

"Don't worry about it," he said, shaking his head. "How's your ankle?"

I clenched my fist lightly, glowering at Mr. Heywood. "My ankle's fine, it was only
a little twist. And don't say 'don't worry about it' because obviously I'm going to
worry if you're hurt too! Especially since it's my fault, Mr. Heywood!"

He looked surprised. "But, Holly, I'm fine-"

"That doesn't matter!" I argued. "I worry for you just as much as you worry for
me."

"Who said I worried for you?"

I stared at him, my face going blank. He wasn't worried? Embarrassment washed over
me and I felt my face grow hot. Why should he be worried, right? It was only my
foolishness that let me to believe that-

Mr. Heywood's laughter interrupted my thoughts and I glared at him. He continued

laughing for a few minutes, shaking his head. I tried to keep my mouth shut and
wait for him to be done, but I lost my patience.

"What?" I snapped.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, clearing his throat. "I was kidding. I do worry about
you."

I felt relief wash through me, and then embarrassment again. If he worried about me
then...

"You're reactions are just too cute."

I blushed again and scowled at him. I was about to retort, when a different thought
popped into my head. A frown spread across my face as I debated on how to ask the
question that I wanted to. Mr. Heywood now was frowning at my expression.

"I didn't mean to offend you," he started, raising an eyebrow. "I was just-"
"What did you mean by 'again'?"

Mr. Heywood looked at me in confusion. "What?"

"Yesterday," I told him, now chewing on my bottom lip. "Um, after you... you know,
took care of those guys, your expression changed and you said something along the
lines of 'happen again'."

Mr. Heywood's face darkened and he narrowed his eyes. "I didn't say anything like
that."

I looked at him in shock. Why was he denying it? I had heard him say it clearly!
And I couldn't forget the face he made... just thinking of it made my heart beast
faster. There was no way he could deny what had happened.

"I heard you!" I accused, taking a step closer to his desk. "You said it right
after-"

"Holly," Mr. Heywood snapped in a quiet voice, then looked behind me.

I narrowed my eyes slightly, but glanced over my shoulder to see Lance and another
student entering the classroom. Lance must have noticed something weird about my
expression because his brow wrinkled in concern.

"I'm not letting this drop," I said quietly, giving Mr. Heywood a meaningful look
before walking over to Lance.

"What's up?" he asked in a concerned voice.

"Nothing," I responded moodily, slumping onto my seat, and hanging my arms over the
desk. "Just the usual with Mr. Heywood."

Lance looked at me alarmed, bringing his head closer to mine. "Holly, did something
happen with the gang? Are you hurt? Do I need to go beat up Heywood?"

I smiled at Lance's concern, and shook my head. "Nothing like that, thank you for
worrying though."

"You don't need to thank me for worrying," Lance pointed out. "It comes with the
best friend's package."

I chuckled and Lance grinned. He took a seat on the edge of my desk and looked down
at me with a curious expression. Then his eyes narrowed slightly and my eyes met
his.

"What?"

"This," he said, putting a finger to my jaw. "How did you get cut on your jaw?"

My eyes widened and I inhaled sharply, quickly putting my hand over the cut. Crap!
I had forgotten about that! Lance's eyes narrowed even more.

"Did Mr. Heywood-"

"No!" I snapped, irritated he would even think that. "I cut myself shaving."

"Uh-huh. So tell me, Holly, since when did you have a beard?"

I pursed my lips, scowling at him. "You don't need to have a beard to shave. I did
it as a precaution."

Lance gave me a sarcastic look. "Okay, but I'm sure you know after you shave it
grows back darker."

"Well I'll just continue to shave from now on," I responded simply, shrugging my
shoulders. "I mean, it's not that big of a deal. I can just do it while I'm shaving
my-"

"Holly."

Lance's azure eyes pierced into my duller blue eyes and I fidgeted in my seat,
uncomfortable under his gaze. He wasn't going to make me crack. I could go against
his intense gaze. Lance's eyes slightly narrowed and I mimicked the gesture. He
wasn't going to make me crack...

"I just got into a little trouble at the beach!" I blurted out. "Now stop looking
at me like that!"

Lance smirked smugly for a moment before returning to a serious expression. "What
happened?"

The bell went off, signaling the beginning of class. Lance frowned as I shooed him
away with my hand.

"I'll tell you later."

"You better," Lance threatened before walking to his seat in the back of the class.

I sighed, turning in my seat to face the front of the classroom when Mr. Heywood
called for attention. I kept my eyes on him as he went through the attendance list,
looking up every now and then to make sure a student was here or not. For some
reason, he skipped my name. I shrugged; he already knew I was here, so that was
probably why.

"So, it's already November," he started after he finished the attendance list, "do
you know what that means?"

"It's only been two months since school started and we still have eight months of
hell to go through?" someone said from the back of the class.

I smirked as the class laughed. Mr. Heywood smiled at the person.

"High school isn't that bad."

"Yes it is," the same kid responded. I was tempted to turn around and see who it
was, but I decided against it.

"We'll be starting a project that we will continue to do until Thanksgiving break

starts," Mr. Heywood said, his eyes sweeping across the classroom. "Any guesses as
to what it is?"

His gaze went past mine, but our eyes did not come in contact. I frowned, somewhat
bemused. Where were the usual teasing smirks he sent me? Was he trying to ignore
me?

"An essay?" Haley asked, her hand in the air.

Mr. Heywood shook his head. "No, we won't write any essays in here. Those are
boring for you to write, and even more boring for me to read."

Some people laughed, but I kept a straight face. What if he was ignoring me? What
did I do? Was he angry... or what? I began drumming my fingers on my desk
subconsciously.

"Book report?" another girl guessed.

"Nope."

"An extremely long lab?" Lance guessed and I turned to grin at him. He caught my
gaze and grinned back.

"No, but we'll be doing those in the future," Mr. Heywood responded, amusement in
his voice. "It's something better."

The class stayed silent. I slowly raised my hand. As soon as it high enough to
count as a hand raise, Mr. Heywood spoke.

"Rat dissection."

I scowled for a moment, dropping my arm as a few students groaned. He was

definitely ignoring me. My stomach tightened uncomfortably, but not because we were
going to be dissecting a rat.

"We're going to be dissecting them for three whole weeks?" a girl named Charlotte
asked, her eyes wide. "Why so long?"

Mr. Heywood chuckled, a smirk slipping on his face.

Sure, smirk at her, but no, you can't smirk at Holly, I thought, narrowing my eyes
at him. Immediately I stopped, lowering my eyes to my desk. What was wrong with me?
I was getting jealous because he was smirking at someone? I groaned internally.

"It isn't a long time," Mr. Heywood said to her. "Three weeks is just barely enough
time."

"I didn't bring any gloves," someone behind me pointed out.

"We'll only be dissecting on double lab days," Mr. Heywood explained, the smirk on
his face now replaced with a smile.

"Then what are we doing today?" the same student asked.

"Today you'll be coloring a skeleton of the rat on the lab, and doing the same for
the muscles, and labeling them."

A groan swept throughout the classroom. I nearly rolled my eyes. Coloring wasn't
that bad. And the biology book had the skeletal and muscle structures alreadly
labeled on a picture.

"Are we working by ourselves?"

Mr. Heywood shook his head. "There aren't enough rats, so you'll work in pairs of
two."

Immediately everyone turned his or her head to their partner candidate. I looked
over my shoulder to see Lance staring at me determinedly. He raised and eyebrow and
I smiled and nodded. I didn't know why he was asking. We were always lab partners.
"Would anyone like to volunteer to pass out the labs?"

Before anyone else could begin to lift their arm in the air, mine was already
there. Mr. Heywood's eyes finally met mine. Neither of us smiled. I swear I saw him
sigh, which only made my stomach squirm into an even more uncomfortable position.

"Okay, Ms. Evers, why don't you go grab them out of the supply room?"

I stood up, keeping my eyes on his. He slowly started to frown, but didn't look it
away. Something caught the edge of my foot and I stumbled forwards, slamming my
hands down on the edge of my desk and my neighbor's desk. A few chuckles erupted
from behind me, and I quickly pushed myself up, keeping my head down in
embarrassment. Why was I so clumsy?

Without looking back I dragged myself to the supply room, my face hot. When I
entered I went to the copy machine to grab the lab papers. When I was about to
leave the room, an idea hit me. Smirking, I placed the piles of paper on the far
corner of the counter where the sink was.

"Mr. Heywood?" I called, sticking my head out of the doorway. "The papers aren't in
the copier."

Mr. Heywood looked over at me, a small sigh slipping from his lips. I narrowed my
eyes at him, offended, as he made his way towards me. I moved out of the way so he
could enter the room.

"Are you ignoring me?" I accused in a whisper as soon as he was out of sight from
the class.

He shot me an amused look before opening the copier and looking in it. "I'm not
ignoring you."

"Then why haven't you looked at me?"

A smirk was now playing across Mr. Heywood's features. I relaxed slightly from the
sight of the familiar smile. A wry smile made its way onto my face. I was getting
excited over a smirk. I must be going crazy.

"You've been watching me?"

"The whole time!" I told him, my lips pursed.

Mr. Heywood's eyes widened for a fraction of a second. I crossed my arms and looked
at the ground.

"Was it because I mentioned that thing you said at the beach?"

"No."

Mr. Heywood's sudden cold tone made me look back up in shock. His eyes were glazed
over as he stared at me. I returned his look, my eyes wide.

"It is because of it!"

"No, it's not," Mr. Heywood responded, his eyes scanning around the room. "Where'd
you put the labs?"

"I'm not trying to make you angry, Mr. Heywood," I explained, biting my lip. "I
just wanted to know-"

"Drop it, Holly," Mr. Heywood snapped at me, finally locating the pile of papers I
moved. "This conversation is over."

"But Mr. Heywood-"

"Over," he repeated firmly.

"But I just..." I trailed off upon seeing Mr. Heywood's serious expression.

"This is none of your business," he said before brushing past me with the papers in
hand.

I blinked, shocked and a little hurt by his words. Obviously it wasn't my business,
but couldn't he tell I was just worried about him? He didn't have to be such a jerk
about it! I scowled, clenching my fists as I trudged back out to the classroom. Mr.
Heywood was now passing out the labs.

Lance caught my attention and he raised an eyebrow in amusement, mouthing something

I didn't quite catch. Knowing it was probably something teasing, I just rolled my
eyes at him before slumping back down into my desk.

If Mr. Heywood thought I was going to let this go that easily he was wrong. Very,
very wrong.

The rest of the day passed by in a flash. When the final bell rang, I quickly left
my seventh period class and hurried towards Mr. Heywood's classroom. The door was
locked when I arrived. I knocked, frowning, and waited a moment. Still no one came
to the door.

I sighed, turning around, crossing my arms, and leaning against it. If he wasn't
going to come out right now, I would wait for him all night if I had to. I wanted
to know. Even though it really wasn't my business. I was just being nosy... but the
look on his face had even hurt me that night.

I glanced out the window in front of me and my eyes widened when I saw Mr. Heywood
walking down the sidewalk towards the faculty parking lot. I shoved myself from the
wall and made a break for the exit, hoping to cut him off. I slipped out the side
door and literally ran into him.

He stabled me, looking down with an expression torn between amusement and chary. I
stared up at him resolutely, my mouth in a straight line.

"I want to talk about it."

"I don't," Mr. Heywood said simply, a sigh escaping his lips. "Holly, move."

"But, Mr. Heywood," I started, stepping in his way when he tried to move around me.
"You can't deny what your expression told me. It was so... horrible. It hurt."

Mr. Heywood's eyes narrowed slightly. "Didn't I mention this was none of your
business?"

"I know you did!" I responded, growing frustrated. "But if I haven't made it clear
enough, I'm just worried about you!"

I blushed immediately, turning to look at the cement sidewalk. Why couldn't he see
that? And if he couldn't see that I was worried about him, would he ever realize
how I felt about him? I shook my head. That was a different matter entirely.

"Listen, Holly," Mr. Heywood started, his voice much softer. "I'm sorry for
worrying you, but this is something I don't want to share."

"Why not?"

Mr. Heywood smiled wryly. "Because I don't want you to think bad of me."

"I couldn't!" I responded almost immediately. "Okay, maybe I can, but not bad
enough to make me view you any differently."

Mr. Heywood shook his head. "No, Holly. Sorry."

"But-"

Mr. Heywood exhaled slowly, looking at the watch around his wrist. "I've got to
go."

"Another date?" I asked dryly.

A small smirk appeared on Mr. Heywood's face. "You're getting smarter every day."

"Who are you dating?" I asked, trying to keep the frown from my face. "Is she your
girlfriend?"

For a moment I thought I saw a flash of the expression on Mr. Heywood's face from
the night before. It made my heart skip a beat, but before I could make sure, it
was gone.

"Something like that," Mr. Heywood told me, gently pushing me out of the way. "I'll
see you tomorrow."

Just then a familiar black car pulled up next to us, music blaring from the inside.
The window rolled down and I stared down at the car in shock. Mr. Heywood even
stopped to glower into it.

"What are you doing here, Jeremy?"

Jeremy smirked up at Mr. Heywood, then pointed at me with a slim finger. "I'm here
to pick up Holly."

"You are?" I responded, my eyes widening. "Why?"

"We're going on another date today," he told me simply. "C'mon, get in."

"Jeremy," Mr. Heywood started, but I cut him off.

"Okay," I said, opening up the passenger door and sliding in. I closed it behind
me, looking up at Mr. Heywood. "See you."

"Holly, wait," Mr. Heywood started, but Jeremy rolled up the window, making his
words incoherent.

"That's mean," I told Jeremy, an amused smile coming onto my face.

"He's mean," Jeremy responded before switching gears and heading out of the parking
lot. "Or at least I believe he was being mean from the expression on your face."
"What expression?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The expression of hurt and unrequited love."

I flushed, glaring at him. "There was no feeling of unrequited love."

Jeremy laughed. "You can't fool me. I'm the master of emotions."

"Seriously."

Jeremy tapped the steering wheel with one of his fingers. "But then again, it's not
unrequited."

"Yes it is," I muttered, looking out the window.

Jeremy chuckled. "You're so pessimistic. If you knew Chris, you'd know he

definitely cares more about you than other people."

"Probably because I'm caught up in his gang problem."

"You are really negative, you know that?"

"I can't help it," I told Jeremy, turning to look at him. "I hate to admit it, but
I really don't know anything about Mr. Heywood other than what you told me. He
never tells me anything about himself. The only reason I know he cares about me in
the least bit is because he admitted he worries about me."

Jeremy sighed, glancing at me quickly. "Holly, you have to understand Chris's past
is sort of difficult."

"I figured as much..."

"Then don't worry about him not telling you everything right now, okay? He will
eventually, I promise."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive," Jeremy responded, a smile on his face. "And if he doesn't, I can beat
him up for you."

I chuckled, brushing a stray hair from my face. "Jeremy, you never cease to make me
feel better. It's amazing."

"Well thank you," he responded, winking at me. "Someone has to help support you in
your journey to capture Chris's heart. And also bring you back up when he brings
you down unknowingly."

"I never said it was my goal to 'capture his heart'," I pointed out, but smiled
nonetheless.

"Oh, but it is."

"So where are you taking me?" I asked, deciding for a topic change. "Home? To get
ice cream?"

"Nope," Jeremy responded, popping his mouth on the P. "You know how I told you I
have two little sisters?"

"Yeah..."
"Well, we are going to be babysitting them," Jeremy told me with a grin.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Well I hope you enjoyed this relaxed chapter. The next chapter will be rather
enjoyable... until the end. And so you're not angry when that comes, it is indeed
going to end in a cliff hanger >:D

Vote, vote, vote~ Comment, comment, comment~

I uploaded a day earlier than I normally do. School starts tomorrow though soooo...
we'll see how things go from now on.

Click open external link at right for my facebook fanpage...

Question! Favorite band? :} I like Alesana and Mayday Parade... and All Time Low.
And about 1000 more.

*******************************************
[35] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 34
*******************************************
It had started to rain by the time we arrived at Jeremy's house. It wasn't a
torrential rain, but one heavy enough to make my shirt damp before we entered the
house. While I was taking off my shoes, a young girl with brown hair came up to us,
a questioning look on her face.

"Holly, this is Jenna," Jeremy said, holding gesturing towards Jenna with his hand.
"And Jenna, this is Holly." He gestured towards me.

"Hi," we both said in quiet voices.

Jeremy laughed, slapping my back. "Don't be shy."

I stumbled forwards from the force of the slap. A small smile slipped onto Jenna's
face. I smiled back at the thirteen year old, figuring she was just smiling at my
pain. She laughed now.

"I've heard a lot about you," Jenna told me, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear.
"Jeremy likes to talk about you."

"Really?" I asked, turning to give Jeremy a questioning look.

"Well, about you and Chris."

Jeremy looked at me sheepishly as my questioning look turned into a glare. I turned

back to Jenna with a forced smile.

"Does he now?"

Jenna nodded. "Your life sounds like a drama, the way Jeremy describes it."

I scowled at Jeremy, who was now scratching the back of his head. I did my best to
resist kicking him.

"Jenna, let's not talk about that, okay?" he suggested, guiding me further into the
house with a hand on my back. "Let's go find Jane."
"Jane is your seven thirteen year old sister?" I asked.

Jeremy nodded. "Yup. She can be a brat sometimes."

"More like all the time," Jenna muttered, tagging along aside us.

"Jeremy, Jenna, and Jane," I said out loud, a smile appearing on my face. "I see a
trend here."

"Can you guess what our parents names are?" Jenna asked.

"James and June?"

"Close," Jeremy responded with a smirk. "James and Julie."

I grinned. "That's cool. A family of J, huh?"

"Too bad our last names don't begin with a J," Jeremy said, steering me up a flight
of stairs.

"What is your last name?" I asked, surprised that I hadn't noticed I didn't know it
before.

"Ross."

"Oh..."

"I bet you're thinking Holly Ross doesn't sound good together," Jeremy commented, a
smirk appearing on his face.

I blushed and shook my head. "No!"

"Holly Heywood doesn't sound good either."

I glared at Jeremy. "I was thinking that either!"

"I never said you were."

"Jeremy, stop fighting with Chris's girlfriend," Jenna interrupted, rolling her
eyes. "He'll kill you."

"G-girlfriend?" I repeated, staring at the girl in shock. "No! No, no, no, we
aren't dating! Jeremy!" I glared at him.

Jeremy laughed sheepishly. "Jenna, didn't I say not to talk about that?"

"What did you tell her?" I demanded, crossing my arms.

"I was just putting my input in," Jenna said to Jeremy, shrugging her shoulders.

"Let's just drop it," Jeremy suggested.

"What did you tell her?" I repeated, grabbing Jeremy's shirt. "Girlfriend? What?"

"Actually I believe my words were 'soon-to-be girlfriend'," Jeremy corrected,

easily pulling out of my grasp. "And don't worry, I don't tell her much."

"He only complains," Jenna interjected. "He's always saying how one of you should
fess up your feelings otherwise it'll be too late."

I blushed again, scowling at Jeremy. "What are you? An old lady that likes to
gossip?"

Jeremy shrugged. "I have to express my frustrations about you guys somehow."

"It's not even your business!"

"I just want Chris to be happy, he deserves it," Jeremy responded, ruffling my
hair. "You wouldn't understand."

"Then help me understand!"

"It's not my right to tell you."

"Well if both you and Mr. Heywood won't, then who will?" I demanded, growing
increasingly frustrated.

Jeremy sighed, pushing open a door, and ushering me inside. The scowl slipped off
of my face, replaced by a horrified expression as I looked around the room we were
in. There were doll parts everywhere. Heads, torsos, bottoms, legs, hair...
everything.

"Jane," I heard Jeremy start in a scolding voice. "How many times do I have to tell
you not to take apart your dolls?"

I looked to where Jeremy was looking and saw the cutest little girl ever. She had
honey colored hair that was in pigtails, and large brown eyes that reminded me of
Jeremy's.

"Mom's going to be mad," Jenna said in a smug voice.

Jane's eyes snapped onto mine and she smiled sweetly. I felt myself smiling back
and I glanced at Jeremy. He was watching me with an amused expression.

"She's so cute," I told him, wanting to hug her close. "I've always wanted a little
sister just like her!"

"No you don't," Jeremy and Jenna snorted at the same time.

Jane walked over towards me, grabbing onto my shirt. "Sissy?"

My jaw-dropped and I looked between the little girl and Jeremy, my mouth now
working, but no words coming out. I gestured with my finger between us and Jeremy
laughed.

"Jane this is Holly, Holly, Jane," he introduced us.

"But you can call me sissy!" I told the little girl, squatting down to her level.

"Okay," Jane said, giving me a huge smile.

"So cute," I gushed, looking back at Jeremy. "I guess cuteness runs in your
family."

"You think I'm cute?" Jenna and Jeremy responded at the same time, both sounding
smug.
I smiled half amused, half annoyed. Jenna and Jeremy were a lot alike personality
wise. They sort of reminded me of Mr. Heywood when he acted narcissistic. The same-

I shook my head. Now wasn't the time to be thinking of Mr. Heywood.

"You're a very cute girl," I told Jenna, smiling.

"Well thank you," she responded, grinning at me.

Her grin reminded me of Jeremy's. It was scary how much these siblings were alike.

"What about me?" Jeremy asked, nudging my back with his elbow. "Admit it. You think
I'm cute."

"I do," I responded honestly.

He smirked. "I'm going to tell Chris."

"Chris is here?" Jane spoke, re-entering the conversation. "I want to see him!"

Jeremy shook his head at her. "Not today."

Jane's expression fell instantly and a smile came to my face. I looked at Jeremy
with a questioning expression.

"Chris sometimes comes over to keep me company when I baby sit," he explained.
"Jane is very attached to him."

"That's cute," I commented, grinning at the little girl once more.

"Sure, until she asks you to make him come over every five seconds," Jeremy
responded with a shrug. "But anyway, I want to show you something so follow me."

"See you later," I said to Jane, ruffling the hair on her head.

"Bye sissy," she responded and then turned to Jenna. "Will you play videogames with
me?"

"Sure," I heard Jenna respond as I followed Jeremy out of the room.

He led me down the hallway all the way to the other end and opened up the door. I
went in first, and stood still, waiting for Jeremy to turn on the light. When light
flooded the room, I noticed I was in another bedroom.

"This is my old room," Jeremy told me, walking over to a dresser. "Take a seat on
the bed."

I did as ordered and watched as Jeremy shuffled through the top drawer of the
dresser before pulling out a large black book. He came back over to me and sat down
on the bed as well. I peered over his shoulder to read the cover of the book.

"A yearbook?"

"Yep," Jeremy responded, opening it up. "I only have Chris's senior year photos
because that's when I arrived at the school, and he graduated the next year."

"How do you know each other then?" I asked, frowning as Jeremy began to flip
through the color-filled pages.
"Mostly through the gang," Jeremy responded. "But he was also dating my cousin..."

"Who's that?"

Jeremy either didn't here me, or ignored me, because he didn't reply. I stayed
quiet as he continued to flip through the yearbook. Finally he came to a page that
had the word "seniors" in large, fancy writing. He flipped two more pages then
grinned, pointing down.

"Here's Chris's senior page."

Jeremy pushed the yearbook onto my lap and I stared down at the page. At least ten
photos of Mr. Heywood in his younger days stared back at me. A blush made it's way
across my face as I stared at the pictures. He was so handsome.

"Thinking something naughty?" Jeremy teased, his face inches away from mine. "Hmm?"

"N-no!" I denied, shaking my head quickly. "He's just so... handsome."

"He was popular with the ladies even though he was two years younger than them,"
Jeremy told me, moving his head away again.

"Was your cousin two years older than him when they dated?"

Jeremy nodded. "Everyone he dated was older than him, or so I've heard."

"So then he likes older girls."

"Probably."

I glanced at Jeremy quickly, a look of surprise passing on my face. Jeremy agreed?

Shouldn't he deny that and tease me? Or did that mean it was the truth? Did Mr.
Heywood really only like older women?

Jeremy suddenly started laughing and I turned to look at him, a frown on my face.
He continued to laugh for a few moments, putting his face in his hand. When he was
done, he cleared his throat and looked back up at me.

"Sorry," he apologized, a grin on his face, "I was kidding. I'm sure Mr. Heywood
doesn't prefer an older woman to a younger one and vice versa. You just have cute
reactions."

I blushed, scowling at him. "You're just like Mr. Heywood."

"But I don't have a crush on you."

"He doesn't either!"

"Well if I'm just like Mr. Heywood and I have a crush on you, that means he does
too," Jeremy said simply.

My eyes widened a fraction of a centimeter. "But you just said you didn't have a
crush on me."

"I lied."

"But you said you weren't interested in high school girls."

Jeremy grinned evilly. "I lied."

"But-"

Suddenly he leaned over me, placing one arm behind me and one arm across me. He
then brought his leg over mine and straddled me. I stared at him in surprise, not
even thinking of moving away.

"Want me to prove it?" he asked in a husky whisper.

"Huh?" I said dumbly, feeling my face grow hot from our position.

Jeremy pushed down on my collarbone, making me lie completely down on my back. I

was too shocked to resist. Jeremy smirked as he brought his head closer to mine,
and I felt his hand begin to lift the back of my head back.

"W-wait," I finally stuttered, putting my hands against his chest. "Jeremy, what
are you doing?"

"I'm going to kiss you," he said in a singsong voice.

"What?"

His face was only inches away from mine now and I shut my head, trying to turn
away, but Jeremy's hand kept it still. I felt something soft press against my lips
and I froze up. When I heard chuckling, my eyes shot open.

To my confusion, Jeremy's head was a good two feet away from mine. I looked down
and realized Jeremy had his pointer and middle finger pressed to my lips. I quickly
opened my mouth and bit them.

"Ow!" Jeremy cried, yanking his hand back in pain.

I shoved his chest, making him slide off of me backwards. He toppled to the ground,
and erupted in fresh laughter. I glowered at him, my face hot.

"What did you think you were doing?"

"Teasing you," Jeremy responded, still laughing. "I can't help it. It's so fun.
It's not fair only Chris gets to do it."

"I don't find it very funny," I snapped at him.

"Oh? Did you want me to kiss you?" Jeremy responded as a smirk appeared on his
face.

"No," I responded immediately. "You know I like Mr. Heywood."

"Yup," Jeremy responded, returning his attention back to the yearbook. "Want to see
a picture of Chris and my cousin?"

I hesitated for only a moment before nodding my head. I didn't even know why I
hesitated. This was a past girlfriend of Mr. Heywood's, not a current one. But for
some reason I was still feeling jealous. I silently cursed myself. I didn't want to
be one of those over-jealous people that wouldn't even let their love interests
talk to someone of the other gender.

"Here it is."

I followed Jeremy's finger down to a small colored picture of a pair of people with
their arms around each other. Mr. Heywood was about a foot taller than the girl,
and I almost laughed out loud at the girl's face.

"Nice red-eye," I commented, smirking at the picture. "I thought year book editors
were supposed to fix things like this?"

Jeremy grinned, tapping the girl's face with his finger. "I bet they kept it like
this for amusement."

I nodded, looking back down at the picture. Mr. Heywood's old girlfriend was
actually really pretty, if you excused the red-eye. She had light nut-brown hair
that went to just past her shoulders, and a pale complexion.

"She's got the same hair color as me," I commented with a smile. Did Mr. Heywood
like that color hair?

"Um, yeah," Jeremy responded, taking the yearbook away. "Enough of that, let's move
onto another memorable picture of Chris."

"Would he kill you if he found out you were telling and showing me all of this
stuff about him?"

"Probably," Jeremy responded casually. "This is senior prom."

I glanced down at the yearbook and the younger Mr. Heywood in a black suit and deep
red tie stared back at me, a huge smile on his face. His hair was gelled back the
tiniest bit.

"He looks like a model!"

"Don't let him hear you say that," Jeremy responded with a snort. "You'll boost his
ego too much. And trust me, it's big enough."

"How come Mr. Heywood never smiles like this anymore?" I asked, turning my gaze to
Jeremy, a frown appearing on my face.

Jeremy gave me a small smile and ruffled up my hair with his hand. I immediately
snatched it away, frowning at him.

"Holly, Chris changed a lot after the accident."

"What accident?" I demanded, my irritation growing again. "I'm so sick and tired of
being left out in the dark!"

Jeremy sighed. "I'm sorry, Holly."

"It's okay," I grumbled, swallowing my frustration. "I shouldn't take it out on you
anyway."

"I'm sure Chris will tell you when the time is right."

"I don't know," I responded skeptically. "He seems pretty dead set on not letting
me know."

"There's a small... complication," Jeremy started slowly, as if choosing his words

carefully. "I don't think he wants to have you get the wrong idea before he can
fully explain things..."

I raised an eyebrow. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"I'm guessing he's afraid of you being hurt, emotionally."

"Why?"

Jeremy shook his head. "I can't tell you. I've already said too much."

"But now I'm more curious than before," I complained, a frown pulling at my lips.

Jeremy chuckled and closed the yearbook, tossing on the bed. "Come on, Holly. Let's
go round up the girls and watch a movie."

"But-"

"Hmm, which movie should we watch?" Jeremy pondered while moving towards the door.
"Final Destination?"

"A seven year old shouldn't be watching that," I responded, following Jeremy out of
the room. "How about something a little more PG? Or at least PG-13."

"Those movies never have sex scenes them."

I rolled my eyes at Jeremy's comment. "That's so typical of a guy."

"You know, Chris got around in high school a lot."

I froze in my tracks, staring at Jeremy's back. Was he serious? What was that
supposed to mean? That Mr. Heywood was a player? But I thought he had a steady
girlfriend?

I furrowed my brow. Did that mean Mr. Heywood cheated on girls? He definitely
didn't seem like that type. But if what Jeremy said was true...

Suddenly Jeremy started chuckling and I pulled myself from my thoughts.

"What's so funny?"

"Your expressions," he told me, pretending to wipe tears from his eyes. "I was only
kidding. Chris didn't sleep around."

I scowled, kicking him in the back of the leg. "You're a jerk, you know that?"

"But you love me."

"Sure."

"Ouch..."

"Where are the girls?" I asked before Jeremy could continue to tease me.

"Game room," Jeremy responded, abruptly stopping and pulling open the door. He
stuck his head in and I assumed that he caught the attention of the girls when he
began to speak. "Do you two want to watch a movie with Holly and I?"

"Yes!" I heard Jane squeal, soon followed by the sound of light footsteps. Jane
emerged looking at me with a big grin.

"Hi there," I said to her, squatting down to her level.

"So what were you and Holly doing all alone in your old bedroom, hmm?" I heard
Jenna ask Jeremy as Jane grabbed my hand.

"Adult stuff," Jeremy told Jenna, a smirk on his face.

I rolled my eyes. "Don't listen to him, Jenna. He's delusional."

A low rumble of thunder suddenly filled the room and Jane flinched. She looked
terrified. I held onto her hand tighter and gave her a comforting smile.

"What would you like to watch?" I asked.

"The Brother's Grimm," she responded, and began to tug me down the hall. "Let's
go."

I followed her, hearing Jeremy and Jenna's footsteps behind me. We entered the
living room and I sat down on the couch with the girls while Jeremy got the movie
started. I could hear the rain pounding down on the roof as it continued to grow
heavier. Jeremy flicked off the lights and plopped down on the chair adjacent to
the couch, using the remote to start the movie. I settled into a more comfortable
position, Jane clinging onto me.

Three quarters of the way through the movie, both girls were passed out. I looked
at Jeremy in amusement only to find out he was half-asleep as well. A small chuckle
escaped my lips as I shook my head. The movie wasn't that boring.

I reached into my pocket and grabbed my cell phone, aiming to check the time. When
I flipped it open, it showed I had ten new text messages, thirteen missed calls,
and three voice mails. I clicked on the new text messages first. Nine were from
Casey, and one, the first one in my inbox, was sent by Lance. I decided to read his
first.

Tell me how the British boy is when you get this message.

I stared at the message in confusion and re-read it a few times to make sure I had
read it right. What was he talking about? I didn't know any other British people
besides him! I sighed, hitting the up button to read the ones from Casey.

The first four were telling me to pick up my phone; the fifth was saying to get in
contact with her ASAP; the sixth was telling me again to pick up my phone, so was
the seventh; the eighth message told me to check my voicemail, and so did the
ninth. The tenth said, "It's about Lance."

I frowned deeper, unease beginning to set in. What was about Lance? Did something
happen to him? My stomach twisted uncomfortable as I went back to my cell phone's
home page, trying to get to the voice mails. Before I could press call, however, my
phone started vibrating in my hand. The caller I.D read "Casey".

I immediately pressed the talk button. "Hello?"

"Holly!" Casey cried, sounding panicked. "Why haven't you picked up your phone?"

"I must not have had service," I told her, my eyes widening at her tone. "Casey,
what's wrong? What about Lance?"

I heard Casey sniffle and my heart skipped a beat. My pulse spiked and my hands
became clammy. I struggled to think straight.

"Casey?" I finally started, grasping my phone tightly. "What happened? Is something

wrong with Lance? Tell me!" I demanded when she continued to sniffle.

"Holly, Lance was shot!"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ok, first of all, this chapter was for all the people who were asking me to do
another chapter with Jeremy. I'm so surprised about how popular he is! So this was
for you :D But I told you it'd be left in a cliff hanger :D And no, it's not the
end of the story...

For some reason this story also dropped down from What's Hot #4 all the way to
What's Hot #56. It's so confusing because the reads have been the same... But I'm
just being vain lol.

Vote? Comment? Pretty please :3 :3

Join my facebook page :D External link to the right! Come join the party!

*******************************************
[36] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 35
*******************************************
I'm writing A LOT after this chapter, so don't be deceived that it's long... it's
about the same length as usual. Maybe like half a page less. But I feel like I
wrote a whole page of me just ranting lol. So please sit through it!

___________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________

"Holly... Holly. Holly!"

I jumped, my head snapping towards the sound of the voice. Jeremy was frowning at
me with a worried expression. His expression quickly became bewildered.

"What's wrong?"

The phone slid from my quivering hands, dropping to the floor with a thud. I stared
at Jeremy in horror, unable to form coherent words. Jeremy immediately got off the
chair he was on and stumbled towards me.

"Seriously, Holly," he started, bending down to my level. "What's wrong? Something

in the movie?"

I shook my head frantically, feeling my breath starting to come in shorter and

shorter gasps. Jeremy's expression turned to alarm and he shook my shoulders
gently. I took another deep breath, this time forcing myself to let it out slowly.
Hyperventilating was never a fun thing to experience.

"Lance," I choked out, my eyes starting to water. "He... he..."

"Breathe, Holly."

I nodded, taking another deep breath, and letting it slowly. I repeated the process
until I felt slightly calmer. Jeremy nodded, keeping his hands on my shoulders.

"Now tell me."

"Lance was shot!" I told him quickly, blinking back tears. "We need to get to the
hospital! Now!"
"Who's Lance?" Jeremy responded with a look of confusion. "And shot as in?"

"With a gun!" I responded impatiently, carefully removing myself from the girls,
and standing up. "I need to go!"

"Holly, wait!"

Jeremy grabbed my wrist and pulled me to a stop as I attempted to leave the room. I
turned to look at him with wide-eyes.

"What?"

"It's raining! Were you planning on walking?" Jeremy responded, his face in a
frown.

"No one else can bring me," I told him, trying to yank my arm away. "You have to
watch the girls!"

"Holly, even if you go now I'm sure you won't be able to see your friend until he's
stable."

"I don't care!" I responded, my tears starting again. "Lance is like my brother!
I'm not going to stay here and wait if he was shot!"

Jeremy stayed quiet for a moment, pursing his lips. I tried to yank myself free
again, but found it almost impossible. Jeremy sighed and I scowled at him. He
finally let go and I started walking out of the room again.

"Jenna," I heard Jeremy start. "Jenna, I need you to watch Jane for a little bit."

I paused for a moment, turning back to him. Jenna was rubbing her eyes sleepily and
looking up at Jeremy.

"Why?" she asked.

"I need to take Holly somewhere quickly," he told her, pulling his keys out of my
pocket. "It's very important and I need you to watch Jane for me. I'll be back as
soon as possible!"

Jenna nodded, glancing at me momentarily. Jeremy turned and walked past me,
dangling his keys in front of me. I followed immediately and we hurried downstairs
and outside to the car. I yanked the door open and slid in, Jeremy doing the same.
He started the car, and before I even buckled, pulled out into the street.

"Jeremy," I started, looking out the window into the black. "Jeremy! We're going
way too fast!"

"You said you needed to get to the hospital fast!"

My protest died in my mouth when he said that. I glanced out the front, watching
the windshield wipers go across the glass in swift motions. A feeling of nausea
came over me and I held my seat tightly. I glanced at Jeremy, who was focusing
intently on the road. I slightly begged for us not to crash.

The sound of a phone vibrating filled the car and I reached for my pocket to grab
mine. When I couldn't feel it I panicked for a moment until I realized I had left
it at Jeremy's house. I cursed myself quietly.
"Hello?" I heard Jeremy say and my head snapped to him.

"Jeremy! Get off the phone!" I cried quietly, looking at him in horror. "You're
driving!"

He didn't look phased. "Yes, she's right here. Hold on."

I gave him a quizzical look as he held the phone out to me. I grabbed it quickly
before he took his eyes off the road. When I noticed it was my phone, my expression
became even more confused.

"How did you get this?"

"I grabbed it off the floor before we left," Jeremy told me, as if it was the most
obvious thing in the world.

I rolled my eyes, pressing my phone to my ear. "Hello?"

"Holly!" Casey nearly screamed into the phone.

"Whoa, Casey. Quiet down."

She started saying something, but I couldn't make out quite what she was saying
because she was sobbing to hard. My chest clenched from the sound, but I forced
myself not to tear up.

"Casey, calm down," I ordered, swallowing nervously. "What are you saying?"

Casey sniffled and I heard her take a deep breath. "My mom won't let me go to the
hospital because it's a school late and it's too late!"

"What?" I cried it outrage. "Lance was flipping shot and she won't let you go!

"No!" Casey responded in the same tone.

"Lance's life is more important than school!" I said angrily, clenching the phone
in my head. "Oh my God!"

Suddenly I was thrown forwards and I gasped in surprise, my head hitting the
dashboard.

"Sorry," Jeremy muttered and I was suddenly thrown towards the window. "Almost
missed the entrance to the hospital."

I rectified myself in my seat, rubbing my head. "Smooth."

"Holly, you have to keep me updated!"

"I will," I told Casey, brushing my bangs out of my face. "But I don't know if I'll
have service in the hospital."

"Then come outside and text me every half-hour or so, okay?"

"Okay," I responded, looking out my window at the large building. "We're here, so
I'll text you as soon as I find out what's going on."

"Okay."

"Talk to you soon."

I pulled the phone away from my head and flipped it shot, putting it into my back
pocket. Jeremy pulled into a parking spot and I quickly flung open my door, jumping
out. Immediately, I started towards the hospital doors.

"Holly!" Jeremy shouted after me.

"What?" I called back, turning around.

"I've got to go back to Jenna and Jane, so call me when you want to be picked up.
No matter how late, okay?"

I nodded. "Okay... Thank you."

"Anytime," Jeremy responded with a grin. "Oh, and do you want me to call Chris?"

I looked at him in shock by his offer. He raised an eyebrow at me, waiting for an
answer. I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. After a moment, I finally managed
to speak.

"What? No! Why would I want you to do that?"

"Support?" Jeremy offered.

I shook my head. "No... I don't want him here. I'm okay."

"Are you sure?"

I nodded. "Positive."

"Don't hesitate to call if you need anything," Jeremy told me, a frown still
loitering on his face.

"Okay."

"See you later, Holly."

For a brief second I did wish Mr. Heywood was here, but I quickly dismissed the
thought. My thoughts were now solely on finding out Lance's condition. I burst
through the hospital doors, sweeping my now wet hair out of my face. I went to the
reception desk and the receptionist looked up at me with a startled face.

"May I help you?"

"Lance Greyson," I told her, tapping my foot anxiously. "Where is he?"

She looked to her computer and typed something quickly. She scanned the computer
screen, a frown appearing on her lips. "Right now he's in the ICU, and no visitors
are allowed in."

"The ICU?" I responded, feeling my heart drop into my gut. "What's wrong? Will he
be okay?"

"I don't know," the receptionist told me, shaking her head. "I don't know what's
going on, I'm sorry."

"When can I see him?" I demanded, clenching my fists. "Soon?"

"I don't know."

I groaned in frustration. Didn't this girl know anything? "Where can I wait?"

She pursed her lips. "Are you his family?"

"Close enough."

"Only family members will be allowed to see him when-"

"I'm close enough," I snapped, glaring at her. "Please, let me at least wait by the
room!"

"I'm sorry," the receptionist apologized, shaking her head. "Only family can wait
in that area."

"I already told you I'm close enough!" I shouted, surely gaining the attention from
everyone in the area. "Jesus Christ! Is it really so much of a problem to let me go
wait? Are you even-?"

"She's part of the family," a new voice interrupted, their voice heavily accented.
"I'm Laura Greyson."

My eyes widened and I turned to see a familiar woman with blonde hair frowning at
the receptionist. When she noticed I was staring at her she smiled.

"Are you family?" the receptionist asked Laura, pursing her lips.

"I'm his mother," Laura responded coldly.

The receptionist looked flustered and I smirked. "You may go up then," she said,
looking around. "Do you need someone to lead the way?"

"No, I've already been up," Laura responded quickly. "I'm going now, and taking
this young lady with me."

"Of course," the receptionist responded.

I scowled at her. "Thanks," I said sarcastically.

Laura chuckled and put a hand on my shoulder, steering me away from the counter. I
looked up at her, my eyes filling with tears again.

"Is he okay?"

The smile automatically dropped from Laura's face. My heart dropped once again and
I stared at her in horror.

"He's not... He's not d-dead, is he?"

Laura's eyes flew open in shock and she shook her head frantically. "No! No, no,
dear. No."

Relief brought new tears to my eyes and I scrubbed them angrily. They really needed
to stop! I hated crying, especially in front of people. But the sad part was, I
cried when I was sad, relieved, and angry, so I ended up crying a lot.

"Do you know what happened?" I asked Laura, following her down the white corridors
of the hospital.
She frowned. "The only thing I know is he was shot twice; once in the scapula and
once in the chest. But not in the heart," she added quickly upon hearing my sharp
intake of air. "I got the call maybe an hour before you did, but I haven't been let
into the room yet... The doctors have been keeping me updated on his condition
though, so I know he's not dead."

We entered the ICU and Laura turned left, walking down another white hallway. I
dogged after her, unsettled by the quietness of the place. I had been expecting the
ICU to be full of frantic and shouting people. The silence seemed deafening.

"Ms. Greyson!" someone shouted and I looked up to see a tall man in a doctor's
cloak waving over to here. "Come quickly!"

My eyes widened and I glanced at Laura, who looked alarmed. She hurried forwards at
once and I followed behind quickly. The doctor let Laura into the room I assumed
Lance was in, but he held me back.

"I'm sorry, there's not enough room..."

"Oh," I responded, my heart sinking. "No... it's okay. I'll wait out here."

The doctor nodded, before going back into the room and closing the door after him.
I didn't move for a moment, staring at the closed door with my thoughts racing. My
heart felt like it was about to burst from my chest.

Was there something wrong with Lance? Did he take a turn for the worse? What was
happening? I needed to know!

I let out a frustrated groan and walked over to a bench against the wall across
from the door and slumped down on it, resting my head on my hands. I resisted the
urge to scream. I wanted to know what happened now to Lance! But no one would know
exactly until he woke up probably.

Shootings didn't happen around here! And certainly not involving Lance! He hadn't
done anything to deserve this! So why was he in the ICU now? I clenched my fists,
taking slow breaths. It wasn't fair...

My phone stated to vibrate in my hand and my eyes snapped onto it. Coldness ran
through my veins when I realized the phone call was from Lance's phone. With
shaking hands, I slowly flipped it open and put it to my ear.

"H-hello?"

"Holly, right?"

"Who is this?" I demanded angrily. "Why do you have Lance's phone? Are you the one
who did this to him?"

"Yes, this is definitely Holly," the man on the other side of the phone said with a
small laugh. "And to answer your questions in order; Shawn, because I took it from
him, and yes, in a way."

My breath caught and my eyes widened. Shawn? Shawn from the gang, Shawn? And he was
the one who did this to Lance? I clenched my jaw, my eyes narrowing.

"You shot him," I stated, clenching my phone so hard I was afraid it was going to
snap.

"Is he dead?" Shawn asked in a casual voice. "I aimed for his heart..."
"Why?" I almost screamed, but immediately quieted myself when I remembered I was
still in the hospital.

"You should know-" Shawn started, but suddenly stopped talking.

"I should know what?" I cried, grounding my teeth together.

There was no reply and I groaned in irritation. I pulled the phone away and glanced
at it, noticing the call ended. My eyes then went to the service bars, and I
realized that I didn't have service anymore.

Cursing under my breath, I jumped off the bench and rushed for the exit of the
hospital. A few doctors gave me wary looks as I sped by, but I paid them no
attention. I needed to get out of the hospital, and fast. Would Shawn think I hung
up on him and not answer when I called back? I had to talk to him!

Torrential rain greeted me as I stepped outside the building. I looked at it

briefly before turning back to my cell and waiting for reception to come in. After
a moment three bars appeared and I quickly called Lance's phone. On the second
ring, my call was answered.

"Where'd you go?" Shawn drawled.

"I lost service," I told him flatly. "Why did you attack Lance? He has nothing to
do with Mr. Heywood or myself!"

"Isn't he the closest person to him?" Shawn responded, sounding bored. "Don't try
to lie to me. Lately I've seen them together more than with you."

"What? What the hell are you talking about? They barely even talk!" I cried in
outrage.

"Where have you been?" Shawn asked in an amused tone. "They're together a lot."

"I would have noticed," I started, though now I doubted myself. If that was true,
how come Lance never mentioned it? I thought he hated Mr. Heywood!

"Apparently not."

"Why did you shoot him?"

"I didn't shoot him-"

"But you said-"

"I said in a way," Shawn told me, sighing. "Don't you listen when people talk to
you?"

I scowled, clenching my fist. "Then why does he have two bullet wounds?"

"I only meant to threaten him a little bit and maybe rough him up," Shawn
explained. "But another guy that was with me suddenly pulled out a gun and before I
knew it, he was shooting at the British boy."

"Why didn't you stop him then?" I asked, growing angrier by the second. "Lance
could have died!"

"If he did, so be it. It wouldn't be on my name."

"You're a bastard."

Shawn laughed. "Like I said, I was only threatening him. If anyone is going to die,
it'll be Chris."

"Then why did you go after Lance? Why not me? Why him?"

"Because I have different plans for you."

My next question stuck in my throat as Shawn's words processed in my mind. He had

different plans for me? I quickly scanned the area around me, panicking slightly.
What was that supposed to mean?

"You still there?"

"Why can't you leave us alone?" I whispered, my eyes starting to water once more.
"We didn't do anything! I don't know what Mr. Heywood did, but it doesn't involve
Lance or myself! Stop attacking us!"

"So you want me to just go straight for Chris?"

I paused, clenching my jaw. "No..."

"Why not? I'll leave you and your boyfriend alone. I'll just get a whole group of
us and surprise Chris while he's least expecting it and that's that. I'm sure even
he can't take on twenty people at once."

"No!" I shouted. "Are you a coward? Why would you do that? What did he even do to
you? It doesn't even matter, actually! Just stop!"

"I'm not going to stop until he's dead."

"Why?"

"He hasn't told you? Really?" Shawn asked. "I guess I'm not that surprised."

"What did he do?"

Shawn laughed. "I'm not telling you. I'll let Chris tell you. But it's the reason
why he needs to die, you'll get what you deserve, and British boy was shot. It'll
all make sense when you know."

"What did he do?"

"I'm going to go for now, I'll call you later to see how your boyfriend is doing."

"Wait!" I demanded, but there was a click and I knew he had already hung up.

I glared at nothing for a few moments. What did Mr. Heywood do? What could be so
bad that someone would be willing to kill someone not even related because of? A
wry smile came onto my face. Well, it was a gang we were talking about, so it could
actually be something not that bad. But I had to know. There was no more time for
secrets. Lance's accident had crossed the line.

Mr. Heywood was going to tell me what happened, no matter what. I wasn't going to
wait either.

I flipped open my phone, scrolling down to Mr. Heywood's number. I pressed the talk
button and waited. It went directly to voicemail. Scowling, I pressed the end
button. Why wasn't his phone on? I tried Jeremy, only to find his phone was off
too. So much for calling him when I needed anything.

I needed to talk to Mr. Heywood. Now. There was no way he couldn't tell me what he
did was none of his business. Lance was shot, and now it was my business. I wasn't
going to take no for an answer.

Pulling out my phone once more I texted Lance's mom, to let her know I was leaving
and to keep me updated. Sitting by and waiting for Lance to wake up wasn't only
going to make me frustrated and anxious. I would go talk to Mr. Heywood right now,
and demand he told me. He couldn't say no!

With my fists clenched, I stepped out into the rain and headed towards Mr.
Heywood's house.

___________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________

I love school. It's awesome! There's only one class I don't like, which is
Chemistry. It's boring. And the teacher reminds me of a leprechaun with a squeaky
voice and he can't teach! The good thing is he doesn't have good vision, so you can
text haha. My english teacher is crazy, but amazing. I can tell she'll be awesome.
My math teacher is nice... but she can't teach either, and she gives out way too
much homework lol. Once again I got one of those teachers most of the student
population think is handsome for a 30 year old, while I disagree. He's an awesome
teacher though. It just gets boring hearing about how many people like him. And I'm
writing a student/teacher story so it's like... -throws up-. SO gross. There's
never any 20 year old teachers- which is as old as I'll date right now. My Spanish
teacher is awesome. I'm in spanish 4 honors, and she doesn't speak any english
which sucks because I'm not THAT good in spanish... okay I'm done now. I'll
probably say more next chapter lol. Do you have any awesome/not-awesome teachers?

*******************************************
[37] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 36
*******************************************
Rain ran down my face in small streams as I hurried down the dark street that led
to Mr. Heywood's apartment. The forest that surrounded the road was creeping me
out, but I put my best foot forward and continued, trying my best to ignore the
unnerving woods. It really wasn't working.

A shudder passed over me when I imagined what could be in there watching me. I
really had to stop watching so many horror movies. Pulling my jacket tighter, I
kept my head straight, and my eyes on the ground. Only a little further until I'd
be on a main road, and then Mr. Heywood's apartment would only be about three
blocks away.

I frequently checked my phone to see if Laura, Casey, or Jeremy had decided to

contact me. There had been no contact from any of them for the past twenty minutes.
I was surprised my phone even still worked, seeing as how I was soaked to the bone
and it had been in my hand the whole time, only slightly shielded from the
precipitation.

A cracking noise from my left made me jump violently. I twisted towards it and
stayed stock still, eyeing the area apprehensively. When a squirrel came barreling
out of the black a small chuckle escaped my lips. It was just my stupid imagination
again...

This time there was the sound of gravel crackling behind me and I whipped around to
see a car approaching. I relaxed again, cursing my timid persona. The car continued
to grow closer, and as I heard it slow down, my heart started speeding up again.

I kept walking, pretending a car wasn't following me. Wait, I didn't even know if
it was following me. Maybe someone needed to ask for directions... I highly doubted
that. Picking up my pace, I moved closer to the forest and away from the road.
Whoever was on the car switched to high beams, and kept them on me.

By this time, I was slightly terrified. Shawn's words echoed in my mind. "I have
different plans for you." I glanced back at the car quickly, but couldn't make out
the driver. Suddenly it pulled ahead of me and came to a stop. I stopped too,
staring at it warily.

When the door opened, I decided my best bet was to flee. Turning on my heel, I
started sprinting towards the forest. The person in the car honked, scaring the
crap out of me, and only making me run faster. I heard the opening and closing of a
door and someone shouting after me.

I clutched my phone in a panic. Why now? Why couldn't have Shawn waited? I had to
talk to Mr. Heywood! And no one knew where I was going besides Laura, who didn't
know anyone but my mom! I stumbled over a bush as I fought my way through the over-
growth and trees. Someone was still shouting after me.

A wet tree branch slapped my face as I tried to duck under it, temporarily blinding
me. Whoever was chasing me was growing closer, fast. Suddenly my foot gave out from
under me and I opened my mouth in surprise but no noise came out as I fell face
first. I was sliding before I had a chance to pick myself up off the ground. When I
reached the bottom of the hill, I got a face full of sand.

Without moving I held down the "5" button on my phone, slowly bringing it to my
head. It rang once, twice, and on the third ring I heard the sound of someone
picking up.
"Mr. Heywood?" I whispered, staying as silent as possible.

"Holly," he responded, sounding both amused and frustrated for some reason. "What-"

"Help me, I don't know where I am, but someone's after me," I whispered in a rush,
squeezing my eyes shut. "I know I'm always in these situations and I'm sorry, but
I'm scared. So please-"

Suddenly there was a loud cry of surprise behind me, and my words were cut off as
something heavy fell onto my back. I dropped my phone in surprise, a rush of air
escaping my mouth, leaving me winded. The weight was gone almost as soon as it
appeared, but I was still gasping for breath.

"Shit! Sorry, Holly."

My eyes widened and I forced myself to roll onto my back. Mr. Heywood was staring
down at me with an apologetic look on his face. I gasped in air, trying to regain
my breath so I could speak to him. He bent down and pulled me to my feet and began
to brush the dirt and sand off my body.

"I didn't think I'd slip," he told me, turning me around so he could brush off my
back. "But you're the one who went down first..."

"That was you in the car?" I managed to say, stepping away from him, and turning to
face him. "Why didn't you say so? I was terrified!"

"Holly, I tried telling you that when you began to run but apparently you didn't
hear me," he responded with a frown. "Do you usually run away from cars? That's a
bad habit you know."

I ignored his jibe and glared at him. "That's not funny! Do you have any idea how
scared I was? I thought it was Shawn coming to get me! I thought I was going to be
killed or something, since apparently your stupid gangster friends don't have a
problem with killing Lance!"

"Wait," Mr. Heywood interrupted, his voice growing hard. "What do you mean by
'killing Lance'?"
I was shaking in anger now, not quite positive where it had all came from. Probably
the after shock of being scared. "They shot him, Mr. Heywood! Twice!"

"Holly, this isn't time to be joking-"

"I'm not!" I screamed, breaking the unnatural silence in the forest. "Go to the
hospital and see for yourself!"

Mr. Heywood seemed taken aback for a moment and watched me with wide eyes. I glared
at him, brushing a strand of my drenched hair out of my face. A breeze went by,
making me uncomfortable cold. I quickly folded my arms over my chest and pressed my
legs together.

"When did this happen?" Mr. Heywood demanded, narrowing his eyes. "Is he okay?"

I shook my head, wiping rain from my face so I could see him clearer. "I don't
know. It must have happened recently because he was still in the ICU when I left
the hospital. His mom's there and I texted her and told her to keep me updated on
his condition."

"How do you know it was them?"

By them, he meant the gangsters. I flipped open my phone and scrolled down to the
text message I had received earlier. "They have Lance's phone. Shawn called me
earlier."

"What did he say?" Mr. Heywood asked, grabbing the phone away from me and looking
at it with a scowl.

"He asked how Lance was, told me he was still after you, and he said he had 'plans
for me'," I quoted, staring down at the ground. "He said he didn't care whether
Lance lives or dies... but he was only going to rough him up." I looked back at Mr.
Heywood who was glaring at the trees. "When I asked why Lance, he said because he
was with you the most..."

"I tutor him," Mr. Heywood responded simply.

"You what?"

"Tutor, you know... give him extra help? Help him learn the material more?" Mr.
Heywood responded, raising an eyebrow. "Surely you know-"

"I know," I snapped, scowling. "How long has this been happening for?"

"Jealous?" Mr. Heywood asked, a smirk appearing on his face.

I gave him a flat look. He sighed, running a hand through his now-drenched hair.

"Just for the past few weeks. His mother asked me to give him extra help after
school," he told me. "Though I didn't expect I was being spied on... Damn it.
They'd even go so low as to go after a student I tutor?"

"Well he was also there with the accident near the towing place."

"But that's not the point," Mr. Heywood said. "They're going after people who
aren't even related to the problem! Pretty soon they might as well attack the
mailman, right? I need to put an end to this."

"What? Not by yourself!" I cried, my eyes widening. "Shawn said... Even you can't
take on twenty people!"

"What else am I supposed to do, Holly?" Mr. Heywood demanded with annoyance etched
across his face. "Wait for them to attack another student?"

"They wouldn't attack regular students," I told him, though not entirely positive.
"They'd get in trouble with the cops."

"Whoever shot Lance is already in deep shit."

"But you can't-"

"Holly, I'm not going to sit around while they pick of people close to me!" Mr.
Heywood cried, his voice raising a notch.

I stared at him in shock. Since when did Mr. Heywood raise his voice? For some
reason, I felt like I wanted to cry again.

"You can't do it alone," I whispered, staring at him.

"Holly, what if you're next?" He responded, his voice back to his normal tone. "If
it's you then..."

"They won't do anything to me! I'll make sure of that," I cut him off, shaking my
head.

Mr. Heywood shook his head. "You said early Shawn told you he had plans for you."

"I lied," I said quickly.

"Holly," Mr. Heywood started with a sigh. "How many times do I have to tell you
that you can't lie to me?"

"They want you dead though," I breathed, blinking repeatedly to keep any tears from
spilling. "Did you hear me? Dead!"

"Yeah, I can't say I'm surprised."

"What did you do?"

Mr. Heywood's expression went blank for a moment, but then it quickly became hard.
He narrowed his eyes at me.

"I told you it wasn't any of your business."

"Well now it is!" I responded, clenching my fists. "And Lance's too! You have to
tell me!"

"No!"

"Mr. Heywood!"

"Drop it," he snapped, scowling.

"No! I won't!"

"Holly, please," Mr. Heywood said, running a hand through his hair. "Drop it."

"No," I stated stubbornly, growing angrier. "Lance was shot, Mr. Heywood! That's
taking it too far! You can't keep whatever you did a secret anymore! It's my
business now!"

"Holly, just stop. It's not-"

Without warning, I punched Mr. Heywood in the chest as hard as I could. He didn't
budge, but shock flashed across his face. I hit him again, trying to put as much
force into it as I could. He let me hit him a few more times until his hand
captured my wrist and stopped me.

I scowled, bringing up my other fist, but was caught by Mr. Heywood immediately.
Now I attempted to kick his shin. Mr. Heywood let out a small groan of frustration.

"Is it my fault you're so violent?" he muttered. "Just like a child..."

I stopped struggling at once, a little hurt by his comment. Time for a different
approach.

"Please," I begged, putting my head against his chest, and keeping my eyes on the
ground. "Please. I'm begging you now! Just tell me. Please, Chris!"

"Holly, you're hand is cold."

I pulled away from him, yanking my hand out of his grasp. The tears were now
spilling out of my eyes. I glared at Mr. Heywood, taking a step away from him. Now
he was going to change the subject? "I hate you. I hate you!"

Mr. Heywood sighed, closing his eyes. I shook my head in disbelief, taking another
step away from him. I turned to walk away, but a hand enclosed on my wrist and
yanked me back. Something warm enveloped me and I looked down to see Mr. Heywood's
jacket over my shoulders. I tried to shrug out of it, but Mr. Heywood held it on by
force.

"Let go of me."

"Holly, you have to promise me you won't think any differently after I tell you."

I looked up at Mr. Heywood in shock. His eyes pierced into mine with seriousness,
complimented by Mr. Heywood's somber face. I slowly nodded, clenching his jacket
tighter to my body. He reached out and brushed a few stray tears from my face.

"And please stop crying," he said putting his forehead against mine. "I'm sorry.
I'll tell you, just don't hate me."

"I couldn't hate you," I responded, too embarrassed to look at him while he was
this close.

Hate him? How could he even think that I meant that? Couldn't he see how much I
cared about him? A sudden feeling of excitement ran over me. I swallowed nervously
as I formed my next words in my mind. This was the perfect chance to let Mr.
Heywood know. We were in the middle of nowhere, and alone. It was the perfect
timing.

"Mr. Heywood," I started, now looking at him, our foreheads now pressed together.
"I... I, uh..."
"Hmm?" Mr. Heywood's gaze landed on mine, and he blinked, staring at me for a
second. Then he pulled away quickly, clearing his throat. "You're really cold,
let's go get you warmed up."

I blushed, a frown slipping onto my face. Not yet. I was going to confess now
whether or not I was cold. A shiver ran through me as a gust of wind blew through
Mr. Heywood's coat, reminding me that I was cold. Mr. Heywood chuckled, grabbing my
hand and tugging me forwards.

"Come on, you're shivering," he commented, squeezing my hand.

"Wait, I have something to say," I protested, trying to take my hand back.

"You can tell me later," Mr. Heywood responded, rolling his eyes.

"But I-"

"Don't argue with me Holly."

I scowled, growing irritated. Why couldn't he just let me confess? Of course he

didn't know I was going to, but he could at least think about the situation for a
moment!

"Why didn't you call me?" Mr. Heywood asked.

I sighed in resignation. I guess I wasn't confessing now. "I tried. Your phone was
off."

"It wasn't off. I must not have had service," Mr. Heywood responded, ducking under
a tree branch and holding it up for me, and pushing me in front of him.

"Where were you?" I asked, looking back at him. "How come you were on this road?"

"I was coming back from..." he trailed off, looking away from me with a frown.
"A date?"

"Yeah," Mr. Heywood muttered, looking guilty for some reason.

"Oh," I responded, turning back in front of me, my stomach twisting. I had thought
Lance was his date... but I guess not.

"Is she a nice girl?" I asked casually.

"Very nice."

"Is she smart?"

Mr. Heywood chuckled. "Sometimes."

I hesitated before asking the next question. "Is she pretty?"

"Beautiful," Mr. Heywood murmured from behind me.

I bit my lip, staring at the ground in front of me as I walked. Who was this girl?
Mr. Heywood seemed to like her a lot... Did that mean I had no chance? My chest
constricted uncomfortably. Probably not. After all this person was probably a
woman, and I was a high school girl. The affection Mr. Heywood showed was probably
just something he did to entertain himself.

Suddenly something hit my face hard, making me gasp in surprise. Mr. Heywood
chuckled behind me.

"Pay attention."

I scowled, keeping my head up. "You know, you could care a little more."
Suddenly my wrist yanked me to a stop. I turned to scold Mr. Heywood, but before I
could make a word his hands were at my face, holding it in place. I blinked at him
as he brought his head closer. My heart began to pound as I watched him with wide
eyes. What was he planning to do?

My thoughts were interrupted when he roughly turned my head to one side, then the
other, examining my face with a frown. I felt myself flushing, and I struggled to
get out of his grasp.

"What are you doing?" I mumbled through my tightly pressed together lips.

"You said I should care a little more, so I'm making sure you're alright," Mr.
Heywood stated as it if was the most obvious thing in the world.

I finally managed to break free from his grasp, and I frowned at him. "Since when
do you listen to me?"

"I don't."

"So you're sucking up?"

A smirk played across his features. "Perhaps."

I narrowed my eyes. "You're still going to tell me..."

Mr. Heywood sighed. "Yes, I will..."

I kind of felt bad for practically forcing him to tell me his secret, but I had to
know. And it wasn't like I was going to tell anyone. There was no one else to tell.
And it didn't matter to me what he did, it wasn't like I was going to stop loving
him because of it. Upon that thought my face heated up.

"Thinking of me?" Mr. Heywood teased.

"No, of Jeremy," I responded in a more serious tone. "He's been helping me out a
lot lately. I'm trying to decide what I can do to make it up to him. He tried to
make a move on me today, so I might take him on a date..."

"He what?"

I kept my back towards Mr. Heywood and shrugged. "You know. He pinned me to the bed
and tried to kiss me."

"That brat," I heard Mr. Heywood mutter and a smirk slipped onto my face.

"What do you think I should do?" I asked, my smirk growing wider.

"I don't care what you do," Mr. Heywood responded in an off-tone voice. "You can
date him if you want."

I turned to Mr. Heywood in shock, not expecting his answer. He tilted his head to
one side and studied me. I looked at him in disbelief. Was he kidding? He didn't
care? A frown quickly replaced my smirk. So he didn't care... well that was right.
He still had a girlfriend...

Mr. Heywood started snickering and I immediately narrowed my eyes. He shook his
head, trying to keep the laughter in. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I
should have been expecting this.

"Sorry, Holly," Mr. Heywood apologized, a smirk still on his face. "You know,
you're reactions-"

"Are too cute, I know," I finished for him, rolling my eyes. "Except one of these
days I'm really going to mean what I ask you."

"I don't want you to date Jeremy."

Once more, I was shocked by his words. Since when did he say such things so
bluntly? This time I didn't turn to look at him. Instead, I shrugged.
"Then I won't."

"Good."

If there wasn't a blush on my face before, I was sure there was one now. I hated
it, but I felt that by what Mr. Heywood had just said that I might have a chance
with him. Maybe he did like me. Maybe he could return my feelings. But that meant
I'd have to confess, and there was no way I could do that right now. He'd probably
change the topic again as soon as I opened my mouth.

But I wanted to. I wanted to so badly. I clenched my fists, now coming up to the
road. Why did he have to be my teacher? And why couldn't I be eighteen already? My
feelings were already too much for me to handle. Suddenly my thoughts turned sour
as realization set in. I couldn't say it. I couldn't tell him my feelings and have
a chance of being rejected, or being accepted and making Mr. Heywood lose his job.
But what if we kept it a secret?

"Okay," Mr. Heywood started, breaking me out of my reverie. "We're going back to my
house and you're going to take a shower and change before I tell you anything."

"I-I don't need a shower," I muttered in embarrassment.

"Yes you do, a hot one. I don't want to take a chance of you getting sick," Mr.
Heywood responded. "But then again, they do say only idiots get sick. And you are
an idiot for walking out in the rain for as long as you did... Where were you going
anyway?"

"Your house," I muttered, feeling my embarrassment grow.

Mr. Heywood chuckled, opening up the passenger door for me. "I should have
guessed."

I climbed into the seat and Mr. Heywood closed the door for me. I snapped my seat
buckle in and Mr. Heywood slid into the driver's seat. He started the car and put
the heat on full blast. He glanced at me to make sure I was buckled before starting
down the street.

We stayed silent. We'd have a lot to talk about when we got to Mr. Heywood's
apartment.

__________________________________________________________

Okay guys, so originally I was going to have Chris tell his secret in this chapter,
but I realized I didn't have it as planned out as I thought I did, so I need a
little more time to do so, so I came up with this chapter! Hopefully it will
satisfy you for now :) I have to make sure I get most of the loose ends about his
past for the next chapter, but there'll still be some stuff that won't be revealed.
Sorry! But that's how it is!

How many of you want Chris and Holly together soon? Please vote if you want them
too! Leave a comment saying you're totally against it if you are, okay? :)
Reweet/Like for support! Thank you all! Facebook page in external link, like
always.

Don't forget about my new story in the Watty Awards, "Believe Me, I'm lying." Even
if you don't like it (I'm sure you will as we get further along though) please
still support me by voting/commenting/tweeting/liking. That'd be awesome. Okay, I'm
done now. Thanks again xD
*******************************************
[38] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 37
*******************************************
"Holly?"

I jumped violently, nearly slipping on the wet bathroom floor. "Y-yeah?"

"Are you done?"

"Almost," I responded, grabbing Mr. Heywood's shirt and throwing it over my head
quickly.

The sleeves were about four inches too long, so I rolled them up. I then did the
same to his sweatpants, rolling them up to the ankle. I pulled the waist strings as
tight as I could to make sure they wouldn't fall off. Checking myself in the mirror
one last time, I quickly ran a hand through my hair to make it a little more
presentable before stepping out of the bathroom.
"Put this on," Mr. Heywood ordered, throwing a sweatshirt at me.

"Okay," I responded, pulling the article of clothing over my head.

I took a deep breath, a small smile spreading across my face. It smelled just like
Mr. Heywood. I wondered what kind of laundry detergent he used... I grinned to
myself when I realized how stalker-ish that sounded.

"Let's go in the living room," Mr. Heywood suggested, putting a hand on my back and
leading me into the room. "Sit."

I did as ordered, watching him curiously. "You aren't going to order me to make you
coffee or something?"

Mr. Heywood smirked. "Do you want me to?"

I shook my head, looking away from him. In a way, I actually kind of wanted to. It
just seemed like an ordinary thing between him and I. But I wasn't about to let him
know that.

"I made some hot chocolate."

I frowned at Mr. Heywood. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Fine," he responded, raising an eyebrow. "Why?"

"You're being so... un-you."

A wry smile appeared on his face. "I can't be nice?"

"No! That's not it!" I said quickly, waving my hands in front of me. "It's just
that-"
"Do you want to hear my story or not?"

I shut my mouth instantly, glaring at him. Well, he was still being as rude as
usual. He took a seat on the chair across from me, taking a deep breath and letting
it out slowly.

"It's a long story..."

"I've got time," I pressed, a frown on my face. "You promised-"

"I'm going to tell it to you," Mr. Heywood cut me off, rolling his eyes. "Don't
whine."

"Sorry," I muttered, clenching my teeth together, and turning my attention to the

floor.

"I guess I should start by saying that I lied to you."

My eyes snapped back to him, growing in surprise. He had lied to me? "When? About
what?"

He sighed, running a hand through his messy, still damp hair. "Remember the time at
the fair when you first followed me into the forest?"

I blushed slightly at the memory, at my stupidity at the time. "Yeah..."

"Everything I said on the Ferris wheel was a lie," Mr. Heywood admitted, his eyes
piercing into mine.

"Everything?" I echoed, a frown passing onto my face.

Mr. Heywood nodded. "There was no friend I wanted to protect. I joined the gang out
of my own free will. I liked fighting. I liked hurting people."
"But..." I slightly recalled the conversation. How I had cried because I thought I
had the wrong opinion on him. "So I was right..."

"You were right?"

"Back then," I started, slowly lowering my gaze from Mr. Heywood's. "I thought you
were a conceited jerk. But that story about your friend made me change my views.
But it was fake..."

"If I remember correctly you also cried," Mr. Heywood commented in an amused voice.

I glared at him, seeing a smirk on his face. "It's not funny."

"I'm sorry about that," Mr. Heywood apologized, the smirk disappearing. "I didn't
know what else to say... I couldn't tell you the reason why they were after me. I
didn't want to scare you away."

"You wouldn't have told me the truth no matter what then, huh?"

"Probably not," Mr. Heywood responded with a smile. "The part about the lighters
was the truth though. They did burn me at one point, so the scars were real."

"It would be that part that was the truth," I said, a frown slipping onto my face.

"Tell me what Jeremy told you about me."

My eyes widened and I stared at Mr. Heywood. "H-he didn't tell me anything!"

Mr. Heywood snorted. "Yeah? And I invented the punching bag."

"Well I wouldn't be surprised..."

"Holly."

"He didn't tell me a lot," I told Mr. Heywood, biting my lip. "Don't get mad at
him! I basically forced him to tell me!"

"Just tell me," Mr. Heywood responded, a new edge to his voice. "I don't want to
hear you defending Jeremy. I just want to know what he told you."

"Don't hurt Jeremy," I warned.

"Holly," Mr. Heywood said in an annoyed tone.

I sighed, running a hand over my face, trying to remember everything he told me.
"Well he told me you were gang leader, which was surprising. He also told me that
you skipped two grades in middle school."

"Um, he showed me a picture of your girlfriend."

"He what?"

I looked up at Mr. Heywood, surprised by his suddenly livid tone. He scowled,

clenching his fists. He looked seriously angry.

"It was just a picture of you with her in the yearbook," I told him, trying to calm
him down. "And it was a low quality picture."

"You don't know her name?" Mr. Heywood questioned, looking more relaxed.

"No," I responded, narrowing my eyes in confusion. "Why?"

"No reason."
"What is her name?"

Mr. Heywood pursed his lips at me for a second before reclining back on the chair
with a sigh. "Haley Pierce."

"Oh." What an unusual last name... I repeated it in my head a few times trying to
think if anyone I knew had that last name. I couldn't think of anyone.

"What else did Jeremy tell you?" Mr. Heywood asked, changing the topic.

"Umm," I hesitated, glad to not be talking about Mr. Heywood's girlfriend, or ex-
girlfriend. "Oh, yeah! You graduated college at age twenty, right?"

"That's right."

"So how come you didn't get a job as a teacher right away? Why did you wait a full
year?" I questioned.

"If I tell you that know, that will ruin the ending of my story," Mr. Heywood
responded, a smirk slipping onto his face. "Do you want me to ruin it?"

"No," I responded quickly, frowning at him. "I want you to start from the very
beginning."

"From when I joined the gang?" Mr. Heywood asked, looking over at me with a
skeptical expression. "If I start from there, we'll be here all year."

"Fine, then start from where the reason Shawn wants to kill you comes from."

Mr. Heywood chuckled. "Straight to the good part."

"I don't think it's good..."

"Well there are multiple reasons," Mr. Heywood started, ignoring me. "I'm guessing
one of them is the fact that I became gang leader even though I'm six years younger
than him. He really wanted to become gang leader, and he would have if I hadn't
accepted."

"But that's no reason to kill someone," I interrupted, my eyes widening in

disbelief. "That's not even close! Why would someone-?"

"Holly, I'm not even close to being done," Mr. Heywood responded in an amused tone.
"Shut up an listen."

I immediately shut my mouth, scowling at him. He could at least be a little more

polite!

"Honestly, half of the reason why I accepted was just because Shawn wanted to be
the leader," Mr. Heywood continued, ignoring my glares. "I still remember the look
on his face when it was announced. It was priceless."

"And that's why he wants you dead?"

Mr. Heywood rolled his eyes. "Be real, Holly."

I clenched my teeth together. "I am being real! From what I gather, someone from
the gang could want you dead for looking at him the wrong way."

"That's true," Mr. Heywood chuckled. "Probably not death though, but you could be
beaten up for it. "

"What were your reasons for fighting people?" I asked, looking at Mr. Heywood
curiously.

"I was challenged," Mr. Heywood responded simply. "I was never the one to start a
fight. Provoking people is a different story though."

"But, why?"
"Because I thought fighting was the best thing ever when I was younger," Mr.
Heywood explained, shaking his head. "It excited me, it made me feel alive, and
there was no one that could stop me."

"What do you mean?"

"My parents weren't around," Mr. Heywood said, shrugging his shoulders. "And all my
relatives lived too far away to even know what I was doing."

His parents weren't around? A twisting feeling crept into my stomach as I quickly
did math in my head. Mr. Heywood joined the gang at age sixteen, and he said his
parents weren't around...

"Mr. Heywood..."

"Chris," Mr. Heywood corrected me. "How many times-"

"Did you lie?" I said quietly, turning accusing eyes on him.

"About what?"

"About your parents."

Mr. Heywood looked at me in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"You just said your parents weren't around when you joined the gang. But the time
you were giving me a ride home you said your parents died the same day my dad died,
which was only two years ago. Did you lie about that?"

"What?" Mr. Heywood responded, his eyes growing wide. "No! Do you honestly think
that I'd lie about something like that?"

"Then what did you mean?"

"I meant they were so busy with work they were never home," Mr. Heywood explained,
a frown on his face. "Why would you think I'd lie about my parents dying?"

"Well you did lie about that other thing..."

"Holly, I'm sorry I lied to you," Mr. Heywood apologized with a sigh.

"Do you promise not to lie to me again?" I blurted out suddenly.

Mr. Heywood looked surprised by my request, and I blushed, looking away from him
quickly. I had said that without thinking! Now he was going to think I was some
desperate, serious girl!

"S-sorry, ignore me," I stuttered, clenching my fists. Stupid, stupid!

To my surprise, Mr. Heywood started laughing. I looked up at him, not sure what
expression to make. He smirked at me, his eyes lighting up mischievously.

"If I promise not to lie to you, you can't lie to me," he bargained.

"I don't lie to you..."

"Hypocrite," Mr. Heywood sung in a quiet voice, the smirk growing bigger. "I
always-"

"Know when I'm lying," I finished for him in a snippy tone. "But I've never lied to
you because you catch me in the lie before I can get away with it."

"You're just easy to figure out."

I felt my face heat up again in embarrassment. "Whatever."

Mr. Heywood chuckled. "Should we get back to my story?"

I nodded, drawing my knees up to my chest, and watching Mr. Heywood. He shifted

positions, making it easier for me to see his face. Slowly, I lowered my gaze
lowered to the floor. It was hard to keep eye contact with Mr. Heywood.

"It was my senior year when I met Haley," he started, drumming his fingers along
the arm of the chair. "Did Jeremy show you the picture of us in the yearbook?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"We weren't dating then," he told me. "We were going to different colleges, so we
thought it was best not to get into a relationship. But we still saw a lot of each
other because of Jeremy."

"Because they're cousins, right?"

"How do you know?"

"Jeremy told me that," I admitted. "But nothing else!"

Mr. Heywood rolled his eyes. "Calm down, I won't hurt Jeremy for telling you that."

"Okay."

"Anyway," Mr. Heywood continued, stretching out his legs. "Haley ended up
transferring to my college halfway through my third year at college."

"Is that when you started dating?"

"No," Mr. Heywood responded slowly. "At the time she was dating someone else..."
"Who?"

"Shawn."

My eyes widened, and I stared at Mr. Heywood in shock. "No way!"

Mr. Heywood nodded. "I guess they started dating right after graduation. Which is
probably one of her reasons for not wanting a relationship with me senior year."

"But if she was his girlfriend then how did you-?"

"Slow down," Mr. Heywood commented, a smirk slipping onto his face. "I'm getting
there."

I frowned at him, but relaxed back into the couch. "Please continue then."

"Haley was in just about everyone of my classes, and she didn't really know anyone,
so she basically only talked to me. I'm sure I don't have to say that I still had
feelings for her from back in high school. But as I began to like her more and
more, I began to notice things I hadn't noticed before."

"Like what?" I questioned.

"Like the bruises that would appear on her arms every time she had a fight with
Shawn."

I gasped, bringing a hand up to my mouth, knowing immediately what Mr. Heywood

meant. "Shawn abused her? But how did you know?"

"Haley and I were best friends, she told me about the fights she got into with him.
She didn't know about the gang thing," Mr. Heywood explained. "So she didn't
realized Shawn and I knew each other. She didn't tell me that he abused her
though."

"So what did you do?"

"There was nothing I could do at first," Mr. Heywood responded. "She was a proud
person... I didn't want to injure her pride but bringing up the subject. But one
day she came in with a broken wrist. That's when I demanded her to tell me what was
happening."

"And did she?"

Mr. Heywood nodded. "Everything. Shawn was basically forcing her to stay with him,
and she didn't like him. She was scared of him. After awhile I convinced her to
break up with Shawn..."

"How?"

Mr. Heywood smiled wryly. "I told her I'd protect her."

I stayed silent, waiting for Mr. Heywood to continue, but he didn't. He was staring
off into space, a frown on his face. I let him be for a few minutes, occupying
myself with my fingers.

"She came back to class after she broke up with him with more bruises than ever
before," Mr. Heywood suddenly said, interrupting the silence. "I couldn't protect
her then, but I still promised her I'd protect her in the future. She believed me."

"And Shawn?" I asked.

"At this point, Shawn still didn't know I went to the same school as her, let alone
knew her, so there was no connection between us. Haley didn't trust guys though, so
it wasn't like I could start dating her right away. I spent a half a year having
what I thought was an unrequited love."

"Half a year?" I repeated, my eyes widening. "Really?"

Mr. Heywood smiled. "Holly, have you ever been in love?"

Surprised by his question, it took me a moment to respond. My face flushed and I
quickly avoided my gaze. Have I ever been in love? The man I was in love with was
sitting in front of me!

"Have you?" Mr. Heywood prodded.

I cleared my throat. "Y-yes," I muttered, focusing on my fingers.

"Okay, now picture the one you love not being able to love you back for some reason
or another," Mr. Heywood told me.

A wry smile made it's way into my face. Was he purposely describing my situation?

"Okay."

"Would you give up on that person just because of that while they're still by your
side?"

I shook my head vehemently. "No. Never."

"There you go. It just so happened I had to wait half a year, which is basically
nothing. It could have been worse."

"Yeah, could have," I mumbled, glancing up at him. He smirked back.

"One day she randomly asked me out," Mr. Heywood said, going back to his story, an
amused tone to his voice. "Really, it was out of nowhere. But I accepted right
away. Everything was great for about two months..."

"What happened?"

"I don't know how Shawn found out, but he did... and this is where the story gets
to the climax."
"Already?"

"You sound disappointed," Mr. Heywood commented, an amused smirk slipping onto his
face.

"No, I'm not!" I responded quickly, waving my hand. "I'm just going to shut up..."

Mr. Heywood chuckled. "Right. Should I continue now?"

"Yes," I mumbled, blushing lightly.

"Shawn first came to me. I have to admit, he put up quite a fight. I had to get
stitches for one of the cuts on my back. However, there was a reason I was gang
leader. Even he couldn't take me out."

"So you beat up?"

Mr. Heywood rolled his eyes. "Of course I did."

I scowled at Mr. Heywood's cockiness. "Is that why he wants you dead? You stole his
girlfriend?"

"That's a large part, I believe," Mr. Heywood responded. "But not the only part."

"What else? Did Shawn do something else?"

"Shawn went after Haley next."

"You're kidding!" I cried, my eyes widening. "What happened?"

Mr. Heywood sighed, running his hands over his face. "It was really late at night
when I received a text message from Haley, telling me she was downtown by herself
and she was in some trouble. So I quickly went down town to go see what was
wrong... I searched for her for about a good twenty minutes, since she never
responded to anymore of the text messages I sent her."

"She wasn't actually there?"

Mr. Heywood shook his head. "No she was. I eventually found her... along with Shawn
and a few of his followers. She was on the ground."

My pulse started to increase and I swallowed nervously, waiting for Mr. Heywood to
continue. He was rubbing his forehead with a hand, shaking his head.

"This was the second time I had failed to protect her..."

"What happened?" I whispered.

Mr. Heywood looked up at me, his mouth pressed in a tight line. "You can't figure
it out?"

I stared at him in shock, surprised by his sudden hard tone. I opened my mouth to
reply, but nothing came out. Mr. Heywood continued to glare at me for a moment,
until he snapped it out.

"Sorry," he muttered, looking away.

"It's okay," I told him quickly.

"I just can't stand it," Mr. Heywood suddenly said in an angry voice. "I told her
I'd protect her. When I didn't the first time, she still trusted me to. And I
failed her twice."

"But that's not your fault-" I started, but was cut off.

"Yes it is," Mr. Heywood snapped. "I should have known Shawn would be so low as to
go after her! I should have known that!"
"But you didn't know, so it's not your fault!" I argued.

"Holly, she almost died because of me! It is my fault!" Mr. Heywood nearly shouted,
making me jump.

"But-" I said in a quiet voice.

"Let me finish before you say anything else," Mr. Heywood interrupted, his tone
calm again. "You wanted to know what I did the year between college graduation and
the job I have now, right?"

"Yeah," I responded, biting my lip.

"I was in jail."

I laughed, rolling my eyes at Mr. Heywood. "Mr. Heywood, please. Save the jokes for
later. Jail? For a year?"

"I'm not joking, Holly."

I immediately sobered up, staring at Mr. Heywood with wide eyes. He gave me a flat
look, his eyes slightly narrowed.

"Y-you're not?"

"No," Mr. Heywood stated solemnly.

I was literally speechless. The only thing I could do, was to stare at Mr. Heywood.
I felt like such a jerk. I lowered my gaze, wishing I could take back what I'd
said. Jail? Mr. Heywood was in jail?

"I almost murdered three people that night," Mr. Heywood suddenly said. "I was so
close..."

I looked up at him, swallowing. "What happened?"

Mr. Heywood closed his eyes, a sigh escaping his lips. "I didn't have a chance to
speak before the three people who were with Shawn were after me. They probably had
everything planned out. They all had knives, but I wasn't surprised. I was prepared
this time too, I had brought a knife just in case."

I stayed silent, waiting for Mr. Heywood to continue. It seemed like he was
thinking about what to say next. I figured he wanted to spare me the details- and I
wanted him to as well.

"His followers were a piece of cake," Mr. Heywood finally continued. "I did more
damage to them than I should have. But they deserved it. Shawn was the one that
deserved the most though. I would have killed him. I was so close too, but the cops
came. We both tried to run, but obviously we were caught." He laughed without
humor. "I got eight months in prison for civil unrest, and for possession of an
unauthorized weapon. Shawn got fourteen months for the same, but extra months
because he was the instigator. It was just a warning though."

"What about Haley?"

"That bastard lied and got away with it," Mr. Heywood said angrily. "He said he'd
found her like this, and he blamed what happened on one of his followers, who's
still in prison to this day. Shawn wasn't connected to her in anyway."

"He put the blame on a friend?" I asked in disbelief.

"Follower, not friend."

I frowned, taking all of what he said in. Realization hit me and I gasped. "But you
know the truth! Is that why he wants you dead? Because you know the truth?"

"Yes, that's another part of the reason," Mr. Heywood responded.

"So just tell the police!"

"It's not that simple," Mr. Heywood told me, sighing again. "Holly, I was in
serious trouble after that night. As soon as I got out of jail, I was old if I got
involved with a gang again, I'd be going back, and this time for longer than eight
months. They dropped that case after Haley told them to, I can't bring it up again
because of what's happening without getting Haley involved again, and getting
myself back in prison."

"Hold up," I said slowly. "Haley dropped the case?"

Mr. Heywood nodded. "She has kept quiet about the fact it was Shawn's fault, not
that follower who got blamed, so once the follower was blamed, she dropped it. She
didn't want anything to do with the gang anymore."

"But what about you?"

"Before I went to jail, she dumped me," Mr. Heywood responded, a smile on his face.

My stomach clenched uncomfortably and I clenched my fists. Anger surged through me.
"Stop smiling!"

Mr. Heywood's eyes widened a fraction of an inch in surprise. "What?"

"What's to smile about?" I cried, glaring at Mr. Heywood. "She broke up with you,
after you went through all that to protect her? And what's worse is that you had to
go to jail and she broke up with you before you were locked away? That's not
something to smile about, Mr. Heywood!"

"Holly, hold on," Mr. Heywood cut in, but I didn't stop.

"I don't even know who this person is, but I hate her! Why would she do something
like that? It's not fair! And you loved her..."

I could feel tears welling up in my eyes. Cursing myself silently, I lowered my

head so Mr. Heywood couldn't see my face. I blinked rapidly, determined not to let
any tears spill.
"Damn it, Holly," I heard Mr. Heywood curse.

I kept my head down as I heard him get off the chair and start walking towards me.
His shoes appeared in my line vision, but I refuse to look up. I felt Mr. Heywood's
hand on my shoulder, and then his chest appeared in my sight. I looked up an inch
and came face-to-face with him, literally.

"Stop crying," he ordered, tightening his grip on my shoulder. "Why do you always
cry over me?"

"I'm not crying!" I returned, staring at him determinedly. "I'm just angry!"

"Obviously."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "I don't like Haley. She just dropped you like that! If
you really love someone, I think you should be able to handle a gang problem like
that!"

"Holly, she was injured really severely, I can't blame her," Mr. Heywood responded,
straightening himself out. Instead of going back to his chair, he took a seat
beside me on the couch.

"That's an excuse," I pointed out, frowning. "You're covering up for her."

"Tell me, Holly," Mr. Heywood started, his eyes piercing into mine. "Remember what
happened at the beach? What if I hadn't come? And what happened, was the fault of
the person you loved?"

"I wouldn't care," I stated boldly. "The person I love means so much to me that
nothing could ever make me stop loving him."

Mr. Heywood smiled. "He must be a lucky guy."

It's you, you idiot! My mind screamed, but I just managed a half-smile at him. "If
he's lucky, then Haley is also lucky for having someone like you love her."
"Everyone I love gets dragged into my problems and hurt, so I don't think it's
luck," Mr. Heywood responded, his expression softening.

"Tell me, Mr. Heywood..."

"Chris."

"Um, Chris," I started, lowering my gaze. "Do you still... love her?"

"You never stop loving someone."

I looked up at him, disappointment washing through me. What was that supposed to
mean? He still loved her? Even though she broke up with him? Wait... that happened
a year ago, I thought. So did that mean that...? My eyes widened in realization.

"Your dates... they're with her, aren't they?"

Mr. Heywood sighed and nodded. A brick dropped into my gut and I caught my breath.
They were dating? Mr. Heywood was dating his ex-girlfriend that he was in love
with? All those dates over the past weeks, he was with her?

My mouth was dry. So where did that leave me? He and Haley were probably going to
get back together then. It was only a matter of time before they were a couple. Did
that mean there was no chance Mr. Heywood actually liked me? All those instances
when I thought he might, I was wrong? Was he really just being nice? No ulterior
motive.

I clenched my fists. No. I was wrong. Why was I having such discouraging thoughts?
Is this what it was like to in love? Even if Mr. Heywood was still in love with
Haley, I would make him love me.

"Holly, I have something to confess."

"What?" I asked, snapping myself out of my thoughts.

"They weren't dates," Mr. Heywood admitted. "Not one of them. I just said that the
first time to make you jealous because I wanted to see your reaction. But then when
you started dating Jeremy, I kept lying to you because I didn't like you being with
Jeremy and I wanted you to feel jealous."

Trying not to smile as his words registered was a hard task. I looked at him,
keeping my mouth as straight as possible. "Were you jealous of Jeremy?"

"Yes," Mr. Heywood admitted. "I said I wouldn't lie to you anymore, so I won't."
Guilt flashed over his face, but I ignored it.

"It's fine," I told him, trying to be nonchalant. "I was jealous when you said you
had dates."

"That was obvious," Mr. Heywood commented, a smirk slipping onto his face.

I blushed, glaring at him angrily. "You're a jerk."

Mr. Heywood laughed, and continued to laugh for a full five minutes. I frowned at
him the whole time. When he finally sobered up, I raised an eyebrow at him.

"What?" he asked, giving me a questioning look.

"I didn't think I said was that funny," I told him.

"Oh, it wasn't."

I rolled my eyes, causing him to chuckle.

"Holly, you don't realize how relieved I am to know you don't care that I was in
jail for eight months, or that I lied to you, or that I fought people for fun, or
that I nearly killed someone. I think most people would be running off in the other
direction by now," he told me, brushing a strand of hair out of his face. His
dropped his hand back onto the couch, and it brushed against mine, staying there.
I blushed again clearing my throat. "I have my reasons..."

The main reason being I'm in love with you.

"Holly..."

I looked up at Mr. Heywood, tilting my head to the side. He returned my look with a
guilty one, and immediately I began to frown. I didn't like that look.

"What?" I asked nervously.

Mr. Heywood ran a hand threw his shaggy hair. "It's midnight... you should probably
call your mom."

I frowned. That obviously wasn't what he was going to say-

I gasped, now realizing the time he just said. I pushed myself up off the couch,
placing my hand on top of Mr. Heywood's support. I yanked it back in surprise from
the contact, making me collapse to the side and onto Mr. Heywood instead. Blushing
furiously I muttered my apologies, trying to pull myself off of him.

He chuckled, and I could feel it reverberate through his chest. I pushed myself up,
so that I was hovering over him. Before I could pull away completely, he grabbed
the front of my shirt and stopped me.

"Holly, sometimes I wish you weren't my student," he said so quietly I almost

didn't hear him.

My breath caught and I stared at him, his eyes penetrating mine with their usual
intensity. This time however, I didn't look away immediately. I held his gaze as
best as I could. To my amazement, he ended up looking away first. Then he gently
pushed me away from him.

"I'll give you a ride home," he muttered, pushing off the couch as well.
I stared at him for a moment, not sure what to say. Did that mean what I think it
meant? Did he have feelings for me a teacher shouldn't have for his student? A
smile made its way across my face.

Maybe it wasn't a direct confession. But it was definitely a step.

________________________________________________

I'm having writer's block lol. But I think I did a pretty okay job with this
chapter. You should appreciate it's length. I didn't do any of my homework and I'm
going to be scolded so bad today when I get to school [It's like, 7:05AM right now,
I'm already 5 minutes late to school].

I might change some things in this, because I might think of something different I
want to do, but who knows. I might just keep it as is.

So a lot of you want Holly and Chris together, and I was going to get them
together, but then I thought about the future of this story. Now that Holly knows
Chris's past, Chris will open up to her more, so I want the characters to know each
other a little better. And there's one little twist that I want to thrown it that
will be amazing :)

Anyway. I worked my ass off to get this chapter done. Reward me by voting, liking,
tweeting, and commenting. Tell me your thoughts.

But I've gotta upload Believe Me, I'm Lying, then book it to school Dx See ya!
*******************************************
[39] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 38
*******************************************
"Okay, everyone go to your lab stations and I'll begin to hand out the rats. Make
sure either you or your partner grabs a dissection tray, and dissection tools," Mr.
Heywood started, shooing everyone out of their seats with his hands.

There was the scraping of chairs, little groans, and some twitters of excitement. I
stayed in my seat, looking down at the phone in my hand for any new news. My heart
skipped a beat when I saw I had a text message from Laura. It took me a few tries
to unlock my phone and read it because my hands were shaking.

"Still nothing."
I sighed, hitting the reply button and typing a quick "okay". Lance still wasn't
conscious. But he wasn't in critical condition anymore either, so that was good.
His mom had been keeping Casey and I updated constantly, which is why I had my
phone out in class. Usually I stuck to the no texting in class rule.

"Phone away, Ms. Evers."

I nearly jumped a mile in my seat. Mr. Heywood smirked down at me when I lifted my
head to grin at him sheepishly. "Sorry."

"Normally I'm supposed to confiscate it..." Mr. Heywood trailed off, the smirk on
his face growing wider, probably thinking of the time he had tricked me. "But since
I know you're worried about Lance, I'll let you keep it. Don't let me see it
again."

"Um, thanks," I muttered, still pink-faced. I quickly slipped my phone into my

pocket. "Mr. Heywood?"

"What?"

"Since Lance is my lab partner, what am I going to do? Should I join another
group?" I asked, hoping I didn't have to work alone. Dead rats and me didn't mix.

"No," Mr. Heywood responded. "You'll be working with me."

My eyes widened slightly. How lucky was that? I couldn't stop a small grin from
spreading across my face. He must have done this a thousand times! Now I wouldn't
have to touch the disgusting thing! Mr. Heywood started raised an eyebrow at my
expression.

"I hope you're not thinking that I'll be doing all the work," he commented, his
smirk growing.

I scowled at him. Damn.

"No," I lied, determined not to give him the satisfaction of somehow being able to
read me easily.

"Right..."

"I wasn't!"

"You can't lie to me," Mr. Heywood responded, shaking his head. "You think you'd
realize that by now?"

I scowled at him. "Maybe I have lied--"

"Mr. Heywood?"

Sadie's voice gave me a start, and I turned to look at her. She smiled at me
quickly, before redirecting her attention to Mr. Heywood. A small whoosh of air
left my mouth and I swallowed nervously. I had totally forgotten that I was in
class! Judging by Mr. Heywood's unsurprised look, he hadn't. He smiled at Sadie.

"Yes?"

"Are you going to pass out the rats soon?" she asked, an amused smile slipping onto
her face. "My partner and I are ready."
"Right away," Mr. Heywood responded, mock saluting her.

Sadie giggled and I couldn't help a smile from slipping onto my face. As she walked
away, Mr. Heywood gestured me to follow him into the supply room. I obeyed
immediately, trailing behind him like a dog as he made his way towards the room.

"Grab that tub off the counter," he ordered, gesturing towards a humongous, white
tub. "Get the box of latex gloves as well."

"What are you going to take?"

"The lab papers," Mr. Heywood responded as if it was the most obvious thing in the
world. I'm surprised he didn't add a "duh".

Scowling, I went over to the tub and tried to pick it up. Emphasis on tried.

"What's in here?" I groaned, trying to pick it up again. "It's ridiculously heavy!"

"Probably around forty dead rats..."

Immediately I stopped trying to pick it up, my face wrinkling in disgust. "What?

Why do you have that many?

"There's about twenty students per class, that means ten rats for ten pairs, and I
have four classes. Can you do the math, or should I elaborate?"

"I know how to do math," I snapped at him, another scowl forming.

Part of me was glad that everything was normal between Mr. Heywood and myself, but
the other part of me was confused. I didn't want it to be awkward or anything, but
I had been expecting at least something to be different between us after what Mr.
Heywood had said last night.

But nope, Mr. Heywood was still the pain in the butt like he always was. A sigh
escaped my lips as I tried once again to lift the heavy tub of carcasses. Just the
thoughts of a dead rat made me feel nauseous. How in the world was I supposed to
dissect it? I slid the tub of the edge of the counter, and immediately I realized I
couldn't hold the weight, and struggled to put the tub back on the counter before
it plummeted to the ground. It was the tub vs. me. It was winning.

A low chuckle came from right behind me and I jerked, the tub slipping out of
hands. Immediately two hand shot out from either side of me, catching the tub
before it even dropped three inches down.

"Smooth move," Mr. Heywood commented.

His chest was pressed to my back, and I could feel the vibrations from it as he
spoke. I blushed from our proximity, standing stock still as Mr. Heywood set the
tub back on the counter. He retracted his arms from around me and I stepped to the
side, frowning at him.

"Mr. Heywood, you're going to take the tub. I'm going to take the gloves and labs,"
I told him, yanking the papers out of his hand, and then turning to grab the box of
latex gloves. "Now let's go."

I glanced back at Mr. Heywood, who gave me an amused look, a smirk slipping onto
his face. He easily lifted the tub of carcasses with ease, nodding with his head
for me to exit the room. I did so, exiting the supply room.
"Since I'm holding the tub, you'll have to place a rat on each dissection tray,"
Mr. Heywood commented in a cheerful voice.

I froze, turning to stare at him in horror. "But I... they... I can't! I-"

Mr. Heywood chuckled again, rolling his eyes. "You're such a baby."

I narrowed my eyes and opened my mouth to retort, but before I could say anything a
guy from my class, James, called Mr. Heywood over. He brought the tub over to
Jeff's lab table and proceeded to open the tub, and take out a dead rat. I almost
gagged.

Ten minutes later, an awful scent filled the room and a dead rat was placed in
front of me. Students surrounded my lab table, watching with giddiness. Mr. Heywood
was showing them how to take the fur off the rat.

"There's a split in by the base of the neck," Mr. Heywood explained, pointing at
the place mentioned. "Use your scissors to cut down a straight line, all the way to
the tail. Then do the same for the front, and you should be able to pull the arms
and legs out of the fur easily."

"You look like you're going to be sick," someone whispered in my ear.

Turning my head, I realized it was James. He smirked at me, his eyes glowing with
amusement. I rolled my eyes.

"Can't you smell it?"

"Smells great!" James responded, taking a deep whiff of air. "It's so... ugh." He
covered his mouth and shut his eyes in disgust.

A short burst of laughter escaped my lips, before I covered it, glancing back at
Mr. Heywood, who was watching me with a frown. I felt my face heat up slightly and
I quickly averted my gaze.

"Ms. Evers, you'd better be attention," he warned.

"It's my fault," James interjected before I could reply.

Mr. Heywood raised an eyebrow, turning his eyes to James. "Well James, you too have
to pay attention."

"Yes, sir!" James responded, lifting his arm up to salute Mr. Heywood, and nicking
me in the face with his elbow. He didn't even notice.

A smirk appeared on Mr. Heywood's face, making it obvious he had seen the accident,
as he returned his attention to the dead rat in front of him, cutting down the
stomach. When it was fully open, you could see the rat's furless body.

"Can you guys handle it?" Mr. Heywood asked, turning his attention back to the
class. "Taking the arms and legs out will be a little more difficult, but if you
pull hard enough, they'll come out easily."

"I think I'm going to be sick," a girl commented from behind me.

Mr. Heywood laughed. "You'll get used to the smell soon, don't worry."

"Doubt it," the same student muttered.

"Alright," Mr. Heywood said, clapping his hands together. "Get to it. There's
gloves right here, so grab a pair for you and your partner if you need them."

Students shuffled forwards to take the gloves, and I moved back to let them pass
me. When everyone was all set, I went closer to the lab table, eyeing the rat
warily. Mr. Heywood had a smirk on his face again as he pulled on some of the
gloves. He tossed a pair at me, and then handed me the scissors.

"You cut open the stomach and I'll start pulling the legs out of the fur."

"I'll pass," I responded, feeling queasy already. "I can't really handle
dissections-"

"Don't be a milksop," Mr. Heywood interrupted me, rolling his eyes.

I gave him a flat look. "What does that even mean?"

Mr. Heywood sighed, not even bothering to respond. I frowned slightly, turning my
attention to putting my gloves on. What was I expecting, exactly? At least some
kind of change in attitude, definitely. But everything was just so... normal. It
was a little nerve-wracking.

Had there been no special meaning behind what Mr. Heywood had said last night? Did
he just wish that because the gang was targeting me? Because I was a bad student?
Or because he liked me in a way a teacher shouldn't like his student?

That thought was quickly blown out of the way. No, it couldn't be that. Mr. Heywood
still loved Haley. He went to see her all the time, and he had said, "You never
stop loving anyone." But as in he was still in love with her, or still loved her?
They both had two different meanings.

I sighed, shaking my head slightly. I sounded like some weird, obsessed, stalker.

"Cut, Holly," Mr. Heywood commanded, grabbing my hand and bringing it to the front
of the rat. "Right here."

For a second I relished in the fact he was holding my hand, but I quickly sobered
up as he squeezed on down on my hand, making the scissors cut through the rats
skin. I tried to yank my hand back, but Mr. Heywood held it firmly. Even though I
was in the process of cutting up a dead rat, a blush still somehow made it's way
onto my face.

"C'mon," Mr. Heywood said, rolling his eyes again. "It's not that bad."

I shook my head. "I can't," I stated stubbornly.

Mr. Heywood sighed, letting go of my hand and taking the scissors. "Fine, I'll get
it out of the fur, and you won't have to do anything."

I blinked, staring at Mr. Heywood in surprise. He was going to just let me off like
that? Maybe something had changed after all. A smile made its way onto my face.

"However, next lab day you'll be cutting the stomach open," he continued, a smirk
slipping onto his face.

"That's not fair!" I protested, making a grab for the scissors. "I'd rather cut the
skin off instead!"

"Too late now," he told me, quickly cutting down the rat's stomach. "I got the easy
part."

I glared at him. "You're a jerk."

He chuckled. "I know."

"Mr. Heywood?" a new voice spoke.

Mr. Heywood turned towards the girl whom had spoken. She glanced at me before
returning her gaze to Mr. Heywood.

"Can you help my partner and I?" she asked, pursing her lips. "We can't get the leg
out..."

"Of course, I'll do it for you," Mr. Heywood responded, smiling at the girl.

The girl smiled back, and then started walking back to her table. I rolled my eyes,
frowning at Mr. Heywood. He smirked at me for a moment, before nodding towards the
rat with his head.

"When I get back I expect this rat to have not a trace of fur on it," he told me.

"But-" I protested, but stopped when he began to walk away.

I sighed, looking back down at the rat. Was Mr. Heywood really going to make me do
this by myself? It was so unfair! I swallowed, picking up the rats' dead paw. To my
surprise, the arm was already out of the skin. The other leg, and both arms were
already out of the fur as well. I glanced at Mr. Heywood and found him looking back
at me. He smirked, and I blushed, looking away instantly.

I hadn't even seen him do it for me. With new resolve, I pulled my gloves on
tighter. The least I could do was rid the rat of the fat. As soon as I scraped the
small knife against the flabby skin, I almost got sick. Dissection was definitely
not for me.

Mr. Heywood ended up helping out every other group, and before I knew it, it was
the end of the period. The bell rang as I quickly placed a plastic cover over the
dead rat, writing my name on it, and placing it at the back of the room where we
were storing them. The last student besides me left the room, leaving me along with
Mr. Heywood. I quickly grabbed my books, heading towards the door.

"Have a good day, Holly," he said as I walked by.

I stopped immediately, twisting around to look at him in surprise. "What?"

"Have a good day, Holly?" he reiterated raising an eyebrow.

"You called me Holly!" I said in amazement.

"Don't I usually call you Holly?"

"Not in class," I told him, a grin growing on my face.

He smirked, watching me with an amused expression. "Why are you getting so

excited?"

"I-I'm not," I denied, feeling my face heat up. "You just only call me 'Ms. Evers'
in school when there's people around... Huh..."
"What?"

"You do only call me Ms. Evers when people are around," I commented, looking around
to make sure the class was actually empty. "Why is that?"

"I don't know," Mr. Heywood responded, a mysterious smile appearing on his face.

"But you call everyone else by their first name!"

The door opened, and a group of giggling girls came in. I scowled in annoyance at
them. Perfect timing.

"You'd better get going before you're late to class, Ms. Evers," Mr. Heywood
commented, checking his watch. "You've got two minutes."

I sighed, brushing past the girls in the doorway. "Bye, Mr. Heywood."

The rest of the school day passed in a flash. When the final bell rang, I took out
my phone to check my messages. There was one new message from Laura. Suddenly I was
overcome with nerves. My hands shook as I pressed the open button. Two words stared
back at me.

"He's awake."

Relief spread through me, and I had to hold in a cry of excitement. I quickly typed
back, asking if she could come pick me up, but the sending failed. My phone had no
service. I quickly ran outside, waiting impatiently for my phone to gain bars back.
It never did.

"C'mon," I muttered, flipping my phone open and shut in hope to gain at least a
little service. "Now's not the time!"

No matter how many times I opened and closed my phone, I still had not service. I
growled in frustration. The hospital was way too far for me to walk, and my mom
wasn't home. Who could I ask for a ride from?

"Jeremy!" I gasped, quickly going to his contacts and hitting the call button,
forgetting I didn't have service. It wouldn't connect.

Another groan of frustration escaped my lips. I had to see Lance right now! I had
to see he was awake with my own eyes! But first I needed a phone. Maybe I could use
a teacher's phone. My eyes widened.

"Mr. Heywood!" I cried, out of breath from sprinting to his room. "Help!"

He looked at me with an alarmed expression on his face, immediately standing from

his desk, and coming over to me. "What's wrong?" he demanded, quickly scanning my
face. "Did something-"

"I need to use your phone!" I told him, now holding a stitch in my side. "It's
important! Lance woke up!"

"He did?" Mr. Heywood responded in surprise.

"Yes," I said quickly, "now let me use the phone."

Mr. Heywood chuckled, letting me into his room. "Go ahead."

I grabbed the school phone from the wall, quickly pressing the buttons that led to
the outside line. When I heard the dial tone, I quickly dialed Jeremy's phone
number. On the second ring it picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hi! It's Holly," I told him, tapping my foot anxiously. "Can you bring me to the
hospital?"

"Why? Is something wrong?" he asked, his voice becoming concerned.

"No," I responded, "Lance woke up."

"Who are you talking to?" Mr. Heywood asked, suddenly appearing behind me.

"Is that Chris?" Jeremy asked.

"Yes," I told Jeremy, and then turned to Mr. Heywood. "It's Jeremy."

"Hi Chris!" Jeremy shouted, making me wince and pull the phone away from my ear.
"Did he hear me?"

"Don't yell," I responded, frowning. "And I don't know. Jeremy says hi, Mr.
Heywood."

"Why are you asking him for a ride?" he demanded, frowning at me. "I can give you a
ride."

"Aw, he's jealous," Jeremy commented, letting out a little laugh.

"No he's not," I responded, feeling a blush creep onto my face. "And will you, Mr.
Heywood? Right now?"

"Sure," Mr. Heywood responded. "I just need to grab my work. Do you plan on staying
there for a while?"

"Yeah, why?"

He frowned. "I have somewhere to go at four, so ask Jeremy if he'll pick you up."

"I can," Jeremy told me, without needing me to ask.

"He can," I told Mr. Heywood, my stomach clenching in excitement. "I'll call you
later then, Jeremy."

"Okay, talk to you soon then."

"Bye."

"I love you," he said in a teasing voice before I could hang up.

I rolled my eyes, a smile spreading across my face. "I love you too, Jeremy."

Mr. Heywood's head snapped to mine as I hung up the phone. He watched me with a
frown as I slipped my cell phone back into my pocket. I looked back at him, growing
self-conscious.

"What?" I finally asked, raising a hand to my face. Was there something on it?

"Nothing," Mr. Heywood said, turning away from me. "Let's go."
I narrowed my eyes in confusion, but followed him out of the classroom anyway. We
went to his car, and he opened the passenger door for me. I climbed in and buckled
as Mr. Heywood got into the driver's side. For some reason, he looked bothered.

I suddenly felt guilty. Was it my fault? Was I ruining some plans he had made? Mr.
Heywood pulled out of the parking lot, still not saying a word. I fidgeted with my
fingers nervously. Finally, I couldn't stand the silence.

"Sorry," I apologized, turning to look at Mr. Heywood. "Am I ruining your plans?"

He glanced at me in surprise, and then shook his head, returning his attention to
the road. "No. Why?"

"I don't know. You seem bothered," I responded honestly.

Mr. Heywood immediately frowned. "Do I?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, is there something I should know?" he asked, his tone growing hard.

"What do you mean...?"

"You know what I mean," he responded, glancing at me again with slightly narrowed
eyes.

"No, I don't," I responded, a frown now appearing on my face.

Mr. Heywood rolled his eyes. "Fine, don't tell me. Even though I told you about my
past, even though it was private and I've never shared it with anyone but you..."

"What am I supposed to be telling you?" I demanded, growing irritated. "I haven't

done anything!"

"Well, never mind then."

"No, not never mind!" I responded, glaring at him now. "Now you have to tell me. I
didn't do anything to make you angry at me, right?"

"I'm not angry at you," Mr. Heywood said. "I'm just slightly annoyed."

"What? Why?"

"Lance is at the local hospital, right?" Mr. Heywood asked, ignoring me.

I scowled, but still answered his question. "No, he's at Cooley."

"Cooley?" Mr. Heywood asked, looking surprised. "Why is he there?"

"Better intensive care unit," I guessed, shrugging. "But we aren't changing the
topic."

Mr. Heywood sighed, taking a turn onto the highway that led to the hospital. "I
said never mind. It's your life and you can do what you want."

"What am I doing?" I responded in exasperation. "Mr. Heywood, just tell me."

"Chris," he corrected.
"I will never call you by your name if you don't tell me," I threatened.

"If I tell you, you might get mad."

I blinked in shock. Was Mr. Heywood's tone of voice embarrassed? He looked at me

sheepishly, making me more surprised. The sheepish look was a new one too. Was the
world coming to an end?

"Now I'm really curious," I said, leaning closer to him. "Tell me."

He cleared his throat. "I thought I said I don't want you to date Jeremy."

That was not what I was expecting. I raised an eyebrow in confusion. "You did."

"So why are you two still dating?"

"Huh?"

Mr. Heywood's hands automatically tightened on the steering wheel. "Sorry, Holly.
I'm just... I don't handle these situations well."

"Wait, first of all, Jeremy and I aren't dating," I responded, shaking my head.
"We've gone on dates, but as friends. I thought we went over this last night..."

Mr. Heywood frowned, glancing at me for a split second again. "Then why'd you tell
him you loved him?"

My eyes widened. Wait... was Mr. Heywood jealous? Jealous of Jeremy? Jealous, and
admitting it? A blush fought its' way onto my face again.

"No, no, no," I responded, fighting the urge to smile. "Friends. We're friends."

"Oh."

"Why does it matter?" I pressed, biting my lip.

"It doesn't," Mr. Heywood muttered. "We're here."

I looked up to see the giant hospital displayed in front of me. Mr. Heywood drove
me up to the entrance, gesturing his head towards the door.

"See you later."

"I'm not leaving until you tell me why me dating Jeremy matters," I told him,
crossing my arms.

He sighed. "I said never mind."

"Fine. Then never mind about me telling you the whole truth about the situation."

I kept my face as straight as I could as I told him that total lie. He narrowed his
eyes slightly. I almost smirked. Instead, I reached for the door handle. As soon as
my hand came in contact, I heard the click of the locks.

I rolled my eyes. What an old trick. I unlocked the door again, this time holding
the lock, and was able to open it. A small smirk of triumph appeared on my face. I
turned back to give Mr. Heywood a smug look.
"Guess I'll talk to you later."

"Holly, wait," Mr. Heywood demanded, reaching over the seat and grabbing my arm. "I
just want you to tell me seriously whether you're dating Jeremy or not."

"Why should I?" I responded, frowning at him. "What difference does it make?"

"Remember what I said to you the last night? Before we left?"

I frantically forced back the blush that was threatening to come on my face. "What
about it?"

"Think about that," he told me, a serious look on his face.

"Huh?"

He let out a small groan of frustration. "Come on, Holly. Put two and two
together."

"Put two and two together...?"

I almost gasped when I realized what he meant. If he was jealous of Jeremy, then
what he said about being my teacher could only mean one thing... I stared at Mr.
Heywood with my eyes wide. What was I supposed to say? Or did it actually not mean
what I thought it meant?

Mr. Heywood sighed, placing his forehead against his steering wheel. "Did you
figure it out?"

"You're gay and want to be with Jeremy?" I babbled, not knowing what else to say.

Mr. Heywood looked at me so fast I know he must have cricked his neck. He stared at
me in incredulity. I forced myself to keep a straight face, and even managed to
frown. It was a very hard feat.

"What?"

"I should have known," I said with a sigh, proceeding to get out of the car. "No
guy can be as good looking as you and be straight, huh?"

"Holly? No. Wait!"

"Sorry, I've got to go! And I'm not dating Jeremy, I promise," I told him, turning
my back on him. "See you!"

Mr. Heywood honked the car horn after me as I speed-walked to the entrance of the
hospital. My heart was beating a thousand beats per minute and I felt dizzy. When I
came to the hospital doors, I leaned against one for a minute, trying to cool my
head.

When I finally calmed down, I groaned, sinking my hands into my head. That could
have been considered a confession from Mr. Heywood. Something I never believed in
my life to be possible. Something I should be jumping up and down and screaming
about. But no. I played it off as though Mr. Heywood was gay. I groaned again.
Unbelievable.

_________________________________________________________

Phew! Done! I was going to update yesterday, but I ended up watching A Very Potter
Sequel again. I love it...

Anyway. I wanted to at least get one happy chapter before I make you guys all
hate... um, never mind. I don't want to ruin anything. Haha...

So if you've taken biology, and had to dissect a rat before like I did, you know
that smell I was talking about. Now imagine that mixed with cupcake flavored
candles. My bio teacher thought it'd be a good idea to mix dead rat and cupcake
candle. NO. Bad idea. Now I get sick when I smell that type of candle. The
dissecting was actually pretty fun. The picture to the right is a picture of my rat
lol. The guys at the table next to us played jump rope with the intestines, but
then they get yelled at. While I was pulling the arms/legs out of the skin, I broke
one of it's legs by acciedent, haha, and a piece went flying. But it was still
disgusting. There was sooo much internal juice leaking and the stomach got
punctured by accident. BLECH. And then my bio teacher made me open up the heart. It
looked like there was mustard in it... but enough with grossing you out.

Vote! Like! Tweet! Comment! (: Facebook page to the right, to the right, yeaaaah.

OH YEAH! Question! What was your most embarrassing moment with a teacher? Mine was
when I was singing "I'm a banana, I'm a banana!" and my bio teacher was standing
right behind me, eating a banana. Yeah. Or the time I was telling my friend
Cheyenne about how I'd kill someone (idk how it got brought up) and my bio teacher
was right behind me again -_- He always came in at the most awkward times. BUT. He
an awesome teacher, so it's okay... Ok, I'm shutting up now.

*******************************************
[40] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 39
*******************************************
"Holly!"

Lance looked at me in complete shock, a wide grin spreading across his face. I
couldn't help grinning right back at him as I stepped into the white hospital room.
Lance went to move position, but a grimace of pain flashed across his face, and he
stopped moving. My grin faltered and was replaced by a concerned expression.

"How are you?" I asked, dragging a chair over to his bedside.

"How am I?" Lance repeated, raising an eyebrow. "How are you?"

"I'm fine..."

"You haven't changed at all!"

"Was I supposed to?" I responded, growing more confused.

"Well, after three months, I'd expect you to look a tiny bit older."

"What are you talking about?"

Lance frowned, looking at me like I was an idiot. "I've been unconscious for three
months, remember?"

"What? No you haven't," I responded, staring at him questioningly. "You've been out
for about two days..."

Lance's facial expression immediately turned to irritation. "My mother is so going

to get it..."
I laughed. "Your mom told you that you were out for three months?"

"Yeah," Lance responded with a nod. "I freaked out about it for a full hour this
morning. I can't believe she tricked me!"

I laughed again, but my breath caught when I saw the bandages around Lance's chest.
He caught me staring and quickly pulled his bed sheet over his chest, sending me a
cheesy grin. It didn't help the knot that suddenly appeared in my stomach.

"It's not as bad as it looks..."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, please, Lance. Being shot is as bad as it looks."

He sighed, rubbing his hand across his face. "Yeah, it was pretty bad at the
time..."

"What exactly happened?"

"There's not much too it. I was leaving work, and before I knew it I was
surrounded," Lance explained, sounding like he had explained it a thousand times
before. "They asked about Chris, and I told them I didn't know him. They said
they'd seen me with him, he tutors me by the way."

"I know, he told me."

"Well anyway. There was a little, er... hand-to-hand violence between us and then
one pulled out a gun and that was that," Lance finished, pursing his lips. "But
when I told the police-"

I gasped, making Lance look at me in surprise.

"What?"

"What did you say to the police? Oh, no... Lance, did you mention Mr. Heywood?" I
demanded, growing antsy. "Please say you didn't."

"I didn't," Lance responded slowly. "Why?"

"It's a long story, Mr. Heywood will explain it to you," I told him, waving it off.
"As long as you didn't mention him to the cops at all."

Lance shook his head. "I guess it's a good thing I didn't then, huh. But I did tell
them about the gangster who shot me."

"Good."

"Holly, don't you think this situation is getting too dangerous for us?"

I looked at Lance, a frown on my face. "It's been too dangerous from the
beginning..."

"Then why are you still involved?"

"As of now, there is no way I can get out of this," I told Lance, leaning back in
my seat. "I've sort of dug my own grave..."

"You may have dug your own grave, but the one who gave you the shovel to do so is
Heywood," Lance pointed out, a scowl appearing on his face.
"And the one who chose to stay in it is me," I returned.

"What if you bury yourself alive?" Lance demanded.

"I don't even know what that's supposed to mean!"

"What if you end up in deep trouble? Or dead?" Lance explained. "Holly, do you
realize I could have died the other night?"

"I know! I'm not stupid."

"You need to space yourself from Heywood," Lance told me, a dead serious look on
his face.

I immediately shook my head. "No, it's too late for that. They already know who I
am, it's not like not interacting with Mr. Heywood will change anything now."

"Then don't get any closer."

Well, too late for that. He basically said he had feelings that he shouldn't have
for a student. Or, in simpler terms, love. A blush quickly rose to my face and I
stared down at my feet. It seemed too impossible, but there was nothing else I
could think that he could have meant...

Lance narrowed his eyes at me suspiciously. "Holly... did something happen between
you and him?"

"W-what? No!" I responded quickly, waving my hands in front of me. "Ha, are you
kidding? No way..."

Lance rolled his eyes. "Holly, don't lie. You're an open book, I can see right
through you."

"It doesn't matter, because he thinks I think he's gay, probably."

"... I don't think I want to know now."

"Good," I responded, running a hand through the tangles in my hair. "Let's just
say, it's something that could be favorable for me..."

"He's confessed his creepy, pedophilic, love for you?"

I scowled at Lance. "First, it's not pedophilic, because I'll be eighteen in about
two weeks. Second, he'll only be four years older than me then, and third, it's not
creepy. And no, he didn't say that... directly."

"Directly?"

"That's what I said."

"So he hinted at it?" Lance prodded, a frown slipping onto his face. "Holly, if the
gangsters find out if he has feelings for you, won't that make it worse?"

"What? Why would that make them want me more? That's... That's..."

"Holly?"

I stared at Lance, a look of alarm on my face. Shawn wanted Mr. Heywood dead partly
because Mr. Heywood stole his girlfriend back then... so what if for revenge he
wanted to take me from Mr. Heywood because he thought Mr. Heywood cared about me?
But where would Shawn even get the idea Mr. Heywood cared for me? I'd been with
Jeremy the first time we met...

"Hello, Holly?"

I snapped out of my thoughts and caught eye contact with Lance. He frowned at me, a
worried expression on his face. I quickly arranged my features into a nonchalant
expression.

"I understand how you feel about him, and it's not like I'm going to stop you two
from being together," Lance started, a sigh escaping his lips, "but I'm more
worried over our safety than your love life."

"If they already think something is up, why would it matter?"

"Because they might not have proof right now, and they could get it."

"They're not going to wait around until they have proof, Lance," I responded,
rolling my eyes. "They're gangsters. Once they decide on something, I doubt they're
going to stray from it."

"You act like you're a gang expert," Lance commented with a snort.

"I don't know the first thing about gangs," I told him honestly. "But I know enough
to know they do what they want. Anyone knows that."

Lance sighed, resting back on his bed. "Well, try to stay out of trouble for at
least three weeks."

"Why?" I asked, giving him a quizzical look.

"I'm going to be stuck in here until then, so I won't be able to help you out of
sticky situations," he responded with a grin.

"And get yourself almost killed again?"

Lance stayed quiet, directing his eyes away from mine. "It's not like I knew they
were going to get me..."

"You're always worried about my safety, Lance," I told him, a frown pulling at my
lips. "You need to be more worried about yourself. I worry twice as hard for you
because you don't worry enough."

"Well who's worried about you then?"

"Mr. Heywood," I responded simply. "And we both know it's safe to say he's probably
the best to have look after me."

Lance opened his mouth to argue, but after a moment he closed it. He let out
another sigh. " As much as I hate to admit it, you're right."

"See-"

"But he's still the one who got you into this mess in the first place, so it's only
fair he do his best to protect you."

Now it was my turn to sigh. "He does."

"And I don't think telling you he loves you is going to help," Lance insisted
stubbornly. "Holly, you know they are targeting people close to him. If they found
out you were his lover then-"

"We're not lovers!" I denied, feeling my face heat up.

Lance rolled his eyes. "An indirect confession is still a confession, and even if
it wasn't, it's obvious he loves you in a way a teacher should not love a student."

"Those were almost his exact words..."

The words that made the impossible, possible. Mr. Heywood loved me. Me. Out of all
the people in the world, it was me who he fell for. He hadn't said it directly, but
what else could he mean? A smile was spreading across my face. He loved me! His
feelings for me must have replaced his feelings for Haley.

"But since obviously you love him back, there's no stopping the two of you from
being together once either of you directly confesses. And when that happens, don't
come crying to me when a gangster shoots you. Actually... Holly? Are you even
listening to me?"

"It's unbelievable, huh," I said, now grinning at Lance. "Mr. Heywood of all
people..."

Lance shook his head. "Obviously you weren't..."

I gasped, remembering earlier. "Crap! He still thinks I think he's gay! But Lance,
I didn't know what to say! It was so embarrassing when I figured it out, all I
could think then was that I needed to get out of the car because I didn't know what
to say back! And then I just blurted out he was jealous because he wanted Jeremy
and-"

"Holly! Stop being such a girl!" Lance interrupted, clapping his hands together
loudly.

I pouted at him. "But I am a girl..."

"But I don't want to hear you freaking out over a guy. Save that for Casey."

"But Casey doesn't know," I groaned.

"Tell her."

I narrowed my eyes. "And get her caught up in this mess as well? I don't think so."

"Well, don't tell her about that part," Lance responded, nodding his head. "You and
I are enough."

"Just one of us is enough," I corrected with a small laugh.

"You and Casey are best friends, right? So you should tell her all your love
problems."

"You're just saying that so you don't have to hear them, aren't you?"

"Maybe," Lance commented with a grin.

"But Casey won't let me hear the end of it if she finds out I'm in love with Mr.
Heywood."
The sound of the door opening from behind me made me jump violently. Lance looked
over my shoulder, and a grin came onto his face. I turned slowly to see Casey
entering the room with a plastic bag, and a large grin on her face.

"I knew it!" she cried loudly, setting down the plastic bag. "I knew you liked
him!"

Horror crossed my face. How much had she heard? When did she get here? I glanced
back at Lance, who looked relatively calm. What if she had heard about the gang
thing? I turned back to Casey, licking my lips nervously.

"Uh, how much, um, of that did you hear?"

"Just the last sentence, but it said it all," Casey responded, wagging her
eyebrows. "I knew you'd end up falling for his charm one way or the other!"

Relief washed through me, and I hung my head, chuckling. I could deal with Casey
knowing about how I felt about Mr. Heywood. I couldn't deal another close friend of
mine getting caught up in the gang. Casey hummed triumphantly, pulling up a seat
next to me.

"It was only a matter of time," she commented in a singsong voice. "And I knew it
from the start! You two had an unnatural connection! I told you it was fate!"

Lance snorted and I rolled my eyes. "It's not fate, Casey."

"Close enough," she responded, her wide grin still in place. "Have you guys
kissed?"

"Casey!"

"What?"

"We're not even... I can't- He can't even- No!" I finally responded, blushing
furiously. That one time before didn't count.

"He has to like you back! Who wouldn't?"

"He does like her back," Lance interjected.

"Lance," I snapped, glowering at him.

Casey's eyes were wide with excitement. "He does? How do you know? Tell me! I want
to know!"

I sighed. Casey wasn't going to let this drop. "He sort of indirectly confessed-"

"He confessed first?" Casey gasped.

I held up my finger. "Let me finish. He indirectly confessed, but I kind of turned

it around on him because I panicked..."

"What'd you say?"

"Um... that he was gay and wanted Jeremy..."

Casey looked at me with a straight face for a few moments before bursting out
laughing. I frowned at her, waiting for her to stop. When she finally did, she
looked back up at me, her grin back in place I crossed my arms.

"It's not funny."

"Oh, yes it is," Casey responded. "Only you, Holly. You would say that."

"I didn't know what else I was supposed to say!" I argued, feeling my face heat up
in embarrassment. "I was embarrassed!

"Who's Jeremy?"

"Oh, he's Mr. Heywood's friend. Well I guess he's my friend too now," I responded,
brushing a stray hair out of my face. "I'll have to introduce you to him one day."

"Oh! Was he the man that answered your phone the other day? When I called to tell
you my mom wouldn't let me leave the house?"

I thought to back then for a moment, and nodded. "Yeah. He brought me to the
hospital."

"How old is he?" Casey asked.

"Uh... twenty."

"You've been hanging out with a twenty year old guy?" Lance said in a surprised
voice. "Since when?"

"For a while," I responded, furrowing my eyebrows together. "I could have sworn
I've mentioned him..."

Both Lance and Casey shook their heads. I shrugged. Why did it even matter?

"Is he single?" Casey asked.

"Who?"

"Jeremy."

"Why do you want to know...?"

"In case things don't work out with Mr. Heywood," Casey started, "you can go with
him, right? Is he cute?"

I blushed again, glaring at Casey. "Casey, just stop. I don't like Jeremy like
that. And no one ever said Mr. Heywood and I can't even be together, it's illegal."

"Only until your birthday," Casey pressed. "And that's only two weeks away! You're
so close!"

"Yeah, it may be two weeks until it's legal," I agreed. "But it's still against
school rules."

Casey opened her mouth, but abruptly shut it. A frown appeared on her face. I
smirked smugly.

"Did think of that, did you?"

"No one will know," Casey said, her smile returning.

I sighed. "Casey..."

"Holly, you can't deny your feelings."

"I'm not!" I argued. "I'm just stating the truth! If something happened between Mr.
Heywood and myself and someone found out, both of us would get in trouble. He'd be
fired, and I could be suspended or expelled."

"She's got a point there, Case..."

Casey frowned again, a thoughtful expression appearing on her face. I relaxed back
into my chair, turning to Lance, who had the same expression as Casey. I wasn't
making excuses as to why Mr. Heywood and I couldn't be together. I wanted to be
together. But I didn't want to get him into trouble.

"Well," Casey started, breaking the silence. "They do say love breaks all
boundaries."

"What boundaries is this breaking?" I responded, rolling my eyes.

"Student and teacher?" Lance guessed.

"Exactly," Casey responded with a nod. "A forbidden relationship. An illicit

relationship..."

"A proscribed relationship," Lance interjected, a grin on his face. "An illegal
relationship."

"It's not illegal," I pointed out, not finding their game amusing.

"Technically it is."

"A proscriptive relationship!" Casey cried.

"Since when do you know such big words?" I joked, shaking my head.

"I looked them up in advance in case a situation like this arose," she responded
with a casual shrug.

I stared at her. Was she serious? She looked back at me, the grin on her face
widening.

"Are you serious?"

Casey laughed. "No! I just pay attention in English... unlike some people." She
looked at Lance pointedly.

"English is boring," Lance complained. "Stupid books, stupid vocabulary, stupid

essays. There's nothing fun."

"It's so styu-pid," Casey mimicked in her best British accent. "Ay, Holly?"

"You know how I am with accents," I said with a laugh. "I'm not even going to
try..."

Lance and Casey laughed too, and for a moment I forgot where we were. It was the
simple, carefree, way it used to be before the whole gang incident. It didn't feel
like Lance was in the hospital with bullet wounds. It felt like we were hanging out
at my house after school like we used to. And it was nice.
But, I knew I couldn't get used to it, and it'd be a long time until everything was
okay, and safe, again.

________________________________________________________
I lied. I needed to get Lance and Casey into this chapter, since the next chapters
won't have them... well the next one will have Lance for a bit, but after that eh.
Mostly Chris and a little Jeremy. Sit tight~! Vote, tweet, like, you know the drill
yoooo. Facebook page in external link!

By the way.... This story reached 1,000,000 over all views! Woo!
*******************************************
[41] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 40
*******************************************
"What are you doing?"

My eyes flew wide in shock and I took a sharp inhale of breath, turning around to
see James grinning at me. Immediately, I relaxed, letting go of my breath.

"Why are you waiting outside the biology room?" James asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Can't handle the smell?"

"Uh, sure," I responded, directing my gaze to my feet.

"Wimp," James joked with a small laugh.

A small forced laugh left my lips as well. I couldn't tell James the reason I
didn't want to go in there was because of Mr. Heywood. My palms were sweating at
just the idea of talking to him after last night. It was going to be so awkward! I
chewed on my lip, reaching for the door handle, and then pulling my hand away at
the last second.

C'mon, Holly. Man up!

Taking a deep breath, I grabbed the doorknob with my shaky hand. Why was I getting
so nervous? It's not like we could talk about what happened last night in class;
there were too many students around. But it'd still be awkward. I sighed. I'd have
to face him sooner or later.

Without hesitation, I quickly pulled the door open. To my surprise, an old man was
sitting at the teacher's desk. He had a face full of white hair, and a small tuff
of it sat on top of his head. I frowned, surveying the man with my eyes. He was
someone I'd never seen before.
"Umm, where's Mr. Heywood?" I asked, looking around the room quickly.

"What?"

"Where's Mr. Heywood?" I repeated, louder this time.

"Come closer, I can't hear you."

Fighting the urge to roll my eyes, I walked up to the teacher's desk and leant over
it, speaking loudly and clearly. "Where is Mr. Heywood?"

"What?"

Was he kidding? I stared at him incredulously. The old man cocked his head to the
side, and then realization flashed across his face.

"Hold on, I think my hearing aid is off..."

This time I did roll my eyes, but a grin also made its' way onto my face. The old
man fiddled with the hearing aid on his ear, and then looked up at me expectantly.

"Is Mr. Heywood here today?" I asked once more.

"Oh, no. He's absent today. I'm his substitute."

For some reason, I felt disappointed. Mr. Heywood had taken the day off? Was he
sick? Did something happen? Disappointment was quickly replaced with worry. I
cleared my throat. "Is he okay? Is something wrong?"

"No, no, he's fine!" the old man responded, speaking too loudly. "From what I hear
it's just a personal day off."
I relaxed, nodding my head. "Okay. Thanks."

"It's nice to know young people these days still care about their teachers," the
old man commented, smiling at me.

Like? That was an understatement. I blushed, shaking my thoughts away. "Haha, well
we wouldn't want to have to have a substitute for too long..."

The old man nodded, but said nothing more. I quickly escaped to my seat, a frown
appearing on my face. It was funny how much my mood could drop after just finding
out Mr. Heywood wasn't in school today. That was weird too, since Mr. Heywood was
always in school.

With a shock, I realized what the reason Mr. Heywood wasn't here could be. Was it
that he was avoiding me? Horror dawned on me. It probably was, since I basically
said I thought he way gay! I slumped lower in my seat, holding in a groan. Me and
my stupid, big, lying mouth.

The rest of the day passed quickly and before I knew it the final bell had rung. I
was planning on visiting Lance, so I headed home straight away. As I came to my
dive way, I narrowed my eyes in confusion. My mom's car was in the driveway.

"Mom?" I called as I opened the door to my house, dropping my back down and kicking
off my shoes. "You here?"

"Bedroom!" a muffled voice responded from the upstairs.

Following the sound of her voice, I found her in her bedroom, putting clothing into
a suitcase. She gave me a quick smile when I entered, but returned her attention
back to folding the clothing in front of her. I narrowed my eyes in confusion.

"Why are you packing? And home early?"

"Business trip," my mom responded. "I got out early to pack because I have to leave
tonight."
"Gee mom, thanks for warning me in advance," I responded, shaking my head. "I
didn't ask Casey if I could stay the night."

"Honey I'm going to be gone all weekend. I thought I told you. Guess I forgot..."

"How could you forget to tell me something like that?" I demanded, looking at her
in shock. "I've never stayed home alone for more than a night!"

"Don't worry," my mom responded, waving her hand. "I wasn't going to leave you by
yourself. I arranged a place for you to stay already."

"Lance is still in the hospital though," I pointed out. "I'd feel like a moocher at
Laura's."

My mom shook her head. "No, you won't be staying at Laura's."

"Then whose?"

"Your handsome teacher's place."

My mouth went dry and I stared at my mom like she had three heads. Well, she might
as well have three heads since she was thinking like an alien. I small laugh
escaped my lips.

"That's funny mom."

"Is there something wrong?" my mom responded, furrowing her brow in confusion. "I
thought you two got along?"

I blushed slightly. "Um, we do... but mom, he's my teacher. I can't stay at his
house. He'd get in trouble and so would I! Surely that's against school rules."

"No, it's not, since I'm the one who asked him to look after you while I'm gone.
It's a teacher's duty to watch over a student. And he seemed more then willing to
help out."

I stared at my mom in disbelief. When was she going to pull the punch line? I
couldn't spend the weekend at Mr. Heywood's after what happened! It was
embarrassing enough just to think about coming face-to-face with him after last
night, let alone staying with him! Was my mom crazy?

"Are you really serious?"

"Yes," my mom responded, sighing. "Even though you're almost eighteen, it's still
dangerous to spend the whole weekend alone. I don't want anything to happen to
you."

"No, I understand. It's fine. I'm just a little surprised. When are you leaving?"

"A few hours. I still have to go get some groceries from the grocery store for the
trip. I hate paying for hotel food."

"When am I going to Mr. Heywood's?"

"You're supposed to call, um, Henry?"

I raised an eyebrow. "I don't know anyone Henry..."

"Hold on," my mom said, holding up her finger. "That's not his name. Gerry? No,
that's not it either. Jared?"

"Jeremy?" I guessed.

"That's it! You're supposed to call him for a ride whenever you're ready," my mom
told me. "Chris has something to do today until around seven."

I frowned slightly. That "something" was probably him going to visit Haley. A
little jealousy arrived in me, but I quickly threw it away. She was in the past.
Mr. Heywood loved me now, not Haley. But I wanted to know why he always seemed to
be visiting her these days.

"Speaking of which, who is Jeremy?"

"He's Mr. Heywood's friend, and mine too."

"How old is he?" my mom asked suspiciously.

"Twenty."

"You trust this guy enough to drive you places?" my mom prodded, watching me
intently. "Is he trustworthy?"

I laughed, rolling my eyes. "He's very trustworthy mom. Don't worry about it,
Jeremy is a good guy."

"Okay," my mom responded, but still didn't sound convinced. "If you need anything,
just call me..."

"Actually, after you go grocery shopping will you give me a ride to the hospital? I
want to visit Lance. I can ask Jeremy to pick me up there after."

My mom nodded. "Sure, but it won't be for another few hours. Why don't you do your
homework in the mean time?"

I made a face. Homework. Ew. However, I did as my mom suggested and went to my room
to start. By the time I finished, my mom was ready to leave. I quickly slammed my
biology book closed and rushed to my closet to grab a pair of clothing. The first
thing I found was a pair of washed blue jeans, so I grabbed those and a plain black
long-sleeve shirt, stuffing them in my side bag.

"Holly? You coming?"

"Hold on!" I responded, quickly going to the bathroom and grabbing my hairbrush and
toothbrush.
"Grab an umbrella!" my mom shouted up the stairs. "It looks like it's going to
rain!"

Sighing, I grabbed the umbrella from my room before I descended the stairs. My mom
was waiting by the door, her car keys in her hand. She smiled, turning and opening
the front door. I followed her out, shutting and locking the door behind me.

"Am I seriously going to Mr. Heywood's? Or did you actually make plans for me to go
to Casey's house instead?"

"You're going to Chris's," my mom responded, raising an eyebrow. "Is it really that
big of a deal?"

"No!" I responded quickly so she wouldn't get suspiciously. "It's just a little
weird."

"Okay..."

The drive to the hospital didn't take long. When we arrived, I quickly unbuckled,
grabbing my bag from the car floor. My mom leaned over and kissed me on the cheek.

"Be careful! And be safe! And make sure you eat properly," my mom said, frowning at
me. "Make sure this Jeremy guy remembers to pick you up! I have Chris's cell phone
number, so I'll check in with him around eight to see if you're back."

"Mom, don't worry, I'll be fine."

"Alright, see you Sunday night."

"Bye, mom," I responded, getting out of the car, and shutting the door behind me.

Lance looked up at me eagerly as I entered his hospital room. I deposited my

belongings by the door and pulled up a chair next to his bed, flopping down on it.
Lance raised an eyebrow.
"What's up?"

"My mom is making me stay at Mr. Heywood's for the weekend."

"Making you?" Lance repeated sounding skeptical. "Don't you want to?"

I blushed slightly, adverting my gaze. "Um, at a different time, yes, but right
now, no, because it's going to be really awkward. I lucked out because Mr. Heywood
wasn't at school today, but I'm supposed to go to his house after I leave here..."

"Well, then now's a good time to make your move."

I raised an eyebrow, eying Lance suspiciously. "What?"

"You know, make more progress in you're relationship," he responded with a shrug.

"Aren't you all anti-Heywood?"

"I want to see how this plays out," Lance responded, a smirk appearing on his face.
"I want to see how long you guys can last."

"It's not a game, Lance," I responded with a sigh.

"To me it is," he responded with a grin.

"How are you feeling?" I asked, deciding to change the subject. "Any different from
yesterday?"

"Well I can sit up without it hurting as much, but that might be due to the
medicine I've been taking."
"Do you still have to stay for awhile?"

"The doctors are saying I can leave the November 17th," Lance told me, frowning.
"That's a day after your birthday, so I was hoping we could celebrate it when I get
out. With Casey and everyone else, too."

"Sure," I responded, smiling. "Though you might want to take it easy..."

"I'll be fine by then! Well, okay, I won't be fine, but I'll be much better," Lance
responded, grinning. "Being shot won't stop me."

The smile automatically dropped from my face as guilt set in again. I couldn't help
but feel this accident was somehow my fault. Of course there was no way I could
have known Lance would be attacked that night, but still... It was my fault he was
involved with the whole gang thing in the first place.

"Holly, stop feeling guilty."

I looked at Lance in surprise. "How'd you know what I was feeling?"

"I'm not stupid."

"But I can't help it," I complained, crossing my arms. "It's only natural."

"I don't care, it's not your fault," Lance responded, frowning at me. "If you want
to place the blame on someone, put it on Heywood."

"It isn't his fault they attacked you though!"

"There you go. Nor is it mine, nor yours. So stop wallowing."

"I'm not wallowing," I muttered, my face heating up. "I'm just feeling... like,
survivor's guilt or something like that."
"But I'm alive," Lance pointed out, a small laugh erupting from him.

"I said or something like that!"

"I know what you said."

I rolled my eyes. "Stop talking, Lance."

"I have a question. Does everyone at school know what happened?" Lance inquired,
pursing his lips. "I hope not. Only you, Heywood, Casey, and this Jeremy guy knows
I'm in here and I'd like to keep it that way."

"Why?" I responded in surprise.

"I don't need unnecessary attention," Lance responded, shrugging. "I'd prefer to
keep this a secret."

"I won't tell anyone then," I promised. "But what do you want me to say when they
notice you're not in school? Two and a half weeks is a long time."

"Just say I have some strange sickness."

I laughed. "Okay, I'll look a good one up."

"So, tell me what I've been missing in school. I don't want to get too far
behind..."

For the next hour or so I told Lance about everything we were learning, and about
how I have to dissect the rat with Mr. Heywood since he's out, and also about the
old man who was the substitute today since Mr. Heywood was out.

"I was looking forward to dissecting the rat," Lance commented when I was done.
"I was looking forward to you looking forward to so I didn't have to do anything,"
I responded with a sigh. "Mr. Heywood makes me do most of the dissection."

Lance glanced at the clock that was on his night table. He leaned over and grabbed
a piece of paper off of it and a pen, bringing it to his lap. I watched as he
proceeded to scribble something down on it, and then he handed it to me. I took it
and looked at it in confusion.

"Could you go get my dinner?" he requested. "You just have to bring the slip to the
kitchen, and then they'll bring the food when it's done."

"Aw, lucky me, I get to help the crippled!" I said, scanning his food choices. "It
will be my pleasure."

"Next time you come, bring me a burger or something. Hospital food is gross."

I laughed. "I'll make sure to do that. Be right back."

"Au revoir!" Lance called after me as I exited the room.

The trip to the kitchen took longer than it should have. I got lost twice, and even
the directions from the doctors and nurses didn't help. I handed the slip of paper
to one of the kitchen workers, and then started back to Lance's room. As I was
walking down the hall, I realized I had taken the wrong turn and was now in the
wrong section of the hospital. When I was about to turn around, something caught my
attention. Or rather someone.

Mr. Heywood was walking down the hallway with a tray of food in his hand. I blinked
in surprise. Why was he at the hospital? After a second of hesitation I decided to
follow him. For a few minutes I followed him down the halls, matching my steps to
his and praying he wouldn't turn around.

Finally, he came to a door and I froze as he turned. Luckily he didn't look around
before he entered. I slowly crept up to the door, and tried to peek through the
window. To my disappointment, there was a paper covering the little window on the
door. I sighed, taking a step back.
My breath caught when my eyes landed on the nameplate on the wall. Pierce. That was
Haley's last name...

Suddenly the door began to open. My heart leapt into my throat as I quickly looked
around for a place to hide. There was another door to my left, so I quickly opened
it and stepped in, shutting it behind me quickly. A few seconds Mr. Heywood walked
by the door. I sighed in relief.

"Are you here to give me my sponge bath?"

I jumped violently, twisting around to see an old man peering at me eagerly. He

tiled his head to the side.

"Are you?"

"Um, no... I'll send someone in though," I responded, clearing my throat. "Yeah...
I'll do that now..."

I opened the door again and stuck my head out, peering both ways. Mr. Heywood was
nowhere in sight. Stepping out into the hallway again, I closed the door to the old
man's room and turned back to the other room. Should I go in?

"Hey!"

Did everyone want to scare me today? I turned to see a nurse frowning at me.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Um, I..." I hesitated, trying to think of a good excuse. "I'm visiting my, uh...
sister."

The nurse studied me for a minute and then blinked in realization. "Oh. You're a
Pierce?"

"Sure..."
"Well go in then, you can't be loitering the halls. If someone else catches you,
you'll have to go back to the waiting room," she told me.

I nodded, turning back to the door. Now I had no choice. Holding my breath, I
opened the door and walked in. A woman with light brown hair was sitting on a
hospital bed with her back turned towards me. When she heard me enter, she turned
and my eyes widened in surprise. Her expression became shocked as well.

It was almost like I was staring into my own reflection! Her eyes were the same
exact shade as mine, and so was her hair. The only difference was our facial
structure, and she looked a little taller, but I couldn't quite tell since she was
sitting.

A hand went to my mouth. "Are you Haley?"

The woman raised an eyebrow. "My name isn't Haley..."

I relaxed slightly. So this girl wasn't Mr. Heywood's ex-girlfriend? Maybe she was
Haley's sister. The picture I saw of Haley looked slightly like me, but this girl
and I were shockingly alike. If this woman was a few years younger, we could almost
be twins.

"What are you doing in my room?" the woman inquired, a frown on her face.

"Oh, I'm um..." I blushed, staring at my feet. "Wrong room, sorry" I finally lied.

The woman laughed, waving her hands. "It's fine, it happens. I was just curious."

"Is your sister's named Haley?" I blurted out, looking up at her again.

She shook her head, giving me a confused look. "No, I don't have a sister. Why?"

"No reason," I responded, growing even more confusing. Who was this girl then?
Obviously Mr. Heywood knew her. "Can I ask your name?"
"My name is-"

Suddenly the door opened again. My eyes shot open and I panicked, looking around
for a place to hide, but it was too late.

"Holly," a voice I recognized as Mr. Heywood's started, and I felt my heart sink.
"They vending machine is out of orange soda, do you want something else?"

What? Confused, I turned to face Mr. Heywood. His eyes landed on mine and they
widened in shock. If I didn't know better, I would have thought he'd seen a ghost.
His face paled, and his eyes shot to the girl in the hospital bed and then back to
me.

"Holly," he breathed, a look of horror on his face.

"What? I want orange soda!" the woman complained from the bed.

Now I was even more confused. "Mr. Heywood?"

"You two know each other?" the brunette asked and I looked over my shoulder to see
her looking at us. "Is she a friend, Chris?"

"She's one of my students," Mr. Heywood responded in a tight voice.

"Really? What's her name?"

A frown appeared on my face and I turned back to the girl. I was standing right
here. She didn't have to ask him. "My name is Holly."

The woman's eyes widened in shock. "You're kidding!"

"No, why?"
"My name is Holly too!"

There was a small groan from Mr. Heywood, and my heart skipped a beat, and then
started beating ten times faster than normal. I turned to Mr. Heywood who was
giving me a guilty look.

"Is this? Is this Haley?" I whispered, my palms starting to sweat. "Is it?"

"Yes," Mr. Heywood responded, nodding briskly.

"Is there something wrong?" Holly asked, peering at me worriedly. "You look like
you're going to be sick."

"Holly, I can explain," Mr. Heywood started, reaching out a hand.

I slapped his hand away, glaring at him. It made sense now. The reason why Mr.
Heywood singled me out so early in the school year, the reason why he thought he
loved me. I was a replacement for the other Holly.

"It's perfect how we look the same and have the same name, isn't it Heywood?" I
said with a cold laugh. "How great!"

"Holly, listen-" Mr. Heywood started, but I cut him off.

"You used me as a replacement," I whispered, feeling my eyes starting to water.

"Holly-"

"Don't say my name!" I nearly shouted, slapping his hand away when he put it out
again. "Move!"

"What's wrong?" Holly asked in surprise. "Chris?"

I shoved Mr. Heywood aside as hard as I could and started out of the room, angry
tears threatening to spill my eyes. Refusing to let them spill, I blinked them away
rapidly.

"Holly! Wait!" Mr. Heywood demanded, grabbing my arm. "Listen to me!"

"Let go!" I growled, ripping my arm away from his.

"Holly!"

I walked swiftly down the hospital hallways, keeping my eyes on the ground. Mr.
Heywood was following me; I could hear his footsteps and calls to me. I ignored
him, my chest clenching painfully. As soon as I reached the hospital exit, I felt
Mr. Heywood take a hold of my arm again.

"Leave me alone," I ordered, glaring at him.

"Holly," he said in an exasperated voice. "Just let me explain-"

"Explain how you used me? I don't care!" I cried, trying to pull my arm away from
him.

He sighed and held on tighter. As a desperate attempt to make him let go, I kicked
him in the shin as hard as I could. He didn't even look phased. In fact, he looked
amused. I didn't find anything funny about it.

"Let go, or I'll scream," I warned.

"Holly, please."

"One..."
Mr. Heywood let go and I automatically took off running. I didn't want to hear his
explanation, or excuses, or apologies. Not right now. Right now I just needed time
to myself.

"Holly!" Mr. Heywood yelled after me. "Holly! Stop! Where are you going?"

I ignored him, continuing to run through the parking lot. It was dark now, but I
could care less. I didn't know where I was going, but I knew I wanted to get away
from Mr. Heywood.

________________________________________________________________________

LISTEN UP, YO.

Ever heard of unrequited love? That is included in the genre of romance. Just so
you know. Two characters don't have to be together for this to be a romance story.
So STOP saying that this isn't a love story. Stop sending me messages saying that!
It's not your story. If I don't want them together, they won't be. If I do, then
they do get together. But you guys are really missing the fact of why this story is
called "A Proscriptive Relationship." Proscriptive means forbidden, especially by
law. So they can't get together and live happily ever after that easily. First, if
they get together now Mr. Heywood would be a pedophile, even though he's only about
four years older than Holly. Second, it's still against school rules. So I'm sorry
if it's not going the way you want to, but this is the way I want to do it. Also
sorry if this sounds bitchy, but you have no idea how annoying it is getting so
many messages saying the same thing. I don't mind the messages that are like
"please get them together soon!" but I DO mind the rude messages. So yeah......
enough of my ranting haha. Ignore this if it doesn't pertain to you. I'm not mad, I
can understand why you want them together, but you have to understand I'm doing it
this way for a reason, okay? Also, just because I say unrequited love, doesn't mean
it will stay that way ;D

One more thing. It took Edward and Bella over 200 pages to get together. So yeah.
My story isn't even at 150.

Facebook fan page :D You're missing out if you have a facebook and haven't liked
it. TO THE EXTERNAL LINK!
*******************************************
[42] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 41
*******************************************
May I suggest playing the video to the right while reading this? (:
I was having trouble decided between that song and Do You Know by Enrique Iglesias.

_________________________________________

The sky above me grumbled threateningly as my feet slapped against the black
asphalt. My lungs were burning, but I kept running. The streets were empty and
quiet, making the despairing thoughts in my head loud and clear.

I had been used.

Mr. Heywood had used me.

I was a replacement.

Tears of anger, embarrassment, sadness, and helpless welled up in my eyes, a few

spilling over, making my vision l blurry. I tried to hold in my sobs, but they
managed to come out as I gasped for the breath I desperately needed. Running with
my chest already feeling constricted wasn't the smartest of ideas.

Suddenly I choked on my own sob and I stopped, coughing violently. When I was done
coughing I looked up to realize I was in front of the park. My mouth went dry at
the sight of the sign. If I was near the park, that meant I was near the downtown
area.

Anxiety suddenly took over all my feelings and I spun around in a circle, my eyes
wary. Great. Now I was going to be paranoid. Figuring it'd be safest in a public
park, I entered the gates and started jogging down the path that led to the other
entrance of the park, further away from the downtown. It was better being safe than
sorry.

I collapsed on one of the benches by the pond, breathing heavily. A slight breeze
ruffled my hair and blew some of it into my face. I kept it there, lying back on
the bench and gazing at the sky. Barely any stars were visible through the ominous
looking clouds that hung in it. Another low grumble of thunder filled my ears.

My phone vibrated in my pocket. After a moment of hesitation I pulled it out and

looked at it. It was a text from Mr. Heywood. My chest clenched again and I quickly
deleted the message. I couldn't handle talking to him.

Part of me knew I should have let him explain. But how could I when he kept the
fact that his ex-girlfriend had the same name as me and looked almost exactly like
me! Why did he lie about her name? What else did he lie about? About what he said
the other night? More tears sprung to my eyes and I rubbed them away furiously.

"I'm such an idiot," I whispered, a dry smile appearing on my face. "I should have
known..."

Haley, Holly. "You never stop loving someone." The yearbook picture. The guilty
expression on Mr. Heywood's face. It was all too obvious! I was such an idiot! I
grabbed my hair and pulled it as hard as I could, wincing in pain. Stupid!

Now tears were falling freely as another rumble of thunder echoed across the sky. I
pulled my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them, letting my sobs
finally escape my lips. Why me? What did I do? It hurt. It hurt so much it was hard
to breathe.
"I love him," I sniveled, clenching my fists. "This isn't fair!"

I hated it. I hated it! I hated Mr. Heywood! I hated Holly! I hated everything. I
hated myself especially for falling for his sly ways. Did he not mean anything he
said? No. I shook my head. He had to mean at least some of the things, didn't he?

My phone vibrated again and this time I ignored it completely. If Mr. Heywood was
worried about me, he could worry. It went off again, and this time it was a phone
call. Irritated, I picked up the phone to reject the call but my eyes widened in
surprise when I realized that the called I.D read Lance.

But Lance's cell phone was still with Shawn. With a shaking hand I pressed the
answer button and put the phone to my ear. "H-hello?"

"Holly! Long time no talk!"

"Shawn?" I whispered, feeling my body tense. Paranoia took over once again and I
looked around me cautiously.

"The one and only," Shawn responded. "I just wanted to check in on you."

"Why?"

"It's not safe for a girl to be alone in a park at night."

My breath caught and my eyes shot wide. I quickly jumped off the bench, spinning in
circles frantically. Where was he? How did he know where he was? I held the phone
tightly in my hand as I heard Shawn laugh from the other end.

"Are you a ballerina?"

"How do you know where I am?" I asked in a quiet voice.

"I can see you right now," Shawn told me. "Can you see me?"

Once again I took in my surroundings, slowly and vigilantly. Nothing seemed out of
the ordinary, and I didn't see any people. I swallowed nervously, slowly backing
towards the entrance.

"I wouldn't go that way," Shawn warned in a light voice. "Dan is out tonight. I'm
pretty sure he went in that direction."

I froze up, terror filling me. "What are you going to do?"

"Get you," Shawn responded without hesitation.

There was a click and the line went dead. Panic bubbled in my chest and I
frantically went to my contacts and scrolled down to Jeremy's. The phone seemed to
ring for minutes at a time until he picked up.

"Hello gorgeous, how may I help you this fine evening?" Jeremy answered in a deep,
suave voice.

"Come to the park! Now!" I cried, looking over my shoulder every five seconds.
"Please! Hurry!"

"What's wrong?" Jeremy responded, all playfulness in his voice gone.

"Shawn... he's... I think he's somewhere here," I responded, trying to stop my body
from shaking.

"Damn it!" Jeremy swore angrily. "The park is all the way across town from my
house!"

"Please come," I begged, feeling tears watering up in my eye. "I'm scared."

"Where's Chris?"

"I don't care!"

"Huh?"

"I said I don't care where he is," I repeated. "I don't want to see him. Come get
me."

"Holly I want you to start walking towards the downtown area," Jeremy told me.

"But-"

"I know you're not supposed to be down there, but it's safer than a dark park isn't
it?"

"Okay, I'm going to start going there then," I responded, swallowing nervously.
"Stay on the phone with me..."

"I'm going to call Chris and tell him to meet you-"

"No!" I cut him off, clenching my jaw. "I told you I don't want to see him!"

"Holly, this is a serious situation," Jeremy responded, disapproval in his voice.

"What is wrong with him coming to get you? Why don't you want to see him?"

"Because... Holly..."

Jeremy took a sharp intake of air. "You found out?"

It felt like a freight train hit me. "You... knew?"

Jeremy knew and didn't tell me? Of course he knew! He was Holly's cousin! He must
have known I looked so much like her too. New tears sprung to my eyes.

"I thought I could trust you!"

"It wasn't my place to tell you!"

I laughed mockingly. "You're just like Mr. Heywood. No wonder you two are best
friends. Liars."

"Holly, don't be over-dramatic."

"Over-dramatic?" I cried shrilly. "Alright, Jeremy! You try having your heart
broken, being used, being lied to by the closest people to you in your life, and
being targeted by someone in a gang!"

"I'm sorry," Jeremy started, but I cut him off again.

"Save it," I snapped. "Don't bother coming to pick me up either. I can handle
myself."
"Holly-"

I shut my phone and clenched it tightly in my hand. My legs suddenly felt like
rubber and I slowly lowered myself to my knees, tears falling down my face again. I
really was an idiot.

I slammed my fist down onto the cold ground. Why couldn't they just tell me
straight out? It could have saved me so much hurt! My breath started coming in
short and quick, and I had to calm myself down before I started hyperventilating.

It wasn't as bad as it seemed, I told myself. Jeremy was right. I was overreacting.
But there was only so much one person could take in one night. I had every reason
to overreact!

My phone went off again. "Oh my God!" I cried in irritation, snatching it up and
opening it. "What?"

"That was quite the scene."

Shawn.

"Shut up."

"What happened? Did Chris break your heart?"

"Shut up," I repeated, scowling at the darkness surrounding you.

"Hey, I know your pain, remember?" Shawn responded sounding amused. "It's funny how
you look so much like my Holly..."

"I guess you won't be after me since it's now obvious Mr. Heywood doesn't care
about me now, huh?" I said with small laugh.

"Who said that had anything to do with it?"

"Huh?"

"Sure, that's the main reason," Shawn told me. "But you look so much like Holly,
and even your name is Holly. Your hair, your eyes... even part of your personality
is the same."

"I'm not her though!" I protested, suddenly angry. "I might look like her but I'm
not her! Don't associate her with me!"

"Touching a nerve, am I?"

"Leave me alone!"

"You care about Chris so much, and yet he replaced you. You can't even compare,"
Shawn continued, sounding amused.

"I..."

"Don't you want to get back at him? If you got with me, I'm sure that would do the
trick. I like you. Don't you feel betrayed? C'mon, get back at him with me. I
promise I won't hurt you. I'll forget all that you've done. You can replace Holly
for me, and get back at Chris. Let's get back at him," Shawn coaxed.
"No..."

"No?"

I shook my head. "I still love Mr. Heywood! I don't care if he loves the other
Holly, I'll just make him fall even more in love with me! Even if... even if he
never loves me back, I'm not going to try to hurt him for revenge."

Shawn stayed silent. Then started in a dangerously low voice, "So you're choosing
him too."

"There was never any other option," I responded coldly. "I don't know you. You
don't know me! You're some guy who's been after Mr. Heywood just because you abused
your girlfriend and she left you! Your buddies shot my best friend for no reason!
You're after me, even though I didn't do anything!"

"Fine, I'll take you by force."

My breathing hitched and my eyes shot wide. "What?"

"Could you imagine the look on Chris's face if he found you beaten half to death in
an alleyway just as he'd found the other Holly? And then when he's in shock, I can
get him, that way he can't tell the truth about you or the other Holly."

"I'm calling the police," I said. "I'm calling the cops. You're crazy. Completely
crazy! He didn't do anything wrong! He was trying to protect the one he loved! He
doesn't deserve what you're doing! I didn't do anything! I-"

"Call the cops?" Shawn laughed, interrupting me. "Can you? If you do that, Chris
will be going to jail too."

"He..." I trailed off, realizing he was right. Mr. Heywood would go to jail again
if he were caught up in another gang problem.

"See? It all works perfectly. I'll get my revenge."

"Why?" I whispered.

"Because no one makes a fool out of me and gets away with it. Prepare yourself, I'm
coming."

Suddenly the line went dead and I was left in silence. I slowly lowered the phone
away from my face, suddenly feeling terrified. I had to get out of here. Pushing
myself off the ground, I began to slowly make my way towards the exit, keeping my
eyes peeled. My head pounded from all the crying, making it more difficult to try
and hear any suspicious noises.

Another crack of thunder sounded, and then I felt the first rain drop. A groan
escaped my lips as the few rain drops suddenly turned into a downpour. The rain was
masking all noise I'd be able to make out. Not wanting to take any chances, I began
to sprint.

Paranoia took over, driving me on. I imagined footsteps following me. A cracking
noise to my right, voices to my left. I didn't know which were real, or which
weren't; but I wasn't going to stop to figure it out. Once I left the park I'd head
straight to the downtown area and figure something out form there... Maybe I could
call Casey.

As soon as I stepped out of the park exit, I was pulled to the side roughly. A
startled scream escaped my lips, but a cold hand quickly suppressed that. With wide
eyes, I looked up to see my captor. Shawn.

"How'd I know you were going to use this side to leave?" he asked with a grin.

I stared at him in disbelief. There was no way. Not now! Tears sprung to my eyes
again and I tried to break free from his grasp. He roughly twisted my arm from my
back, making me cry out into his hand.

"Don't struggle, Holly," he ordered.

I didn't like the way he said my name. However to save myself pain, I heeded his
words and stayed as still as I could.

"Dan is bringing the car around now, so just hold tight for a minute."

Car? They were seriously going to kidnap me? Dread filled my veins and I felt
myself on the edge of hyperventilating. How was I going to get out of this? No one
was around! Only Jeremy knew where I was and he was all the way across town, and I
had told him not to come!

Shawn suddenly took a lock of my hair and ran his fingers through it. "Your hair
even feels the same. I've heard that everyone has a twin in the world, but I didn't
actually believe it. It's incredible..." He lowered his chin so it rested on my
head and he let out a small sigh. "At least you're the right Holly this time."

My eyes narrowed in confusion. Right Holly? What did he mean by that? Was the other
Holly not right for him? But if that were so, I wouldn't be in this situation. I
was tempted to shake my head, but I kept still. Shawn pulled his hand away from my
mouth and I took a deep breath, breathing in some rain.

"Don't scream," he warned.

"I won't," I assured him, trying to make my voice sound calmer than I felt.

"Good girl."

"Are you seriously going to kidnap me?"

"I wouldn't call it kidnap, per say."

"It's kidnap!" I cried, clenching my fists. "You're kidnapping me!"

"Oh well," Shawn responded with a casual shrug. "We're in a lot of trouble already,
so what's some more? There's Dan."

I looked over around Shawn to see a pair of headlights slowly making their way down
the street.

"No," I said, trying to break free. "Let me go! No!"

"I'm not letting you go," Shawn said with a laugh. "It's useless to struggle."

"No! You can't do this! Let go!" Now I was screaming. "Help! Someone help me!
Help-"

Suddenly pain lanced against my cheek and I stared at Shawn with wide eyes. He
slapped me! My cheek throbbed angrily as Shawn glared at me.
"I told you not to scream! Now let's go!"

He grabbed my hair and roughly started yanking me towards the car. I was sobbing
again. I was surprised I still even had any tears left! This was crazy. Gang
members were kidnapping me. Gang members that were going to harm me.

Suddenly Shawn stopped moving. He swore and rough shoved me away from him. I gasped
in surprised and toppled forwards, slipping on the sidewalk and falling into the
road. There was the squealing of breaks and I raised my hands to my face, letting
out a surprised shriek.

No impact came, and I slowly looked up to see the car a few feet in front of me.
The headlights blinded me, but I could hear the car door open and close. Someone's
shadow entered my vision and I blinked in surprise when I realized what was
standing above me.

"Are you okay, miss?"

I stared at the police officer in shock. It was a miracle. She raised an eyebrow,
holding out a hand to me. I grasped it, and she pulled me to my feet. Still in
shock, I didn't say anything as she surveyed me with her eyes.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?" she inquired, a frown appearing on her face.

"This guy, Shawn, he-" I immediately got myself off. I couldn't tell the police
officer I was almost kidnapped! I couldn't involve the gang. I couldn't take the
chance of getting Mr. Heywood involved since this was my fault. I cleared my
throat. "My boyfriend, we got in an argument and he left me and drove away... and I
was walking when I slipped and fell into the street..."

"What about that man that was with you?"

"There was no man with me," I lied confidently, raising an eyebrow in confusion.
"Maybe my shadow..."

The police officer didn't look convinced. "Okay... Where do you live? What's your
name?"

I sighed and began to tell her my address, my name, my mom's name, and all that
information she needed to know. Then she offered me a ride home, which I accepted.
Relief washed through me as I safely sat inside the cop car. What a stroke of luck.

"Have a nice night," the policewoman said when she reached my house.

"I'll try," I responded, climbing out of the vehicle.

She stayed in my driveway until I made it to my front porch. I watched as she drove
away, and then I turned back to my door and turned the handle. It didn't budge.

"Unbelievable..."

I forgot I was supposed to stay at Mr. Heywood's. And I didn't have my extra key!
That was at the hospital along with everything else of mine! I slammed my head
against my front door, laughing without humor. I should have expected this. What
else could possibly go wrong? At least my porch shaded me from the rain.

Pulling my jacket around me tighter, I slid down the door into a sitting position,
bringing my knees up to my chest. Guess I was camping out tonight. I rested my head
on my hands, closing my eyes. Today just wasn't my day...
I didn't remember falling asleep, but someone shaking me violently suddenly
awakened me. For a horrifying second I thought it was Shawn and I attempted to
shove the person away.

"Just leave me alone!" I pleaded, pushing on soaking clothing. "I've had enough...
I can't take anymore tonight!"

A strong pair of hands grasped my flailing ones and held them tightly. "Holly!"

I froze. That wasn't Shawn. In a way, it was worse. I looked up to see Mr. Heywood
staring at me with eyes full of relief. He lowered himself down to my level,
lowering his head. A small chuckle escaped his lips.

"You were sleeping," he murmured. "I thought..."

My mouth was suddenly dry. I licked my lips and swallowed a few times before
speaking. "What are you doing here?"

Mr. Heywood looked up at me again, his eyes narrowing slightly. "What am I doing
here? Holly, I've been looking for you for the past three hours! You could have at
least answered your phone and let someone know where you were!"

My eyes widened in surprise and I took in his appearance now. He looked as if he'd
gone swimming in a lake. His wet hair was matted to his forehead, and small
droplets of water ran down his face. His clothing was soaked and clinging to him
tightly. His hands that were holding onto mine were freezing.

Guilt rushed through me, but I shoved it away quickly. I turned my head away from
Mr. Heywood. "Sorry for wasting your time."

"Get up."

"What?"

"Get up," Mr. Heywood repeated, yanking me to my feet. "Let's go."

"Go where? No! Let me go!" I responded, trying to pull my hands free. "I'm staying
here!"

"No, you're not," Mr. Heywood responded, narrowing his eyes. "Now let's go."

"No! I don't want to be around you!" I protested. "Now let me go!"

"I'm not leaving you out here so you can catch hypothermia, Holly! If you don't
want to come to my place, I'll drive you to Jeremy's! You're not staying out here
all night."

"Why do you even care?"

"Why do I...?" Mr. Heywood shook his head at me in disbelief. "I spent over two
hours searching in the park for you since Jeremy called me in a panic saying Shawn
was after you. Then I spent another hour searching the other places I thought you
might be when I couldn't find you! Do you know how worried I was when I couldn't
find you? Do you?"

My response was stuck in my throat. Mr. Heywood never raised his voice at me. But
now he was basically yelling at me. I clenched my jaw, glaring at him.
"I didn't ask you to look for me."

"I thought something happened to you!" Mr. Heywood responded, his grasp on my hand
tightening. "I thought Shawn had finally got you! I was terrified that he got you
and it was my fault!"

"Which would suck because then when the other Holly leaves you again, you won't
have a replacement, huh? Maybe I should have let Shawn take me!"

All expression was wiped off Mr. Heywood's face. My chest heaved a few times, but I
was determined not to cry. Suddenly an angry expression came onto Mr. Heywood's
face and he pushed me against the front door, letting go of my hands and putting a
hand on either side of me, pinning me there. I caught my breath and stared at him
with wide-eyes. He was too close...

"Don't ever say that."

"Why?" I whispered. "Why not? At least Shawn told me I'd be a replacement, instead
of lying to me!"

"Shawn will hurt you!" Mr. Heywood responded sounding vexed.

"You hurt me more."

Mr. Heywood's expression suddenly softened, and he dropped his arms, his eyes
downcast. I stayed against the door, my eyes filling with tears again. I sniffled,
bringing up a sleeve to wipe them away. Stupid tear ducts.

"I know," Mr. Heywood finally whispered. "I know... I'm sorry. I didn't mean for
you to find out like that. I promise I was going to tell you, Holly."

"When?"

"I don't know," Mr. Heywood admitted. "But I swear I was. I just didn't want what
happened right now to happen. I was trying to think of a way I could tell you
without hurting you."

I laughed feebly. "Guess that isn't happening."

"I'm sorry," Mr. Heywood apologized again.

"I don't want an apology," I responded. "I want an explanation."

"I'll explain to you as soon as we get to my house," Mr. Heywood bargained. "You're
not staying out here all night."

A slight breeze passed by, making me shiver and I nodded in agreement. "Okay..."

_______________________________________________

I think my favorite line is "you hurt me more". I'd be like OWNED! in that
situation.

Facebook page in external link.

*******************************************
[43] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 42
*******************************************
The drive to Mr. Heywood's apartment was silent. I stared out the window, watching
the streets light pass by. Mr. Heywood kept his eyes on the road, not sparing me
once glance. The radio was off, making it more awkward. When we arrived, still no
words were spoken as we made our way into his apartment.

Mr. Heywood disappeared into his room for a few minutes and then returned with a
pair of sweatpants and a long sleeve shirt. He handed them to me. "Go change or
you'll get sick."

"I'm fine," I responded stiffly, crossing my arms over my chest. "You better start
talking."

"Holly, just change out of your clothing."

"I said I'm fine."

"You're changing whether you like it or not," Mr. Heywood said, narrowing his eyes
at me. "It'd save us both trouble and embarrassment if I didn't have to force you
to change."

With a hot face and a scowl, I nodded, taking the clothing and going to the
bathroom. I quickly stripped out of my damp clothing and pulled on Mr. Heywood's
warm clothes. I inhaled deeply, taking in the scent. He smelled so nice... I shook
my head, a blush appearing on my face. What was I doing?

I checked my reflection in the mirror and nearly gasped in horror. I looked like a
mess! My hair was curly and knotted, and my make-up was all over. As quickly as I
could, I did my best to clean my face up with warm water. When all of the make-up
on my face was mostly gone, I dried it, and then returned to the living room.

Mr. Heywood was standing in the middle of it, wearing a black v-neck and grey
pajama pants. For a moment I was taken in by his handsomeness, but I pulled my gaze
away before he caught me looking. When he did notice me, he gestured me towards
him. I stopped a few feet away from him, chewing my lip nervously.

"Are you going to lie to me again?" I asked quietly, looking into Mr. Heywood's
eyes.

"I promised I wouldn't lie to you anymore," he said.

"You broke that promise."

"I never lied to you, Holly," he responded, frowning at me. "I just didn't tell you
everything you needed to know."

"Don't you think telling me I look exactly like your old girlfriend is something I
need to know?" I asked angrily.

"I was going to tell you," Mr. Heywood told me, his grey eyes piercing into mine.

"When? Why didn't you just tell me that night when you told me about her?"

"Holly, I don't think you understand how hard it was just to reveal my past to
you," he replied, shaking his head slightly. "My past is not something I'm proud
of, and at the time I was worried you'd be scared off after hearing it. When you
weren't, I didn't want to take the chance of what happened tonight to happen then
by telling you about the other Holly."

"I would've reacted better if you just told me! What was I supposed to do after
what happened? This type of thing isn't very common, Mr. Heywood. She looks exactly
like me, except older! How can I not feel as though I'm the replacement?"

Mr. Heywood sighed, running a hand through his still wet hair. "Holly, you were the
replacement."

I stared at Mr. Heywood incredulously. Was he kidding? I actually was a

replacement? He looked back at me with a serious face. A small laugh escaped my
mouth. "I knew it," I said, feeling my throat constrict. "I am the replacement.
This is great!"

"Holly, I said you were the replacement."

I gave him a flat look. "What exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"When I first saw you at school, I wanted to get as close to you as possible
because you reminded me so much of the other Holly. Your hair color, your eyes,
even some of your personality."

That was what Shawn had said. A small frown appeared on my face. Was that Holly and
I that much alike? It was a little nerve-wracking. How could two people be so much
alike?

"So you used me as a replacement for her?" I demanded. "Didn't you care about the
person who I actually was? Did you even think a little of my feelings?"

"I was too caught up in you're looks," Mr. Heywood responded honestly. "I was too
distracted by your appearance to think about your feelings."

"That's horrible!"

Mr. Heywood nodded his head in agreement. "It is."

"So then, everything you said to me... was it all a lie?"

"No, I meant every word I said to you. Not to the other Holly, but to you."

"But I thought-"

Mr. Heywood held up his hand. "Yes, at first you were a replacement. But as I
started getting closer to you, I began to realize how different you were from her."

"But you just said we were a lot alike," I pointed out.

"Appearance wise, yes," Mr. Heywood responded. "Personality wise and everything
else, no. You're both stubborn, but that's the only thing you have in common. But
everything else is different."

"I don't understand..."

"Should I list a few things?" Mr. Heywood asked, a smirk appearing on his face.
"You blush easily, you cry easily, you get embarrassed easily, you're too innocent
for your own good, you're extremely clumsy, you're too honest... should I
continue?"

I felt my face heat up and I looked at the floor. "I d-don't..."

Mr. Heywood laughed. "See? You're blushing."

"I'm not," I responded stubbornly.

"I'll continue then. You're horrible with eye contact, you get jealous easily,
you're easily riled up, and, perhaps the most important of all, you're
understanding; you don't judge people by what they've done." When Mr. Heywood said
the last words, his expression softened considerably as he looked at me.

Once more, I had to look away. That look was to... intimate. "What about me being
the replacement? I thought-"

"Holly, you stopped being the replacement that day when I was driving you home and
we were talking about our parents! That's when I realized you were different than
the other Holly. You cried for me, something the other Holly probably would have
never done. From that moment on, I viewed you as Holly Evers instead of Holly
Pierce. I haven't thought of you as a replacement since. You could never be a
replacement. I'm ashamed to think at first I used you, and I'm incredibly sorry
about that."

"Why couldn't you have just told me all of this earlier?"

Mr. Heywood raised an eyebrow. "You mean before you ran away from me in the
hospital without letting me explain? There was hardly enough time..."

"I really thought you were just using me as a replacement..." I told him, lowering
my eyes and clenching my fist. "I thought everything that happened between us was
just a lie. I thought I had been used. It... hurt."

"Holly, do you really think I'm that kind of man?"

I looked up back into Mr. Heywood's grey eyes. Did I...? Immediately my eyes filled
with tears and I shook my head. "No! I don't think that at all," I responded, my
voice cracking. "I'm sorry, Mr. Heywood. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have jumped to
conclusions. I..."

"Holly," Mr. Heywood said with a sigh, grabbing my arm and dragging me closer to
him. He put his arms around me and held in me a tight embrace. "See what I mean?
You cry too easily."

"I'm sorry," I apologized, grasping his shirt in my hands.

"I'm sorry too, I must have made you cry," Mr. Heywood responded. "I seem to do
that a lot."

"It's not your fault."

"It is my fault."

"No it's not," I argued. "I'm the one who cried."

"But I'm the one who made you cry," Mr. Heywood insisted.

"Technically you can't make me cry..."

"Holly, you know what I mean," Mr. Heywood responded and I imagined him rolling his
eyes.

"But-"

"Holly, just shut up and enjoy my comforting embrace."

I smiled, rolling my eyes. I did as he said, and did enjoy his embrace. The tension
between us immediately ceased and I let out a small sigh. Mr. Heywood pulled away
eventually though, and I resisted the urge to frown.

"Holly, how exactly did you manage to get to your house? Did you walk?" Mr. Heywood
asked, furrowing his eyebrows. "That's a long way."

"Oh, no, a cop drove me home."

Mr. Heywood's eyes widened in surprise. "What? Why?"

"No reason, I just happened to... fall into her way," I responded honestly. I did
fall into her way. Well, Shawn pushed me, but technically it's the same thing.

Mr. Heywood narrowed his eyes. "You're lying. Something happened."

I looked at him in disbelief. "How do you know?"

"I can just tell with you."

"Well stop, it's annoying," I complained making him laugh.

"Maybe if you stopped lying to me, I wouldn't have to. I tell you the truth, Holly.
Don't you think it's fair to return the favor?"

Sure. Play the guilt card. I cleared my throat nervously. "Well... You know how
Shawn was at the park?"

"Yes."

"Well before I knew he was there, he called me using Lance's cell phone, and we
talked for a bit-"

"About what?"
"Stuff..."

"Like what?" Mr. Heywood said, rolling his eyes. "Don't beat around the bush."

"He, um, said now that you have the other Holly, that I should get with him... He
thought I'd want to get back at you by doing that."

"He what?" Mr. Heywood said, sounding angry. "He just wants to use you as a
replacement!"

"I know that. But at least he had the decency to tell me right away." Immediately I
regretted letting those words slip out of my mouth. Mr. Heywood's eyes flashed with
sorrow. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"Holly, I don't mind," Mr. Heywood cut me off. "I did use you as a replacement at
first. I deserve every word."

"No you don't," I said, shaking my head. "I'd probably do the same if I was in your
shoes. If the person I loved left me, I'd try to find a replacement too... Well
maybe not, but you know..."

Mr. Heywood smiled. One of his rare, genuine smile, not a smirk. I couldn't help
but smile back.

"What did you say to Shawn?"

"Oh, I said..." As I remembered the words I said to him, a blush made it's way onto
my face again. Mr. Heywood raised an eyebrow.

"Well?"

"I just said I wouldn't go with him," I responded, editing out the whole part about
how I would make Mr. Heywood fall more in love with me.
"That's obvious," Mr. Heywood said with a laugh. "Smart move."

"He said he'd take me by force. He hung up then, saying he was coming to get me.
That's when I tried to leave, but Shawn was waiting by the entrance-"

"What?" Mr. Heywood said, his eyes widening. "Holly! Why didn't you tell me about
this earlier?"

"Earlier we were arguing..."

"But this is more important! Are you okay? What happened?"

I lowered my gaze again to the floor and cleared my throat once more before
continuing. "In the simplest words, he tried to kidnap me. He said Dan was bringing
up the car, but the car that came down the street turned out to be a police car so
he shoved me away, and that's how I ended up being taken home by the police."

"He tried to kidnap you?" Mr. Heywood repeated, narrowing his eyes. "Are you
telling the truth?"

"I wouldn't lie about this!"

"We have to tell the police," Mr. Heywood said suddenly, looking around the living
room. "Where's the phone? This is too serious now."

"What? No!" I cried, grabbing onto his arm. "If you're involved, won't you go back
to jail?"

"Holly, you're safety is more important than whether I go to jail or not!"

"No! If you go to jail I'll feel like it's my fault!"

"This is all my fault," Mr. Heywood told me flatly. "Don't think for one second
that any of this is your fault."
"It is my fault for running away in the middle of the night when I know there are
gangsters after me!"

"It's my fault for getting you involved in the first place!"

"Don't call the police!"

"But Holly-"

"If you go to jail then I won't be able to see you!" I cried, grasping onto his arm
tighter. "I don't want that!"

Mr. Heywood tensed up, looking at me with an unreadable expression. After a moment
he put a hand to his head and sighed deeply. "Why?"

"Why?" I repeated in confusion. "Why what?"

"Why would you put me not going to jail over you being harmed?" Mr. Heywood
demanded.

"It's not fair that you have to go to jail for nothing, just like the first time! I
don't want to see you going back. If you go back, we won't be able to see each
other and the school would be losing everyone's favorite biology teacher," I told
him, squeezing his arm. "I understand you want to help me, but I'm going to be
extra cautious! So please don't call the cops!"

"You don't understand, Holly," Mr. Heywood responded. "You're in danger!"

"I don't care!" I responded, narrowing my eyes slightly.

"You don't care?"

"No!"

"Are you stupid, Holly?" Mr. Heywood asked, suddenly sounding angry. "I worry every
day about your safety when you aren't around me. I'm always scared that something's
going to happen to you when I'm not around to save you."

I blushed slightly, clearing my throat. "But I-"

"Hearing you say you don't care just makes me more troubled," Mr. Heywood
continued, cutting me off. "I don't want you putting yourself in danger to help me!
I don't want anything to happen to you because of me, which you don't seem to
understand."

"I do understand though!"

"Then let me call the cops!"

"No!" I cried, glaring at Mr. Heywood. "You're not calling the cops!"

"Holly-"

"Please," I begged, holding onto his arm even tighter than before. "I don't want
you going to jail! I promise I'll be careful, so please!"

Mr. Heywood didn't say anything for a moment. Finally he sighed, gently pulling his
arm free from his grasp. "Why, Holly?"

"Because I'm in love with you!"

As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I gasped, my face growing ten times
hotter. Mr. Heywood's eyes widened slightly in surprise and either my eyes were
betraying me, or he was blushing. I quickly adverted my gaze, my heart pounding a
mile a minute. My whole body felt hot, and my hands were shaking.

I had just confessed... by accident. That wasn't what I was going to say. I didn't
want to confess like that! I was too afraid to look at Mr. Heywood. He probably
felt very uncomfortable now. Tears were prickling at my eyes again, but this time
from embarrassment. I had messed up the most important thing I wanted to say to Mr.
Heywood. I wanted it to be like one of the moments in a movie! But no, I had to be
my stupid self and ruin it. I quickly rubbed the back of my hand against my eyes.

"Holly," Mr. Heywood groaned in exasperation. "What are you doing?"

I knew it. He thought it was ridiculous confession too. "I'm sorry," I apologized,
rubbing my eyes again. "I didn't mean to say that. It just slipped out!"

"Not that," Mr. Heywood told me. "Why are you crying again? Where do you even get
all these tears from?"

"Huh?" What about my confession? Wasn't he going to say anything? I stared at him
with a frown.

He brought a hand up to my face and wiped away a few stray tears. "That's better."

"Um... what about... what I said...?"

"What you said?"

"You know," I responded, my face heating up again. "What I just said."

"I don't remember..."

I stared at him in disbelief. He was kidding. He had to be kidding. He returned my

look with a serious one, tilting his head to the side questioningly. He wasn't
kidding. Unbelievable. I couldn't repeat myself after that! That was too
embarrassing!

Mr. Heywood suddenly snickered, but he quickly covered it up with his hand. I gave
him a flat look. He grinned, shaking his head. "Just kidding, I heard you Holly."
"I take it back. I actually hate you."

Mr. Heywood laughed once, but soon after he sighed. "I didn't want you to say it
yet, Holly," he told me, shaking his head slightly.

I looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I knew how you felt about me, but I didn't really expect you to actually say it. I
didn't want you to say it."

Wait, what? Why didn't he want me to say I loved him? Suddenly I felt like I was
going to be sick. My chest clenched uncomfortably. What was that supposed to mean?
He didn't want me to love him? But didn't he hint that he loved me too? Why...?

"Oh," I said in realization. "It's the other Holly, isn't it?"

Mr. Heywood furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "What is?"

"You don't want me saying that because you're with her, right?

"What are you talking about?"

"Aren't you back together with the other Holly?" I asked him, now furrowing my
eyebrows in confusion.

"What? No," Mr. Heywood responded, staring at me like I was crazy. "Where would you
even get that idea from?"

"You're not together? But you had dates-"

"Holly, I already told you they weren't dates. I was just visiting her because she
stopped in town for awhile," Mr. Heywood told me, frowning slightly.
"But you love her right? That's why you said you never stop loving someone," I
prodded.

Mr. Heywood smiled. "There's a difference between loving someone, and being in love
with someone."

I blinked in realization. So he loved the other Holly, but wasn't in love with her.
Another blush forced it's way into my face. I had said I was in love with him...
Had he caught that?

"She's already engaged."

"What?" I said in shock, looking up at Mr. Heywood. "She's engaged?"

He nodded. "I don't know the guy, but the reason she's back in town is because
she's personally handing out wedding invitations. She gave one to me, as well."

"Then why is she in the hospital?" I had assumed she had some kind of illness.

"Oh, she was mugged the other night and she cracked a few of her ribs," Mr. Heywood
responded. "At first I thought it was Shawn, but she says she didn't recognize her
assailants..."

Shawn's words echoed in my head; "the right Holly." I stared at Mr. Heywood with my
mouth open. He returned my look with a questioning one. I quickly debated in my
head whether or not to tell him. If I did tell him, what would he do? Biting my
lip, I lowered my gaze. I wouldn't tell him.

"Holly, don't get me wrong," Mr. Heywood said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "You
have no idea how long I've been waiting to hear what you said. But the thing is,
you're seventeen, Holly. I'm twenty-two."

"But I don't care about that-" I started with my eyes wide.

"But I do," Mr. Heywood told me with a frown. "You're too young for me right now."
"My birthday's next week though!" I protested suddenly becoming anxious. "Then I'll
be a legal adult! Four years and a couple months isn't that much of age
difference!" Boy, I sounded desperate.

"Hence why I said 'yet'," Mr. Heywood responded with a smirk.

I blinked at him. Mr. Heywood waited a moment, his smirk slowing growing. That's
when I got what he said. He wanted to wait until I was eighteen?

"I won't respond to your confession right now," Mr. Heywood told me, shaking his
head. "I can't. It's not right. I can handle that student teacher thing, but our
age difference is another thing completely. Right now it's illegal, and I'm trying
to take the law seriously right now. So I'm going to forget about your confession
for now, until you're older."

"So when I'm eighteen...?"

"Tell me again," Mr. Heywood said, his eyes piercing into mine.

Another blush made it's way onto my face and I looked away, clearing my throat.
"But since you already know, doesn't that ruin it?"

"Know what?" Mr. Heywood asked, innocently giving me a confused look.

"My feelings," I responded slowly, returning his confused look. What else could I
be talking about?

"You're feelings about what?" Mr. Heywood asked. "Sushi? I don't like it but I
guess everyone has their own preferences."

"I'm not talking about-"

"I wonder if the game is on..."

I stared at Mr. Heywood in bewilderment as he searched for the remote. That was it?
Wasn't he going to say something else about my confession? Did he really mean he
was going to forget about it until I was eighteen? That didn't help me much though.
Another confession would feel pointless...

Mr. Heywood turned on his television, putting it on the game, which indeed was one.
He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye and smirked. "Go make me a cup of
coffee."

"But it's almost two o'clock in the morning," I protested, glancing at the clock on
the T.V stand.

"Who are you, my mom?"

"No," I responded in an irritated voice. "I'm just saying-"

"Coffee," he ordered. "Now."

"But it's your house!"

"Holly."

"Fine," I muttered, pushing myself off the couch. "You know, you're so-"

"Amazing, I know, thank you," Mr. Heywood finished for me with a wide grin.

I rolled my eyes, but a grin made its way onto my face as well. Everything was
still normal. Even after everything we had been through, after how much stress
tonight had caused me, it was normal. Mr. Heywood hadn't picked on me once about
how I over-reacted. He hadn't even mentioned it, even though I had caused him so
much worry.

But the tough part was still ahead. A frown slowly appeared on my face.

How was I going to confess a second time to Mr. Heywood?

________________________________________

So... I'm not sure how I like how I played this one out. I want you guys to give me
your honest opinions before I decide to re-write this. But, when Holly confesses it
will still be something like this if I re-do it ;D Nothing can go perfectly for
her!

Oh, and I have a question. So, this is pretty much one of the longest stories I
wrote, since I usually like to stop around thirty chapters... but how many chapters
do you guys think is an acceptable amount for this story? I don't want it to drag
on too much. But let me know what you guys think. Fifty? Sixty? What?

ALSO! Believe Me, I'm Lying made it into the second round for the Watty Awards! So
it'd be awesome if you guys could go vote for it! The three categories you can
choose from are; Most Popular Overall, Best Cast, and Most Popular Romance so
please got vote for one! Or all three :} Facebook page in external link like
always!
*******************************************
[44] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 43
*******************************************
The smell of something burning woke me up. I sat up quickly, under the impression
my house was on fire. For a moment I looked around the room in bewilderment, until
I remembered I was at Mr. Heywood's apartment. A blush made its way onto my face
when I realized I was in his bed. Pushing that though aside, I slid out from under
the covers and headed towards the kitchen to investigate the source of the burning
smell.

A few pillows and a blanket were lying askew on the couch. At least Mr. Heywood had
the decency to sleep on the couch. I felt sort of bad though; after all, I was the
guest. I should have been the one sleeping on the couch. Or he we could have just
slept in the same bed, we'd done it before-

I shook my head violently. No, we couldn't sleep in the same bed! He was still my
teacher, no matter my feelings. We weren't even together. It was a good thing he
had slept on the couch. What was I thinking? My hormones needed to control
themselves.

"Mr. Heywood," I started, stepping into the kitchen area. "Are you in-ah!"

My foot landed on something soft, making me pull it back in surprise, and lose my
balance. My arms flew out as I desperately tried to stop myself from falling. I
managed to catch myself just before I fell completely by grabbing the edge of the
counter. My eyes dropped to the ground, where they landed on something that made my
heart skip a beat.

Mr. Heywood was lying face down on the ground, motionless.

"Mr. Heywood?" I asked, crouching down to the ground.

When there was no response, I put my hand on his back and shook gently. When still
no response came, my pulse picked up. I dropped to my knees, leaning over him and
grabbing his shoulder, attempting to roll him over.

"Are you playing some kind of joke?" I asked harshly. "Because I'm not finding it
very funny."

Still no answer. With surprising force, I managed to roll him over onto his back.
His head rolled limply to the side, his eyes shut. Panic coursed through me now, my
eyes widening in surprise. Either something was wrong, or he was a very good actor.

"Mr. Heywood!" I called, shaking his shoulders slightly. "Mr. Heywood? ...Chris?"

Now when no answer came, I panicked. What was wrong with him? Leaning over him, I
lowered my ear to his mouth, and relaxed slightly. He was still breathing at least.
But his breaths were shallow and quick. I gently pressed a hand to his forehead and
nearly pulled it back from shock. He was burning up!

My panic increased tenfold now. He had a fever! I didn't know how to care for a
person with a fever! My mom always helped me, and as far as I could remember, she
hadn't ever been sick in my life! I knew I had to get him off the kitchen floor
though.

Lifting Mr. Heywood off the ground was impossible. He was just too heavy! After a
minute of biting my lip, I decided on the next best course of action since I
couldn't pick him up: dragging him. Grabbing him by the arms, I began to pull him
across the kitchen floor, through the living room, and into his bedroom. I brought
him all the way up to the bed. Now came the tough part; getting him on it.

If I could get his front half up, then I could easily bring up his bottom half. But
the question was; how was I going to do that? I squatted down by Mr. Heywood's
head, pursing my lips. Maybe I could lift him up by his armpits... Well, it was
worth a shot.

Moving into a kneeling position, I put my arms under his back and hooked them up
through his armpits. I tested lifting him up by this method, and figured I could
probably do it. I switched back into a squatting position, my head just hovering
over his. With as much force as I could muster, I proceeded to pull his torso up. A
small, strained, groan left my mouth. Mr. Heywood seriously needed to lose weight!

I glanced down at him with a scowl. To my surprise, he was looking back at me with
wide eyes. My breath caught and I dropped him in shock, pushing myself back,
blushing hard. He landed on the ground with a loud thud and a groan. I blushed even
deeper and winced.

"Sorry!" I apologized, bringing myself closer. "Are you okay?"

"What am I...?"

Mr. Heywood looked at me with an extremely confused expression. His expression,

mixed with his messy hair, and worn out look made him look like a lost puppy and I
couldn't help but stare at him in awe. He looked so cute! Mr. Heywood continued to
look at me like that as I gawked, a smile spreading across my face. How I wish I
could take a picture...

"Ow," Mr. Heywood groaned, bringing a hand to his head. "Shit."

"What's wrong?"

"Headache," he told me, shaking his head in dismissal. "Why are we on the ground?"

"Oh, um... you have a fever."

"That doesn't explain why we're on the ground..."

My face became hot again and I adverted my gaze. "Um... well, you kind of passed
out in the kitchen, so I tried to bring you to your bed... but you're heavy and I
ended up dragging you, and I was just attempting to pull you onto it, but you
caught me by surprise so I dropped you."
Mr. Heywood smirked slightly, but it was ruined by a sudden coughing fit. When it
was over, Mr. Heywood put his hand on the side of his bed, attempting to push
himself up. I reached out my hand for support, but he ended up putting a hand on my
shoulder, making me sink under the pressure as he managed to get himself to his
feet. Then he collapsed onto the bed with a sigh.

"Holly."

"Yeah?" I asked, straightening myself out.

"Get out."

"Huh?"

"Go call Jeremy or something, just get out," Mr. Heywood ordered, his voice muffled
by his comforter.

"What? Why?" I asked in confusion, a little hurt by his words. What did I do?

Mr. Heywood flipped over onto his back and laid a hand across his eyes. "Not like
that, Holly. I just don't want you to get sick too. I'll feel like it's my fault."

A frown slipped onto my face. Now that I was thinking about it, I realized it was
probably my fault Mr. Heywood had suddenly gotten sick over night. He had spent
three hours in the cold rain searching for me. I looked guiltily at the floor. "I'm
going to stay to take care of you."

Mr. Heywood chuckled. "I don't need someone to take care of me, Holly. I've lived
on my own for the past four years. Go on a date with Jeremy or something."

"We aren't dating!"

Mr. Heywood raised an eyebrow in amusement as I flushed once more. That had come
out more defensive than I had meant it to be. Mr. Heywood chuckled again, but it
turned into a cough.

"If you want to help, go get me some cold medicine. It's behind the mirror in the
bathroom."

"What's the magic word?"

"Please."

I stared at him in amazement. He must be sick, I thought. He never said please.

Nodding, I started towards the bathroom, still blown away with his "please". As I
passed the kitchen again, the burning smell filled my nose and my eyes widened.
Crap! I had forgotten to figure out what the burning smell was!

Rushing into the kitchen, I immediately went to the oven. There was nothing on the
burners, so I opened the oven door. Large clouds of smoke met my face as soon as
the door opened. I coughed and removed my face quickly, trying to wave the smoke
away. I located the oven dial and turned it off, still trying to clear the smoke
around me. After a few moments I opened the oven again, peering in. Small, black,
burnt mounds of... something were sitting on a silver tray. I closed the oven door
again. I'd deal with those... things... later.

With a glass of water in one hand, and two small pills from the bathroom in the
other, I returned to Mr. Heywood's bedroom. Mr. Heywood was now sitting on the edge
of the bed, his hands holding his head. I cleared my throat quietly and he looked
up at me.

"Here," I said, holding the glass of water out to him.

"My hands are shaking to hard to hold the glass," Mr. Heywood responded, glancing
at the glass. "How about you pass it to me by mouth?"

What? I stared at him in shock. I dropped my head in embarrassment, feeling my hot

face grow hot again. If Mr. Heywood kept this up, my face would be well done before
the day was over. He started laughing and I felt him attempt to take the glass away
from me. I let him do so, then handed him the pills, still not looking at him.

"Holly, it's no fun if you're not looking at me when you blush."

"M-Mr. Heywood, I think-"

"Chris," he corrected me.

For a moment I stayed quiet, looking at him wonderingly. It had been forever since
he had corrected me. It felt nostalgic. A smile crept onto my mouth, and I shook my
head. "Um, Chris, I think you should rest for a while..."

"I'm hungry," he complained. "I want to eat first."

"I'll make you something," I offered, excited by the idea of being able to cook
something for him while he was in need.

His facial expression told me he wasn't sure if he wanted me to cook him something.
"I think I'm-"

"I can cook," I told him, a little resentfully. "Just because some of us aren't
professional like you, doesn't mean we can't cook."

He grinned and laughed quietly. "Okay. There's some can soup in the cabinet. You
can handle that, right?"

"Yes," I snapped, narrowing my eyes at him.

"Well, get to it."

With a roll of my eyes, I exited the bedroom and headed for the kitchen again. A
scowl appeared on my face as I huffed. Mr. Heywood really needed to stop teasing
me. A part of me told me that was one way of how he showed he cared, but I tossed
that thought away. He still was a jerk. But, he was a jerk I loved. How cliché.

The sound of a phone ringing filled my ears as I reached for one of the cabinet
doors. The sound was coming from the living room. Going back out there, I spotted
Mr. Heywood's cell phone on the table in front of the couch. I grabbed the phone
and looked at it, wondering if I should bring it to him. My heart skipped a beat
when I realized Jeremy was calling. After a second of hesitation, I hit the talk
button and put the phone to my ear.

"Chris? You finally decided to pick up? Do you know how many times I called you and
texted you during the past twelve hours? Did you find Holly? Is she okay? Where's
Shawn? What happened? Is Holly with you? She's not answering her phone either!"

"Um, it's me..."

There was a silence on the other side of the line, and then I heard a deep sigh.
"Holly..."

"Jeremy..."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," I told him, chewing my lip. "Are you?"

He laughed. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Oh, um, I don't know," I responded, smiling sheepishly.

"Holly, I'm sorry about last night," Jeremy apologized, making my eyes widen in
surprise.

"What?"

"I said I'm sorry-"

"No, I heard you," I said, cutting him off. "But what are you apologizing for?
Don't! You didn't do anything wrong. It was as you said; I was just being over-
dramatic. I should be the one apologizing for snapping at you! I'm also sorry I
called you a liar and-"
"Holly, breathe," Jeremy ordered with a laugh. "It's fine, I understand. You were
just stressed out yesterday. I didn't take anything seriously."

"I'm still sorry..."

"Don't worry about it," Jeremy said easily. "I'm guessing things are okay now?" he
asked, changing the subject.

I cleared my throat, glancing at the ground in embarrassment. "Oh, yeah..."

"Where's Chris?"

"In his bedroom. He has a fever."

Jeremy laughed. "Well that's what he gets for running around in the rain."

"Jeremy, I really don't know anything about helping sick people," I said honestly.
"Do you think maybe... you could come over and help me out?"

Jeremy was quiet for a minute. "Well, I guess."

"You don't have to if you don't want to..."

"No, I don't mind," Jeremy assured me. "I just thought you'd like the alone time
with Chris."

A blush made its way onto my face again. "I-I don't... it's n-not... I mean I d-
don't..."

Jeremy laughed. "Holly, you're too cute."

"Shut up," I snapped, glaring at the wall.

"I'll be over in about twenty minutes."

"Okay, I'm going to make Mr. Heywood some soup."

"Behave," Jeremy responded in a singsong voice before I heard the click of the line
hanging up.

I scowled, bringing the phone away from my ear to shut it, but something on the
background caught my attention. My eyes widened in surprise when I realized it was
a picture of me... kissing Mr. Heywood? Another blush found its way to my face and
I looked around in bewilderment. When had this happened? And why was it his phone
background?

Suddenly it hit me. That time he had kissed me to blackmail me! But why was it his
background? It was so embarrassing! I couldn't leave it as this! An idea popped
into my head and I quickly turned Mr. Heywood's phone camera on. I made the
funniest face I could think of and took a picture. Removing the one of Mr. Heywood
and I, I replaced it when the comical self-portrait. How I just hoped I wasn't
around when Mr. Heywood realized I had seen and changed his background.

I tossed the phone onto the couch, still flustered. Why would Mr. Heywood have that
as his background? For how long... Realization ran through me like electricity.
Jeremy's words rang through my head. "If you ever get the chance, look at his cell
phone." It made sense now. But the question still was why? Was it because...?

I shook my head. No, I couldn't afford to assume things. I didn't want to ask him
about it either; it was too embarrassing. Maybe Jeremy knew... he seemed to know a
lot of things, I thought wryly. Maybe Jeremy knew too much...

Shaking my head, I made my way back to the kitchen to make his soup. It was the can
kind, so it only took about five minutes. After a minute of searching I found a
bowl to put it in, and a spoon, then made my way back to Mr. Heywood's room. He was
laying back on the bed, under the covers.

"Mr. Heywood?" I said, going over to him. "Mr. Heywood? Are you sleeping?"

When he didn't answer, I frowned. How could he have fallen asleep so quickly? I
squatted by the bed, peering at him for a moment. His sleeping expression caused my
face to heat up a little. How could someone be as handsome as him? It had to be
illegal to look like he did. Sighing, I reached over and shook him. He could sleep
after he eat his soup.

"Wake up," I said loudly. "Mr. Heywood."

Mr. Heywood groaned, pushing my hand away. I laughed slightly at his action. "Get
up. Your soup is done."

"Ms. Evers?" he said sleepily, gazing at me through half open eyelids.

My eyebrows furrowed slightly. Why did he call me Ms. Evers? I shrugged it off,
frowning at him. "It's me, Mr. Heywood. Your soup-"

The rest of what I was going to say was cut off when Mr. Heywood suddenly brought
his hand to the back of my head, forcing it down. My eyes widened as our heads grew
closer.

Then our lips made contact.

My eyes widened in shock as Mr. Heywood's lips pressed against mine softly and
gently. It took me a second to realize what was happening. Immediately I pulled
away, blushing furiously. Mr. Heywood gazed at me for another moment before closing
his eyes again and dozing off without another word.

I straightened myself and staggered a few steps away from the bed, a hand slapping
across my mouth. My thoughts raced frantically, matching the sharply increased
beating of my heart. Mr. Heywood had kissed me!

"Holly? You in here?"

A startled gasp escaped my lips as I twisted to see Jeremy looking at me curiously.

He had gotten here quickly!

"What's up? You look red."

"Um... I, um, I think I might be getting sick too," I made up quickly, thanking God
that Jeremy hadn't shown up a minute earlier. "In fact, I feel a little dizzy."

"Not good," Jeremy told me, coming over with a frown on his face. He placed a hand
on my hot forehead and his frown deepened. "You're hot... I think it'd be best if
you left this room..."

I couldn't agree more. I nodded my head, hoping to get away just in case Mr.
Heywood woke back up. "I'll go rest on the couch."

"Sounds good. I'll check on Chris."

I exited the room without another word, my heart still pounding. What was going on?
What was Mr. Heywood thinking? Wasn't he the one who told me not to confess until I
was eighteen? Why had he suddenly kissed me? I thought the burning of my face was
never going away. The worst thing about the kiss though, was how much I liked it.

___________________________________

I've decided to have a few calm, fun, kinda-filler chapters. It's been pretty
intense in the story lately, and I think we could all use a break... and I can get
my thoughts together for what I want to happen next. So yeah. :D That's it.

Well, they kissed... sort of. SO. I think I deserve a vote from every one of you :3

Facebook fan page in external link... I feel like I don't have to say it, but join!
*******************************************
[45] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 44
*******************************************
"Jeremy..."

Jeremy continued to laugh, ignoring my irritated tone. He had been laughing for the
last minute straight, and while at first it was acceptable, now he was just over-
doing it. A scowl slipped on my face as I fought the urge to punch the blonde man.

Finally enough was enough and I swiftly brought a clenched fist to his shoulder as
hard as I could. Jeremy winced, his laughter ceasing immediately. He looked at me
with a frown, rubbing his shoulder.

"Ow. What was that for?"

"For laughing so much! It's not that funny!"

A smirk appeared on Jeremy's face, and it looked like he was holding in more
laughter. I narrowed my eyes at him threateningly.

"First, if you're trying to look threateningly, it isn't working," he responded,

his smirk growing wider. "You look cute. Like an angry kitten. Second, it is funny.
Holly, your confession was so you."

"How is it so me?" I asked, fighting the blush that was trying to appear on my
face. "It was an accident! Only idiots blurt out confessions like that..."

"Well..."

"If you're going to say I'm an idiot, I already know," I snapped at Jeremy. "Only I
could ruin something as important as that."

Jeremy sighed. "I wasn't going to say that."

"But it's true!"

"Holly, you didn't ruin it," Jeremy told me, reaching over and squeezing my leg
hard. "Trust me."

I winced in pain, immediately trying to pull his hand off me. "Ow!"

Jeremy let go immediately, giving me a sheepish grin. "Ah, sorry. But like I said,
you didn't ruin it."

"How is that not ruining it? I didn't mean to say it!"

"That's precisely why you didn't ruin it," Jeremy told me, a grin spreading across
his face. "It's so you, Holly."

"Is that supposed to be a diss?" I asked, frowning at him.

"Not at all! Holly, it's cute, and probably not what Chris was expecting, which
just makes it better. I'm sure he had a hard time trying to control himself after
that. The only thing that I can think of that could have made it better, would be
you crying in embarrassment afterwards, which I could see you doing," Jeremy told
me, a brief laugh leaving his lips.

A blush made its way onto my face, and I looked at the ground. Jeremy knew me too
well. "Haha, yeah..."

"You did, didn't you?"

My gaze shifted to Jeremy and I narrowed my eyes. "No."

"You so did!" Jeremy cried, his eyes twinkling in amusement. "Your face tells it
all! Oh, Holly, you're too funny."

I glared at him. "How am I funny? What was I supposed to do? Laugh because I just
ruined my chances of a movie confession? I-"

Jeremy put his hand over my mouth, silencing me. "Holly, trust me, your confession
was way more better than any movie confession. There's nothing to be upset over.
I'm sure Chris loves how you did it your own way...well sort of. You did it your
own way by accident."

Pulling Jeremy's hand away, I shook my head. "No. That's why he wants me to confess
again."

"No, he wants you to confess again so he doesn't feel like a pedophile when he
accepts it," Jeremy assured me. "Why do you doubt yourself so much?"

My eyes widened in surprise as I stared at Jeremy. Doubt myself? Did I doubt

myself? My conscious said I did. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. Why did I
doubt myself? Suddenly, a list of reasons ran through my mind.
"I'm always a damsel in distress, I cry easily, I'm clumsy, I-"

"Holly, you're listing all the good things about you," Jeremy cut me off before I
could continue.

"How are those good?"

Jeremy smiled mischievously. "They just are."

"Because I'm-"

Without any warning, Jeremy slapped his hands to my cheeks. Hard. The sound seemed
to echo as my cheeks burned from his hit. I stared at him in shock while he looked
back with hard eyes.

"Holly Evers," he started in a serious voice. "Stop doubting yourself! It's not an
attractive trait. I'm going to tell you what I told Chris; while you doubt
yourself, Chris probably doubts himself as well. If you have doubts, go to him, and
while you're there make sure you tell him what you like about him and have him tell
you his doubts. You two will get no where if you both have attitudes like this!"

Mr. Heywood had doubts too? What was that supposed to mean? And Jeremy and Mr.
Heywood talked about me? I tried to respond, but Jeremy's hands muffled my voice.
Jeremy shook his head at me, putting my pressure on my cheeks.

"I'm not done. Since I said I've said this to Chris before, think back to anytime
where Chris might have mentioned something about you. Or said something about your
personality," he commanded, his green eyes piercing into mine.

For a moment I was entranced by their color, but I quickly snapped out of it when
they narrowed. Mr. Heywood had never said he liked something about me, had he? I
wracked my memories. Any time...

My eyes widened in realization. The other night, when he had been describing the
differences in my personality from the other Holly! But no, those couldn't be the
things he liked about me. They were all hassling traits no one liked...
"From your face, I do believe you've thought of something," Jeremy commented,
pulling his hands away. "Tell me."

"Well the other night he was telling me how different I was from the other Holly...
and he mentioned how I cry easily, get embarrassed easily, are clumsy, and all
those other things."

"Aha!"

"But those are- Don't hurt me!" I cried, covering my face as Jeremy raised his
hands was again.

"Here you go with the doubt again."

"Jeremy, you just don't understand a girl's heart," I pointed out. "It's a stew of
emotions."

"If you really doubt yourself, talk to Chris," Jeremy told me. "All those traits
you think are so bad are actually really endearing, trust me."

Hearing Jeremy tell me that over and over again began to have its' affect on me. It
made me believe his words. That those traits really were endearing, and part of
what Mr. Heywood liked about me. As stupid as they seemed. A small smile spread to
my face, and it ended up spreading to Jeremy's face as well.

"See? It's better when you think of it this way."

"He never responded to my confession though," I told him. "He just told me to tell
him again. He could reject me still."

Jeremy laughed, rolling his eyes. "Oh, please, Holly. Do you really believe that?"

"Well, you never know..."

Suddenly Jeremy's eyes lit up. "Holly, I have the greatest idea."

"Should I be afraid?"

"Nope. I think you'll like it."

"Let's hear it then," I told him, now intrigued.

"So Chris asked you to re-confess right?" Jeremy started, looking eager. "So he's
probably expecting you to confess on your birthday."

"Which I am..."

"Well don't!"

I looked at Jeremy in surprise. Wasn't he always the one trying to get Mr. Heywood
and I together? Why the sudden change in attitude? "Why?"

"Make him confess to you," Jeremy said, a smirk appearing on his face.

I stared at him while his words sank in. Make Mr. Heywood confess to me? I found it
highly doubtful that even if Mr. Heywood had feelings for me, he'd confess before I
did a second time. He probably was expecting me to confess again on my birthday
too...

Jeremy looked at me meaningfully while I debated. It would save me the trouble of

trying to think of a way to confess a second time. It was pretty unfair that I'd
have to confess twice. It was his turn to confess. And even if Mr. Heywood didn't,
I could still afterwards. I waited three months to tell him I loved him the first
time, I could wait a week or two more to say it again. A smirk slowly spread onto
my lips.

"I take it you like the idea?" Jeremy asked.

I nodded. "I think it's fair. After all, who asks a person to confess a second
time? It's so embarrassing."

"If he doesn't confess in a few weeks, are you going to again?"

I blushed slightly, looking down at the floor. "Um, well... yes..."

Jeremy laughed, and I felt him messing with my hair. "I'm brilliant, aren't I?"

I grabbed Jeremy's hand form my head and pulled it away, but didn't let go. Jeremy
looked at me curiously. I cleared my throat, suddenly feeling embarrassed.

"Um, I just wanted to say... thank you," I said quickly, squeezing his hand.
"Jeremy, you are really good at voicing my doubts and making me feel better. You
know me too well, actually. But it's a good thing, I guess. So thank you."

"Silly girl," Jeremy responded, pulling his hand free of my hand so he could be the
one holding onto it. "There's no need to thank me. I make you feel better because I
want to."

"And thank you for helping out with my situation with Mr. Heywood," I added as an
after thought.

"I do that because I want to too. Chris is my best friend, so when I found out he
had an interest in you I made it my duty to make sure things worked out," Jeremy
responded. "It was just surprising that he brought a girl who looked exactly like
my cousin back."

An image of Holly Pierce flashed through my mind. And then what Shawn had said. A
frown appeared on my face. Could it have been that Holly hadn't been mugged, but
attacked by Shawn? From Shawn's words, that's what I concluded, but Mr. Heywood had
said Holly didn't recognize her assailants. It didn't make any sense.

I wanted to talk to her. No, I had to talk to the other Holly. I wanted to know the
truth. Butterflies erupted in my stomach, and I shifted uncomfortably. For some
reason, I didn't like the thought of going to see Holly...
"Holly, are you doubting again?"

Breaking out of my reverie, I looked up at Jeremy in surprise. "No, why?"

"You have that look to your face. What are you thinking about?"

"Um, nothing..."

"Don't lie."

"Really, it's nothing," I assured him.

"Guess we'll have to do this the hard way," Jeremy said with a sigh, sitting up.

Before I knew what was happening, I was on my back with Jeremy above me. With wide
eyes, I stared at his face, which was only a few inches from mine. He smirked.

"What are you-"

Before I could finish my sentence, I felt Jeremy's hands at my sides, tickling me.
My eyes shot open even more as I inhaled sharply, exhaling with a laugh. I squirmed
underneath him, trying to throw him off.

"Jeremy! Jeremy, haha, stop it! Stop!"

"Tell me what you were thinking about!" Jeremy responded, the grin on his face
growing wider. "Chris might not force answers out of you, but I will. By means of
tickling."

"Please," I begged, running out of breath quickly. "Stop it! Please!"

"Nope."
Suddenly I heard the sound of a door opening, and both Jeremy's gaze and mine
snapped to Mr. Heywood's room. Mr. Heywood came staggering out, heading towards
Jeremy and I.

"Mr. Heywood!" I called, relief in my voice. "Help me! Jeremy is..." I trailed off
as Mr. Heywood ignored me, walking into the bathroom.

Jeremy glanced at me in confusion, and I returned his look with the same
expression. A few moments later Mr. Heywood reappeared, shuffling back to his room,
not sparing us a glance. The door shut behind him.

"That was..."

"Weird," I finished for Jeremy, still staring at Mr. Heywood's door.

"Oh well. Let's finish shall we?"

"No!" I protested, attempting to shove him again. "Jeremy! This is sexual

harassment!"

"No it's not."

"It's close enough."

"Too bad."

Once again his hands were at my sides, tickling me into insanity. I couldn't tell
him that Shawn might have attacked Holly though! I didn't want Mr. Heywood finding
out. And now I knew Jeremy told Mr. Heywood everything.

"Jeremy," I panted, swatting at his hands fruitlessly. "Please!"

"You don't have to say 'please'..."

Once again there was the sound of the door opening, but this time Jeremy didn't
stop tickling me. I continued to try to push him off, feeling dizzy from not being
able to breathe. I was really glad I wasn't Jeremy's sister. Those poor girls...

"What are you two doing?"

My eyes snapped to Mr. Heywood, who was hovering above Jeremy and I, a frown etched
into his face. Immediately Jeremy pulled off of me, giving Mr. Heywood a sheepish
look. "Holly is lying again."

"I'm not!" I protested, glaring at Jeremy. "You're sexually harassing me!"

"Jeremy don't touch-" Mr. Heywood was interrupted by his own coughing fit. He
swayed slightly and Jeremy quickly hopped off the couch to steady him.

"Careful," he said, holding on to Mr. Heywood's shoulders.

"This is so annoying," Mr. Heywood muttered, irritation dripping in his tone. He

pushed Jeremy away from him and steadied himself. "I never get sick."

"Well maybe you shouldn't run around in the rain for three hours," Jeremy said with
a laugh.

"It was important," Mr. Heywood said, his gaze locking with mine.

My face immediately fired up. The image of Mr. Heywood and I kissing entered my
mind, and I frantically tried to force it away. I couldn't face him if I was
thinking about that!

"Wait... Jeremy? What are you doing here?" Mr. Heywood asked, his eyebrows
furrowing in confusion.

Jeremy and I glanced at each other with blank expressions. Then we both burst out
laughing.

"Chris, you should get sick more often," Jeremy said, slapping Mr. Heywood on the
back.

Mr. Heywood staggered forwards, collapsing over the couch. He groaned, putting a
hand to his forehead. "Tylenol... I need Tylenol," he said, his eyes piercing into
mine again. "Holly, can you...? Please."

He said please again! "Yeah!" I told him, hopping off the couch.

I glanced back down at Mr. Heywood and fought the urge to laugh and aw. He hadn't
even bothered to fix himself after falling onto the couch, so he was half off it
and half on it. Jeremy was right. Mr. Heywood should get sick more often. It was
really entertaining.

When I returned back to the living room, Mr. Heywood was asleep on Jeremy's
shoulder. A grin spread across my face as I took in the scene before me. Jeremy
looked at me and noticed I was watching him. He blushed slightly, turning his eyes
away from me.

"Whatever you're thinking, don't say it," he warned.

"But you two are so cute," I responded with a small giggle. "Mr. Heywood is so
adorable when he's sick... it's a nice break from his usual attitude."

"Should we wake him up?" Jeremy asked, prodding the side of Mr. Heywood's head.

I shook my head immediately. "No! This is too cute."

Jeremy rolled his eyes at me. "Holly, I'm not going to sit here while he sleeps on
my shoulder all night."

"Technically it's the afternoon."

"Holly, I know you know what I mean."

I pursed my lips at Jeremy for a moment, and then sighed. "Fine, he has to take his
Tylenol anyway."

Jeremy began to shake Mr. Heywood awake violently. As I watched, I made a promise
to myself never to fall asleep around Jeremy. If I did, I'd probably wake up with a
broken neck. Just as I was about to tell Jeremy to be careful, Mr. Heywood's eyes
snapped open and he swung a fist towards Jeremy. Jeremy leaned backwards just in
time to avoid being hit.

"Cranky," Jeremy teased, mussing with Mr. Heywood's hair.

"I feel like shit."

"Here," I said, handing Mr. Heywood the cup of water and then the Tylenol.

Mr. Heywood took it without thanks and quickly proceeded to swallow the pills. He
sighed, slumping forwards. "Ugh..."

I watched Mr. Heywood nervously. What was wrong with him? A cold? The flu? He was
only out for three hours... Guilt suddenly spread through me again. If I hadn't
been such a child, Mr. Heywood wouldn't be sick...

"Holly," Mr. Heywood said in a warning tone. "Stop thinking it's your fault I'm
sick."

Jeremy looked at me in surprise, my expression masking his. I then turned to Mr.

Heywood, blinking at him. "H-how did you know I was thinking that?"

"You're easy to read."

"Or maybe you pay too much attention," Jeremy interjected. "I mean, yeah, Holly is
wicked easy to read, no offense, but that's..."
"Forget it," I snapped, feeling my face grow hot. "Let's not talk about me.
Let's... watch the news."

I quickly grabbed the remote for the T.V and forced myself between Mr. Heywood and
Jeremy on the couch. Hitting the power button, I turned my full attention to the
T.V as it came on. The news was on. Just as I was about to change it, Mr. Heywood's
hand suddenly appeared on mine, holding it still. I looked at him curiously, but
his attention was focused on the television.

"Mr. Heywood?"

"Shh, listen," he ordered, never taking his eyes off the T.V.

Furrowing my eyebrows in confusion, I turned back to the television. A news

reporter was talking, but I couldn't quite make out what she was saying. Mr.
Heywood took the remote from me and turned up the volume, his mouth pressed in a
straight line.

"Dan Daley, twenty four, has been convicted of assault and attempted murder to a
minor. The incident occurred just last week, after a seventeen-year-old teenager
was assaulted in a back alley after his work shift. The teenager survived two
bullets to the chest and multiple hits to the body. Daley has been sentenced to
jail-"

An image of Dan appeared on the television and I gasped, my eyes widening in

surprise. It was the man who I had punched so long ago at the fair! He was the man
who had shot Lance? And they caught him? I turned to Mr. Heywood, who was still
watching the television, a smug smirk playing at his lips.

"This will show them," he commented, quickly glancing at me.

"Dan, huh," Jeremy commented, watching the T.V thoughtfully. "I never liked him. He
was always so cocky... sort of like someone else I know." He looked at Mr. Heywood
meaningfully.

Mr. Heywood glared at Jeremy and opened his mouth to reply, but instead of any
words, he sneezed. Directly into my face.

"Ew!" I cried, shoving myself backwards and into Jeremy. "Mr. Heywood, what the
heck!"

Jeremy burst out laughing as I wiped my face with my sleeve, making a face in
disgust. No matter how much I liked Mr. Heywood, I didn't want his germs all over
my face.

"Sorry, Holly," Mr. Heywood apologized, a smirk of amusement on his face.

I glared at him. How could I take him seriously when he was smirking like that? Mr.
Heywood's smirk grew and he laughed, which abruptly turned into a cough. My glare
ceased and I looked at him in concern.

"Mr. Heywood, do you think you should go to the doctor's?"

"No," he responded immediately.

"Chris doesn't like the doctor's," Jeremy informed me, grinning in amusement. "I
doubt he's been to one since the last time I forced him there."

"You don't like the doctor's?" I asked, looking at Mr. Heywood in surprise. "Why
not?"

"Never mind. Shut up and watch the television, you're making my headache worse,"
Mr. Heywood snapped, turning away from me.

Instead of feeling insulted, I became curious. There had to be a reason why he

didn't want me to tell why he hated the doctor's. However, for the time I'd let him
be since he was sick. So I did as he suggested and turned back to the television.
The case had changed, and there was no more information about Dan. I'd have to tell
Lance the next time I saw him...

Thirty minutes Jeremy was slumped against me, asleep. Mr. Heywood glanced over at
us with a frown. I returned his look with a sheepish grin, but immediately looked
away, a blush spreading across my face. What was I doing? Couldn't I even look at
Mr. Heywood when he was near without blushing? It didn't help that he looked
incredibly adorable with his messy hair... I shook my head. I needed to break my
blushing habit.
Suddenly I felt something against my lap and I looked down to see Mr. Heywood's
head there. My face heated up ten-fold as I stared back up at me, unfazed.

"W-what are you doing?" I stammered.

"Resting," he responded simply.

"Why on my lap though?"

"Jeremy is using you as a pillow."

"B-but that's..."

"I'm using you as a pillow whether you like it or not," Mr. Heywood told me. "I'm
sick, so just this once..."

I turned my face away from him, growing more embarrassed. "N-no... It's fine. I
don't mind."

"Good."

"And... I don't mind if you want to do it again in the future."

Mr. Heywood stayed quiet, and I couldn't bring myself to look at him. Why had I
said something so embarrassing? You could probably fry an egg on my face now!

Finally Mr. Heywood chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind. Now I'm going to sleep for
awhile."

Well, since I was embarrassing myself already... I swallowed nervously, looking

back down at Mr. Heywood. "Wait. I have a, um, question first."
Mr. Heywood raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"It's about the... the... um, the kiss," I said quietly.

"Kiss?" Mr. Heywood echoed.

"Yeah. Awhile ago-"

"Oh, you mean in the classroom a few months ago?" Mr. Heywood said, realization
washing over his face.

I stared at Mr. Heywood incredulously. Did he not remember kissing me the other
night? Was he just teasing me again? No, he looked completely serious. I blinked in
comprehension. He was fever dreaming, wasn't he? But wait, if he was dreaming, did
that mean he was dreaming about me?

"That was just so you wouldn't refuse to help me after school," Mr. Heywood
continued, oblivious to my furiously blushing face. "In retrospect, it was pretty
selfish of me to do that... I'm sorry."

"Don't be!" I said quickly. "It's alright. If you hadn't forced me to stay with
you, we wouldn't be where we are today..."

Mr. Heywood smiled at me. "True."

"Um, anyway, you should rest," I said, looking away as embarrassment got the best
of me yet again.

"Okay," Mr. Heywood responded with another chuckle.

After a few minutes of silence, I looked down at my lap to find Mr. Heywood's eyes
closed. I gently prodded his cheek to see if he was still awake. When no response
came, I figured he was out. Glancing at Jeremy to make sure he was still asleep, I
brought my face down to Mr. Heywood's.
"Sleep well," I whispered, pressing my lips to his forehead.

Immediately I shot back up, surprised at my own boldness. I focused my attention on

the television so I wouldn't think about the man resting on my lap. It was a hard
feat to do. But soon I was over come by tiredness, so I closed my eyes, leaning my
head back against the sofa. Within minutes, I too was asleep.

______________________________________

The video attached is the song that so describes Chris and Holly. And it's by Blood
on the Dance Floor. Who would have guessed? I LOVE IT.

So a lot of people asked for some Jeremy in this chapter, so here you go! I love
Jeremy. He's one of my favorite characters. Though I should say all of them are
haha. Sooo... I think you should vote for Jeremy ;D and because of the ChrisxHolly
scene ;D

So the next chapter will have some plot in it, but the action still is taking a
break. I bet you can figure out why. [Coughnewscough]. :]

And it's been awhile, but I just wanted to thank EVERY SINGLE READER for reading
this :D It means a lot! Thank you to everyone who sends me messages and votes and
makes me banners! You guys make me happier than a bird with a french fry! So thank
you! And I love you all~ :D Also, you can vote for Harley Allen (BMIL) as Best
Female Character in the Watty Awards now! :D

The picture today is an awesome drawing of Chris and Holly by Sarah Kumiega!

Facebook link in external link! Join :D

*******************************************
[46] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 45
*******************************************
"Holly, como estas?"

I glanced at my Spanish teacher for a moment, trying to comprehend what she asked.
After a second, I realized she was asking how I was. "Ah, bien..."
"Estabas enferma?"

"Si," I responded, stopping by her desk so she could interrogate me.

Casey stared me down from the back of the classroom, a frown on her face. I
returned her look with a questioning one.

"Lo siento," Ms. Elliot started again. "Bienvenida de vuelta."

"Gracias."

"Tienes la tarea de viernes?"

A small sigh escaped my lips. Of course the one homework I didn't do was the one
homework she wanted to see. "No, lo siento."

"Tráemela mañana," she told me with a smile.

"Claro," I responded, returning her smile. Before she could say any more, I hurried
towards my seat.
"Where have you been?" Casey started in an accusing tone.

"Sick," I responded honestly. "Didn't you hear my conversation with the teacher?"

Casey snorted. "As if I understood that."

I chuckled, shaking my head. "How do you manage to pass this class again?"

"Don't change the subject. Something's up."

I raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Mr. Heywood has been out for three days now, and two of those days you are out as
well?" she started, narrowing her eyes. "Don't tell me you two were skipping
together."

"What? No!" I responded, my eyes widening slightly. "I really was sick. Mr.
Heywood-"

"Is sick too?"

I nodded. "When I left his house on Sunday he still had a fever... I haven't talked
to him since because after I went home I ended up getting sick too. He spread his
disease..." I trailed off when I noticed Casey was grinning at me like an idiot.
"What?"

"When you left his house on Sunday?" she repeated. "What is that supposed to mean?"

With a quick glance around the room to see if anyone was listening, I beckoned
Casey close to me. She leaned in, her eyes wide with excitement. I almost laughed
at her.

"My mom asked Mr. Heywood to take care of me for the weekend while she was gone," I
informed Casey. "It ended up being the other way around though, haha."

"Really? You stayed the whole weekend at his place?"

"Yep."

"Did anything happen with... you know?"

My heart skipped a beat and I stared at Casey in shock. "W-what do you mean?"

"Between you and Mr. Heywood," she said slowly, furrowing her eyebrows. "What do
you think I meant?"
"Um, nothing," I responded, looking away. There was no way Casey could know about
the gangs. What was I getting so paranoid about?

"Oh, Holly, you can't lie to me. Tell me!"

"Dime."

Casey jumped in shock and my eyes shot up to see Ms. Elliot hovering behind her.
Casey grinned sheepishly. "Sorry..."

"Lo siento," Ms. Elliot corrected again.

"Right," Casey muttered under he breath as Ms. Elliot went back to the front of the
room.

The rest of class was spent learning new vocabulary, which was easy. Five minutes
before the bell rang, Ms. Elliot let us chat together quietly. Casey turned back to
me, pursing her lips.

"Are you going to visit Lance today?"

I nodded. "Yeah, since I haven't been able to since I've been sick."
"Who's bringing you?"

"Umm, Jeremy, why?"

Casey looked at me pleadingly. "The guy I've talked to on the phone before? I want
to go visit Lance too, so can you ask him if I could have a ride too?"

"I don't think Jeremy will care," I told her. "But we're leaving right after
school-"

"That's fine!" Casey said quickly. "I'm ready to go now. Are you sure he won't
care?"

I shook my head, grinning. "No, Jeremy's pretty cool."

"Awesome."

When the bell finally rang, I stood up and hitched my bag over my shoulder, heading
out of the classroom with Casey in tow. Together we made our way to the back exit
where Jeremy was supposed to be waiting. Casey glanced at me nervously as we left
the building.

"Are you sure he won't care?"

"Positive," I told her, rolling my eyes. "Now we just need to find him..."

As if on cue, Jeremy's black car came rolling up to us, music blasting from the
inside. Casey shot a look at me and I rolled my eyes, opening the passenger door. I
leaned in and, to my surprise, came face-to-face with Mr. Heywood. Immediately I
pulled away, feeling my face heat up.

"M-Mr. Heywood," I stammered, looking at him in surprise.

"Hi Mr. Heywood!" Casey chirped from behind me.

"Hi, Casey, Holly," Mr. Heywood responded, giving Casey one of his polite smiles.

"Ready to go?" Jeremy asked, leaning over Mr. Heywood to look at me.

Mr. Heywood turned to glare at Jeremy for a moment before turning his gaze onto me.
I stared back for a moment before switching my focus onto Jeremy. I gestured Casey
to step forwards and Jeremy's eyes flicked to her for a minute before he looked
back at me.

"Can we also give Casey a ride?" I asked him, giving him my best puppy dog look.

"No," Jeremy responded without hesitation.

"What? Why?" I asked in surprise. "But we're going to the same place-"

Jeremy laughed. "I'm kidding. Look at you two! Your expressions are priceless!"

Immediately I felt my face heat up and I glared at Jeremy for a second before
glancing at Casey, who didn't seem fazed. In fact, she was smiling a little. When
she noticed I was watching her, she smirked.

"Your expression was pretty funny..."

"Casey! Are you-?"

"Get in or I'm leaving without you," Jeremy interrupted me in a singsong voice.

Sighing, I climbed into the backseat with Casey. Mr. Heywood looked at me through
the rearview mirror, a grumpy expression on his face. I tilted my head
questioningly.

"Chris is unhappy because I'm taking him to the doctors," Jeremy informed me,
catching me staring.

"I don't need to go," Mr. Heywood protested. "It's just a cold."
"You sound awful," Casey interjected, leaning over so she could look at him. "So
you really have been sick these past few days? I guess that means you're the one
that got Holly sick."

"Casey," I hissed, sending her a warning glare.

Mr. Heywood turned around, giving Casey a curious look. "Holly was sick?"

"No I was-"

"For two days," Casey said, cutting my protest off. "She hasn't been in school."

Mr. Heywood frowned, turning his attention back to me. "Holly, why didn't you tell
me I got you sick?"

"Ooh, what did you two do when I left?" Jeremy said teasingly, making me blush.

"We didn't do anything!"

"Secret make-out session?" Casey guessed, a small grin spreading onto her face.
"Casey!"

Jeremy laughed, nodding his head. "I bet that's exactly it."

"No we didn't! Mr. Heywood! Aren't you going to say something?" I asked, turning to
him for help.

"Chris is giving me the silent treatment," Jeremy told me when Mr. Heywood didn't
respond. "He's so immature."

Mr. Heywood suddenly jammed his elbow into Jeremy's side, making Jeremy swerve to
the left. A gasp of surprise left my mouth and I quickly leaned over and pulled Mr.
Heywood's arm away from Jeremy.

"You going to cause an accident!" I accused. Casey started laughing and I turned to
frown at her. "What?"

"You guys," she told me, shaking her head. "A comedic trio."

"We could probably make a lot of money," Jeremy agreed. "I'm Jeremy by the way."

"I'm Casey," Casey responded, giving Jeremy a grin. "We've talked before."
Mr. Heywood suddenly began to cough violently, causing my heart to skip a beat in
surprise. Jeremy looked over at him with a worried expression, which mimicked my
own. Casey even gave him a concerned look. When the fit passed, Mr. Heywood acted
like nothing had happened.

"Um, are you okay?" I asked.

"I'm fine," Mr. Heywood snapped. "I don't need to go to the doctor's!"

"Oh yes you do," Jeremy responded, wagging his finger. "Your violent attack just
now proves it."

"I'm fine!"

"Mr. Heywood, I think you should see one too," I interjected. "What if it's
something more serious than the flu...?"

"Yeah, like pneumonia," Casey added.

I bit my lip, looking at the ground. Why was I so immature? If I hadn't over-
reacted then Mr. Heywood wouldn't be sick...

"Holly."
"You can't possibly know I was feeling guilty again!" I cried in exasperation. "Mr.
Heywood, are you mind reader, or something? Do you have this unnatural ability to
know what people are feeling? It's crazy! Half the time I'm not even showing the
slightest signs of lying or feeling guilty, and yet you..." I trailed off when I
noticed Casey was staring at me with wide eyes.

I silently cursed myself. Casey was with us! I couldn't act like I normally did
otherwise she would get suspicious! But then again, she knew I loved Mr. Heywood...
but she still didn't know about how close our relationship actually was. And she
couldn't know either. As much as I loved her, and though she was my best friend,
this wasn't something I could tell anyone... especially if it turned into something
more.

Mr. Heywood chuckled, breaking the awkward silence that had settled in. "I was
actually just going to ask if I could have Lance's number before I forgot..."

"Huh? Why?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Lance..."

Wait... Lance didn't even have his phone; it was with Shawn. Did Mr. Heywood want
the number so he could talk to Shawn? Threaten Shawn? Without thinking I looked
away from Mr. Heywood, a frown coming onto my face. If I gave Mr. Heywood Lance's
number he might do something stupid.

"I don't have it."

"Don't lie."

"You can't have it," I told him.

Mr. Heywood raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

"You just can't!"

"Holly, I need it."

"No," I responded, biting my lip.

Mr. Heywood sighed. "Holly, I'm not going to do anything that will put myself in
danger, if that's what you're worried about."

My eyes shot open and I gaped at Mr. Heywood. He returned my gaze, looking slightly
bewildered. After a minute his eyes darted to Casey, and then widened in
realization. I also stole a glance at Casey, who was narrowing her eyes at me
suspiciously. Mr. Heywood cleared his throat, gaining Casey's attention.

"It's not like I'm going to harass him with text messages to do his homework," Mr.
Heywood continued, pausing only to cough into his arm once. "I don't want to be
beaten up..."

"Yeah," I agreed with a laugh. "That's what you meant by dangerous, huh..."

"It is."
"Mr. Heywood, Holly hasn't mentioned it yet, but Lance actually lost the phone when
he was mugged," Casey pitched in now, all looks of suspicion gone.

"I agree with Holly and Casey. You don't need it Chris," Jeremy added, glancing at
him quickly.

I sent Jeremy a grateful look. If there was someone that could really go against
Mr. Heywood, it was Jeremy. Mr. Heywood scowled at Jeremy, before turning his scowl
to me. Immediately I looked away from him before he could guilt me into giving him
Lance's number. I felt bad, but I felt more afraid that he'd do something stupid.

The rest of the ride was silent. Casey stared out the window; Jeremy was focused on
the road; Mr. Heywood was sulking; and I was fiddling with my fingers, thinking
about what I was going to do when I got to the hospital. Lance was my first
priority, but my second was a little more daunting.

I was going to visit Holly.

Jeremy pulled up to the hospital's front doors, and stopped to let us out. Casey
and I unbuckled and stepped out of the car together.

"Thank you for the ride, Jeremy," Casey called, sticking her head in the door.
"Bye, Mr. Heywood! I hope you feel better!"

"Anytime," Jeremy responded.

"Thanks," Mr. Heywood said grumpily.

I chuckled, rolling my eyes. "See you later Jeremy, Mr. Heywood."

"Bye, Holly," Jeremy said, grinning at me. "Have fun."

I shut the door and made my way to the other side of the car where Casey was
waiting. As we turned to go inside, Jeremy honked the car horn. I turned around and
saw Mr. Heywood gesturing for me to go to him. With a quick glance at Casey, I
started back to the car, bending down slightly to see Mr. Heywood better.

"What?"

"If I'm still sick and don't get to see you tomorrow," he started slowly, a smirk
now slipping onto his face, "happy birthday."

Mr. Heywood immediately rolled up the window as I stood still, staring at him
speechlessly. Birthday? Tomorrow was my birthday? A blush made it's way to my face,
and I glared as I saw Mr. Heywood start to laugh inside the car. I twisted on my
heel and marched back to Casey. She raised an eyebrow.

"What'd he say?"

I ignored her. "Is tomorrow my birthday?"

Casey raised an eyebrow. "You don't even know when your own birthday is?"

"No, I do," I assured her, "but I just didn't realize it was so soon..."

"Probably because you've been sick," she told me, heading towards the entrance
again. "It's okay though because we aren't celebrating until Friday with Lance.
What are you doing tomorrow for it?"

"I honestly don't know. My mom hasn't said she wants to do anything with me yet," I
responded, welcoming the warmth of the hospital.

"Sounds boring."

"Last year I watched re-runs of Teen Mom... I think even if this year wanted to
try, it wouldn't be as boring," I told her with a laugh. "My mom's going to be
home, anyway. That's a little entertainment."

We made our way up to Lance's room, but before we entered, an elderly looking nurse
stopped us. "Today visiting hours end at four," she said.

"What? Why?" Casey asked, looking surprised.

"Hospital inspection," she responded. "It's an annual thing."

Casey looked at me and shrugged. "Well at least we have an hour..."

I bit my lip. "Casey... visit Lance for me."

She raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Tell him I said hi and that I hope he feels better," I told her, fiddling with my
fingers again. "Since there's only an hour, I have to go visit someone else first."

"Who?"

"My mom's friend," I made up, hoping she'd believe it.

"Oh, okay," Casey responded, smiling at me. "Try to make it back! I'm sure he wants
to see you."

"I'll try," I said before going back down the hallway we'd just came up.

After a few minutes of searching I finally made it to the hallway with Holly
Pierce's room. As I grew closer to the door, I became more nervous. It took me a
full three minutes to even bring my hand up to knock. When I finally did, as soon
as my fist made contact with the door once, I yanked it back, my heartbeat spiking.

"Come on," I heard a muffled voice say.

Taking a deep breath, I put my hand on the doorknob and pushed it open. Holly's
eyes widened slightly when she saw me. I had to admit even I was still surprised
looking at her. We really did look a lot alike. I entered the room and shut the
door behind me, rubbing my sweaty palms off on my jeans. Why was I so nervous
around this woman?

"It's Holly, right?" Holly asked, now smiling at me.

After a second I smiled back. "Yeah."

Holly laughed. "Wow. It's like I'm looking at a younger replica of myself. This is
crazy."

"I feel the same way," I agreed. "Except you're older."

She smiled. "Are you saying I look old?"

"No! Not at all! I meant... you know."

"I do know."

Holly gestured for me to take a seat in the chair near her bedside, and after a
split second of hesitation, I did so. To my surprise, she actually seemed like a
nice person. Even though I felt like I should dislike her, I couldn't help liking
her.

"So what are you here for?" Holly asked. "Chris isn't here..."

I shook my head quickly, feeling my face heat up. "No, I'm not here looking for
him."

Holly chuckled. "Aw, you're blushing."

"I'm not," I denied, keeping my head down.

"You don't have to hide anything from me. I know you two have an intimate
relationship."

"What?"

"The other night, you guys had a lover spat, right?" Holly asked, raising an
eyebrow. "After Chris chased after you he came back pretty out of it. He told me
about you."
"What did he say?"

"Nothing bad," she assured me. "I'm not going to tell you exactly what he said
though in case he doesn't want me to."

I frowned slightly. Now I was really curious. I sighed. "Okay... But Mr. Heywood
and I don't have an intimate relation-"

"You still call him Mr. Heywood?" Holly cut me off, her eyes widening. "That's so
cute! Oh boy, I would love to see his reaction if you called him by his first name.
Or you do it when it's just you two by yourselves? I could understand that."

I stared at Holly incredulously. This girl really liked to talk. "It's kind of a
habit, so I call him Mr. Heywood all the time... even though I know I should stop."

Holly laughed. "No, don't! Keep calling him Mr. Heywood. I bet he secretly enjoys
it. You could use calling him Chris to your advantage. I know how he is. I bet you
could convince him to do anything. He talks so highly about you."

I couldn't help but to smile at that. "I didn't realize you guys talked about me so
much."

"Are you kidding? He never shuts up about you."

"Really?"
"It gets kind of annoying actually."

"Sorry," I apologized with a laugh.

"Don't be," Holly responded. "I just know things that I shouldn't since I don't
really know you."

"Like what?"

"Like your favorite color is blue, your favorite food is steak, you love animals,
you blush easily, you're clumsy and honest, you are gullible, and you suck at eye
contact. Oh, and you're birthday is tomorrow."

I stared at her for a second, surprised. "Did Mr. Heywood tell you all that?"

"That's not even a sixth of it."

My face grew hot again, and I turned my attention back to the floor. Mr. Heywood
knew my favorite color and food? He talked about my birthday? But the last time he
had seen Holly we hadn't had the confession talk yet... Did that mean something? Or
was I just over thinking?
"Anyway, enough of me blabbing away," Holly started again, breaking me from my
thoughts. "It just is so boring in this hospital room."

"It's fine," I told her. "When do you get out?"

"Saturday," she told me, making a face. "My fiancée will be here by then. I need
someone to drive since I broke my ankle."

"Oh, right, because you were mugged..."

"Um, right..."

Holly looked away from me, a solemn expression slipping onto her face. My palms
were beginning to get sweaty again as I tried to think of a way to ask what I came
here in the first place to ask. When Holly's eyes finally met mine again, I
clenched my fist.

"You were attacked by Shawn, weren't you?"

Holly's eyes widened considerably. "W-what? No! Shawn is..."

"Shawn told me," I confessed. "He told me he had got the wrong Holly, or something
like that. I didn't tell Mr. Heywood. You can tell me the truth, and I promise I
won't tell him."
Holly stayed silent for a moment, her eyes downcast once again. I kept my silence
as well, waiting for her to speak. Was I right? Or was I wrong? Or maybe she was
just going to deny it? Maybe Shawn was lying?

Holly sighed, looking at me once more. "You can't tell Chris..."

"I won't," I promised, my eyes widening slightly. "So was I right... Did Shawn...?"

Holly nodded. "I wasn't mugged. Shawn attacked me."

_______________________________________

First, before I forget, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO CHARLOTTE ERIKSEN! Welcome to the teenage
life! ;D Happy 13th!

Sorry this is late! But I've been busy... watching Pretty Little Liars (AWESOME.
AMAZING. INCREDIBLE) and doing a lot of homework, and hanging out with friends. You
know, having a life ;D But here you go! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and it made
you excited for future ones ;) Facebook group in external link :D

Translations for the non-spanish speakers who aren't great detectives:

Como estas : How are you?

Estabas enferma : Were you sick?

Lo siento : I'm sorry.

Bienvenida de vuelta : Welcome back.

Tienes la tarea de viernes? : Do you have the homework from Friday?

Tráemela mañana : Bring me it tomorrow.

Claro : Of course.

Dime : Tell me.

*******************************************
[47] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 46
*******************************************
"Before I tell you anything, I have a question," Holly said, frowning at me. "How
do you know about Shawn?"

I sighed. "It's kind of a long story..."

"I've got time."

After a moment of hesitation, I resigned and decided to tell her the whole story. I
left out the whole Shawn wanting me part though. Mr. Heywood and Jeremy worried
about me enough for a hundred people. The last thing I needed was for more people
to fret over me.

"And that's how I learned about Mr. Heywood's past as a gang member," I finished
lamely, raising my eyes to look at Holly for the first time since I started
explaining.

She was staring at me like I was crazy. I didn't blame her. In retrospect, I
realized everything that I did with any occurrence with the gang members was
incredibly stupid. Especially the whole "punch everyone" part of it.

"How could Chris have dragged you into this? This is seriously dangerous, Holly,"
Holly warned me, finally speaking.

"I already know that," I responded. "And it's more my fault I became involved...
Mr. Heywood just complicates things."

"He should have kept you out of it though."

I frowned at her. "I'm the one who-"

Holly shook her head. "It's still his problem, Holly."

"It's my problem now too," I stated stubbornly. For some reason, I felt like I had
to defend Mr. Heywood. "Mr. Heywood didn't have anything to do with that..."

Holly raised her eyebrow skeptically. "Is that so?"

"It is." Okay, so it wasn't the whole truth, but it wasn't like Mr. Heywood forced
me to punch anyone. Holly looked like she wanted to say more, but I cut her off
before she could. "Now it's your turn to talk. What happened with Shawn?"

"Before I answer, I have one more question. How did you know it was Shawn who
attacked me instead of the mugging I claimed it to be?"

"Umm..." I hesitated, blushing faintly from the embarrassment of my actions from

the memory. "The night when I saw you for the first time I went to the park after
I... left the hospital and he found me there. While we were talking he said, 'at
least you're the right Holly this time', so I figured he might have done something
to you. And then Mr. Heywood told me that you were mugged."

Holly frowned at me. "Shawn said something similar to me when he figured out I
wasn't who he wanted me to be. He said, 'well isn't it my other Holly?'. At the
time I didn't know you existed, so I was pretty confused."

"That was my reaction when Shawn said 'the other Holly'. And that's how I figured
out that you weren't mugged. "

Holly sighed, tapping her finger against the metal rail on her bed. "You can't tell
Chris."

"I know," I responded. "But why not?"

"I'm done."

The sudden coldness in her voice made me tense up. Her friendly demeanor had
suddenly turned bitter, and her eyes hard. I had to look away, intimidated by her
gaze. My initial nervousness returned with new vigor.

"I won't tell," I finally said quietly.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," she responded, her tone lighter again. "I just
can't take this gangster business anymore. After Chris went to jail I promised
myself that I would never get involved again- that's why I moved away. And now I
have a son-"

"You have a son?" I asked in shock. Already? That meant she must have had a
relationship at least two months after Mr. Heywood went to jail...

Holly shook her head, smiling at my expression. "He's going to be my step-son."

"When did you start dating your fiancée?" I asked before I could stop myself.
Holly raised an eyebrow, but shrugged. "Probably a month after Chris went to jail."

"Oh," I responded. Only a month? She got over Mr. Heywood in a month?

"Holly, you're showing your innocence."

"What?"

"Your innocence," Holly repeated. "The look on your face is telling me you don't
like the idea of me dating after only a month of breaking up with Chris. A month
isn't a short amount of time to get over someone. Don't get me wrong, I did love
Chris, but I also wanted to forget about him and the gang because I was scared."

"Which I can understand," I told her, nodding my head.

"But...?"

I looked at her in surprise. "How did you know there was a but?"

Holly laughed. "Chris was right. You're so easy to read."

"I'm not," I denied, feeling my face heat up.

"Holly, what's your but?"

"It's nothing bad. I'm just wondering why you broke up with Mr. Heywood right
before he was put in jail. Don't you think that's a little cruel?"

"I do," Holly responded honestly. "I still feel bad about it too, actually. But
it's what I had to do. Being done with the gangster thing meant being done with
Chris too. I wasn't going to make him sit in jail for eight months and come out
only to be broken up with. That's why I did it before he went in. He had time to
move on, and so did I."
"And you and Mr. Heywood are still friends," I started, feeling a little confused,
"even though you are done with this gangster thing?"

"I wasn't expecting to have to deal with gangsters again since he's a teacher now,"
Holly told me. "I'm leaving again so I don't have to. I still love Chris, just not
the way you do."

Immediately my face grew hot and I looked away. My first response was to deny it,
but I couldn't. It was the truth. I didn't want to deny it. But it was still
embarrassing to hear it said aloud.

"I want to be friends with him, and luckily for me, he wants to be friends too,"
Holly continued, smiling slightly at my reaction. "Chris is a great guy. He's never
held what I did to him against me; he understands I did what I had to do. He
deserves better than me. He deserves you."

I looked at Holly, taken aback. "What?"

"Why do you look so shocked? Holly, not everyone can get involved with a gang
because of someone and still love that person. You don't even seem to care about
the danger involved. You don't even seem phased that he was in jail!"

"I'm not," I told her, now growing confused. "Why would I be?"

Holly stared at me for a minute in disbelief. "You don't even care the slightest
bit?"

"Mr. Heywood had his reasons, and I don't blame him for going to save you, even
though he ended up in jail."

Holly suddenly looked guilty, and she turned her gaze to the floor. "Holly, you're
a much better person than me. It's funny, you're younger than me but so much more
mature."

"Holly," I started, feeling awkward using her name, "I love Mr. Heywood. If it were
any other person in the world, I probably would care that they were in jail, unless
they had a really good reason, but since it's Mr. Heywood, nothing matters. Don't
say I'm a better person, I'm just... blinded by love," I ended lamely. I didn't
know how else to make my point.

Holly smiled at me. "I'm glad Chris met someone like you. I can't tell you how
happy I am to see how much you care for him. Thank you for that."

"Don't thank me," I muttered, blushing again.

"Now all he needs to do is man up and tell you he loves you!"

I cocked my head at her, raising an eyebrow. "You know he's my teacher right?"

Holly responded to my look with a confused one. "What about it?"

"It's not... right."

"Holly, don't tell me you're worried about that," Holly said, rolling her eyes.
"You don't care about gangsters or prison, but you care about the fact that he's
your teacher? Are you stupid?"

"N-no! I don't care that he's my teacher!" I corrected her, shaking my head. "But
so far everyone that knows how I feel about him has been really supportive. No one
has been judgmental about it. But I keep waiting for that one person to say
something- Tell me he's too old for me, tell me it won't work out..."

"Is that what you want to hear?"

"No!"

"Then don't worry about it! Anyone who has seen Chris talk about you, or you talk
about Chris, or I bet even just the way you two interact outside of class, knows
that you two are right for each other."

"I'm more worried about the fact that Mr. Heywood is an adult, and I'm an immature
teenager... I don't care what other people think, but I don't want Mr. Heywood
thinking that."

Holly rolled her eyes. "Please. You're the least immature person I've ever met. I'm
positive Chris doesn't care that you're still technically a teenager."

A small smile spread onto my face. It was nice to hear what I wanted to hear from
someone else. "Thank you..."

"You and Chris only have a four year and maybe three month age difference. My
parents have a seven-year age difference. My fiancée is five years older than me.
Don't worry about anything that has to deal with your age. As they say, age is but
a number."

"Right," I agreed, feeling oddly refreshed.

"I hope everything works out for you two."

"Thank you."

"And I hope you don't get hurt."

I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Shawn," she told me. "Holly, he's really dangerous."

"I know," I responded, adverting my gaze. "I know he is. I know the whole gang
situation is."

"Promise me you'll be careful," Holly ordered. "I don't want to see you taken away
from Chris."

A small shudder ran through me. I didn't like the way that sounded. Taken away? Did
she mean killed? Or something like what happened to her that would make me not want
to be around Mr. Heywood anymore? No, there was nothing that could make me not love
him...

"I'll be careful," I said softly. "I won't be taken away."

"Good."

Suddenly my pocket started vibrating. Confused, I pulled out my phone to see I had
a text message from Casey. Since when did the hospital have service? Well, I wasn't
going to curse it. I opened the text and smiled slightly.

"Is that a text from Chris?" Holly asked teasingly.

I shook my head. "My friend Casey. You see, my friend Lance is in the hospital
too... he was also attacked by Shawn."

Holly's eyes looked they were about to pop out of their sockets. "Chris involved
another teenager?"

"No, no, no," I said quickly. "Lance was completely my fault!"

Holly gasped in realization. "On the news the other day... Dan, one of the members,
was put in jail for shooting a teenager down town... That was your friend wasn't
it?"

I bit my lip, but nodded my head. I couldn't lie to her. "That's the one."

"Oh my god," Holly gasped. "I can't believe it. Shot? Holly-"

"I know," I interjected before she could finish. "Trust me. Mr. Heywood has
repeatedly told me how dangerous this is. I've got it."

To my surprise, Holly chuckled. "I'm surprised Chris doesn't have a collar around
your neck. I wouldn't let you out of my sight if I were he. You seem like a danger
magnet."
I blushed slightly. "I don't..."

"I take it your friend wants you to go visit him before visiting hours are over?"
Holly asked, smirking at me.

I nodded. "Yep. He wants to set plans for a get together Friday in stone."

"Well, I won't hold you back."

I stood up, straightening out my shirt. Holly smiled at me and I couldn't help but
smile in return. There was something about her that made you want to smile. It was
strange.

"I'll, um, come visit you again," I said, fiddling with my fingers.

"Bring Chris with you too," she insisted. "I want to talk to both of you together."

I scratched the back of my head, forcing out a laugh. To be honest, as much as I

liked Holly, I didn't want to be in the same room as her and Chris at the same
time. I knew they didn't have their old feelings for each other anymore, but it
would still be weird to me. "I'll try."

"See you, Holly."

"Talk to you later," I responded, giving a small wave before exiting into the
hallway.

I practically jogged to Lance's room, gaining strange looks from some of the
hospital workers. When I made it, I burst into the room, out of breath. Lance and
Casey both gave me questioning looks.

"Who were you visiting?" Lance asked. "Casey told me it was your mom's friend."
"This woman named Haley," I told him, using Holly's old fake name.

"Uh-huh," Lance said, but his eyes held a hint of suspicion.

Sometimes Lance was too smart for his own good. I gave him a meaningful look that
hopefully would prevent him from saying anything in front of Casey. The last thing
I needed was to explain the whole Holly thing to both of them. Especially since
Casey had no idea about the gang thing.

"So here's what I want to do," Lance started, sweeping his hair out of his face.
"There's a fall festival going on Friday night, and I thought it'd be fun if a
bunch of us went there to celebrate instead of just going to someone's house."

"There's a fall festival?" I repeated in surprise. "Where?"

"Fair grounds," Casey told me. "They're going to have a bunch of rides set up and
food booths. Later there will be fireworks too."

I grimaced. "I'm not a fan of fireworks..."

Lance rolled his eyes. "C'mon Holly, the last time you watched fireworks was like
five years ago. I'm sure it'll be a different experience now."

"Fine, let's go to the festival," I responded. "And you better hope the fireworks
are a good experience, or you might just end up in the hospital again."

Lance laughed. "Trying to sound tough, eh?"

"What time would we be meeting up?" I asked, ignoring Lance's jibe.

"The fireworks start at ten, so what if we met up around six?" Casey suggested.
"That way we can hang out, do rides, and eat before they start."

"Who is 'we'?"
"You, me, Casey, Sadie, Willis, Sam, and Danielle," Lance told me. "The normal us."

I smiled. "Sounds good... it's been awhile since we've all hung out together."

"It'll be good to have a night with no worries," Lance commented.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm pretty excited now," Casey added, a grin on
her face. "I can't wait until Friday now."

"Neither can I. I want to get out of the damn hospital."

I laughed, rolling my eyes at Lance. "If you get too over-excited, you might hurt
yourself."

"I'll try to be careful," Lance responded mockingly. "I won't randomly follow
someone into the woods or anything..."

I sent glance a death look, which he returned with a smug smirk. Casey missed the
exchange between us completely, which made me feel relieved. She was busy tapping
away at her phone; probably talking to Willis.

"Since when does the hospital have service?" I asked.

"I don't know but I am not complaining," Casey responded, still gazing at her
phone.

"It doesn't matter to me," Lance said, suddenly sounding irritated. "My phone was
stolen..."

Casey glanced up at Lance. "I thought you said you lost it?"

I shot Lance a warning look, and he quickly cleared his throat. "Stolen, lost, it's
the same thing. It would have still been at the scene if it wasn't stolen, right?"
Casey nodded. "True. Whoever has it hasn't responded to any of my text messages
though."

Wait, what? Casey was sending text messages to Lance's phone? My eyes widened and I
looked at Lance, who was giving me a questioning look. What if Shawn randomly
decided to tell Casey who he was? Or what was going on? I chewed my lip, suddenly
anxious. I hadn't got any messages from Shawn lately, so hopefully he would never
message Casey...

Suddenly there was a knock at the door and a young nurse appeared, looking bored.
"Visiting times are over," she told us. "And Lance, you have to go to physical
therapy now."

Lance groaned, slumping back onto his bed. "I hate PT."

I laughed, patting his leg. "Have fun, Lance. I'll see you Friday."

"Bye Lance!" Casey chirped, standing up. "I'll come back tomorrow!"

"Bye guys," Lance said grumpily. "Enjoy your PT free day."

I rolled my eyes at him before gesturing for Casey to follow me out of the room.
Together we made our way to the hospital exit. The air was cool and crisp when we
stepped outside, a refreshing scent after being in the hospital. Hospitals didn't
smell so good.

"Do you have a ride home?" Casey asked, rubbing her hands together. "It's cold..."

"Yeah, my mom's picking me up. Are you going home with me?"

Casey shook her head. "Willis will be here soon. We're going to go to the mall for
a little bit."

I wagged my eyebrows. "How romantic."

Casey jabbed her elbow into my side. "Shut up. Oh, look! Perfect timing. Here he
is."

A small white Honda Civic pulled up next to us and the window rolled down. Willis's
head appeared, grinning at Casey and me. "Hey guys."

"Hi," I responded as Casey made a move for the passenger seat.

"You need a ride somewhere?"

I shook my head. "Nope, my mom's coming. Thanks for the offer."

"Want us to wait with you?"

"I'm good. She'll be here soon."

Willis nodded, glancing over at Casey, who was now in the car. "Then I guess we'll
see you later?"

"Bye Holly!" Casey called, leaning over Willis to see me. "See you in school
tomorrow!"

"Adios."

"See you," I responded, waving as Willis closed his window.

As the car pulled away, I caught glimpse of my mom's car entering the hospital
parking lot. A small smile spread across my face. Perfect timing. She drove all the
way up to the entrance and I quickly hopped in the car, welcoming the warmth from
the heater.

"Hi honey," my mom greeted, leaning to give me a kiss on the cheek. "How's Lance?"
"Same old, same old," I responded with a shrug. "He's doing a lot better. He'll be
out Friday."

"That's good to hear!" my mom responded enthusiastically. "It's too bad he can't be
out tomorrow so he could come with us."

"Come with us?" I repeated.

My mom looked at me in surprise. "Oh, did I forget to tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"I made reservations at your favorite restaurant. Osaka."

My eyes widened. "Really?"

"It is your birthday," my mom responded with another smile. "But it's for four
people. I assumed Casey and Lance would be going."

"Oh," I responded, frowning. "Well Lance is in the hospital, but I can ask
Casey..."

"I was thinking about inviting Chris," my mom commented in an off-hand voice. "As a
thanks for watching you last weekend..."

I stared at my mom in shock for a second ready to object. Invite Mr. Heywood to my
birthday dinner? That had awkwardness written all over it. "But mom-"

"Don't you get along with him?"

"Yeah..."
"And don't you think it's fair to make it up to him because he watched you while I
was away?"

A wry smile made its' way onto my face. If she only knew it was the other way
around. "I guess."

My mom frowned, glancing at me quickly. "We don't have to if you don't want to. I
just feel like I owe him, and I thought it'd be fun..."

"It's not that!" I said quickly- too quickly. My mom gave me a suspicious look.
"It's just, um, I don't know. I think it'd be awkward."

"Well what about that other guy you're friends with? Todd?"

"Todd?" I echoed. "I don't know any Todd..."

My mom shook her head. "No, that's not his name. Charlie? Jared?"

"Jeremy," I told my mom. "I'm pretty sure we've been over this before."

"Oh yeah! Jeremy! Why don't you invite him too? Will that make it less awkward?"

Knowing Jeremy, he'd make it worse. But now I was feeling a little excited. Maybe
with Jeremy there, Mr. Heywood would confess... I shook my head. I couldn't get my
hopes up. "Okay, I'll call Jeremy and ask. You ask Mr. Heywood."

"Okay," my mom said, sounding as excited as I felt.

"Why are you so excited?" I asked curiously.

"It's nice to see you having an older male figure in your life," she told me.
"Especially since your dad isn't around..."
I swallowed, suddenly feeling tense. Was my mom trying to hint at something? Did
she think Mr. Heywood was like a father figure to me? A feeling of dread spread
through me. I'd be in big trouble if that were what she thought...

"I don't really think of Mr. Heywood as my dad," I told her, laughing nervously.

My mom laughed too, shaking her head. "No, that's not what I meant."

"What did you mean then?"

"Nothing, never mind," my mom told me. "Forget I said anything."

I frowned slightly, but let it drop. "Okay..."

"So," my mom started. "How was school?"

I responded to my mom's questions, but my mind was elsewhere. Would Mr. Heywood
feel good enough to go out to eat tomorrow? I prayed silently that he would be able
to. Maybe if I played my cards right and I didn't confess, Jeremy would be right
and Mr. Heywood would confess first. A small bubble of excitement and anxiousness
appeared in my stomach. Tomorrow couldn't come faster.

___________________________________________________

Phew! That was a long chapter. I skipped my math homework to write it. Not that I
was actually going to do it anyway, but still lol. I think this deserves a vote,
no? ;) I've got some ideas for the next chapter that will rock your socks. With
this chapter, I just wanted you guys to understand a little more about the other
Holly.

So if you joined my Facebook page, you know what I'm doing with this story, so my
guess is that this story with have around... ten? More chapters. A little more or
less. If you didn't join my Facebook group, you'll have to wait a little longer ;D
Sorry if you don't have a Facebook so you can't join it, but there's nothing I can
do about it. It's like those rides you can only go on if you're a certain amount of
feet tall, and your too short.
That's all :D I hope you liked it! and I just wanted to say thank you all for
reading this far! And thank you for commenting, I read EVERY comment, and thank you
for voting too! I should say it more often, but I don't lol. Facebook page link in
external link to the right!!
*******************************************
[48] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 47-1
*******************************************
"Happy birthday, Holly!" Casey cried, throwing her arms around me.

"How many times are you going to say that to me today?" I responded with a laugh,
pulling her arms around me. This was the fifth time today.

"Every time I see you!" Casey notified me. "You're officially a legal adult!"

"Well actually, she won't be an adult-adult until she's twenty-one," Sam corrected,
grinning at me. "But it's close enough."

"Hey! I can be thrown in jail for crimes now!" I said enthusiastically. "No more
Juvie!"

"And you can't date anyone older than eighteen without any legal problems," Casey
told me with a wink.

My faces grew hot and I looked away from her. "I guess so..."

"So we're all going to the fair tomorrow?" Sam asked, pulling my lunch towards him.
"Are you going to eat your brownie?"

"Taking the roll of Lance, I see," Sadie commented, rolling her eyes. "It's Holly's
birthday. Let her have her brownie."

Sam frowned at Sadie. "You spoil all my fun."

"I'm your girlfriend, I'm supposed to."

I laughed as Sam grinned. "Sam, you can have my brownie. I don't like them. And I
have cookies from Danielle, anyway." I shook the bag of chocolate chip cookies
Danielle had baked me for my birthday. "I'm set."

"Awesome," Sam responded, taking my brownie of my tray. "You can have the tray."

"Whoa! Highlight of my day!" I responded with mock excitement.

"What are you doing tonight for your birthday?" Sadie asked. "Going somewhere with
your mom?"

"Yeah. My mom is taking me, Jeremy and Mr... Mr. Ross, Jeremy's dad, out to eat," I
corrected myself, blushing. That was too close.

Sadie wagged her eyebrows. "Who's Jeremy?"

"Holly's handsome elder companion," Casey responded for me. "Holly likes older
guys."

"Casey!"

Sadie laughed. "Don't be embarrassed about that!"

"I'm not!" I responded, my face still burning. "I don't have a relationship with
Jeremy, he's just a friend."

"Or is he?"

"Just a friend," I assured Sadie.

She shrugged. "That's too bad. You could use a boyfriend, Holly."

Before I could respond someone tapped on my shoulder, making me jump. I twisted

around in my seat to see an underclassman I didn't recognize holding out a small,
yellow piece of paper.
"Holly Evers?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah...?"

"This is for you, from Mr. Heywood. He wants to see you for a moment."

The younger student thrust the piece of paper closer to my face and I quickly
grabbed it from him before he could stab my eye out. As soon as the paper left his
hand, he turned and made his way away from my table. My eyes went from the boy to
the note and I almost smiled at the sight of Mr. Heywood's sloppy handwriting.

"Mr. Heywood is here today?" Sadie asked excitedly. "Yay! He's been out sick for
like, forever."

"What's it say?" Casey prodded, looking at it over my shoulder at the note.

"Nothing much, he just wants to see me before lunch ends," I told her, scanning
over the note again. "I guess I can leave early..."

Casey smirked at me, coming closer, and lowering her voice. "You two alone, huh?
And it's your birthday..."

"Casey! Shh!"

"What? I'm just saying. You're a legal adult now, Holly."

Casey's words sent a shock through my body. I was a legal adult now. I was
eighteen. Mr. Heywood wanted me to go to his classroom, where we would be together
alone... The perfect chance to confess?

"You're blushing," Casey chirped, a grin spreading across her face. "What are you
thinking?"
"Nothing," I snapped, turning my face down.

"Sure, Holly, sure. What are you thinking?"

"Nothing!"

"You can't lie to me."

I blanked at Casey, who returned my look with an eyebrow raised. "Why does everyone
say that?"

"Say what?"

"That I can't lie to them!"

Casey laughed. "It's because you're so easy to see through, and you're just not a
good liar."

I scowled, crossing my arms. "Gee, thanks."

"No problem!"

"I'm going to go to Mr. Heywood's room now," I said, pushing myself off my seat. "I
might be back, I might not..."

Casey raised her eyebrows suggestively, but I just rolled my eyes. I bid my adieus
to my friends again and made my way out of the cafeteria. The halls were dead and
quiet as I walked down them and I could hear my own footsteps reverberating against
the walls. Anxiety suddenly filled me as I entered the Science wing, and continued
to grow as I headed for Mr. Heywood's room. I stopped in front of it and took a
deep breath before pushing it open.

Mr. Heywood didn't enter my vision. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion as I stared

at his empty desk. I glanced around the room only to find it equally as empty. The
supply room door called me and I made my way towards it, opening the door, and
poking my head in. Still no Mr. Heywood.

"Where...?" I muttered, taking a step further into the supply room.

"Boo."

My heart leapt into my throat as someone grabbed my shoulders and whispered into my
ear. I twirled around, coming face-to-face with Mr. Heywood. He grinned at me, his
shoulders shaking in silent laughter. I scowled at him.

"What do you want?" I asked moodily.

"You jumped so hard," he commented, grinning wider.

I blushed and quickly turned my head away from Mr. Heywood. "Haha, so funny."

"Oh, don't be a killjoy."

"What do you want?" I repeated, my face still hot.

I heard Mr. Heywood sigh. "I need you to tell your mom that I'll meet you guys at
the restaurant because I have something to do first. I won't be late, but it'll
just be easier to meet there."

"Okay," I responded, turning to face Mr. Heywood again. He stared at me intently

for a moment and I raised an eyebrow, suddenly feeling self-conscious. "What?"

"You have a little something..." He raised a hand up to my face and brushed his
finger along my lower lip gently.

Immediately I turned red, slapping his hand away in surprise. He raised an eyebrow
in amusement, a smirk appearing on his lips. Doing my best to ignore his
expression, I quickly ran the back of my hand over my mouth to rid whatever he had
seen on it.
"What are we celebrating tonight?" Mr. Heywood asked in a confused tone.

I stared at him blankly. By now I could tell when he was kidding, so he didn't fool
me this time. Mr. Heywood smirked as I did my best to ignore his teaseing. He
obviously knew...

"Oh, that's right," Mr. Heywood continued, nodding. "This is a thank-you for
watching you last weekend. How nice of your mother to invite me. Osaka is my
favorite restaurant."

"What a coincidence, mine too," I responded, smiling. "Though I wonder why my mom
would invite you since it is my birthday and you're just my teacher..."

Mr. Heywood frowned, obviously not expecting my response. I did my best to keep a
straight face and hide the smirk that wanted to slip onto my face. He teased me all
the time, so wasn't if fair that I could tease him back sometimes?

"It's not that weird," Mr. Heywood told me with a shrug.

"Yes it is."

Mr. Heywood frowned at me. "You don't want me to go?"

"That's not it!" I said quickly. Mr. Heywood smirked in triumph and I realized my
mistake. Another blush appeared on my face and I looked at the ground in defeat.
Mr. Heywood played dirty.

"I have a confession to make," Mr. Heywood started. "It's not a big confession, but
a confession nonetheless."

Immediately I understood what he was trying to do. He was trying to hint that I
should re-confess to him! My eyes widened in shock and I stared at him for a
minute, trying to form a coherent word. Mr. Heywood returned my look with an
innocent one, trying to act like he was oblivious to what he was trying to do.
"What is it?" I finally managed to ask, keeping my voice steady.

"I have to confess that I feel bad about forgetting that today was your birthday."

I narrowed my eyes. Sure he did. "Oh, don't worry about it."

"Do you have anything you want to say to me?"

"Nope."

Mr. Heywood's expression became confused for a split-second until he quickly

rearranged it into his normal smug one. "Is that so?"

I nodded. "Yep."

If Mr. Heywood thought I was going to confess twice, he was dead wrong. I was going
to take Jeremy's idea. It was only fair that he should be the one to confess after
the disaster last time. My face heated up slightly from the memory, but not enough
so that someone could tell I was blushing.

Suddenly the bell rang, signaling that lunch was over. Mr. Heywood raised an
eyebrow at me and I returned his look with a shrug.

"Time for class," I told him, moving around him so I could go back to the
classroom. "We can talk again tonight..."

"Right," I heard Mr. Heywood respond, and if I wasn't mistaken, he sounded a little
annoyed.

This brought a small smirk to my face. Oh, this was going to be an interesting
night...

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Holly, are you almost ready?"

"In a moment!" I called down to my mom, quickly coating my eyelashes with a thin
layer of mascara. When I was finished I tossed my mascara back into my make-up box
and made sure my eyeliner hadn't smudged. Everything looked okay.

My mom had ordered me to wear something dressy to the restaurant, since it was a
fancy place. Eventually I had chosen the crimson dress I had worn to my junior year
prom. It wasn't too elegant, but it wasn't too plain either. It was strapless and
seemed to fit to my curve perfectly. There was a small dip in the neckline, showing
off just enough skin to look attractive and appropriate. The hem of the dress came
to about an inch longer than mid-thigh, and I ran my hands over it, trying to make
it go a little further. Short dresses usually weren't my style, but tonight was a
little different.

Since I was trying to get Mr. Heywood to confess to me. Admittedly I knew it was
going to be a long shot since my mom and Jeremy would be there, but it was still
worth a shot. I would have to find a way to get Mr. Heywood and myself alone...
maybe Jeremy could help me with that.

A stray piece of hair fell into my face and I quickly brushed it back, frowning at
myself in the mirror. My hair didn't look horrible, but the only thing I had done
with it was straighten it, so it looked the same as it did everyday. Luckily my
chestnut hair color matched well with my dress.

"Holly!"

"I'm coming!"

With one last glance in the mirror I finally tore myself away from it, grabbing my
small red purse off my bed. I hurried down the stairs to where my mom was waiting
by the door. She appraised me with her eyes, a smile spreading onto her face.

"You look hot."

"Mom," I muttered, feeling my face heat up in embarrassment. "Don't say that..."

"But it's the truth."

"You look great too," I told her, looking at her modest black dress. It was a lot
like mine, except not as tight.

"Well thank you," she responded. "Now let's go."

On the way to the Osaka I stayed quiet, my nerves getting the best of me. I drummed
my fingers on the window mindlessly, chewing on my bottom lip. Why had I dressed up
so much? I should have gone for a more casual look. Were Jeremy and Mr. Heywood
dressing up? Knowing my mom, she had probably told them to. Maybe they would show
up in tuxedos...

We arrived at the restaurant far too quickly. My mom smiled at me as she shut of
the car. I tried to smile back, but it probably looked more like a grimace. My
heart was pounding so hard I thought my chest was going to burst. I didn't have
anything to be so nervous about! My mom was taking Mr. Heywood to dinner, not me.
This wasn't a date. This was a birthday and thank-you dinner. Sure I was dressed
up; but I didn't have to be so nervous about that!

"C'mon honey," my mom urged, opening her door. "Chris and Jared are probably here
already."

"Jeremy," I told my mom, letting out a rush of air I didn't realize I was holding.
"Try to remember it."

"Jeremy," my mom repeated under her breath. "Jeremy, Jeremy."

Together we made our way towards the entrance of the Osaka. It felt like the
butterflies in my stomach were having a raging college party. I swallowed
nervously, clenching my fists. Why was I so nervous? It was so annoying! I was only
going to dinner with my teacher...

"Mom?"

"Yes?"
"Why did you invite Mr. Heywood?" I asked bluntly, getting the question that had
been on my mind for the past few days finally off it.

My mom looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "I thought I told you. As a thank
you..."

"But don't you think it's a little weird... since he's my teacher?"

My mom smiled at me. "You know, your father and I were seven years apart."

I stared at my mom dumbfounded. "W-what?"

"I was seventeen when I started dating him. He was twenty-four," my mom continued.
"When I was in high school he was my American Literature teacher."

"What?" I reiterated. That was the only thing I could say. My mind racing with this
new information: My dad was my mom teacher at one point?

My mom laughed, turning to face me fully. "Isn't it scary how much mother and
daughter are alike?"

"Wait, wait," I said, shaking my head. "Mom, Mr. Heywood and I aren't-"

"But you like him right?"

I blushed, giving myself away. My mom laughed again, placing a hand on my shoulder.
"Holly, you don't have to lie to me. I'd be a hypocrite if I said you couldn't be
together. Besides, I'd have to be blind to not realize how you feel about each
other."

"Wait. How do you know?"

My mom suddenly looked embarrassed. "Don't get angry, but remember that time I
quote, unquote ran into Chris at the supermarket?"
"Yes..."

"I listened in on your conversation after that for a little bit," my mom admitted,
looking sheepish. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have... but I was curious."

My eyes flew wide open and I stared at her in shock. She had listened to our
conversation? But we had talked about the gangsters! "Mom, did you hear
everything?"

My mom shook her head. "No, I actually was making some phone calls... But I sort of
also sneaked a peek into the room, and that was all I needed to know. Then when I
said I was going home, I also listened in again..."

"So wait... is this dinner... Are you trying to set us up?"

Once again, my mom blushed and nodded. "In a way, yes."

"So that's why you're so calm about the 'he's my teacher' situation," I commented,
still a bit surprised.

"Holly, it shouldn't matter whether or not he's your teacher," my mom told me.
"Trust me, when I was in high school I did and it only put a riff between your
father and myself for a time."

"How come you've never told me dad used to be your teacher?"

My mom laughed, scratching the back of my head. "I didn't want you to be creeped
out..."

"Well, I'd be a hypocrite if I was," I told my mom, smiling slightly. "But I have
another question. Why are you so willing to get Mr. Heywood and I together?"

My mom smiled. "Because I got the feeling that you two were meant for each other,
as cheesy as that sounds. You two reminded me of your father and myself when we
were younger. And I know what situation you're in now, and I just wanted to help
you two out."

"What would you say if I told you that you were wrong and I didn't like him?"

"Well, I'd be pretty embarrassed." We both laughed at that and my mom put an arm
over my shoulder. "Come on, let's go in now."

The warmth of the Osaka was a welcoming feeling compared to the chilly air outside.
Delicious scents of Japanese food and other cooking filled my nose, making my
stomach rumble. We made our way up to the waiting area and my mom went to get our
reservation.

I wondered around the waiting area, looking at the paintings on the wall. Half of
them looked like a small child had drawn them. A small grin made its' way onto my
face as I distracted myself by finding funny images in each canvas. Art was really
entertaining sometimes.

Suddenly something hard hit my side, sending me staggering in the high heels that I
was very unused to wearing. Luckily I managed to stop myself from falling by
grasping the edge of a very convenient bench.

I heard a familiar laugh. "Dude, Chris. Be careful. You almost just knocked this
fine, young lady over."

"I'm so sorry," an even more familiar voice apologized and I felt a strong grasp on
my upper arm, pulling me into an erect position.

I didn't turn around right away, suddenly too embarrassed to face Mr. Heywood.
However, his hand didn't leave my arm and I felt him tugging me around to face him.
My eyes were on the ground at first, but I slowly raised them to his face.

Mr. Heywood was staring at me in complete shock. I wouldn't have been surprised to
see his jaw on the ground. I quickly glanced at Jeremy. He was looking back at me
just as surprised, except his jaw was practically on the floor. I almost laughed at
his reaction.

"Holly," Mr. Heywood finally breathed, letting my arm go.

"Mr... Chris," I corrected myself boldly.

Now Mr. Heywood's jaw did drop, but he quickly closed it again and turned his face
away from me. Which was good, because a blush appeared at my face from my bold use
of his name. While his head was turned I used the opportunity to check him out.

To my pleasant surprise, he was wearing a tuxedo. It was black and he was wearing a
white shirt underneath the jacket and a red tie that was the same shade as my
dress. I smiled at the coincidence. When Mr. Heywood turned back to me I realized
just how handsome he looked in the tux. I almost forgot how to breathe.

"You look... You look..."

"Gorgeous!" Jeremy cried, gathering me up in a bear hug. "Damn Holly, I could have
mistaken you for Miss America."

I blushed as Jeremy crushed me to death. "Don't over exaggerate," I managed to

choke out.

"Ow!" Jeremy cried, suddenly pulling away from me. "What was that for, Chris?"

"Couldn't you tell you were killing her?" Mr. Heywood responded, frowning at him.

Jeremy smirked smugly. "You're just jealous that I thought of the best compliment."

I blushed, looking away from the pair of men. "Just forget it..."

"Let's go find your mom now," Jeremy suggested. "I want to meet my future mother-
in-law."

"Don't get your hopes too high," I heard Mr. Heywood mutter to Jeremy.

I started walking back towards the reservation area and I could hear Jeremy and Mr.
Heywood follow me. My face was still hot from Jeremy's comment and my palms were
sweaty. As much as Jeremy's opinion mattered to me, Mr. Heywood's was more
important.

"So Holly, do you think I look good?"

I glanced at Jeremy. He too was dressed in a tuxedo like Mr. Heywood's. Except
Jeremy had a deep blue tie. I smiled at him, nodding my head. "I'm not going to
lie, Jeremy. You look pretty sexy."

"Thank you," Jeremy responded with a grin. "I bet if we pretended we were a couple,
we'd be the sexiest thing in the world."

I heard Mr. Heywood snort behind us. I glanced at Jeremy, who winked at me. My eyes
widened slightly as I understood what Jeremy was doing. Making Mr. Heywood jealous.
He inconspicuously nodded his head as he noticed I had figured out what he was
attempting to do. I responded with his nod just as secretly.

"What about Chris?"

I glanced back at Mr. Heywood, who was glaring at Jeremy. "He looks nice."

Mr. Heywood's head turned towards me but I quickly faced the front again, not
wanting to see his expression. I was torn between amusement and guilt. Part of me
told me Mr. Heywood should be the one being teased tonight, but I also felt bad for
him. However, Jeremy's plans never failed to work...

My mom was waiting with a waiter by the front of the restaurant. When she noticed
us a bright smile spread across her lips. Jeremy stepped forwards, holing out a
hand.

"You must be Holly's mom," Jeremy greeted her as she placed her hand into his.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Jeremy."

"It's a pleasure to meet you too, Jeremy," my mom responded, sending me an

impressed look. "You can call me Lynn."

"Sure thing!"
"Shall I take you to your table then?" the waiter asked my mom, his eyes glancing
over our group. His eyes lingered on me and I felt self-conscious, quickly
adverting my gaze.

"Sure!" my mom chirped, smiling at him.

We started following the waiter through the restaurant to the back. My mom struck
up a conversation with Jeremy and I played with my fingers to distract myself. Mr.
Heywood was now walking besides me and it took all of my will power to not look at
him. Suddenly my shoe caught on something and I fell forwards. Before I could hit
the ground, I felt an arm around my waist.

"Careful," Mr. Heywood breathed in my ear as he set me up straight. "That's twice

tonight you've almost fallen."

"Thank you," I muttered, red-faced.

"You look beautiful tonight, Holly," Mr. Heywood suddenly commented in a quiet
voice, his mouth still by my ear.

Immediately I blushed, swallowing nervously. Tonight was going to be a lot harder

than expected.

_____________________________________

Okay~ So if you can't guess, this chapter is going to be in two parts. I reached my
ten page on word document on this, so I stopped here. I'm going to try to update
earlier, but we'll see how tomorrow treats me. I'm with my friends right now, so I
really don't feel like writing, haha. But yep! Anyway, two parts! I hope you
enjoyed the first part.

STORY TIME! I went to the Osaka tonight with my friends Anna, Casey, and Avarie and
it was amazing. If you are my friend on Facebook, I'm posting a video later. They
cook on the hibachi right in front of you and they are SO loud and funny and it's
great. They have all these awesome antics to crack open eggs and they play with
fire. And haha, he cut up a zucchini, and began throwing pieces at the people
across from us, and they were all like flinching away. Then he turned to us, and we
figure out we were supposed to catch them in our mouth. Avarie caught hers, Casey
caught hers, but I was filming and I didn't know what to do so when he threw it I
just sat there and it hit me in the face haha. It was really funny. One more thing,
(I could say so much, but I'll spare you) he was asking this milksop that sat
across from us if he wanted Saki, and Casey was like "I WANT SOME!" because she
didn't know it was alcohol and the japanese guy was like "NO! You can't have Saki!
You scare me!" and it was hilarious. There was an actually really attractive guy...
I'm just going to stop. Hope you enjoyed story time xD

If you have questions for me, instead of sending me messages which sometimes get
lost, feel free to formspring me! The link is in the external link to the right.
*******************************************
[49] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 47-2
*******************************************
The waiter led us to what seemed to be the furthest room from the entrance. When we
arrived at a table, I was slightly disappointed. I wanted to eat at the hibachi.
Jeremy sat down and gestured for me to take the chair next to him, but before I
could my mom sat down, leaving me to sit next to Mr. Heywood. My mom smiled
pleasantly at me while Jeremy frowned.

"Can I start you off with something to drink?" our waiter asked.

"Coke," Mr. Heywood and I responded at the same time. I looked at him out of the
corner of my eye and saw him smirking at me. Immediately I looked away, at Jeremy.

"I'll have a Sprite," he told the waiter.

"And a coffee for me," my mom added when the waiter turned to her.

He nodded, scribbling down our drinks. "I'll be back in a few minutes with your
drinks."

"Why aren't we eating at the hibachi?" I asked my mom when the waiter was gone.

"Too much commotion," my mom responded with a shrug. "Next time we'll eat there."

"I want to come next time too," Jeremy added. "I've never eaten at a hibachi
before."

I looked at him in surprise. "Really?"

Jeremy nodded. "This is my first time coming to the Osaka too."

"You'll love it."

"I hope so."

"What about you, Chris? Have you been here before?" my mom asked, turning to face
him. I kept my head straight, focusing on Jeremy so I wouldn't look at Mr. Heywood.

"It's my favorite restaurant," Mr. Heywood told my mom, emphasizing the word
"favorite".

"Holly's too!"

"What a coincidence," Mr. Heywood responded in an amused tone.

Suddenly I felt Mr. Heywood's leg press against mine and I nearly jumped. I broke
my focus on Jeremy and turned to Mr. Heywood, who didn't seem to notice our
contact. He was smiling politely at my mom, oblivious to my questioning gaze and
our touching legs. Surprisingly, I felt a bit disappointed that our contact was
accidental. I didn't move my leg away either.

"Holly," Jeremy started, gaining my attention again. "I can't get over how mature
you look tonight. "You look so... ravishing," he said with a grin.

A blush made its' way onto my face at his words, even though I knew he was just
saying it to tease Mr. Heywood. "Thank you, Jeremy."

"Pretty words for the pretty lady."

"Does someone have a crush?" my mom hinted, nudging Jeremy in the shoulder.
Jeremy gave her a cheeky grin. "Maybe."

I almost laughed at my mom's surprised expression. She glanced at me with wide

eyes, inconspicuously nodding her head towards Jeremy. I shrugged my shoulders at
her, stealing a quick, amused look at Jeremy. He looked like he was about to laugh.
I couldn't help but crack a smile at him, making my mom give me an even more
bewildered look. I probably should have told her about Jeremy's antics...

Mr. Heywood cleared his throat and I suddenly felt his leg be pulled away from
mine. Immediately where our legs had been touching felt cold and I frowned. Without
realizing it, I turned to frown at him for pulling away. He looked annoyed.

"You know what?" Mr. Heywood started, turning to look at my mom. "We don't have
menus. I think they might have forgotten we need some. Jeremy, could you go get
some?"

Jeremy raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn't know where to go. It's my first time here,
remember?" He threw me a meaningful look.

"I'll-"

"I'll come with you," my mom told Jeremy, smiling at him. "I have to use the
bathroom anyway, so if you don't mind waiting..."

A flicker of disappointment passed on Jeremy's face but he quickly regained his

cheerful look and nodded at my mom. "I don't mind at all! Let's go."

"We'll be right back," my mom said to Mr. Heywood and myself, pushing herself off
her chair.

Mr. Heywood raised a hand. "Take your time."

My mom smiled at him before gesturing for Jeremy to follow her out of our room and
into the hall. Jeremy threw me a sheepish look before disappearing completely. I
didn't have time to return it with my panicked one. Now nervous, I began to drum my
fingers on the table to distract myself. Something told me Mr. Heywood was staring
at me, but I did my best to ignore him.
However I couldn't ignore him when I suddenly felt his hand over mine.

"That drumming is irritating," he told me, closing his hand on mine so that I
couldn't tap anymore.

"Sorry," I murmured, trying to pull my hand away from his. He didn't let go.

"Look at me, Holly."

I kept my head straightforward, doing my best to ignore how much I did want to look
at him. After a moment I heard him sigh in irritation and he let go of my hand.

"Fine. Do what you want."

Now I felt guilty. I finally turned to look at him and caught him frowning at me.
His smoldering, grey eyes pierced into mine and for a second I forgot how to
breathe. Were his eyes always this beautiful? Or was it because I had been refusing
to look into them all this time and had forgotten?

"Tell me, Holly," Mr. Heywood started quietly, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Was
the whole reason of inviting me here to make me witness you and Jeremy's flirting
all night?"

I shook my head immediately. "No. It was a thank you-"

"A card would have worked just as well. Or some baked goods," Mr. Heywood snapped.
"Tell me what I did."

I looked at him in surprised. "What?"

"Tell me what I did to make you upset with me, and I'll apologize," Mr. Heywood
insisted, his expression turning imploring.

"You didn't do anything!"

"Then why are you...?" Mr. Heywood trailed off, looking irritated.

"Why am I what?" I responded, raising an eyebrow. "I didn't realize I was doing
anything to annoy you."

Mr. Heywood sighed, running a hand through his untidy hair. "Never mind. You're not
doing anything."

Now I was really confused. "Then why...?" Oh. A small smirk spread onto my lips as
I realized what was making him irritated. So Jeremy's plan was working?

Mr. Heywood caught my expression and he looked at me warily. "What are you
thinking?"

"Oh, nothing. Just... 'If you're jealous, just say it'," I quoted him, my smirk
growing a little wider.

Mr. Heywood didn't look the least bit fazed by my comment. In fact, he looked
amused. My smirk slowly faded and was replaced by a frown. I had expected at least
some sort of reaction from him. Some denial, or something. Mr. Heywood then smirked
at my reaction.

"Why do you look so disappointed?" he asked.

"I'm not," I lied.

"You can't lie to me."

"I'm not," I stated stubbornly.

Mr. Heywood laughed. "I can honestly say I'm not jealous of Jeremy right now."
"Then why do you look so annoyed?"

"Because, as I just said he's complementing you to make me jealous," Mr. Heywood
repeated, furrowing his eyebrows. "I'm annoyed because I think you truly deserve
every compliment he's giving you."

My eyes widened slightly as my face immediately grew hot. I turned away from Mr.
Heywood, unable to look him properly in the eye. I didn't know how to react when
Mr. Heywood complimented me so directly like that. It was so out of character and
it always caught me off-guard.

"Do you remember what I said the other night?"

At once my attention snapped back to Mr. Heywood. He was staring at me with a

serious expression. I opened my mouth to answer honestly, but Jeremy's face popped
into my head and I closed it. Mr. Heywood was going to try and get me to re-
confess, I could tell. And I knew I probably would if I couldn't get it out of him
first soon. I eventually shook my head. "No, what night?"

"The other night," Mr. Heywood responded. "When you accidentally told me something
you shouldn't have?"

The night when I'd accidentally confessed to him. My blush gave me away and I knew
I couldn't deny it now. "Oh, yeah..."

"And do you remember what I said?"

To re-confess when I was older. "Yes..."

"And do you know what day it is?" Mr. Heywood continued, a smirk growing on his
face.

"Yeah," I murmured, my eyes now downcast so I wouldn't see his face.

"Well, I've got something to say," he told me in a rather alluring tone, and I
wondered briefly if he had meant to say it like that.
"I-is that so," I stuttered, trying to keep my voice steady. He had something to
say? Was he serious? Was Jeremy's plan working? I had to remember to give him the
biggest thank-you hug known to man...

"Yeah, want to hear it?"

My mouth was dry now, and took me a few seconds to be able to respond. "Yes."

Mr. Heywood chuckled slightly and I realized how close he was to me. My breath
caught when I felt his breath against my ear for the second time this evening. For
a full minute I sat completely still, feeling Mr. Heywood's breath against my ear
as he breathed. It took all of my will not to turn my head and kiss him. Finally,
Mr. Heywood spoke.

"Happy birthday."

Now I turned to face him. Our noses touched due to our proximity, and I quickly
jerked back from the contact. Mr. Heywood chuckle once again and leaned back in his
seat as I blushed anew. Happy birthday? That's what he had to say? Happy birthday?
Not "I love you"?

Mr. Heywood watched me with amused eyes as I debated what I should do next. My
first instinct was to punch him. I really, really wanted to punch him. After I
punched him, I wanted to tell him how much I loved him. But that was out of the
question. There was no way I was going to confess to him first! Not after that. I
knew he was teasing me to get a reaction out of me, and I wasn't going let him have
the satisfaction of giving it to him.

"Thank you," I finally responded, pulling my expression into an innocent smile.

"It's nice to be finally considered an adult."

"Your welcome," Mr. Heywood responded, now looking a little miffed. "You know,
Holly, I think you're hanging out with Jeremy too much."

Before I could ask him what he meant by that I heard my mom's voice. Immediately I
turned away from Mr. Heywood and grabbed my glass of water, taking a sip. As my mom
and Jeremy entered the room, I felt Mr. Heywood's leg against mine again. When I
glanced at him from the corner of my eye, he smirked.
"Sorry it took so long," my mom apologized, taking her seat again. "It suddenly got
really crowded in here."

"But I brought back menus," Jeremy told us and gave us each one of said items.
"Anything interesting happen while we were gone?"

"Nope," Mr. Heywood and I responded casually simultaneously.

Jeremy raised an eyebrow, but said no more. I opened my menu and scanned the food
choices quickly, already knowing what I was going to get. As they say, like mother,
like daughter. My mom loved steak, and so did I.

The waiter eventually came back to us with our drinks with an apology for the wait.
As he placed down one of the cups of coke, Mr. Heywood and I both reached for it
and he ended up closing his hand on mine rather than the cup. I quickly retracted
my hand, looking down so no one would notice the rogue blush now on my face. When
our drinks were settled our waiter took our order. Jeremy was the odd ball out,
ordering chicken while the rest of our ordered steak. I couldn't help but wonder if
Mr. Heywood was ordering his meal exactly like mine on purpose. Not many people
replaced their vegetables with a second helping of mashed potatoes.

My mom grinned as the waiter walked away. "Wow Chris, you are just like Holly."

"Is that so?"

My mom nodded. "Not many people order double mashed potatoes."

"I do love potatoes," Mr. Heywood responded and I quickly shot a glance at him and
saw him grinning.

"So does Holly!"

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, she literally likes every kind of potato."

I grimaced. "Mom..." Were they really going to talk about potatoes?

"I like every kind of potato too," Mr. Heywood told my mom. "Canned, mashed, baked,
sweet... you name it."

"Holly too! You two are meant for each other."

"Mom!" I cried, sending her a warning glare.

"What? It's true though," she protested with a frown.

Mr. Heywood chuckled beside me and I resisted the urge to look at him. Jeremy was
laughing to himself across the table. I narrowed my eyes pointedly at him and he
sobered up, giving me a half-smile.

"Lynn, you get along well with Chris. How long have you two known each other?"

My mom turned to Jeremy, her face blank in thought for a moment. "About two years,
I think."

I stared at my mom in surprise. "What?" I turned to Mr. Heywood, who didn't look
shocked at all. "How did you two know each other?"

Mr. Heywood raised an eyebrow. "Holly, our parents were in the same car crash..."

"So?"

"So you think we wouldn't have met?"

"I attended his parents funeral," my mom told me. "He also stopped by your dad's.
You might have seen each other before without knowing it."
This information gave me a shock. Mr. Heywood and I might have met before? But it
wasn't significant enough to have a memory about. It was kind of entertaining to
think that Mr. Heywood and I could have seen each other back then and have had no
idea we'd be where we were today.

"I didn't know your parents were in the same crash as Holly's," Jeremy said in
surprise. "What a coincidence."

"I know, right?" I responded, shifting in my seat. My leg lost contact with Mr.
Heywood's and after a split second of hesitation I boldly pressed it back against
his. Even though it was only a small contact, it made me giddy.

"You two meeting was like fate, huh?"

I frowned at Jeremy. He and Casey would get along great.

Mr. Heywood laughed quietly from beside me. "Perhaps."

My mom smiled at me. One of those smiles that give you the creeps. One of those
smiles that make you think that the person smiling has ulterior motives for doing
something, and they are working. Creeped out, I turned my attention to a group of
people now entering our room. My eyes widened when I realized one of the members of
the group was James from my biology class. I quickly turned to Mr. Heywood, my eyes
wide in horror.

"What's..." he began to ask but trailed off as he looked behind me. Immediately he
turned his head towards the wall. "Shit," he muttered.

"What's wrong?" my mom asked, turning to look at the group of people.

"James. A kid from my class," I told my mom quietly, putting my hair over the side
of my face just in case he decided to look over here.

My mom looked surprised. "Are you serious?"

"Completely."

"This is not good," my mom responded. "We should probably go, just in case..."

"Mom, I don't want to waste your reservations," I told her quickly. "If I just
leave, it will be okay."

"It's your birthday though!"

"I'll go," Mr. Heywood interjected. "I'll go wait in the car or something while you
three eat."

"No!"

Mr. Heywood raised an eyebrow at me. "What other choice do we have? We can't let
him see us together, Holly."

"I know," I responded in dismay. "But being out there alone..."

"Holly, why don't you and Chris go out there for now, and Jeremy and I will tell
the waiter to make our orders to go," my mom suggested. "We can all eat at our
house instead."

"Uh..."

"I think that sounds like a good idea," Jeremy interjected before I could agree or
disagree. "It'd be bad if James saw you two."

"Holly, you go first," Mr. Heywood ordered, still looking at the wall. "Try to get
by without being seen."

"But-"
"Go," Mr. Heywood ordered.

A small scowl appeared on my face. Mr. Heywood and I alone again tonight? The
thought made my heart pound. I didn't want to re-confess, but if Mr. Heywood did
anything that threw me off again, I didn't know what I would say. It seemed like a
dangerous thing for him and I to be alone. I sighed, pushing myself out of my
chair.

"I'm going."

"We'll be out when the food's ready," my mom assured me, but something about her
look made me think she was implying something else.

Turning towards the door, I focused my attention on the floor and kept my head down
so I wouldn't be recognized. Of course though, nothing could work out for me.
Before I reached the door, someone bumped into me and I snapped my head up
instantly as I tottered on my foot, trying not to fall. James was looking down at
me in surprise, his arm wrapping around my waist to steady me.

"Holly?" he asked in surprise.

Shoot. "Hi James."

His eyes left my face and traveled down my body quickly. I slowly removed his arm
from around my waist as he checked me out.

"You look really good," he complimented. "Red is your color. Whom did you come with
tonight?"

"Thank you, and my mom and a few friends..."

James eyes shot over towards the table where Jeremy, my mom, and Mr. Heywood sat. I
held my breath as his eyes narrowed slightly, then relaxed when they returned to
me. He hadn't noticed Mr. Heywood.

"Sounds fun."
"Yeah, but I'm leaving now," I told him. "So I'll see you tomorrow..."

"Okay, bye Holly."

I exited the room before he thought of something else to say. Hopefully Mr. Heywood
would be able to leave the room without being undetected. As I made my out of the
restaurant I caught a few people staring at me and I blushed. I was never going to
wear this dress in public again.

Cold air bit at my exposed skin as I stepped outside. I shuddered, walking towards
the car and leaning against the hood while waiting for Mr. Heywood. It was dark,
and standing outside by myself made me feel nervous. Not that I could blame myself.
Anyone who had gangsters after them, who wanted to kidnap them, wouldn't feel safe
alone at night. Anywhere.

When Mr. Heywood stepped out of the restaurant all my worries disappeared. A
relieved smile spread across my face as he started walking towards me. He gave me a
sheepish grin as he grew closer. I raised an eyebrow.

"I forgot the car keys," he admitted before I had the chance to ask him any
questions.

"Oh." Well that sucked. It was like, forty degrees out here.

"Come here," Mr. Heywood ordered, gesturing for me to follow him with his hand.
"We'll see if my car is unlocked."

I followed him without hesitation as he started towards the dark parking lot behind
the restaurant. As we went further away from the lights of the restaurant I moved
closer to Mr. Heywood until I was practically hiding behind him. The parking lot
had no lights, so the only light came from the moon. I began to grow apprehensive,
my eyes flickering all around me.

Mr. Heywood suddenly stopped and I bumped into him, jumping from the sudden
contact. A startled gasp escaped my lips and I took a step back away from him.
"Sorry, you scared me."
Mr. Heywood gave me a confused look. "How? I was in front of you the whole time."

"Um, I'm just being paranoid," I admitted quietly.

Mr. Heywood didn't respond, but I felt him envelop my hand with his. I blushed, but
didn't attempt to pull away. Without any words he continued to lead me through the
parking lot towards his car. When we arrived he stopped, turning to look at me. His
expression was a guilty one.

"Holly, I'm sorry," he apologized.

I blinked at him. "For what?"

"The whole gang situation," he told me, a hard edge to his tone. "I hate the fact
that you have to be scared of walking through a parking lot at night."

"You've apologized for that enough, you don't have to again," I told him. "Besides,
like I've said before, it's just as much my fault as it is yours."

Mr. Heywood sighed. "You know Holly, you should stop being so nice to me."

"Why?"

"Because I'm hardly that nice to you," Mr. Heywood told me, a smirk now on his
face.

"You're nice enough," I murmured, looking away from him. "If you were any nicer,
I'd be worried."

He laughed. "Still, don't you want to be angry with me?"

"For what?"
"You know, for telling you to re-confess."

My eyes widened slightly in shock and I quickly turned back to him. His eyes were
filled with amusement as he watched me. How could be bring that up so easily? He
was definitely trying to elicit some kind of reaction from me.

"I've been thinking that saying that to you was pretty unfair of me," Mr. Heywood
continued, lightly tugging on my arm to bring me closer to him. "It must have been
embarrassing enough to admit your feelings by accident."

I blushed now, mostly due to his words, but also due to our closeness. "I..."

"However I did say that, and you've waited. And now today's your birthday," Mr.
Heywood started again, now speaking in a low and alluring voice. "Is there
something you want to say?"

"No," I responded, my voice equally as quiet as his.

"Not at all?"

"No," I repeated stubbornly.

Mr. Heywood hummed quietly, yanking me to him again, this time making our bodies
collide. I gasped in surprise as he twirled me around and pressed me against the
side of his car. Both his hands were pinning my hands to the edge of his car and he
brought his head down so we were face-to-face.

"Are you absolutely sure you don't want to say anything?"

I shook my head determinedly. Now was the time to stay bold. If I could keep myself
from re-confessing right now, Mr. Heywood would. He was obviously expecting me to
confess again- he wanted me to re-confess. That was why he was teasing me. I
swallowed nervously as his eyes pierced into mine. Soon we were in some sort of
staring contest.

Part of me toyed with the idea that the only reason Mr. Heywood wouldn't confess
was because of his ego. Which was probably true, but I would never say that to him.
Another reason was because Mr. Heywood wanted to see me embarrass myself by
confessing to him again. That one was the more likely reason.

After what felt like a million years Mr. Heywood pulled away from me, letting my
hands go. "Gee Holly, if you're this stubborn you'll never get a boyfriend," Mr.
Heywood commented in amusement.

That set me off. I narrowed my eyes at Mr. Heywood, a scowl slipping onto my face.
"Stubborn? I'm the one who's stubborn? I'm not the one that told the girl that
confessed her love to him to re-confess again later just because she wasn't a legal
adult! I mean really, who does that? Don't you think I was embarrassed enough that
night? What makes you think that I want to re-confess? Maybe I got over you during
this last week!"

"Holly."

"Maybe if you'd actually man up and deflate some of your ego you'd realize it's
unfair to make me re-confess again. And all tonight you've been trying to push me
to do it. Even in school! You have to confess that you have a confession to make.
You really lay it on thick don't you?"

"Holly, I-"

"You know it was Jeremy's idea to make me try to make you confess first. That's why
I've been trying to make you jealous all night. But no, you have to be all cool and
composed and handsome as always!"

"Handsome?" Mr. Heywood repeated, raising an eyebrow.

I stared at him in annoyance, throwing my hands up in the air. "Mr. Heywood! Ugh!
Just... Never mind!"

Mr. Heywood chuckled and I pushed away from his car, intending to go back into the
restaurant. For some reason my eyes were beginning to burn and soon I felt them
become moist. Mr. Heywood was stupid. Jeremy was stupid too for coming up with that
stupid plan which made me do stupid things and-

My thoughts were abruptly cut off when I felt a hand encase my upper arm and pull
me backwards. I let out a cry of surprise as I was pulled back to Mr. Heywood. Too
embarrassed to look at him, I kept my attention focused on his black dress shoe.
The moon made it shine.

"Holly, look at me."

I ignored him, keeping my eyes locked on his shoe. Suddenly his hand was at my
chin, forcing me to look up at him. His grey eyes pierced into mine again, this
time the usual amusement glint was replaced with something else. Something I didn't
recognize.

"You know the phrase actions speak louder than words?" Mr. Heywood asked me.

I nodded my head.

Mr. Heywood brought his head down closer to mine, stopping a few inches away. "Want
to hear something?"

"Yes," I whispered, my heart pounding so hard I thought it would burst out of my

chest.

Mr. Heywood moved closer again, his lips not even a centimeter away from mine now.
"Good, because I'm about to tell you how much I love you." With each word his lips
just gently brushed against mine, and his breath caressed them.

My head spun already, just by hearing those words. I closed my eyes now, waiting
expectantly. As soon as I felt the gentle touch of Mr. Heywood's lips against mine
I jumped.

Not because of the feeling, but because of someone shouting my name, then Mr.
Heywood's. Mr. Heywood pulled away and let out a frustrated groan. My face grew so
hot I thought it was going to catch on fire as I stepped away from Mr. Heywood. I
looked to see where the shouting was coming from and saw the silhouettes of my mom
and Jeremy by the front of the parking lot.

For people who wanted to help Mr. Heywood and I get together, they sure couldn't
have picked a worse timing to look for us. We hadn't even got to kiss! Well,
technically we did, I thought, but that was the way I kissed my mom, not how I
wanted to kiss Mr. Heywood!
"I'm going to kill him," Mr. Heywood muttered threateningly.

"We're... we're over here!" I called back, surprised at how shaky my voice sounded.

Mr. Heywood let out a deep sigh as Jeremy and my mom began to move towards us.
"I'll have to prove it to you later."

"Prove...?"

"How much I love you," Mr. Heywood told me, his eyes smoldering into mine. "That
wasn't even a fraction of my feelings. I'm going to make you drunk off my love."

I blushed from his unequivocal tone and words. I swallowed nervously, encouraging
myself to speak. "Promise?" I finally managed to force out.

Mr. Heywood looked surprised for a moment, but then a smirk spread across his
features. "Promise."

____________________________________

Phew! You guys have no idea how long it took me to write that chapter. No. Idea.
I'm going to tell you it took more than five hours, but less than ten. I kept re-
writing and getting rid of scenes. I still don't like how it turned out- but when
do I really ever?

And hey. You guys can't expect a confession and a kiss. One at a time ;)

PAY ATTENTION TO THIS: Now that Mr. Heywood has sort of confessed, I need to plan
out what I need to happen next, so I won't be updating on the 30th. 31st is
Halloween, so not then. Maybe November 1st. I don't know. It depends how my
planning goes. No complaining, kay?

That's it. I think this chapter deserves a vote ;) Even if you've never voted a
chapter before, you should vote this one :3 Facebook link in external link!
*******************************************
[50] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 48
*******************************************
"Maybe you ate some bad steak." My mom gave me a worried look as she stood over my
bed. She pressed her hand to my forehead and frowned. "You don't have a fever..."

I shook my head. "No, I don't think I do. I just have a stomachache... and cramps,"
I made up quickly.

Immediately my mom smiled with realization. "Ah. I understand completely. I'll call
the school and let them know you'll be absent today then."

"Thank you."

"No problem, honey," my mom responded with a smile. "Rest up though. I'm sure Lance
and Casey will be very disappointed if you can't go to the festival tonight."

"Oh crap! I forgot about that," I responded with a frown. "Yeah, I'll rest up
then..."

My mom chuckled. "Okay. Make sure you eat something too. I've got to go to work
now, so have a good day."

"You too, be careful," I said as she headed out of my room. "See you later."

"Bye."

As soon as she closed my bedroom door I fell back on my bed and pulled the covers
over my head, feeling my face heat up. I was such a chicken! Eventually I'd have to
go to school and face Mr. Heywood in class. But after last night, how could I act
the same in class? To act as if he was only my teacher and nothing more? Could I do
it? Surely it wouldn't be any different than before... except now I knew he thought
of me as more than a student.

Erg. Why did Mr. Heywood have to be my teacher?

And why did I wait to have these feelings until now? When we were already in love
with each other? I could have gotten used to them if I had them from the beginning!
What if he looked at me in class? Obviously I was going to blush since I had a
horrid habit of doing so.

A small groan erupted from me as I pressed my comforter harder into my face. Mr.
Heywood and I didn't even have a chance to talk about what happened last night
because my mom and Jeremy never left us alone again. I hadn't even looked at him
after that- I was too embarrassed. I shook my head violently, trying to dismiss my
thoughts. I needed more sleep, I could think about this later.

My phone ringing woke me up. It was a muffled sound I could barely hear. I glanced
at my side table, wondering why my ring tone was so quiet. Then I remembered my
phone was in the living room where I accidentally left it last night after eating.
Pushing myself out of the warmth of my bed, I stomped down the hall way and down
the stairs to where my phone was.

"Hello?" I mumbled sleepily, not bothering to check the caller I.D.

"Holly! It's my first day back in school and you're not here?" Lance demanded at
once.

I pulled the phone away from my ear in surprise. "Ow, you don't need to yell."
"I'm not!"

"Sure."

Lance sighed. "Why aren't you in school?

"Umm," I hesitated, feeling my face heat up again. "You know... Girl problems."

"Say no more," Lance responded quickly.

I laughed. "Okay."

"Are you still going to the festival?"

"Yup."

"Okay, just making sure. Are you getting a ride, or should I pick you up?"

I shrugged, but then remembered he couldn't see me. "I don't know. I'll probably
walk. The fair grounds aren't that far away and-"

"I'll pick you up," Lance interjected before I could finish. "It's too dangerous
for you to be walking alone at night."

I frowned slightly. Now he was starting to sound like Mr. Heywood. And he didn't
even know about the whole kidnap situation. "I can handle myself, Lance."

"If they shoot you?"

"Lance! Don't say things like that so easily! Who are you with?"

I could imagine Lance rolling his eyes. "I'm by myself, outside. No one will
overhear us."

"Still," I growled. "What time are you picking me up?"

"Seven," Lance told me. "Be ready."

I nodded; once again forgetting Lance couldn't seem me. "I will."

Suddenly I heard another voice that wasn't Lance's on the other side of my phone. I
thought he said he was alone! Lance spoke to the person and after a minute of Lance
and the person arguing quietly I heard a weird noise. Then a new person spoke.

"Holly?"

My breath caught in my throat and my eyes widened. "Mr. Heywood?"

"Yeah, it's me. Why aren't you in school today?"

Suddenly my palms felt widely and I looked around widely, not knowing what to say.
I didn't want to lie to Mr. Heywood, but there was no way I could tell the truth!

"I just don't feel well, but I've got to go now, bye!" I said in a rush before
pulling the phone away and snapping my phone shut.

My heart was pounding as I stood stock-still, feeling embarrassed again. Why did I
hang up so quickly? I hadn't even said goodbye to Lance, who was the one who called
me in the first place... Wait. How could Lance have called? He didn't have his
phone.

Flipping open my phone again, I meant to check my recent calls but my eyes widened
surprise when they landed on my phone's background. Instead of Mr. Heywood making a
funny face like it was before, it was something else. Mr. Heywood was still there,
but now he was in a suit, and he was raising an eyebrow and holding up his phone. I
could just barely make out the picture of myself making a funny face on his phone.
My face heated up as I quickly hit the menu button. When had Mr. Heywood got a
chance to change my background?

My recent calls showed that Lance had used Mr. Heywood's phone to call me. I
frowned, feeling bad for hanging up now. Clicking on his name, I started a text
message and quickly wrote an apology for hanging up. I hit send and quickly stuffed
my phone in my pocket.

Not even a minute later my phone buzzed in my pocket. After a brief moment of
hesitation I pulled it open and read the text message from Mr. Heywood.

We need to talk.

I read his message over in my head a few times. For a moment I panicked, thinking
something was wrong. But there couldn't be. I didn't do anything, nor did he.
Anyway, he was right. We did need to talk... I hit the reply button and wrote out
an agreement before tossing the phone onto the couch.

I could really use a long, warm shower.

Time passed as I curled up on my couch with a book when I was done showering. When
my stomach started to rumble, I decided it was time to get something to eat. Going
back downstairs, I passed the living room, glancing quickly at the couch where my
phone still lay. I'd check it after I ate.

After a steaming bowl of chicken noodle soup I trudged to the couch and picked up
my phone. One new text message. I opened it; already knowing it was from Mr.
Heywood.

Are you going to the festival tonight? Maybe I'll see you.

My brows furrowed in confusion. Did I tell Mr. Heywood I was going to the festival?
I couldn't remember. When I clicked reply, I noticed that it was not Mr. Heywood's
number who sent the text message. It was Lance's.

Instantly my heart beat increased and I gripped the phone harder. What did Shawn
mean by that? Was he going to the festival too? Was he going to try something?
Suddenly I felt sick. I collapsed onto the couch, staring dumbly at my phone.
Should I tell someone? Or was Shawn just trying to mess with me?

After a few moments of indecision I finally snapped my phone shut. Shawn was just
trying to play games. Why would he try something right after one of his followers
was thrown in jail? It was too risky. If I didn't reply to his messages, he'd
eventually figure out I wasn't going to play along. Smiling, I turned on the
television. I had nothing to worry about... And yet, the worry was still there. It
was a knot in my stomach, an increase of my pulse, a whispering voice in my head...

Seven o'clock really needed to come faster. I needed to have fun and take my mind
of things.

Five knocks on my front door made me jump violently; dropping the book I had
started up again to waste time after I finished getting myself ready for the
festival. I quickly grabbed my bag and headed to the door, opening it to reveal
Lance grinning at me. He quickly pulled me into a hug and I laughed.

"Excited much?"

"Hey, you try sitting in a hospital for nearly three weeks. It's awful," Lance
retorted, nudging me in the side with his elbow. "Let's go. Casey's already in the
car."

Lance started down my driveway as I quickly locked and shut my front door. Casey
grinned at me as I approached the car, waving from the back seat. I walked around
to the other side of the car and climbed in the back with her as Lance slid into
the driver's seat.

"You're not sitting up front?" Lance asked, looking at me through the rear-view.
"Great. Now I feel like a chauffeur."

"Technically you are," Casey pointed out.

Lance rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Put your seat belts on."

I did as Lance commanded and snapped my buckle. He pulled out of my drive way and
onto the main road, heading towards the fair grounds. Casey continued to grin at me
as the three of us sat in silence in the car.

"What?" I finally asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Nothing," she responded, still grinning. "Nothing, nothing!"

I pursed my lips at her. "Obviously it's something, otherwise you wouldn't be

grinning like an idiot."

Casey laughed. "I'm just thinking. That's all."

"Oh, that's new," Lance joked from the front. "I'm proud of you, Case."

"Shut up, Lance," Casey said, rolling her eyes. "I'll have you know I'm smart."

"Really?"

"Smarter than a person who gets himself shot by gang members," Casey snapped, a
smug smirk appearing on her face. "You can't deny that."

Lance and I quickly exchanged apprehensive looks. Unfortunately, Casey caught it.
Her smirk fell, and was replaced by a frown.

"There was a reason why Lance was attacked, wasn't there?"

My eyes shot open, and so did Lance's. Another look was passed between us, once
again caught by Casey, who narrowed her eyes. "Tell me," she demanded.

"Dime," I joked.

She didn't think it was funny.

"It's nothing," Lance assured her, his eyes flicking to her for a split-second
before returning to the road. "It was purely- Holy shit!"

Suddenly I was flung against the door and my head made contact with the hard, glass
window. A small groan of pain escaped my lips as I pushed myself away from it.
There was the blaring of a horn, the squeal of tires, and constant swearing from
Lance. It felt like we were spinning, but I didn't have the courage to look out the
window to find out for sure.

"Lance!" Casey screamed, pushing forward in her seat. "Go forwards! Go forwards!
Car!"

I turned to look at Casey and my eyes flew wide when I realized there was a large,
black truck heading straight for us. Lance slammed on the gas pedal and I was
jolted back in my seat, gasping in surprise. The truck missed us by inches. Casey
and I let out relieved sighs, but those were caught off when we were suddenly
jerked forward and our seatbelts dug into our chest. I heard the engine cut off.

"What... the hell happened?" I demanded, falling back against my seat. "Lance?"

Lance turned around in seat, looking worried. "Are you guys okay?"

"I'm okay," Casey said shakily.

"What happened?" I repeated.

Lance shook his head. "Some asshole switched lanes at the very last second, cutting
me off... Hey! They're coming up behind us now. When did they get there?"

Lance was looking behind me and I turned around to see a small, black car creeping
up behind us. It was going slow, and looked like it was going to stop.

"Maybe they're going to apologize?" Casey guessed.

"Doubt it."

The car grew closer and I squinted my eyes to try and make out the driver, but it
was to no avail. I turned back to Lance, who was frowning slightly, his eyes
narrowed at the car. When I turned back, I realized the car was now next to us, and
stopped. The window stated to roll down and horror filled my veins when I realized
who was in the car that nearly made us crash.

"Lance," I whispered, unable to draw my eyes away from Shawn, who was smirking and
gesturing for us to roll down the window.

Casey leaned across me, attempting to reach for the window control button. "He
wants us to open-"

"No!" I cried, quickly slapping her hand away. "Lance, drive!"

"On it!" he responded, turning back around in his seat.

A smirk slipped onto Shawn's face as his attention went from me, to Casey. Casey
smiled at him. It took all my will not to shove Casey away and flip off Shawn.
Right now wasn't the time to make Casey suspicious. But I had the feeling she was
anyway.

There was a roar from the car's engine, and soon we were speeding away from Shawn's
car. I turned around quickly to see if he was following us. Luckily, he wasn't. I
breathed out a sigh of relief, slumping back into my seat.

"What's he doing here?" Lance hissed, glancing at me through the mirror.

"Who's he?" Casey asked.

"No one," I told her. "And I don't know!"

Casey rolled her eyes. "He's obviously someone."

"Forget about him."

"Holly."

"Casey, please."

"Why are you keeping a secret from me?" She asked, pursing her lips at me and
frowned.

I knew at once she was trying to play the guilt game. However, I couldn't blame
her. If she and Lance were keeping a secret from me, I'd want to know too. But this
was the kind of secret that could end up saving her life if something were to
happen. Still, I did feel guilty about having to lie to her. She was my best
friend...

"Okay," Lance sighed from the front. "Since Holly won't tell you, I will."

"Lance!"

"Holly, it's fine. Casey should know."

"But..." I protested, trailing off with a frown.

Casey turned to Lance, looking curious. "Did you know that guy?"

Lance nodded. "Awhile ago, he was following Holly around."

What? I gave Lance a confused look, but he ignored me. Casey blinked at Lance in
confusion.

"Like a stalker?" she asked.

"Not like a stalker, a stalker," he told her. "And that's it. That's how we know
him."

"Creepy," Casey muttered, glancing at me. "How come you didn't tell me about your
stalker? I could have helped."

"It was, um, not a big deal," I told her, shrugging. "Next time I can tell you."

Casey laughed. "Hopefully there won't be a next time."

"Hopefully," I agreed, looking at Lance once again.

Why was he lying so flat out to Casey? Sure, it was better than telling the truth,
but that lie was a bit much. I felt worse about lying to her now than before. But
we couldn't tell her about the gangs! I was positive it'd put her in danger.
Letting out a sigh, I shook my head. For now, I'd just stop thinking about it.
Casey bought the lie, so she'd be satisfied.

"Well, if he bothers you again, you can tell Mr. Heywood," Casey suggested, nudging
me in the ribs. "Eh?"
I rolled my eyes at her. "Again with Mr. Heywood?"

Casey snorted. "Please, Holly. I already know you're heels over head for him, and
he's definitely got something for you. Don't try to tell me that something won't be
going on."

"Don't be nosy," I scolded, feeling my face redden. "Nothing..." I trailed off,

frowning slightly.

What was going on? Sure, I professed my love for him a week ago, and last night he
made it obvious he loved me. But that was it. Nothing else had happened. I wasn't
his girlfriend or anything like that.

"She's not being nosy, Holly," Lance commented, rolling his eyes. "She's being
concerned."

I glanced at Casey. To my surprise, she looked hurt by my comment.

"Casey, I'm not trying to be mean..."

"I know," she responded with a sigh. "You don't have to tell me anything. I just
thought you'd want a girl to talk to about, you know, things you wouldn't want to
Lance about. Things that were bothering you, or things you wanted to get off your
chest. Mr. Heywood is a teacher after all, so I'm sure there's some kind of trouble
you're feeling. But like I said, you don't have to."

I smiled slightly. Leave it to Casey to care about something she shouldn't have to.
"Casey, you're my best friend-"

"And as your best friend, I can wait until you're ready to tell me about you and
Mr. Heywood," she finished for me. "I'll stop prying."

"Casey, it's fine-"

She held her hand up, silencing me. "Nope. Don't say anything. I am being kind of
nosy."

"But that's why we love you," Lance interjected. "Your nosiness comes in handy
sometimes."

Casey grinned at him. "I hope so."

Lance suddenly took a sharp right, once again sending me into the window. "Hey," I
protested, pushing myself away. "That hurts..."

"Sorry," he apologized, sounding amused. "I almost missed the entrance to the fair
grounds."

I peered out the window and realized that we were indeed at the fair grounds. The
only thing I could see though was the back of a fun house, and the lights of
various rides in the distance. A smile crept onto my face as I located the Ferris
wheel. The very same one Mr. Heywood and I had our first major conversation, even
though now I knew he was lying the whole time...

"I can't wait to get some cotton candy," Casey chirped excitedly, unbuckling her
seatbelt in anticipation.

"I want a baked potato," Lance and I commented at the same time. We exchanged looks
and grins in the mirror quickly.
When Lance finally found a place to park, we all piled out of the car and he locked
it, shoving the keys into his pocket. Cool air nipped at my face as I stretched,
pausing to run my sore forehead. Lance and Casey went ahead of me, laughing and
talking in excited voices. Pulling my jacket tighter around me, I took a few steps
towards them but stopped when my phone started vibrating in my pocket. I quickly
pulled it out and flipped it open, clicking the new message.

Oh, you finally made it. I didn't realize how much further ahead of you I got.
Can't wait to talk to you in person!

I froze, my eyes staring at the message on the cell phone screen. The name next to
the message read "Lance". Which meant Shawn. Which meant he could see me. Which
meant he was close. Which meant I was in danger.

My head snapped up and I quickly spun in a circle, my eyes wide and wary. Where was
he? Nothing appeared out of the ordinary. But then again, it was dark, so he could
very easily be hidden. Instead of standing still like sitting target, I hurried
towards Lance and Casey. The bright lights and crowds from the festival would keep
me safe. Shawn wouldn't try anything while there were so many people around, would
me?

For a split second I thought about texting Mr. Heywood and telling him Shawn was
here. That idea was out of the question when I realized he might call the police.
That was the last thing I wanted him to do. What about Jeremy? No, he'd probably
tell Mr. Heywood anyway. I just had to be cautious, and never leave Lance or Casey.

"How much does it cost to get it?" I heard Casey asking Lance as I grew closer.

"Five."

The feeling of being watched suddenly washed over me. Great, I thought dryly, now I
was going to be paranoid all night. Stupid Shawn. He had to ruin all my fun. I
finally caught up to Lance and Casey at the gate, and paid for my admission into
the festival. I hooked my arm through Casey's arm and Lance's- a sure fire way that
we wouldn't get separated.

"Where to first?" I asked cheerily, trying to get my mind of Shawn.

"Should we just walk around and see what there is?" Lance suggested.

"Sounds good to me."

A familiar buzzing from my pocket made my heart leap into my chest. I debated on
whether to ignore the new message or not, but curiosity got the best of me and I
let go of Lance to pull out my phone. What did Shawn want now?

Don't make any plans for tomorrow. You and I are going to talk.

My eyes narrowed in confusion. What was Shawn talking about now? If he wanted to
talk, wouldn't he just demand to do it tonight since he seemed to be here anywhere?

"Oh, so you text Mr. Heywood now too?" Casey asked me, making me jump in surprise.
"And you're meeting tomorrow?"

I glanced at the top of the message and realized that it was indeed from Mr.
Heywood and not Shawn. Relief washed through me, and I didn't even feel embarrassed
about the fact Casey had read the text message, and Mr. Heywood wanted to see me
tomorrow.
"Oh shoot," Casey suddenly muttered. "I'm prying..."

I laughed. "Casey! Don't worry. It's fine. I'll tell you what's going on when I
know exactly what's going on."

"So something could be going on?" Casey and Lance asked at the same time.

I gave Lance a questioning look. "Why do you want to know?"

"I'm just curious about how things will turn out," he told me with a shrug. "Good
for you."

Now I blushed. "It's not... It's..."

Casey laughed, slinging an arm around my shoulder. "Holly, you're too cute."

I sighed as a large crowd of people walked by us. Lance grabbed my hand quickly so
he wouldn't be separated. There were a lot of people out tonight, which made me
feel much more safer. I could easily lose Shawn in the gaggles of people easily if
I had to, or if I screamed someone would hear me...

But nothing is going to happen, I told my self firmly.

Right?

Right.

My phone vibrated again, and I rolled my eyes.

"You're popular tonight," Casey commented.

"Guess so."

I quickly typed an "okay" to Mr. Heywood and closed his message before going to the
next one. My heart skipped a beat when I realized it was from Shawn. He wouldn't
leave me alone, would he?

If you think you can lose me in the crowds, you're wrong. I can still see you.

I nearly dropped my phone.

It was going to be one, long, paranoid night.

_____________________________

No Mr. Heywood in this chapter! Sorry, but I have to involve the gang more so
everyone will be prepared for the awesome finale :} That won't be coming up for
quite a few chapters, but we need the gang back in the picture.

Thank you for all the feedback last chapter! My mind was /blown/. I've never seen
so many votes or comments, and APR was number 6 on What's Hot :o Now I just wish
you guys were like that for every chapter xD

One moreee thing! If you haven't already checked it out, I'm holding a contest for
APR. So make sure you check it out! It's got a separate post on my profile, so just
click my user name and go to my works and click "APR contest"

Join my facebook page. Do it. :3 Link in external link!

*******************************************
[51] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 49
*******************************************

"What should we do now?"

Lance and I shrugged simultaneously. The sky was finally beginning to darken, and
the lights from all the rides were on, creating an amazing sight. Casey, Lance, and
I had walked around the whole festival twice already. We had hit a few of the rides
as well. Now we were taking a break and eating- well, at least I was.

The hot baked potato in my hands warmed them, which was a nice break from the
chilly air that had been nipping at them. It was time to start wearing gloves at
night. Lance and Casey were sitting across from me, watching me eat. Or at least
Lance was. Casey's eyes were everywhere, wide and excited.

"I want to go on that," Casey stated, pointing her finger at a ride that looked
like the zipper of a jacket.

"Me too," Lance commented, looking up at it with a grin. "How about you Holly?"

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you kidding me? I don't want to die."

Lance and Casey laughed, making my face heat up.

"Holly, you're scared to go on every ride that leaves the ground," Lance commented,
rolling his eyes. "Live a little."

"I am," I told him, "by not going on that ride."

Casey chuckled. "Come on, it won't be that bad."

I shook my head. "No."

"You're no fun," Lance commented.

"Look, it's a ride for two. Why don't you and Casey go on while I finish my baked
potato," I suggested, holing up my half eaten potato. "I don't mind waiting here."

Casey frowned at me. "Holly, I don't want to ditch you."

"It's fine," I assured her. "This way I don't have to wait around by myself like a
loser when you guys finally decide you want to go on."

Lance nodded, nudging Casey in the side. "Let's go, Case."

"Are you sure?" Casey asked, looking hesitant.

"It's one ride," I responded. "It's not that big of a deal. I can handle being
alone for a few minutes."

Lance pointed behind me, towards the ride. "It might be a little longer than a few
minutes. There's a line."

"Then you better hurry up before it gets longer," I advised. "I'll wait here. When
I'm done eating and if you guys aren't back, I'll meet you by the exit of the
ride."
After a few more moments of persuading Casey, she and Lance finally set off for the
ride. A sigh of relief escaped my lips as I dug into my potato again. Rides that
left the ground really weren't my things. Just looking at them made me feel sick.
Except the Ferris wheel, but that was a different story.

I watched the crowds of people that walked by the picnic table I was seated on as I
ate my baked potato. Oddly enough, I hadn't run into anyone from school yet. It was
Friday night. There were supposed to be gaggles of students here, and yet there
seemed to be only Casey, Lance, and myself from our school. It felt weird.

Something to my right suddenly moved and I snapped my head around so fast to

look, I cricked it. Wincing, I rubbed my neck, and then proceeded to glare at a
small, black crow loitering on a trashcan. My heart began to slow when I realized
that it was just the crow... and not Shawn.

If there was one thing I hated, it was being paranoid.

Luckily for me, Shawn hadn't tried texting me again. And I didn't jinx it by
looking at my phone. It wasn't like I was waiting for him to text me. Though not
receiving anything from him was throwing me off guard. Was he not texting me
anymore because I ignored his first few messages? Was that really all I had to do
to get him to leave me alone? It seemed too easy. Too simple.

Without warning, a pair of hands grabbed my shoulder. I let out a strangled cry of
surprise, struggling out of the person's grasp. When I turned around and saw Lance
looking at me curiously, I relaxed.

"Casey come back yet?"

"Hm?"

"Casey," Lance repeated. "You know. Short. Brown hair. Our best friend-"

"I know who she is," I snapped, rolling my eyes. "Weren't you just with her?"

Lance frowned. "No. We ended up having to sit with different people on the ride. I
thought she came back here, but I guess not."

"Where would she have gone?"

Lance shrugged. "Maybe she got lost. Or maybe she went to meet Willis. I think he
was supposed to meet us here."

"Huh," I commented, pushing myself away from the table. "We should probably find
her... You never know who could he here."

Lance's eyes instantly hardened. "Holly, do you know something I should know?"

I shook my head quickly. "N-no! I was just saying..."

"You have your phone on you? I have my moms," Lance said, changing the subject. "We
can split up and do a search until we find her. Knowing Casey she probably got
distracted with some dart game or something."

I tried to laugh, but it came out as a nervous giggle. "Yeah. And I have my phone."
I patted my back pocket. "Text me if you find her."

"You do the same. Casey should really keep her phone charged," Lance muttered,
pulling out his phone. "It was off when I called it."

I didn't like the sudden anxious feeling that was creeping over me. "Right... I'm
going to go look now."

"Same. See you soon."

"See you."

Lance turned his back on me, and started stalking off in the direction of the
games. Turning away from him, I went the opposite way, towards the rides. It was
much darker now, surprisingly so. It also seemed less crowded. Was it supposed to
be some kind of sign...?

No! What was I thinking? Signs? I resisted the urge to snort. I was thinking way
too much into this. It just looked empty because no one was crowding around the
food stands, and I wasn't around the popular rides. There was nothing out of the
ordinary. I was just being paranoid again.

As I grew closer to the more popular rides, I felt safer due to he large masses of
people. Even if Shawn were still here, he wouldn't try anything in the middle of a
crowd. No one would be stupid enough to do that. As long as I stayed close to the
population, I was as safe as ever. When I found Casey, we'd meet up with Lance
again, and I'd be even safer. I had no reason to worry... And yet I still was.

A scowl of annoyance made its' way onto my face as I slipped between a children's
ride and the merry-go-round. Why was I feeling so anxious? This was supposed to be
a fun night out with friends! Why did Shawn have to ruin it? I was severely tempted
to look at my phone to see if I had missed any texts from him, but I knew if I did,
I'd be breaking my luck of not receiving any.

Shawn wasn't still watching me. He would have said something. Or texted me. Or at
least tried something. He wouldn't just stay quiet. Where was the amusement in
that? If he was here he probably would of-

My thoughts were abruptly cut off when I felt someone clap their hand over my mouth
and pull me roughly away from the merry-go-round, and against the back of the
children's ride. My eyes shot open as a muffled gasp escaped me. Whoever had a grip
on me tried to hold me still as I struggled to liberate myself.

I was in public! There were people not even ten feet away from me. Who would be
stupid enough to attack me now? When I finally managed to turn my head around far
enough, I nearly had a heart attack.

Jeremy was grinning at me, his eyes twinkling mischievously. He uncovered my mouth,
but continued to hold my arm.

"What are you doing?" I demanded, a little breathless from shock. "You scared the
crap out of me!"

"I've been calling you name for the last minute," Jeremy pointed out. "You've been
in la-la land or something."

I blushed slightly, gently tugging my arm out of Jeremy's grasp. "What are you
doing here?"

"My mom asked me to take Jenna and Jane. I couldn't refuse," Jeremy explained.
"They're around here somewhere..."
"Oh."

Jeremy pushed a stray lock of his hair behind his ear and frowned at me. "Did Chris
ever text you?"

I raised an eyebrow. "No, why?"

"I got a text from him about an hour and a half ago asking where you were," Jeremy
told me. "I told him I didn't, and he never texted me back, so I assumed he texted
you or something."

I shook my head. "I haven't got any text messages..."

"I texted you like a half hour ago though," Jeremy said, a frown appearing on his
lips. "Are you sure?"

"My phone didn't..." I trailed off, sticking my hand into my pocket and pulling out
my phone. Horror sank in when I realized my phone was off. "Oh no."

"What?"

"My phone was off!"

My heart was beating two times faster than usual as I shakily pressed the on key on
my phone. The twenty-three seconds it took to turn on felt like centuries. When the
home screen had finally loaded I waited another few minutes, and sure enough I
received my text messages. Thirteen in total.

I opened my inbox, not surprised to see three of the thirteen texts from Shawn. One
was from Jeremy, and the other nine were from Mr. Heywood. Jeremy cocked his head
at me when I looked up at him with a worried expression.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Hold on," I told him, opening the first new text message from Shawn.

If you turn around, I'm right behind you.

A shudder ran through me. That message had been sent an hour and a half ago. Now I
was kind of glad my phone was off. What would have happened if I had checked my
phone when I first received the message? I didn't think I wanted to know. I
scrolled to the second text message from Shawn, and opened it.

I told a small, white lie to Chris. Hopefully he won't get too upset. If you get
any text messages from him, don't pay them too much attention.

P.S. Your friend Casey is cute.

Shawn told Mr. Heywood a lie? What about? And why did he mention Casey? A sick
feeling ran through me, and I clenched my phone a little tighter in my hand. Then
next message in my inbox was from Mr. Heywood, sent about a minute after Shawn's
last one.

Where are you?

The next one said the same thing, and so did the next one, and so did the next one,
and so did the next one each getting more frantic. The next one he used my full
name, and an exclamation point. I clicked on the next one.
Holly! Damn it, respond to this or I'm going to think Shawn really did get you.

My eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. Is that what Shawn had told Mr.
Heywood? That he had "got" me? I turned to Jeremy; who was watching me with a
concerned expression.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

I ignored him, clicking on the next message from Mr. Heywood.

I'm coming to get you.

The next message was from Shawn. I noticed there was an hour time lapse between Mr.
Heywood's last message and Shawn's most recent one. With only a split-second's
hesitation, I opened the text.

Chris isn't so tough when his Holly is involved, huh? He needs an attitude check. I
don't like the way he's looking at me. Oh well. Stay tuned, Holly Evers.

"Holy shit," I gasped, staring at the text message.

"What?"

I turned my attention from my phone to Jeremy, my eyes wide in terror. "I... I- I

think Shawn has Mr. Heywood."

Jeremy's eyes hardened as soon as the words left my mouth. "What do you mean?"

"Shawn texted me, um, implying Mr. Heywood was with him," I explained, glancing at
the text again. "It doesn't say Mr. Heywood is with him or not directly."

Jeremy quickly yanked the phone out of my grasp and read the text message, a scowl
appearing on his face. His eyes grew livid, and he was holding my phone so tightly
I was afraid he was going to break it. He nearly dropped it when my ring tone
suddenly went off. Jeremy stared at me for a moment, and then returned his
attention to my phone. I figured he was reading my new message.

When Jeremy's face paled, curiosity got the best of me and I reached out my hand to
take my phone back. Jeremy pulled away, slapping my hand down.

"Jeremy," I started, narrowing my eyes at him. "I want my phone..."

Jeremy shook his head. "No..."

"Jeremy."

"You can't see this," Jeremy told me. "Let me delete it first."

Now I was really curious. "Jeremy, no. Give me my phone."

"No!"

"Jeremy!" Before he could react I quickly flung out my arm and gathered myself into
my hand, and then pulled it back, cradling it to my chest. "Ha!"

"Holly, really-"

I rolled my eyes. "Come on, Jeremy. It can't be that bad."

Jeremy shot me nervous looks as I flipped open my phone again, going to my text
message menu. When I found the new text, I noticed it was a picture file from
Shawn. Just as I was about to press the open button, I was over come with the
horrible feeling of dread. My heart speed sped up, and my palms instantly became
sweaty. Finally, I worked up enough courage to open the file message.

A quiet, surprised, horrified moan escaped my lips when my eyes landed on the image
Shawn had sent me. Or should I say, the image of who Shawn had sent me. The image
of Mr. Heywood.

On the ground.

Limp.

Eyes shut.

And there was blood.

My world suddenly blackened before me and I felt myself falling. Before I could hit
the ground, a set of strong, warm arms wrapped around me, and set me straight. It
took me a few seconds to realize I was hyperventilating.

"Holly. Holly, calm down," I heard Jeremy order, but I couldn't focus enough to
actually be able to see him.

This had to be some kind of joke. That couldn't have been Mr. Heywood in that
picture. Why would Shawn go after Mr. Heywood now? So suddenly? Wasn't he supposed
to be after me? This wasn't supposed to happen!

That definitely wasn't Mr. Heywood. Shawn could never knock Mr. Heywood to the
ground. He would never lose to Shawn. That was impossible. Mr. Heywood was way too
strong. But that man had looked exactly like him... My body quaked as I tried to
calm myself down. Deep breaths, I told myself, barely able to take my own advice.

"Holly," Jeremy said, shaking my shoulders. "Focus."

I looked at him, already feeling my eyes welling up with tears. "Mr. Heywood is-"

"He's fine," Jeremy assured me, but looked unsure. "Shawn wouldn't kill him... Well
he would, I guess."

"He's going to kill him?" I uttered in a horrified voice.

Jeremy blinked at me in surprise realizing what he said. "No! That's not what I
mean! I meant... No! Holly, Chris will be fine."

"Didn't you see the picture?" I demanded, my voice raising. "He doesn't look fine
to me! He's- He's hurt! And it's my fault! An my stupid, worthless, piece of crap
phone!" As I swore, I slammed my phone onto the picnic table as hard as I could.

Jeremy quickly gathered my hand in his, holding it tightly. "Holly, calm down. This
isn't your fault. That picture could be fake-"

"It's real," I sniffed, rubbing my eyes with my free arm. "That's definitely Mr.
Heywood. Shawn has him. Shawn..."

Suddenly Jeremy slapped his hands to my cheek, making me jump in surprise. I stared
at him with wide eyes while he returned my gaze with a serious one.
"Holly. Take deep breaths. Calm down," he ordered.

I did as he said, trying to calm myself own at least the slightest bit. My mind was
racing, my hands shaking, my heart pounding. It felt surreal.

"If Shawn does have Chris, I'll do something about it," Jeremy continued, removing
his hands.

"By yourself? No!" I cried. "What if-"

Jeremy narrowed his eyes at me. "You want me to leave Chris?"

"No!"

"Then what-"

"I'm coming with you," I told him, clenching my fists.

Jeremy pursed his lips. "No."

"Jeremy!"

"Chris told me under no circumstances were you allowed near Shawn," Jeremy said
forcefully. "There's no way you're coming with me."

I glared at him, picking up my phone again. Luckily I hadn't broken it when I

smashed it earlier. I dialed Lance's number by heart, putting the phone to my ear.
Jeremy watched me curiously as I grasped onto my phone, waiting for it to pick up.
A nerve-wracking ten seconds passed before I heard the sound of someone picking up.

"Where's Mr. Heywood?" I demanded before Shawn had a chance to speak.

"I see you've finally received my messages."

My heart skipped a beat. "Where is he?"

"He's right here."

"Right where?"

Shawn chuckled. "Let's see how good your memory is. We are where you first met me.
And I have one more surprise for you, to assure you'll come quickly."

"What?"

After a few seconds of silence I heard someone breathing shakily.

"Holly?"

My eyes widened in terror. I knew that voice. How could I not? That was my best
friend's voice.

Shawn had Mr. Heywood and Casey?

______________________________________

Hmm, I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter. I don't know... Oh well. It's an
update on time at least! ;D
Facebook in link (:

*******************************************
[52] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 50
*******************************************

"Casey!" I screamed into the phone, my eyes wide in terror. "Casey!"

"Holly! What's-" Casey's voice suddenly disappeared and was replaced with an
irritatingly familiar one.

"I expect you here in about fifteen minutes," Shawn said simply.

I swallowed nervously. "Don't hurt Casey!"

"I won't, as long as you get here on time," Shawn said casually. "I'll be waiting."

There was a click and I looked down at my phone to see the call had ended. I turned
to Jeremy, my mouth open in horror. He looked just as terrified as I did. Jeremy
suddenly jammed his hand into his pocket, whipping out his phone.

"Jenna, come grab Jane and come to the front of the baked potato stand," he said
into his phone in a rushed voice. "Right now." He snapped his phone shut and turned
to me. "Do you have any idea where Shawn would be?"

I nodded my head. "He said where we first met. That would be the warehouse you took
me to."

"That's close," Jeremy commented, checking his phone. "It's only about ten minutes
away."

"Ten minutes?" I cried shrilly. "Shawn wants me there in fifteen or he'll hurt
Casey! We've got to go now!"

Jeremy's looked hardened. "He gave you a time limit?"

"Yeah," I responded, feeling my eyes filling with tears. "I have to go, now!"

Someone put a hand on my shoulder and I jumped violently, turning to see a worried
Lance looking at me. When he noticed my expression, his concern doubled. "What's
wrong?"

"Shawn has Casey," I told him miserably.

"He what?" Lance nearly shouted. "How? When? Where?"

I shook my head. "I don't know how or when! I do know where, and I'm going there
now. Give me your car keys."

Lance stared at me like I was crazy. "You're not going anywhere! That's too
dangerous!"

"It's more dangerous for Casey if I don't go!"

"Why would Shawn so suddenly go after Casey?" Lance inquired, furrowing his
eyebrows. "He's been quiet for so long."

I shifted on my feet uncomfortably. "Well... earlier I got a few text messages from
him. But I thought he was just messing with me," I added quickly, seeing Lance's
expression turn livid.

Lance grabbed my shoulders and held them roughly. "Holly! Why didn't you tell
anyone?"

"I-I didn't think it mattered," I told him, trying to get away from his grasp.
"Lance, that hurts-"

"Holly, are you stupid? If you had said something this wouldn't have happened!"
Lance snapped. "You need to learn to swallow your pride-"

"Pride?" I cried, staring at him incredulously. "Pride? You think I take pride in
not telling someone that my stalker has been texting me? I wasn't going to tell
anyone to keep everyone safe, Lance!"

"That didn't work so well, now did it?" Lance snorted, shoving me away. "You went
and got Casey captured."

I stared at Lance, hurt by his words. Tears filled my eyes again and I sniffled,
rubbing my eyes with the back of the sleeve. "I didn't know!"

I felt an arm around me and I looked up to see Jeremy frowning at Lance. "You two,
calm down," he ordered, squeezing my shoulders. "Holly, it's not your fault. And
Lance... I understand this news is coming as a shock, but don't place the blame on
Holly so easily okay? You two will end up saying things you'll regret later if you
keep it up."

Lance stared at the ground for a moment, his fists clenched. Finally, he sighed,
looking back up at me. "I'm sorry, Holly. I know it's not your fault."

I shook my head. "No, it is partially my fault. Now Mr. Heywood and Casey are at
Shawn's mercy. I should have texted Mr. Heywood right away."

"He has Heywood too?" Lance gasped.

Jenna suddenly appeared in front of me, rushing towards us with Jane in tow. Jeremy
brushed past me, going up to the girls and saying something to them quickly.
"Lance," Jeremy started, gaining his attention. "I need you to do me a huge favor."

"What?"

"Bring my sisters home," Jeremy told him. "I can trust you right? Holly and I need
to go save your friend and Chris. I don't want my little sisters coming... just in
case something happens."

A shiver went through my body at Jeremy's words. Just in case something happens...

"No," Lance refused, shaking his head. "I'm coming with you guys."

"No you're not!" Jeremy and I snapped simultaneously.

Lance looked at us in surprise, blinking furiously. "Why not?"

"You've already been attacked once," I pointed out. "You're not going to be in
danger again. Please, Lance. Take Jenna and Jane home. I don't want them coming
with us either and we need to go, now."

Lance pursed his lips at me for a few moments before letting out a sigh. "Fine. But
only because I don't want these girls going with you two either. However, I'm
texting you an hour from now. And if you don't answer, I'm calling the cops."

I blanked at Lance's words. The cops? What if the cops came and Mr. Heywood was
still there? "Lance, no. Not the po-"

"Sounds good," Jeremy cut me off. "Give us an hour. If you receive no reply, send
the police to the old furniture workshop off King Street."

Lance nodded. "Gotcha."

"But Jeremy-" I protested.

Jeremy shook his head at me. "We can handle this in an hour," he assured me. "As
long as we go now. Lance, I'll have Holly text you my mom's address when we get in
the car."

"Okay," Lance responded, glancing at me. "Holly... Be careful."

I swallowed nervously, nodding my head. "You too, Lance."

He grinned. "I'll try not to hit any squirrels."

Jeremy quickly grabbed my hand and began sprinting towards the exit of the
festival. People gave us annoyed looks as we brushed through them. Someone people
gave me wondering looks, probably taking in the look on my face. I probably looked
like someone who had just witnessed a murder- I felt like I had just witnessed a
murder. Luckily, Jeremy's car was parked almost right next to the exit. We piled in
and Jeremy wasted no time before peeling out of the parking lot.

While speeding down the streets Jeremy relayed to me his mom's address, and I
quickly texted Lance it. The ride to the old gang hangout felt like forever. It was
silent and tense. Nerves had me drumming my fingers against my leg constantly, had
my heart pounding hard, and kept my breathing uneven. Jeremy's hands were so
grasping the steering wheel so hard his knuckles were snow white.

"Holly," Jeremy finally spoke, "our goal is just to get Casey and Chris and to
escape. Nothing else."

I swallowed, nodding my head. "Alight." What else did Jeremy think I'd want to do?
Once Mr. Heywood and Casey were safe, I'd want to get out of there as fast as
possible.

"If Shawn tries to bargain with you, I want you to say no to everything," Jeremy
continued in a serious voice. "And when I say everything, I mean everything."

"Bargain?"

Jeremy nodded. "Like, I'll let Chris and Casey free if you stay with me."

My eyes widened in surprise. "What? No! I would say yes to that!"

"No, you won't," Jeremy said firmly. "Holly, it will be pointless if we save Chris
and Casey, but you get taken instead. We need to figure out how to get you all out
of this."

I clamped my mouth shut, thinking hard. What were Shawn's plans? Was he alone? No,
he couldn't be alone. Shawn would never have been able to knock Mr. Heywood down
alone. Mr. Heywood was... Mr. Heywood. Strong. Resilient. Invincible. That still
didn't help Jeremy and myself though. We needed a strong, reliable plan.

Jeremy cleared his throat. "If there's a chance for you, Casey, and Chris to
escape, I want you to take it," he started slowly. "Even if it means leaving me
behind."

"No," I said instantly. "No!"

"Holly, wait," Jeremy commanded, glancing at me from the corner of his eye. "Once
you guys break free, you can call the cops. If they come and find the gang and me,
nothing will happen to Chris, or myself, since I've never been caught up in any
gang trouble."

"But we can't leave you alone in there," I whispered in a horrified voice. "What if
they..."

Jeremy laughed. "Holly, don't be so worried about me. I've got a few things up my
sleeve."

"Like what?"

"It's a secret," Jeremy said with a wink.

I frowned at him. Although he seemed confident, I couldn't help but still be

worried. There had to be some way to assure that Casey, Jeremy, Mr. Heywood, and
myself could escape. If worse came to worse, I would bargain with Shawn. It wasn't
like he was going to kill me.

Jeremy pulled onto the dirt road that led to the abandoned warehouse, and started
speeding down it. My heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest. I took
deep breaths, trying to calm down. It wasn't really working.

The warehouse came into view and as we grew closer, Jeremy cut the engine, quickly
unsnapping his seatbelt. I swiped my sweaty palms on my pants before doing the same
as Jeremy, and hastily climbing out the door. Jeremy met me at the front of the
car, and together we made our way up to the front of the building. The steps
groaned in an unnerving way under our weight as we hurried towards the door. Jeremy
held me back as he opened the front door, peering in. The main room was pitch
black.

"Holly, your hand," Jeremy demanded, holding out his hand for me to take.

It felt a little silly taking his hand. It wasn't like I was a five year old
crossing the street with her mom. Nonetheless I took his hand, and he pulled me
into the warehouse, leaving the door open so the moon would provide at least a
little sight. I held Jeremy's hand tighter as we went further in, losing all sense
of sight.

"Why is it so quiet?" I whispered. The only noises I could hear were the sounds of
Jeremy's and my footfalls. They sounded like a heard of elephants compared to the
silence surrounding us.

"Shh," Jeremy responded. "We're going up stairs now. Careful."

I stumbled on the first step, misjudging the height. Jeremy held onto me tightly as
I corrected myself, gaining my balance again. Each step creaked and groaned under
our weight, and each time they did I thought it sounded like an air horn going off.
It was too quiet. It was unsettling.
"The Hall of Fame, right?"

"Yeah," I whispered, finally making it to the top of the stairs. "That's where I
first saw Shawn."

It took about thirty seconds to reach the door to the Hall of Fame. Jeremy pressed
his ear to the door, and I copied him. It was silent in the room. Suddenly there
was a cough, and I instantly recognized it as Casey's. I reached for the door and
yanked it open, ignoring Jeremy's protests. Stumbling in the dark room, I ran my
hands over the wall until I found the light switch. I flipped it on.

Casey was the first thing I noticed when the room was filled with light. She was
sitting on the other side of the room, her knees pulled up to her chest. She
squinted for a moment from the sudden light and when she saw me her eyes suddenly
widened. Jeremy strode into the room, quickly surveying it. Casey pushed herself to
her feet, but as soon as she took one step towards me she winced and started
falling forwards. Jeremy caught her before I could even move.

"What's wrong?" I heard him ask her.

"My ankle," she responded, taking her weight off her right ankle. "I think I
sprained it earlier."

"Where's Mr. Heywood?" I asked, only slightly relieved.

Casey's eyes drifted downwards, towards the front left of the room. The door was
blocking my vision so I quickly stepped around it, dropping my eyes to the floor.
My heart skipped a beat and a gasp left my mouth when I focused in on Mr. Heywood's
limp body. I staggered a few feet forwards and slumped to my knees, hovering over
him. His eyes were shut, and it almost looked like he was sleeping peacefully.
Except for the blood that covered half of his face.

"Mr. Heywood?" I squeaked, bringing my head closer to him. "Hey. Wake up."

"What happened?" I heard Jeremy ask Casey.

I put my ear to his mouth, and felt relief wash over me when I felt his breath
against it. At least he was still breathing.

Casey cleared her throat. "Someone- I don't know who- attacked Mr. Heywood while he
was untying me. He hit Mr. Heywood over the head with a shovel," Casey continued,
her voice cracking on the word shovel. "I- I heard a crack..."

For a second it felt like I couldn't breathe. My chest constricted painfully as I

gazed at Mr. Heywood's peaceful face. That was how Shawn had managed to strike Mr.
Heywood down? Using a cheap attack like that? Anger boiled up inside of me. Shawn
was definitely going to pay.

I gently brushed Mr. Heywood's hair away from his forehead, my breath catching when
I caught sight of a long, deep, bloody gash running along from his eyebrow to his
ear. Tears filled my eyes again and my heart clenched painfully. This was my fault.
And my phone's fault. If I made it out of here alive, I was smashing it to pieces
and buying a new one from a different company.

"Mr. Heywood," I whispered, brushing my fingers along his jaw. "Please wake up. Can
you hear me?"

There wasn't even the slightest response.

"Do you know where Shawn is right now?" Jeremy questioned Casey. "When was the last
time you saw him?"

"Who's Shawn?"

"The man who hit Mr. Heywood with a shovel," I responded for Jeremy, turning to
look at Casey.

Casey chewed her lip. "Oh... I haven't seen him for maybe the past ten minutes? He
dumped Mr. Heywood and me in here after taking us from the fair. He told me not to
leave, and if I did Mr. Heywood and I would both be, um, harmed."

Jeremy furrowed his eyebrows. "And he hasn't been back since? Was he with anyone
else?"

"There were two other men," Casey told him.

Only two other men? That thought made me feel a bit more relieved. That meant if
something went on it'd be three on two. I smiled wryly. Well, more like three on
one. I didn't know how much help I could be to Jeremy. Jeremy set Casey against the
wall before coming towards me. He crouched down beside me, taking in Mr. Heywood.
He inhaled sharply, brushing his hand lightly against the gash.

"That needs medical attention," he commented, pulling his hand back. "Holly, take
this."

I turned to Jeremy, blinking in surprise when I realized he was holding out a

pocketknife. He shoved it closer to me and I quickly took it from him, my eyes
wide. "Jeremy..."

"It's for your protection," Jeremy told me. "Since Shawn isn't around right now, we
might as well try to get out right now. The longer we stick around, the chances of
Shawn coming back and finding us here increases. Right now Chris is a major
liability. We need as much time as we can get."

"You're not supposed to move someone with a head injury," I commented in a quiet
voice, already knowing we had no other choice.

Jeremy smiled at me. "It's better than leaving him here to die, right?"

My mouth suddenly went dry, and I could only nod.

"You help Casey, I'll carry Chris."

Without needing to be told twice I pushed myself off the ground and hurried towards
Casey. She gave me the "you-have-a-lot-of-explaining-to-do" look as I took her arm
and wrapped it around my shoulder. After a moment of adjusting ourselves so we were
both comfortable, I turned around and found Jeremy carrying Mr. Heywood princess-
style.

"What?" he snapped when he caught me staring.

I blushed slightly, rearranging my expression into a blank one. "Um, nothing...

Prince Charming."

Casey chuckled as Jeremy's face heated up. He ignored my jibe and gestured with his
head for me to follow him out of the room. The main room was still jet-black, and
we all treaded with caution.
"Jeremy?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you handle the stairs?" I asked him, feeling nervous all of a sudden.

There was a moment of silence before Jeremy responded. "Yeah, I can hold onto the
railing."

A nerve-wracking ten minutes passed before I heard Jeremy sigh in relief, signaling
he had made it to the bottom of the staircase without any problems. Casey and I
were easily able to climb down, and we caught up with Jeremy quickly. Like a shot,
I realized that the front door wasn't open anymore. Jeremy must have noticed too,
because I heard him curse quietly.

It didn't surprise me when Jeremy found the door locked. Before either of us could
speak, light filled the main room. I squinted for a minute while my eyes adjusted,
and when they did I locked gazes with Shawn, who was standing on the balcony. He
smirked at me.

"Holly! You made it."

"Yeah," I forced out between my clenched teeth.

Casey tugged gently on the back of my shirt. "Holly, put me against the door."

Without any questions asked, I set Casey against the door. She put her back to it,
staring up at Shawn. I glanced over my shoulder to see Jeremy still holding Mr.
Heywood, a scowl on his face.

"Poor Chris is in bad shape huh?"

"That's because you're a coward who uses cheap shots to knock people down," I shot
back at him angrily.

"Holly," Jeremy said in a quiet, warning tone.

Shawn laughed, leaning over the railing of the balcony. "Cowardice? Holly, love, I
was just using the moment to my advantage."

There was a pair of footsteps to my right and I looked over and saw a tall, burly
man coming towards me. Another pair of footfalls to my left indicated there was
something also coming from that direction. The burly man to my right stopped a good
hundred yards away, a frown on his face. I watched him warily for a second before
glancing at the other man, who had also stopped walking. This man was just as tall
as the man to my right, but not as muscled.

My mind was racing. I needed to think of a way that would let Jeremy carry Mr.
Heywood to his car, and get Casey there as well. It would be almost impossible for
Jeremy to have time to bring them both separately, even if I distracted Shawn. If
we could take out the two men on the ground level, I was positive I could deal with
Shawn. I had escaped him once before, hadn't I? Jeremy couldn't be the distraction
because I knew I wouldn't be able to carry Mr. Heywood's body.

A small amount of hopelessness began to rise in me, but I forcefully pushed it

away. I had to think positively. We only had a few choices. Try to break down the
door and escape before anyone caught us; take out the men on the ground floor and
find a new way to escape; distract Shawn until Jeremy found a way to get Mr.
Heywood and Casey to the car; or let Shawn get us. The last choice wasn't actually
a choice. It was what would happen if we couldn't escape.

"Listen," Shawn finally spoke up. "I know your friend Lance said he was going to
call the police in an hour. It's been just about forty-five minutes since then, so
that means we have about fifteen minutes to finish this before the cops show."

"How did you know?" I gasped in surprise.

Shawn smirked again. "I have spies, duh. Shall we get down to business then?"

The sudden pounding of feet made my heart leap into my chest. I turned right,
watching as the burly man suddenly started running straight at me. Throwing my head
to the other side I noticed the other man was coming as well. Jeremy placed Mr.
Heywood on the ground as quickly and gently as possible, and intercepted the man
from my left. My hand clenched the pocketknife I was still holding.

"Now, I don't want to hurt you," the burly man told me as he stopped a few feet
away from me. "I just need to bring you up to Shawn."

"No," I stated stubbornly.

"Then I do it by force."

A startled gasp escaped my lips as the man instantly threw a punch towards my face.
I ducked just in time, staggering backwards. Without hesitating the man threw
another punch, which I managed to avoid again. I struggled with the pocketknife in
my hand, trying to get it open. No matter how much I tried though, it wouldn't
unlatch. Figures Jeremy would give me a pocketknife I couldn't open.

"You're pretty good at evading, aren't you?" the burly man commented, looking
amused and impressed.

I dodged another of his blows. "I've had practice."

"Unfortunately for you, I don't think you're paying enough attention."

Before I knew what happened, I was flat on my back. I stared in horror at the burly
man hovering over me, a smirk on his face. When I looked to my left I realized I
had tipped over Mr. Heywood's leg. The burly man put a foot on my chest, and put
pressure on it. I gasped in surprise, trying to pull his foot off.

"Should I knock her out?"

"Whatever works," Shawn called down. "Just don't kill her."

"Sure," the burly man said with a grin. "Night-night, Holly."

The man began to press harder into my chest and I looked to my side to see Casey
staring at me in terror. With my left hand I fumbled with the pocketknife again,
wincing as the more pressure was applied to my chest. It felt like I was
suffocating. My left hand clenched uncontrollably as the burly man suddenly pressed
into me as hard as I could. A slight pain ran through my finger, and after a second
my finger rubbed against something sharp and cool. The pocketknife had unlatched!

There was a loud crash behind me just as I brought up my hand and slashed the foot
on me. The burly man cried out in surprise and pain, pulling his foot away from my
chest. I quickly sent my leg straight up, right into his crotch, making him stagger
forwards. For a horrifying second I thought he was going to fall on top of me, but
a hand flashed before my eyes, making contact with his face. From the force of the
punch, the burly man stumbled backwards, landing on the ground, unconscious.

Jeremy grinned down at me. "And Chris thought he was the only one who could do a
one hit K.O."

"Ten bucks says I can too," a calm voice commented, sounding amused.

I looked beyond Jeremy, and straight at Shawn. When I realized what he was holding,
I screamed in panic. I scrambled to my feet, never taking my eyes off Shawn's gun,
or where he was pointing it. Straight at Jeremy.

"Wait!" I screamed, taking a few steps towards him.

Shawn spared me one glance. "I'm an impatient person."

I didn't even have time to blink before Shawn squeezed the trigger. A loud cracking
noise filled the room and my mouth fell open in horror as I twirled around to see
Jeremy, his face frozen in shock. Then, just as I reached out to grab him, he fell
over backwards.

"One shot K.O," Shawn stated simply, an amused smirk slipping onto his face.

________________________

Okay, so if you don't have me on Facebook and don't read Believe Me, I'm Lying then
you don't know that I lost internet at my house. But I'm telling you, so now you
do. The only time I have a chance to update is my first period study hall (right
now) so if an update falls on a weekend and I'm not at a friends house, I can't
update. Just letting you guys know in advance.

Let me tell you. Being without internet sucks. I literally stare out my window
listening to music all day if I don't go hang out with people. And it's been rainy.

Facebook in link!

*******************************************
[53] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 51
*******************************************
It felt like time had stopped. Seeing someone shot was a lot different than hearing
about it. The scene of his body tumbling to the ground played over and over again
in my head. Jeremy lay stationary on the ground while Shawn hummed to himself,
stroking his pistol with his thumb. Casey let out a horrified croak, her eyes glued
to Jeremy's motionless body.
I felt like someone had poured a bucket of ice water over me, and through my veins.
Numbness spread through me. Shawn shot Jeremy. Jeremy could be dead.
"Jeremy?" I called, staring at his motionless body. "Jeremy! Jeremy, get up!"
No response.
My chest tightened. "Jeremy, please! Please!" I pleaded pathetically. "Jeremy, get
up! Don't die!"
"Holly," Casey started in a quiet voice, sounding like she had been crying. "He
could be alive... The bullet didn't go through his heart or head..."
Casey had a point. He had been shot in the stomach. Lance survived two bullets.
Jeremy had to be able to survive one! But he was still unconscious and hurt. There
was still the chance he could die.
I looked from Shawn, to Jeremy, and back to Shawn again, helplessness welling up in
me again. Everyone was being harmed, and it was my fault. Jeremy didn't even do
anything! Neither did Casey! Anger filled me and I clenched my fist, taking a
menacing step towards Shawn. "You-"
"You... bastard."
My eyes shot open, and I twirled around to see Mr. Heywood pushing himself off the
ground.
"Mr. Heywood!" I cried in disbelief and relief.
Mr. Heywood didn't even look at me. His eyes were focused on Shawn, anger blazing
in them. Shawn smirked back at Mr. Heywood, cocking his head to the side.
"You're alive?"
"And you're about to be dead," Mr. Heywood growled, starting towards Shawn. He took
about three steps, then let out a groan, and started falling.
I quickly stepped forward to catch him, grasping onto his shoulders. His weight
almost knocked me over, and I struggled to keep him upright. Shawn chuckled from
where he was, shaking his head pitifully.
"Chris, you can't even stand. What makes you think you're going to kill me?"
Mr. Heywood shoved me away from him. "I can stand fine."
"Mr. Heywood-" I protested, staggering back a few steps. He ignored me, swaying on
his feet for a few seconds.
"That was a pretty cheap shot earlier," Mr. Heywood commented, sarcasm dripping in
his voice. "Are you really that pathetic? It's a wonder how you became gang
leader."
Shawn leered at Mr. Heywood. "Regretting leaving?"
"As if," Mr. Heywood spat angrily.
Shawn shrugged his shoulders. "You and Jeremy were the greatest assets. You could
still be. Jeremy..." Shawn glanced at Jeremy's body on the ground. "Well, he could
have been."
"I'm not going back," Mr. Heywood declared stubbornly. "Especially not under the
likes of you."
"Likes of me?" Shawn responded with a bark of laughter. "Where do you get off
acting so high and mighty?"
Mr. Heywood didn't respond, making Shawn scowl in irritation. "You really piss me
off."
"Good."
"Mr. Heywood!" I warned quietly, staring at him with wide eyes. Was he trying to
incite Shawn?
Shawn's eyes slid over to me, and I saw Mr. Heywood's shoulders tense. I glared at
Shawn as viciously as I could. He laughed at me expression.
"Oh, someone is angry," he taunted.
"I'm-"
"Holly don't talk to him," Mr. Heywood ordered flatly.
I looked towards Mr. Heywood in surprise. He still had his back to me. Why didn't
he want me talking to Shawn? Shawn turned his attention back to Mr. Heywood, his
eyebrows furrowed in annoyance
"Don't tell her what to do," Shawn demanded.
Mr. Heywood laughed once. "What? Are you her father?"
Shawn smirked. "Nope, but maybe her boyfriend soon." Mr. Heywood's fist clenched.
"Isn't it curious?" Shawn continued. "How much she looks like my old Holly?"
"She isn't your old Holly."
"Nor is she yours."
"She's got nothing to do with this," Mr. Heywood snapped.
Shawn raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Is she a sore spot? Because you couldn't protect her,
like you promised?"
"I-"
"Come to think of it, she gave you two chances, right?" Shawn stated, tapping his
chin with his finger. "And you failed both times?"
Mr. Heywood's shoulders sagged. "That's..."
"And now it's going to happen again, huh? You're going to let the person you care
for the most suffer the same fate? There's nothing you can do about it either."
Mr. Heywood stayed silent. For a moment, the only noise I could hear were Casey's
shaky breaths, Mr. Heywood's heavy breathing, and my own heart in my ears. I was
shaking uncontrollably. Not from fear, but from anger. Shawn was dabbing salt in
Mr. Heywood's wounds. He was going into the past that didn't need to be delved
into.
Shawn snickered. "You're not that good upon keeping your promises, huh? Did you
promise this Holly over here the same thing? That you would protect her, just like
old Holly?"
"Mr. Heywood," I whispered so only he could hear me, clenching my fists. "Don't let
him talk to you like that!"
Shawn seemed to be irritated with Mr. Heywood's lack of response. "Keeping silent?
Is the guilt too much for you? Knowing that, once again, you're going to lose Holly
to me. Maybe this is what you deserve. For being a liar. For promising that you'll
protect someone and failing. What kind of man are you, Chris? Do you think you're
better than me?" Shawn guffawed. "Oh, isn't that a thought? Poor Chris. It seems
like you're-"
My hand made contact with Shawn's face. The loud slap resounded through the room.
Shawn stared at me in surprise while I returned his look with a furious glare,
breathing heavily.
"Chris is more of a man than you could ever wish to be," I told him through
clenched teeth. "The past doesn't matter. What's done is done. Mistakes are
forgiven. What matters is today. And today, you're nothing compared to Chris. He
is-"
Without warning, Shawn backhanded me. I cried out in surprise, stumbling back a few
steps. Mr. Heywood yelled Shawn's name from behind me angrily and Casey screamed
loudly. Before I could react, Shawn shoved me, looking furious.
"Chris is a better man than me? Chris, who couldn't protect the other Holly? Chris,
who can't protect anyone? Chris, the selfish bastard who got you tangled up in this
mess?"
"I got myself tangled up!" I shouted at me, shoving him away from me. "Don't touch
me!"
Shawn quickly grabbed my hair, pulling me closer to him. "Tell me, Holly. Are you
blind?"
My hand flew to his hand in my hair, grasping on tightly. Pain shot through my head
as he pulled on my hair roughly.
"You know, if it wasn't for Chris I wouldn't have met you," he told me. "This
wouldn't be happening. Don't you blame Chris at all?"
"Mr. Heywood isn't the psycho who wants to kidnap me just because I look like his
old girlfriend!"
Shawn's eyes hardened. "Surely you don't think Chris likes you for you."
"He does," I stated stubbornly. "Mr. Heywood knows me, Shawn. You don't know
anything about you. I'm not Holly Pierce! I'm Holly Evers!"
Shawn growled, yanking me closer to him with my hair again. I cried out in pain,
wildly swinging my fist. When I felt it make contact with Shawn's face, once again
I was shoved backwards. This time I ran into something hard, and a strong arm shot
by my face, punching Shawn, who already had his eyes shut from my punch, in the
face. Mr. Heywood grabbed my shoulder painfully, yanking me away from Shawn.
"Run," he ordered quietly, shoving me behind him.
Shawn swung his fist at Mr. Heywood's face. Mr. Heywood dodged, once again pulling
me roughly to the side so I wouldn't be hit. This time he shoved me sideways, and I
staggered a few steps away from him before falling. Casey was screaming something
at me, but I was too focused on Mr. Heywood and Shawn to understand her. Shawn
managed to knick Mr. Heywood on the side of the jaw, and Mr. Heywood retaliated by
landing a blow on Shawn's right temple. Anyone watching knew Mr. Heywood had the
advantage.
But anyone watching also knew something wasn't right with Mr. Heywood.
His breathing was heavier than it should have been, and his movements slower and
sloppier than usual. While he still had the upper hand, he was handicapped by the
injury on his forehead. I had to think quickly. That injury would not fair well in
this fight... If Mr. Heywood was hit there again, something serious could happen.
"Feeling a little tired?" Shawn taunted, only slightly breathless.
"No," Mr. Heywood responded, dodging another of Shawn's swings.
Shawn smirked. "Liar."
Mr. Heywood landed a hard blow on Shawn's lower jaw. Shawn's eyes shot open in
surprise, and he let out a little gasp. Mr. Heywood smirked slightly as Shawn
closed his eyes, staggering backwards. Relief washed through me immediately. Was
that the end?
Suddenly Shawn's eyes snapped open, a smug smile on his lips as he brought his arm
straight into Mr. Heywood's face. Right where the injury before was. A split-second
of terror passed, and I blinked. When I opened my eyes, Mr. Heywood was crumpled on
the floor. Shawn kicked him savagely. Casey started screaming again as a gasp
escaped my lips.
Now it was my turn to step in again. With my chest constricted tightly, I stepped
in-between the two men, holding up my hands, my eyes shut tight. Shawn immediately
stopped assaulting Mr. Heywood. When I opened my eyes I saw Shawn staring down at
me with a scowl.
"T-the cops will be here soon," I told him in a quiet, shaky voice.
Realization flashed on Shawn's face and for a minute he looked panicky. "Shit."
Then he calmed down again, giving me a hard look. "Then you have two choices,
Holly: Watch as yet another person close to you dies, or come with me." He looked
meaningfully at Casey.
"Holly," Casey started, but I shook my head at her.
"No more," I said quietly, my eyes flickering down to Mr. Heywood's once again
motionless body. "Shawn, I'll go with you. Don't hurt them anymore! Please!" I
begged, tears springing to my eyes. "I promise to do anything you ask. Just let
them go."
Shawn sighed contently. "That's what I like to hear. Good choice, Holly."
"Holly..."
I ignored Casey, keeping my eyes focused on Shawn and his gun. My eyes flickered to
the staircase on the other side of the room. The staircase I had fallen through not
so long ago... An idea suddenly formed in my mind, and I caught my breath.
"Hey," Shawn said, stooping down next to the burly man's body. "Ben, wake up. Cops
are coming soon."
"Casey," I started in the quietest voice I could conjure. "Listen closely."
Casey made a sound that showed me she was listening.
"I'm going to lead Shawn upstairs," I told her, my trying to keep my voice calm. "I
want you to escape."
"What about-"
I shook my head slightly. "The cops will help Mr. Heywood and Jeremy. Just escape
as soon as we're on the sixth stair on the staircase, okay?"
"Why-"
"Okay?" I repeated forcefully.
"Okay," Casey mumbled begrudgingly. "Will you be okay?"
I glanced at her. "I hope."
Shawn made a sound of disagreement with his tongue, pushing himself back into an
erect position. "Seems like Jeremy really packed a punch. It's such a shame..."
Shawn glanced at Jeremy's body on the ground.
"Shawn," I started, keeping my voice steady. "My phone is in that room over there,"
I said, pointing to the far side of the room, on the second floor. "While looking
for Casey I dropped it in there."
"And?" Shawn asked, raising an eyebrow.
I gave him a flat look. "If the cops find it in there, they'll have a lead. Aren't
you planning on kidnapping me?"
Shawn looked surprised for a minute, than concern flashed across his face. "Shit.
You're right."
"Are you going to go get it?" I questioned.
"Yeah, and you're coming with me," he stated, grabbing my arm. "Let's go."
I gave Casey a meaningful look before following Shawn to the other side of the
room. To cover any noises of Casey moving, I decided to talk.
"How come you only brought two people with you?"
Shawn shrugged. "I felt like any more would be too suspicious. People at the fair
were already giving suspicious looks to Ben, Jamie, and myself. Besides, I knew
you'd come around if I threatened Chris and your friends. In that way, you're just
like my old Holly."
A cold chill ran through me. Yeah, just like her...
Shawn started climbing the steps, still with me in tow. I counted in my head as he
climbed.

One
.Two
.Three
.

I swallowed nervously. What if the steps didn't give out? What if we made it to the
top of steps? What would I do then? Try to run? What if Casey hadn't made it out by
then? My plan would be ruined. This was the only thing I had left to rely on. If
this didn't work then...

Four
.Five
.Six
.

Shawn stepped on the seventh step, then the eighth, and then the ninth. The one
above it, the tenth, was the one I had fallen through before. Shawn over stepped
it, putting his foot down on the eleventh. I held my breath, waiting, watching.
Shawn put all his weight on the step.
Nothing happened.
Immediately panic welled up inside of me. Why didn't the step give way? Shawn had
to way at least one hundred pounds more than me! Without thinking, I quickly jumped
onto Shawn's back. Shawn let out a groan of surprise, falling back onto the
eleventh step. This time there was a distinguishing crack.
"What the hell?" Shawn shouted as his foot plummeted through the stair.
I felt myself falling as well, and I gasped in surprise, throwing my arms forwards,
trying to grab the next stair. Luckily, I managed to get a good grasp, but I felt
Shawn's hand close over my leg. I was yanked down, my nail scraping against the
wood as my hand slipped closer to the edge.
Panic flared within me again. I hadn't expected Shawn to be able to grab me before
he fell!
"Don't you dare let go," Shawn growled. "Or you'll regret it."
"I don't plan to let go," I shot back.
"Good."
I tried pulling myself up, but with Shawn clinging onto me, it was fruitless. My
arm was already tiring, and we hadn't even been hanging for a minute. It took all
my willpower to keep hanging on while my arm protested painfully. I looked over my
shoulder, my eyes widening in surprise when I noticed Casey wasn't by the door
anymore. Nor was Mr. Heywood. Or Jeremy. How had Casey carried both of them out
already?
I shook my head. I shouldn't be worried about how she did, I should be happy she
managed to do it. Now all I needed to do was find a way out of the mess I got
myself into. My hand slid another inch closer to the edge and I groaned, struggling
to hold on. My guess was that the drop was a good fifteen-to-twenty feet. If I
landed wrong, it would be enough to severely injure.
To my embarrassment, I felt my pants sliding lower. I really wanted to pull them
up, but I couldn't afford to pull them up. Plus, with Shawn clinging onto them it
wasn't surprising that they were falling down... I let out a small gasp.
Shawn was holding onto my pants.
Not me.
My pants.
I looked down to double check that he actually was clinging onto my pants, not my
ankle. He really was. Just as my pants slid down another inch, my hands slipped
again. My nails scraped on the wood and some slivers got stuck under my
fingernails, making me wince in pain. I had to make Shawn let go.
I started moving my feet together, trying to take off my shoes.
"What are you doing?" Shawn demanded. "Stop moving your feet."
My first shoe came off without a problem, and I heard it fall to the ground below.
It was a terrifying five seconds. My next shoe came off just as easily. The next
thing I had to take off would be a bit more difficult.
I could already feel my face heating up. A part of me really didn't want to do it,
but the rational part told this was the only way to save myself. I made sure I had
a good grasp on the wood with my left hand before letting go with my right.
Instantly my left hand slid down against the wood. Now I was barely hanging on.
In one swift motion, I pulled off my belt. Immediately, my pants began slightly
off. Shawn only had time to let out a surprised shout before my pants came
completely off.
I had to remember to thank my mom for picking up boxers at the store for me, and
thank myself for not wearing girly panties today. Heck, from this day on I'd wear
nothing but boxers.
There was a thump and a long, low groan from under me. Using all my strength, I
hoisted myself back onto the steps. As soon as I was safe, my arms gave out, and I
let out a relieved breath. When I heard another groan from under me, I was on my
feet, scampering own the steps. I turned to go grab my pants, but instantly scolded
myself. Shawn was definitely still conscious. I had to get out of here now.
"Don't move," I heard Shawn order.
A sudden, awful, anxious feeling washed over me. It felt like time had slowed down
as I turned and faced Shawn. Have of me expected what I saw, while the other half
didn't. A startled squeak escaped my mouth when my eyes focused on the gun Shawn
was pointing at me.
Shawn attempted to push himself to his feet, but he groaned and eased his body back
to the ground. "You..." he growled, glaring at me. "You'll regret this."
"No I won't," I said boldly, even though my voice was shaking.
Shawn never lowered the gun pointed at me. "Holly, I don't understand why you don't
want to come with me. I wasn't going to hurt you."
"Wasn't?"
Shawn narrowed his eyes. "After the way you've acted tonight, I think you deserve
punishment."
"Punishment?" I cried shrilly. "I deserve punishment? After you kidnapped my best
friend, almost killed the man you know I love, and shot Jeremy? And I still deserve
punishment? For what? For not wanting to go with a creep like you? Shawn, you
better listen to me. I'm not Holly Pierce. I'm Holly Evers. I'm not in love with
you, nor will I ever be. You don't know me, Shawn!"
Shawn gave me a harsh glare. "Come here."
"No!"
"Fine, you leave me no choice." Shawn readjusted the gun in his hand.
I felt my heart drop. "Shawn, don't..."
"If I can't have you, no one can," he told me, reminding me of one of the many
horror movies Casey, Lance, and I watched last summer. Except this wasn't a horror
movie. This was my life.
Before I could protest, I watched as Shawn's finger squeezed the trigger. I cried
out, raising my hands to cover my face, even though I knew that wouldn't help
anything. I could feel the bullet tearing through my skin, ready to render me
useless.
____________________________________________________
I decided this chapter was too serious, so I threw in a little comic relief. I
guess I could have kept it serious... but it was like, midnight when I wrote this,
so I was like... I'm going to make her lose her pants. lol. Anyhoo...
Ignore my spellingm mistakes, please. My home computer doesn't have spell check.
It's like, 50 years old. And I'm not good at spelling... which is really irritating
when writing an essay for a test... but that's getting off topic.
I have something verrrry exciting for next chapter ;D You guys will love me
forever, I promise.
Facebook page in link!

*******************************************
[54] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 52
*******************************************

When Shawn swore heavily, my eyes shot open. I scanned my body, realizing I was
completely unharmed. What happened? A dud? Did he run out of ammo? Whatever
happened, luck was on my side. Shawn suddenly chucked the gun at me and it just
barely hit my shoulder. I winced and jerked away. Shawn was trying to stand up
again. I didn't waste any more time.

"Holly, I'm going to get you!" Shawn shouted at me.

I sprinted for the door, in my socks, a pair of boxers, and my shirt. Casey had
left it open so I didn't stop as I burst through it. Instead of feeling free, I
felt pain as I ran into someone roughly. I screamed and my eyes shot open as I
staggered backwards, coming face-to-face with Jeremy. My scream abruptly stopped,
and I gasped.

"Jeremy! I thought-" I choked out, caught up with emotion.

"No time to explain now Holly," Jeremy cut me off, looking over me. "We've got to
go- Holly, where are your pants?"

"Uh..."

"Never mind," Jeremy said quickly, grabbing my wrist. "We've got to go now. The
cops will be here any second."

Together we hurried for Jeremy's car, which was running and ready to go. My mind
was racing. Jeremy was alive? But how? He had been shot! I didn't even see any
blood on him!

"In the car," Jeremy demanded, hurrying to the driver's seat.

I opened the door to the back, finding Mr. Heywood sprawled out over the seats.
Being as gentle as possible I raised his head and slid in, placing his head down in
my lap. Jeremy hopped into the front and took slammed on the guess.

"Here," Casey said breathlessly, turning and tossing me her sweatshirt as Jeremy
floored it. "Do I even want to know where your pants are?"

"Nope."

I caught the sweatshirt and lifted up Mr. Heywood's head again, pushing the
sweatshirt between his head and my lap before setting his head down again. The gash
on his forehead caught my attention again and I felt my heart start to pound faster
again. I gently placed my hand on the side of his forehead without any wounds.
"How'd you guys escape?" I asked.

Casey turned to grin at me. "It's a good thing I had a bobby pin."

"You picked the lock?"

"I'm not totally useless," Casey commented with a shrug.

I couldn't help but grin at her. "Nope. And thank god you're not. Now... Jeremy,
how are you so okay after being shot?" I asked, turning to look at Jeremy.

He turned and smirked at me. "Didn't I tell you I had a few tricks up my sleeve?"

"Eyes on the road!" Casey commanded, making Jeremy roll his eyes.

"Bulletproof vest," Jeremy answered the question I was about to ask. "It wasn't
like I was unprepared."

I raised an eyebrow. "So... wait. You were just randomly wearing a bulletproof
vest?"

Jeremy laughed. "No, I just had a bad feeling this morning, so I put it on."

"You're weird."

"It saved my life, didn't it?"

I smiled slightly. "Yeah, it did. That really scared me though."

"I could tell from your voice," Jeremy commented, sounding amused. "Jeremy!
Jeremy!" he mimicked in a high-pitched tone.

A blush made its' way onto my face and I glared at the back of Jeremy's head. "It's
not funny! I really was worried about you!"

"I know," Jeremy told me, all playfulness gone. "Thank you."

I lowered my gaze. "You don't need to thank me..." The large gash on Mr. Heywood's
head suddenly caught my vision, making me suck in a quick breath. "What are we
going to tell the hospital?"

Jeremy glanced at me through the rear-view window. "For Chris? My plan was to say
that he was in his shed, slipped, and landed on a shovel."

I stared at Jeremy. "You're kidding."

Jeremy shook his head. "Nope."

"But that's so... That's so unlike Mr. Heywood!"

"I know," Jeremy commented with a grin.

A small laugh escaped my lips, but I immediately shut my mouth. This wasn't the
time to be laughing. Even though we had escaped Shawn, Mr. Heywood was still
seriously injured. Who knew if he'd even wake up?

A small groan emitted from the man, contradicting my thoughts and making my heart
skip a beat. I brought my head closer to Mr. Heywood's, holding my breath. Had I
just been imagining things?

"Mr. Heywood?" I asked quietly. "Can you hear me?"

Mr. Heywood made another groaning noise, and his eyes fluttered open. For a split
second we made eye contact, until his eyes shut again. I looked up at Jeremy, my
mouth open. Casey was turned around in her seat, looking down at Mr. Heywood with a
worried expression.

"Holly?"

My eyes snapped back down at to my lap. Mr. Heywood's eyes were opened again.

"Holly?" he repeated.

"It's me," I whispered, feeling my eyes feeling up with tears.

Mr. Heywood raised his right arm, pressing his hand to my face. He cupped my cheek,
and ran his thumb back and forth over the skin. We hit a bump in the road and he
winced, letting out a groan of pain, dropping his hand onto his chest.

"Are you okay?" I asked quickly.

"Are you okay?" he responded, sounding weak.

I smiled down at him, blinking the tears out of my vision. "I'm okay. More okay
than you at least..."

Mr. Heywood swallowed, shutting his eyes again. "Shawn..."

"Shawn's back at the warehouse. The police will find him," I told him.

"I wanted to protect you."

Mr. Heywood's voice cracked and I stared down at him, startled. Since when did Mr.
Heywood's voice ever crack? Once again I felt the overwhelming urge to cry. I
gripped Mr. Heywood's hand in mine. Clenching my jaw, I shook my head at him
vigorously.

"Mr. Heywood, you did protect me," I whispered, squeezing his hand. "Even though
you weren't absolutely sure Shawn had me or not, you still went to help me. And you
tried to fight him, even though you were heavily injured. I'm so sorry I didn't
tell you earlier I was receiving texts from him. We could have avoided this all
together. I'm sorry," I repeated, letting tears spill down my face again.

Mr. Heywood opened his eyes again, gazing at me with smoldering eyes. "How is it
you're crying when I'm the one who wants to?"

"We all know it's not humanly possible for you to cry," Jeremy commented, making my
heart leap into my throat.

A blush quickly appeared on my face. It had totally escaped my mind that Jeremy and
Casey were still in the car! I kept my gaze fixed on the button to the window,
embarrassment making me hot. Mr. Heywood chuckled.

"There's the blush I love," he commented quietly. "That's much better than the
tears. Much more fitting, Holly."

I blushed darker, making Mr. Heywood chuckle again.

"As much as I love hearing your sappy talk, we're almost at the hospital. Holly,
would you mind telling Chris what he's going to tell the doctors?"

I glared at Jeremy, who was smirking. He would make me tell Mr. Heywood that. "You,
um... were in your barn and you slipped, and fell on a shovel," I muttered, unable
to look Mr. Heywood in the eye.

"What?"

"You were in your barn-"

"I heard what you said," Mr. Heywood snapped, irritation dripping in his voice.
"Whose stupid idea was that?"

Jeremy whistled from the front. "Not mine."

"Yes it was," Casey and I said together.

Mr. Heywood groaned. "That's the lamest thing I've ever heard. Isn't there
something else?"

Jeremy glanced at Mr. Heywood through the rear-view mirror. "Can you think of
anything? Or do you want to go with, 'oh, I got hit over the head by a shovel while
I wasn't looking and I was knocked out for a few hours. Then I was punched in the
same place.'?"

Mr. Heywood scowled. "Shawn... That bastard. He used such a dirty trick."

"Mr. Heywood, you should just go with the shovel excuse," Casey interjected. "I
think I speak for us all when I say we just want to make this as simple as
possible."

"Fine," Mr. Heywood responded grumpily.

Just then a police car whizzed by us, its' light flashing, and siren wailing. Casey
and I exchanged startled glances. Jeremy tightened his grip on the steering wheel
and kept driving. Seconds later another cop car flashed by.

"Hopefully Shawn is still there," I murmured, turning my head to look out the back.
"Maybe this will be an end to everything..."

We arrived at the hospital in no time. Jeremy drove straight up to the entrance,

shutting off the car and hopping out of it. He went around to the back, and helped
Mr. Heywood out of the car. I climbed out too, going to help Casey. Jeremy nudged
me in the shoulder before I could start walking towards the building

"Holly," I heard Mr. Heywood start, anger in his voice. "Where are your pants?"

I blushed heavily, feeling self-conscious. It had slipped my mind that I wasn't

wearing pants or shoes. "I'll explain later, Mr. Heywood." I really didn't want to
tell him what happened right now.

"Holly, tell me."

"Later, it's nothing bad," I assured him. "For now, let's just go in the hospital."

"Give me Casey, you take Chris," Jeremy suddenly ordered, making me look at him in
surprise.
"But-"

Jeremy shook his head. "No protesting." With that, he forced Mr. Heywood to put an
arm around me, and unlatched Casey's arm from me, putting an arm around her waist
to support her.

I struggled under Mr. Heywood's weight. "Mr. Heywood... Could you support yourself
a little more?"

"Holly, go over there," Mr. Heywood ordered, pointing to the corner of the
building. "Around the corner."

I turned my head slightly to look at Mr. Heywood. "What? Why? We need to get you in
right now-"

Mr. Heywood sighed. "Holly, just go. Now."

I scowled, but obeyed Mr. Heywood, shooting a look at Jeremy. He raised an eyebrow,
watching as I staggered off to the edge of the building. Mr. Heywood slowly took on
more of his own weight, still keeping a tight grasp on me. He ordered me to go
around the corner. I did as he said.

"Are you okay?"

I looked at Mr. Heywood in surprise. He forced me to drag him all the way over her
so he could ask me if I was okay? "I'm fine..."

"I'm sorry, Holly," Mr. Heywood apologized suddenly, raising his right hand to my
face, cupping my cheek. "This will be the last time."

"Last time for what-"

Mr. Heywood suddenly leaned in closer to me, and I could smell his cologne as I
inhaled sharply from the sudden proximity. A hint of a smirk played at his lips
before he pressed them against mine softly. For a moment I was frozen in shock, my
eyes wide, my heart stopping. Then Mr. Heywood cupped my neck with his free hand,
and I let myself relax into the kiss, my heart jump-starting again, and my eyes
closing. His lips were slightly chapped, but surprisingly soft as they moved
against mine. Shoving my embarrassment to the side, I brought my arms around him
and pulled myself closer, my head feeling light. All too soon he pulled away,
staring at me for a moment. Our gazes locked, and I blushed under the intensity of
his smoldering eyes.

My mind was blank. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't form a coherent thought.
Mr. Heywood kissed me- and not for blackmail, or because he was fever dreaming. I
opened my mouth to speak, but Mr. Heywood shook his head, bringing his lips to mine
again, this time a little bit harder. There was an acrid taste to his kiss, but I
ignored it for the time being, bringing my hand up to his head to run it through
his hair. Suddenly he pulled away, hissing in pain, dropping his hands away from my
face.

I abruptly stepped away from him, my heart pounding from the kiss. "A-are you
okay?"

Mr. Heywood pressed a hand to his forehead. "I'm okay." His eyes slid out of focus
for a minute and he winced.

"We should bring you in now," I said, looking at him in concern. "You're looking
pale..."

Mr. Heywood stared at me for a moment, his lips pursed. "I'm not done."

I blushed, knowing what he meant. "Mr. Heywood, um, I just- You need medical
attention."

"You don't want me to kiss you again?"

"No!" I said quickly. "I do! B-but you need- and you're still bleeding a-and you-"

Mr. Heywood chuckled, putting a hand to my lips again. "You're so cute when you're
flustered." Then he leaned forward again, and for a second I thought he was going
to kiss me again, but instead he nodded, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Okay,
let's go back."

I nodded, letting him wrap an arm around me again. That was the last time I would
ever refuse to kiss Mr. Heywood. As I took the first step back to the front of the
hospital I froze, my heart jumping into overdrive as my brain finally registered
Mr. Heywood's earlier words.

This will be the last time.

"Mr. Heywood..."

"Hmm?"

I clutched him tightly, feeling my hands shaking. "You're not going to... leave,
are you?" I whispered.

Mr. Heywood's eyes widened in surprise. "What?"

"You said that would be the last time," I pointed out, feeling anxious.

Mr. Heywood stared at me for a moment, before sighing. "Holly-"

I shook my head. "No! Mr. Heywood! I've said before I don't are how dangerous it
is! I know I'm being selfish, but..."

Mr. Heywood put a hand to my lips. "I'm being selfish, Holly."

I gave him a questioning look.

"I didn't mean that would be the last time I'd kiss you," he told me, amusement
shining in his eye for a moment. "I meant that would be that last time I'd kiss you
without your permission."

Relief washed through me immediately, and I started laughing. Mr. Heywood removed
his hand from my mouth.

"Holly, I know I probably shouldn't say this, but even though you're in danger by
being with me, I don't want you to stay away," Mr. Heywood admitted. "It's selfish,
but it's how I feel. I've always been a selfish man, anyway."

Casey and Jeremy entered my vision again, waiting patiently by the front of the
hospital.

"I wouldn't go even if you forced me," I assured Mr. Heywood quietly. "Trust me."
Mr. Heywood chuckled. "Alright."

Jeremy wagged his eyebrows at me as we grew closer. I did my best to keep my face
composed.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" I demanded when we were close enough.

Jeremy smirked. "What went on back there?"

"We had a quick chat," I lied, feeling my face heat up. Luckily it was dark, so I
didn't think Jeremy noticed.

"Uh-huh," Jeremy commented. "Sure..."

"Never mind," I said quickly. "Let's just get Mr. Heywood and Casey checked out."

"Umm, Holly?" Casey started, sounding like she was going to laugh.

"What?"

"I don't think you should go in the hospital," she told me. "You're in your
underwear, remember?"

For the billionth time that night, I felt my face flushing. Jeremy started
laughing, looking down at my boxer-clad bottom half.

"Stop staring!" I cried, crossing my legs. "Jeremy! You pervert!"

Jeremy continued laughing, but did look away. "Holly, you should probably wait in
the car. I can handle Chris and Casey."

Begrudgingly, I handed Mr. Heywood off to Jeremy. "Fine," I grumbled. "Give me your
car keys."

Jeremy dug out his car keys and tossed them to me. "Don't go anywhere."

"I won't," I promised him. "I just don't want to freeze."

Jeremy ran his eyes to my legs again, smirking. "Well, maybe if you kept your pants
on-"

"Shut up!"

"Ow!" Jeremy cried as Mr. Heywood slammed his fist into Jeremy's shoulder.

"Bring me in the damn hospital," Mr. Heywood muttered. "My head is killing me."

"Yes, your highness," Jeremy responded. "See you soon, Holly."

"Bye," I responded flatly.

Jeremy feigned a hurt look.

"Stay safe," Mr. Heywood said, his eyes piercing into mine.

I nodded, swallowing nervously. "I hope everything goes okay with your head."

"Nothing's ever okay with his head," Jeremy commented in a singsong voice.
Mr. Heywood slammed him in the shoulder again. "Shut up and move."

_______________________________

Not much to say. Not having internet sucks. I've been watching The Office, Glee
(what is the point to that show?), Life Unexpected, and Gossip Girl to pass my
time. Fun.

Buttttttttt, kiss? ;D Facebook page in external link~

*******************************************
[55] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 53
*******************************************
When I woke up, I felt overheated. I stretched, yawning widely. My eyes shot open
went I touched something- or someone warm. I sat up quickly, looking around at my
surroundings. I was definitely not at home. There was a lump next to me, a person
sleeping under the covers.

My mind was racing. What happened last night? After Mr. Heywood, Jeremy, and Casey
had disappeared into the hospital I had gone back to Jeremy's car... and then what?
I couldn't remember. When had I fallen asleep? I looked around the room again and
realized with a jolt where I was.

Mr. Heywood's house. So that meant...

Gripping the comforter tightly, I whipped it off the person next to me. When I
noticed it was Jeremy, not Mr. Heywood, I shrieked, moving away from him. His eyes
shot open, and he bolted up, looking around widely.

"Where's the fire?" he shouted, his messy blonde hair everywhere, covering parts of
his face.

"There is no fire!" I cried, grabbing a pillow and pulling it to my chest. "What

are you doing in the same bed as me?"

Jeremy looked at me in confusion for a few seconds. "Holly?"

"That's me," I snapped, feeling my face heat up. "What are you doing in my bed?"

"Actually," a new voice commented, "I do believe that's my bed."

My head snapped in the direction of the doorway, where Mr. Heywood was standing. He
had large, white bandages wrapped around the top of his head, and a deep blue
bruise under his left eye. He raised an eyebrow at me, taking a sip from the coffee
cup in his hand.

"What...?" I trailed off, unsure of what I was about to ask.

Jeremy bounded out of Mr. Heywood's bed, hopping to his feet. "Morning, Chris!"

Mr. Heywood gave Jeremy a hard look. "It's afternoon."

I climbed out of the bed as well, detangling myself from the sheets. Mr. Heywood
smirked at me as I did so. I was about to ask him what he thought was so amusing
when I looked down and noticed I was still in the boxers I was in last night.
Flushing in embarrassment I quickly yanked the sheet off his bed and wrapped it
around me.

"Casey and Lance are coming with clothing for you soon," Mr. Heywood informed me.

"Casey and Lance?"

Mr. Heywood nodded. "We have a lot of explaining to do with Casey... And we have a
few other things to discuss."

"Like what?" I asked, narrowing my eyes in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Mr. Heywood ignored my question. "Want some breakfast?"

My stomach rumbled as if on cue, and I blushed again, causing Mr. Heywood and
Jeremy to chuckle.

"It's almost ready," Mr. Heywood informed me.

"Then... can I take a quick shower?"

Mr. Heywood nodded. "Sure. You can grab some clothing out of my dresser if you
want," he informed me. "That way you won't be changing back into dirty clothes."

"Aw, you two share clothes?" Jeremy teased, grinning. "That's cute."

Mr. Heywood jammed his elbow into Jeremy's side. "Shut up. Go check on the bacon."

Jeremy grumbled, but left the room. Mr. Heywood stayed in the doorway, taking
another sip from his mug.

"Um, what happened last night?"

Another amused smile appeared on Mr. Heywood's face. "Well, it was around four in
the morning when they finished fixing me up, and you were asleep in the car when we
finally made it out, so we didn't wake you up. Casey went home, but Jeremy called
your mother and told her you were staying here for the night."

I had to remember to thank Jeremy for calling my mom. I didn't want her having a
heart attack because I was missing. "Okay... So why was I in the same bed as
Jeremy?"

Mr. Heywood scowled. "I don't know. He was supposed to be sleeping on the couch."

"Oh, so he snuck in," I commented, rolling my eyes. "That's just like him. Where'd
you sleep?"

"Couch in the living room," Mr. Heywood told me grumpily. "I have to be careful not
to let my head bump into anything."

"What did the doctors say?"

Mr. Heywood shrugged. "I just needed some stitches, and I guess I have a minor
concussion. No big deal. I've had worse."

"Oh." He's had worse?

"Want to take a shower now?"

I nodded my head quickly. "Yeah." Warm, relaxing water was just what I needed right
now.

Twenty minutes later I heard a knock on the bathroom door. A frown appeared on my
face, thinking it was Mr. Heywood telling me it was time to get out. When I heard a
different voice I blinked in surprise.

"Holly? I've got your clothes," Lance yelled through the door. "I'm coming in."

"What? Lance stay out!" I cried, pulling the shower curtain more securely across
the rod.

Lance ignored my demands, and I heard the door open. Footsteps filled the room and
I heard Lance cough. "Muggy enough in here?"

"I like my showers hot," I responded simply, staying as far away from the curtain
as possible. "Get out."

"Is Holly done in the shower now? I have to go to the bathroom," a new voice asked,
and I heard another pair of feet in my bathroom.

"Nope."

"Oh," Jeremy responded. "Holly, do you mind if I just go-"

I wrenched the top of the shower curtain open, sticking only my head out to glower
at the boys by the sink. "Yes. You two. Out. Now."

"What are you guys doing in here?"

My eyes went past Jeremy and Lance to the door, where Casey and Mr. Heywood were
now standing. Casey looked like she was about to start laughing while Mr. Heywood's
eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and then he glared at Jeremy. Jeremy held up his
hands.

"I didn't know she was in here, dude."

"Get out!" Mr. Heywood and I ordered at the same time.

Jeremy winced. "Oh, double teamed. I'm going, I'm going," he said, holding up his
hands. "Come on, Lance."

Lance shrugged, placing my clothing on the sink counter. "Sure."

Mr. Heywood locked gazes with me for a moment. "Make sure to lock the door when you
take a shower in the future," he suggested before closing the door.

I blushed, pulling my head back under the spray of hot water. Did that mean he
planned on me taking more showers here? The thought brought a smile to my face. I
turned off the shower and slipped out, drying and dressing myself quickly.

Jeremy, Lance, Casey, and Mr. Heywood were all in the living room when I finally
finished getting ready. Lance was in the recliner, Jeremy and Casey on the couch,
and Mr. Heywood on the other couch. Mr. Heywood gestured for me to take a seat next
to him. After a moment of hesitation I went to the couch and took a seat, sitting
as far from Mr. Heywood as possible. With Casey, Jeremy, and Lance here, it was
sure to be awkward enough.

"So," Jeremy said, clapping his hands together. "To save us trouble today, I've
already explained everything about the gang problem to Casey."
Lance and I stared at Jeremy in horror. Casey grinned from her seat next to him.

"I'm so sorry Casey!" I apologized quickly. "I know it was mean to hide in from
you, and I feel really guilty for lying and I totally understand if you don't want
to be best friends anymore."

Jeremy, Casey, and Lance gave me strange looks.

"I don't blame you for hiding this from me," Casey told me slowly. "It's not really
a big deal..."

"Oh," I responded, feeling my face heat up. "I... I see..."

Mr. Heywood snickered and I glared at him. He held up his hand, turning his snicker
into a cough.

"My head injury causes me to cough," he told me.

"Sure it does."

"Casey we kept it a secret so you wouldn't get hurt," Lance told her. "Which didn't
really work, but still."

Casey laughed. "Guys, chill. It's fine. I understand. I would have never guessed
you guys would be involved with a gang though. Or that Mr. Heywood was an ex-
gangster."

Mr. Heywood shrugged. "That means I'm good at keeping it a secret."

"Except for the part where Holly find out," Casey responded. "Way to keep your
secrecy there."

"That wasn't my fault."

"But it still happened."

Mr. Heywood scowled at Casey. "I like you better in class."

"Holly likes you all the time."

"Casey!" I cried, staring at her incredulously.

Jeremy burst out laughing, clapping Casey on the back. "That was a good one!" Even
Lance grinned widely.

"Guys," Mr. Heywood started, looking stern, but sounding amused. "Let's keep on
topic, shall we?"

Jeremy nodded. "Okay. I have the news on right now, and I'll have it on all day
too. You guys make sure to watch it every time you get the chance too."

"Why?" Casey, Lance, and I chorused.

"To see if Shawn was caught," Jeremy said, as if stating the obvious. "Holly, when
you and Shawn were alone last night, what happened?"

I lowered my gaze to the floor. "Nothing much... Shawn fell through the stairs."
Jeremy raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"I led him upstairs, and he fell through one of them," I explained. "That's how I
escaped from him."

"And how exactly did you lose your pants?"

"That's... um..." Reflecting upon the moment, it seemed like a pretty stupid lucky
break. My face reddened. How could I tell them I had to take off my pants to make
him fall?

"Holly?"

I turned to Mr. Heywood, who was giving me an unusually concerned look. "What?"

"Did Shawn... do anything to you?"

I cocked my head to the side for a moment. Did Shawn do anything to me? It took me
a moment to realize what he meant. I quickly waved my hands in front of my face.
"No, no, no! I just had to take off my pants to make him fall."

Jeremy snorted. "Bribery?"

I glared at him. "No!"

"I was joking," Jeremy responded with a laugh.

"You have a bruise on your forehead," Mr. Heywood interjected, shooting a dirty
look at Jeremy. "Top right. How did that happen?"

Surprised, I raised my hand to my forehead and put pressure on it gently. When I

hit the bruise, I winced. "Ow!"

Mr. Heywood tried to keep his face straight, but I could tell he was holding back a
smirk. "So?"

"Umm," I hesitated, thinking back. "It could have been when I tripped you're your
leg... Or when Shawn threw his gun at me-"

"Shawn threw his gun at you?" Lance interrupted. "Shawn had a gun?"

Casey nodded. "He shot Jeremy with it."

Lance whipped around to stare at Jeremy, a confused expression on his face. "You
don't..."

"Bulletproof vest," Jeremy told Lance with a grin. "Bet you wish you had one of
those the other night."

Lance scowled at Jeremy. "Shut up."

"Holly, why did Shawn throw the gun at you?" Casey asked curiously, turning to me.
"If I was him, I would have just shot you."

"Casey!"

She shrugged, grinning sheepishly. "What? You put yourself in his shoes. Isn't that
what you'd do?"
I nodded my head begrudgingly. "Yeah, I guess I would. And he did try to shoot
me... But I got lucky. Again. He ran out of bullets or something."

Jeremy laughed again. "That's just his luck."

"So was Shawn immobile when you left him?" Lance asked.

"Yep."

"There's a good chance that the police caught him then."

"Yeah."

Lance crossed his arms. "Just in case though, I'm canceling my phone. I thought I'd
get it back, but I didn't realize Shawn had it..." He narrowed his eyes accusingly
at me.

I stared back at him in surprise. "What? Lance, no! You can't cancel it!"

"Why not?"

"That's the only means of communication I have with him!"

"Which is why you need to get rid of it," Mr. Heywood interjected, giving me a
stern look. "The less interaction you have with Shawn, the better."

"But Mr. Heywood! What if something like last night happens again? Shawn won't be
able to reach me-"

Mr. Heywood cut me off. "Which is a good thing."

"Not if you, Jeremy, Casey, or Lance are getting hurt!" I protested. "What if he
texts Lance's phone with a threat, and I don't receive it, and one of you gets
hurt?"

Mr. Heywood stayed silent, and I quickly looked around the room. Lance, Casey, and
Jeremy were all giving me sober looks. Casey chewed on the bottom of her lip,
giving me a half-smile.

"Don't tell me..." I started, my eyes growing wide. "Do you guys think it's better
for you to get hurt than for me just to talk to Shawn?"

"Holly-"

I shook my head. "It's not just about me! Why don't you guys get that? Shawn isn't
just after me. He's after all of us."

Mr. Heywood put his hand on my shoulder, silencing me. "Holly, none of us are going
to have contact with Shawn. That way we're all safe."

I stared at Mr. Heywood. "But..."

"But what, Holly?" Lance cried in exasperation. "There is no but!"

"It's dangerous still," I protested weakly.

Lance shook his head. "No, it's dangerous to have contact with him. Do you want
another repeat of last night?"
"No!"

"Then that's that."

I wanted to protest, but I kept my mouth shut. They didn't understand what I was
trying to say. Wouldn't it be better to have a warning than something happening out
of the blue? Like when Lance got shot?

Jeremy sighed, putting his head on the back of the couch. "Holly, you worry too
much."

"Sorry I care," I snapped, feeling upset.

Jeremy shook his head. "Chances are Shawn's in jail now, so it doesn't matter.
Holly, I know you're thinking it's safer to have a warning from Shawn, but what if
he lied? What if he said, for example, he has Lance and he wants you to go to him
otherwise he'll hurt Lance, when he really doesn't have Lance?"

I stared at Jeremy in confusion. "Can you repeat that?"

"Like in Harry Potter," Casey interjected, looking excited. "When Vold-"

"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named!" Jeremy hissed, looking around in mock horror.

Casey rolled her eyes. "When He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named told Harry he had Sirius, and
when Harry went to save Sirius it turned out Vold-"

"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named," Mr. Heywood joked, grinning as Jeremy clapped his hands

over his ears.

I had the urge to laugh, but instead I just grinned. "Yeah, Casey. The Dark Lord's
name must not be said."

"Voldemort," Casey said quickly before anyone could interrupt her again, "never had
Sirius... And we both know how that ended."

My grin dropped. "Oh."

There was an awkward silence in the room now. Lance cleared his throat quietly, and
Jeremy started whistling the Harry Potter theme song. Mr. Heywood eventually joined
in, and so did Casey.

"Fine," I finally grumbled, rolling my eyes at their antics. "Lance, shut off your
phone."

"I'm doing that right after we're done here," he told me, nodding his head.

"So if Shawn actually is caught... Does that mean this whole gang problem is over
and done with?" Casey asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

I blanked at her question. That was exactly what it meant. There would be no more
danger, or threats, or being paranoid. I glanced at Jeremy, who had the same
expression I had on. He blinked at me, opening his mouth and saying nothing. Lance
was starting to grin. I turned to Mr. Heywood, expecting to see a relieved
expression, but instead he had a hard look.

"That's exactly what it means," Mr. Heywood told Casey, setting his jaw. "Let's
hope that's what happened."
I cocked my head. "What are you...?"

"There's always the chance Shawn got away," Mr. Heywood told me, confirming my
thoughts.

I shook my head. "No way! He couldn't move and the cops came not even five minutes
later."

Jeremy pursed his lips. "The chances are low, but there's still the slight
possibility."

"Which is why we keep an eye on the news and the newspaper," Lance threw in.
"There'll definitely be something about the warehouse."

"Sounds easy enough," Casey said, shrugging. "I don't usually watch TV, but once in
awhile is okay."

"We shouldn't all watch the same channel," Mr. Heywood commented, glancing at his
T.V. "Lance, why don't you go to your house and watch channel ten? Jeremy, you go
watch channel three, and Casey you watch channel five. I've got it on channel six."

Jeremy, Casey, and Lance nodded, oblivious to the fact that Mr. Heywood didn't
assign me a channel. Before I could ask Mr. Heywood anything, Jeremy spoke.

"So we should do that right away," he said, pushing himself off the couch. "Casey,
give me your cell phone."

Casey gave Jeremy a questioning look. "Why?"

"I need your phone number to contact you if I find something, and vice versa. I'll
give you Chris's too, and then you can text Chris so he has your number," Jeremy
explained. "Lance, do you have a house phone?"

"I'll be picking up a new cell phone while I cancel my old one," Lance responded,
looking grumpy. "Waste of my money..."

"He has a house phone," I told Jeremy, shaking my head at Lance. Didn't he know
they'd replace his phone for free? "I'll text you the number."

Jeremy nodded. "Alright, then we are all in contact."

"Yep," the rest of us chorused.

"Then let's go," Jeremy ordered, clapping his hands. He turned to me. "Holly, want
a ride home with me?"

I gave him a wary look. "You drive like a maniac..."

"I'm not that bad," he protested, grinning.

"I live like, two doors down from her," Lance told Jeremy. "I've got her."

Jeremy looked disappointed. "Fine."

I laughed. "Sorry, Jeremy, maybe next time."

Jeremy shrugged, heading towards the door. "I'll talk to you guys later," he
called, waving over his shoulder.
"You ready?" Lance asked, looking at Casey, and then me.

"Yep," Casey responded.

I glanced at Mr. Heywood, and blinked in surprise when I found him staring
intensely at me. "Um..."

He smirked. "Lance, I have to talk to Holly for a bit. You and Casey go ahead, and
I'll bring Holly home after."

Lance frowned. "Why can't you talk to her in front of us?"

Casey rolled her eyes, shoving Lance's shoulder, and steering him towards the door.
"Shut up, Lance. Let's go."

"But-"

"No buts," Casey said firmly, sending me a secret smile. She winked. "Have fun, you
two."

I blushed, ducking my head. If it wasn't Jeremy, it was Casey. Lance threw an

apprehensive look at me but I waved him away. "Bye Lance, bye Case."

"I still think-" Lance started, but Casey kicked him.

"Keep walking," she ordered.

I grinned after them. Then the fact that Mr. Heywood and I were all alone hit me,
and I held my breath. This was the first time we were alone since the other night.
A blush tried to make its' way to my face, but I forced it away. There was nothing
to be embarrassed about...

That wasn't even a fraction of my feelings.

I quickly smacked my hands to my cheeks. I had to stop thinking. Mr. Heywood was
giving me a funny look when I turned to him. "Bug," I lied with a tiny smile. "So,
what'd you want to talk about?"

Mr. Heywood's expression suddenly turned solemn and I felt my heart drop.
Immediately my palms became sweaty, and I forced myself to stay calm. His
expression didn't mean anything. He hadn't even said a word yet. There was nothing
to be nervous about.

"Holly, before I start talking I want you to consider everything I say, okay?" Mr.
Heywood started, giving me a serious look. "No matter how you feel about it."

"O-okay," I said quietly. What did he want to talk about?

"There's two things I want to talk about," Mr. Heywood told me, as if reading my
thoughts. "One of them, you won't like. The second, we need to think carefully
through."

I bit my lip. "Alright..."

"So do you want the bad or good first?" Mr. Heywood asked with a wry grin.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It was better to get the worse over and
done with. "Bad."
_____________________________

I have a great idea for the sequel. It's going to be so awesome. But first, I need
to finish this. There's one last big thing, and then I'm ending it. The sequel is
going to have a lot of Jeremy in it, and two new characters... Muahahaha. It's
going to be amazing.

By the way, can you guess I saw Harry Potter 7 today? It was, in the words of Ron,
"Bloody brilliant!" I didn't really like the ending. It was like, Voldemort and the
wand, and then END. And you're like ....... wtf. haha

The results of the contest will be with the next upload, because I'm not quite done
reading them all yet, since I don't have internet, it's hard lol.

If you have questions, my formspring is in the link this time...

*******************************************
[56] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 54
*******************************************
Mr. Heywood handed me a cup of tea. "Here. I guess I ran out of coffee."

"I want sugar," I demanded, looking at the cup of tea.

Mr. Heywood gave me a flat look. "You know where it is, go get it yourself."

I pursed my lips at him. "But-"

"While you're at it, get me a spoon."

Pushing myself off the couch, I trudged to the kitchen without protesting. Mr.
Heywood was obviously stalling. He's the one who wanted to talk to me. Why was he
making me suffer by avoiding the talk? I felt sick because of how much I wanted to
know what the "bad" was. The sugar was right above the silverware drawer so I
quickly grabbed it and the spoon before returning to the living room.

"Here," I told Mr. Heywood, standing above him, holding out the spoon.

He reached up to grab the spoon, but instead of grabbing it he grabbed my wrist and
pulled me down next to him.

"You can sit closer, I won't bite," he told me, amusement in his voice.

I blushed, causing him to chuckle. "Mr. Heywood-"

"Chris."

"Chris," I corrected myself. "What do you want to talk about?"

Mr. Heywood lost his grin. "Straight to the point, huh?"

"I feel like are roles are switched," I commented, smiling slightly. "Usually I'm
the one skirting around the bush."

"It's about what happens if Shawn actually did get away," Mr. Heywood admitted.

I raised an eyebrow. "Why aren't we talking about this in front of everyone else?
Shouldn't they know?"

"Because this is about something they don't know about," Mr. Heywood told me.
"Well, Jeremy might know, but I wanted Jeremy out of my house."

"Something they don't know?"

Mr. Heywood nodded. "Yep."

I frowned at him, thinking deeply. What was something Jeremy might know, I knew,
and Lance and Casey didn't know? Nothing came to mind right away. "I don't know," I
finally said.

"If Shawn did escape," Mr. Heywood started slowly, as if choosing his words
carefully. "We're going to go to the police and tell them everything."

It took a second for his words to register in my mind. When they did, I gasped, my
eyes growing wide. I started to shake my head. "No, Mr. Heywood. No."

"Holly-"

"If we tell them won't you go back to jail?"

Mr. Heywood stayed silent for a moment. "There's a chance," he admitted quietly.

"Then don't-"

"Holly, if we tell them what's going on, then Shawn will go to jail as well," Mr.
Heywood interrupted, giving me a stern look. "If Shawn goes to jail, this is all
over."

"But at the expense of you going to jail as well!" I protested. "That's not fair!"

"It is fair, Holly," Mr. Heywood responded with a wry smile. "I was told if I got
involved with the gang again, I was going back to jail. I did get involved, and
what's worse, I got three teenagers involved as well."

"I'm an adult," I stated stubbornly.

"Technically you're still a teenager," Mr. Heywood said softly. "And I'm
responsible for getting you involved."

I shook my head. "We aren't telling the police."

"Holly."

"We can't!"

"Holly, you promised me you'd at least consider it," Mr. Heywood reminded me.

"There's nothing to consider!"

Mr. Heywood gave me a flat look. "Yes, there is. Your safety. Jeremy's safety.
Casey's safety. Lance's safety."

"Your safety," I commented quietly, lowering my gaze.

Mr. Heywood nodded. "I'm not as worried about that, but yes."

"I still don't want you going to jail," I stated stubbornly.

"You're being selfish."

"Can't I be selfish?" I cried, turning to look at him. "Can't I be at least a
little selfish? After all I've been through, I can't be selfish?"

"Yes, you could, if it wasn't you being selfish for me," Mr. Heywood answered, his
eyes piercing into mine. "Think about everyone, not just me."

I bit my tongue. What was I doing? Putting my friends safety over Mr. Heywood going
to jail? I didn't want anyone to get hurt anymore, but I didn't want Mr. Heywood
going to jail either. How could I choose? There was no way I could!

"It's not fair," I finally said, clenching my fists.

"Holly-"

I cut him off. "How can I choose between you going to jail or everyone's safety?"

"Holly, obviously you should choose everyone's safety," Mr. Heywood replied, giving
me a hard look. "Don't be stupid."

Tears sprung to my eyes. Mr. Heywood was right. I knew he was right. If it really
came down to it, I'd know what I'd choose. "Do you hate me?"

Mr. Heywood's expression became bewildered. "What?"

"You can hate me," I told him, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand. "I would
choose everyone's safety over you going to jail, Mr. Heywood. I'd send you to jail
if that meant everyone would be safe."

"I don't hate you, Holly."

"It'd be easier if you did," I snapped. "I don't want you to go to jail!"

Mr. Heywood sighed, taking my hand into his. "I know you don't. I know it's a hard
decision for you to make too."

I sniffed, grasping his hand tightly. "How can I send the man I love to jail?"

"Holly..."

I lifted my head up to see Mr. Heywood giving me a soft look. More tears filled my
vision and without any hesitation I shifted so I could hug him. He sighed quietly
again as I squeezed him hard, doing my best not to cry.

"Holly," Mr. Heywood repeated, putting his arms around me. "This is only if Shawn
doesn't get caught. It's only a slight possibility."

"I know that," I told him, burying my face in his shoulder. "But I love you, Mr.
Hey- Chris. I don't want you in jail. I hate myself for choosing my friends over
you."

Mr. Heywood gently pushed me away from him. I pulled back, staring at him in
confusion. His face was only a few inches away from mine. "I love you too," he told
me, brushing a stray piece of my hair out of my face. "So please, don't cry over
me, and don't hate yourself. Hopefully it won't come down to this."

Mr. Heywood moved his head closer to me, sending my heart racing. Within seconds
our lips met. I closed my eyes, enjoying the soft touch of his lips, and the taste
of the tea he had been drinking earlier. Once again, his lips were slightly
chapped. After a moment, he suddenly froze. Confused, I pulled away from him. He
was staring at the T.V screen, looking astonished.

My heart jumped into my chest as I quickly turned around to look at the T.V. The
news was on.

"No way," Mr. Heywood stated, pushing away from the couch to walk over to the
television. He dropped to his knees in front of it, putting a hand on the side.
"Holy shit."

There was Shawn.

Handcuffed.

With the police.

Running across the bottom of the screen were words I couldn't focus enough to be
able to read. My heart was pounding in my chest, watching as the police led Shawn
towards the local jail.

"Suspected for attempted murder?" Mr. Heywood muttered. "They must have found the
same finger prints on Shawn's gun as the one that shot Lance. Unless they were the
same gun."

I staggered forwards and sagged next to the T.V with Mr. Heywood, unable to tear my
gaze away from the scene. A quiet laugh escaped my lips, and then a louder one. Mr.
Heywood finally took his eyes of the television, glancing at me quickly. I began to
laugh harder, crossing my arms over my stomach. Mr. Heywood raised an eyebrow.

"You good?"

I shook my head, feeling my eyes water again.

"What's wrong?" Mr. Heywood asked, now sounding concerned. "Tell me."

I forced myself to stop laughing. Running the back of my hand over my eyes, I
cleared my throat, giving Mr. Heywood a crooked grin. "After all that... I really
thought for a moment Shawn would of somehow escaped the police. I thought you were
going to go back to jail. I thought that you'd have to go back for no reason. I
thought we wouldn't be able to see each other. I thought-"

"Holly, shut up and kiss me."

Before I could protest, or comply, Mr. Heywood grabbed my head, bringing it closer
to his. For the second time, my senses were over run by the smell of his cologne,
the gentle caress of his breath, and the proximity of his face. Our lips met, a
little roughly, and our teeth knocked together. I immediately pulled away,
blushing.

"Sorry," I stuttered.

Mr. Heywood chuckled quietly. "That was probably my fault. Let's try again." He
leaned towards me again and I stayed stock still as he kissed me, much more gently
this time. After a second he pulled away.

I pouted slightly. He never let a kiss last longer than five seconds. He smirked at
my look, and then kissed me again, pulling away before I could react.

"Stop that," I demanded.

"Stop what?" he asked innocently.

I glared at him. "Pulling away before I can kiss you back."

"Like this?" he asked, quickly pecking me on the lips.

"Just like that!"

Mr. Heywood cocked his head to the side, smirking again. "Well, if you don't want
me to kiss you like that, why don't you kiss me?"

I stared at him in surprise. Me kiss him? My face grew hot and I looked away. Mr.
Heywood chuckled, putting his hands on my waist, making me jump.

"Can you do it?" he asked in a teasing tone. "I don't think you can."

I turned to glare at him again. "I- I can!"

"Prove it."

Blushing furiously I leaned forward. Once again the scent of his alluring cologne
filled my nose, and I hesitated only a second before pressing my lips to his. To
make sure he wouldn't pull away, I moved my hands to the back of his head, tangling
them in his hair. He responded to the kiss, moving his hands from my waist up to my
back. There was a slight pain on my bottom lip, and I opened my mouth in protest.
Mr. Heywood wasted no time from turning the kiss into a French one. Soon enough, I
was breathing heavily, trying to take in air while attached at the lips to Mr.
Heywood. We had definitely passed the five-second mark this time.

Suddenly Mr. Heywood pushed me away, his chest raising and falling quickly.
Confused, I stared at him while trying to catch my own breath. He shook his head,
leaning back onto the couch.

"I wasn't expecting that," he commented, still slightly breathless. "I thought I
was your first kiss?"

"You were," I told him.

"Then where'd you learn to kiss like that?" he demanded. "I've only kissed you
twice before this."

I blushed. "I didn't learn anywhere..."

Mr. Heywood groaned, running a hand through his hair. "This is going to be hard."

"What is?"

"Keeping my self control," Mr. Heywood informed me. "If you can kiss like that..."

I blushed deeper, ducking my head. "Why do you need to?" I almost gasped as soon as
the question left my lips. Pressing my lips together as tightly as I could, I
avoided Mr. Heywood's gaze. What had I just asked? Why had I just asked that?

A sigh left Mr. Heywood's lips. "Well, that brings us to the second thing I want to
talk about..."

I looked back up at him curiously. "What do you mean?"

"Holly, I'm your teacher."

"Obviously."

Mr. Heywood cracked a small grin. "You know a relationship between a teacher is
forbidden, right?"

"Right..."

"If we want to be together, it has to stay a secret. Only you, Jeremy, Lance,
Casey, and myself can know. If anyone finds out, I'll be fired, and you could be
expelled."

"I already know that," I responded, frowning slightly. "But what's that got to do
with..."

Mr. Heywood held up his finger. "Let me finish. I don't plan on getting caught, but
if we did and you and I had a more... intimate relationship, I'd probably go to
jail."

"Intimate like...?"

"Physical," Mr. Heywood responded awkwardly.

Immediately my face felt like it was one fire. I opened my mouth to say something,
but my mind had gone completely blank. I should have known what Mr. Heywood meant!
Now it was awkward. I struggled to think of something to say. "I- Uh, I... Right. I
gotcha," I muttered, ducking my head. "I don't... I don't need..." I wanted to
shoot myself. It wasn't that embarrassing!

"We'll be careful. At least until you graduate," Mr. Heywood continued, smirking at
my awkwardness. "Then we can openly be a couple... If you want to."

I looked at him in surprise. "Of course I want to! Why if?"

Mr. Heywood hesitated for a moment, suddenly looking unsure. He pinched the bridge
of his nose and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "Holly..."

A frown slowly appeared on my face. Mr. Heywood was using his "I-have-something-to-
say-and-you-might-not-like-it" voice. I hated that voice. I glanced up at him
warily. "Yeah?"

Mr. Heywood abruptly looked away from me, mumbling something so fast I couldn't
catch it. I squinted at him, cocking my head to the side. "What?"

"Are you sure that you want to be with me?" he repeated, more clearly, sounding
embarrassed.

"Huh?"

"I'm not repeating it again," he snapped, hunching his shoulders.

I shook my head vehemently. "No! I heard you. Why would you ask that? Of course I
want to..." I trailed off.

"Even though I'm four years older than you?"

"For years is nothing," I assured him, surprised to see such an insecure air about
him.
"And you don't care about my past?"

"Not at all."

"And you don't care that I used you as a replace meant for Holly in the beginning?"

I cocked my head to the side. "No... Why are you asking all these questions?"

Mr. Heywood kept his head away from me. "I have my doubts too, you know."

Jeremy's words suddenly whizzed through my head. While you doubt yourself, Chris
probably doubts himself as well. I bit my lip hard to keep myself from smiling.
Jeremy was right. I wasn't the only one who had doubts. Mr. Heywood had just seemed
so sure of himself, it didn't seem like he had any doubts. While I was doubting
myself, Mr. Heywood was probably thinking the same things.

"Jeremy told me I should tell you them," Mr. Heywood muttered, running a hand
through his hair. "It really doesn't suit me..."

I shook my head. "You're right, it doesn't."

Mr. Heywood looked at me again, frowning slightly. I smiled at him. "Jeremy said
the same thing to me before. That's why I blurted out all those bad things about
me-"

"Good things," Mr. Heywood corrected.

I rolled my eyes. "Sure, but my point is that if you hadn't said you had doubts, I
wouldn't know."

"I don't mind."

"I want you to tell me any time you have doubts," I insisted. "It's not fair for
you to have to put up with me all the time."

Mr. Heywood smiled slightly. "I don't put up with you. But, since I'm tossing away
my... machismo right now, I have one more doubt I'd like to ask you about..."

"What?"

"You don't care that I'm a lying, devil of a teacher?" Mr. Heywood asked, a smirk
playing across his features. So much for the insecure air.

My cheeks blazzed, remembering my old nickname for him. How had he known? "I
don't... I don't mind."

"Good," Mr. Heywood responded. "I wouldn't let you go, anyway. I'm a shameless man,
Holly."

"Which is fine, Mr. Heywood," I responded with a grin.

He smiled smugly at me. "So, do you want to be my girlfriend?"

I stared at him in surprise, taken aback by his forwardness. Another blush spread
across my face and I looked away from him. "Yes," I finally murmured.

"On one condition then."

My head snapped up so fast there was a tiny snap as it cricked. I winced, rubbing
it with my hand. "Condition?" I repeated incredulously.

"It's nothing much," Mr. Heywood assured me with a shrug.

I frowned. "What is it?"

"From now on, you have to call me Chris."

I blinked. "That's it?"

"That's it," he responded with a nod. "Easy, right?"

"That's too easy, Mr. Heywood!" I responded with a laugh. Then I realized what I
said and pressed my lips together tightly.

Mr. Heywood snickered, smirking again. "Too easy, huh, Holly?"

I scowled. "Just you wait."

_______________________

Happy Thanksgiving! I have to go back to the 3024234 people here now, before i get
yelled at so I can't write much. Everyone harasses me about what college I'm going
to go to. It's irritating -_-

This isn't the end. I don't know why people thought last chapter was the end...
There's still one thing left.

Contest results next time, because I don't have time to write everything.

Facebook page in link :D I think you should vote for this chapter ;D

*******************************************
[57] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 55
*******************************************
"Willis and I broke up."

My eyes bulged and I nearly choked on the spoonful of chicken noodle soup I was
about to swallow. It scalded my mouth and I quickly swallowed, my eyes tearing up.
"What?" I finally choked out.

Casey sat across from me, looking abnormally calm after the sentence she had just
uttered. She half-smiled at me. "He kind of got angry with me after I ditched him
at the fair the other night..."

I looked at her in horror. "What? But you didn't ditch. You were kidnapped!"

"I couldn't exactly tell him that, could I?" Casey responded, smiling wryly.

Immediately I felt guilty. Casey couldn't tell anyone about the gang, so she
couldn't explain the truth to Willis. "Oh, Casey. I'm so sorry. This is all my
fault-"

"Don't worry about it," Casey cut me off, shaking her head. "It's not your fault."

"Yes it is," I muttered glumly. "You and Willis were together for so long..."
Casey shrugged. "Maybe too long. For the last few weeks it felt like we were more
like friends than boyfriend and girlfriend. Willis thought so too, so I guess this
is for the good."

"I'm sorry, Case," I apologized again, frowning at her. Even if she seemed okay on
the outside, I knew Casey better than that. "You'll find someone new..."

Casey rolled her eyes. "Sure, but not for a few months. I'd like to stay single for
awhile."

"Being single is fun," I told her energetically. "You get to fuss over cute guys
without feeling guilty!"

Casey smirked. "Yeah, well now I can't do that with my best friend, can I?"

I blinked at her in surprise. "Huh?"

"You didn't reply to any of my texts last night, and you're in a frighteningly good
mood. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what happened after Lance and I left
the other night."

My cheeks blazed. "N-nothing happened!"

"You can't lie to me, Holly," Casey responded with a cheeky grin.

Now that's something I haven't heard before, I thought sarcastically. A smile

spread across my lips. "You can't tell anyone, Casey."

Casey held up her hands. "Holly, I never tell secrets."

Which was completely true. I gestured for her to come closer, and she leaned over
the table, bringing her head as close to mine as possible. Closing the space
between us, I brought my head to her ear and uttered two simple words. "We're
together."

Casey let out an excited squeal, pulling away from me, her eyes as wide as saucers.
"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"Oh my god! That's awesome!" she gushed. "I knew it was going to happen! I told
you!"

I laughed at her excitement. "You did."

"It's about time," a voice commented from above me.

Casey's eyes snapped to Lance, who was standing above me, frowning. I rolled my
eyes at him.

"You can't tell anyone," Casey told Lance, giving him a serious look. "This is
really important."

Lance held up his hands. "I'm not going to tell a soul. But Casey, Willis just told
me that you guys broke up."

"That's because we did."

"Are you okay?" Lance asked, giving Casey a concerned look.

Casey waved her hand. "Don't worry about me. It was going to happen anyway.
Besides, as our relationship ended, a better one started. Officially, at least."

"Well, we aren't really official," I muttered, stirring my soup. "It's a secret,

remember?"

Casey grinned at me. "More than one person knows, so technically it is official.
Ah, a forbidden romance. How romantic."

Lance snorted. "You mean creepy."

I slammed my elbow into his stomach. "It's not creepy!" Lance groaned, taking a few
steps away from me.

"Yeah! Holly and you-know-who are only four year apart. My parents are ten years
apart," Casey defended.

Lance frowned, still rubbing his stomach. "I was kidding, jeez." He took a seat
next to me, stealing the crackers that had come with my soup. "So Shawn's in jail
for a long time, huh?"

"No," Casey responded before I could. Lance and I stared at her in surprise. She
gave us the are-you-stupid look. "Every man is innocent until proven guilty. He's
got a trial this weekend. Don't you have to go to it Lance?"

Lance shrugged. "Well yeah. But he's in jail right now, so that's all that
matters..."

"What matters is that we don't have to deal with the gang situation again. Ever," I
corrected confidently.

Casey, Lance, and I stared at each other for a moment. Lance and Casey looked
relieved, small smiles slowly crossing their faces. It was hard to believe. Shawn
was gone.

"December's going to be a good month," Lance decided, grinning.

Casey nodded in agreement. "A very good month. Full of love, eh, Holly?"

I blushed, ducking my head. "Maybe," I murmured bashfully. "Or a month of flirting,

for the single people."

Casey and Lance exchanged grins. "Sounds good."

Sighing contently, I dipped my spoon back into my soup. Just as I poured the
spoonful into my mouth, the bell rang. Lance immediately stood up, glancing at me
with amused eyes. "Better hurry."

"Don't be late for Mr. Heywood," Casey teased, causing me to choke again.

I thumped my hand on the table, once again having the soup scald my throat and
bring tears to my eyes. Casey was going to end up killing me one day. She laughed
before also pushing away form the table, joining Lance, and then following him
towards the throng of students leaving the cafeteria. I quickly grabbed my tray and
hurried to the front of the room, handing off my tray to the lunch lady. She gave
me a knowing smile, as if she knew I was going to be late.

Twirling on my heel, I hurried towards the exit. I only got three feet before
someone ran into me. A groan of frustration left my mouth and I looked up to glare
at the person. James was looking at me in surprise.

"Holly?"

"Hey," I greeted, stepping around him. "Better hurry, or you'll be late."

"You're going to be late anyway," he informed me, handing his tray to the lunch
lady.

"I know."

He grinned at me. "There's strength in numbers."

The bell rang ten seconds before we entered the classroom. Mr. Heywood was in the
middle of a sentence. He paused, glancing at us with a frown. Before he could scold
us, James spoke up. "Sorry, my locker was jammed. Holly helped me."

Mr. Heywood raised an eyebrow at me. Immediately images of us necking on the couch
two nights before filled my head, causing a blush to spread across my face. My head
shot down and I focused on a tile on the floor.

"Well, take a seat."

"Yes, sir!" James chirped, pushing me forwards.

I stumbled to my desk, unable to look back up at Mr. Heywood. Someone snorted from
the back, and I didn't have to look to know it was Lance.

"As I was saying, now that the rats are done we'll be having a test on the anatomy
unit on Friday."

A groan swept throughout the class, and a few people muttered complaints. I kept my
eyes on my desk, focusing intently on the word diploid someone had etched into the
wood.

"We don't meet for class tomorrow and there's no school on Friday, so the test will
be on Thursday. Today and Wednesday will be review," Mr. Heywood continued,
sounding slightly amused. Suddenly a hand appeared on my desk. "Would you guys like
to go over things on the bored, and start the review packet?

Starting working on the review packet was the unanimous agreement. Mr. Heywood
emitted a low, alluring chuckle. "I'll go get them," he told the class, retracting
his hand from my desk. After a few moments I looked up, watching as he disappeared
into the supply room.

The classroom was quickly filled with the sounds of desks and chairs scraping
against the floor as people moved to sit with their friends. Someone pushed a desk
against mine and I turned to see Lance slumping into it. He yawned, stretching his
arms.

"So," he started casually. "You know how I have court Friday?"

I gave him a pitying look. "Yep."

"Um, I was wondering, and you don't have to, but if you want to come with me," he
continued, giving me a sheepish look. "Some moral support would be nice."

I gave him a wary look. "But Shawn..."

"Yeah, I know it's Shawn, but he can't do anything because we're in the court,"
Lance said quickly, stopping me before I could protest. "Please, Holly? Even if he
does try something, there's cops everywhere, and that will just add to his penalty.
You'll be completely safe."

Lance gave me the puppy dog look, and I felt myself resigning. I sighed. "I'm
sitting in the back."

"You can sit wherever you like!" Lance cried, a little too loudly. People gave us
curious looks. I waved them off.

"So, you want to work with me on the review packet?" I asked, trying to change the
subject.

Lance frowned, slumping onto his desk. "I hate review packets," he muttered,
running a hand through his blonde hair. "They're so time consuming."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Stop complaining, review packets are easy."

"That's the spirit, Ms. Evers."

My head snapped up involuntarily and my eyes landed on Mr. Heywood, who was
smirking down at me. His eyes twinkled in amusement as I gaped at him, trying to
form a coherent thought. Suddenly there was a pain in my ribs and I winced, turning
to glare at Lance.

"You were gawking," he told me, sharing the same expression as Mr. Heywood.

Now I blushed, unable to look back up at Mr. Heywood. "I- I wasn't gawking..."

Mr. Heywood chuckled, but I still refused to look up at him. "We'll need the C.O.W
for this activity, so I need a volunteer to come with me to go get it."

A few people said they'd go, but I knew whom Mr. Heywood was going to choose before
he even said it.

"Jessica, you wanna help?"

I sighed, pushing myself up from my desk. I knew it- wait. I froze in my movements.
Jessica? My eyes snapped to Mr. Heywood, who was smiling at Jessica. I turned to
her, watching as she started to get up from her seat with an excited expression on
her face.

Without thinking, I shot up in my seat, throwing my hand in the air. "Mr. Heywood,
I have to, um, go to the bathroom anyway, so I can just go with you to make it
easier."

"Desperate," Lance coughed quietly.

I shot him a glare before turning to Mr. Heywood, who had a satisfied smirk on his
face. That's when I realized he did that on purpose. My jaw dropped and I opened my
mouth to take back what I'd said, but he cut me off.

"That works," Mr. Heywood said, his normal, polite smile returning. "Jessica, maybe
you could return it after class."

I didn't have to turn to know she looked disappointed. "Sure," she responded
glumly.
"Lance, will you hand out the packets?"

Lance nodded, taking a pile of papers from Mr. Heywood. "Sure thing."

Mr. Heywood smiled. "Alright. Let's go, Ms. Evers."

Shooting a glare at the back of Mr. Heywood's head, I followed him out of the
classroom, and into the empty science wing hallway. As we walked through the quiet
hall, Mr. Heywood started whistling. I trailed behind him, my eyes on the floor,
keeping a safe distance between us. Images of us kissing kept coming into my mind,
causing my face to grow hot. What was Mr. Heywood thinking right now? About the
other night?

Suddenly I ran into something hard, causing me to fall a few steps back. I rubbed
my nose, looking up to see Mr. Heywood grinning at me in amusement. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," I muttered, dropping my gaze.

"Really? Your face is a little red, are you feeling okay?"

I glared at him, blushing deeper. "I'm fine!"

He emitted a low chuckle. "What were you thinking about?"

"N-nothing," I stuttered, going to brush by him. He chuckled again, purposely

stepping in front of me so I bumped into him. I grounded my teeth. He took pleasure
in teasing me, and was shameless about it.

"You know Holly, you should probably stop blushing every time I look at you in
class," Mr. Heywood advised, holding the door that led to the stairwell open for
me. "Someone's going to think you have a crush."

I glanced at him with a frown. "It's not my fault. Stop looking at me."

Mr. Heywood snorted. "I can't do the impossible."

A smile slowly made its way onto my face. Whether or not he meant that as a
compliment, it still made my stomach flutter. Mr. Heywood glanced at me, his grey
eyes looking amused again. Suddenly I had the urge to grab his swinging hand, but I
resisted it. We were in school. We weren't a couple. We were student, and teacher.

"What's wrong?" Mr. Heywood asked unexpectedly, stopping half way down the
stairwell. With me on the step above him, we were almost the same height.

I cocked my head. "What do you mean?"

"Your expression just dropped," he told me with a frown. "What are you thinking?"

"Um, nothing really," I told him, blushing slightly. Would he think I was being
childish because I was disappointed about our lack of interaction? We both knew in
school we couldn't be together.

Mr. Heywood raised an eyebrow. "Tell me."

"The test is worrying me," I murmured bashfully, down casting my eyes.

"Holly, you can't lie to me."

I pursed my lips, looking back at Mr. Heywood. My eyes widened in surprise when I
realized how close we were. His face was merely inches away from my own. Concern
was etched into his eyes, causing my heart to skip a beat. I chewed on my bottom
lip, hesitating for a moment. Mr. Heywood gave me an impatient look. I sighed.

"I know it's stupid," I started, playing the bottom of my shirt, "but it's just..."

"Just?"

"I don't like that we have to act like student and teacher instead of... you know,"
I admitted, feeling my face heat up. "It's weird. We have to act like we're almost
complete strangers. It's a little, um, lonely."

Mr. Heywood's face dropped a little bit. Immediately I regretted admitting what I
was thinking about. "Sorry, just forget-"

Mr. Heywood suddenly leaned forwards and quickly pressed his lips against mine. My
eyes widened in surprise, and he quickly pulled away, glancing behind him. I raised
a hand to my lips, looking at him curiously.

"Holly, I understand what you're saying," Mr. Heywood told me, putting a hand on my
shoulder. "But I know that you know what comes with us being... you know." He
lowered his voice slightly, gazing at the door again.

I nodded my head quickly. "I know. It's just going to take awhile to get used to."

Mr. Heywood gave me a small smile. "Same here. Especially because while you have a
reason to look at me during the whole class period, I can't spend it looking at
you, otherwise someone will think something."

With that, he turned and started down the stairs again. I blanked, staring at his
back in surprise. A blush blossomed on my cheeks again and I hurried to catch up to
him, catching the back of his shirt. "Thank you, Mr. Heywood."

"Chris," he corrected me, glancing over his shoulder. "Mr. Heywood in class, and
only in class."

"Right."

When we arrived at the library, Mr. Heywood went in to get the C.O.W while I waited
by the entrance, rocking on the balls of my feet. He appeared moments later,
lugging the large cart of laptops. I quickly hurried forwards to help him push it.

"I now understand why they call this thing a C.O.W," he told me as we pushed it out
of the library. "They weigh just about as much. Turn left, we have to take the
elevator," he ordered.

A few students in the classrooms we passed gave us curious looks as we lugged the
Computers On Wheels towards the elevator. A few students waved enthusiastically to
Mr. Heywood. He returned their gestures with an award-winning smile- one of his
polite, fake smiles.

"You're still popular, huh," I commented casually.

Mr. Heywood smirked. "Yep."

"Do the students ever tell you anything exciting?" Never before had I realized how
hard it was to make small talk with Mr. Heywood. A grimace crossed my face. I
needed to work on that.
Mr. Heywood shrugged, checking over his shoulder quickly to make sure our path was
still clear. "A girl confessed to me the other day."

I nearly choked on my spit. "What?"

Mr. Heywood's smirk grew wider and he raised an eyebrow. "Are you jealous? Trust
me, it wasn't even a sixth of how good yours was."

"People confess to you?" I asked in shock.

"Oh yeah. All the time."

"I didn't realize girls..." I trailed off, blinking rapidly. Girls confessed to Mr.
Heywood? Who? When? Why? I swallowed my questions, trying to stay calm. I was not
going to be the obsessive girlfriend.

Mr. Heywood suddenly started laughing, bending his head down. He was laughing so
loudly that Mr. Cyr, the history teacher, glared at him before shutting his door.

"Your face was priceless," he finally said, grinning like an idiot. "Absolutely
priceless!"

I glared at him, feeling my face heat up. "You were joking, weren't you?"

Mr. Heywood nodded, putting a hand over his mouth to stop any more laughter from
escaping. "Holly, you're too cute."

"You're a jerk," I stated, slamming the button to the elevator.

"I know."

The elevator door opened, and together we moved the cow into the small compartment.
I hit the button for the second floor, and the doors shut, leaving Mr. Heywood and
I in silence. Suddenly Mr. Heywood was next to me, a playful smile on his face. I
took a step away from him warily.

"Mr. Heywood, we're in school," I warned him.

He raised an eyebrow. "I know this?"

I frowned. Wasn't he just about to kiss me?

"I heard Lance wants you to go to court with him on Friday," Mr. Heywood commented,
leaning against the elevator wall casually, crossing his arms. "What was he going
in for again?"

A sigh escaped my lips. "Mr. Heywood, I'm sitting in the back."

He scowled. "It's still Shawn. You know what happened last time with Shawn?"

"You got hurt," I pointed out before he could continue. "Nothing happened to me."

"But something could."

"We'll be in a court room!"

"Holly, I'm worried about you," Mr. Heywood told me flatly, giving me an
exasperated look. "Sure, you're in a courtroom. But it's Shawn. You don't know him
like I do."

I bit my lip. "I know... I just... Lance wants me to go, and I'll be at the back. I
won't let Shawn see me."

Mr. Heywood stared at me for a moment, looking annoyed. Then he sighed, running a
hand through his hair. "Fine. Go."

"Mr. Heywood..."

Mr. Heywood shook his head. "I'm not angry. I get that you want to help Lance. But
if you're going to court Friday, then I want you to come over on Thursday."

I looked at him in surprise. "Huh?"

"Now that we're together, I don't have to think of stupid excuses for you to come
over," Mr. Heywood told me as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I
wanted you to come over Friday, but if you want to go to court, come over
Thursday."

He wanted me to go over? I grinned at him, suddenly feeling one hundred times

better. "I'll definitely be over Thursday."

_______________________________________

Another chapter done, another day almost over. It really takes forever to write.
So, this story is coming to an end, soon, but not right now. I have one last huge
thing I want to do (I could have ended it with this chapter, but a lot of people
want it to go longer, so I'm adding something) and people if you actually read the
author's notes you'd know a few helpful things. Like what I said about the sequel.
I'm don't want to repeat it, but there is going to be a sequel. It really grinds my
gears when people don't read the author's note, so if you read this, put a lessthan
symbol and a three in your message at the end (a heart). That way I know who read
this. Don't make it too obvious thought because then people will notice something
is up.

The contest results are in! However, you can't copy-paste on Wattpad, so click the
external link and it will take you to the quizilla thing I posted, which allows you
to copy-paste, so you can read everyone's one shots :D The ones on Wattpad are in
my library, but there are some on Quizilla too! So if you want see the results,
open the external link! YOU REALLY WANT TO, EVEN IF YOU DIDN'T JOIN. Every single
one shot is so incredible! Really! Go read some! :D

*******************************************
[58] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 56-1
*******************************************

"So in love with you, I'm love struck, and all the things you do, it's a love
struck," I sang quietly to myself, bending over to re-lace my shoes. "I know you'll
get me through, I'm love struck. A la la la, la la, la la la love struck."

"You're in a good mood."

My heart leapt into my throat as I quickly erected myself, twisting around on my

heel. My mom raised her eyebrow at me. My face blazed and I quickly ducked my head
to hide my blush.

"In fact, you've been in a good mood all week," my mom commented thoughtfully. "And
you're ditching me tonight, even though I'm home..."

I looked back up at her with a frown. "Sorry..."

She held up her hand. "Hey, you made plans first. It's not like I'm going to make
you cancel them. Besides, if my hunch is right, you wouldn't cancel these plans
anyway."

"What hunch?"

She smirked, giving me that awfully creepy, knowing smile. "Rhymes with Fister
Meyhood."

"Sorry mom, I don't know any nun named Sister Kayhood," I responded cheekily,
feeling my face heat up again. She was too smart for her own good.

My mom laughed. "Good one. How are you getting there?"

"He's coming to pick me up."

"That works out perfectly! I have to go back to work later, so I need the car," she
explained. "It's going to be a very late night. I probably won't be back until the
early morning... Why don't you ask Chris if you can stay the night?"

I looked at my mom in shock. "What? No, mom. I'm not asking that."

The doorbell suddenly went off, startling me. My mom grinned widely and locked
gazes with me. I knew at once what she was planning to do. We both started for the
door at the same time.

"Mom!" I called after her. "Mom, no!"

"I'm just answering the door, Holly!" my mom responded, giving me an amused look
from over her shoulder.

Before I knew exactly what happened, I found myself lying face-first on the ground.
A groan of pain escaped my lips just as I heard the front door open. My mom greeted
Mr. Heywood enthusiastically as I glared at the floor in front of me, cursing my
clumsiness. I had tripped over the rug.

"Holly, get off the floor," my mom ordered. "That's rude."

Mr. Heywood chuckled as I pushed myself back to my feet, brushing off my shirt. It
was just my luck I decided to wear black. It brought out the dirt fantastically. My
mom disappeared from the hall, leaving Mr. Heywood and I alone. He smirked at me
and I felt my cheeks heat up.

"You're coming with me to the grocery store," Mr. Heywood informed me, swinging his
keys around on his finger. "Hope you don't mind."

"I don't," I said quickly, causing his smirk to grow.

"Okay, Chris, I have Holly's bag here," my mom said, suddenly reappearing with my
backpack in hand. "It's got everything she needs."

I stared at her in bewilderment. "What? For what?"

"Staying over, silly," my mom responded, rolling her eyes. "I told you I'm working
late."
"But- but," I spluttered, turning to Mr. Heywood, to my mom, and back again. "Wait
a second. Did you guys have this all planned out before hand?"

Mr. Heywood gave my mom a secret smile. "It seems like I'm the favorite babysitter,
Holly."

"Babysitter?" I repeated incredulously.

My mom quickly clapped her hands together. "Chris, didn't you say you had to go to
the supermarket? If you don't hurry, it will close."

"It's only seven!"

Mr. Heywood glanced at me, raising an eyebrow. "I guess we should get going. Here,
I'll take Holly's bag." He held out his hand to my mom, taking the backpack from
her hands. "Ready, Holly?"

"Yeah," I muttered, shooting my mom a dirty look. She had this all set up.

Mr. Heywood dipped his head to my mom. "Nice seeing you again, Lynn."

"You too!" my mom chirped. "Come by for dinner sometime! Holly's not the only one
who likes your company."

"Mom!"

Mr. Heywood chuckled, hoisting my bag over his shoulder. "I can take a hint. We'll
make plans soon. Take care." He turned and went out the door, leaving my mom and I
alone.

"You're creepy, you know that?" I said, frowning at her.

My mom only smiled in return. "Holly, guys like Chris don't come around every day.
He's a once in a lifetime catch, honey. When I met your father, it was the same for
us. I don't want you to lose him. And he doesn't seem to want to lose you either."

I blushed slightly, ducking my head, and murmuring an incoherent agreement.

"Besides, he is a good person to have around to baby-sit you," my mom continued in

a thoughtful voice. "He's very reliable."

"Bye mom," I said, brushing by her. I was eighteen. I didn't need a babysitter.

My mom laughed. "Bye, Holly."

By the time I climbed into the passenger seat, Mr. Heywood had already buckled and
turned on the car. As soon as I snapped my seatbelt he pulled out of my driveway.
The radio was off, leaving us in an awkward silence. My mind raced, trying to think
of something to say to fill the quiet.

"Your mom's something, huh?" Mr. Heywood started, sparing me. "She's funny."

I grunted in responding, causing him to laugh. "She's kind of crazy. It's like she
expects us to get married," I told him, glancing out the window.

"I wouldn't mind."

My head snapped towards him so fast, it cricked. Rubbing it, I stared at him with
wide-eyes. "What?"

Mr. Heywood glanced at me from the corner of his eye. "Not now, but in the future,
I wouldn't mind."

"Really?"

"Is it that hard to believe?"

I shook my head quickly. "No! Well, yes. Or rather... I don't know," I mumbled,
embarrassed.

Mr. Heywood chuckled. "Holly, I love you. Why wouldn't I want to marry you? You're
just too young right now."

My heart skipped a beat, and for a moment I lost all train of thought. I didn't
think I'd ever get used to having Mr. Heywood say those three words so casually.
Finally his words registered, and I pursed my lips. "You're not."

He smirked. "Holly, we haven't even gone a date yet. We can discuss the future in
the future."

"True," I responded, grinning at him. From the corner of my eye I saw the
supermarket whiz by. "Um, Mr. Heywood?"

He didn't respond. I frowned slightly. "Mr. Heywood?"

Still no answer.

"Mr. Heywood!"

"Sorry, my father isn't here right now," he responded in a business-like voice.

"Please leave a message after the beep."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "Sorry, sorry. Chris?"

"Yes, Ms. Evers?" he responded, shooting me a sweet smile.

"I thought you said we were going to the grocery store?"

"We are."

"We just passed it..."

Mr. Heywood shook his head slightly. "We can't go to that one."

"Why not?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows. "Is it closed?"

He laughed. "No, it's open. But if we went there, there's a chance that someone
from school might see us. A lot of students work there."

"Oh," I said in realization, a frown slipping onto my face. "Then where are we
going?"

"Two towns over."

My frown grew deeper. We had to go two towns over just to go grocery shopping? It
would have just been easier for Mr. Heywood to do it by himself. I looked out the
window, watching the streetlights as we drove under them. "Do you think it's going
to snow this month?"

"Snow?" Mr. Heywood repeated.

"You know, the cold stuff that falls from the sky-"

"Atmospheric water vapor that's frozen into ice crystals. I'm a biology teacher,
Holly. I know what snow is," Mr. Heywood interjected.

"So, are you going to answer my question?"

"It might flurry, but probably nothing that will stick," he told me. "Maybe around
Christmas if it's cold enough."

I blinked. Christmas? My hand shot to my phone in my pocket. The date read December
fourth. Christmas was in less than twenty-one days. "What do you do for Christmas,
Mr. Heywood?"

"I don't know," he responded simply.

"Well, what did you do last year?"

"Well, not much considering I was in jail..." He trailed off, sending me an amused
look.

I grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, I forgot."

"Don't be sorry," Mr. Heywood responded, letting out a bark of laughter. "I'd
rather you forget."

"Well what did you do the year before that?" I tried again.

"I spent it with Holly," he told me, his voice lowering considerably. I could
almost pick up a tone of guilt.

It was hard not to smile. Mr. Heywood didn't like talking about Holly with me. Not
that I could blame him- heck, I didn't want to talk about her with him either. She
was a taboo subject. She was a likable person, but it was just too awkward to talk
about her.

"Um, if you want... I bet my mom wouldn't mind if you wanted to have Christmas
dinner and stuff at my house," I murmured, growing hot. "You know... only if you
want to. You don't have to."

Suddenly Mr. Heywood took a sharp right, sending my head into the window. I winced,
pulling my head away from the glass. Mr. Heywood threw me an entertained look.
"Sorry. Almost missed the turn."

"I kind of figured."

"But about Christmas... I want to go."

My eyes widened. "Really?"

"Really. Holly, you're really doubtful about my decisions, aren't you?" he accused,
pulling into the parking lot of a grocery store I've never heard of.

"That's not it!" I denied instantly. "It just seems... Too good to be true."
The sound of the engine died out and Mr. Heywood turned to me. A smirk was playing
at his lips as he leaned over his seat towards me. "And why is that?"

I did my best to keep my face composed. With Mr. Heywood so near, my heart beat had
increased tenfold. "I don't know," I responded truthfully. "Whenever I think of you
and I, I think of those crazy romance novels where something like this could only
happen."

Mr. Heywood raised an eyebrow. "So we are like a couple in a crazy romance novel?"

I nodded. "You're the cool guy that everyone wants, and I'm girl who somehow ends
up with him, even though there's nothing special about me."

"Well it's a good thing we aren't characters in a romance novel," Mr. Heywood
stated. "We're nothing like that. I'm the one who's lucky to have you. Now come on,
the grocery store is calling."

After an awful, freezing minute walk from the car to the store we entered, Mr.
Heywood grabbing a basket from the rack in the front of the store. I glanced down
the row of cashiers, searching for anyone I recognized. Luckily, no one looked
familiar. Mr. Heywood started walking away from me, and I quickly hurried to catch
up.

"Mr. Heywood, what are you getting?"

"Depends on what you want," he responded, glancing over his shoulder at me. "What
do you want to eat?"

I looked at him in surprise. "I get to choose?"

"That's why I'm asking."

"Can we have..." I hesitated, trying to think of something that wasn't steak.

"Er... Tacos?"

Mr. Heywood abruptly stopped, causing me to run into him. He chuckled and took a
step forwards as I rubbed my nose. "Tacos?" he repeated, sounding interested. "It's
been awhile since I've made those. Let's try it." Without warning, Mr. Heywood
grabbed my hand and began tugging me down aisle ten.

My face heated up as I hurried to keep up with him. Was holding hands in such a
public place such a good idea? Mr. Heywood stopped in front of the Mexican section,
staring down a box of taco shells and seasoning.

"Should I buy pre-made?" he murmured to himself, squinting at the box. "Maybe it's
our best bet... Holly, do you think you can find the cheese and lettuce? I'll grab
the hamburger and the other stuff and meet you in the bakery. Which is on the far
right of the store," he explained pointing towards the area. "The vegetables and
cheese are there too."

Reluctantly, I let go of his hand. "Sure."

He grinned at me. "What? Don't want to let go of my hand?"

"No," I denied, quickly turning away. "See you soon."

It was a straight shot to the vegetable section. Luckily for me, the lettuce was
right next to the cheese. Suddenly something flashed by the corner of my eye. I
spun around quickly, my heart jumping in alarm, but found nothing. Warily I took a
few steps backwards, still looking around.

"Boo!"

A loud, piercing shriek left my mouth as I twisted around in horror, half-expecting

Shawn to be standing there. When my eyes landed on a familiar blonde, I was
relieved, then angry. I aimed a kick at his shin. "Jeremy! You scared the crap out
of me!"

Jeremy laughed, easily avoiding my assault. "Obviously. Otherwise you wouldn't have
screamed so loudly. I'm sure the whole store heard that."

"What are you doing here?" I asked with a frown.

Jeremy looked pointedly at his chest. I followed his gaze, realizing he was wearing
a black apron. A little nametag was placed on the right side of his chest, reading
Jeremy R.

"You work here?" I asked rhetorically.

Jeremy nodded. "I have to pay for college somehow."

"You go to college?"

"You don't know anything about me, do you?" Jeremy asked with a sigh. "After all
that we've been through... You'd think I'd leave a lasting impression."

I rolled my eyes at him. "We don't ever talk about you, Mr. Secretive Grocer."

"I know," Jeremy responded with a grin. He took the lettuce from my hand and
weighed it with his palm. "So are you here alone?"

"No, um, Mr. Heywood is here too."

"Chris is here? With you?"

"Yep."

Jeremy suddenly had a huge grin on his face. "Really? That's great!" He suddenly
threw himself at me, nearly knocking me off my feet as he gave me a giant bear hug.
He squeezed me so hard that I found it difficult to breathe. "So I take it
something good happened?"

"Jeremy," I wheezed, trying to get him to let go. "You're killing me."

"What?"

I struggled to push him off me. "I can't breathe!"

"I can't hear you," he sang, holding me tighter.

I opened my mouth to protest again, but Jeremy was abruptly pulled away from me. He
looked behind me and grinned sheepishly. I didn't have to turn around to know it
was Mr. Heywood.

"Hey, Chris," Jeremy greeted.

"Jeremy," Mr. Heywood responded in an irritated voice. "Mind telling me why you
tried strangling Holly?"
"I'm just happy!"

"I'd hate to see what you'd do when you're on cloud nine," Mr. Heywood muttered,
putting a hand on my shoulder. "Did you get the cheese and lettuce?

I pointed to Jeremy's hand, turning around to look at him. "He's got the lettuce.
I've got the cheese. And I thought we were meeting at the bakery."

Mr. Heywood gave me a flat look. "After you screamed, I figured something was wrong
so I followed the source of the noise. Good thing I did, otherwise Jeremy might
have actually killed you."

"I would not off," Jeremy protested, sniffing. "Well, if I did it would have been
an accident."

I smiled wryly at him. "You sound so concerned."

He shrugged. "Que sera sera. Anyway, what are you two doing tonight?"

Mr. Heywood raised the basket in his hand. "Making tacos."

"Oh, can I come?"

"Nope," Mr. Heywood drawled, reaching over and yanking the lettuce out of Jeremy's
hand. "You better get back to work."

Jeremy turned to me, pouting. "Holly?" he said in a begging voice.

I stared back at him, biting my lip. He jutted his lower lip, giving me the puppy
dog look, and took a step closer to me. Mr. Heywood sent me a meaningful look and I
quickly ducked my head. "It's Mr. Heywood's house. I can't just invite you over."

Mr. Heywood smirked as Jeremy's expression fell. He crossed his arms and turned his
back to me. "I see how it is, Holly."

"Aw, Jeremy-"

"Nope, nope, I understand," he said, holding up his hands. "You two don't need me
anymore."

"Jeremy that's not it," I protested, grabbing the back of his apron. "What are you
talking about?"

Jeremy glanced at me from over his shoulder. "Now that you two are together you
want me out of the picture."

"Yep," Mr. Heywood responded just as I cried, "No!"

Jeremy raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Don't listen to Mr. Heywood," I told Jeremy, shooting Mr. Heywood a dirty look. "I
don't want you out of the picture."

"But I want you out of the picture."

I stared at Jeremy incredulously. "Huh?"

Jeremy took a step closer to me, looking menacing. I took a step back, eyeing him
warily. Jeremy sighed, shaking his head. "You see, Holly. I want Chris for myself.
We're destined to be lovers and I- oof!" Jeremy doubled over, clutching his stomach
as Mr. Heywood punched him in the gut.

"Jeremy, go be stupid somewhere else," Mr. Heywood demanded, grabbing my hand.

"We're leaving."

"I see you still can't take a joke," Jeremy wheezed, looking up and grinning at Mr.
Heywood.

Mr. Heywood scowled as I blushed, remembering the time I had blurted out that Mr.
Heywood wanted to be with Jeremy.

"Holly, let's make plans to go somewhere soon. Maybe take Jenna and Jane
somewhere," Jeremy said, brushing his hair out of his face.

A smile spread across my face. "Sure!"

"Let's go," Mr. Heywood ordered, tugging on my hand. "I want to get something for
dessert."

"May I suggest the chocolate mousse cake?" Jeremy called as Mr. Heywood started
dragging me away.

"I don't like chocolate," Mr. Heywood responded. "Goodbye, Jeremy."

I looked up at Mr. Heywood in surprise. "You don't like chocolate?"

"Some of it is okay, but most of it is too sweet for me," Mr. Heywood explained.

"Too sweet?" I repeated in a skeptical tone. "Coming from the man who uses three
pounds of sugar in his coffee?"

Mr. Heywood smirked down at me. "Hey, sugar and chocolate are completely
different."

I laughed. "Whatever you say, Mr. Heywood."

"Chris," he said forcefully. "Holly, call me Chris."

My cheeks blazed and I ducked my head. "Sorry, um, Chris."

"That's better," he responded, emitting a low chuckle. "I like the sound of that
much bet- shit."

Before I knew what was happening, Mr. Heywood shoved me to the side with enough
force to send me toppling away. I fell behind a large display of cereal, landing
painfully on my wrist. When I looked up to glare at Mr. Heywood, I saw him with an
eerily familiar person. My eyes nearly bulged out of my sockets when I realized it
was Ms. Long, the gym teacher.

"Chris! Funny seeing you here," she crooned, smiling widely at him. "What are you
doing?"

Mr. Heywood held up our shopping basket. "Getting dinner."

I scrambled to my feet and quickly turned, sprinting down the aisle. My heart
thudded in my chest as I pushed open the door and jogged outside. The cold air
instantly sent Goosebumps up my arms, and I pulled my jacket tighter, heading
towards Mr. Heywood's car.

We were two towns over! Why was Ms. Long here? That was too close. A shiver ran
through me, and I leaned back against the car, watching my breath come out in white
steam. Frowning, I glanced around the dark parking lot, seeing if anyone was
around. From what I could see, I was alone... My heart skipped a beat and I
groaned, sliding my back down the side of Mr. Heywood's car until I was squatting.

The paranoid feeling was back. Even though I knew Shawn was in jail. To stop myself
from looking around and freaking out more, I dropped my head into my arms, focusing
on the sound of my breathing. No one was out here- there wasn't anything to be
paranoid about. Well, besides someone finding Mr. Heywood and me together. But
other than that, I was safe.

Five minutes later I was literally shivering in my shoes. I plucked at the strings
of my jacket, wishing I had a pair of minutes. And a hat. And a scarf. And anything
else that could keep me warm.

"Holly!"

My head snapped up and I saw a figure jogging towards me. As the person grew
closer, I noticed it was Mr. Heywood, a grocery bag in hand. He slowed to a walk
and stopped in front of me, looking annoyed.

"Why did you come out here?" he demanded. "Do you not realize it's only about
thirty degrees out?"

I frowned at him. "I couldn't stay in there!"

"You could have waited by the front of the store. It's not weird for two people who
know each other to be in the same store," Mr. Heywood pointed out, frowning back at
me. "Get up." He held his hand out to me and I grabbed it. "Your hand is freezing,"
he told me, making a face as he pulled me to my feet.

I blushed. "Sorry."

Mr. Heywood rolled his eyes. "Sorry? Come on, get in the car." He unlocked the door
for me and opened it.

I climbed in, following his form as he went to the other side of the car, tossing
the bag of groceries in the back before hopping in the driver's seat. He quickly
turned the key in the engine and flipped the heat on high.

"Give me your hands," he demanded.

Curiously, I moved my hands toward him. He enveloped my hands in his, pulling them
into the sleeves of his jacket. Immediately my hands felt much warmer. Mr. Heywood
smirked at me. "Better?"

Ducking my head, I nodded. "Yeah, thanks."

"Anytime," Mr. Heywood told me. "And I'm sorry for pushing you. I was surprised and
pushing you away was the first thing I thought of. Are you okay?"

I smiled at him. "I'm okay."

"Good," Mr. Heywood breathed in relief. "But that was close. I guess if we want to
go somewhere together, we'll have to go further."
I looked up at him with a frown. "Is that okay?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Is what okay?"

"Won't that be wasting gas?"

Mr. Heywood laughed. "Holly, us doing stuff together is way more important than how
much gas it takes to do so."

My face grew hotter and I looked away from him. "I-I see."

Mr. Heywood chuckled, letting go of my hands. "Alright, let's go home."

__________________________________________

HEY CHECK THIS OUT! This is a fanmade move trailer for A Proscriptive Relationship
made by YeahSaosin! You have to watch it, it's amazing! Sadly, it can't go on
Youtube because of copyright (bitch) so she had me upload it to my Facebook page.
Hopefully if you don't have a Facebook you should be able to watch it. I hope. So
the links in the external link.

Anyway, this chapter is going to be in two because I'd love to be able to stop
this at chapter 60. Let me clear things up about the sequel. 1) It's not all about
Jeremy. I just said that there's going to be a lot of him. 2) Duh it's going to
have Holly as the main character. 3) It's the other half of the year. Right now
it's only December. The sequel will be January through graduation. It's basically a
continuation, just with a different plot. I hope that clears up all your confusion.
:D

Picture to the right by Donna Smith! It's awesome, huh? :D

*******************************************
[59] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 56-2
*******************************************

The smell of tacos wafted around the room as I relaxed on the couch, barely
focusing on the images the television was displaying. A yawn escaped my lips and I
glanced towards the kitchen, pursing my lips. The sounds of cooking could be heard,
but the person doing the cooking could not be seen. And I couldn't go in there to
see him either, since he had banished me from the kitchen.

I turned back to the T.V, picking up the remote to change the channel- you could
only watch so many infomercials before going crazy. As I was flipping through the
double digits, a familiar face flashed on the screen. My breath caught in my mouth
as I stared at Shawn's mug shots. The text on the bottom of the screen was relaying
information about the trial tomorrow. Swallowing nervously I quickly switched the
channel again, ending on Spongebob.

"Holly?"

My heart leapt into my throat and I quickly turned my head up, coming face-to-face
with Mr. Heywood. My shoulders sagged and I let out a quiet breath. "You scared
me," I accused.

He chuckled. "Sorry. Do you want everything on your taco?"

"Depends on what everything is. I don't like onions-"

"Or peppers?" Mr. Heywood interjected with a small smirk.

I stared at him in surprise. "Oh, um, yeah. How'd you know?"

"You and I are more alike than we could ever guess," Mr. Heywood responded with a
shrug. "I'll be back in a minute."

"Sure."

A commercial for Christmas sales at a department store came on and I zoned out,
focusing on the picture of Mr. Heywood and his parents next to the television. A
smile spread across my face as I remembered the first time I saw it. It was hard to
believe that only four months had passed since I first met Mr. Heywood. It felt
more like two years had gone by.

My phone suddenly vibrated in my pocket, knocking me out of my reverie.

Where are you?

The contact read Lance, sending a jolt of terror through me for a moment, until I
remembered Lance bought a new phone. Seconds later I sent my reply telling him
where I was- truthfully. Lance was one of the select few who could know about my
relationship with Mr. Heywood.

Really? Behave.

My face heated up quickly. Shut up. What do you want?

Meet me at the café on the corner of James Street before the trial.

Why?

Because I want to dump my trash.

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. What are you talking about?

There were a few moments of silence before my phone vibrated again. You're stupid.
Ever heard of the term breakfast?

Nope. Must be some British thing that didn't make it to America.

... Are you going to be there or not?

I'll be there, I typed back, grinning.

"What are you grinning about?"

A startled squeak escaped my lips and I dropped my phone, a hand flying up to my

mouth. My face flushed as I looked up to see Mr. Heywood looking down at me. "I
didn't know you were part mouse," he commented.

"I-I'm not!"

"Uh-huh."

"Really!"
Mr. Heywood gave me a smug smile. "Whatever you say, Holly. We're eating at the
table."

"You have a kitchen table?"

"I'm not a barbarian," he responded in a flat voice. "Now go."

"Okay, dad."

As soon as the words left my lips, an awkward silence settled in. Mr. Heywood
looked caught between amusement and discomfort. Another blush spread across my
cheeks as I headed towards the kitchen, ducking my head. Note to self: Don't call
Mr. Heywood dad. I really needed to think before I spoke. And I really needed to
learn not to make things awkward.

"Holly? Hey, Holly."

A hand on my shoulder made me blink in surprise. I turned my head to Mr. Heywood.

"Huh?"

"I asked if you were allergic to peanuts," he told me, raising an eyebrow. "Twice."

"Sorry," I apologized, looking away from him. "And no, I'm not. Why?"

"I put peanuts in the taco seasoning."

I gave him a skeptical look. "What?"

He laughed, ushering me into one of the chairs. "Trust me, it's good."

"Okay... Can I have a fork?"

"A fork?"

I nodded. "You know, something you eat with-"

"Are you going to do that every time I repeat something you said?" Mr. Heywood
snapped, frowning at me.

"You do it to me!"

He smirked. "That's because it's funny when I do it. You at least blush."

"I do not!" I denied, though contrary to my words, my cheeks burned again. "But I
need a fork to eat."

"It's a taco. You eat it with your hands."

I ducked my head. "I need a fork..." I was definitely not going to eat a taco in
front of Mr. Heywood. It had to be the messiest meal in the world. There was no way
I was going to make a fool of myself in front of him.

Mr. Heywood watched me curiously for a moment before getting up from the table.
Moments later he returned, handing me a fork. "A fork for the lady."

"Thanks." When I realized he had another fork in his hand I gave him a curious
look. "Two forks?"

"I'm going to eat my taco with a fork too," he told me, dropping into his seat. "I
want to know what's so fun about eating Mexican food with a fork."

"There's nothing fun about it..."

Mr. Heywood shrugged, stabbing his fork into the center of his taco. Some of the
seasoning leaked out from under the tortilla shell. He raised an eyebrow. "Are you
embarrassed to eat a taco in front of me? That's cute."

"That's not it!" I countered, feeling my face heat up again.

He gave me a smug look. "You can't lie to me, Holly."

"Could Holly lie to you?"

Mr. Heywood's expression was confused for a minute until he realized what I meant.
Then his expression became guilty, and he dropped his gaze. For the second time, an
awkward silence filled the room. After a moment Mr. Heywood sighed. "She could lie,
yes."

"So how come I can't?" I complained, ignoring the awkwardness.

Mr. Heywood gave a low chuckle, now appearing more at ease. "Should I be worried
about why you want to lie to me so badly?"

"I don't want to lie to you," I told him, shaking my head. "But what if I want to,
like, have a surprise for you... or something."

"I'll do my best not to guess."

"Maybe I'll ask Holly for tips..."

Mr. Heywood pursed his lips at me. "I'd rather you not. Holly was a pain in the ass
when she lied. I prefer you the way you are now."

I smiled at him, not sure whether that was meant to be a compliment or not. It
almost seemed impossible to lie to him. How had the other Holly managed? Maybe she
didn't keep eye contact...?

"Speaking of Holly," Mr. Heywood suddenly started, breaking my thoughts. "Remember

why she was in town?"

"To hand out invitations to her wedding."

He nodded. "Right. Well Jeremy and I both got one. I don't really want to go-"

"What?" I interjected, my eyes widening. "Why not? Mr. Heywood-"

"Chris," he corrected.

I rolled my eyes. "Chris, weddings are amazing! There's cake, food, dancing, pretty
dresses-"

Mr. Heywood smirked. "Pretty dresses?"

"Well yeah," I responded, quickly adverting my gaze. "You get to dress up... You
should go! I'm sure Holly would really like it if you went."

"She does want me to go."

"Then why don't you?"

"I never said I wasn't," Mr. Heywood responded, his smirk widening. "You just
assumed I wasn't."

Once more my cheeks warmed. "Sorry."

Mr. Heywood held up his hand. "No worries. Anyway, the invite says we can invite
someone... And since the wedding is in New York, I was thinking it'd be okay if you
wanted to go."

"Me?" My eyes widened in excitement as I stared in surprise at him. "Really? Is it

okay?"

Mr. Heywood gave me a look like he thought I was stupid. "I just said it would be
okay."

"I want to go!"

"I wasn't going to let you say no. However, school resumes the next day so you
might be tired."

"I don't care about that," I told Mr. Heywood, smiling broadly. "I definitely want
to go. Who's Jeremy inviting?"

Mr. Heywood gave a half-shrug. "We were thinking you'd like Casey to come so it
wasn't as awkward. Or Lance. I'm pretty sure it's alright for Jeremy to bring a
guy."

A laugh escaped my lips. "Lance? At a wedding? That'd be quite the sight."

"So I take it you want to bring Casey?"

"I'll ask if she can go," I told him, nearly shaking with excitement. Even though
it was still a month away, I couldn't wait. Especially for the cake.

Mr. Heywood turned his attention back to his meal, mixing his taco up with his
fork. "Time to eat our taco salads."

I ignored his jibe, sticking my own for into my taco. While he was focusing on
cutting up his tortilla shell, I quickly stuffed a large piece of my taco in my
mouth. Mr. Heywood abruptly looked up and I immediately slapped a hand over my
mouth, flushing. He chuckled, adverting his gaze.

"You've eaten in front of me before, you know," he told me, taking an elegant bite
of his taco. I narrowed my eyes at him. He was a guy. He shouldn't be eating neater
that I was.

"Not this messy," I finally retorted when I swallowed. "I don't want to look
gross."

Mr. Heywood scoffed. "You could never look gross, Holly. Now eat."

Ten minutes later, Mr. Heywood had already finished eating, and was watching me
intently. One of his famous smirks played across his mouth as he rested his elbow
on the table with his head in his hand. Luckily for me, I was almost finished with
my last taco- only two more bites.

"This could be a form of torture," I pointed out, aiming my taco-loaded fork at

him. "Stop that."

Mr. Heywood switched hands his head was resting on. "It's not torture. I'm just
looking at you."

"Well stop."

"Can't do that. You get to stare at me in class all period long. Now it's my turn."

"Then I'm not eating any more," I stated stubbornly, dropping my fork.

Mr. Heywood rolled his eyes. "You're such a girl, Holly."

"Oh? Did you want me to be a guy? Jeremy, perhaps?"

Mr. Heywood scowled at me. "I don't even- You know what? I'm going to go choose a
movie for us to watch. Finish your dinner," he ordered, pushing away from the
table.

Resisting the urge to laugh, I quickly ate the rest of my taco as Mr. Heywood left
the kitchen. With the way he acted whenever I mentioned anything having to do with
Jeremy and him romantically, it made me wonder. When I was done I grabbed my plate
and his, placing them in the sink. Just as I was leaving the kitchen, Mr. Heywood
was entering. His shoulder slammed into my face, making me take a step back in
surprise.

"Sorry about that," he apologized in an amused voice.

I rubbed my nose, frowning at him. "It's fine."

"Go sit down on the couch," he ordered, going back into the living room. "I'm going
to get a blanket."

"Make popcorn too."

Mr. Heywood raised an eyebrow at me. "You think you can order me in my own house?"

"Yep," I said defiantly, standing a little straighter. His intense gaze almost made
me back down, but just before I gave up, he shrugged.

"Just this once," he told me, holding up his finger. "Now sit."

When Mr. Heywood finally made it back to the living room, he had a large, black
comforter of his shoulder and a massive bowl of popcorn in the other. He sat down
on the opposite side of the couch, keeping a large distance between us. Placing the
popcorn bowl on the coffee table, he arranged the comforter over his shoulder so
that it was covering him. Then he grabbed the popcorn bowl, flicked off the lights,
and picked up the remote to the T.V.

I stared at him flatly. His lips twitched as he turned to look at me. "Oh, I forgot
you were here."

I turned my head up at him, crossing my arms. What was he planning? He snickered

and I glanced back at him, frowning. The blanket was off him now and he was
gesturing me towards him. "Come here."

"I'm good."

"Holly."
After a minute long staring contest I sighed, scooting closer to Mr. Heywood. He
grabbed my arm and pulled me nearly onto him. A blush made its way onto my face
again as he wrapped the blanket around us. After a second I relaxed back into him,
trying to calm my racing heart.

We were a couple now. This was what couples do. I couldn't get embarrassed every
time Mr. Heywood did something like this. He was much more experienced in dating
than I was, so I had to keep up with him.

"This is much better," Mr. Heywood murmured, his jaw moving on my shoulder with
each word. "Isn't it, Holly?"

"Yeah," I muttered bashfully, my face still burning.

He chuckled. "I hope you like scary movies."

My head snapped around to stare at him. "Wait, horror movies?"

"That's what we are watching," he informed me, looking amused. "Do you get scared
easily?"

"No," I lied quickly.

His smirk returned as he leaned closer to me to grab the remote off the coffee
table. "If you get scared you can cling to me."

I squared my shoulders. "I won't get scared."

"Holly," Mr. Heywood hissed, pulling his hand out of my grasp. "Don't dig your
nails into my hand!"

Unable to pull my eyes away from the screen, I patted his leg as an apology. I
didn't even know what movie we were watching, but it was way too terrifying for my
liking. I wasn't the horror movie girl. Suddenly a loud crash came from the
television, causing me to jump violently.

"Ow," Mr. Heywood groaned, holding me still. "Careful where you have a seizure."

I turned to glare at him. "You could have warned me!"

"I haven't seen this before." I gave him a flat look. He grinned. "Okay, maybe I
have. But I'm not going to ruin the experience for you."

"I'm going to have nightmares," I complained, snuggling more comfortably into his
chest, my past embarrassment long gone.

"What if I sleep beside you?"

My heart skipped a beat and for a moment I lost focus on the television.
"Together?"

"Couples can sleep in the same bed without doing anything," Mr. Heywood told me,
resting his chin on my shoulder. "Besides, last time you were here you slept with
Jeremy, didn't you?"

"Jealous?" I teased, even though my heartbeat was now racing with anticipation.
However, I'd slept in the same bed as him before, so what was the difference
between now and then?

He shrugged. "Maybe just a little."

"Jeremy will sleep with you next time he's here-"

Mr. Heywood lightly knocked his head against mine. "I didn't mean I was jealous of
you."

A smile slipped onto my face as I turned to look at Mr. Heywood. "I know."

He rolled his eyes. "Watch the movie."

By the time the movie was over, I was half-asleep. Mr. Heywood gently pushed me
away from him, keeping the blanket around me as he went to turn off the television.
When he turned back to me, he was grinning. "Don't usually stay up late, huh
sleepyhead?" He came back over to the couch, holding out a hand to me.

When I placed my hand in his grasp, he quickly pulled me to my feet. I stumbled

over the blanket and my face smacked against his chest. "I have to go to court
tomorrow," I murmured.

"You don't have to."

"I promised Lance."

Mr. Heywood put a hand on my back, leading me towards his bedroom. "I know. I'd
just prefer if you didn't go."

"I'll be safe," I assured him, barely paying attention to where we were going. "I
think I actually want to watch Shawn get what he deserves."

Mr. Heywood chuckled. "I'd actually like to see that as well."

"Do you want to come with me?"

"I'd rather not step in a courtroom..."

I frowned slightly. "Oh, right."

"Sorry," Mr. Heywood apologized, removing his hand. "Want to change into your
pajamas and go to bed?"

To be honest, I wanted to sleep in his clothes, but I wasn't going to tell him
that. Mr. Heywood grabbed my bag from the living room and I went into his bathroom
to change quickly. When I came back, I walked in on Mr. Heywood with his shirt off.
I blushed, not sure whether to leave the room or not. He noticed me staring at him
and he gave me a smug smile.

"What's that look for?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Nothing!"

"I sleep shirtless you know."

A flashback of the first time I stayed at Mr. Heywood's apartment whizzed by my

head. "I know."
Mr. Heywood chuckled, gesturing for me to come closer to him. "Well this time I can
give you a goodnight kiss."

My eyes widened in surprise as Mr. Heywood reached out his hand and pulled me the
rest of the way to him. Before I could respond to him, his lips were already on
mine. After a second he pulled away, his eyes smoldering into mine. I frowned at
him, reaching up to kiss him back. He took a step back, his eyes twinkling in
amusement.

"Eager, are we?"

My face burned while I opened my mouth to protest. Mr. Heywood quickly covered it
with his hand, chuckling. "Kidding. But you're tired, so I'm not going to keep you
up. Get in the bed."

"What are you doing?"

"The dishes," he informed me, nodding his head towards the kitchen. "I'm not a huge
fan of flies."

I laughed quietly. "Can't say I am either."

Mr. Heywood headed back to the kitchen while I climbed into his bed. For a moment I
hesitated on which side to go on. Did Mr. Heywood prefer one to the other? I
finally decided on sleeping on the right side. As soon as my head hit his
unbelievably comfortable pillow weariness swept over me. I yawned, pulling up the
comforter on his bed to my chin. The sounds of Mr. Heywood doing the dishes floated
in the room and I focused on them, trying to stay awake so I could wait for him to
come back. It didn't work. Before I knew it, I was dead asleep, the scent of Mr.
Heywood surrounding me.

_______________________________

Blah. Lately I haven't felt like writing. It's been feeling more like a chore
lately than a thing I do for fun... It kinda sucks. I don't know why I think that,
I just do. I literally have to force myself to write now. I wish there was more
time in a day... Or that I didn't have to go to school... or that math didn't exist
:/ Oh, and I didn't proof read....

Moving away from the depression, another person made a trailer for this story :D
This time it's on youtube! Go check it out! The video is to the right. Click on it
and it will bring you to youtube! Facebook page in external link (: My Facebook
page has two other trailers, so if you haven't seen them, check them out!

*******************************************
[60] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 57-1
*******************************************

So something you guys won't like will happen in this chapter, but if you continue
until the end, you'll like it. So don't stop when the shocking thing happens... or
you will regret it.

__________________________
"Don't turn your cell phone off," Mr. Heywood reminded me for the millionth time.
"Just put it on silent. Call me if you need anything."

"I know, I know," I responded, turning to give him a small smile. "Nothing will
happen though."

Mr. Heywood pursed his lips at me, looking worried. "Lance is waiting for you
inside, right?"

"Right."

"Okay." Mr. Heywood looked at the café cautiously. "I'll wait until your inside.
Text me when you're inside so I know you're okay."

A feeling of nervousness washed through me as I watched Mr. Heywood's

worried expression. "Stop being so nervous. You're making me nervous."

"Sorry," he apologized, reaching over and taking my hand into his. "I
just have this awful feeling something's going to happen..."

A frown slowly spread across my face. "You too?"

Mr. Heywood raised an eyebrow. "We are talking about Shawn. He's known
for dirty tricks."

"Oh," I responded, my hand gripping Mr. Heywood's tightly. "Well I

better go inside now..."

Mr. Heywood pulled my hand closer to him, bringing me with it. Before I
could blink he had his lips against mine, giving me a quick kiss. I inhaled
sharply, taking in the scent of his familiar cologne. Our eyes met and his
smoldered. He leaned back in again, this time kissing me a little harder, and
allowing me to return it. I shifted in my seat so I could be closer to him,
bringing my free hand up to his face. He let go of my hand, bringing his to my
back.

A gently nip at my lip made me jump in surprise. My hand landed on the

car horn, causing it to blare loudly. Immediately Mr. Heywood and I separated, my
face burning in embarrassment. "Sorry," I muttered, dropping my gaze.

Mr. Heywood chuckled, brushing my hair out of my face. "It's alright.

It wouldn't be a smart idea to be making out in such a public place anyway."

My gaze returned to his face and for a minute I stared into his eyes,
mesmerized temporarily. When he blinked, reality hit me and I blushed again. "I
should probably go."

Mr. Heywood nodded, gently dragging the tips of his fingertips across
my jaw. "Be careful, Holly."

For some reason terror suddenly gripped me and I reached out and
grabbed Mr. Heywood's hand as he was pulling it away. He gave me a curious look,
allowing me to drag his hand back over. I swallowed nervously, trying to calm my
heartbeat.
 "What's wrong?" he asked gently.

I shook my head, still holding onto his hand. "Nothing. I just... I

love you, Chris."

Mr. Heywood looked confused, but he smiled. "I love you too."

"Um, I'm going to go now," I murmured, blushing again. "See you...

sometime."

"See you sometime too," Mr. Heywood responded with a low chuckle.

After one more, quick kiss I exited the car, hurrying towards the café.
Just before I entered I glanced over my back at Mr. Heywood's car. He was watching
me, and he raised one hand in a wave. I waved back, smiling slightly before going
into the small building. Warmth and smell of freshly brewed coffee washed over me
as soon as I stepped inside.

"Welcome!" one of the waitresses chirped at me as I walked by.

I smiled at her in return for a moment before looking around for Lance.
After a minute I finally spotted him in the far corner of the café, reading the
newspaper. He looked up when I took a seat at the table, a grin spreading across
his face.

"Hey Holly."

"Morning," I greeted, pulling his cup of coffee over. "Are you ready
for this court thing?"

Lance shrugged. "Not really. My lawyer is though."

It felt weird hearing that Lance had a lawyer. It was like hearing that
a three year old owned a cell phone. A waitress came over to take our orders and I
ordered a coffee and croissant while Lance ordered a refill and a muffin. As she
was leaving my phone buzzed in my pocket.

Is Lance with you?

I made a face. It slipped my mind I was supposed to text Mr. Heywood

and let him know whether or not Lance was actually here. I quickly typed out an
affirmative answer and apology for not texting him sooner. A few seconds later he
responded saying it was okay and that he was leaving.

"Texting your boyfriend?"

"Jealous?"

Lance scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Not really. I'm not particularly
interested in men that are four years older than me."

"So you're interested in other men?"

He gave me a flat look. "No, Holly. I'm not gay."

I shrugged, holding up my hands defensively. "I never said that."

"Holly, do you have the feeling that something bad is going to happen?"
 "Huh?"

Lance's suddenly serious expression threw me off guard. My heart

dropped, and I lowered my gaze to the table. "You too, huh?"

Suddenly there was the wailing of a siren outside of the café. Both
Lance and I whipped our heads towards the window as a police car whizzed by. A
shock ran through me and I turned to Lance with wide eyes.

"That was creepy," he commented, slowly coming out of his tense state.

A small, dry laugh left my lips. "Very weird."

"Nothing's going to happen," he stated, as if trying to assure both of us. "It's

just pre-court jitters, right?"

I bit my lower lip and chewed it slowly. "Probably... But, I don't know, all of
this seems too easy. Shawn went down with barely any fight."

Lance raised an eyebrow. "Didn't Heywood get slammed with a shovel?"

"That's what I'm worried about," I admitted. "He hurt Mr. Heywood, but not that
seriously. He wanted to get me, but failed. He tried to kill Jeremy, but Jeremy
survived. He took Casey, but didn't harm her. I feel like I'm missing something."

Lance's eyebrows pulled together. "This is life, Holly. Not a movie. Something huge
doesn't need to happen in order for something horrible to end."

"I know, but still... It just doesn't feel right."

"Do you want something else to happen?"

"No! No, definitely not!" I cried immediately. A man dressed in a black suit
sitting across from us shot me a dirty look.

Lance let out a quiet sigh. "Okay, I know what you mean. But Shawn can't do
anything. He's been locked up in jail for the past couple days, and he's only
coming out to go to court today. He'll be guarded the whole time."

Just then the waitress returned with our order. She had a curious expression on her
face, as if she had been listening to our conversation. Lance thanked her; giving
her a look that meant, "go away". She smiled at him for a moment before walking
away from the table. My croissant was calling my name, so I pulled the plate closer
to me and began to pick at it.

"We have ten minutes before I have to go to the courtroom," Lance informed me,
ripping off the top part of his muffin. "You don't have to come right away if you
don't want to."

I shrugged, popping a piece of my buttery pastry into my mouth. "I can wait in the
hall or something. I'd rather not be here alone and look like a loner."

Lance laughed. "Alright."

Time passed more quickly than I had expected, and soon it was time for Lance to go.
I quickly had the waitress put my coffee into a to go up, and ordered another
croissant to go. Lance raised an eyebrow at me.

"What? I'm hungry," I defended, taking a small paper bag from the cashier.
Lance laughed. "I didn't say anything. Let's go."

We exited the warm café, heading out into the freezing morning air. A shiver ran
through me, and I quickly pulled my jacket tighter around me. Luckily for us, the
courtroom was just around the corner and across the street. Together Lance and I
hurried down the deserted street, keeping our heads down and away from the chilling
wind. It was times like this where I wished I carried a scarf around with me.

As we turned the corner I heard the sound of Lance exhaling quickly. Immediately my
heart leapt into my throat, fearing the worst. When I glanced up, I realized the
only thing that had happened was Lance had ran into a man walking in the opposite
direction. I almost laughed at my anxiousness.

"Sorry," Lance apologized, taking a step away from the man, who was dressed in a
black business suit like the guy in the café.

The man shook his head. "No worries," he responded, stepping out of the way to pass
by Lance.

Lance started walking again, this time a little quicker. I made to follow after
him, but the guy in the business suit now bumped into me, making me drop my coffee
and croissant. My eyes widened in surprise as I stared at my breakfast, now lying
on the ground.

"Oh no," I complained, stooping down to pick it up. "Hey Lance-"

My call was cut off when a loud engine roar suddenly filled the air. I started,
snapping back up. Lance was now a good distance away. A scowl appeared on my face.
He was always the impatient one. Couldn't he wait for me at least once? Sighing, I
bent down to retrieve my breakfast.

A rush of air left my mouth when something hard suddenly slammed into my stomach,
knocking the wind out of me. I doubled over, clutching my stomach and gasping.
Before I could blink I was swept off my feet, my eyes now coming in contact with
the sky. For a moment I was too shocked to make a sound. When whoever had me
started moving, my voice came back and I screamed as loudly as I could, struggling
violently.

"Lance!" I screamed desperately, feeling hands enclose around my flailing arms.

"Lance! Help me! Someone! He-" My cries were abruptly cut off when a hand roughly
covered my mouth.

Panic swelled up in me, and I soon found myself hyperventilating- which just made
it more difficult to breathe since someone still had their hand clamped over my
mouth. The sound of a car door opening met my ears and I was tossed violently into
some type of vehicle with tinted windows. A man- the same man Lance had bumped
into- climbed in after me, slamming the door shut. There was a squeal of tires and
I was knocked off the seat I landed on as the car jolted forwards.

"No!" I shrieked, pushing myself into a sitting position. "Let me out! Stop the
car!"

"Shut up," the man in the suit demanded, shooting me a hard look.

"Please," I begged, terror coursing through my veins. "Who are you? Where are you
taking me?"

A pair of hands suddenly landed on my shoulder, and someone's breath tickled my

ear. "Boo."

My head snapped around and I came face-to-face with the person I least expected.

Jeremy.

"Jeremy?" I uttered, my eyes widening in confusion. "What are you...?"

Jeremy smirked at me. "Hello, Holly!"

"What's going on?"

"Nothing much," Jeremy commented with a shrug. "We're going to go somewhere fun and
meet someone."

I stared at him, furrowing my eyebrows. "Why didn't you just call? You scared the
hell out of me! I thought I was being kidnapped!"

"You are being kidnapped though?"

It felt like a brick had dropped into my gut. "What?"

Jeremy leaned back, putting his hands behind his head. "This is kidnap."

"What do you mean?" I asked, feeling nervous again. "Where are we going?"

"Secret."

"Who are we meeting?"

Jeremy smirked. "You really want to know?"

"Duh," I responded in an irritated tone.

"It was someone you were planning on seeing today anyway."

My eyes widened slightly. He didn't mean what I thought he meant... did he? There
was no way. Jeremy was my friend. He wouldn't...

Jeremy's smirk grew wider. "I think you're thinking the right person."

"Shawn?" I whispered, my heart stopping momentarily. "But he's..."

"At the special waiting place," Jeremy finished for me. "Surprise, Holly! How does
it feel to be betrayed?"

I stared at Jeremy in shock, unable to process what was happening. Betrayed? Jeremy
was betraying me? My mouth felt dry. "All along..."

Jeremy nodded, leaning closer to me again. "I hate you. And Chris. You both annoy
the hell out of me. Especially Chris. My original plan was to have Chris fall in
love with you then take you myself, but I changed my mind. Shawn will be much more
fun."

"You're kidding right?"

Jeremy let out a bark of laughter. "Holly, do you honestly believe I'd go through
all this effort just to scare you?"
"Yeah," I deadpanned.

Jeremy sobered up for a minute, looking surprised. Then his amused expression came
back. "Too bad. This isn't a joke."

Just kidding. It is a joke. Jeremy's a good guy. I just got bored so I thought I'd
trick you all. Haha. Though, I am worried that as soon as some people read "Jeremy"
they'd be like OH HELL NO and stop reading. Hopefully they didn't. I've wanted to
trick you guys for a while, and I thought this was an appropriate time. And yes, I
do realize it ruined the tone. Buuuut, oh well. Let's go back to the story! :D
We'll start a few lines from before the joke came in. Which means Jeremy is NOT in
the car. Jeremy's nowhere around.

"Please," I begged, terror coursing through my veins. "Who are you? Where are you
taking me?"

A pair of hands suddenly landed on my shoulder, and someone's breath tickled my

ear. "Boo."

My head snapped around and I came face-to-face with the person I least expected.

Shawn.

He smirked at me, drumming his fingers on my shoulders. "Hello, Holly."

I screamed. A long, horrified, high-pitched shriek. Shawn made a face, pulling back
slightly. I screamed again, unable to process what was happening. How was Shawn in
the car? He was supposed to be at the courtroom! When another scream left my lips,
Shawn abruptly shoved his hand to his mouth.

"Will you shut up?" he demanded, rolling his eyes. "I know as a matter of fact my
face isn't that horrible."

I cried out into his hand, bringing my own hands up to try to pull it off. However,
he held fast, keeping me silent. For a split second my vision swam and I thought I
was going to pass out. Horror filled me as I fought to keep myself conscious. I
couldn't faint now!

"You don't need to scream, Holly," Shawn told me. "I'm not going to hurt you."

I gave him a flat look. He chuckled, pulling his hand away. Immediately I sucked in
a deep breath, trying to calm myself before I started hyperventilating again. "How
are you...?" My voice cracked and I clamped my lips shut, flushing.

"It's called having back up plans," Shawn explained, rolling his eyes. "When you
told me the cops were coming, I quickly made a plan with some of my followers that
would help me escape, since they couldn't beat the cops to the warehouse. Let me
tell you Holly, jail is not fun."

"I hope you got used to it, because that's where you're going back to," I shot at
him, glaring as hard as I could.

Shawn laughed. "I know that. But I'm not going to go down without a fight."

"A fight?"
"Not with you," Shawn assured me. "With Chris. I want to settle things with him
once and for all. Last time he was at a disadvantage. I want to fight him equally."

"What does that have to do with me?"

Shawn cocked an eyebrow. "Why you're the bait of course."

"Bait?" I repeated incredulously. Shawn was seriously going to use me as bait?

"I've been doing a lot of thinking," Shawn started, leaning back into his seat.
"You're just an annoying, little child. Although you may look like my Holly, you
two are nothing alike. Put nicely, you're too immature for me."

I glared at him. "I'm immature? Of course, because I go around kidnapping girls all
the time!"

Shawn smirked in amusement. "See? That's what I mean. You're attitude really pisses
me off."

"I don't aim to make you happy," I snapped back at him.

Shawn shrugged. "Whatever. Mikey, get her cell for me."

Mikey, the man in the suit, suddenly leaned closer to me. I eyed him warily,
leaning away from him. As he brought himself closer to me, I moved backwards until
my back hit the window. He reached a hand over and put it in my coat pocket,
searching through it.

"Get away from me!" I shouted at him, trying to pull his hand away. "Don't touch
me!"

He ignored my cries, checking the other pockets in my jacket. Then he moved to my

pants pocket, patting them down. I struggled away from him, pushing myself to the
far edge of the car. Mikey sent me an impatient look.

"Stop touching me," I ordered, shoving my hand into my back pocket and pulling out
my cell phone, then chucking it at him. "Take it."

Mikey glowered at me as my phone hit him squarely in the neck. Shawn let out a low
chuckle from behind me, reaching his hand towards Mikey for the phone. Mikey gave
him it, sending another harsh glare towards me. I glared back, trying to look
menacing, even though I was terrified.

"Shall we give Chris a little call?" Shawn inquired, flipping open my cell phone.
"I'm not sure how much time we'll have before the cops find me."

Before I could reply Shawn already had the phone at his air. My heart thudded
painfully in my chest as Shawn hummed quietly, waiting for Mr. Heywood to pick up.
I could just barely hear the sound of his phone ringing from where I was. Shawn's
expression brightened when Mr. Heywood's voice came through the receiver.

"Chris!" Shawn greeted him enthusiastically. "Hm? What's wrong? Cat got your
tongue? Or do you not recognize who this is?" After a moment of silence Shawn let
out a bark of laughter. "Do whatever you want. I'm just calling to let you know, as
you so correctly guessed, I have your little Holly with me right now. Say hello,
Holly."

I bit my tongue to stay quiet. Maybe if I didn't say anything, Mr. Heywood wouldn't
believe Shawn had me. Maybe he'd think Shawn only stole my phone from me. Shawn
narrowed his eyes at me.

"Say hello, Holly," he repeated in a threatening tone. I stayed silent, glaring at

him. He sighed. "Okay. Mikey."

My eyes locked onto Mikey, who was frowning me. He reached for me and I quickly
leaned away from him, watching him cautiously. He grabbed the edge of my coat,
trying to tug me closer to him. I kept my mouth clamped shut, gripping onto my seat
as tightly as I could. In one rough tug, I slid off the seat in his direction. His
hand was suddenly wrapped in my hair, and pulled on it roughly. I bit my tongue
harder, wincing in pain. Shawn gave us an impatient look.

"I assure you I have her," Shawn said into the phone, his eyes never leaving me.
"She's just being a stubborn brat."

Mikey pulled on my hair again, and once again I managed to avoid crying out in
pain. However, I did bring up my arms to try to push his away. I raked my nails
against his skin, causing him to his in pain and let me go. Before I could push
myself away, he grabbed my arm and twisted in violently. This time a small cry of
pain escaped my tightly pressed lips.

Shawn had a smug look on. "Did you hear that? Whoa there, calm down. "I'm going to
tell you where we are in a minute. I won't hurt her. No. Hold on." Shawn sent Mikey
a bored look. "Let her go."

Mikey roughly shoved me away, making the armrest of my seat jam awkwardly into my
back. Wincing, I pushed myself back up into my seat. Guilt washed over me as I
realized now Mr. Heywood would come try to save me again. My hands clenched into
fists so tight that my nails dug into my skin.

"Go to the place where we first met," Shawn said into the phone. "Last time it was
where I met your Holly, so it's fitting that we meet where we first met so many
years ago." Shawn went quiet for a moment, frowning. He sighed then held out my
phone to me. "For you."

I quickly grabbed it, pressing it to my ear. "Mr. Heywood! Don't-"

"I'm coming to get you," he interjected in a hard tone. "Try to stay safe until I
get there. It should only be a few minutes, I was already going in that direction."

"Mr. Heywood, don't come! He's using me as bait!"

"I don't care if you're bait for me," Mr. Heywood responded, sounding irritated.
"I'm coming to get you!"

My mouth went dry and my grasp on the phone tightened. "I'm sorry, Mr. Heywood."

"Don't be," Mr. Heywood responded. "I'm going to settle this once and for all. Then
this won't ever happen again because Shawn will be dead."

My eyes widened in surprise, but before I could say anything more I heard the click
that signaled he ended the call. Shawn raised an eyebrow as I lowered the phone
away from my ear.

"So?" Shawn asked. "You can keep your phone now, by the way."

I glared at him. "I hate you."

He smirked. "I know."

_________________________________

Hey guys! So, I was going to end this differently, but because of my funk, my
original idea, for lack of better words, sounded like shit to me, so I had to
change it. This may be dragging it out, but I didn't feel like the last part was an
ending, so this is going to be the real ending. A few chapters more. I don't care
if you think it's draggy, so don't bother commenting if you want to say that.
That's all :D And, lol, how many of you did I fool with the Jeremy thing? He's not
really a bad guy p: If you didn't catch the author's note in italics......

Facebook page in link (: No proof-reading, ftw!

*******************************************
[61] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 57-2
*******************************************

A shiver wracked through my body as I stood in the freezing air, my jacket doing
little to stop the cold from permeating throughout my body. Shawn stood a few feet
away from me, his hands shoved into his pockets. He rocked on the balls of his
feet, whistling quietly to himself. Off a little ways was Mikey, looking incredibly
bored and just as cold as I felt. One more other person was standing near Mikey-
the driver of the car. He was a large, burly man with a shaved head. He caught me
staring at him and he grinned. Immediately I turned my attention to the building we
were standing by. Or rather, what was left of the building.

From what I could tell, it was the skeleton of a two-floor country house. However,
the place looked like it had been through hell and back. The wood that was still
standing was completely black and had some weird type of moss growing on it. Two
sides of the house were still standing, also covered in the weird moss. Vines grew
up one side of it, all the way up to the caved in roof.

Surrounding the decimated house was thick, dense forest. It disturbingly reminded
me of the old warehouse we were at only a little more than a week before. A sudden
gust of wind whipped my hair around my face, blocking my vision. As I raised my
hand to push it away, the sound of an engine roaring came from the distance. My
head turned in the direction the sound was coming from, and a moment later Mr.
Heywood's car entered my vision.

"Finally," Shawn complained loudly. "I was beginning to think he wouldn't show. Eh,
Holly?"

I glared at him for a moment before returning my attention back to Mr. Heywood's
car, which was now coming to a stop near Shawn's vehicle. I started for the car,
but Shawn gruffly grabbed my elbow, pulling me efficiently to a stop. Once more I
turned my narrowed eyes to him. He held me fast as Mr. Heywood climbed out of the
car, not even bothering to shut the door behind him.

"Good to see you!" Shawn chirped, using his free hand to wave at him. "How was the
drive?"

As soon as Mr. Heywood got close enough to reach me, he grabbed my arm, forcing it
out of Shawn's grasp. In a blink of an eye Mr. Heywood's fist was in Shawn's face.
A startled gasp escaped my lips as Mr. Heywood brought his fist back and punched
Shawn again, this time knocking him to the ground. Shawn smirked up at Mr. Heywood,
wiping the edge of his mouth, which already had blood on it. Mr. Heywood struck him
again, using as much force as he could.

"Three," Shawn stated, not even bothering to defend himself. "Keep them coming,
Chris."

"What the hell are you counting for?" Mr. Heywood demanded, pausing in his assault.

Shawn's smirk grew wider. "Why don't you let Mikey show you?"

My eyes flew open when I felt a fist connect with my jaw. I stumbled to the side,
turning to gawk at Mikey, who was approaching me menacingly. I staggered backwards,
bringing a hand up to rub my sore jaw.

"Holly!" Mr. Heywood shouted, taking a step towards me. Shawn quickly clamped his
hands around Mr. Heywood's ankles.

"One," he commented in a casual tone, keeping a vice-like grip on Mr. Heywood.

Mikey swung towards me again. This time I ducked to avoid his fist, but he brought
his other hand up, smashing it into my gut. I doubled over, gasping in surprise.
Before I had the chance to straighten myself, I once again felt a blow to my face,
this time sending me sprawling into the dirt.

"Three," Shawn counted off.

"Holly!" Mr. Heywood shouted again, trying to break free from Shawn's grasp.

I stayed on the ground, sucking in as much oxygen as I could. Having the wind
knocked out of me twice in one day definitely wasn't good. I waited for Mikey to
hit me again, but nothing came.

"Holly, are you okay?" Mr. Heywood shouted at me.

I turned to him, struggling to push myself off the ground. "I'm fine."

Mr. Heywood turned his attention back to Shawn. "What the hell are you playing at?"

"Let's see how quick of a learner you are. You should catch on quickly- you are a
teacher after all," Shawn commented, finally letting go of Mr. Heywood's legs.
"What will you do?"

Mr. Heywood once again punched Shawn face. "Shut up!"

This time I felt Mikey coming at me. I dodged his fist, making sure to keep an eye
on his other hand so he couldn't use a cheap shot like last time. Mikey swung his
fist at me again and I barely managed to stop him from hitting my face by blocking
with my arm. Pain spread through my forearm at the contact of his strike. I took
his moment of surprise from my block to return one of his punches. A look of
surprise crossed his face as I managed to nick him pretty good on the jaw. However,
in my elation of hitting him, he ended up striking me back in the nose.

I cried out in pain, my hands automatically shooting up to my nose. When I pulled

one away, I could see blood covering it. Panicking slightly, I leaned forward to
let it drip out.

Mr. Heywood started towards me again, but Shawn quickly grabbed him. "Four," he
said in singsong voice.

"What are you counting?" Mr. Heywood demanded, trying to kick his leg free. "Let
go, damn it!"

"You can't figure it out?" Shawn asked in a mockingly disappointed voice. "Wow.
Holly might end up dead before you do."

I stared at Shawn in surprise. What was he talking about? And whatever happened to
the not hurting me part? Mr. Heywood looked at, his expression probably mimicking
mine.

"What shit are you spouting out now?" Mr. Heywood demanded, glaring down at Shawn.
"What do you mean by that?"

Shawn shrugged. "You figure it out."

Mr. Heywood stayed quiet for a moment, staring down at Shawn with a hard
expression. Shawn stayed on the ground, not even attempting to stand up. There was
blood trickling down the edge of his lip, much like the blood that was still coming
out of my nose, staining the ground below me.

"You're a bastard, you know that Shawn?" Mr. Heywood suddenly growled, bending down
to grab the front of Shawn's shirt. In one swift movement, Mr. Heywood had him on
his feet.

"Have you figured it out?"

"What do you want?" Mr. Heywood demanded, ignoring Shawn's question. "Tell me,
Shawn. Before I kill you."

Shawn laughed loudly. "If you kill me, Holly dies."

Mr. Heywood scowled. "What do you want?" he repeated.

"To see you get the shit beat out of you," Shawn responded simply, losing all signs
of humor. "To see you get what you deserve."

"So you're going to use dirty tricks so I won't attack you?"

Shawn cocked his head to the side. "Pretty much."

"I thought you said you were going to fight fair!" I shouted at Shawn, feeling the
metallic taste of blood in my mouth.

"I lied, Holly. You think you'd be used to lying, wouldn't you?"

Mr. Heywood yanked on Shawn's shirt, bringing him closer. "If I let you have me,
are you going to let Holly go?"

Shawn glanced at me, amusement flickering in his eyes. "You want to bargain with
me?" He made an tsking noise, looking back to Mr. Heywood. "I don't think you have
the power to do that, Chris. I have the upper hand."

To prove Shawn's point, Mikey grabbed me by the hair, yanking my head back. A cry
of pain escaped my lips before I could clamp them shut. Just as I was about to
retaliate at Mikey, he let go of my hair. I quickly smoothed down my hair, taking a
wary step away from him.
"What are you going to do with her?" Mr. Heywood growled, his shoulders tensed.

"You really want to know?" Shawn asked. "Well first I'd punish her for landing me
in jail... but actually, I was planning to do that with you still conscious-"

"Punish me?" I repeated incredulously. "Because you were in jail where you belong?"

Mr. Heywood sent me a warning look. "Holly, quiet."

"Holly, jail sucks," Shawn responded simply. "And it's your fault I was there. You
and your little antics."

"You belong there!"

"Holly!"

"What?" I demanded, giving a hard look to Mr. Heywood.

He returned my look with the same expression. "Stop talking back to him!"

"You're sticking up for me? Aw, thank you!" Shawn said, grinning. "But it's okay.
That's what I like about this Holly- she's feisty. It'll be fun when I..." Shawn
paused, for a second. "Well, I rather not ruin the surprise."

"You're not touching her, Shawn," Mr. Heywood stated threateningly. "If I don't
kill you now, you're going back to jail."

"Kill me?" Shawn repeated with a scoff. "What makes you think you can kill me? I
have back up."

Mr. Heywood glanced at Mikey, then the bald man. An amused expression flickered
across his face. "I can handle them."

Shawn narrowed his eyes, but there was also an amused tone to his voice. "You sound
confident. Tell you what, Chris. Let's fight one-on-one. Fairly."

"How can I trust you?"

Shawn glanced over to Mikey. "Mikey, go wait with Justin."

Mikey grunted in response, moving away from me. He walked over to the bald-man,
Justin, and stood by his side, still looking menacing. With both of the other men a
safe distance away from me, I felt more relieved. However the tense atmosphere
between Mr. Heywood and Shawn still kept me on edge.

"Alright," Shawn started, turning back to Mr. Heywood. "Regular rules?"

Mr. Heywood crossed his arms. "One-on-one rules. That means no help, and no
involving bystanders." He sent a pointed look at me. "If you as much as take a five
steps in her direction, I'll resort to dirty tactics."

"Done and done," Shawn responded, taking a few steps away from me. "See? I'm moving
away."

"Then let's get started," Mr. Heywood said, clenching his hands into fists. "Last
time we fought it took two minutes and forty-three seconds for you to go down.
Let's see if I can beat my record."

Shawn chuckled. "You were always so sure of yourself Chris." On the word Chris,
Shawn sent his fist flying in Mr. Heywood's direction.

A startled gasp left my lips as Mr. Heywood narrowly dodged. Shawn swung out again,
his eyes glued on Mr. Heywood. Mr. Heywood evaded the attack and countered, but
Shawn quickly blocked it. After his block, he quickly brought his fist across,
nicking Mr. Heywood's nose.

"Mr. Heywood!" I cried out, taking a step towards him.

"Holly, don't come closer!" he shouted back, never taking his eyes of Shawn. "Go to
the car-"

"Nope," Shawn interjected, glancing at me quickly. "Holly, you stay there. If you
try to go to the car, Mikey and Justin will stop you."

Mr. Heywood paused, his fists still at ready. "Why can't she leave?"

"You might not win," Shawn responded simply.

Mr. Heywood cast his fist towards Shawn's face, but Shawn eluded it by leaning
backwards. They continued a small match of swing and dodge for a few minutes.
Neither of them landing any hits, nor having one landed on them. My stomach twisted
uncomfortably every time Shawn came close to landing one on Mr. Heywood. Shawn
suddenly caught Mr. Heywood's fists, quickly bending Mr. Heywood's arm behind him.
I gasped, wincing at the sharp twist of his limb.

"I say Chris, jail really took a lot out of you, huh?" Shawn commented casually,
forcing Mr. Heywood's arm further against his back. "First you let me hit you with
a shovel, and now you let me catch your arm."

Mr. Heywood stayed silent, bending over with his arm so it wouldn't break. My heart
was in my mouth as I watched helplessly. I wasn't expecting Shawn to get the upper
hand in the fight. Without warning, Shawn briskly flipped Mr. Heywood over his
shoulder. Mr. Heywood landed on the ground with a hard thump, emitting a small
groan. Shawn stepped over him, putting a foot on each of his arms.

"Having trouble, Chris?" Shawn asked teasingly.

"I'm fine, thank you," Mr. Heywood responded in the same tone.

Shawn smirked. Mr. Heywood let out a huff of air, his arms twitching under Shawn's
feet. It wasn't that hard to figure out Shawn was trying to crush Mr. Heywood's
fist. My eyes were glued to Shawn as he continued to smile smugly down at Mr.
Heywood. It didn't seem like he was going to stop until he broke Mr. Heywood's
wrists. A sick feeling spread throughout me as I stood by ineptly, unable to do
anything to help.

"Does it hurt?" Shawn inquired when Mr. Heywood let out a small groan. "I remember
how you always used to be wary of your wrists. You never liked them being touched."

Shawn lifted one of his feet off of Mr. Heywood's wrist. Relief washed over me-
until Shawn abruptly brought his foot back down, stomping on Mr. Heywood's wrist. A
cry of surprise left my lips as Mr. Heywood cried out in pain. Shawn lifted his
foot up to do it again.

"Stop!" I shouted, watching him in horror. "Shawn! Stop!"

Shawn spared me a single glance before grinding his heel into Mr. Heywood's wrist.
"Sorry, Holly. This is a fight."
"Damn it," Mr. Heywood groaned, trying to pull his arm out from under Shawn.

My feet started moving before I had even told them to run. When Shawn went to stomp
on Mr. Heywood's other wrist, I leapt at him, tacking him to the ground, and off of
Mr. Heywood. We landed hard, Shawn somehow ending on top of me, and crushing me
into the ground. His eyes were wide in surprise as he stared down at me, caught off
guard.

"What are you doing?" he growled, putting his hand on either side of me, and trying
to push himself back onto his feet.

I quickly wrapped my arms and legs around him, trying to keep him on the ground.
His arms gave out from under him, and once more we fell back to the ground. Shawn
scowled at me, trying to pry my arms off him.

"This is a one-on-one fight," Shawn enlightened me, pushing up from the ground
again, taking me with him. "No help from bystanders. Or else we turn to dirty
tactics."

I gave him a confused look, trying to figure out what he meant by that. What were
dirty tactics to fighting? Shawn pulled his arms out from under him and my back hit
the hard ground roughly, causing me to exhale sharply. Shawn gave me a knowing
look.

"If you don't let go of me, I'll keep doing that."

"No you won't," a new voice interrupted. "Holly let him go."

I shook my head. "No, Mr. Heywood, you-"

"Let him go," Mr. Heywood repeated, his tone hard. "Now."

Reluctantly, I released Shawn from my hold, holding my breath while he hovered over
me. Mr. Heywood appeared in my field of vision, and he kicked Shawn off me. Shawn
rolled, swinging both his legs out, and somehow knocking Mr. Heywood over. He
landed half on me, half on Shawn. Shawn got a tight grasp on him, flipping him onto
his back. I scrambled out form under his legs, reaching over, and grabbing Shawn's
head. He growled in annoyance, letting go of Mr. Heywood to grab my arm. Mr.
Heywood used this chance to rectify himself. As soon as Shawn shoved me away from
him, Mr. Heywood shoved Shawn back to the ground, straddling him. Shawn gave Mr.
Heywood a disgruntled look while Mr. Heywood pressed down on Shawn's collarbone.

"Are you ready to die?" Mr. Heywood questioned, moving his hands to Shawn's throat.

Shawn laughed humorlessly. "You can't kill me, Chris."

"What makes you say that?"

Shawn's eyes trailed over to me. "Shouldn't you keep an eye on Holly, too?"

My arms were suddenly tugged behind me, bending backwards painfully. I glanced
behind me to see Justin grinning at me. He yanked on my arms harder, making me take
a quick inhale of breath.

"What are you planning on doing?" I heard Mr. Heywood demand.

"I'll leave that up to your imagination," Shawn responded in a wicked tone. "I'll
give you a hint. Remember with the other Holly-"
I turned back to the pair just in time to see Mr. Heywood smash his fist into the
side of Shawn's head. "You're a bastard," he growled, grabbing the front of Shawn's
shirt to pull him up, only to punch him down again.

"Mr. Heywood!" I called, trying to pull myself free. "Wait-"

He ignored me, continuing to pummel Shawn who lay exposed underneath him. Shawn
didn't even bring up his arms to protect his face. It made me nervous. Why wasn't
Shawn fighting back? Why was he just letting Mr. Heywood batter him? Eventually Mr.
Heywood stopped hitting him, relaxing his shoulders.

"Why aren't you fighting back?" he asked.

Shawn shrugged, but before he could answer, a loud shout came from behind me. Mr.
Heywood's head snapped towards the noise, but I couldn't turn to look because
Justin still had his hold on me.

"Shawn! The cops are on their way!"

Shawn's head turned towards the new voice, his face hardening. "What? How?"

"A little friend named Jeremy," Mr. Heywood informed him, rolling his eyes. "Did
you really think I'd come here unprepared, Shawn?"

Shawn narrowed his eyes. "Shit! We're out of time. Send out the others."

My eyes widened. The others? What others? Justin wrenched me around, making me face
the old, rundown building. My heart stopped beating when I saw many men filing out
the broken down door. At least seven of them came out, all looking intimidating and
ominous.

"I told you I had back up," I heard Shawn comment. "I'll let them take care of
you."

_________________________________________

Hey-oh folks! So this chapter is going to be longer than I expected, so I have to

break it up into two parts. Here's the first part, but I have to go Christmas
shopping, so I don't have time to write the second part yet, but hopefully when I
get back I can finish it up! Or maybe tonight. It depends. It might be out tomorrow
morning. I'm actually planning to go to Avarie's house tonight but... Eh, we'll see
lol. Enjoy the first part!

I didn't proof read. I actually never do.

The video attached to this chapter is something my 13 year old cousin wanted me to
show you guys. So check it out if you want. Leave a nice comment. The best part is
when Jake is like "why?" and Charlie is like "... Why what?" loool. Just... yeah.
Watch it. It's a lot to sit through but that's a good part.

Facebook in external link! (:

*******************************************
[62] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 57-3
*******************************************
I began to struggle in Justin's grasp as the men disappeared from my view, heading
towards Shawn and Mr. Heywood. Justin held me tighter, snickering. "I'm not letting
you go," he told me.

I ignored him, twisting as violently as I could. Shawn said something incoherent

from behind me, and I heard the first sound of a punch landing in a hand. Then
another sound- this time of a punch landing on a chest. I struggled harder, growing
frantic. Even if Mr. Heywood was a good fighter, he couldn't take on eight men at
the same time.

"If you're that desperate to see your hero get beat up, I'll let you watch," Justin
said, twisting me around again. "Here."

My eyes landed on Mr. Heywood, who was being held still by four of the men. The
other four men were standing in front of him, looking threatening. Shawn was
standing to the side, wiping the blood off his face. I watched in horror as one of
the men standing in front of Mr. Heywood brought a fist to his face. Before it
landed I turned away, unable to watch.

"Do you want to count the punches with me?" Justin inquired. "That's one..." There
was another smack, making me wince again. "Two."

"So, Chris, I hope you enjoy jail as much as I did," Shawn commented. "I'm very
aware about the fact that you'll go back to jail if you were caught up in a gang
problem."

My head snapped back to Mr. Heywood just in time to see him get slammed in the
face. "Stop it!" I shouted, trying to move towards him. "Mr. Heywood!"

"Are you going to answer me, Chris?" Shawn asked, moving towards Mr. Heywood.

The three men in front of Mr. Heywood moved to the side to let Shawn through. Shawn
stopped in front of Mr. Heywood, bringing his head closer to him. He said something
I couldn't hear. Without any warning, Mr. Heywood elbowed two of the men holding
him in the face, they both went down, and as they were going down Mr. Heywood
smashed them for the second time. Then, before I could blink, he sent his fist
straight into Shawn's jaw, knocking him to the ground. Mr. Heywood then moved
forward to attack him again, but all five other men were on him in a flash.

"Mr. Heywood!" I screamed as he was knocked to the ground. "No!"

While Mr. Heywood was on the ground, the men surrounding him began to kick him
violently. My heart thudded painfully in my chest as I watched him be beaten. I
thrashed violently in Justin's arms, trying to break free.

"Stop it!" I shrieked again, watching as one of the men aimed a kick to his face.
"Please! Stop!"

No one even glanced at me. Justin chuckled. "You may just get to watch him die."

"Shawn! Shawn! Please!"

Shawn turned to me, still lying on the ground. An amused grin spread across his
face. "What? I can't hear you Holly."

"Please, stop them!" I screamed at him, my throat already feeling raw. "Please!"

"What?"
"Stop them, Shawn! Please!"

"What? Hurt him more?" Shawn responded, feigning confusion. "If you say so..."

My eyes widened. "No!"

Mr. Heywood let out a groan as someone stomped on his chest. When Mr. Heywood tried
to pull the leg off him, another person kicked his arms away. I felt like I was
going to be sick.

"Oh, that looks like it hurts," Justin commented.

Angrily, I brought back my head to smash it in his chest. He must have had his head
down, because I felt my head bang against his jaw. This caused him to relax his
grip on me, and I was able to twist out of it. When he went to grab me again, I
brought my knee up to his crotch. Instead of him falling down like I expected him
to, he grabbed my hair, yanking my head back.

"You bitch," he growled, pulling me closer to him.

Once again I brought my head back into him. He groaned in pain, letting me go for
the second time. Without hesitating, I burst forward, heading towards the men
surrounding Mr. Heywood. I shoved through them, throwing myself on top of Mr.
Heywood. One of the men kicked my side, causing me to cry out in pain.

"Stop it!" I heard Shawn shout. "Don't hit her!"

Immediately the men backed up, leaving me breathless on top of Mr. Heywood. He
stared up at me, his eyes wide. Blood was tricking from the corners of his lips,
and there was already a large bruise on top left of his forehead. He shut his eyes
for a moment, a heavy sigh escaping his lips.

"Move," I heard Shawn order gruffly and a few seconds later there was a pair of
legs in front of me. I looked up to see Shawn glaring down at me. "Get up, Holly."

"No."

"Now."

I shook my head stubbornly, wrapping my arms around Mr. Heywood. "No."

Shawn gave me a hard look. "Holly, either you move away from him, or you're just
going to have to be beat up with him."

"I'm not moving," I told Shawn, holding onto Mr. Heywood harder. "I'm not leaving
Chris."

Shawn glared at me for another moment before letting out a deep sigh. "Fine. I'll
tell them not to ruin your pretty face. Okay, boys?"

There was a low chuckle throughout the group surrounding us. I shut my eyes,
dropping my head onto Mr. Heywood's chest, preparing myself. The slow rise and fall
of his chest as he breathed calmed me.

"Holly," he whispered in a pained voice. "Don't-"

"I'm staying," I responded stubbornly, feeling my eyes begin to burn. "This is my

fault. I'm not letting you do this alone."
There was the sound of shuffled footsteps as the men came closer to us. I held my
breath, waiting for the pain. Before I felt any though, there was a low swear from
Shawn. Mr. Heywood turned his head, a relieved expression coming onto his face. My
first thought was that the police had come, and I just hadn't heard their car. I
turned too, letting out a sigh of relief. When my eyes landed on Jeremy, Lance, and
two other men I didn't know, my heart stopped.

Each of the men had a gun. Jeremy had his pointed at Shawn, Lance had his pointed
at the man closest to me, and the other two men were alternating their gunpoint
between the other gang members.

"Sorry I'm late," Jeremy commented with a grin. "It took a little time to hunt down
the backups."

Mr. Heywood gave a low chuckle. "You made it just in time."

"I thought you said the police were coming!" Shawn shouted at the man closest to
me. "Not these guys!"

"Oh, the police are coming," Lance assured Shawn. "But we were already five minutes
away when we called them. No service," he added when Mr. Heywood gave him an
annoyed look.

I stared at Lance in alarm. Why was he here? Out of all the people in the world to
being here, Jeremy brought Lance? Who had been attacked by Shawn before? Who had
probably never held a gun in his life before? When Lance noticed I was staring at
him, he sent me a small grin.

"Now," Jeremy started in an authoritive tone. "Move away from Holly and Chris, or
we'll shoot."

Immediately the men surrounding us moved backwards, putting up their hands in

surrender. Shawn swore again, but also took a few steps away from us. Mr. Heywood
gently pushed me off him, climbing to his feet. He then pulled me to my feet,
holding me up until I gained my balance. I smoothed out my shirt, wincing as my
hand brushed my now bruised side.

Mr. Heywood grabbed my arm, pulling me into his chest. He wrapped his arms around
me, squeezing me hard. "Holly, don't ever try to protect me again, okay? I don't
know what I'd do if you got hurt again because of me."

I frowned slightly. "But you were getting hurt because of me..."

"I can handle it though," Mr. Heywood responded, pulling me away so he could grin
at me. "You, on the other hand, are a little more fragile."

I blushed slightly. Mr. Heywood sighed lightly. "Your blush is so calming, Holly."

I blushed darker. "What?"

Shawn cleared his throat loudly. "Aren't you two cute?"

"I hope you're ready to go back to jail," Mr. Heywood said, turning to smirk at
Shawn. "Quite the change of events, huh?"

Shawn glared at him. "I should have known you would rely on others to help."

"That's what friends are for," Mr. Heywood responded with a shrug. "Oh wait. You
don't have friends. You have followers. And now your followers are useless."

Shawn rolled his eyes. "This isn't over yet."

"Yes, it is," Mr. Heywood responded with an air of finality.

"Chris!" Jeremy called to Mr. Heywood, his gun still on Shawn. "Do you have
anything we can tie these guys up with?"

Mr. Heywood nodded. "Yeah, I have some rope."

"Where?"

"Holly, in the trunk of my car is some rope," Mr. Heywood told me, nodding towards
it. "Go get it so we can tie these guys up."

I nodded, shakily taking a few steps towards his car before bursting into a full
out sprint. When I reached the car I quickly popped the trunk, grabbing the rope
that was piled up at the bottom of it. I turned back to where Mr. Heywood was,
trying to wind the rope up so I wouldn't trip on it. Mr. Heywood was by Jeremy now,
who still had his gun pointed towards Shawn. Lance had moved over to where the two
other men I didn't know were, and together they were keeping an eye on the rest of
Shawn's followers. My eyes swept around for Justin, and I found him passed out on
the ground a few feet away from me. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. When had
that happened?

"Holly! The rope!" Jeremy called back to me. "You're so slow!"

"I'm coming!" I responded, tossing it over my shoulder and marching towards them.
"Jeez! I don't want it to be tang..."

I trailed off, feeling a hand enclose on my upper arm, pulling me to a stop. My

eyes widened in surprise, and I turned my head to see Mikey behind me. He sent me a
hard look.

"This wasn't supposed to happen," Mikey commented in a low voice. "But now I have
no choice."

Something sharp entered my field of vision as Mikey brought his arm around me. My
breath caught in my throat when I felt smooth, cool metal press against my throat.
I went rigid, holding my breath tightly.

"All of you, drop your guns or she gets it," Mikey threatened.

All four men with guns exchanged surprised looks. Lance lowered his a fraction of
an inch.

"Don't drop them!" I screamed at him.

"But Holly-"

"Don't!"

"I advise they do it," Mikey said loudly.

"Drop your guns," Mr. Heywood ordered, turning to Jeremy.

I glared at him in frustration. "No! Don't do it!"

Jeremy looked between Mr. Heywood and me for a moment, looking torn between us. He
lowered his hand the slightest bit like Lance had, and I heaved a frustrated groan.

"Times up."

An odd sensation ran through my stomach. For a second, I was too bewildered to have
a reaction. My eyes dropped down to my stomach, where the handle of a knife could
be seen. I dropped the rope, raising my shaky hands up to the handle. I touched it
gently, and a scream tore through my throat as a horrible, burning sensation
suddenly spread through my midriff. I screamed again, falling to my knees, causing
the knife to shift inside me. More shrieks came from my mouth as I looked up at
Mikey in terror. He had another knife in his other hand.

"Holly!" a panicked voice I recognized as Lance's shouted. "Holly! Oh my god! Stop

him!"

Mikey's eyes never left my face. He brought down the knife. Before it could come in
contact with my skin, a loud crack sounded. Mikey's shot open and he stumbled
backwards, dropping the knife. He dropped to the ground with a loud shout of pain.

I slowly turned my head towards the group, tears blurring my vision. My gut felt
like it was on fire. My vision swayed for a moment, but when I focused I noticed
Mr. Heywood was running towards me. Everyone else was just looking at me with a
horrified expression. My eyes landed on Shawn and another scream escaped me- this
time due to panic.

"Mr. Heywood!" I shrieked in terror.

With all the attention on me, Shawn had somehow managed to pull out a gun, and he
was now pointing it at Mr. Heywood. Panicking, I looked all around for something to
help with. Justin's body was just a few inches away from me. Immediately I spotted
the gun attached to his belt. I began to reach towards it and the tension it put on
my stomach caused a great deal of pain, but I continued anyway. My hand closed
around the handle and I yanked it back, fumbling with it until my finger was on the
trigger. I turned back to Mr. Heywood, who was only a few feet away from me now.

"Holly, what are you doing?" he started, coming to a stop a few feet away from me.

"Don't stop!" I screamed at him, seeing Shawn aim his gun. I aimed mine too, my
quavering hand making it difficult to fix my aim on him.

"Why not-"

There was a slight movement from Shawn's hand. My heart jumped into my chest when I
realized he was about to shoot Mr. Heywood. Closing my eyes tightly, I promptly
squeezed the trigger of my gun. A sharp bang rang in my ears, and my hand flew back
from the force. I dropped the gun, gasping in surprise. When I finally opened my
eyes again, Shawn was on the ground, shouting in pain.

"Chris!" Jeremy shouted in panic.

My eyes snapped up to Mr. Heywood, who was staring forwards in surprise. His gaze
dropped to his side, and my eyes followed. A small groan escaped my lips when I
realized he was covered in blood. Mr. Heywood furrowed his eyebrows, taking a few
steps towards me. He dropped to the ground when he was next to me, putting a hand
on his side.

"Mr. Heywood," I started in a hoarse whisper. "Shawn... Shawn shot you."

"I'm fine," he told me, his jaw clenched. "Lance, call an ambulance."

"I- I already did," Lance responded in a terrified voice. "Are you okay, Heywood?"

Mr. Heywood took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm fine. Holly, I need to
put pressure on your wound."

My eyes widened. "What?"

"I'm sorry," he apologized, leaning back, and taking of his shirt.

I tried to prepare myself for the pain. As soon as Mr. Heywood's hands touched my
midriff the burning sensation returned and a gasp of pain left my lips. I tried to
push him away, but he kept his hands pressed to my wound. I twisted uncomfortably,
groaning as the knife inside me twisted with me.

"Take the knife out," I begged.

"I can't."

"Yes you can!"

"If I do you might bleed to death!"

"But Mr. Heywood," I panted, closing my eyes, "it hurts!"

"I know," he responded, sounding pained.

"Help," I begged, not knowing what else to say.

"We have to stop the blood," Mr. Heywood told me in a tight voice. "Hold on."

I groaned in pain when I felt the pressure against my midriff increase. "Stop! That
hurts!

"I have to, Holly."

"No! Stop!"

"Holly, please!" Mr. Heywood nearly shouted. "I have to!"

My eyes opened as I saw Mr. Heywood staring down at me, his expression filled with
pain. His eyes were glazed over as he pressed his hands into my stomach, trying to
stop the blood flow. My eyes watered as I took in his expression.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, dropping his head. "I'm sorry, Holly. I have to do
this."

"Am I going to die?" I asked, closing my eyes again.

"You're not going to die," Mr. Heywood told me in a hard tone. "Just hold on a few
more minutes, the ambulance will be here."

"What about the police?"

"They'll be here too."

"Will they take you?"

Mr. Heywood was silent for a moment. "I don't know."

"You're hurt though," I pointed out, my heart rate increasing again. "They won't
take you to jail if you're hurt will they?"

"No, they won't," Mr. Heywood assured me. "Holly, calm down."

I reached up my hand towards the sound of his voice. After a moment I felt a hand
enclose on mine and pull it back down to the ground. Tears formed behind my closed
eyes again as I gripped onto his hand as tightly as they could.

"Don't leave," I murmured.

"I'm not going to," he responded in a quiet voice. "I'll always be here, Holly. I
love you."

I winced as he shifted the pressure on my midriff. "I love you too."

The sounds of sirens in the distance suddenly filled my hearing. Mr. Heywood let
out a deep sigh of relief. I relaxed too, suddenly feeling sleepy. I let go of Mr.
Heywood's hand, dropping mine to the ground, too tired to hold my arm up anymore.

"Holly?"

"Mm?"

"Holly, stay awake," he ordered me. "Come on, open your eyes."

I shook my head. "I'm tired."

"Holly, you need to stay awake."

"No."

Mr. Heywood gently shook my shoulder. "Come on, Holly. Open your eyes."

"Stop it," I muttered, turning my head to the side.

"Holly!" Mr. Heywood said loudly. "Just stay awake, okay?"

I mumbled something incoherent, not fully aware of what I was saying. Weariness
washed over me, but I tried to fight it of. I wanted to make sure Mr. Heywood would
be okay. It was a tough feat. Mr. Heywood said something to me, but it sounded
garbled with the noise of sirens in the background. I drifted in and out of
unconsciousness, struggling to open my eyes again. Finally I gave up, just as I
felt the pressure on my stomach disappear. All noises were shut out as I drifted
off into complete darkness.

_______________________________________

First I just want to say props to YeahSaosin. That banner to the top right is "lol"
worthy... If you've seen the bed intruder video/song. If not.... I don't think
you'll get it :L

Anyway, I finally finished this chapter. It would have been done sooner, but I took
last night to write another chapter of BMIL instead since BMIL is the priority...
But here's the next chapter! I hope it was exciting enough for you since some
people don't think it's exciting. Hm.
And, for the last time, there IS going to be a sequel. I don't know how many times
I've said in an author's note there will be. And again, it's going to be a
continuation of Holly's year after Christmas break. I'm not saying any more.

One more thing. For those of you who seem to skip author's notes, if you had read
two chapters before this, I clearly stated that the thing with Jeremy was a joke. I
said in the middle of the story Jeremy wasn't there. I repeated the lines from
where the actual story began again. I said in the last author's note after the
story it was a joke. I don't know how to make it more clear, so hopefully this
does. He arrived with Lance in this chapter.

Facebook page in link x)

*******************************************
[63] :A Proscriptive Relationship: 58
*******************************************

Noises and light. A bright, constant, blinding light. The noises were far off and
sluggish. I attempted to focus on them, but no matter how hard I tried, they were
still incoherent and garbled. An odd, unfamiliar scent was filling my nose. I
struggled to move, but my body felt liked it weighed a thousand pounds. The more I
strived to at least lift my hand, the heavier I felt.

There was more pressure on my right arm then my left- at least I thought it was my
arm. In my state, I couldn't be sure. I didn't even know where I was. Or why I
couldn't make out the noises I could hear. Or where the blinding light that was
starting to get on my nerves was coming from.

I struggled to force my eyes open. For all I knew, I could have been kidnapped
again. Maybe something had gone wrong and Shawn somehow got away again. The thought
sent alarm through me. With new resolve, I finally managed to force my eyes open-
only to close them again when an even more glaring light than the first blinded me.

After blinking a few times to get my eyes adjusted to the light, I began to take in
my surroundings. White walls, white curtains, white ceiling... I turned my head to
the side and my gaze landed on a large machine producing a beeping noise. A
startled gasp escaped my lips when I realized I was in a hospital. Relief then
washed over me- that meant I was safe.

My gaze dropped down my arm, where an I.V was attached to my wrist. Making a face,
I quickly turned away from it. Needles weren't my thing. My eyes widened when I
took in my other arm. There were no needles, but something else instead- or should
I say someone else. Mr. Heywood was dead asleep on my arm, his head resting against
my hip.

I tried to sit up, but found it took way too much strength. Giving up, I fell back
down the inch I had managed to rise. A scratchy groan escaped my lips as my landing
sent my head pounding. Why was I so tired? I squeezed my eyes shut tightly, trying
to remember what happened. Mikey had stabbed me, and then I shot Shawn, and then
what...? Did I pass out?

The arm Mr. Heywood was sleeping on started to tingle uncomfortably. After a moment
it turned into a painful prickle, like needles being poked into my skin. I slowly
clenched and unclenched my fists, trying to wake my arm back up. It wasn't working.
Mr. Heywood needed to move.

"Mr. Heywood?" I blinked in surprise as my voice came out in a scratchy whisper. I

cleared my throat, trying again. "Mr. Heywood?"
He stirred slightly, turning his head to the side. "Mm," he mumbled, keeping his
eyes shut.

"My arm's asleep... Could you move?"

"In a minute, Holly," he responded, nestling his head more comfortably into my arm.
After another moment his eyes shot open, gazing straight into mine. He sat up
quickly, part of his hair matted to his face. "Holly?"

I chuckled at his expression and the hair pressed against his face. "Morning,
sleeping beauty."

"Holly," he repeated in a breathy voice, his expression turning to relief. He

turned to the side, hitting something on the machine next to me before quickly
moving forwards in his seat, throwing his arms around me, and bringing his body
closer to mine. He rested his head against my shoulder, rubbing it against it
slowly. "Thank god... Thank god."

Confused, I stared down at him. "What?"

He suddenly pulled back away from me, bringing his face in front of mine. "Holly,"
he breathed again, resting his forehead against mine.

"Mr. Heywood?"

Without warning he pressed his lips against mine very gently, as if they were made
of fragile glass. He his head, placing kisses across my jaw line, all the way up to
my ear. I let out a shaky breath, my body tingling at the sensations. He kissed
back down my jaw again, landing at my lips, this time a little more roughly. After
a moment he pulled away, planting one last kiss on my forehead before dropping his
head back on my shoulder.

He his arms tightened around me, making my arms squish together painfully. I tried
to break free from his grasp, but in my feeble state I could barely move my head.
It took a moment for me to realize Mr. Heywood's shoulders were shaking... and he
wasn't laughing.

"Mr... Chris, what's wrong?" I asked slowly, my chest tightening as a sense of

dread washed over me. "What? Is it Lance? Or Jeremy? What happened?" I cried,
feeling panicky. "Are they hurt? Is Shawn still free? Mr. Heywood!"

Mr. Heywood finally pulled away from me, keeping his head down. "No, they're fine,"
he told me in a husky voice.

My shoulders sagged in relief. "Then what's the matter?"

"I love you, Holly," Mr. Heywood murmured into my shoulder. "So much."

"I love you too," I responded, growing more and more confused.

Mr. Heywood's body suddenly became tense. "I thought I lost you."

"Lost me?"

He raised his head, his eyes piercing into mine. My heart skipped a beat when I
realized they were red- either from lack of sleep or crying. He let out a deep
sigh, bringing one of his hands up to my face and gently stroking my cheek. There
was a slight tremor to his hand.
"I've never been so terrified in my life," Mr. Heywood started, setting his jaw. "I
thought you were going to die, Holly."

"Die?" I parroted, my mouth going dry.

Mr. Heywood's face tightened, a look of pain crossing it. "I told you not to go to
sleep. You didn't listen. The knife missed your vital organs, but you lost so much
blood, so they gave you a transfusion, but you were still in critical condition,
and you slipped into a coma-"

"Coma?" I repeated incredulously, panic creeping up on me once again. "A coma?"

Mr. Heywood nodded, shaking his head. "The doctor's gave no explanation. I thought
you wouldn't wake up though. I thought that I had somehow managed to get you
killed, even though I tried my best to protect you. I thought-"

"Mr. Heywood," I started, cutting him off. "Mr. Heywood, I'm okay."

He snapped his mouth shut, looking at me with smoldering eyes. Using all the
strength I had, I raised my hand up to his cheek, resting it against him. "I'm
okay," I repeated, feeling my eyes water. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, stupid," Mr. Heywood responded, shutting his eyes and grabbing my
hand, pressing it more securely to his cheek. "You have nothing to apologize for."

"But I worried you-"

Mr. Heywood shook his head slightly. "I love worrying about you, Holly. I just wish
I didn't have to so much."

"You won't have to anymore right?"

Mr. Heywood stayed silent. Panic started welling up within me. "How long have I
been out for? Is Lance okay? What about Jeremy? Where's Shawn?"

Mr. Heywood put his hand over my mouth, effectively silencing me. "Holly, you need
to calm down. Lance is fine. Jeremy is fine. Shawn's in jail."

"Shawn's in jail?" I repeated when Mr. Heywood pulled his hand away.

Mr. Heywood nodded. "The police got him."

It took a moment for the news to sink in. Shawn was finally captured. "And what
about you?" I asked, growing nervous again.

He smiled slightly. "Since I was a good boy and quote, unquote saved you, I'm off
the hook."

"You're not in any trouble?"

"None at all."

My eyes welled up as a swirl of emotions passed through me, the most prominent one
being relief. "I'm so glad," I finally said, doing my best to blink away my tears.

The door to my hospital room suddenly burst open, and a few doctors and my mom came
in. Mr. Heywood quickly moved out of the way so my mom could have better access to
me. She threw her arms around me, squeezing me painfully. I gasped, my stomach
clenching painfully.

"Mom," I gasped, trying to push her away. "You're hurting me!"

"Holly! I'm so happy you're awake!" my mom blubbered, her voice thick with tears.
"Oh, honey!"

I winced in pain as she continued to squeeze my aching body. "Mom-"

"I was so worried! I thought you might not wake up!"

"Please-"

"I have to call Lance and Casey. I promised them I'd call when you woke up..." She
finally pulled away, wiping her eyes off with her sleeve. "They'll be so relieved."

"Excuse me," one of the doctors clad in a white coat said, gently pushing my mom
out of the way. "We need to do a check-up on her and make sure everything is okay."

My mom nodded, moving out of the way I watched as she went over to Mr. Heywood,
saying something to him I couldn't hear. He stood up, nodding to my mom. Together
they started for the door.

"Wait!" I cried out, my eyes widening. "Where are you going? Stay here!"

My mom gave me a gentle smile. "I have to go outside and call Casey and Lance. You
want to see them, right?"

"Yeah," I responded, my face falling slightly. "Mr. Heywood-"

"I'm not supposed to be in here during a check up," he informed me with a tight
smile. "I'm going to get something to eat from the café across the street. Do you
want something?"

As if on cue, my stomach growled. A blush spread across my face as Mr. Heywood

chuckled. I hadn't realized how hungry I actually was. It actually kind of hurt.

"Cake?"

"Chocolate," I told him, adverting my gaze. "Thank you."

"Anything for you, Holly."

My mom cracked a grin, sending me a wink before she disappeared through the door.
Mr. Heywood gave me one last lingering look before parting as well. I turned my
attention to the doctor, who was in the process of taking out my I.V. I quickly
shut my eyes, turning in the opposite direction, and trying to focus on anything
but the feeling of the needle slipping out of my vein.

Half an hour later, the door burst open, scaring me half to death. Mr. Heywood
quickly slapped me on the back as I choked on a piece of cake. Casey and Lance came
through the door, both with excited looks on their faces.

"Merry Christmas!" Casey cried, flinging herself at me. She landed hard, causing me
to groan in pain. Immediately she pulled back, looking sheepish. "Sorry!"

I shook my head, resting a hand on my sore stomach. "It's fine. And what are you
talking about? Christmas isn't for another week..."
Casey's head snapped to Mr. Heywood. "You didn't tell her?"

"Tell me what?"

"You've been out for two months," Lance told me in a serious voice. "I thought you
were a goner-" He was abruptly cut off when Casey elbowed him in the side.

She rolled her eyes as Lance groaned in pain. "Ignore Lance. You've only been out
for a little over a week."

"A week?" I repeated incredulously. "I've been gone for a week? Oh no..." A groan
left my lips and I fell back onto my pillow.

"What's wrong?" Mr. Heywood demanded, coming closer to my bed. "Are you okay?"

I shook my head. "No..."

"Should I call a doctor?"

"No, that's not it," I told him, smiling slightly at his concern. "I'm just
terrified about the amount of math homework I've missed... As well as every other
class."

"Well, at least you won't have to worry about biology homework," Lance told me in
an amused voice.

I cocked my head to the side. "Why?"

Mr. Heywood cleared his throat, turning away from me. "No reason."

"Heywood's been skipping school so he could stay here with you," Lance informed me,
a smug smile slipping onto his face.

I turned to Mr. Heywood, my eyes widening at the news. "Really?"

"I've only skipped two days," Mr. Heywood informed me, shooting Lance an annoyed
look. "The other days I was given off since, you know, I was shot."

My mouth dropped open in shock. I had totally forgotten Mr. Heywood had been shot!
"Are you okay now?"

"I was okay when I got shot, Holly," Mr. Heywood responded with a shrug. "Although
Shawn and Mikey needed some serious medical attention..." He turned to Lance with a
smirk.

Lance immediately dropped his gaze, scratching the back of his head. "I didn't mean
to shoot him. I just panicked."

"You shot someone, Lance?"

"Mikey," he told me. "It was either shoot him or watch him attempt to kill you."

"But Lance-"

"You shot someone too!"

I frowned at him. If I scolded him, I'd be a hypocrite. "Where's Jeremy?" I asked,

deciding to change the subject.
"Dunno," Mr. Heywood responded with a shrug. "I haven't seen him since Sunday...
That was two days ago."

"I saw him today at school," Casey interjected. "He said he was going to come by
later."

"You saw him at school?"

Casey nodded. "That's what I said."

"Why was he there?" I questioned, furrowing my eyebrows in confusion.

"Looking for Mr. Heywood, I think," Casey responded. "After I told him he wasn't
there, he left."

Mr. Heywood frowned. "I wonder what he wanted..."

"Obviously you," Casey said slowly, giving Mr. Heywood a funny look. "You don't
listen well, do you?"

Mr. Heywood scowled at her. "Well he wanted to talk to me for a reason, didn't he?"

"I don't know."

"So have you heard the good news?" Lance asked, leaning towards me, ignoring the
other two. "Shawn's in jail and he's going to be in there for a long time."

"I've heard," I responded, smiling widely back at him. "It's the best news I've
heard all day."

Mr. Heywood snorted. "You've only been up for an hour or so. There's not much you
have heard."

I puffed my cheeks out at him. "Shut up."

He rolled his eyes. "Sure thing, princess."

"Princess? Aw, that's a cute nickname," Casey interjected with a cheeky grin. "Is
he prince, Holly? Or king? I feel like Mr. Heywood would prefer king."

"We don't have nicknames for each other," I told her, feeling my face heat up.

"You don't?"

"No!"

Lance snorted. "What kind of couple are you guys? Lame."

I turned to Mr. Heywood, who was shooting daggers at Lance. "You're just jealous
because Holly fell for me and not you."

Lance's head snapped towards Mr. Heywood. "What?"

"You deaf?"

"No! I don't like Holly!"

Mr. Heywood smirked at him. "But you used to."

"No I didn't-"

"But I guess we both know Holly prefers someone more mature," Mr. Heywood continued
with a small sigh. "Sorry, chap."

Lance scowled at Mr. Heywood, setting his jaw. "You're annoying, you know that?"

"I take it as a compliment."

Casey laughed, nudging Lance in his rib cage. "You can't insult someone like Mr.
Heywood, Lance."

Lance crossed his arms, turning away from her. "I'll figure out a way."

"Holly, you're grinning like the Cheshire cat," Mr. Heywood pointed out, an amused
smile slipping onto his face.

Blinking in surprise, I realized I was indeed grinning broadly. I stopped

immediately, feeling my muscles protest. Mr. Heywood chuckled, reaching forward to
ruffle my hair. I pulled his hand away, but didn't let go.

"I'm just happy that all this is over," I told him. "No more Shawn. No more gangs.
No more problems..."

"No more hospitals," Mr. Heywood added in a firm tone. "And no more shooting
people. Okay, Holly, Lance?"

Lance and I exchanged sheepish looks. "Right."

Casey pouted. "Aw, I never got to shoot anyone..."

Mr. Heywood, Lance, and I all stared at her incredulously. A small blush spread
across her cheeks and she held up her hands defensively. "Kidding, I was
kidding..."

"Holly, Chris, I hope you guys are decent!" a loud voice suddenly came from behind
the door. "I don't want to walk in on you two again."

"Again?" Lance echoed, his eyes widening.

I blushed, glaring as Jeremy entered the room, a satisfied smirk on his face.
"There was no first time."

Jeremy faked a hurt look. "Are you calling me a liar? After I came all this way to
visit you? Look, I brought chocolate!" He held out a small box of chocolate to me.
"Does Holly want some chocolate? Oh, I bet she does," he said, mimicking the way
someone would talk to their pet.

"I don't want them," I snapped.

"I do!" Casey interjected, snatching them from Jeremy's hand. "Thanks... Um..."

Jeremy frowned at her. "Jeremy. We've met before..."

"Oh! At Victoria's Secret!"

Mr. Heywood snorted, quickly raising a hand to his face. He cleared his throat as
Jeremy glared at him. "Well, no surprise there, Jer," he said with a shrug.
"Victoria's Secret, eh?" I repeated with a smirk. "I would have never guessed,
Jeremy."

Jeremy flushed. "I wasn't there! I don't know what Casey is talking about! I've
never met her in there!"

"What do you mean?" Casey responded, feigning a confused tone. "You were having
trouble choosing between lace and silk..."

"I was not!"

I laughed at Jeremy's frantic denial. Mr. Heywood started laughing too, turning his
head away. Even Lance was smirking in amusement. Jeremy stared at Casey like she
was crazy.

"You saw me get shot!" he cried desperately. "I drove you home!"

"I know," Casey responded with a grin. "I was just kidding."

Jeremy froze, his expression going blank. I burst out laughing again, groaning in
pain as my abs contracted. Mr. Heywood sent me a worried look, but I shook my head
at him.

"Seems like you've met your maker, Jeremy," I commented, raising my eyebrows.

Jeremy pursed his lips, appraising Casey with his eyes. "We'll see."

Casey puffed out her chest, looking back at Jeremy with determination. "By the way,
Jeremy. You didn't ever deny going into Victoria's Secret... You just said you've
never met me in there."

Once again Jeremy flushed as he stared at Casey in disbelief. "I-"

Mr. Heywood chuckled, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I like your friends, Holly."

I smiled up at him. "Good, because I'm hoping you'll be around for a while."

"I'm hoping I'll be around forever," he responded, leaning down to kiss me.

When he pulled away, I realized Jeremy, Lance, and Casey were all staring at us.
Jeremy looked amused, and Casey and Lance looked shocked. A blush crept its way
onto my face.

"What?" I demanded. "You've never seen two people kiss before?"

Casey opened her mouth, her eyes widening excitedly. After a moment she shut it,
obviously changing her mind. "It's so cute when you guys kiss though!" she finally
cried.

Lance snorted. "No it's not."

"Jealousy," Jeremy, Casey, and Mr. Heywood all taunted.

"I'm not!"

I laughed, wincing as once again my stomach burned with pain. "Ow."

Mr. Heywood chuckled, patting my head. "Okay. We should probably let you rest a
little more before we reopen your wound."
"But I just got here," Jeremy protested.

"You can come back later."

"But-"

"In the meantime, we could go lingerie shopping if you want," Casey suggested,
putting a hand on Jeremy's shoulder.

Jeremy scowled at her. "Drop it, kid."

"Kid?" Casey responded, raising an eyebrow. "According to Holly, you're only two
years older than me."

"Two years is still older."

"Not much."

Mr. Heywood rolled his eyes, pushing on Jeremy's shoulder. "You guys can argue out
there. Holly needs rest."

"See you later, Holly!" Casey called, trying to duck under Jeremy, who was pushing
her out the door as Mr. Heywood pushed him.

"Bye!"

Lance waved before following the trio out the door. Mr. Heywood appeared again
moments later, grabbing the door handle. He paused for a moment, staring at me.

I subconsciously raised a hand to my face. "What?"

Mr. Heywood shook his head. "Nothing. Rest well, Holly."

"I love you, Chris."

He looked at me in surprise for a moment, and then smiled. "I love you too, Ms.
Evers."

_____________________________________________________

ATTENTION! Yesterday I wrote a song-shot for Chris and Holly, using the song "baby,
it's cold outside". However, Wattpad says it is copy-right, so I put it on my
quizilla. Please click the external link and read it. There's an important message
in there. And it's kind of cute, excuse my lack of modesty x) You don't need to
have a quizilla account to read it, just open the external link to the right.

Alright! So this was the last chapter. But there's still an epilogue. Then the
sequel! I'm so excited for the sequel, you have no idea. I also plan on starting
two new stories eventually. One after BMIL, then the next after Gold Rush. GR was
supposed to be a short story, but I don't know what's going to happen with that
yet...

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! See you sshhhooon!

And for the people that keep asking me about my Facebook fanpage,if you're
searching it, it's XxSkater2GirlxX because I spelled it wrong. xD

*******************************************
[64] :A Proscriptive Relationship: Epilogue
*******************************************
"Just a little more, Holly. Come on."

"I'm trying! It hurts!"

"Suck it in!"

"I am!"

"Well suck in more!"

Doing as Casey commanded, I took in more oxygen, sucking in my gut in

as much as I could. Casey yanked on my zipper, trying to force it to the top. She
let out a small, strained groan, pushing down on my shoulder. Finally I heard the
sound of it zipping up.

"It worked!" Casey cried excitedly. "It fits!"

I let go of my breath and made a face. It was going to be difficult to

breathe in this dress. "I should have just got a new dress..."

"Well you didn't have time, so tough. Besides, this shade of lavender
is so your color."

Pursing my lips, I turned to give her a disapproving look. "I can

barley breathe."

"Come on," Casey ordered, tugging on my elbow. "We were supposed to

meet Mr. Heywood and Jeremy in the lobby fifteen minutes ago."

"Hold on," I demanded, pulling my arm out of Casey's grasp. "Let me

just check my makeup-"

"You look fine," Casey responded, quickly snatching up my arm again.

"Now let's go."

Warily, I allowed Casey to pull me out of our hotel room. Being the
nice friend I was, I had allowed Casey to do my makeup for the wedding. Casey being
Casey had decided not to let me see it before we left- for all I knew I could have
clown makeup all over my face. To make things worse, I didn't even know how I
looked in this dress. It was obviously too small. Casey let me borrow hers, but
hers was from a few years ago, so it didn't fit so well.

"Come on, we're late," Casey urged, yanking me down the hallway.

I staggered unevenly through the hallway after her, trying to keep my

balance on my high heels. "Slow down, Casey!"

Casey threw an impatient glance at me. "Do you really want to be late
for the wedding?"

"We're not going to be late."

"What if Jeremy gets lost on the way?"

"He won't get..." I trailed off, furrowing my eyebrows. Knowing

Jeremy, he probably would actually get lost. "Maybe we should hurry."
 When we arrived in the lobby, Mr. Heywood and Jeremy were nowhere to
be seen. It was completely empty aside from the receptionist, who was sitting at
her desk half-asleep. Casey turned to me, the corners of her lips turning down.

"They wouldn't leave without us, right?"

I shook my head. "Jeremy might, but Mr. Heywood wouldn't let him..."

Suddenly Jeremy appeared from behind one of the pillars by the exit.
He was readjusting his tie, looking down at it with an annoyed look. Moments later
Mr. Heywood stepped out from the pillar too, also pulling at his tie.

My breath caught in my throat for a moment. Mr. Heywood couldn't look

bad in a suit even if he tried. His hair was damp, making it look darker and more
messy than usual. Casey gave me a gentle push from behind and I stumbled forwards a
few steps before walking on my own.

"What were you two doing behind there?" Casey inquired when we were
close enough for them to hear us.

Immediately both their heads snapped our way. Mr. Heywood inhaled
sharply as his eyes landed on me. I blushed, quickly adverting my gaze.

"Wow, Holly," I heard Jeremy start. "You look-"

"Absolutely perfect," Mr. Heywood finished, cutting in. "That color

suits you well."

I looked back up now, smiling slightly. "You don't look half-bad

yourself."

He grinned. "I know."

"Well who is this strapping young lady?" Jeremy said, turning to Casey
with a wide grin.

Casey raised an eyebrow. "You clean up good."

Jeremy shrugged. "I try."

"But what were you two doing behind that pillar?" she questioned
again, slowly smirking. "Something you shouldn't be? All alone? You guys were
fixing your ties..."

Mr. Heywood rolled his eyes. "We're not gay, Casey."

"Well it is Thursday. And you're wearing purple."

Jeremy looked surprised. "What? It's Thursday? Shit! I was supposed to

work-"

Mr. Heywood slammed his elbow into Jeremy's side. "It's Sunday,
stupid."

"Oh."

I laughed. "Okay, so are we ready to go?"

"As soon as you put on your coat," Mr. Heywood responded, giving me a
disapproving look. "It's the middle of winter, Holly."

I grimaced. "But Casey..."

He sighed, taking his jacket off his arm and handing it to me. "Since
we're already late, just wear this."

"But-"

"Wear it, Holly."

I slowly took it reluctantly. "What are you going to wear? You know,
Casey doesn't have a jacket either."

"I've got her covered," Jeremy responded, and I turned to see Casey
pulling on what I assumed to be his jacket. "Us manly men can handle the cold."

"But-"

"Come on, Holly," Mr. Heywood interjected, holding out his jacket for
me to slip into. "Just wear it."

After another moment of hesitation I finally sighed, putting my arms

into the sleeves of the jacket. Mr. Heywood pulled it tightly around me and started
buttoning it up for me. I blushed, swatting his hands away.

"I can do that myself."

"But I can do it quicker," he responded with a smirk. "But if you

insist. Come on, you can button while we walk." With that, he grabbed my hand and
began dragging me towards the exit with no regards to the fact that I couldn't
button my coat if he had one of my hands.

The trip to Lake Champlain, where the wedding was being held, didn't
take very long at all. Jeremy had thought ahead and booked us a hotel only about
twenty minutes away- and he had mapped out the drive beforehand so he knew where he
was going. Mr. Heywood seemed just as impressed as I was. Jeremy had a smug
expression on the entire time, and when we drove into the parking lot of the
lakeside cabin, he looked extremely pleased with himself.

Swarms of people were entering the cabin, the women all dressed in
lavender gowns, the men dressed in black tuxes. Mr. Heywood quickly grabbed my hand
again so we wouldn't be separated. I looked over to my shoulder to grab Casey's
hand, but I realized she had disappeared in the crowd behind us. Jeremy had too.

"Mr. Heywood, Jeremy and Casey-"

"Holly, I'm going to ask you to try your very best to call me Chris
today, okay?" Mr. Heywood interjected, giving me a serious look. "Please."

I blinked, a bit taken aback by his serious tone. "Um, sure, Chris...
But Jeremy and Casey are still gone."

He surveyed the area around us, frowning slightly. "They'll find us

when we sit down. Come on."

We started moving again, going into the main room of the cabin where
pews after pews were lined up. A narrow strip of purple carpet separated the pews
into the bride's side and the groom's side. Most people were seated already, aside
from the ones still filling in. Mr. Heywood led me to one of the pews closest to
the front, pulling me to our seats.

"I didn't expect Holly to have so many friends," Mr. Heywood muttered,
dropping into one of the seats.

I quickly sat down next to him, adjusting my dress. "Well there's

family too..."

Mr. Heywood frowned, gazing towards the front of the room where the
alter was set up. For a second I thought I saw regret and his eyes and a nervous
feeling spread through me. When Mr. Heywood finally looked away he turned to me,
his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"What's wrong?"

"Are you sure you want to be here?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Color rose to my cheeks as I realized how stupid my thoughts were.

"I... Um, never mind actually..."

Mr. Heywood chuckled. "Were you thinking I would be uncomfortable

watching the girl I used to love marry someone else?"

"Not exactly..."

"You can't lie to me, Holly."

I sighed. "I know. Sorry."

Mr. Heywood offered me a small smile. "Don't apologize. I'm over her,
Holly. I'm happy that she's found someone to love who won't cause her any problems.
And besides, I have someone I love much more now."

"Jeremy?"

Mr. Heywood lightly slapped me on the forehead. "You, stupid."

I pulled his hand off my forehead, but didn't let it go. He entwined
his fingers with mine, setting our hands down on his lap. I gave his hand a hard
squeeze.

"One day our friends will be the ones sitting here," Mr. Heywood
stated, sending me a grin. "And you'll literally be a blushing bride."

To no one's surprise, a warm blush spread across my face at his words.

"I-I won't blush."

Mr. Heywood laughed. "Whatever you say, Holly."

"Casey! They're over here!"

My head snapped towards the sound of Jeremy's voice that had abruptly
appeared next to me. He sent me a quick grin, sliding down the pew that was
suddenly full of people. Casey came down the aisle next, apologizing as she passed
each person. Jeremy sat next to me, forcing Casey to sit on his other side, and
next to a man who rather resembled a bear.
 "You ready for this, Chris?" Jeremy asked, leaning around me.

Mr. Heywood rolled his eyes. "There's nothing to be ready for. I've
attended a wedding before."

"But this is Holly."

"And this is my Holly," Mr. Heywood responded, holding up our entwined

hands.

Jeremy chuckled, nodding his head. "Touché."

"You guys are so cute together!" Casey gushed, leaning over Jeremy so
she could see us better.

"Don't... call me cute like I'm a child," Mr. Heywood responded,

making a face. "I'm four years older than you."

Casey frowned. "Fine. Old man."

I laughed as Mr. Heywood scowled at her. A sudden silence seeped

through pew after pew, causing the room to fall noiseless. Guests were turning in
their seats, looking all around them. My gaze met a pair of sharp looking eyes from
a young man in the row in front of us. He narrowed his eyes slightly, and I quickly
adverted my gaze, turning to Mr. Heywood.

"Making eye contact with strangers is so awkward," I muttered quietly

to him.

He chuckled. "You're cute, Holly."

My heart skipped a beat when he leaned in and planted a quick kiss on

my forehead. Involuntarily my eyes returned to the spot where the young man I had
made eye contact with sat. He was smirking at us. He nudged the person sitting next
to him, and she turned around, a pair of equally sharp eyes landing on me. They
widened slightly in surprise. She then nudged her neighbor, who also turned to look
at me. This time it was an older woman.

"Holly?" the woman questioned, sounding surprised.

Taken aback, I stared at her with wide eyes. How did she know my name?
I didn't know anyone here besides Mr. Heywood, Casey, and Jeremy.

"You've got the wrong person," Mr. Heywood finally responded for me.
"This is my girlfriend."

Girlfriend. It was silly, but when Mr. Heywood called me his

girlfriend, a thrill of excitement ran through me. It was like knowing a secret
that no one else knew.

The old woman furrowed her eyebrows. "Oh, I'm sorry... She looks so
much like the bride though..."

I gave her a small smile. "So I've heard."

After another smile from the old woman, she turned to face the front
again. The other boy and girl followed her example, facing forwards. Mr. Heywood
chuckled quietly, giving my hand another squeeze.
 "Watch out, Holly. You might be congratulated at the reception."

I grimaced. I hoped that wouldn't happen... I still hate being

reminded about how much I looked like Holly. It was weird. But, I was excited for
the reception. Weddings always had the best food.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Congratulations!"

I turned my head, coming face-to-face with yet another stranger. "Um,

you have the wrong person..."

Mr. Heywood snickered from beside me as the embarrassed greeter

apologized and walked away. I shook my head, taking a sip of my sparking cider. I
wasn't allowed to drink the wine- Mr. Heywood's orders.

"I told you," he taunted.

I waved him off with my hand. "I don't get why people are confusing
us. We're wearing two totally different dresses..." I trailed off, remembering when
Holly first entered the room. It was the only time in my life I could remember when
a girl took my breath away. "She looks ten times better than me."

Mr. Heywood snorted. "No way."

I smiled at him. "You're biased."

"Maybe."

"Where's Jeremy?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

Mr. Heywood hooked his thumb towards the dance floor. "Making a fool
of himself with Casey."

A laugh escaped my lips when my eyes landed on Casey and Jeremy, who
were indeed dancing like maniacs. They were sort of doing the tango... and flamenco
at the same time, with a touch of salsa. Those dancing around them were shooting
them wary looks every so often.

"Holly!"

Sighing quietly, I turned around to fend another exited guest away.

When my eyes landed on my doppelganger, I gasped. She seemed to be surprised too,
because she stopped short, her eyes widening.

"I forgot how much we look alike," she breathed, smiling again. "It's
weird."

"Yeah," I responded, feeling shy.

Her eyes dropped to my hand, which was holding Mr. Heywood's. She
turned her attention to his face, a grin spreading across it. "Chris, I see you
finally made your move."

Mr. Heywood shot her an embarrassed look. "Shut up."

 She laughed. "Follow me, I want to introduce you to my husband."

I sent Mr. Heywood a concerned look but he shook his head, taking the
lead, and pulling me after Holly. The three of us weaved through crowds of guests,
who all called out congratulations to Holly, and gawked when they realized there
was two of her. Finally we made it to a quiet spot around the food stand, where the
groom and a young child were waiting.

The groom, a curly haired brunette, stared at me in disbelief as we

grew closer. "Holly, you didn't tell me you had a twin."

Holly chuckled, taking her husband's hand. "Andy, this is Holly. She's
Chris's girlfriend. Holly, this is Andy, my husband."

Andy slowly held out his hand, still taking me in. I quickly placed my
free one in his, and he grasped it firmly, shaking it twice before letting it go.
"Nice to meet you," he stated after a moment.

"You too," I murmured, feeling shy again.

"This is Paul, my step-son," Holly continued, pushing a young in front

of her.

I bit my tongue so an "awe" couldn't escape my lips. The little boy in

front of me had to be one of the cutest toddlers I had ever seen. He had curly hair
like his father, and the brightest blue eyes I had ever seen. "How old is he?" I
asked curiously.

"Two," Andy responded, putting a hand on his son's head. "His birthday
just passed."

Paul stared at me, a goofy grin spreading across his face. "Hi!"

"Hello," I responded, catching his smile. "I'm Holly."

Paul quickly hid behind his father's legs, dropping his gaze. Andy
laughed, giving me a sheepish look. "He's not good around new people."

"That's okay," I responded, still enthusiastic about how cute his on

was. "He's adorable."

Holly flashed me a smile. "Do you like children, Holly?"

I nodded. "Most of them."

She smirked, sending Mr. Heywood a suggestive look. Immediately I

flushed, understanding what she meant. Mr. Heywood rolled his eyes at her, shaking
his head. Andy looked confused, obviously missing the whole exchange.

"Holly, do you want to dance?" Mr. Heywood suddenly asked, tugging me

towards the dance floor. "Let's go."

"Um, but-"

"You too have fun," Holly interjected, looking smug. "I have to go
talk to more of our guests."

Andy groaned. "But we've already talked to like a thousand people-"

 "You're exaggerating," Holly cut him off, rolling her eyes. "Bye
Holly, by Chris."

I bid the trio adieu, and Mr. Heywood pulled me towards the dance
floor, where Casey and Jeremy were still having a blast. Just as we stepped on the
wooden flooring the song changed into a slow, calm one. Mr. Heywood gave me a small
smirk, taking my other hand in his.

"Perfect timing, right?"

I blushed as Mr. Heywood wrapped my arms around his neck and dropped
his to my waist. "I feel like you knew the song was going to change."

Mr. Heywood rolled his eyes. "I'm not psychic."

"I wouldn't be surprised." My gaze turned back to Jeremy and Casey,

who were now surprisingly dancing just as Mr. Heywood and I were. "Hey, Chris,
look."

Mr. Heywood froze for a moment. I cocked my head questioningly. He

shook his head, staring to move to the music again. "Even though I told you to call
me Chris, it still threw me off guard."

"That's good... I think."

He laughed quietly. "I don't know if it is or not."

"Anyway, look at Casey and Jeremy. Don't they look cute together?"

Mr. Heywood glanced at said pair and made a face. "Don't even think
about that, Holly."

I pouted. "Why not?"

"Jeremy having a girlfriend? That's impossible."

"You never know..."

Mr. Heywood shrugged. "True, but come on. It's Jeremy."

"You just don't want him to have a girlfriend because-"

"Holly if you make another gay joke I will not talk to you for the
rest of the night," he cut me off, giving me an exasperated look. "I love you,
Holly. I'm not gay. Unless you're secretly a man."

I chuckled, trying not to laugh too hard. "No, I'm not. I was kidding,
Mr..." I made a face. "Er, Chris."

"I know, but still..."

Without any warning, I moved to my tiptoes, reaching just high enough

to quickly kiss Mr. Heywood. Once again he was nonplussed. He stood still for a
moment, looking flustered. I smirked at him. He gave me a cautious look.

"That's not fair, Holly."

"You kiss me without warning all the time," I pointed out.

 Mr. Heywood pursed his lips. "It's different."

"No it's not!"

"Okay," he said with a shrug. "But if I attack you because you do

something like that, it's not my fault." As he said the last words, an amused smile
appeared on his face.

"Attack?"

He wagged his eyebrows seductively. "You know what I mean."

Warmth spread across my cheeks and I had to look away from him.
"You're a pervert."

"I love you."

"I know."

Mr. Heywood suddenly pulled me closer to him, wrapping his arm all the
way around me, and squeezing me against his chest. "What?"

"I love you too," I corrected myself, mumbling into his shoulder.

He let me go, smiling in a satisfied way. "That's much better, Holly.

Much better."

"Mind if I cut in?"

In the blink of an eye I was swept away from Mr. Heywood, suddenly in
the arms of Jeremy. Mr. Heywood sent Jeremy and annoyed look, but dropped it when
Casey was suddenly shoved into his arms.

"Partner switch," Jeremy sang, pulling me close to him.

"We didn't even have one dance," I protested but still wrapped my arms
around Jeremy's neck.

Jeremy shrugged. "There will be plenty more."

"You could have waited."

"I'm impatient."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Obviously."

"What did you think of the wedding?" Jeremy inquired, slowly swaying
side-to-side with the beat.

"This is a really nice place for one," I responded, smiling. "Holly

looked really good in her dress."

"Do you want to get married?"

"Some day."

Jeremy grinned, suddenly letting me go. I paused, staring at him

curiously. He suddenly dropped onto one knee, taking my hand in his. "Holly, would
you marry me?"
 There were a few gasps from around us, and I looked around to see the
guests closer to us were all staring with wide eyes. A few of the women broke out
into huge smiles, nudging their partners in the side. A blush spread across my face
as I glared down at Jeremy, who was also staring around in surprise. When his gaze
returned to my face, he gave me a sheepish grin.

"Say yes!" one of the young women to my right urged.

"Yeah, do it!"

"You'd have to be a bitch to turn him down here."

I smiled wryly, trying my best not to glare at Jeremy. My gaze

shifted, landing on Mr. Heywood, who looked extremely irked. Casey on the other
hand, looked absolutely amused. She was trying her best not to laugh.

"Why is she hesitating?" the same woman that had made the bitch
comment whispered loudly.

Now annoyed, I sent Jeremy a hard look. "Yes, I'll marry you." There
was no way I was going to be the bad guy here.

Applause broke out as Jeremy slowly returned to his feet, scratching

the back of his head uncomfortably. A few people came up to him and congratulated
him, slapping him on the back. Some of the women sent me wide grins, but didn't
come over to me. I didn't blame them. They didn't know me.

Mr. Heywood suddenly appeared, going straight to Jeremy. He stopped

about a foot away, putting on a broad smile. "Hey, congratulations man!"

Jeremy sent Mr. Heywood a heedful look. "Um, thanks dude..."

"You really deserve a slap on the back."

"No that's quiet alright, Chri- Ugh," Jeremy groaned as Mr. Heywood
seemingly used all his force to slap Jeremy on the back.

"I hope you live a long and happy life with my girlfriend."

Casey burst out laughing, suddenly appearing by my side. I started,

turning my head to her quickly. She gave me an amused smile, gesturing to Jeremy,
who was still making a face in pain. Mr. Heywood came over to Casey and me,
crossing his arms. After a few more moments Jeremy came over to, putting a hand to
his back.

"Holly, I think I'll have to call this wedding off..."

"That's too bad," I responded, frowning. "I was really looking forward
to it."

He grinned. "Maybe after you and Chris marry and divorce."

"We're not going to divorce," Mr. Heywood interjected, giving Jeremy an annoyed
look.

Casey gave me a secret smile, obviously catching what I did. Mr.

Heywood didn't say we weren't going to get married. Jeremy pursed his lips at Mr.
Heywood.
 "You ruin all my fun."

"You're annoying."

Jeremy turned to Casey, a grin slipping onto his face. He was one
resilient person. "Casey, will you marry me?"

Casey cocked an eyebrow. "I don't know. I'm not sure how I feel about
men who by women's lingerie in Victoria's Secret for themselves..."

"I didn't!"

"I saw you."

"No you didn't!"

Casey narrowed her eyes. "Are you calling me a liar?"

Jeremy's face faltered. "No, but-"

"But what?"

Suddenly I felt someone tug on my elbow, and I turned my head to see

Mr. Heywood nodding his head towards the other side of the room. While Jeremy and
Casey were distracted, we quietly snuck away from them. I laughed quietly; a bit
surprised we had gotten away so easily. Mr. Heywood slipped his hand into mine,
pulling me past the rest of the dancers, towards the exit.

"Where are we going?" I questioned as Mr. Heywood continued to drag me

through the entrance hall.

"To be alone for a moment."

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. Mr. Heywood suddenly made a

right, pulling me to a side hallway. "Are we allowed to be down here?"

Mr. Heywood shrugged. "Maybe."

The corners of my lips twitched into a small smile. "I don't want to
get in trouble."

He suddenly stopped, causing me to run into him. He steadied me, an

amused smile crossing his face. "Then I'll make this quick."

"Make what quick?"

He shoved his hand into his pant pocket, suddenly looking a little
embarrassed. "Well, you were in the hospital on Christmas so I never got a chance
to give you your Christmas present..."

My heart skipped a beat in surprise. "You got me a present?"

"It's kind of both a birthday and Christmas present, since I didn't

get you one of those..."

"I don't need anything-"

Mr. Heywood shook his head, suddenly thrusting a small package in to

my hand. "Take it, Holly."

I looked at the poorly wrapped package in my hand and smiled. "You're

not good at wrapping things, are you?"

Mr. Heywood narrowed his eyes. "Just open it."

"Okay," I responded, sliding a finger underneath one of the flaps so I

could open it easily. My mouth went dry when I realized it was a small, velvet box.
That could only mean one out of three things. I looked up at Mr. Heywood, not sure
if I wanted to open it.

He gave me an impatient look. "Just so you know, I'm not taking it

back."

My heart pounded in my chest as I slowly pulled the top of the black

box up, opening it to reveal a necklace. The pendant was a piece of beautiful,
sparking blue gem shaped in a heart. Above the heart necklace was a small diamond,
attached to the back that was holding the gem in. The chain was made out of white
gold.

"The gem is Topaz, your birthstone," Mr. Heywood informed me, ducking
his head. "It matched your eyes so I thought why not?"

"This looks... really expensive," I commented, barely able to form the

words because my mouth was so dry. "It's so pretty..."

"I take it you like it?"

I looked up at Mr. Heywood, giving him a crazy look. "Of course I like
it! I love it!"

He let out a sigh of relief. "Good. I wasn't sure if you'd like it or

not. Although I do believe your favorite color is blue."

Grasping the necklace tightly in my hand, I threw myself at Mr.

Heywood, wrapping my arms around him tightly. "Thank you, Chris."

He chuckled, slowly rubbing my back. "You're welcome, Holly. Want me

to help you put it on?"

I nodded, pulling away from him, and dropping the necklace into his
outstretched palm. He gestured for to turn around, so I did, and I soon felt him
pushing my hair to one side of my neck. Then he put his arms around me, lying the
pendant face up on my chest, and pulled it tighter so he could clasp it. When he
was finished he let the chain drop and the necklace lay against my chest high
enough up so everyone could see. I smiled down at it, picking it up.

"Thank you again," I said, turning around to face him.

He smiled, slipping his arms around my waist. "Anytime."

"Should we go back to the wedding?"

"Hmm... I vote no."

I cocked my head to the side. "Why not?"

Mr. Heywood smirked. "I'd rather spend it out here with you. Alone."
 "Oh," I responded lamely, feeling my face heat up. "Um, I guess that'd
be okay. But Casey-"

"Has Jeremy to play with," Mr. Heywood finished for me, bringing his
head closer to me. "Right?"

"Right," I mumbled. The proximity between us had my heart racing and I

tried to calm it, hoping he wouldn't hear it.

"Right," he responded simply, pushing me back a few steps so that I

was against the wall. "Now we can stay out here and..." he trailed off, bringing
his face closer to mine.

Immediately I closed my eyes, preparing myself.

"Admire your necklace."

My eyes shot open when I felt my pendant being picked up. Mr. Heywood
gazed at it, a smirk playing across his lips. I stared at him, a little
disappointed. When his eyes met mine, he cocked his head to the side.

"You look a little let down."

I blushed. "I- I do not!"

"What were you expecting me to do?"

"Nothing!"

"Kiss you, perhaps?"

"No!"

"Like this?" he asked, quickly leaning forward and kissing me.

I blushed as he pulled away. "No..."

He chuckled. "I have a feeling you no what I'm going to say."

"Holly, you can't lie to me."

Mr. Heywood nodded approvingly. "You're getting the hang of it."

Rolling my eyes, I grabbed the front of Mr. Heywood's tux. "Why don't
you shut up and kiss me."

He raised an eyebrow. "It seems our roles have been reversed."

"Seems so."

"I guess I'll let it slide for tonight," he responded with a mockingly
reluctant look. "Do as you wish, Ms. Evers."

I smiled. "I plan to."

_______________________________________

THE SEQUEL IS NOW UP. A Surreptitious Relationship. Go look.

Yay! The epilogue is finally up! Sorry it took so long. I've been at friend's
houses and I can't write unless I'm alone. But since this is the epilogue... Guess
what's next? THE SEQUEL! I put that in caps because people still don't read
author's notes and message me asking if there's a sequel -_____- But yeah. I hope
you enjoyed the epilogue I liked it a lot (: Remember Paul. For a long time.

Thanks for sitting through this story :D It may have started off eh, but hopefully
my writing progressed throughout! Love you all! :D

Special thanks to Queen649u because she literally comments on EVERY chapter and
leaves me positive feedback-- and not just on this story. EVERY story she does this
too. So thank you very much! :D :D

Facebook in external link! :D

*******************************************
[65] :A Proscriptive Relationship: Chris POV
*******************************************
Psssst.

Don't read this if you haven't read ALL of A Proscriptive Relationship in Holly's
POV (the real story) yet. It will ruin everything.

____________________________

"Chris."

I paused upon hearing my name. It was a voice I recognized far too well for my
liking. With a deep sigh, I glanced over my shoulder to see Dan and a four of his
buddies standing behind me threateningly. Three of them I didn't recognize, but I
immediately identified Jack and Mikey- two of the most annoying members of my old
gang.

After another moment of watching them I turned my back and continued down the
alleyway. It was just like Dan to attack someone in such a clichéd spot. Why did it
have to be tonight that I decided to go for a walk? The last thing I wanted was to
get in trouble for being involved with another fight. That would ruin my chances at
my new job- and I needed the job.

"Running away, Heywood?" Mikey sneered.

A small grin crossed my face and I kept walking. "You know it."

"Stop him!"

The smile dropped from my face. They were seriously going to try to take me on?
This just wasn't my night.
A strong hand roughly grabbed my shoulder, pulling me to a stop. All five members
of my former gang swiftly surrounded me. I faked a yawn, hoping my lack of interest
would cause them to lose their incentive to assail me.

It didn't.

I dodged the first blow with ease. It was from one of the new guys- I wondered
briefly who the person who'd let them join was. Obviously he didn't test out their
skill before. More punches were thrown, as well as some slander, but I avoided and
ignored both. As long as I didn't fight back I wouldn't be in any trouble.

"Surely you can do better than that?" I teased, smirking as I easily caught Dan's
fist as he moved in to strike me.

He scowled, yanking his hand away. "Don't act so arrogant."

"Arrogant is my middle name."

"I see all that time in jail hasn't done much for you," he commented snidely. "I
thought at least you'd lose some of that inflated ego."

Shrugging, I moved my head to the left so one of the new guys' fists wouldn't hit
me. "What can I say? It's one of my charm points." I flashed him a handsome smile.

He suddenly lunged at me. Taken by surprise, I stumbled back a few steps so he

couldn't reach me. Every swung he took at me I easily dodged or blocked, making him
increasingly frustrated. It was almost comical- actually it was comical.

"Stop dodging, you asshole!"

"Maybe I'm not dodging. Maybe you just have bad aim?"

This time when attempted to strike me, I stepped to the side, shoving Mikey out of
the way as I did so. Either he had awful balance, or I'd used more force than I
meant to, because he fell into the brick of the ally wall, letting out a loud
groan.

"Aren't you going to fight back?" Dan demanded angrily, his face red from the
effort he'd been putting in to land a hit on me.

"I told you," I responded slowly, rolling my eyes. "I don't fight anymore."

His eyes flashed. "Yeah. Like I'd believe that. If you don't fight back, then
you're just letting us beat the shit out of you."

I shrugged. "Whatever. It's not like feeble punches from you will actually harm
me."

"Suit yourself," he grunted, cracking his knuckles.

I made a face. If there was one thing I absolutely hated, it was when people
cracked their knuckles to look intimidating. Well, it wasn't my fault if they ended
up with arthritis later on in life.

He moved in on me. This time I stood my ground. If worse came to worse I'd just
knock Dan out. The newbies and Mikey wouldn't dare come follow me after that.
Sighing again, I watched as Dan brought up his fist...

"Wait!"
All four of the surrounding men snapped their eyes to the source of the shrill,
girly squeak that'd come from behind me. My heart sunk in my chest when I realized
whoever had just intervened had brought a shitload of trouble onto herself. Now I'd
have to fight if I didn't want anything to happen to her.

"Well what do we have here?" Dan commented, a sly smirk spreading across his face.
"A pretty young girl? What are you doing out here so late?"

More like what is that stupid girl doing stepping into the middle of a fight.

"It doesn't matter why she's out here so late," one of the new members said, his
eyes glued to the female behind me. "She probably heard us talking and came to see
what was up, right?"

There was silence behind me and I was tempted to look to see who it was, but I
didn't trust turning my back on these guys. Instead I narrowed my eyes at Dan when
he started to move closer to me.

"Well then, missus, you can watch the fist punch to this man's pretty face," he
told her.

I cocked an eyebrow at him. "You think my face is pretty? That's cute."

Dan scowled, bringing up his fist. I kept my head straight, resisting the urge to
whistle. If I was going to fight, I was going to make it quick and then escape
before anyone noticed the hustle. I positioned myself to block as Dan brought his
hand back to punch me. Before I could blink there was the quiet sound of rustling
plastic and he suddenly shouted out in pain, stumbling backwards.

"Run!" the same girly voice from earlier screamed, and a small, warm hand enveloped
my own, yanking me away from the scene.

For a second I debated about letting this girl lead me away, but decided to just go
with it. It didn't seem like she'd let go of my hand anytime soon. My eyes landed
on her for the first time- but only the back of her head. My breath caught in my
throat when I realized her hair was the exact same shade as Holly's... My chest
tightened uncomfortably at the thought of my ex-girlfriend.

The young woman tugging me was panting not even a minute into the run. I kept up
easily, doing my best not to run ahead of her. She turned onto a new street,
shoving her free hand into her pocket, searching for something. I noticed the
plastic bags she was carrying digging into her wrist and frowned. That had to hurt.

Finally we made it to what I assumed to be her house. She bounded up the steps of
her porch, still not letting go of my hand. As she shoved the key into the lock I
tried to slip my hand out of hers, but it wasn't happening. Was she seriously going
to let a strange man she didn't know into her house? A strange man who'd been
fighting in an alleyway only moments earlier?

Two small hands suddenly pressed into my back with surprising force, shoving me
into the building. I cocked an eyebrow, turning around only to see that she once
again had her back turned to me as she slammed the door. With a shaky hand she
managed to lock the door behind us, twisting the door handle to make sure it locked
properly. Sighing, she proceeded to drop to her knees, breathing heavily.

For a few seconds I watched her, her shoulders heaving as she tried to regain her
breath. It was kind of amusing. Eventually I decided I'd better use my manners.
"Are you okay?" I inquired.
She jumped and gasped, obviously surprised by my voice. A small blush spread across
her face as she pushed herself to her feet, wiping off her palms on her pants.
"Couldn't be better," she mumbled, still keeping her head down.

I cocked an eyebrow, waiting for her to look at me. Her hair reminded me so much of
Holly's... I needed to see her face. Much to my disappointment, she turned her back
on me once again, standing on her tiptoes to look out the front door. Her back
tensed for a moment before relaxing again.

"Looks like we lost them," she sighed in relief, turning to face me now.

"Looks like it," I responded slowly, my heart speeding in anticipation of seeing

her face. Any second now she'd look up at me... I mentally slapped myself. Why was
I getting so excited just to see a stranger's face? There was no way she was Holly,
so why did it matter?

Finally she lifted her head. When she did, it felt like I'd been kicked brutally in
the chest.

"Holly?" I mumbled, unable to take my gaze off her face.

My mouth felt dry, standing before me with wide eyes and an open mouth was Holly.
Her bright, gorgeous, blue eyes were the exact same shade as I remembered, as well
as her pouting pink lips I'd kissed just about a thousand times. Her hair was cut
just the way I recalled as well- except she grew it out longer. Even her petite,
slender body was sending me into nostalgia.

Then she spoke again.

"What?" she whispered.

My world came crashing down around me. No, this wasn't Holly. Now I was noticing
the differences. This girl was much shorter than Holly, and looked softer too.
Holly had more muscles than this girl. My gaze raked over her again, taking in what
I'd missed earlier. Her eyes were definitely the same shade of blue, but this
girl's were round and striking doe-eyes. The thing that caught me the most was this
girl looked much younger than holly.

However, they could have definitely passed off as sisters- twins if you ignored the
age difference.

The doe-eyed girl stared at me expectantly. It took me a second to register her

earlier response. "Nothing," I said, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in my
heart. Of course it wasn't Holly. She didn't ever want to see me again. Isn't that
why she broke up with me just before I went to jail?

"Okay..." the Holly-doppelganger responded, staring at me again. Her eyes pierced

into mine, making me feel uncomfortable. She reminded me so much of Holly...

I crossed my arms over my chest, flicking my eyes away from hers. "Are those guys
gone?"

She nodded.

"Good," I responded, letting my shoulders sag. "It wouldn't have been so great if
I'd been caught fighting again."

She gave me a wary look. I raised an eyebrow, causing her to quickly advert her
gaze. A smile crossed my face as she took a sudden interest in her shoe. There were
a couple moments of silence between us.

I glanced at the door again. "I should probably go," I told her, feeling torn
between my decision to leave. As much as I wanted to stay and stare at her, I knew
it'd eventually freak her out. Not only that, but being around this girl was
bringing back memories of Holly I wanted to keep suppressed.

"Already?

I blinked at her as a warm blush spread across her face. Her face twisted into
annoyance and I figured she was scolding herself for saying that. It was cute.
After another moment I couldn't hold it in anymore and let out a chuckle. "I don't
want to impose..."

A smile made its way onto her face. Mine faltered slightly. Even her smile was
exactly like Holly's. "You wouldn't be," she assured me. "But I am afraid of what
my mom would say if she came home and found a strange man here."

"I'm not that strange," I insisted, not wanting her to think I was.

She laughed quietly. "No, you were just going to be assaulted in an ally like any
other average person, right?"

I cocked my head to the side. That was new. Holly was never sarcastic like that. An
amused smile formed on my face again. "You should be one to talk. Coming out of
nowhere and shouting at them in your girly little voice."

"I do not have a girly little voice!" she denied forcefully. "I really thought they
were going to beat you up!"

Holding up my hands defensively, I shrugged again. "Well thanks anyway, but as a

tip, don't try to stop anymore fights. You might get hurt."

With that, I forced myself to move around her towards the door. Any more of this
and I wasn't sure I could hold back my feelings. Even if she wasn't Holly, she
looked so much like her... I forced myself to think about something else. The door.
It was only three feet away now...

"Wait!"

My mouth grew dry again as I paused, turning to look at her. It never ceased to
amaze me how much she looked like Holly. "What?"

"What's your name?" she questioned, giving me a pleading look.

I smirked. "Secret." She stared at me in surprise as I opened the door, slipping

out. "Have a nice night," I called just before the door shut.

As soon as I was out in the cool, fresh night air I let out a deep breath. If I
were lucky, I'd never see that girl again...

Or maybe if I were lucky, I would get to see her.

__________________________________________

You've probably already read this... I keep putting it on and taking it off, but
this time it's on and here to stay because I guess people don't like going to go to
Quizilla to read it :L
Anyway, I won't be doing the whole chapter, but I'll do random ones from time to
time... If I feel motivated enough. I'm trying to decide what chapter to do next...
it can be from APR or ASR. Not sure yet :s

*******************************************
[66] Holly, It's Cold Outside.
*******************************************
Hahaha! I totally forgot I wrote this! I remember posting it around Christmas time
two years ago... Actually, on Christmas. Since it's the holiday season again, I'll
repost it. It's so poorly written xD Some of you probably already read it, but
whatever! And Holly stills calls him Mr. Heywood xD I forgot about that!

I love Kurt and Blaine. SO CUTE.

___________________

Familiar images flashed across the television screen as for the millionth
time they played a Trojan condom commercial. If this station was trying to promote
safe sex, they were doing a good job of it. Feeling my face heat up, I brought my
hand out from under the blanket I was under and reached for the remote, aiming to
change the channel. Mr. Heywood captured my hand before I could, pulling it back to
our bodies.

"Are you going to change the channel every time a condom commercial
comes on, Holly?" he asked, his jaw moving on my shoulder with each word.

Shaking my head, I let him take the remote away from me. He placed it
back on the side table, and shifted his position so I could lean more comfortably
into him. Our hands returned to under the blanket and his found mine, entwining
together. I turned my head, glancing at the clock on the wall.

"Oh my god," I started, sitting up quickly.

"What?"

I gestured to the clock with my hand while trying to free myself from
Mr. Heywood and the tangle of blankets we were under. "Look at the time!"

"What about it?" Mr. Heywood asked in a curious voice. "If you're
worried about it changing, it changes every second..."

Rolling my eyes, I finally managed to throw the blankets off us. "It's
late."

"Now it's cold," Mr. Heywood groaned, pulling me back to him. "No one
likes being cold."

"Mr. Heywood, I have to go," I told him, quickly throwing on my coat,

scarf, and hat.

"No you don't."

"Yes I do."

Mr. Heywood shook his head stubbornly. "Nope."

"I really can't stay-"

 "Baby, it's cold outside," Mr. Heywood pointed out, a frown slipping
onto his face.

I stared at him for a moment. Was he just saying that or...? I shook
my head. Might as well try. "I've got to go 'way."

Mr. Heywood grinned. "Baby, it's cold outside."

A smile of amusement slipped onto my face too. Who knew Mr. Heywood
knew Christmas songs? "The evening has been-"

Mr. Heywood cut me off, pulling on my arm as I tried to move away from
him. "I've been hopin' that you'd drop in."

"So very nice," I finished firmly, pushing away from him.

He quickly grabbed my hand. "I'll hold your hand, they're just like
ice."

"My mother will start to worry-" Which probably wasn't true. She
probably wanted me here just as much as I wanted to stay.

"Hey beautiful, what's your hurry?" he sang in a quiet voice.

"And father will be pacing the floor," I said, rather awkwardly.

"Listen to that fireplace roar."

The funny thing was he didn't have a fireplace. He nodded to the

television screen where, coincidentally enough, there was a commercial for a
fireplace on it. I laughed, pulling my hand out of Mr. Heywood's grasp.

"So really, I'd better scurry," I told him, moving towards the door.

"Beautiful, please don't hurry," he requested, now getting off of the

couch. He sent me a suggestive wink.

I smiled bashfully at him. "Well, maybe just a half a drink more..."

"Put some music on while I pour."

I paused for a second, trying to remember what came next as he

disappeared from the room. When he returned, I took a guess. "The neighbors might
think-"

"Baby, it's bad out there," he told me, handing me a glass of eggnog.

I took it, taking a small sip. I made a face. "Say, what's in this
drink?"

"No cabs to be had out there," Mr. Heywood told me, ignoring my
question. Even if it was the lyrics, there was something strange in there.

He came closer to me, taking the glass from my hands again. He took a
sip, made a face, and then spit it out. "What the hell did Jeremy put in this?"

"Poison?"

Mr. Heywood snorted. "I wouldn't be surprised. Now come on, Holly.
Let's finish watching out Christmas movie." He grabbed my hand, leading me back to
the couch.

"I wish I knew how-" I started wistfully.

"-Your eyes are like starlight now-"

"-To break this spell," I finished, pulling my hand free once again. I
gave him a scolding look.

"I'll take your hat," Mr. Heywood said, pulling my wool cap off my
head. "You hair looks swell," he added, taking a piece and twirling it around his
finger.

"I oughtta say no, no, no sir-"

"You mind if I move in closer?" he asked with a smirk, grabbing my

scarf, and using it as an anchor to pull himself closer to me.

I sighed. "At least I'm gunna say that I tried..."

"And what's the sense in hurting my pride?"

"I really can't stay..."

"Oh baby, don't hold out."

"Oh, but it's cold outside..."

Mr. Heywood moved in closer and before I could protest, he sneakily

stole a kiss from my lips. My face flamed and I stepped away from him, taken by
surprise. He chuckled, holding on to the ends of my scarf so I couldn't move any
further away.

"You know, you'd probably be a good predator," I told him, trying to

tug my scarf away.

"Predator?"

"Like, someone who kidnaps people, or something. You're sly."

Mr. Heywood gave me a flat look. "Hah."

"I simply must go," I told him, now slipping my scarf off my neck.

"It's cold outside," he protested.

"The answer is no."

Mr. Heywood rolled his eyes. "Baby, it's cold outside."

"The welcome has been-"

"So lucky you dropped in," he cut me off.

I gave him an impatient look. "So nice and warm."

He nodded his head towards the window. "Look out the window at that
storm."
 I followed his gaze- almost laughing when I realized it wasn't even
snowing at all. In fact, it was crystal clear outside. He turned back to me, a
sheepish grin on his face.

"That kind of ruined the affect," he admitted.

"My sister will be suspicious."

"Your lips look delicious," he mentioned, taking another step closer

to me.

I blushed, adverting my gaze. "My brother will be there at the door."

Mr. Heywood scoffed. "I ain't worried about your brother."

"My maiden aunt's mind is vicious-"

"That ol' biddy, she ain't gunna bother me."

"Well... Maybe just a... cup of eggnog more..."

Mr. Heywood raised an eyebrow. "Cup of eggnog?"

"I don't smoke," I told him.

"But it's in the song..."

I puffed out my cheeks. "Fine. Well, maybe just a cigarette more."

"You don't need no cigarette, it's smokin' plenty up in here!"

"I've got to get home," I stated forcefully, moving forward to steal

my scarf and hat back from Mr. Heywood.

"Baby you'll freeze out there," he responded, holding the articles of

clothing out of my reach.

"Say, lend me a comb," I said, looking down, and seeing tangles in my

hair.

"It's up to your knees out there!"

"You've really been grand."

"I thrill when you touch my hand," he told me as I accidentally

brushed his while trying to reach my scarf.

Irritated, I stopped reaching for my scarf and hat. "Oh, but don't you
see-"

"How can you do this thing to me?"

"There's bound to be talk tomorrow."

Mr. Heywood shrugged. "Well, think of my lifelong sorrow."

"At least there will be plenty implied-"

 He quickly grabbed my shoulders, shaking them, and feigning a panicked
expression. "If you caught pneumonia and died?"

I smiled, pulling his hands off me, and in the process grabbing my hat
and scarf. "I really can't stay."

"Get over that hold out," he grunted with a pouting look.

"Oh, but baby it's cold outside," we said in unison.

Mr. Heywood frowned at me when we ran out of lyrics. I wrapped my

scarf around my neck and pulled on my hat, getting ready to leave.

"Now are you going to give me a ride home, or am I going to walk?"

Mr. Heywood heaved a heavy sigh. "I'll give you a ride... Since you
don't want to stay."

"Mr. Heywood-"

"Chris," he corrected moodily.

"Chris, I do want to stay," I told him, grabbing his hand. "But my mom
is expecting me home tonight."

Mr. Heywood gave me a grumpy look. "Fine. But then I want a goodnight
kiss from you. Right now."

Reddening the slightest bit, I nodded, reaching up on my tiptoes in

order to give him a quick kiss. He quickly held my head when I tried to pull away,
making me lengthen the kiss. When he finally let go, I pulled away, blushing again.

"Holly, you're so cute when you blush," Mr. Heywood told me, flicking
my forehead. "I'll give you a ride home now. But button up your coat. 'Cause baby,
it's cold outside," he sang, sending me a wink.

************************************************
STORY END
************************************************

*******************************************
Downloaded by Wattpad2Any Online
Alrights Reserved by
their respective owners
-------------------------------------------
+ PLEASE SHARE, DONT LEECH, PLEASE SHARE +

-------------------------------------------

http://w2a.l6.org
*******************************************
*******************************************