A Proscriptive Relationship Page 12

I grabbed the bag and looked inside. Sure enough, my shirt was in there. It was folded and cleaned 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 pursed my lips. “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 him jump. “We aren’t dating!”

  He turned to look at me, a confused expression on his face. “You’re not?”

  “We are going out to eat as friends.”

  Mr. Heywood suddenly started laughing. “Poor Lance.”

  “What? Why?”

  He 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.

  “I’m cute, huh?” he said.

  “Never mind,” I responded quickly. “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.

  The walk home was slow. When I finally made it to my house, I wasn’t in the best of moods. I had gotten used to having Mr. Heywood drive me home, I’d almost forgotten how time-consuming walking was. 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.

  My phone started ringing just as I entered my house. “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 end 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.

  After dawdling for a few hours with mindless television, I headed for the shower. Unsure of whether or not it was a classy restaurant, I wore a black cardigan and some dark jeans. Casual classy.

  I picked up my cell phone and opened it to see if anyone had texted me, forgetting that it had been set to vibrate. To my surprise, there were ten missed calls from a number I didn’t recognize. I jumped when my phone suddenly started vibrating. 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 shortly, 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!”

  He sighed. “I know you didn’t. I got you caught up in this. But you are involved now, 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.

  “During the daytime, 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.”

  He 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?”

  He chuckled. “No. Don’t sound so scared. It’s 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.

  LESSON eleven

  The doorbell rang and I immediately jumped up from my computer chair. I checked my reflection once in the mirror before hurrying downstairs. Lance was dressed in casual clothing, so I knew it wasn’t a fancy restaurant. “You ready?” he asked with a grin.

  “Yep,” I responded, stepping out and shutting the door behind me.

  Together we made our way to his car. I raised an eyebrow at the Subaru Outback. Lance laughed awkwardly. “My mom’s car, remember?”

  “She needs a new one,” I told him, getting in the passenger 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 turned on the radio and flipped through the stations.

  “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, I relaxed completely. It was brightly lit and the parking lot was right next to the building. We even got the parking
spot 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 Lance was standing there, rubbing his hand.

  “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 smiled. “There’s no need. I can do it myself.”

  Lance frowned at me. “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.

  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,” he said with a wink.

  “Lance!”

  He chuckled and led me around a corner to the entrance of the restaurant. 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 restaurant. Every booth and table was full. Lance noticed me looking around and smirked.

  “Told ya.”

  “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.

  “Jinx! 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’?”

  He sighed. “Do you think this is a date?”

  I shook my head quickly. “Not at all.”

  Lance smiled but I could tell he wasn’t happy. 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 forced a little laugh. “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 by letting 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 that 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!”

  “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 romantic, 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?”

  He was right. I didn’t want to lie, but it wasn’t exactly like I could 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 an apologetic smile from 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?”

  “Tell me you’re in love with him.”

  I blushed again. “I’m not in love—”

  Lance raised his eyebrow. “Okay, so maybe not in love. But I know you like him. 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 . . .” 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, Holly, have a stupid crush on my stupid teacher.”

  Lance’s face lit up. “Thank you! At least you know it’s stupid. And you know it’s illegal, right?”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Do I look like an idiot?”

  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, does
n’t mean I will be romantically involved with him.”

  “You’ve admitted you like 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 bread and putting it in my mouth.

  “Even when you confess?” he responded, sounding confused.

  I nearly choked on the bread. 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 liked 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 liking each other! 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. “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 much more than I deserved. I wasn’t nearly as kind to him.