Chapter 10: Evan

I felt a little guilty as I went through the rest of my classes for the day. Well, guilty, but also deeply intrigued by that girl.

Anita.

I had thanked her for doing what she did, but that didn't feel like enough to me. Besides, I wouldn't mind sitting close to her even if all I got to do was watch her. Her clothes weren't a slim fit and didn't show much skin, unlike a lot of the girls I saw every day, but I was starting to think that underneath those clothes, she had delicious curves just begging to be explored.

Fuck, don't think like that.

Pushing the thoughts aside, I headed for detention. Class was over, but I wasn't in a hurry to go home, and it wasn't the first time I'd ditched my friends over a girl either, so it didn't matter to them when I said I was busy. They misunderstood what I meant, and gave me annoying catcalls and wolf whistles behind my back. I ignored them.

Stopping outside the door, I knocked, then pushed it open. A teacher was seated at the front, and a few peo-ple had already shown up. Anita was there, and I perked up. She looked surprised to see me, and I wanted to wave to her, but I didn't dare with the teacher there.

"Mr. Stewart," he said, staring hard at me. "Can I ask what you're doing here?

Two kids in the back of the class broke into giggles. He glanced at them, and they shut up.

"I came to sit in for detention, sir," I said.

"Well, then you can go right back out. I don't have you on my list, Stewart."

Damn. I shot a quick glance at Anita, but I didn't dare refuse. I didn't need to be told that I was lucky the school accepted me. If I made too much trouble, word would make its way home, and things would just get an-noying from there. I could deal with it, but I would ra-ther not have to.

I wanted to complain, but I didn't dare. I couldn't say I had a valid reason to stick around, either, so I could only do what the teacher said and leave. On the inside, I found it amusing that I got thrown out of detention, but I didn't plan to leave just yet. My friends would be gone by now, and I didn't have anywhere specific I had to go, so I found somewhere close by to wait. Realizing it would take a while, I sat down and took my phone out.

Eventually, the door opened. I looked up to see the teacher walk out. He frowned when he saw me there, but he couldn't do a thing about it and walked away. Anita was the next person out, and I shot her a smile, so she'd know I was there for her, putting the phone away.

"Hey, there."

She looked surprised and hesitated before slowly walking over to me. She was hugging some books to her chest, her hands white with how tightly she held the books.

"You didn't have to come here and wait for me," she muttered. "You already said thank you."

I chuckled, wondering if she felt nervous around me. Her eyes only met mine for a few seconds before looking away.

"I know I did. But you shouldn't have lied and said that I didn't copy you, either. Come on; I'll take you home. I can explain things for you at home, too, if you'd like."

Her eyes widened, flickering up to meet mine.

"I thought you didn't want to get stuck with deten-tion," she blurted out. "It's late already; you can leave me, I'll find a way home."

"That's not what I said. If I get detention, then the teacher would ask to talk to my parents. Besides, it doesn't matter how late I get home. Just let me take you."

I led the way outside, slow at first to make sure she was following. We walked to the student parking lot and over to my car. It was so late, only a few cars were left in the lot, and I noticed when she stopped some feet away.

"Come on," I said, unlocking the door. "Get in."

She slowly shook her head. "Your car looks, um, new."

"I've had it for a few months, now," I said slowly. "Is that a problem?"

I said months, but it was brand new. I got a car for my birthday when I turned sixteen, but for my last year of high school, I wanted a new car, since I'd be going off to college with it in less than a year. My family was rich, anyway, so the expense was worth it.

Anita didn't say a word, just shook her head and came closer. I opened the door for her, closing it behind her, then got inside.

"You'll have to give me directions," I told her.

She murmured. "Okay."

I started the car and pulled out of the lot. She di-rected me to an area I'd never been to before, in the op-posite direction from where I lived. I frowned when I noticed the surroundings. It was one of those bad neigh-borhoods, the kind you'd see on TV, but I'd never seen it in real life. There were a few people on the street, and I noticed how everyone looked at my car.

When I checked, I realized the few cars that I saw were parked against the curb, and they all looked old and worn down, much like most of the buildings.

"Drop me off here," Anita said quietly.

I looked and saw where she pointed, then parked the car in a free spot and turned off the engine. I eyed a group of boys hanging around the entrance to an apart-ment building a bit ahead. They were staring right at us.

"Let me walk you to your place," I offered.

"No way," she said immediately.

I frowned. "Why?

She looked embarrassed. "Someone might steal your car or something. Thanks, but you can leave now."

Before I could say anything more, she jumped out of the car and ran off. I watched her until she disappeared from view, then turned my car around and got out of there.