4 Blush Pink

For the past two years, my life had been dedicated to picking up the pieces after the train wreck that was the accusation of me lighting fire to this school. It was untrue, and it had been proven that it was, but people liked to ignore logic and reason when they needed someone to blame. Who better than a sad, lowly delinquent like me to turn their hate against, right?

It's alright. I'd always been a rebel and that meant I was a truly dangerous kid. I was the 'bad girl' who swore at authority and smoked cigarettes in the school parking lot. I didn't care about my education so it made sense that I'd light a school ablaze.

That was the kind of psychopath they'd painted me out to be.

I guess I couldn't blame the kids at school for looking at me the way they did, when even their parents readily believed their self-made fiction over facts. That didn't make me hate the way their eyes trailed me as I walked down the hallways any less, though. Watching my every move, like I could be a danger to them if only they looked away.

I hated it. I really wished they would stop. At that point, if people ignored me, it would actually be a real blessing. That's what I thought.

But somehow, my sentiments were a bit different when Ian Park seemed to ignore me.

Ian, my own personal Babycam, as assigned by our lovely school principal, had been avoiding me for the past two days. I didn't think it would piss me off as much as it did. Maybe it was just 'cause he's a good looking boy, but it kinda stung when it came from him.

So my next logical step was to confront him, of course.

He seemed to be pretty popular, apparently being an asshole doesn't bother the ladies as long as you're hot. His locker wasn't too hard to find, but the sophomore I asked was visibly terrified of me. I was hoping she hadn't pointed me to the wrong one as I stood there waiting.

I knew from Scarlet that the student council had an urgent meeting straight after class, something to do with their finances. I was honestly rethinking waiting for him because even though Scarlet said it won't be long, she didn't really specify.

Still, I didn't leave.

Somewhere deep down I was aware that Ruth and Daniel's warning that day was what made me want to get to know him even more. The way they spoke of him was oddly familiar, but I couldn't place it at the time. I realised later, that it was the same way people talked about me in their own little groups.

I couldn't help but wonder if whatever he did, or they think he did, was just a misunderstanding like it was in my case. If that was true, I didn't want to fall into the trap of mass believing baseless rumours. I wanted to see for myself, and only then decide on his character.

"What are you-" Ian's voice reached me and I lifted my head, causing him to pause, looking dumbfounded. "...doing here?"

"Hey, I needed to talk to you."

"You didn't have to wait for me though, you could've just talked to me tomorrow." He had a few books in his hand, so I pushed myself off the locker, letting him use it.

"So you could avoid me tomorrow too?" I raised an eyebrow, not intending for it to sound as accusatory and butt-hurt as it did. We weren't even friends, barely aquaintances, so why was I so bothered?

He tilted his head to look at me, his eyebrows furrowed, "I wasn't avoiding you."

"You raced past me after Math yesterday," I pointed out only one of the many instances.

"Oh, I needed to talk to the History teacher before class, I must've not seen you."

"Then what about that time I clearly called out to you?"

"When?"

"It was before Literature started in the morning, you were sitting at the back, and you totally ignored me."

"Huh..." his eyes were sparkling with amusement. "I had my earphones on. I usually cover it with my hoodie so maybe you didn't notice."

"Then what about that time during lunch?"

"I needed to take a piss real bad," he was almost laughing now. "I told you to wait."

I could feel my cheeks heating up in embarrassment and I averted my eyes, mumbling under my breath, "I thought you were lying to get away again."

He bit his lip to keep himself from smiling, not that it worked. I, meanwhile, concentrated on the piece of gum stuck to the locker next to his. It was suddenly a lot more fascinating than anything I'd seen all day.

Hmm... looks cherry flavoured. Interesting.

"So, did you just keep getting more mad about it?" He prodded.

"Why would I be mad?" I finally looked back up, steadily meeting his gaze with mine, trying my best to look intimidating in hopes that he'd forget how idiotic I sounded a minute ago. Getting defensive was possibly the worst strategy, but I never claimed to be a good strategist.

He didn't seem fazed, his shit-eating grin never leaving his face. "Uh-huh..."

I hate to admit it, especially now, but he looked even better than usual when he smiled. It was really charming, in a way.

"Anyway, what did you want to talk about?" He thankfully changed the subject, taking his bag out and closing the locker door shut.

"Right," I dug a hand into my jeans' pocket, producing the piece of paper I believe he accidentally placed in my book. "Is this yours?"

He looked at it blankly for a moment, before realization hit him, "Oh, that's from this puzzle I solved like three days ago. Where did you get that?"

I ignored his question, raising an eyebrow, "you solve puzzles for fun?"

"My younger brother wanted me to help," he shrugged. Then he gestured towards the school's main entrance. "Let's go?"

"You accidentally left in my stuff that day," I explained finally, and he nodded, walking alongside me to the gates.

We walked in silence for a bit, and I pulled the strap of my bag tighter around my shoulder, feeling oddly nervous. "So... you have a younger brother, huh?"

"Yeah, well, not too young. He's turning 12 this year."

I blew through my teeth, "that's a rough age."

"Is it?"

"Of course, he's going to hit puberty. That's not a good time for anyone." I recalled memories with braces and acne. Not to mention getting my first period during class, having to convince my male teacher to let me leave.

Those weren't good times.

"I think I breezed through it fine," he shrugged, but his voice sounded too confident for it to be true.

"Yeah, sure you did buddy."

He chuckled at that, and in that moment, looking at him like that, I thought that maybe he really is just misunderstood. He seemed pretty normal and maybe even kind of nice.

Looking back at it now, it was quite stupid of me, wasn't it?