Chapter Nineteen: Kayla

I stared up at the ceiling in my bedroom, noticing all the patches where the paint didn't quite match. I considered getting out of my bed for about the tenth time, but decided against it. My mom was at the diner, and I just didn't want to do anything. I should skip school more often, I thought. It was incredibly freeing to just drop all of my responsibilities and do nothing. I had missed the rest of school, a student government meeting, and volleyball practice, and I didn't care. I knew at some point I would snap out of my indifference, but at the moment I just wanted to revel in it.

I glanced over at my nightstand and saw the charm bracelet I had found the other night. I picked it up and let my thoughts wander to Frog. Chemistry lab had been particularly frustrating. Not only because Miranda and Wyatt were getting on my nerves, but also because I had spent half of the time wishing Frog would come talk to me and the other half of the time glad that he didn't. Maybe Miranda's warnings were affecting me too much. Maybe I was afraid that if I was openly friends with Frog that I would lose some kind of status. It was stupid, and yet, I couldn't deny that my pride was keeping me from interacting with him more.

My phone pinged with a social media notification and I picked it up to see what it was. The minute I saw the image I sat straight up. In one of the school groups, Wyatt had posted a picture of Frog locked in a display case at school. The caption read: A FROG STUCK IN A TANK.

Seething, I jumped out of bed, grabbed the keys to my truck and drove back to the school. When I got to the display case, Frog was leaning against the side of it, dozing off. I smiled at how he could be so relaxed in such a stressful situation. I tapped lightly on the glass. His eyes flew open and he jerked backward, hitting his head on a baseball trophy. He blinked several times before finally focusing on me, giving me a sheepish smile.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you not to wake the wild animals?" He joked.

With some effort I removed the bar and opened the door, allowing Frog to stumble out.

"Thank you so much," he said, stretching his legs. "Do you know how frustrating it is not to be able to sit?"

I shook my head. "How long were you in there?"

"A couple hours. At first I thought I'd try to break the glass, but someone would probably make me pay for it. Plus, I didn't want shards of glass messing up my stunning good looks," he said playfully, waving his hand in front of his face.

I rolled my eyes at his self depreciating humor. "Were you just going to stay there until school tomorrow morning?"

"No. I knew Mr. Zonkowski would be here at 9:00 to lock everything up. I figured he'd find me then." He took a deep breath. "But I'm very grateful that you cut my stay in the display case short by a few hours."

"It must have been awful."

He shrugged. "It was actually pretty spacious compared to all the lockers I've been stuffed in."

I laughed. He had to be the most resilient person I knew to joke about all his misfortunes like that. "So, Wyatt did this?" I asked.

Frog nodded. "He didn't do it alone, though. It took three of them to get me in here, which I thought was kind of funny."

"He's probably a little scared of you after what you did to him the other night." I flinched. I couldn't mention the events of the homecoming dance without stirring up feelings of panic and helplessness.

"Yeah. I guess all those martial arts classes finally paid off."

I bit my lip. There was something I had been considering ever since that night, but I was a little hesitant to ask. "Do you think you could teach me that move?"

He raised his eyebrows. "The one I used on Wyatt?"

Suddenly, I felt stupid. I looked at the floor. "Yeah. I just don't want anything like that to ever happen again."

"Of course I'll teach you," Frog replied. "You want to learn it right now?"

I looked up, relived. "Sure."

He positioned himself in front of me and studied me until he had apparently figured out how to proceed.

"Okay. You're going to grab me under the armpits."

I did as he instructed and he yelped and jumped back.

"What?" I exclaimed. "What did I do?"

"I'm sorry," he said, his face turning bright red. "I'm just really ticklish." He stepped back toward me. "Let's do it again and I'll try to be a man about it."

I snorted and grabbed him again, careful to keep my fingers away from his armpits. He winced for a moment, then took a breath and continued.

"Now wrap your arms around me and step behind me so that our backs are pressed together."

Again, I followed his directions and was surprised that he smelled so nice. "Okay, now what?"

"Bend over slowly so that you lift me off the floor."

I bent down and held Frog on my back for a few moments. "Wow," I grunted, "you're really heavy."

"So you're saying I'm fat?" He called out.

I burst out laughing and it weakened me, so that I collapsed on the floor with Frog on top of me. He quickly rolled off.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said, still giggling a little bit.

"Sorry I made you laugh."

"Never apologize for that."

He smiled and I was caught off guard. Something sparked in me, and it was more than just friendly feelings. I studied Frog. He definitely wasn't good looking, but he was kind and funny and extremely talented, and that somehow made him really attractive and… charming.

"Is everything alright?" Frog asked, looking a little self conscious.

"Yes," I replied, quickly getting to my feet and trying to shake off the feelings. "Let's try it again."

Frog nodded. "Okay. This time bend over all the way so that you flip me off your back and on to the floor."

I was a little doubtful that I could get that outcome, but I went through the movements and to my surprise, I was able to catapult Frog right off of my back.

"Great job!" He exclaimed from the floor, grinning broadly.

"Thanks." I extended my hand to help him get up. He took it and stood, and suddenly we were extremely close together. I felt the spark again, and I raised my head to look Frog in the eyes. He peered back at me with an intensity I'd never experienced before.

"Kayla, I…"

My body seemed to act of its own accord. My hand reached up around Frog's neck and pulled him toward me, and then I kissed him. It was just a simple kiss, but it was more charged, more passionate than any kiss I'd ever had. I stepped back, a little shocked at what I had just done. Frog just stared at me. He seemed to be frozen.

"I should probably get home," I muttered.

Frog continued to stare at me, but he gave an almost imperceptible nod.

I turned and walked quickly out of the school, trying to make sense of my actions and the emotions that were coursing through my body.