"I'm new," I practically whisper.
"I see. Well, welcome to Port Wood. I'm Sam. Sam Caplan."
"Nice to meet you," I breathe, still studying my boots.
"So, can I, like, walk you to the nurse's office or something?"
Now I look up. "No. Like I said, I'm fine. I just need to get to class." I turn and start to walk back toward room 313 when another student comes barreling down the hall. I pause and step back toward the wall, out of his way.
"Cap! What's up? I'm late as fuck!" he announces to explain why he's taking the halls like a bat out of hell. As soon as his eyes skate over me, however, he skids to a stop. "Well,hi there." His eyebrows rise with interest and he rakes my entire body with his gaze, he doesn't even try to hide it.
I take another automatic step back and fold my arms protectively over my middle. I tell myself that he's just flirting. It's harmless. It's normal.
But I'mnotnormal.
I'm so glad I'm medicated right now.
Sam seems to sense my unease and steps in front of me, practically shielding me from someone who is obviously his friend. His friend's brows draw together as he looks at Sam, clearly confused at his stance, as am I.
"Sorry, Tuck, we're late, too. Gotta get to class," Sam explains as he gently takes my hand and leads me back towards calculus. I'm momentarily stunned by his touch. A strange man taking hold of my hand should have freaked me out, even medicated. But his touch was somehow... comforting.
"Uh, okay. Catch you later, I guess," Tuck calls out and resumes his jog down the hall in the opposite direction.
As soon as he's gone I yank my hand back, ignoring the fact that a part of me doesn't want to.
"Sorry," Sam offers.
I just shrug in response.
"He's harmless. Tuck. Tucker. He's just a flirt."
"Whatever. It's fine. I'm-"
"You're fine. I got it."
I look up at him. Back into those eyes.Big mistake.I start to feel guilty. It appears that I've grown so accustomed to being the victim that I can't even recognize when someone is trying to help me.Great. Now I'm a bitch. "I'm sorry," I mutter.
"Whatever, it's cool. You in my class? Calc?" he gestures to the door to 313.
I nod.
"Cool, let's go."
"Didn't you... weren't you headed somewhere?" I ask. After all, he must have had somewhere he'd needed to go - before he got sidetracked by the new girl having an episode in the hallway. Sam chuckles and it's a lighthearted, genuinely sweet sound. The kind of laugh that instantly puts you at ease, that intimates sincerity and warmth. I'm surprised by how it affects me.
"Nah. I just get bored in calculus sometimes and ask for a bathroom pass." He shrugs and opens the door for me.
I go in ahead of him and to my surprise, he grabs the form out of my hand and slams it on the teacher's desk. "New student," he murmurs, as if it's the most ordinary thing in the world, and then sits down in the second row.
The teacher barely looks up as he directs me to take a seat, which I do - as far back as I can - and the few students who look up, mostly girls, look only at Sam. Not that I can blame them.
And just like that, I'm back to being invisible.
****
When the bell rings everyone rushes to pack up their things and head out the door. Sam turns around and I freeze as he makes eye contact, the corner of his mouth twisting up into a half smile.
"Rory? Is that you?" a girl's voice rips my attention from my strange, hypnotized reaction. I reluctantly pry my eyes away from Sam's and search for its source.
