Crossing the Line

Chapter 26 of Love from Above

The bell for lunch rings and I walk with Libby to the cafeteria. We stop just inside the door to look for Jeremy or Janie.

 

“I see Jeremy over there,” I say, taking a step toward him. Libby begins to follow but slams into my back as I freeze when a slight figure drops onto his lap and wraps her slinky arms around his neck. All I can see from here is the back of her blonde head and the side of Jeremy’s face.

 

“Kelsey, what’s wrong,” Libby asks, grabbing my arm and scanning my sightline for what made me stop. I barely even notice her, too wrapped up in the horrors I’m seeing. The girl leans in and kisses Jeremy, angling her bobble head this way and that. She breaks away and turns narrowed eyes and a wicked grin on me.

 

“Isn’t that Brittney from our English class?” Libby asks in shock.

 

Jeremy, with a long suffering look on his face, follows Brittney’s gaze to my hurt face. His eyes widen as he struggles to get Brittney off his lap. Tears stinging in my eyes and humiliation settling on me like a fog, I turn on my heel and run.

 

***

 

Jeremy’s Point of View

 

I sit in the lunchroom waiting for Kelsey, Janie, and Libby. Suddenly, the “popular” girl of the school, Brittney, sits across my lap.

 

“Hey hot stuff,” she purrs, way too close for comfort.

 

“Seat’s taken; do you mind?” I reply, annoyed. This girl has been chasing me since freshman year, no matter how clear I’ve made my disinterest in her. Not wanting to cause a scene, I give her a chance to get up herself rather than immediately removing her.

 

“Don’t pretend you don’t love it,” she practically sneers. She leans in to smash her lips to mine. I grab her hips and try to push her away gently, but she refuses to release her chokehold around my neck. She pulls away to grin meanly at someone behind her. Wiping her sickly-sweet lip gloss off on the back of my hand, I follow her line of sight to Kelsey, looking like a deer in the headlights.

 

My hand freezes halfway across my mouth. No! My mind screams as I shove Brittney off me. She lands on the floor with an “oof,” but I pay little attention to her as I run after Kelsey.

 

“Kelsey!” I call out as she sprints away from me. She flings open the door to the nearest building and darts for the girl’s bathroom. She shuts the door just as I reach it. I hear her slide down the wall by the door, sobbing. I fall to my knees and place my hand against the smooth wood of the door, as if I can transfer my touch through it.

 

“Please, Kelsey let me explain,” I say softly.

 

“Just go away Jeremy,” she says in a broken voice.

 

“I’m not leaving you like this.” Ignoring the fact that she is in the girl’s room and I’m clearly not a girl, I open the door and inch my way forward so I’m sitting in front of her. She doesn’t look up from her hands, though I can see the sobs silently shaking her frame. I reach out to stroke her hair but stop short, not wanting to upset her more.

 

“Please Kelsey, just let me explain,” I say desperately. She doesn’t make a move to stop me, so I continue. “Brittney has been chasing after me for years. I’ve made my disinterest clear, but she just doesn’t get it. She ambushed me back there. I tried to push her away. I’m so sorry that she was petty enough to do that to you. I only care for you, Kelsey.”

 

She lifts her head from her arms crossed over her knees just enough for me to see tear filled eyes.

 

“You promise?” She whispers, staring intently into my eyes.

 

“I swear,” I say solemnly.

 

She rolls forward onto her knees and wraps her arms tightly around my neck. My own arms wind around her waist.

 

“I’m so sorry I doubted you. I may have overreacted a teeny bit,” she buries her face in my neck.

 

“Don’t worry, love. It did look pretty bad from your angle,” I reply, scratching her back soothingly. She nods.

 

“Come on,” I say, standing and pulling her with me. “Let’s get back to lunch.”

 

She smiles as I wipe the tears from her cheeks.

 

“That depends; do I look all red and puffy from crying?” She turns to take a look in the mirror behind us.

 

“Nope, you look perfect,” I reply, bending to kiss her cheek.

 

“Thank goodness for waterproof make-up!” she says with a smile.