Mischief

Chapter 14 of Banished for Love

When my alarm goes off the next morning, I fumble around on one side of my bed, eyes still shut, where my nightstand should have been. While trying to feel for that nonexistent table, I roll a little too far and crash into a tangled heap with a yelp. I hear a knock on my door before Jeremy pokes his head into the room.

 

“Everything okay in here?” he asks, amused at the fact that I am tangled in my comforter on the floor.

 

“Stupid unfamiliar furniture placement,” I grumble, kicking off the blanket.

 

He laughs at me. “Well once you deal with that, help yourself to anything in the kitchen for breakfast.”

 

“Thanks,” I respond as he shuts the door.

 

I quickly get ready, having to drag out my still not unpacked suitcase, and head downstairs to raid the pantry. Jeremy and Cheyenne are already sitting at the dining room table, munching on bowls of cereal. Feeling a little awkward about going through someone else’s pantry, I open the door hesitantly and scan the shelves inside. I let out a squeal of elation when I spot a box of Cap’n Crunch. I grab it and begin my search for a bowl. Glancing around at the multitude of cabinets and drawers, I figure it’s quicker to just ask for their whereabouts.

 

“Where might I find a bowl and a spoon?” I inquire, turning to Jeremy and Cheyenne.

 

“Cabinet to the right of the pantry and drawer below it,” Jeremy says with a smile. I grab my utensils and upend the remainder of the crunch berries into the bowl.

 

“I think we need more,” I say, happily plopping down next to Jeremy and munching on my cereal.

 

“We might be able to swing that,” he chuckles, and then he really looks in my bowl. “You’re eating it dry?!”

 

“Of course,” I say, scooping up another crunchy bite.

 

“Why?” Cheyenne asks, looking horrified.

 

“I don’t like milk,” I say simply, shrugging.

 

Cheyenne stares at me in horror for a moment then turns to look at Jeremy. “Your girlfriend is weird.”

 

“Hey! I was allergic to milk as a kid, so it doesn’t exactly hold fond memories,” I defend, cringing at the thought.

 

We finish the rest of our breakfast quietly; though I occasionally catch them glancing at my bowl with weirded out expressions. I get up to rinse my dishes in the sink and Jeremy follows soon after.

 

“So odd,” I hear him mutter under his breath. Before turning the water off, I wet my hand and turn to flick the water into his face.

 

“Hey!” he exclaims, taking a shocked step back. I smile sweetly at him and head upstairs to get my shoes and backpack. As I walk out the bedroom door, I am tackled from behind, jolting me forward. Confused, I look down to see Jeremy attempting to tickle around my tummy. I smile triumphantly as I twist in his arms to face him.

 

“Ah finally, an advantage to not being able to feel,” I say, snaking my arms around his neck. He stops and hangs his head in defeat, pressing his forehead to mine.

 

“Well, that’s no fun,” he grumbles. I laugh out loud and give him a peck on the cheek.

We walk downstairs and out to Jeremy’s car. He drives to school and pulls into the parking lot before the bell has rung. We hop out and walk into the building hand in hand.

 

***

 

Devin’s Point of View

 

I spot Kelsey walking through the halls toward me, hand entwined with her boy toy, Jeremy’s. I grin to myself as a diabolical thought enters my brain. I stroll up to them, standing tall.

 

“Kelsey! It’s so good to see you again,” I say loudly with an impish grin. I wrap my arms tightly around her waist once I reach them. I feel her body go rigid with shock before hesitantly dropping Jeremy’s hand to return the hug. I release her and smirk at Jeremy’s medley of shock, hurt, and fury playing on his features.

 

“Hey Devin,” she replies cautiously. “Devin, this is Jeremy. Jeremy, Devin.”

 

I incline my head toward him in acknowledgement. He does the same, glaring at me slightly.

 

“Hey, I’ll see you later Kels, I gotta get to class,” I say, stepping around her deer in the headlights look, laughing to myself at the mischief I’ve caused.

 

***

 

The warning bell ringing snaps me out of my dazed shock.

 

Jeremy clears his throat. “We better get to class,” he says quietly, walking on ahead. I flinch at the accusations being thrown like daggers by his voice. I silently follow behind, sliding into my seat beside him when we get to class. I let my hair fall in a dark curtain across my face, not wanting to see the hurt written all over his.

 

After half the class period has gone by with Mr. Higgins filling the whiteboard with examples of the equation we've been learning to do, Jeremy’s hand reaches over to push my hair behind my ear.

 

“Please don’t hide, I just can’t stand it,” he whispers sadly.

 

“Are you mad at me,” I ask in a small voice, not meeting his eyes.

 

“Of course not,” he replies with a small smile.

 

“Alright class,” Mr. Higgins calls, passing out papers. “Here is your homework. Take the last 20 minutes of class to get it done.” Jeremy and I take our stuff and sit on the floor against the back wall of the classroom.

 

“Do you mind if I ask who he is?” Jeremy asks cautiously.

 

I sigh. “I met Devin over the weekend. I hung out at the meadow while your parents were here and he stumbled upon it. He was there again the other night after I ran out. I guess we sort of bonded, as friends.” I emphasize the fact that we are just friends.

 

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” he asks sadly.

 

“I didn’t think it was important,” I reply, slightly irked. "Plus, it’s not like I had all that many opportunities." Thankfully, Jeremy senses my irritation and retreats to work on his homework. I finish long before him and lean my head back against the wall, letting my eyes fall closed. I feel his heavy gaze on me and sigh. The bell rings and Jeremy stands, holding a hand out to help me up. I take it and he pulls me to my feet, keeping hold of my hand once I’m up. We stroll through the halls toward my history class. I tense as the open door comes into view, showing me a familiar head of purple and black hair. This detail doesn’t seem to slip Jeremy’s attention as I hear his teeth click together and see his jaw tighten.

 

Jeremy coughs into his hand, causing Devin to glance our way. Jeremy wraps me in a tight hug and gives me a long kiss on the lips before walking off to his class. I stand there a moment, taken off guard by the sudden display of affection, before turning into the classroom and taking my seat; which happens to be, of course, conveniently situated behind Devin’s.

 

This history class has to be my absolute least favorite class. Not only does history bore me to pieces, but all we ever do in this class, I kid you not, am take independent notes and do vocab. This makes it very simple for Devin to turn and strike up a conversation.

 

“So, is he always that possessive?” Devin asks, unmistakably talking about Jeremy.

 

“I don’t know what you mean,” I fib, not looking up from my textbook.

 

“He acts like you aren’t allowed to have friends, like he’s the only guy you can talk to,” Devin says, sounding like he doesn't believe I would put up with Jeremy trying to mark his territory for a moment.

 

“Is it so wrong of him to feel threatened?” I respond matter-of-factly, raising one eyebrow at him.

 

“Of me? Oh, absolutely he should feel threatened!” he says with a smirk.

 

“Not funny,” I say, meeting his eyes. Though, after Jeremy’s macho display, it was actually a little funny.

 

“Only to you it’s not. And after he practically marked his territory on you out there, I’m quite amazed you’re defending him.” I freeze at his words. It was as if he could read my mind. It was true, I had been thinking Jeremy had been a bit out of line with his territorial nonsense; purposefully kissing me like that in front of Devin.

 

“See?” he says, smirking at my shocked face.

 

“Okay, so you’ve got a point. Big deal,” I reply, deflecting.

 

“The big deal is it sounds like you are in dire need of a fun day out. Come with me after this class, I’ll see to it you have one,” he says with a smile.

 

“I don’t know…” I say, thinking of how ditching was wrong but finding that I only knew I should care rather than actually caring. To be honest, spending the day with Devin sounds infinitely more appealing than finishing out the school day.

 

“What have you got to lose?” he says when the bell rings, signaling the end of class.

 

I bite my lip, hesitating for a shorter amount of time than I would like to admit. “Alright let’s go,” I reply and follow Devin out of school.