Chapter 17 Double detention
Alex
The moment Justin regained his balance after i had punched him, he launched himself at me.
I barely had time to react before his fist slammed into my shoulder.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” He snapped, trying to shove me backwards.
I shoved him harder. “You should’ve thought about that before opening your mouth.”
He staggered into one of the dusty desks, the wood screeching the floor loudly.
Rachel screamed somewhere behind us while Cecilia shouted my name, but all I could focus on was the anger buzzing beneath my skin.
I didn’t even know why I was this pissed.
Justin insulting Cecilia shouldn’t have mattered this much. But it did. It mattered enough that my hands were shaking with rage.
Justin wiped blood from the corner of his mouth and laughed bitterly. “Oh, I get it now.”
“Get what?” I snapped.
He looked between me and Cecilia mockingly. “You’re into her.”
The accusation made my blood boil with anger and before I could utter a response, he swung again.
This time his fist connected with my lip and that really hurt, making me wince.
Cecilia gasped and I lost whatever little patience I had left. I punched him directly in the jaw, causing him to stumble sideways with a curse, nearly falling over one of the chairs.
“Alex, stop!” Cecilia yelled.
He tried coming at me again, but I got another hit in before he could fully recover. The force of it sent him crashing into the teacher’s desk this time.
The only thing that stopped me from beating him to a pulp was the sudden sound of Principal Watkins’ voice booming through the classroom.
“What is going on in here?!”
Perfect timing.
Justin immediately backed away from me, breathing heavily while I wiped blood from my mouth with the back of my hand.
Rachel pointed dramatically between us. “They’re fighting!”
“No shit,” Watkins snapped and then realizing his tone, he huffed. “You kids don’t learn!”
He looked genuinely exhausted, like we had personally shortened his lifespan. His gaze swept over the overturned desks, the dust floating everywhere in the room and Justin’s busted lip.
Then he looked at me. “Mr Gomez.”
I straightened slightly. “Yes, sir.”
“Would you like to explain why you are throwing punches during detention?”
Justin scoffed before I could answer. “He attacked me first.”
“You called her a slut,” I said coldly.
Watkins’ expression darkened instantly. “What?”
Justin looked away. The principal pinched the bridge of his nose like he was fighting for patience. “I don’t care who started it. Clearly none of you are mature enough to function like civilized students.”
Rachel crossed her arms dramatically. “I didn’t even do anything this time.”
Watkins gave her a look that made her shut shut up immediately.
“You two,” he pointed at Justin and Rachel, “will clean the science classroom for the rest of the week.”
Rachel looked horrified. “Week?” Her eyes became wide. “The science classroom?”
“Yes.”
“But there are chemicals in there.”
“You’ll survive.”
Then his attention shifted toward me and Cecilia.
“As for you two, your detention will continue for another week. But no more cleaning.” He sighed heavily. “You’ll study instead.”
Cecilia muttered under her breath, “That somehow feels worse.”
“I heard that.”
She gave him an innocent smile. Watkins still looked unconvinced and after another lecture about violence and responsibility, he finally left, dragging Rachel and Justin out with him. Justin shot me one last glare before disappearing through the doorway.
The second they were gone, silence filled the classroom. It was then that I realized how dusty the room really was. My lip throbbed painfully and Cecilia kept staring at me. I avoided her gaze while grabbing one of the dusty rags from the desk.
“What?” I muttered.
“Why did you do that?”
I frowned. “Do what?”
“Punch him.”
“He deserved it.”
“That’s not what I mean.”
I pressed the rag against my lip and winced slightly then realized I'd probably get the cut infected.
Cecilia walked closer slowly, her expression softer now. “You got really angry.”
I shrugged like it didn’t matter. “Justin’s an asshole.”
“You didn’t have to defend me.”
Something about the sentence irritated me. “Can we not do this right now?”
“Do what?”
“This.” I gestured vaguely between us. “The whole pretending that you don’t understand thing.”
She furrowed her brows. “I’m not pretending.”
I sighed tiredly and leaned against the desk behind me. “Look, I just don’t like people getting bullied.”
The second the words left my mouth, Cecilia blinked at me in disbelief.
Then she laughed softly. “You literally blackmail me every day.”
“That’s… different.” I said.
“How?”
I opened my mouth and then paused. Because honestly, I had no explanation. It was pretty much the same thing.
“I don’t know,” I admitted finally.
For a moment, neither of us spoke and the she stepped closer. “You’re bleeding again.”
“I noticed.”
She ignored my sarcasm and pulled a handkerchief from her bag. “Hold still.”
“I’m fine.”
“You look ugly.”
“I always look ugly according to you.”
“That’s true.”
I snorted quietly despite myself. She moved even closer until I could smell her perfume again. Something soft and floral that always lingered around her.
My chest tightened annoyingly. Cecilia tilted my chin slightly upward before gently dabbing at the cut on my lip. I hissed under my breath.
“Oh relax,” she muttered. “You’re acting like I’m murdering you.”
“You elbowed me during the fight.”
“That was an accident and I was drunk.” she said defensively.
“Sure.”
Her lips twitched slightly and we remained quiet again, for a long time this time. I was suddenly aware of everything. The softness of her fingers against my skin, how close she was to me that I could inhale her floral scent. The way her blonde hair brushed against her cheeks when she leaned in.
Cecilia looked up suddenly and our eyes met. It was as though the air around us had shifted. Her gaze flicked briefly toward my mouth before snapping back to my eyes. I stopped breathing for a second.
What the hell was happening?
Because suddenly kissing her seemed like a very real possibility. Voices echoed somewhere down the hallway, breaking the moment immediately.
Cecilia stepped back so quickly it almost looked like she panicked.
“There,” she muttered awkwardly. “Done.”
I cleared my throat roughly. “Thanks.”
She nodded and returned to her cleaning supplies. The rest of detention passed painfully slowly after that. I couldn’t focus on the cleaning. Every time I looked up, I became hyper aware of Cecilia working across from me.
The way she frowned when concentrating. The way she occasionally glanced at me when she thought I wasn’t looking. It was deeply distracting.
By the time detention finally ended, my brain felt like a mess. And unfortunately, it only got worse during the drive to work.
I rolled my busted lip between my teeth while replaying the moment in my head again. Her fingers against my skin, the look in her eyes. The feeling that almost happened between us.
My phone buzzed against the passenger seat.
Nancy: Barry says “just because he’s collected his wages doesn’t mean he has to slack off.”
I chcukled. Barry was hilarious.
ME: tell Barry I said he sounds beautiful when he’s angry
Nancy: hurry before he fires you dramatically
I shook my head and pulled into the coffee shop parking lot. The evening crowd was already visible through the windows. But the second I parked, the feeling returned. The same uneasy feeling I had noticed all week. Like someone was watching me or following me rather.
I glanced in the rearview mirror slowly. Nothing looked suspicious, but I still had that strong feeling that I was being watched.
I grabbed my backpack and headed toward the café entrance casually like I noticed nothing.
Inside, the smell of coffee and pastries hit me immediately.
Nancy looked up from behind the counter. “You’re late.”
“Tell Barry that traffic kidnapped me.”
“He already threatened your life.”
“Sounds about right.” I sighed.
But instead of staying in the front, I cut through the back hallway towards the storage. The uneasy feeling hadn’t disappeared. If anything, it had gotten worse. Quietly, I slipped through the back exit behind the storage room.
The alley outside was mostly empty. A dumpster sat near the brick wall while faint music from a nearby store echoed in the distance.
Then I saw her.
At first, I wasn’t sure, but I would recognize that face anywhere. Even with the hood and heavy sunglasses she wore. Her eyes widened the second she noticed me and for a while, neither of us moved.
All week, the same car had been following me. Why didn’t I think of it?
I lifted my brows and folded my arms across my chest as I took a step forward. “Cecilia, have you been stalking me?”