Cleo's POV:
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After school, I headed out of the building and into the parking lot in search of Via. I hadn't realized until I saw just how many students were around me that I had made a mistake by asking for a ride. Driving to Olivia's house alone for a tutoring session was one thing, but now we were starting to become friends.
Don't get me wrong; I wasn't really in the position to be turning away friends. Throughout the week, I had been eating lunch in the bathroom. Sometimes I preferred the quietness instead of the noisy cafeteria. Other days, I couldn't stand being alone in there. There was always an urge, as I sat on the sticky tile, to leave the bathroom and go into the cafeteria. Maybe take a seat with Via and her friends. But, I knew that people would talk. People always talked.
I watched as Daniel walked out of the doors behind me, scrolling through his phone. Olivia wasn't with him, so I approached Daniel as friendly as I could appear as he looked up from his screen.
"Hey Daniel," I said with a smile, and suddenly he was a nervous wreck.
"Hi- hello, uh, Cleo. W-What's up?" he rushed out, balling his left hand into a fist. I had to restrain a laugh.
"Via said she'd tutor me today. Have you seen her?"
"N-no... We had 6th period together b-but, yeah, I don't know." Daniel backed up as if afraid I would hit him. Suddenly the nervous wreck act wasn't as charming.
"Okay. Thanks anyway, " I grumbled out, departing from him and circling the school slowly.
Why did he assume I was mad at him? Honestly, I was so tired of people thinking I was this terrifying person. I didn't think I had done anything to make that seem true, but Daniel was afraid of me. I was a threat to him.
"Cleo!" Olivia yelled from behind me, running to catch up. I hadn't noticed how quickly I was walking. I stopped in my tracks and waited for her to run up to me. "God, you should sign up for track, " she joked.
"Oh, sorry," I said. She seemed a little distraught. I wondered if she thought I was terrifying too. "Where's your car?"
Olivia pointed to a shiny BMW in the parking lot. "It's actually my mom's but she had a big case this morning and couldn't take me," Olivia explained as we walked toward it.
"Oh, I figured you had your own car."
"Nope. Not yet, at least. But I'm hoping for my birthday I can get one."
"Oh, that's cool, " I muttered, approaching the passenger side door.
Olivia climbed into the driver's seat as I stepped inside. It had that new car smell. It wasn't cluttered with soda cans or cigarettes, which was a nice change. We pulled out of the school lot and onto the road.
"So, " Olivia said, stretching out the 'o'. "What's up with the spontaneous tutoring session?"
"I don't know, I was just having trouble focusing in class today. Thought maybe I could use some extra help."
Via tensed up at the mention of today's class which made me raise a brow.
"Yeah, I couldn't focus either, " she said
"Well, shit, how are you supposed to tutor me now?" I said, half-joking.
"Okay, let's just drive you home, " Via teased earning a well-deserved shove to the arm. "I'm joking, I'm joking!"
"Good, " I said.
"But if neither of us paid attention today then what's the point of tutoring? Maybe we should do something else instead, " Via said, her voice shaking a little with the last line. Her eyes darted from my face to the road again, trying to quickly read my expression.
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RomanceOlivia Hansen is perfect. At least, that's what everyone thinks of her. She maintains her busy schedule by following routines and setting rules for herself. The pressure is stacked on by everybody in her life, but once she's assigned to tutor Cleo R...