Chapter 3: Life's to Short

Choices

I don't get to school until my 3rd class of the day, as usual. The lunch bell rings and I'm walking out of yet another boring class of the day when I see Ty from across the cafeteria. God I hope he doesn't see me. I keep my head down, and my eyes on the floor as I walk across the cafeteria and out into the quad. From behind me, I can hear Ty's voice calling my name, "Sammy!" I stop in my tracks as everyone in the cafeteria and the quad stop what they’re doing to watch Ty walk up to me.

"What the heck do you think you're doing?" I practically screamed in his face.

He ignored my question, and I watched him stuff his hands in his pockets. "Do you always wear the same pair of clothes every day?" He asks with a grin.

I can't help myself, but look down at my clothes self consciously. I admit, I am wearing the same black cargo pants as the night before, but I've got a new black t-shirt on, so I don't see any problems. "Shut up," I grumble as I turning around and walked away. Out of the corner of my eyes I could see everyone watching as Ty comes and walks with me.

"So, where are we going?" He asked scanning the quad. I stop again, and he turns to face me. "What? I'm sitting with you at lunch. Is that such a big deal?"

"Yes, you are NOT sitting with me," I say picking up my pace as I walk to my place in the quad where no one ever goes. He matches my pace again easily. Why the heck won’t he get off my back!

"And why not?"

I roll my eyes at him and say, "Look around Ty." I spin a 360 to prove a point. All around us, people are still watching and still gossiping about us. "Everyone is starring because no one talks to me. So when you show up and start talking with me, they're going to stare."

Ty processes this and looks around. When he does, everyone quickly goes back to what they were doing. He looks back at me and grins. "Who's watching?" He gives me a wink, and I end up making a face at him scrunching my eyes. He's laughing at me now, and I turn my head down letting my hair hid my face, which I could feel getting red. Then he says something that makes me want to punch him. "Come on. It's not like anyone doesn't want to talk with you." He's still laughing, but stops abruptly when I left my head and glare at him. I looked at the ground again while he looked surmised and said, "OH."

"Yeah oh," I lifted my head trying not to make that bother me and then said walking around him, "See you later." But he steps in front of me. H just doesn't take a hint does he, I think as I frown.

"Wait, so you don't have any friends at all?" Ok now I really want to punch him. I take a deep breath as he waits for an answer that's never going to come. I stare at my shoes with great interests Ty moves awkwardly in front of me. "Well," he says stuffing his hands in deep in his pockets, "consider me a friend." I looked up to see Ty giving me the same charming grin he did the first time we met at the bar.

"You have got to be kidding me," I mumbled. "You don't want to be friends with me, Ty, nor do I want you as one. Trust me," I said coldly.

"To bad, I don't care. You are now officially stuck with me for life." He looks at me like I'm supposed to be jumping up and down with excitement, but that was the last thing on my mind.

"I guess there's no changing your mind..."

"Nope."

I sigh and thought. I thought about whether I should trust this guy I just met. Should I trust him and risk everything and then be brought down when he messes up? I guess I could use the company..., but I can't let him in. He's the 'bad boy' type and that is the last thing I need.

"Fine," I say as we come up to the biggest tree in the quad, and the farthest away from the school. Once we get to the trunk, I start to climb. I'm half way up when I stop and take a set on one of the thick branches. I look down to see Ty looking up. I need to take risk I think as I do something I have never done before. I wave him up.

"What! Do you honestly think I'm going to climb this tree?!" Ty says with a grin like he's already accepted the challenge.

"If you want to eat lunch with me, you're going to have to start climbing," I yell down.

At first, all I heard want him laugh as though he couldn't believe he was actually going to climb, and then he did. I could hear him grunting as he climbed up like a snail.

Ten minutes later, I saw Ty's head poke through the now coloring leaves on the tree. "I don’t believe you just made me climb this tree." I gave him a smile. A really smile, and the first that I seriously meant. "Ah so there's Sammy's famous smile," he said taking a bite out of an apple he had brought up with him. The bell rang meaning the end of lunch as I jumped down from where I sat in the tree.

The next bell rang and classed started. I was still standing outside with Ty trying to climb down. "Hurry it up Ty! I don't have all day!" I yelled up to him, not that I was actually going to go to class, but I had places to be, and I didn't need him slowing me down.

"Ok!" Ty said as he let go of the branch. Before I could do anything, a body was falling for me, and I was on the ground with him on top of me, his weight practically crashing me.

"Ow Ty, that hurt."

"Maybe if you hadn't made me climb the tree in the first place, we wouldn't be in this mess, now would we?"

"Ugh! Just get off me!" I shove him by his chest, but he doesn't move an inch. I could feel his eyes burning into my head as I watched from behind my shades, his expression changed. His hand moved from the grass by my head and lightly touched under my eye were my dad had punched me the other night. Just the touch made me turn my head towards the parking lot. He pushed himself off me now and sat beside me as I stay lying in the grass.

"What Sammy?"

"Quit calling me that," I said avoiding the question.

"Ok... Samantha?"

"Don't call me that either," I said as I slowly pulled myself from the grass and stood up. "Just call me Sam like everyone else."

"Sam," he said after I stood there for awhile, "tell me what happened." I shook my head. Why does he even care? He just met me! "Ok, look. I know I just meet you, but no amount of makeup will be able to cover up that bruise of yours on your eye. And I know for a fact, that that was NOT there when you left last night."

"It's nothing," I said turning to the parking lot.

"If it is nothing, then why did you try and hid it with make up?" Ty asked standing up next to me.

"It's a long story." I started walking towards the street and the parking lot.

"Where are you going? Classes are in session!"

"Who said anything about going to school?" We were on the side of the road when I told him he could leave.

"No way," He said. "Wait right here." He left me and I started walking. About half a mile later, I heard a motorcycle and then it was beside me. I saw Ty's head behind the mask and helmet he was wearing. He tossed me a helmet and said, "I can't leave you anywhere with having you run off now can I?" He smiled at me and waited for me to get on the bike. He watched me thinking this through and then leaned forward and whispered, "Life's short. Live while you can. Come on get on."

Did he just tell me 'Life's short’? Well he really has no idea how right he was. Ok, I think, time to take chances while I still can.

Ty looks at me surprised that I actually got on the back of his bike and pun on the helmet. I was looking for a place to hold onto as his hands took my wrist and wrapped them around his waist. "Where to?" He asked as he started the bike.

"Down Town," I say barring my head behind his back.  

Ty drove like a mad as he sped down the street through all the yellow lights, only stopping when it turned red. We were in front of a small cafe in downtown in record time. I hadn't realized that I was wrinkling his shirt until I jumped off the bike yelling at him. "What the f**k!!! You drive like a maniac!" I saw him laughing as I took off my helmet letting my black hair fall lose. My shades fell from my eyes shattering into a million pieces. "S**t." I kept my eyes on the ground not daring to look up. Before I could pick them up, Ty was already throwing them in the trash.

"I didn't like those anyway on you," Ty said shrugging and then stuffed his hands in his pockets. "So, I'm just following you."

I nodded trying not to smile at the thought of spending all afternoon with him. "Ok," I said pulling a list from my pocket, "first off, the Book store." This should be interesting, I thought as I walked down the street with Ty by my side.