“Is he gone?” Rachelle whispered.
Joanna looked up from her book as she leaned against the door. “Who?”
“Tanner.” She motioned around the empty classroom. “Why do you think we’re in here?”
“I figured we were avoiding someone but I can’t keep up with who you are avoiding. It changes and multiplies daily. Can’t you just make nice with everyone and we can walk down the hall like normal people?”
Rachelle shook her head. “I am nice, Joanna. That’s what got me into this mess. I said hi to him once and now he thinks we are dating. Now I can’t convince him otherwise.”
“Tanner?”
“You didn’t notice?” Rachelle groaned. “He has been a leech for the past 4 days.”
Again Joanna shrugged. “I thought you were dating him. It’s not that far-fetched. He’s not ugly. And he’s in like five sports. So he has the popularity thing going.”
“I am NOT dating him. He didn’t even ask, first of all. He just assumed. I’m not going to date someone who is that presumptuous.”
Joanna tucked her book away. “School’s over. I have to get going or my mom is going to freak. Do you want me to check and see if he is really gone?
Rachelle tried not to roll her eyes at her friend. “Yes. Since that’s what started this whole conversation.”
“You should know better than to tell me things when I’m reading.” Joanna stood. “I’ll check.”
As soon as she opened the door she was practically brushed aside and out of the way by a very distracted guy. He shut the door immediately and crouched away from the door’s window. He jumped a little when he noticed them both standing there.
“Rachelle?” He whispered in a rush as he straightened, still avoiding the window. “What are you doing in here?”
Laughing a little behind her smile she folded her arms. “Me? What are you doing in here? You basically trampled over Joanna. Are you, Ellis Sinclair, hiding? What? Too many adoring fans?”
“Just one. I can only take so much of Ash before I need to take measures to avoid her.”
Joanna tapped his shoulder to pull his attention from Rachelle. “Aren’t you dating her?”
He shook his head but said, “Kinda.”
Joanna huffed. “There’s no kinda about dating. You are either are dating or you aren’t.” Leave it to Joanna to make everything clear cut.
Ellis stared at Joanna for several seconds before he turned back to Rachelle. “I told you why I’m hiding. What about you? And don’t tell me you aren’t. I’m not an idiot.”
Joanna didn’t give her a chance to answer. “She’s avoiding Tanner. Something about leeches. I gotta go.”
After bodily pushing Ellis, he stepped aside and Joanna was out the door. Before it swung shut she called out. “Nobody out here!”
As Rachelle and Ellis emerged out of the classroom and into the empty hallway, Rachelle began to blush.
“You must think I’m silly for avoiding Tanner.”
He motioned around the empty hall. “I’m not really one to judge since I was hiding from Ash.”
“Why are you hiding from her?” She clutched her books tighter. “You seem like a cute couple and everything. And how can you only kinda be dating someone?”
“I thought I’d avoided that question.” He glanced over at her. “We are still dating, yes. However I have also tried breaking up with her twice. As you can see it didn’t stick.”
“How can a breakup not stick? Do you break up and then as you walk away you can’t live without her and turn around and beg her to take you back?”
“No.” He laughed. “But that makes sense too. If it was one of those grand epic love stories about true love and soul mates. But no. Ash just doesn’t seem to hear me say the words. I say we’re through and she laughs, gives me a kiss and says she’ll see me at school the next day. It’s like it never happened.”
“Maybe you need a witness.” Rachelle put her hand on his arm. “You shouldn’t have to hide from your ex just cause she can’t accept that it’s over.”
“Are you and Tanner dating?”
“No. I said hi to him once and apparently he had a whole conversation in his head that included me saying yes to him asking me out. At least that’s my theory. Any time he sees me, he comes running over, putting his arm around me or hugging me or trying to hold my hand. I can’t shake him.”
He chuckled. “Sounds like we both need interventions.”
Tilting her head to the side, Rachelle asked, “Is that an offer?”
“To go inform Tanner in no uncertain terms that he has no claim over you? Yeah, sure. Though I am going to ask you to specifically not be a witness to my official breakup because then there would be no chance to ever ask you out on a date.”
“And you want to?” Rachelle smiled brightly. Her day was looking up.
“Well, as soon as I convince Ash that we are no longer together, do you want to go out on a real date?”
Taking a step back Rachelle looked over at him. “I’d like that. Though I’m thinking that if we do it as soon as you break up with Ash and tell off the guy who thinks he’s dating me, we might have a mess on our hands anyways.”
“So we wait a few weeks.”
Rachelle slipped her hand into the crook of his arm for a second, blushing. “I can wait, as long as Tanner is off my back.”
“Sounds like a plan to me. I don’t know what I’m going to do while I wait for everything to blow over but I’ll say it now, I’m going to be wishing I had more time like this with you.” He nodded. “I’m glad I chose to hide in that classroom today.”
“Me too.”
