"Looks like you need to pay more attention in English class so you can learn the definition of stop!" I yelled. It was a lame thing to say, but I didn't care. I was full of rage and adrenaline. I had practiced that move a dozen times in the karate classes I took as a kid, but I was surprised how well it had worked on Wyatt. Kayla was against the wall, looking stunned, and Wyatt was moaning on the floor. For a couple seconds, no one did anything, but then Kayla marched over to me and grabbed my hand.
"Come with me," she commanded.
She dragged me out of the classroom and down the hall. She seemed upset, and I started to regret what I had done, wondering if I had misread the situation. She pulled me into the economics classroom then turned around and stared at me, her expression unreadable.
I put my hands in my pockets. "Look, Kayla, I'm sorry if I overstepped my bounds." She didn't say anything, so I continued. "I wasn't following you guys, by the way, I was just on my way to the bathroom and I heard you shouting." That was a lie. I had definitely followed them. "Anyway, I was just trying to help, and I apologize if I messed things up for you."
At that moment, Kayla rushed toward me. I braced myself for something unpleasant, but was surprised when she wrapped her arms around me and buried her face in my chest.
"Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you so much, Frog."
And then she started crying. I tentatively returned her embrace, not wanting to do anything to make it seem like I was taking advantage of the situation. She was sobbing into my shirt, and I really didn't know how to feel. I mean, it was nice to be holding her so close, but this was clearly not a romantic moment. Plus, I was a little self conscious about her face being pressed against my bony chest. I lightly patted her back in a way that I hoped was soothing and just let her tears soak into my shirt. After a few minutes she pulled back and sat on a nearby desk.
"Thank you, Frog," she repeated. "I don't know what would have happened if you didn't show up when you did."
I shuddered. The image of Wyatt forcing himself on her flashed through my head again and I wanted to go back and pummel the jerk into the ground. But that probably wouldn't have been very productive, and I didn't want to leave Kayla.
I shrugged. "Sooner or later you probably would have head butted him or kicked him in the junk or something."
Kayla frowned. "I should have. I wasn't thinking very clearly." She covered her face with her hands. "I can't believe I was so stupid, so blind. How could I have let myself get into that situation?"
"Whoa, whoa, this is not your fault," I said, looking into her gorgeous brown eyes. "Wyatt was very deceptive. Even I thought he was a pretty decent guy until, you know, a few minutes ago."
Kayla nodded slowly. "It never even crossed my mind that he would be like that. I just… I'm always in control. I hate not being in control."
I walked over and sat on the desk next to her. "Emotion is sometimes a hard thing to see through," I said, hating myself for sounding like my mom. "Sometimes the people we admire most turn out to be really disappointing. Take my dad, for example. I thought he was the most amazing man in the world, and then one day he left us and never came back."
Kayla looked at me with concern in her eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't know that." She stared down at the floor. "Looks like we have more in common than I thought."
I nodded. We both had fathers who had let us down. We sat there in silence for a minute, and then Kayla stood up and smoothed down her dress.
"Can I ask you one more favor?" She said quietly.
I almost laughed. I'd do anything for this girl. "Of course."
"Could I get a ride home?"
I winced. I'd completely forgotten that I'd left Milo back in the gym. It'd been longer than an hour. Hopefully he hadn't already left.
"Yes," I responded, "but I actually came with Milo. It's a long story."
"That's fine," she replied. "I'll, um, meet you in the parking lot."
I nodded. I could understand why she didn't want to go back into the dance, but it hurt a little to think that she didn't want to be seen leaving with me. We walked out of the classroom and she headed outside while I walked back into the gym to find Milo.
*****
It was a little awkward with the three of us riding in Milo's car. I was in the backseat with Kayla because I didn't want her to feel alone, which made Milo seem like a taxi driver or a chaperone. He looked at me in the rearview mirror.
"So, did you guys kiss?"
"Milo," I growled in warning.
He clearly didn't get the hint. "There's so much tension between you two that you must have."
I buried my face in my hands, but when I peeked over at Kayla, there was a small smile on her face. Milo talked on and on about some guy that had to be kicked out for inappropriate dancing and how he had gotten it all on video, and after what seemed like hours we finally pulled up in front of Kayla's house.
She turned to me. "Thank you again, Frog. You're a great friend." She took my hand and squeezed it briefly, then got out of the car. I watched her walk into her garage, a thousand conflicting emotions screaming inside my head.
"She likes you," Milo stated, interrupting my thoughts.
"No, she doesn't," I responded. "In case you didn't notice, she just dropped the big ol' f-word just now."
"What, friend? Nah, friends don't look at each other the way she just looked at you."
I shook my head. "You're delusional. She's just really vulnerable right now."
"Vulnerable? Then this is the perfect time to make a move!"
"Shut up."
Milo stuck his lip out, pretending to be offended. "You keep saying things like that and you'll lose your cut of the money."
I shrugged. "You can keep it. I'm actually glad I went." And I was.
I moved into the front seat and we went back and forth about Kayla and her supposed feelings for me all the way back to my house.