Twisted by Amity Hope Page A

gave me the courage to finally stop to talk to him again. It took me more than a week but I did it. I ran almost every night after school. More often than not he was there, under the same tree. The nights he wasn’t I wondered if he was at the library working, if he was home, or if there were other places he spent his free time. As I slipped out the front door and down the sidewalk on my way to the park I tried to gather up my courage as my feet pounded the ground beneath me.
    He was there. I had crossed over the first bridge I had come to so I would be on his side of the river from the start. That way I didn’t have too much time to think or change my mind if I had to cross and double back. I jogged right up to him. This time he heard me coming.
    “Hi,” I said. “Can I sit?” Without waiting for an answer, I sat. “What are you working on?”
    He held up his textbook for me to see.
    It was so hard to keep a conversation going with him that I had written out a list of things I could talk about. Now as I sat beside him they all seemed so mundane. I couldn’t force the words out of my mouth. Instead, I dove right in with the topic I had told myself to stay away from.
    “Why did you tell me that it would be better for both of us if we didn’t know each other?”
    He looked surprised. “Do you really need to ask why?”
    I gave him a look that told him I did.
    I watched his face as several well-covered emotions floated under the surface. Pain? Fear? Embarrassment? Maybe it was a little of each…and then some. He didn’t answer. Or maybe he couldn’t answer. He kept his eyes averted; concentrating on the textbook he’d placed on his lap.
    “If it’s because of Alec,” I continued on, “I don’t really care what he thinks. He has no right to act like I can’t talk to you.”
    “Why would you want to?” he finally asked.
    “Want to what?” I replied. “Want to talk to you? Want to get to know you better?” I knew I was tiptoeing across thin ice but I continued to trudge on. “Want to be friends with you?”
    He nodded, apparently covering all of the above.
    “Why wouldn’t I?” I challenged softly. I watched him drag the heel of his shoe through the dirt.
    “Because it’s probably not a good idea,” he replied, just as softly, watching as a thin ridge was made by his sole.
    “Says who?”
    “Me.”
    “Because of Alec?” I asked again.
    “No. Because of everyone.”
    I was fairly certain I knew what he was saying but I wanted to be sure. “What do you mean by that?”
    He closed his eyes for just a moment. “You’ve been at school long enough to know what I mean. I’m not someone you want to be seen with.”
    “You’re wrong.” I told him. I sat quietly beside him, unsure of what to say to try to convince him. “I’d be seen with you if you’d let me. I always try to say hi when I see you in the halls but you never look my way.” The truth was he never looked anyone’s way. His eyes never left the ground. “I wanted to be your Lit partner.”
    “That was a bad idea.” His thumb was scraping the dented corner of his text. It seemed to be getting his undivided attention.
    “Why? Do you dislike being my partner?”
    “Alec’s in that class. I know he’s not happy about it.”
    I shrugged. “I don’t care what Alec thinks. I care what you think. Do you dislike that I’m your partner?” I pressed. I wouldn’t blame him if he got irritated with me. But I wasn’t going to let him off so easily.
    Talking to Ben was like taking a lesson in patience. He finally responded.  “No. It’s nice to have you for a partner, actually.” He was looking at the ground between his feet when he said it.
    I smiled. “Good because I like working with you, too.” I hesitated before adding, “Alec told me he’d drop Ty so he and I could pair up. I told him I asked you because I wanted to. I told him I had no interest in changing.” I thought he should know that.
    He grimaced and shook his