Crossed Classes Ch 33

Lizzie shot up from the bed, breathing heavily, her hair sticking up at the back from the way she had been lying. A slightly bemused Sam sat watching her from his chair; pen in one hand, a pile of scrumpled papers at his feet. He was trying to go over his few mistakes in algebra. 1

“Good dream?” He smiled, watching her slide from the low bed. 2

“Umm......no actually.” She whispered, clutching the blanket around her shoulders. She walked over to Sam and sat on his knee. 3

“Didn’t think so sweets, not with the blue language you suddenly shouted out!” He laughed. 4

Lizzie didn’t laugh, just snuggled up to him. 5

“You...you DO love me don’t you? I mean, you’re not just saying it to make me feel better are you?” She quietly asked. 6

“Lizzie!” Sam scolded, “What on EARTH makes you say that?” He lifted up her chin gently, “Of course I love you. I don’t know of many guys who would go round at midnight and sneak into their girlfriends houses after seeing her scary mother.”7

She nodded, “I thought so.”8

“What possessed you to ask it? That must have been some bad dream.”9

“It was.”10

They sat in silence for a minute.11

“Hey,” Said Sam, “Your bruises have almost disappeared.”12

“No, they haven’t,” She said, “It’s concealor. LOTS of concealor.”13

Sam looked closer. 14

“Yes, I can see it now. And smell it. Don’t worry though. You will always be beautiful to me.”15

Lizzie smiled and leant forward to kiss him lightly on the lips. 16

“What have you been doing then, whilst I have been asleep?” She asked, peering down at the scattered books. 17

“Just some algebra, we are doing some revision on that now. He gave us some stuff to do over the half term. Nothing heavy. There wasn’t really anything to do until you woke up really.”18

“You could have woken me up!” She cajoled, giving him a gentle push. “How long have I been asleep anyway?”19

“Well, I’ve been back about an hour, and you have been asleep before then. Even my parents didn’t know you were here, so it was a bit of a shock, seeing you sleeping!”20

“Haha! Now, tell me honestly. Did I snore?”21

Sam laughed, “Like a pig!!”22

“Git!” She giggled, giving him a friendly slap. 23

“Mercy!” He cried, shoving her off his lap and rushing to the other side of the room. He pushed himself back against the wall and pretended to shield himself from harm. 24

“You are in for it!” She squealed, racing over to him with the blanket billowing around her shoulders. He easily dodged the blanket net and threw himself across his bed. In a trice she had sat upon him and started beating him with her small but hard fists. 25

“Ok, ok! I’m sorry!” He laughed, taking each of her hands into his, “You DON’T snore like a pig!”26

“Then you imply that I snore,” She pretended to growl, and he just laughed harder. 27

“Ok, ok, you don’t snore sweetie.” 28

She sat on him, looking down at him, and sighed. 29

“I missed you.” 30

“I missed you too.” 31

She smiled, and climbed off to lie beside him. 32

“What’s school been like?” She frowned, “Have they left you alone?”33

“They have been...strange to say the VERY least.”34

“Strange?”35

“Well, they are being nice. Like, if a teacher saw them, they would say we are making things up as they are being almost....friendly.” He shrugged, “They are planning something.”36

“I just wish they would leave us alone. Susan is to blame for all of this.” Lizzie said, clasping one of Sam’s warm hands. 37

“I think Peter is equally to blame too. But I just don’t know what to do when you go back to school. We simply can’t keep hiding from them. It’s getting ridiculous.”38

“Yeah, I wish I wasn’t scared of them, but I am. My ex-best friend terrifies me. Especially when she jabbered on about liking Peter. I don’t think she’s in her right mind, you know. How can you not know someone after all this time?”39

“How long you known her?” Sam queried. 40

Lizzie gave a wry smile, “Almost all my life. Met her when I was eight. Been together ever since she started being a bitch. It’s hard being on your own like that.”41

Sam nodded, “Hey, I’ve never really had a good friend like that. Well, I did have when I was younger, but he moved away when I was fourteen. Did most things together. Mike was awesome. He writes to me sometimes, but I never tell him what happens. Big guy he was too, could have thumped the lot of them. Peter never bothered me when he was here.”42

“So, why did he leave?”43

“Parents wanted to move as his dad got a new job. Still miss him, not seen him in years.”44

“You ever ask him to come over?” 45

“No, I never wanted him to see what I had become, shy, bullied, just not what I want someone I knew to think of me.”46

“Sam. You should invite him over. Look at Peter still winning over you. He just wrecks our lives. I lost my mates, you are bullied, and I'm scared of what Peter will do to me, if he gets me on his own.”47

“You never told me what he did to you.” Sam suddenly asked. 48

Lizzie looked down at the blankets, her shoulders shaking a little. 49

“I know it might be hard sweetheart, but I would like to know.”50

She nodded, and looked at the floor. 51

“Well, when you saw me, I was just crying. Before that Peter assaulted me.”52

Sam nodded, welling up with disgust. 53

“I went round to get the tennis ball, remember playing tennis that day? Well, I went to get it back as he wouldn’t budge himself, and it had rolled under the hedge, by the gardeners sheds. I went to get it and Peter came up really close to me. I told him to move and he refused, asking for a bloody kiss. As if! I told him he was out of his mind, and kicked him. He grabbed my arms and forced himself on kissing me. He then told me to go out with him and I pretended to be nice, and asked him to politely let go of me. He refused so I went mad. He then pushed me up against the shed and banged my head against the wall to quieten me. Then told me that one day I would be begging me to go out with him. Then you came along.”54

Lizzie took a deep breath. 55

“And you know, when they started on you after I hurt my ankle, Peter whispered to me ‘only you can stop all of this.’”56

Sam hugged her. 57

“I hate him so much. He’s just a complete ......arse.” He finished lamely. 58

“Yeah.”59

“Lizzie, don’t worry. He will NEVER get you. I will make sure of that, no matter what I have to do.”60

She looked at him, lying by her side, and knew he was genuine. He had his eyes closed, thinking. She snuggled closer to him, and wrapped her arms round his waist. 61

“You’re nice and warm.” She whispered. 62

He didn’t say anything. Sam moved his hand from her waist and brought it up to her face. Slowly he started to stroke her cheek, ignoring the various tiny scratches that were littered there. She shut her eyes, and concentrated on his wonderful hands. Smoothing back her long hair, he leant forward and kissed her forehead, her eyelids, her chin. He found her lips, her silky, soft lips, which he traced with his finger. 63

“Oh I LOVE you.” He murmured into her ear, moving even closer to her. He bought her head up a little, and started to land butterfly kisses onto the side of her parted mouth. He kissed her fully, thinking of nothing else but her, his amazing girl. He moved his hands up and down her sides, bringing her as close to him as possible. She responded the same way. Lizzie broke the kiss first, then surprised him by giving him tiny kisses over his flushed face. She leant down to his right ear and whispered; 64

“I love you too.”65