chapter 103 Wingspan

"we have to go." he starts walking not caring that i was still far behind.

i try looking into his eyes but wesley kept dodging my glances. "why?" nothing he said made sense. at the very least i deserved an explanation.

welsey keeps to himself walking ahead of me. "it's simple. you're not safe here anymore." he casually says like it wasn't my future on the line.

i snort. "what? i can't just leave without graduating." the idea alone was unreasonable not to mention a criminal offense.

i stopped entertaining wesley by not following him.

wesley sighs as he reluctantly turned back around to face me. "the headmistress has that part covered. anything else?" he says bitterly.

well, lets see. as i thought about it i considered what he said about the headmistress being in on it. with that part taken care of i had no reason to stay. "well, no. not really. so long as you promise to keep my grandmother safe. oh, and my stuff of course." i tell him. "i'll need my things if i'm going anywhere with you."

Wesleys bold stare had me feeling grim. "done. now lets go. we don't have much time." he shows the way by leading our hike past the gates of stark house.

i take quick glances when i knew he wasn't paying attention.

i didn't say anything even though something was obviously bothering him. it was just good to see him. 

-Only i wished it was under better circumstances.

wherever he was for all that time he certainly didn't bother to keep up with appearances or hygiene. to be frank, he was in dire need of a haircut. his curly blonde hair grew longer down to his neck. i was surprised that he wore the same outfit i saw him in the very last time we got together.

despite the dirt underneath his fingernails he seemed okay to me. i didn't bother myself to ask where he was or why he didn't say goodbye. wesley had made it perfectly clear that he wasn't back to chat in the friend capacity.

i stand off to the side eyeing wesley from afar. "you have a car?" i ask smiling up at him.

wesely looks at me without voicing his usual playful banter. My smile faltered and fell flat into a thin line. "hop in." he said in a bitter acidic tone. everything about his demeanor felt off as if somehow wesley turned into a whole other person in that short span of time he was gone.

his sudden change of behavior was strange. the way he acted was like he didn't want to be anywhere near me. i didn't understand what i said to make him react in such a way that would suggest we never were friends. i wanted to give him space to find his words but at the same time i deserved to be treated better.

wesley sighs when i didn't budge right away to get in.

if i wasn't so mad i would have been able to appreciate such a beauty. Oh happy days. it wasn't everyday that i got to look at a classic up close and personal. What I would give to take a look under that hood.

wesley scowls at the car. "it's for utilitarian purposes." wesley looks at me grimacing. "now, hurry. i cant bend your will for you." he chides me like i was four years old again.

instead of lashing out i try and stay calm. if i was going to be around wesley for a little while i needed to keep myself level-headed before i did something i would regret. like telling him i did not enjoy his stupid hints. why couldn't he just tell me point blank instead of dragging it out like it was some big secret.

"you know your cars." it was blue in color with no visible scratches that i could see.

wesley opens the door. "only ones i like." then wesley thought better of it and shook his head like he was erasing the conversation from the air. "Nah automobiles are not my specialty." he looks away irritated that i didn't figure it out.

it was frustrating because he not only kept our destination a secret but i was forced to make the effort in decoding his vague commentary. It was like playing sudoku. impossible. if he wanted me to figure it out then i needed more to go on.

i follow him down the hill to a dirt road.

"you know a thing or two about cars. that's very impressive." he says grabbing the passenger door handle.

oh that sucks!  the tinted windows limited me from peering inside.

i didn't seem like it but some of my favorite memories involved a jack lever and fuel grease. instead of going down memory lane i keep it light by using sarcasm. my favorite resource. 

i snort. "do i know about cars?" I look at the boy across from me incredulously. "you're joking right?" 

it was impossible to find this kind of a car in a remote location up in the mountains. wesley had money but he didn't strike me as the kind of lad who had that kind of connections. i stop admiring the car and look up. "not that i don't trust you but how on earth did you get it anyway?" i ask him. 

wesley grins. in fear of him pulling back i didn't point out that he was acting like his old self. "it wasn't all my doing. i got help from a good friend." he opens the door going inside first. So much for gentleman's etiquette.

instead of figuring out what friend he was referring to because there were so many to guess from i get in the car after wesley, dully surprised to find kira sitting next to him. her offhand reason for not being able to study in the library with me made sense now. kira must have been the one to pick the car. which explained wesleys limited verse of knowledge in exhaust pipes.

sitting down with them i never realized how much i missed wesley until tears ran down my face in a warm stream of salty water- Fantastic. it came as a complete shock to me since i never cried in public. that was something i only ever did alone where no one could judge me for it.

"hey, its okay we're going to figure this thing out." she said putting her hand on my arm. kira made an excellent shoulder to cry on when she wanted to. that was impressive for a hard core rock fan.

for a moment even wesley acted like he cared.

i sniffle rubbing my nose. "i know i'm sorry you guys." i wipe away teardrops from under my eyes. "now that we got that settled how dare you leave without letting me know what you're planning! don't i mean anything to you?" i hit wesley in the arm since he was the most accessible. Kira sat on the other side of the window so I couldn't reach her.

kira snorts at the same time wesley scowls. 

"sorry." he says acting nonchalantly. 

the fact that it was nothing but a joke to them outraged me. i narrow my eyes at the both of them. they were unbelievable those two. "no. i mean it. did you ever consider how i felt all this time?" i laugh bitterly. "or course not." chanel was right. they never cared about me.

wesley moves over next to kira. "are you finished?" he asks crossing his arms.

i take a deep breath to collect my thoughts. "yeah, i think so." i exhale.

"a lot has been going on." Kira adds then she looks at me and chagrins when she sees my face. "we're sorry for not explaining things to you. for the record it wasn't our decision." kira says matter of factly as if that would cover it.

This whole time kira was in on it. she knew about wesleys little adventure and didn't tell me about it. "you're not making any sense whatsoever." i was furious that my so-called friend lied to me about not having a clue where he was.

i noticed our conversation did nothing but tire wesley out. i would have felt bad for hitting wesley but i was mad not to mention confused.

"it was too dangerous to fill you in. that's why toby ordered everyone to keep you out of it." he tells me in a low voice.

"is he crazy?! you guys are my friends." i count numbers in my head to calm my nerves when yelling got me no where. "im just glad you're all right." i tell them feeling happy.

wesley grunts out loud rubbing his face in agitation.

"i told you so." kira sticks her tongue out at wesley.

wesley turns deathly silent not caring to retaliate at kira.

"what is she talking about?" i ask him nicely.

wesley turns pale white as he stared at the dashboard while Kira gushed on about her dream car. "that you would react to us mentioning toby." his voice was low and sad though i didn't know what for.

other than kiras adamant enthusiasm for interior leather design the ride was filled with uncomfortable silence.

i was getting tired of justifying Wesleys behavior. if i remembered correctly it was toby who started it all.

the next time i saw toby i was going to give him a piece of my mind.