Unfaded by Sarah Ripley

What if Breanna had cornered him in the halls and told him I was all over Kian? I’d like to believe that Connor wouldn’t be the type to fall for that sort of gossip but I wasn’t sure. He was being too quiet. Something was obviously bothering him. All I could do was hope it wasn’t about me and just some random thing that happened earlier in the day.
                  A couple of kids from class stopped by my table while I was waiting and told me that Donny Lee was having a party later and that Connor and I should drop by. I all ready knew about the party, Amber had called me earlier, wondering if Kian or Scott Myerson might be there. I wasn’t sure about Kian but I knew Scott wouldn’t miss a party unless he was dead. I told her we’d probably show. Maybe it would be a good idea. It might cheer him up.
                  “There’s a party tonight,” I told him when he came back to the table. He put my drink down in front of me and sat.
                  “Yeah?” he didn’t sound too thrilled. Opening three packets of sugar, he dumped them into his coffee and began stirring with a wooden stick.
                  I cupped my drink in my hands and enjoyed the warmth against my cool skin. “Did you want to go? We could show up for a bit. I’m sure Eugene will be there. Amber and Claire said they’d be there too. Do you want to go?”
                  “Maybe,” he continued to stir his coffee although the sugar had to be dissolved by this point.
                  “Are you OK?” I finally asked. “I know you’re mad at me for last night but I told you I fell asleep. I was really tired. I’m sorry.”
                  “I’m not upset about that,” he said.
                  “Then what?”
                  “Nothing.”
                  “Give me credit, Connor,” I said. “I know you better than that.”
                  “Breanna talked to me today,” he finally said. “She told me you were all over that new guy.”
                  “And you believed her?” I said softly. There was no point in getting hysterical about this. I wasn’t the type. “I met him at my Dad’s shop, remember? I was the only person he’d actually talked to before he enrolled in classes. And he sits next to me in English. We’re just talking.”
                  “She said you were doing more than talking.”
                  “She’s lying,” I said.
                  Part of me wanted to slap him. The other part of me wanted to go hunt down Breanna and give her a good smack or at least a slight hair pulling. A third part of me wanted to crawl under the table because deep inside I knew that the two of them were right and there was something more than what I was admitting to.
                  But I loved Connor. I knew this. He knew this. We’d been together four years. It’s not like a person could just walk away from that.
                  “You watch him,” he said.
                  This was news to me. “What do you mean?” Someone opened the door and came inside the shop but the cold running down my spine wasn’t from the outside wind.
                  “I’ve seen you watching him,” he said. “In the cafeteria.”
                  “Connor, everyone’s been watching him,” I said. “In case you didn’t notice, Amber nearly fell over herself trying to find out his name. He’s a new guy. Everyone’s curious. Why should I be different? Besides, he’s a nice guy. You should give him a chance. Maybe Amber and he will end up dating and we’ll all hang out.” I gritted my teeth as I said the last part.
                  The explanation wasn’t good enough for Connor. Why? Because I was with him. I could see it on his face. I wasn’t supposed to be looking at other