When We Meet Again

Chapter 2

Meaghan checked her time table the next day as she walked into the school. She had Biological Science at two pm. She wondered how that would go. Should she go up to Dean and maybe say hi or…maybe she should wait for him to say hi to her? Were they friends now or just acquaintances? She needed to talk to Bain about this; he would know. She reached her locker without realizing, she was so absent minded. The perpetually angry kid whose locker was next to hers gave her a particularly rage-filled glare as she accidentally bumped into him but she hardly noticed so preoccupied was she.

“Watch where you’re going trailer trash,” he snarled.

Meaghan hardly noticed she was too busy fantasizing about how exactly she would smile at Dean. A small conspiratorial smile, maybe he’d give her a discreet wink in return and then they’d act like they were ignoring each other for the rest of the lesson. Maybe he’d come up to her afterwards and say hi, tell her about a book he’d come across that proved his crass theories about Zeus; maybe press it into her hand and ask her to let him know what she thought. Meaghan was smiling to herself as she went to her first class of the day which happened to be creative writing. Due to her lolly lagging she was a little late though so there was no chance to consult with Bain. The day passed swiftly nevertheless and although she kept an eye out, she didn’t see any sign of Dean in the school at all; not even in the cafeteria at lunch time. She shrugged away her eagerness, telling herself to calm down.

Still, she made it to Biological Science ten minutes early and sat in her customary spot at the front, pulling open her book and pretending to read. She could hardly breathe with anticipation. The class gradually filled up and she looked up every time someone new stepped in the class, her heart leaping in her chest. Her leg was fidgeting against the leg of her desk without her realizing and when at long last she looked up and it was him, she almost knocked it over with the impact of her leg hitting it. She held her breath, eyes wide with anticipation as Dean walked into the class flanked by two people she hardly even noticed. She waited for him to catch her eye so she could smile at him but he just walked right past her desk like she didn’t even exist. Meaghan froze, her eyes helplessly following his progress right to the back of the class where he sat down and began talking and laughing with his friends without so much as a glance in her direction. Her head whipped back to face the front, face hot with mortification. Obviously she’d made a bit more of their meeting last night than he did. She’d thought she’d made a new friend…which was just silly now that she really thought about it. She had been the only one present at the garage; who else was he gonna talk to? Didn’t mean that he wanted to keep talking to her. Meaghan felt like such a moron, she pulled her books toward her, concentrating on looking like she was reading but the text was blurry for some reason. Could be because of the wind bringing moisture to her eyes.

*****

There was a tight something in Dean’s chest which was making it hard for him to draw breath. He wondered if his ribs might be broken after all. Meaghan had run her hands along his sides with sensitive fingers that sparked some unexpected responses. She had said it was just muscular swelling. Of course, who was he kidding, she wasn’t exactly Dr. House. Just some smart ass student who happened to know something about injuries because of some first aid course? Dean figured he’d better pay a visit to the school nurse just to be on the safe side. Whatever herbals she’d rubbed into his skin last night had really helped with the pain and the swelling though. She had a nice touch, light but firm and it had made him wonder if she touched him elsewhere…but that way lay madness. He ruthlessly cut off the thought and went back to thinking about what he’d tell the school nurse.

When he walked into Biological Science he could feel her eyes on him all the way to his seat. It was making him hot in places he really shouldn’t be; at least not anyone who wasn’t Samantha. He leaned back as he listened to Brad tell a funny story about one of his mother’s drinking parties and how some fat woman had gotten really drunk and tried to seduce Brad in the second floor bathroom. It was hilarious and normally Dean would be teasing him mercilessly about his taste in fat cougars but right now his skin was too busy tingling because of the hot glances he could feel Meaghan throwing at him. Clearly last night had meant something different to her than it had meant to him. He was just making nice with the help. How could she be so bright at school work and not understand that?

Still, that ache in his chest persisted even though the nurse had confirmed that the bruising was just superficial. Fraternizing with the help or not, he’d really enjoyed their conversation last night and he wished there was room in his life for more than an impromptu meeting in a garage but there wasn’t so she’d just have to get over it and go read a book or something.

*****

“What’s up girl? Why you look so down today?” Bain whispered to her. He was keeping his voice down chiefly because they were in the library allegedly studying. But Meaghan hadn’t been able to settle to anything. It was kind of maddening that some guy she’d never even laid eyes on before last night should make her this upset. It was just…well they had had exactly those debates that she’d always dreamed would be the norm at a school like this – she had had that for about three hours last night and suddenly it seemed to be all just another dream. It was logical to be upset she told herself. Who wouldn’t be?

“Nothing’s wrong. I’m not down,” she lied to Bain. He pulled his mouth down in faux disappointment.

“Yes you are. Now tell Uncle Bain everything,” he demanded covering his hand with hers. Bainbury was actually six months younger than her and small but he still treated her like she was his favorite niece that he was looking out for her regardless of the fact that she towered over him significantly. Meaghan sighed and told him…everything.

“Aww honey,” he frowned in commiseration. “Guys like Dean don’t acknowledge riff raff like us in broad daylight. Honestly sometimes I wonder about you Meaghan – have you no experience of the Rich White Male at all? Or any male for that matter? They’re all bas*ards.”

Meaghan smiled ruefully. “Who broke your heart this week?” she asked. Bainbury tended to have short intense romances that burned bright but fizzled fast. It was always something the other guy did of course and Meaghan was always there to listen and support.

“Ugh, Kevin Dupont is not worth the time it would take to tell you what a fool he is.” Bainbury said. “And anyway we were talking about you and your absurd crush on Dean Wesson. I mean are you serious? The man and his family practically sh*t diamonds; you think he’s going to have time to debate the classics with the likes of you?”

“He did debate the classics with the likes of me,” Meaghan pointed out.