The next day was long and hard. Besides a student council meeting, Ananda spent the day alone and half her classes locked in the girl's bathroom crying. She had seen Stacy and the others, in fact passed them in the hall several times, but other than that she had avoided them all together.
Now Ananda sat alone under a big cottonwood tree, waiting for Brian to come pick her up. Normally she would be sitting on the stairs with her friends, waiting for Nick... Ananda pressed her palms to her eyes as she felt the hot tears welling up again. She couldn't cry here, not here in the middle of the schoolyard.
It was a relief when she saw her big brother's BMW pull up. Ananda grabbed her heavy backpack and got inside.
"Hey Panda, how was school?" Brian asked.
"Sucked," Ananda mumbled as she closed the passenger door. "Have you talked to Nick at all?" she added hopefully.
Brian shook his head. "Nope. Sorry."
"Oh."
They drove home in silence. Once they got there, Ananda got out and lugged her backpack inside, dropping it on the couch in the living room.
"Panda Bear, that you?" Kevin's voice called from the dining room.
"Yeah."
"There's a surprise for you upstairs."
"Thanks Kev." Ananda slowly started up the stairs when Kevin's voice called to her again.
"Don't forget your backpack!"
A small smile formed on Ananda's face. Her cousin knew her too well. She walked back to the couch and grabbed it, then made her way upstairs.
When she reached the upstairs hallway, she paused. 'What's that smell?' she asked herself silently. Then it hit her - 'Oh my gosh. It's Gravity.' Ananda shook her head. 'Girl, you're trippin.' Then she opened her bedroom door, walked in, and dropped her backpack on the floor before she threw herself face-down on the bed. She missed Nick so much, she could actually smell his cologne. Ananda felt the tears sting the back of her eyes as she buried her face in the pillow.
She was almost oblivious when she felt a big hand on her back, and the shifting of the bed as somebody sat down next to her. "Go away, Bri," she sniffled into the pillow.
Nothing happened.
"Brian Thomas Littrell, get out of my room right now,I need to be alone!"
Still nothing.
Ananda sat up, infuriated... and realized that her brother wasn't there at all. It was Nick.
Nick offered her a small smile, and Ananda almost litterally flew into his arms. So that was why she'd smelled Gravity.
"Oh Nick I missed you so much," she whispered, hugging him tighter.
"I missed you too," Nick murmured in her ear as he gently stroked her back. "I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"For getting so pissed off at you."
Ananda didn't say anything.
Nick pulled out of the embrace and looked into her eyes. "I was so worried about you though. I mean, it's not every day you catch your girlfriend hanging with a bunch of potheads. I didn't want you getting hurt."
Ananda smiled, then wrapped her arms around him and never wanted to let go.
