Katie took a deep breath. "We should get working." Jeramy said.
"Yeah." She said.
"Have you looked at this book?" He asked.
"No." She said, keeping her eyes on him. She didn't trust him.
He looked down as he handed her the book. She opened it and mindlessly flipped through the pages. She glaced at the clock.
Zac, please hurry...
Katie took another deep breath. Jeramy looked up at her quickly, then back down at the book. She could tell her was nervous; He was all antsy and fidgety.
"It's you." She whispered. The silence in the room was deafening.
"What?" He asked, looking up.
"It's you."
Zac ran down the halls of the high school. Never had he seen it look so dark and unfamilliar. He sprinted past the gyms, the cafeteria, the library. He kept running.
Hang on Katie...I'm coming...
He ran faster. He would be there in a matter of seconds. But somehow, he couldn't ignore the sinking feeling he had inside. Something was going to go wrong. That is, if it already hadn't.
"You heard me. It's you." She repeated.
"What are you talking about?" He asked.
Katie couldn't take it anymore. With one swipe, she shoved all the books and papers off the table. They fell to the floor with a loud crasy. Jeramy jumped, looking down.
"You know damn well what I'm talking about!" She yelled. "It's you!"
"No it's not." He said.
"I know it is! It's you!"
"Look, I'm just telling you. Stay away from him."
Katie stopped. "What?" She asked.
"Stay away from him." Jeramy said.
"What? Who?"
"Him."
"Zac?"
"Stay away."
"Why?"
"Because...because....you..."
Before Jeramy could utter another word, the door to the room burst open, a red faced and sweaty Zac rushing in. He raced over to Katie and grabbed her wrist.
"Come on." He urged.
"He....He..." Katie stuttered.
"Come on. Katie, come on."
"I...." Katie followed Zac out of the room. She watched as Jeramy stood in the room, staring at the floor. She and Zac ran down the halls, towards the front of the school. They didn't stop running until they were outside.
"Oh my god." Katie said, stopping to catch her breath.
"I came as fast as I can." Zac panted. Katie hugged him tightly, feeling his heart beating in his chest. After a few seconds, they pulled apart, still breathless.
"That was close." She said.
"What happened?" Zac asked, wiping sweat from his forhead.
"We were just in there, and then I said, 'It's you', and then I just blew up at him. Then the he said the strangest thing. "
"What?"
"He told me to stay away from him."
"Who's him?"
"I think you." Katie said with a frown. She kicked at a rock with her shoe and tucked her hair behid her ears. "I dunno."
"That's weird." Zac said.
"yeah."
"Let' go home."
"Yeah." She agreed. They began walking towards Zac's house.
"That was so freaky." She said. "I thought he was gonna do something weird."
"So did I. James's truck died. I panicked. I couldn't stand the thought of that freak being alone with you." Zac said.
"Yeah." Katie said. "It was scary."
"I'm sorry." Zac said. "I should have been there."
"Zac, dont' do that. You couldn't help it. " Katie said.
"I know, but I should have." He said.
"You can't do that to yourself."
"Yeah, but this isn't the first time it's happened." he said. Katie could see he was truly distrought. She inertwined her fingers in his, and looked up at him as they walked along in the late March sun.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"Ian." Zac muttered.
"Oh yeah." Katie said. She thought back to the night of the party. Ian would have surely raped her, if it hadn't been for Zac. She shuddered at the thought.
"But you were there."
"But I almost wasn't. Same with today. I was there, but I almost wasnt'.
'But you were." She said. "Zac, you were there. I'm fine, you're fine, and we're not there."
"I guess your'e right." he said.
"You can't keep beating yourself down like this." She said. "Zac, you're a great guy, and you've always been great to me. I'm really thankfull to be your friend." She said. "You're more than that. You're my protector." She smiled.
"Yeah. Sorta." Zac said. He smiled lightly at her, squinting in the sun. They heard a car honk, and they looked down the street a ways, towards an intersection. They saw a boy run across the street, barely missing a car. He was walking quickly towards the high school.
"That's weird."
"He's nuts." Katie said, looking at him.
"I swear I've seen that dude before." He said.
Katie looked at him. She had seen him too. "Yeah. He does look familliar."
"He's goin' towards the high school."
"Oh."
"I don't know where I've seen him though."
"Are you sure? He's pretty far away." Katie said, squinting.
"Nah. Maybe I'm just imagining things." Zac said. "Yeah, I'm imagining things."