~Dedicated to Jells_ for taking a look at my story. If you guys have a moment, please be sure to check out her story, Shattered. Not only is it well-written, it is heartbreaking but in a good way. ;)

My encounter with Tamara left me shaken and disoriented. After picking myself off from the floor, I splashed water on my face and wiped the tears away.

Students slowly trickle into the classroom, their shoulders hunched and eyes tired, and take their seats. A piano, provided by the music teacher, sits at the front. The sight of it causes me to break out into a cold sweat. Today is the day we finally present our English projects to the class and hand in our assignments. I bob my knee up and down as I wait impatiently for Blake and Cynthia to show up. Public speaking is not my thing.

I pull at the neckline of my t-shirt. The skin around my neck is red and raw. I'm afraid that someone might notice it and ask unnecessary questions. Every cell in my body is telling me that I should speak up about what happened this morning. The gut-wrenching fear of what might happen to me or someone who I care about is forcing me to keep quiet.

When Blake shows up, he nods his head at me and I grin. Something has shifted between us after the party. Blake didn't seem as intimidating anymore; his presence feels more comfortable and natural now. "How's it going, Moore?" he asks, giving me a salute. He isn't wearing a beanie today. Instead, his hair is wild, giving him that 'just rolled out of bed' look.

Mrs. Mackenzie hustles into the room with posters tucked under her arm. She looks frazzled but the excitement in her eyes isn't hard to miss. Before the teacher can even say anything, two groups volunteer to present their projects. One of them prepared a movie trailer about the book, while the other belts out an impressive sounding rap. It makes the class laugh and my nervousness fizzles out after listening to it.

There is about half an hour left for class and I think that we won't get a chance to present today. However, I'm not that lucky because Cynthia decides to raise her hand as soon as the previous group takes their seat. "Can we please go next?" she asks, waving her arm enthusiastically.

Mrs. Mackenzie smiles while Brandon lets out a snort. His partner, Tamara, didn't show up to class today, which is a blessing in disguise for me. After this morning, I'm not sure I will be able to face her for a few days. My knees shake under me as I make my way to the piano. "Hey," Blake whispers behind me. His fingers, which are wrapped around his guitar, are twitching in anticipation and there is a glint in his eyes. "You will do great," he adds with a squeeze of my wrist. His words, as calming as they are, do little to tame the butterflies flapping around in my stomach.

Closing my eyes, I let my fingers run across the keys of the piano. Sweat is forming under my pits and the stares of my classmates is causing my heart to run wild. Cynthia comes up behind me and gives my shoulders a gentle squeeze. "You're a bomb-ass bitch, Audrey. You got this," she mutters into my ear.

Letting out a deep breath, I start us off and Blake soon follows by strumming at his guitar. In the end, we decided that it would be best if Blake and Cynthia would do the singing. It was a great decision because they sound really good together. Scratch that; we all sound really good. After the nerves pass, sitting up at the front, passing my fingers across the tiny piano, causes a feeling of bliss to envelope me. It wraps around me like warm, wooly coat and I embrace it. The song is over too quickly but the fuzzy feeling lingers.

Claps from my classmates and the wide grin on Mrs. Mackenzie's face makes me feel giddy all over. "Wonderful work, you guys. That was an A+ presentation right there, folks." Cynthia lets out a screech while Blake grins and shakes his head at the comment. Before she can say anything else, the bell rings and the students scramble to their next class.

"I need some help getting this piano back to the music room," Blake says to no one in particular.

Cynthia gives me a quick a hug and ducks out the door, muttering something about her Law teacher having a habit of locking out late students. My next class is Art and if I explained the reason for my tardiness, Mr. Ackley would understand. "I can help you with it," I offer.

"Thanks," he mumbles as Mrs. Mackenzie hobbles towards us.

"You are quite talented, Blake Rider. I have to say, I am impressed." He doesn't say anything, just gives her his crooked smile. "You guys should really consider playing at the November-fest. I heard they are looking for bands."

"November-fest?" I ask, confused.

"It's this dance that our school holds every year in the middle of November," Blake says as he lifts his guitar case and places it onto the table. I had such a hard time performing for 30 students, singing in front of the entire student body might cause me to faint. Even the thought of standing up on a stage and playing the piano is making me dizzy.

"You guys should think about it. If not the dance, you three have to perform at my sister's birthday. She is a huge fan of Maroon 5 and it would be great if you could do a cover of one of their songs." After going through Blake's playlist, it's obvious that he is also a fan of Maroon 5. This is something that he would be all over. As much as I want to tell Mrs. Mackenzie that we're not interested, a part of me is also excited at the prospect of playing alongside Blake and Cynthia.

"That would be great. We would love to do that," I say just as Blake opens his mouth. He raises his eyebrows at me but doesn't protest.

Our teacher claps her hands in response. "Thank you so much. The party isn't for a couple of weeks but I will let you know the details later on."

"Looking forward to it," Blake says as he tucks his hands into the pockets of his hoodie.

"That sounds great. You two hold tight while I grab Mr. Lee. He will help you with the piano." She rushes out the door, leaving the two of us alone.

While I busy myself with tossing my books into my bag, Blake zips up his guitar case. I can feel his eyes on me which makes me pull at my shirt again. "Audrey?" Hearing him say my first name feels weird but it is a good strange. I hum in response and he continues. "Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot, Cookie Monster," I mumble and he laughs.

Leaning against the table, he crosses his arms and studies me. His gaze is so intense; it feels like it will bore a hole in my head. "Where is your necklace?" he finally asks, flicking his gaze above me. I freeze at his question and turn towards the piano. If I tell Blake about Gabriel, he wouldn't hesitate in beating him up again. As much as the guy deserved it, I didn't want Blake to get suspended again, or worse, expelled. What happened this morning was wrong and I want to tell someone about it, just not right now.

My mouth feels really dry all of a sudden. "What necklace?" I respond, opting to play stupid in the situation.

He squints his eyes. "The one that you always wear. It has a key around it." To say that I am shocked he noticed my necklace is the understatement of the century.

"Oh. That necklace," I say with a shrug. "I'm not wearing it right now." That isn't a lie. I really am not wearing it right now. I trust Blake. Even though he puts on this tough exterior, he is actually a sweet guy who really cares about his friends. In fact, he is willing to do anything for them. Surprisingly, that is what's stopping me from telling him about Gabriel.

"You always wear it," he says, giving me a pointed look.

"That's not true. I don't wear it when I take a shower."

He lets out a heavy breath. "You're changing the subject, Moore. Where is your necklace?" There is a twinge of frustration in his voice which makes me frown.

"I'm not wearing it today, Blake. It's not a big deal." He stares at me for a long time and I stare right back. Finally, his gaze wavers, then he pushes away from the table and picks up his guitar.

"Fine. You don't have to tell me, Moore." There is hurt behind his eyes. I bite my tongue to stop myself from telling him the truth. This is the guy who gave me a lollipop and shared his cherished cookies with me. He is so inherently good but despite this, I can't tell him.

At that moment, Mrs. Mackenzie comes back into the room, followed by Mr. Lee and two custodians. "You two can head over to your next class. We can take the piano back to the music room."

Blake leaves the room without waiting for me. When I catch up to him outside, his face is stoic and he is silent. "Are we okay?" I ask stupidly. Of course, we aren't okay.

"Yeah, sure," he responds with a shrug. "I wanted to tell you. Smith wants you to come into work tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" I ask. "But he hasn't called me in for an interview yet." Several weeks have passed since I dropped off my resume at the café. At this point, I had given up on the prospects of working at the shop because it was so silent on Smith's end.

Blake laughs and the tension dissipates from his shoulders. "Apparently you had a really good reference," he responds with a wink. "Don't worry, you're good." With that, he disappears around the corner while I stand alone in the hallway, grinning like an idiot.

|| Author's Note ||

I just wanted to take a moment and thank everyone who has been taking time out of their day just to read this mess of a story. Explosive is something I have been working on for nearly 6 years. Through all the support from you guys, I have found the motivation to continue writing and hopefully finish this story by the end of this year. I understand that it is incredibly slow and hard to get into but please be sure to stick around for next week's update, where Blake's backstory will finally be revealed.

My best friend, galynad2009, is one of my favorite writers on Wattpad. If y'all get a chance, please check out her new story, Jaded. Trust me, you won't regret it.

Stay awesome.