It came to lunch time and I picked up my bag; heading towards the canteen. I sat down in my usual spot as I placed my food down on the table. As usual Evan and his group were sitting opposite me on the other side of the room. The girl with the red hair was next to him again. I looked at my food, and it didn’t look very appetizing to me today.

I pushed it aside and got my bottle of water out, started to gulp it down. Glancing back across the room I noticed that there were eyes staring at me. I wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary, so I couldn’t figure out why they were glaring at me. The red-haired girl even looked annoyed – wait, where was Evan?

Frowning, I looked away and started searching the canteen, but I didn’t have to look far; as the culprit was sitting right next to me. I turned to Evan, who was smiling at me.

“Why are you sitting with me?”

“Well, why not?” he answered. I carried on drinking my bottle of water as he munched on a beef burger. “Why did you choose me as your final piece?” He took another bite of his burger.

“I don’t know,” I replied. “You just seem so carefree when you’re riding.”

“Well, as long as you don’t tell anyone it’s me in the picture, I won’t sue you for copyright.”

“I won’t, and thank you.” I hadn’t considered that I needed his permission, but I suppose he had a point. “So, it’s a secret then?”

“It is.” He threw the last bit of burger into his mouth and crumbled the wrapper, dropping it on the table. He shot a fleeting glance at his friends across the room and then budged up closer to me. “I like to keep certain things to myself,” he said. “This is our little secret.” He whispered into my ear. I felt his hot breath fan against my cheek.

“Why do you take the bus when you have a motorbike?” I asked.

“The bike isn’t mine; it was here because it needed fixing. It belongs to the club you saw me at. It was a favour to the manager,” he replied.

I leaned forward and rested my elbows on the table, supporting my head with my hand as I watched him. He sent me a quick smile as he opened his chocolate bar. He extended his arm towards me, bringing the chocolate close to my face.

“Would you like a piece?” he asked. I smiled and shook my head. “You should smile more often,” he said. I shot him a look, and he grinned back.

“You should too,” I replied and his eyes went wide. I hadn’t realised I had spoken out loud. I looked away and started packing up my bits. As I stood up to leave, he grabbed my arm.

“Come to the track with me later,” he said with such pleading eyes. I nodded, and he let go of my arm.

“Meet me by the bus stop,” I replied. I took one last glance towards his crew and the red-head was giving me a horrible look. Evan smiled up at me as I wandered off.

◎

I was pacing back and forth for ten minutes before he finally turned up. Why are my hands trembling, gosh I’m so nervous although I don’t know why? Although Evan is extremely good looking, his personality stinks. But, I’ve got a soft spot for him; asking me to go somewhere with him made me happy. I know it wasn’t a date, but I’ve crushed on him for a long time; this feeling won’t just disappear. I have only ever had one boyfriend in my life, and I had given him everything. I regret the day I met him but it wasn’t my first heartbreak. The first man you love isn’t supposed to break your heart.

Evan walked over to me, his helmet in his hand.

We both headed over to the tracks; even though we walked in silence I enjoyed his company. The more he pops up in my life, the more I want to know about him. We arrived at the entrance. I didn’t think I would be back so soon. Evan escorted me to the bleachers and I sat down.

I had been sitting alone for a few minutes until a shaggy, blond haired guy came and sat beside me. He wore sunglasses on top of his head and he was good looking too. I searched the track for Evan, trying to ignore his presence – but he was staring at me. I shuffled away from him, but his eyes didn’t leave me. I finally turned to him and there was a sparkle of amusement in his bright blue eyes.

“I’m Scott, and I’m guessing you’re Evan’s new plaything?” I stared at him in shock. My only response was to shake my head. He looked a bit surprised. “So you two don’t have anything going on?” I shook my head a second time. I didn’t even know what Evan was to me.

“We go to the same College.” I replied, which was the truth. I turned away and focused on the race. The man sat beside me the whole time.

“Evan always brings a different girl here, it’s a shame you’re so nice.” he beamed.

“Look, surfer dude, I don’t really care who or what Evan brings here – but me, I’m here for myself,” I responded. I knew he was lying anyway; Evan had already said no one knows that he goes here. The guy sat back, stretching his arms out as we watched the race. I saw him slyly shuffle towards me on the seats. I rolled my eyes at his persistence.

“You are so Evan’s type,” he finally said. I glared at him.

“I think you’re more his type than I,” I got up from the seats and walked away from him. Evan was coming out of a little hut, which I approached the moment I saw him.

Evan slipped his leather red and black striped racing suit off his shoulders and pulled it down to his waist. He looked slimmer than he had a few months ago, but I couldn’t tell if he had been working out. He then took his helmet off, a broad smile on his face. He looked past me and frowned. I looked behind me to see that guy again. Returning his gaze to me, he smiled, which I returned.

“What did you think?” he asked.

“It was fun,” I replied. “It looks pretty dangerous, though.”

“You worried about me?”

I didn’t get to answer as the voice behind me interrupted our conversation. The blue-eyed surfer dude came walking towards us.

“I can’t believe you’re not banging her,” the guy said. I looked back at Evan to see a deadly glare on his face. There is one thing I’ve just learnt from Evan, they aren’t friends. The guy put his arm around my shoulder, and I stiffened which he took this opportunity to lean into me. “I’d say she’s more my type. You should learn how to share, Evan.” I shrugged his arm off my shoulder and stepped to the side.

“Scott,” Evan seethed.

“You won’t mind if I take her off your hands, she seems very pleasurable,” the guy said, reaching out to touch my face which I slapped away, his eyes looking me up and down. He clearly couldn’t take a hint. There was something personal going on between them; I could feel the tension in the air.

“Go away, Scott.” Evan turned his back, about to walk away – pulling me along with him. I glanced back to see that Scott had a big smirk on his face. My eyes went to Evan, he was frowning.

“Daddy’s little boy, can’t get his own way – as usual,” the other guy mocked. My jaw fell open at his remark; from the look on Evan’s face even now I know that was a touchy subject for him. Evan let go of my hand and stumbled towards him, grabbed him by the collar and pushed him against the wall. Evan lifted his hand, turning into a fist and collided with Scott’s face.

“Evan,” I shouted, but he ignored me. The blue-eyed guy pushed him and he tumbled backwards. He lifted his arm and threw his fist back at Evan.

“Leave him alone,” I pleaded. As the guy stood over Evan I ran up to him and pushed him, causing him to stumble to the side. He turned to me, his eyes wild with rage. My body was stuck to the spot as panic took over me. He took a step towards me but stopped when Evan got to his feet. In a way I was relieved, but his attention was back to Evan again.

Evan snaked his hand around Scott’s neck and pinned him back against the wall. He lifted his fist for a second time, but I grabbed it before he could hit him again.

This all felt very familiar, but I can’t think about that now.

“Evan, don’t,” I stopped him.

“You should listen to your girl, Evan,” the guy spoke. There was a hint of amusement in his voice. “You’ve always had such a bad temper, it inspires me. I wonder if Daddy would be proud. What do you think?” His eyes fell on me and sent me a quick wink, which I returned with a glare.

“You don’t know anything about my personal life, Scott. And keep your dirty hands to yourself or I’ll cut them off,” Evan spat in his face. I was terrified at what was happening. This was a side to Evan I had never seen. Evan released the guy, who took off in a hurry. He then turned to me. Without asking, he took hold of my hand and dragged me out of the building. I could feel the sweat on his palms and his trembling hands. He never once looked me in the eye since we left. I gave him a reassuring squeeze of his hand, which I felt him gently return. But there were still no words.

Evan has some serious issues. I wonder what happened to him to become like this. I’d never thought he would be violent, that was totally unexpected. It looks like this boy is a complete mystery.

I watched him as we headed to the bus stop in silence, trying to figure out what he was thinking. He didn’t let go of my hand until we were near the stop.

“Whose bike did that belong to?” I asked, trying to kill the awkward silence. He slowed his pace and looked at me out of the corner of his eye. He flashed me that alluring smile of his, which made me happy. Evan was back.

“It actually belongs to my father,” he replied.

“Is that what made you join the racetracks?” I asked as we arrived at the bus shelter.

He sat on the seat, and I joined him. “My dad, he was my hero when I saw him ride,” he said after a moment. “He died in a crash a few years ago; it was of a heart attack and it happened while he was racing. I loved watching him, but there were things we just never knew about him.”

I dropped my head, regretting what I had just asked. Looking back up at him I placed my hand on his arm. He looked down at me. I didn’t know what to say, so I remained quiet. He slipped his arm around my waist as he pulled me closer. I flinched at his gesture but didn’t pull away. I slowly rested my head on his shoulder; listened to the sound of his heartbeat. The fast pace of his pulse matched mine.

This was also another side to Evan I had never seen. I really liked it. Beneath the bad boy persona was a big softy. Probably another thing he liked to keep to himself. The bus finally arrived, and we sat next to each other for the first time. He rested his head on my shoulder as the bus drove off. I smiled and rested my head against his. There was so much more to learn about him and I was ready to listen.