“Is that the best you can do, Jason?” Amber asked, rolling her eyes dismissively. “Do you think I’m that stupid? Like you would date a lame karate-obsessed frigid girl like her. She probably wouldn’t even let you touch her. Meet me tonight at my house, around eight. My parents are out.”
And just like that, she turned away, resuming whatever conversation she had been part off before we interrupted.
I didn’t stop staring at Nate’s face. He looked perfectly calm, perfectly poised. It was almost annoying about how he didn’t cared. My palm sweaty, I shifted my hand awkwardly and Nate’s eyes fell to Jason and my fingers, which were interweaved together, and suddenly his normally warm brown eyes were narrowing.
“That’s not true!” Jason yelled, sounding frustrated. “I am dating Anna!”
My eyebrows shot up at the nickname he was suddenly using. I tried to stifle my surprise, but Nate’s eyes flicked back to my face before I could arrange it.
But damn it, did Jason have to say ‘Anna’?
“Prove it,” Amber snapped.
Prove it? My confused eyes met Nate’s. How was I meant to –?
Jason turned to me, and I stared at him, wondering what he was about to do. I tried to ask him by sending him mental waves of confusion. What kind of scared me (and it took a lot to scare me) was the sudden look of resolution in his eyes.
“Alright,” he agreed. “I will prove it.”
I turned to Nate for help. Then, suddenly, Jason grabbed my chin and I froze, shocked by the sudden contact. Oh, God, I was going to kill him. I was used to half-assasinating anything and anyone who made contact with me, but he touches my face? He was dying today, fifty bucks or not.
But before I could stop him, he leaned in.
My mind blacked out.
Then it kicked back into gear.
I grabbed at his hands, which were firmly holding my face to his, and attempted to wrestle him off. But Jason was a lot stronger than he looked. Well, he had to be. He was a Jock, after all. And strength was never my strong point, in the first place. Most of my training was to accent my already amazingly good accuracy and speed. I hated to be sexist, but it was true when people said that anatomically, men were born stronger than women.
I dug my nails into the back of his hands, hard. Though I felt him flinch, he was unrelenting in his invasion of my mouth. I felt like I was going to barf. How long was he going to this? My head was already swimming from the lack of oxygen. I was vaguely aware that the rest of the cafeteria had fallen completely silent. I could almost feel the burning stares of Amber and her friends…and Nate. Oh God. Nate.
Using the last of my energy, I shoved against Jason hard. His lips finally left contact with mine, with a loud noise akin to a plunger being pulled from a sink. I rubbed my raw mouth, feeling annoyed. Nate was half-stood up, a blazing look in his eyes. I gave him a quick smile. There was no need for him to help me beat up Jason. Something flashed through his face. Anger? Annoyance? Jealously? I didn’t see why.
Jason was trying desperately to avoid my gaze, but my hard glare forced him to look at me.
“Anna, honey” he tried, holding his hands up in defence, still in the ridiculous charade. He seemed to realize what he’d done was wrong. “I –”
I slammed a fist into his stomach, and heard the air leave his lungs. I held him up as he collapsed like a wet paper towel.
“If,” I whispered, right into his ear, “you do that to any human again, I will break your legs. So be happy with…this.”
