Slave to Love

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

I looked at my new purchase and then at his glorious brother standing there, smiling. I could feel my eyes prickle. There was no way I would ever break down in front of the entire school, after I just accidently fought like a psycho to buy Logan Perry. I would not let them know I made the biggest mistake of my life because my stupid EX-friend distracted me.

I stood up abruptly, my chair making a squeaking noise and attracting some attention. I looked at Hugo, his face wary, as if he was expecting me to do my dying whale noise or scream at him. I did neither. The only thing I wanted to do was leave. Now.

Without a word, I stormed out of the auditorium and I veered into the nearest empty classroom. Pacing around, I gathered all my strength to not fall apart. I blinked like crazy, trying to dry my eyes, and I kept mumbling to myself There's no crying in baseball. There's no crying in baseball.

I could not let myself cry. Not like that. Crying was such a girly thing to do. Crying was for pussies and I was tough. I took few deep breaths and I cooled my mind to assess the situation. It was like a tough game of soccer and I was the captain out on the field, watching my team losing. I had to do damage control. And, possibly, turn the tables in my favor. 

There was a reason, though, why up till now I hadn't mentioned the twin brother of my crush. As far as Ryan was like walking perfection, his brother was the complete opposite. The older (by few minutes) Perry brother was our football team's starting quarterback. Wearing his ridiculous letterman jacket paired with low riding jeans, he strolled around the school like he was the most powerful creature to ever descend on planet Earth since Jesus himself. Except Logan was hooking up with a different girl every month.

He was also a part of our school's most popular boys-only clique - the Snickers. No one knew why the called themselves like that, it was the most stupid name if you ask me. I feared, though, that it might have originated from the large nuts content in the bar.

Apart from Logan, the membership included our running back Justin Tyler, wide receiver George Grayson and, to my utter dismay, Ryan Perry. Don't ask me why the love of my life was friends with those jerks, who were constantly talking about sex, parties and football, but the thing they undeniably all had in common were good looks. Maybe sometimes that's all it takes to become friends, I wouldn't know.

Basically, Logan's role in the fairy tale about Ryan and me was similar to the role of the evil stepmother in "Cinderella" ‒ when Prince Charming finally tied the knot with Cinderella, he got a bitchy mother-in-law and her two mean daughters as a bonus. That's how I felt about this whole Snickers addition to my Prince Charming.

➳♥

After pacing for 30 minutes around the empty classroom I gained some perspective on the situation. It wasn't that bad, really. I mean, it was bad, but not Game-of-Thrones kind of bad. I was alive, Ryan was too, and I got to hang out with his twin brother, who represented everything I despised, true, but nevertheless lived under the same roof as my crush.

I returned to the auditorium and sat in the back to watch the last few auctions. After Chloe Zane was "sold" to the highest bidder, my sister and Chris got back on the stage, both smiling smugly. They were babbling about how grateful and excited they were that the auction turned out to be such a success. I didn't really pay attention because it was the moment when all the seniors came up on the stage and I was desperately trying to spot Ryan. When I finally saw him, he was smiling brightly, his brown eyes sparking like he couldn't wait for the adventure to start. That's when I realized, due to my sudden exit, I didn't get to see who was his buddy now.

"All buddies, please proceed to the canteen. We invite you to a short After Party where the ice will be broken and you'll learn about the schedule for upcoming weeks. And if that's not a good enough reason, there's also brownie waiting for you there. 'Nuff said."