Publicity

Chapter 19: Oh Hell Naw

Awkward. That's the only word I can think of that could even come close to describing my current situation. We were at Chres's house but that wasn't the awkward part... The awkward part was probably the fact that there was no point in me being here and I pretty much felt like I was invading their hang out. Chres and Jacob were playing some Black Ops so obviously trying to get their attention would be pointless. I barely know Graham and Nolan... and it almost seemed like they were too intimidated to even say a word to me. For example, Nolan is sitting right next to me and he's pretty much made it his mission to not look at me... or move a muscle. Seriously, I've never seen someone sit that stiffly... Then there was my "boyfriend" Ray. I couldn't help but feel slightly irritated with him. Here I was, sitting like an awkward turtle and he was sitting on a separate couch with Troian... Who, by the way, keeps shooting dirty looks my way. For some reason, that girl hates me and I haven't even said two words to her. I watched the way Ray interacts with her. His bright smile literally never leaves his face and don't get me started on the looks she gives him... Troian must be the girl Ray has a secret crush on. That explains all the special attention he gives her... and if he does like her, it's obvious she likes him back. Why else would she glare at me any chance she gets? She thinks I'm Ray's girlfriend. The more I watched them have their animated conversation, the more I was positive that Ray has feelings for Troian. I tried to ignore the jealousy that was beginning to build. Why am I getting jealous?

"Nique." Jacob's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah?" I asked, turning to look at him. "I asked if you wanted to play..." He said slowly. I obviously didn't hear him the first time.

"Oh." I mumbled. "Um, no thanks."

"I'll play." Graham offered, grabbing the remote from Jacob.

"You okay?" He asked once the boys were distracted by their game. Even Nolan had loosened up a bit.

"Yeah." I lied, causing Jacob to lift an eyebrow. "Okay... it's just a bit weird." I admitted. "You guys are Ray's friends so it's weird to be here... especially since Ray hasn't said a word to me since we got here." Jacob glanced over to where Ray and Troian were sitting. He opened his mouth as if he were gonna say something but then quickly shut it.

"Hey gorgeous, wanna play Just Dance?" Chres asked, standing up to change the game. Usually Ray would have spoke up by now, telling Chres to lay off the flirting but he was too sucked into Troian world to even notice.

"I'll pass." I sent him a friendly smile. He rolled his eyes and grabbed my arm, pulling me off the couch. "Pick a song." Since I had no other choice, I chose Britney Spears Oops I Did It Again. It would be amusing to see Chres dance to this sassy song. Jacob, Nolan, and Graham sat on the couch watching Chres and I dance our pants off... not literally, thank God.

Of course, watching Chres try to dance seductively caused me to laugh loudly and it also managed to gain Ray and Troian's attention. Once the song came to an end, it announced that I was the winner.

"In your face August!" I yelled obnoxiously. "Suck it!"

The boys laughed and Chres rolled his eyes. "That was totally unfair." He defended. "You got the sexy hips."

I laughed and playfully pushed him. "Shut up."

"It's true." He muttered. "Do you have to be good at everything you do?"

I rolled my eyes. "That is not true."

"You bleed talent, Nique." Chres stated seriously.

"He's right." Jacob chimed in. "We watched your BET performance. Damn, you're amazing." I felt my cheeks heat up and I softly smiled.