Mr. Superficial (BWWM)

Chapter 48

I smile, thankful, as she removes her duffel bag and places it before her feet.

'Here, I've got it.' She allows me to refer her luggage to the storage space above our heads before I make myself comfortable on the adjacent and now vacant seat.

'Thanks,' Vicki smiles.

Her chestnut eyes seem to drill into mine with what could only be described as adoration. After a moment, she seems to catch herself from staring and looks away. Though even in the dim lighting, the blush to her cheeks is unmistakable. I squirm around in my seat in discomfort. Girls' captain Vicki, with her long bronze hair, the dusting of freckles on her nose and broader build was once the product of my infatuation. She'd rejected me years ago and as the tables are now reversed, so my feelings for her had drifted with the wind.

I'd admired her for the determination she had toward swimming, her excellence as Captain at both freshman and sophomore level and the fact she wasn't as unapproachable as her friends. But now all she sees in me is a potential decoy, a charm to hang around her wrist and show off to anyone who gave a shit. She sees the exterior— all girls do.

If I was to take any of them deeper into who I really was, who I really am, they'd go running for the hills at the imperfections they'd discover. Different girls are harder as ever to come by.

I sigh as I place the earphones into my phone jack, vaguely aware of falling asleep to the beginnings of U2's All I Want is You.

-

The drive to Phoenix was five hours of monotony. A while into our trip, the bus was alive with loud chatter, music and the frequent giggle of some girl on the receiving end of a bad pickup line. I'm beyond restless by the time we draw to the entrance of our motel.

After listening to a wave of tedious lectures from the staff, we are allocated our roommates and given the keys to our quarters.

I immediately locate my room and throw my belongings aside before jumping into the bed to sleep. I don't stir as footsteps become audible not a long while later, my eyes only squeezing tighter together as Sean's laughter makes his presence known in the space.

'Sleeping again? You know it's nearly eleven, right? You're gonna sleep through lunch,' he speaks as if I were potentially missing the most important moment of my life.

'So?' I mumble.

He chuckles again and I hear the creak of the adjacent bed as he bears his weight on it. Sean rummages loudly through his belongings, most likely thrilled at the silent frustration he elicits from me.

'Are you coming to watch the girls?'

'I'd rather not,' I answer despite him already knowing of my answer.

One day of competition was enough for me, especially when the chance of meeting any insufferable dickheads from other competing schools was too great of a risk to entertain.

'Okay suit yourself...' Sean's voice becomes muffled as he slips off his hoodie. 'But me and some of the boys are gonna watch them. You know, school spirit and shit.'

The majority of his words had been deflected by my fatigue yet the last phrase caught my wholehearted attention. I raise my head and turn from my stomach so I am staring at him.

Since when did Sean care about school spirit?

'Um, Freaky Eyes, what do you want?' He asks after sensing me trying to bore a hole through his skull. I completely dismiss his new and disparaging nickname, too consumed with my own assumptions.

I eventually drop the suspicious gaze and look to my phone as if nothing had happened. Sean displaces my expression as he now assesses me with the same interrogative look in his eyes. He sighs when it leads him nowhere and shuffles around the room. From my phone I hear him unlock his own before making his way out the door.