Backstreet Boy

|Chapter 46: The Plan|

Isabella

"You look too giddy for your own good," Lizzie perceived.

Without slamming my locker shut, I closed it and turned to her. "I'm not giddy," I protested indignantly. "It's just... Jason came over to my house last night, and we've sorted things out." I left out the part of him being violently beaten up by Jackson and the drug deals he had to do.

Lizzie grinned so widely that I was afraid her mouth would tear. "Finally! You know, I knew you'd get back together! I just knew it!" Now she was practically too giddy for her own good.

"I think you're more excited than I am," I retorted, beginning to amble slowly to homeroom with her virtually pouncing the way.

"I'm just relieved," she gushed, exhaling deeply. "I was beginning to think you'd get back with Miles after you kissed him. Jason knows about that, right?"

"I would never get back with Miles. And yes, Jason knows. I told him."

Lizzie actually squeaked as we entered homeroom. And I mean that literally. Several fellow students turned around to us as I sheepishly endeavoured to walk way ahead of Lizzie to make it seem like I wasn't walking with her in the first place. My plan, however, was soiled the moment Lizzie sat down next to me and people were still gawping at us.

And it was in that moment when Miles and his group of jaunty jocks swaggered into the room. Miles took one look at me and instead of making his usual route to his seat, he made a slight detour and made his way to Lizzie and I. Who, incidentally, was still jumping up and down in her seat and hyperventilating. She managed to relax for about two seconds when Miles crouched down by the side of our table, leaning on it, too. From behind me, I saw several girls turn our way and look to where Miles' butt would have been, so I guess his boxers were on show... not that he'd ever mind, of course. He thrived off all of the attention he received off the girls in this place, regardless if they're freshman or seniors.

"Can we help you with something?" I asked quite insolently.

Miles looked at Lizzie whose face was amending to a deep shade of beetroot. "I couldn't help but notice that Lizzie could be deemed as drunk rather than anything else, and I heard what she said out in the corridor. You're back with Jason."

"Is there a problem with that?" I retorted.

Miles shook his head so that his hair bounced gently. It had nothing on Jason's hair, I mused.

"Not at all," he responded. "I was merely wondering what must have been going through your head when you decided this."

"It was definitely not you."

Wordlessly, Miles stood up hearing the faintest click of his knee joint, turned around and made his way back to his typical seat. I turned fully around in mine so I was now facing Lizzie. She categorically looked ready to burst at any second as if she was some bomb or something. I made a mental note to get her to Matt as quickly as possible.

When I did finally manage to get her to Matt, it also wasn't long before Abigail made her way up to me at lunch. She looked rather sombre and kept her head bowed and muttered, "There's a rumour going around about you."

"What is it?" I asked, feeling my stomach drop. I could come up with all sorts of conjecture about what this rumour could entail, but I knew there was only one thing it could be.

"That you're dating a guy from The District," she muttered lowly.

Several other students were turning around to us out of pure inquisitiveness rather than anything. Most students here, similar to Miles and the girls' story, thrived off juicy gossip, especially if it was going to get someone in trouble. Only a week previously, some girl who was captain of the hockey team cheated on her long-term boyfriend and the news was all over school. She got demoted in hockey because she wasn't focusing on playing, she lost her boyfriend and she wouldn't even speak to the boy she cheated on him with. And not to mention, she doesn't come to school wearing makeup anymore or something fancy with her hair. She seems like a totally new, reconstructed person.