How to date a Nerd

Chapter 1

"Holy shit, Austin!" I shout the second I get his face away from me. "What the hell was that?"

"Come on, Camila." His hands continue to dig into my back. I wish I would've kept the baggy pajamas on because I'm sure he's drawing blood. "Get. Off. Me." I'm wiggling around, hoping he'll let me go, but his grip tightens. He smiles. Not one that's sexy or anything, but a very nasty and uber creepy grin. If my legs weren't trapped, I'd knee him right in the balls. "Every guy you've been with only dated you to get in your pants." His grip tightens again, and I try to keep my face as far away from his as I can. "You know it. I know it. You can't be mad at me for doing exactly what you were doing." "Which is what?" I spit. He really needs to let go before I go batshit crazy on him. This is getting really scary.

"Dating each other till we got something out of it." My eyes fill up, and the tears almost spill over. He's right. Which sucks. I'm so stupid. I should have expected at least one of the boys I dated to be upset about not getting some; so upset they'd take it into their own hands.

"I want you to leave me alone."

"I helped you out. How many people get jealous whenever I touch you?" He reaches up and brushes my hair from my face. I'm tempted to bite his finger off. "How many clubs have you gotten into because I know someone?" His lips are inches away from mine, and his hands now locked around my jaw so I can't move. "I think since I've done my part, it's only fair you do yours." My lips form obscenities around his as he mashes them against me. I'm wiggling like crazy, trying with every bit of strength I have to get away from him. I think I got a good hit somewhere, but he's not letting go. He bites down on my bottom lip, causing a yelp of pain to escape my mouth. I keep quiet after that, and he moves his kisses to my cheeks, my neck, my chest, while I still try to get out of his grasp. Is this really happening? What is he going to do to me? How far will this go? I try to detach myself—again metaphorically—but it's impossible. No one has ever attacked me like this before, and tears start to leak out the corners of my eyes.

One of his hands clasps my butt cheek as he moves me upstairs. My stomach plummets as I hope against all hope Sofia stays in her room. She can not see this. I don't want her to see this. We get to the top of the landing, and I hear a doorknob turn, but it's not from Sofia's room. It's the front door which is in plain view from where Austin has me pinned. Austin hears it too and he shoots upright, letting go of me long enough that I can fix my top before someone walks in.

"Hello?"

I'm too relieved to be confused about Lauren standing in the doorway. I jog down the stairs, coming within inches of her body, but stop myself from hugging her. My arms drop, and I pretend I was going to scratch my head, looking like an idiot. Her puzzled face would be comical if it weren't for the tense atmosphere. I take a small step away as Austin descends the staircase. I search deep inside my voice box for a cheery tone and blink away the water from my eyes. "Hey, uh... my dad'll be home in a minute and he can get you that book you wanted. I'm not sure where he put it. You can sit over there if you wanna wait."

I'm so glad Lauren knows when to act stupid and when to play along. "Thanks, Camila." She goes into the living room and sits down, not taking her eyes off me and my now very ex-boyfriend. No way will that guy ever get near me again. Austin looks like he got attacked by fire ants with how red he is. He clears his throat and looks at me. "I better get back to the party. You coming?" "No." Hell no. I don't look him in the eyes because now they scare the crap out of me. "I'm sick, remember?"

"Your loss." He shrugs out the front door, and I almost break into tears right there in the entryway. But Lauren's presence shuts me off from losing it. "Are you all right?" she asks, getting off the couch and stepping closer to me. I quickly try to erase the pain and horror from my face, putting my calm mask on. "Yeah. I'm not feeling well like I told Austin. So, I'm going to go upstairs and sleep it off." "Camila, don't pretend like I don't know what just happened." I feel all the color drain from my body. So much for looking calm. "What do you mean?"

Lauren bores her eyes into mine. I fold my arms again and stare back. She's not going to get me to admit to anything. I'm not even sure what happened. It's like my mind can't catch up with the reality of it all. "Well, next time I see him attack you like that, I'm calling the cops." A hard lump drops in my tummy, and I gaze out the window behind her, to the perfect view of his kitchen. I know how that kiss—or attack—felt from here, but how did it look from there?

"It's nothing to worry about," I lie. "Really, it's always like that." Now I give her a fake smile, trying to push back my embarrassment and fear. "If that's the case, I'm calling the cops right now." "Wait," I say, coming up short on excuses. I don't know why I care so much, or why I'm giving Lauren the attitude, especially since she just saved me from something I never would've thought ... I mean, Austin could've ... ugh, I can't think about it anymore. I'm getting more and more panicked, and I want to be up in my room, under my blankets so I can curl up with Wolverine and not think about what just happened. And even though Lauren did something for me I can't even think of how to repay her for, I find myself trying to keep up my fake persona. "Don't call the cops. I... uh... we got in a fight, and he wanted to make up. And... uh, I wasn't exactly done being mad at him, you know?" Great now I sound like a rambling fool.

Lauren studies my face. Her eyes search mine for any deception, but since what I said isn't completely untrue, she lets it go.

"Okay. Sorry I barged in. I thought it was a problem."

"No, there's no problem." I try to smile. "Promise."

She studies my face once again before going out the door. I hadn't realized I'd been holding my breath until the hot air escapes my nose. I jog upstairs, slam my bedroom door and put on my baggy pajamas before curling up under my sheets and crying myself to sleep.