How to date a Nerd

Chapter 6

I chuck my crumpled napkin at her. "Shut up." I grimace at her before getting up and walking to the main cafeteria doors. The guys we hang with are grouped there, and I'd much rather talk to them than her right now.

I only make it about three steps before I hear my name being shouted across the room.

"Yo! Camila!" Shawn jogs up, jamming his drumsticks in the side pocket of his khakis. "Hey, I heard you and Austin broke up."

Subtle. "What gave you that idea?" I ask, the sarcasm soaking my tone as I gesture to the tongue dancing across the room. He smiles. Wowza. He's pretty smoking hot actually. My stomach does a little flip, but it's a somersault compared to the backhand spring I get when Lauren smiles. Damn girl. "You okay? You want to talk about it?"

I glance behind him at Normani, who winks at me. Word around here spreads faster than the Enterprise at Warp-10. I'm sure our conversation was heard by twenty people around us, catching up to Shawn within seconds. Hence, why he stands in front of me, waiting to be rebound boy.

I flick my gaze to Austin, who's glaring at me. I get a sick satisfaction from his anger. It's like I can punish him by throwing myself at someone else. "I don't really want to talk," I say, taking a step closer to Shawn, making my intentions clear. He raises his eyebrows, and his mouth pops open in audible shock.

"Uh, wh-what do you want to do then?" Get back at the dickwad who attacked me. I roll my eyes and get on my tippy toes to reach him. I smack a gooey kiss on his lips and pull him close.

The only thing going on in my head right now is the look I imagine on Austin's face. I bet he's seething at my public display with some kid I've talked to maybe twice in my whole life. I know I'm a total bitch for using Shawn like this. But that's who I am in school. A bitch. A bitch who gets asked out and ogled and fawned over. A complete act that's getting easier and easier the longer I'm in it.

I don't even notice Shawn's frenching me until someone taps on my arm and I have to extract my tongue from his mouth.

"I'm a pretty tolerant teacher, but this isn't exactly appropriate during school hours." Ms. Weber's interruption sort of brings me back to life. Why am I so stupid? This isn't going to fix anything. I glance around the room. Austin's mouth is turned down in disgust, but he's looking at Shawn like he feels sorry for him, not angry. But that isn't what throws me over the edge.

It's Lauren.

She's standing by the D&D table, looking at me with such loathing I can't seem to concentrate on anything else. She crosses her arms over her chest. Her friends try to get her attention back to the game, but she ignores them, storming across the cafeteria and out onto the school grounds. She heads for the bleachers, with Lucy following shortly after.

"Miss.Cabello" Ms. Weber is still waiting for me to untangle myself from Levi. I take a step away from him and mumble an apology, and before I permanently turn red from embarrassment, I bolt out the doors after Lauren.

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If there is any more touchy feely crap, I'm going to kill her.

I can't talk to her. Not here. Not where everyone can see me. I'm pretty sure no one noticed me staring, or following her, but I can't risk it. So I'll eavesdrop instead. She's sitting in the middle section of the bleachers with Lucy, and my stomach plummets into my feet making it hard to walk. Why is she with her again? I sneak around back and crouch underneath the seats and try to keep my footfalls quiet, though it's really hard wearing heels. And no way am I taking them off with all the trash on the ground. Sick.

"Are you seriously giving me the silent treatment?"Lucy sighs and stares Lauren down. She's wearing a skirt so I can see straight up it, giving me full access to purple granny panties. I cringe and try to keep my eyes on Lauren. I guess it's better than a thong though. I do not want to see a full moon. "What?" she replies annoyed.