Manhattan Dreams ✅

19. Frustration

"Whatever" he rolls his eyes. "It's tacky."

"And you're a hypocrite" I reply angrily. "But then again you always have been" I add and for once I get nothing but silence in return. "Come on Josh" I tug my boyfriend's hand and lead him inside. We take our seats and our science teacher Mr. Carter calls attention.

"Today we'll be splitting into groups for the science fair project. You'll be assigned a partner and you'll come up with a hypothesis that you'll test and report your findings on at the end of the semester. You're partners are listed on the board at the back of the classroom." We all get out of our seats and wander over to the board.

I drag my finger down the list until I land on my name and scoff. "Lovely" I sigh, running my fingers through my hair.

"Fuck" Josh mutters as he finds his own name and lifts his gaze to meet mine.

"Joshie" Sophie purrs as she puts her hand on my boyfriend's arm. "Looks like we're partners."

"Hey Maya" Zay says, walking up behind me. "When should we get together to discuss the project?"

Fuck my life.

*************************************************************************************

"Maya" Natalie beams when I walk into the studio with Josh's hand in mine later that afternoon. "I didn't know you'd be joining us today."

"Yea well my life epically sucks and I need to let off some steam" I reply as I retrieve a microphone and set it up beside Josh's.

"What happened?" she asks concerned.

"Josh finally do something stupid?" Derek asks making Josh shoot him a glare that makes him throw his hands up in surrender as Josh lets me go and kisses the top of my head before going over to Max to ask him something about one of the newer songs they had added to the set list along with Ride.

"No" I reply unenthusiastically, shooting a look at Derek. "Zay is my science project partner and the wicked bitch of the west is Josh's" I snip making Natalie's eyes widen.

"Seriously? Couldn't you like ask the professor for a switch or something?" she asks helpfully but I only sigh and shake my head.

"It would look like I'm just trying to get paired up with my boyfriend out of convenience" I reply honestly. I had to admit that the thought had crossed my mind but it just wasn't a good idea.

"It's not like it matters" Josh says decisively as he comes over to his microphone that was set up beside mine. "She's just my science partner. She means nothing to me" he shrugs.

"Doesn't mean she's not gonna try to sleep with you" I murmur making Josh roll his eyes.

"I'll sleep with her" Derek volunteers making Natalie stiffen. Idiot. Max and Josh share a chuckle and I just roll my eyes. Guys could be so incredibly clueless sometimes.

"Classy" Natalie scoffs as she grabs her guitar and begins to tune it. "You ready to rehearse?" she asks the group, changing the subject. We all nod and the beginning tune of Amnesia starts to play.

*************************************************************************************

"Whatcha working on?" Josh asks as he plops down onto the futon beside me later that evening. We had finished band practice and had dinner before coming back to his dorm. I had taken a shower and now I was relaxing and doing some homework.

"Math" I reply unenthusiastically. "What's up?" I ask without looking up from my worksheet.

"You know I wouldn't cheat on you right?" he asks taking me by surprise as my gaze flicks up to him.