A Certain Romance (Reimagined)

Acquaintances For Now

"As much as I don't talk to you, you still find ways to acknowledge me...I'm starting to think you're the problem, not me." I retorted as I scrolled through Instagram on my phone.

Calum huffed, finally breaking his eye contact with Evelyn to face me. "I'm a blessing."

"Who's lying to you?" I hopped off the bed, my shoulder harshly colliding with Calum's as I found my way to my desk. "Elizabeth?"

Low blow, but I had to. The room was suddenly full of Calum's tension.

"I just wanted to make sure you settled in." He pressed another kiss to her forehead and then to her lips. This seemed to be more than friends with benefits, and I had a feeling he would hurt Evelyn in the end, and she didn't deserve that. "I'll see you around."

They bid their goodbye's despite it being unknown to both when they would be able to see each other again. Their meetings were in private, Calum hardly acknowledged Evelyn at school or in public. He had to keep his image squeaky clean being the senators son.

When the door shut, Evelyn said, "I'm sorry about him."

"Don't apologize for him. He's grown enough to do it himself."

"I'll keep him away from the room."

"Do what makes you happy, Eve." I did mean that. I wouldn't stop her from bringing Calum around. She knew well enough to have him around when I wasn't near. It was the simple silently spoken things like that that relieved me. "He's just a rat in sewer to me."

-

"Sage Sirois." He was a stranger, but his presence felt familiar to me. Ashton was a persistent guy, though that didn't make him any different than the guys at Lakewood. They didn't know how to give up and accept defeat as failure was their biggest fear. Ashton would fit right in. Figures he would, he was Calum's roommate after all. Calum had likely given him the rundown on everything Lakewood and Seattle.

I couldn't muster a word to Ashton only allowing my eyes to watch him take a seat next to me. 6:30pm was dinnertime – sharp. If we showed up any later to the dining hall, we'd starve for the night and must sleep with grumbling stomachs. Torture it was, but it taught us punctuality that was praised in our everyday lifestyles. I couldn't be fucked to show up for dinner on occasions, but Michael would always go to my room with food and an assortment of drinks to get me through.

"Why does the new kid know your name?" Michael asked, side-eyeing Ashton. Our table was sacred. It was only meant for The Trifecta, anyone intruders and one of us was bound to get upset. By one of us, I mean Michael.

"Why do you know that I'm the new kid?" Ashton queried.

"Why are you sitting at our table?" Michael shot back.

Ashton sighed and nodded with defeat. Michael was no match for any new kids. If I wasn't friends with Michael, I would be terrified of him. Sadly, I must pretend to be afraid of Calum because Michael was truly soft at heart. "I just wanted to thank Sage for her help earlier, it was kind of her."

"Oh my god, Sage. I didn't realize we're doing charity work." Michael spoke sarcastically, shooting Ashton a fake smile. Michael could give Elizabeth a run for her own money.

"Does my hair look better in a bun or down?" Luke looked into his pocket mirror, trying to get his bun to the best state. The more effort he put into his hair, the more you could tell he was trying to look good. But Luke could never manage being so effortless. Nothing about him was easy or effortless. That was what made him Luke.

"You're so full of yourself." Michael snapped.

"Either looks fine, Luke." I answered back as I played with the food on my plate, staring harshly at Michael for many reasons. He could be territorial with his friends; he always could be bitchy and nothing would change for him.

Ashton placed a hand on my back, making me jump. "Thank you for your help, Sage. I'm glad I was able to find you. Can I repay you somehow?"

"Ashton," Calum's voice caused me to groan, Michael to tense up, and Luke to shut his pocket mirror and roll his eyes. We were all in the same area of the food chain, so why did bullies exist? I made a mental note later to do research about that later. "I didn't think you wanted to befriend the hippie when you asked me who she was. I'm a little disappointed."

"Fuck off, Calum." Michael ordered.

"Gladly, Clifford." Calum blew Michael a kiss before walking off to his preferred friend group. The jocks and the cheerleaders. Calum was the all-star wide receiver of our football team, he was good, and I could give him credit for that. The school had won three state championships in a row since his freshman year. He did have some talent to a certain degree. He and Elizabeth were the gross All-American couple as the football player and the cheerleader. Nothing was more disgusting. They practically ran the school together. Every first weekend of the month Calum would throw a house party with all the booze and drugs and music and pizza a girl could ask for. You didn't need to be in his crowd to be invited, he was welcoming to anyone that wanted in on his lifestyle. The Trifecta never showed up though. Every second weekend of the month Elizabeth would coordinate bon fires on the lake by the school and she'd love for anyone to come out and celebrate their fake friendships and dyer need of something new in their lives. The Trifecta would show up depending on our moods.

"I might switch my cologne. I want a new signature scent." Luke popped some mashed potatoes in his mouth.

Michael gave Luke a stupid look. "People are dying, and you're worried about changing your cologne?"

"My food is undercooked, and I don't feel well. I will call it a night." A lie. I just didn't want to sit at the table any longer with Ashton breathing down my neck because he was thankful for something so small.

I made it to the hallway alone before Ashton was right by my side, combing his locks away from his face. If I looked at him too long, I was going to get nervous and fuck up my no dating rule.

"Your friends are just as rough as you." He laughed.

I crossed my arms, shaking my head. "You're one to talk being friends with Calum." Maybe I was being slightly rude, but any time Calum referred to me as the hippie I felt more and more like an outsider. They were just words though, right? I didn't need to be so impacted by them.

"He's a nice guy."

I halted suddenly; Ashton followed my lead. "Are you blind?" I asked him stupidly.

"In fact, yes, I wear contacts most times because glasses bother me." Jesus Christ, he would totally answer the question literally. "I like your name. Sage. It's different."

"I like it too." I agreed. "Is there an exact reason you're following me?"

"I don't know anyone here besides you and Calum, I might as well get to know you, right?"

Ugh. He wanted to gain something from this. No one really wanted to be my friend. I was the laughingstock. Perhaps Ashton just wanted to embarrass me in some way.

"What do you want? Do you want to hook up? Do you want to swap a few nudes and then forget the other exists? Or should we fall in love? Only to realize that we hate each other because we're so different."

"I mean...I just wanted a friend, someone I could rely on, but if you insist on this turning into something different, I have no problem with that." Of course, he wouldn't have a problem with that.

"God you're disgusting just like Calum." I started my way back to my room; I was done with this conversation for now. Ashton knew exactly what to say to push my buttons just like Calum could.

"What's so bad about him?" Ashton started following me again. He would never back off.

"You'll see."

"Friends?" Ashton stopped in front of me, slamming his palm to a locker so he could look at me. He really wanted to get under my skin. Why couldn't he befriend Ally? Ally would love Ashton. But Luke would get jealous. 

"Acquaintances for now."