Arc-en-ciel

Chapter 04: Thank You

If I told them I spilled my drink on an attractive guy, I'd never hear the end of it. One, because I had embarrassed myself in front of a very good-looking fella, and two because the clumsiness of Annabeth had struck again!

Heck, if I even told them I thought he was attractive, I'd be done for. It would be teasing torment till the end of eternity.

While I was outgoing, I stayed away from boys- because one had been enough to scare me and make me keep away, and boys stayed away from me, because well- he made that happen.

The closest thing I had a relationship to was with my bed, food, and my phone- and right now, the closest thing I had to a boyfriend was all the fictional men I was crushing on.

If Adam Carlsen or Aiden Graves asked for my hand in marriage, I wouldn't hesitate.

You hear me? Would. Not. Hesitate.

It would be a straight yes. Call me the AGT judging panel, because heck, I'd even give them four yeses. Was yeses a word, though?

Even when I had dashed away from him during the football game, my friends were curious about where I'd run off too when I finally returned to them. One mention of who I had seen had them forgetting that instantly, and they didn't bring it up after that.

"Well," I choose to say out loud, as soon as the thought occurs to me, "I did see him at the football game too. He's the captain, remember? I went up to him to say hi."

"And?" both Tyler and Ethan are looking at me with 'spill-the-tea-sis!' looks as if it was the most interesting thing they had heard in days.

"He told me to leave him alone!" I tell them brightly, and then laugh, "Well, what are the odds, am I right?"

"It's Destiny," Elliot says through a mouthful of food.

"Or a horse!" I laugh at my own joke, but no one seems to get it.

Well, boo. Only the best people got my jokes.

"Hey, Annabeth," Tyler starts to say suddenly- a little more loudly than the volume he was speaking in with the same smile he gave me when he first shook my hand, "Are you single? Because if you are-"

"Shut the fuck up, Tyler," I hear a deep voice say from behind me, and I tighten my hands on my lunch tray to hold back the flinch.

When I turn around, dark gray eyes settle on mine, narrowing as if he was annoyed I was still around.

I smile at him and he looks even more displeased at that.

"James, no need to be jealous, darling," Tyler says, and there's an almost conspiratorial twinkle in his eyes, "You know you're my number one."

"After me, of course," Ethan seems to have the same look too, as he looks between the both of us.

James sticks his middle finger up at both of them.

"Y'know," I say, looking between the three of them, as Bethany and Elliot start to walk ahead to find us a table, "I thought you just didn't like me. Turns out, you don't like anyone!"

"Good job," he says patronizingly, "Figured that out all by yourself, did you? Want a cookie?"

I could pretend he said that nicely, instead of condescendingly.

Yeah, I'm going to do that.

"I love cookies!" I tell him brightly, and he gives me an exasperated look, "But don't worry, I know I'll grow on you. Not like some weird fungi- but y'know, I could totally make you tolerate me."