Dedications: My three kids. The oldest, middle, and youngest.
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Ace
I think watching Amber's futile and desperate attempt at finding another partner has been the most entertaining thing to do this whole week. Who knew the girl hated me that much?
I watched at a distance, seeing the 6th person reject her, and smirked, satisfied that they listened.
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The Day Before
I knew Amber would go to any lengths to make sure she wasn't going to work with me on a project. But I also knew she valued her grades more than she gave herself credit for, and I was about to use that to my advantage.
Funnily enough, she'd been occupying my thoughts against my will, and I smiled to myself as I stood by the swimming pool entrance where Amber was swimming, her face free of worries as she swam effortlessly. I found out through a few people that she held a gold medal in internal and external competitions for swimming. Just when I thought she couldn't be more interesting, I heard about that.
She hadn't noticed me walking in, and I was hoping it would stay that way. I kept a very safe distance between me and the water, not just for her, but for me too. My gaze found her silhouette once again. Just a few minutes and I'll leave, I promise.
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I lied. I stayed there for 15 minutes like a fucking creep watching her swim. Never would I have thought swimming would seem so seductive to me. Neither do I know whether it was just me being able to hide really well, or she was just too dense to notice someone was stalking her. God bless her.
One day, she's going to drive me completely insane without even realizing it. I wanted her, it was no doubt, but I continued to lie to myself. This was nothing but infatuation that would soon be out of my system. But that was what I told myself when I threw the ball at her head the other day and shit didn't get any better.
I stood up, making my mind up to make sure she'd only partner up with me for our final project. I don't know how I was going to do that, but I will. I left the swimming pool, making sure not to make too much noise with the door that'd indicate my presence and startle my dear Pancake.
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I went into the hub where most of our mutual classmates stayed after classes sometimes. I spotted a kid named Andrew. I saw the fucker talking to Amber quite sometimes, and it's no doubt she'd approach him. He's a nice kid, though. I could take it easy on him. I pulled a chair next to him and sat down, facing him with a grin.
"Hey there, Andrew," I spoke, waiting for him to set his eyes on me. As he did, he grinned back, obviously not expecting me to come to him.
"Hey, Ace. Did you need something?" He asked, and I shrugged.
"Do you have a partner, yet?" I asked, looking directly into his eyes, waiting for his answer, hoping it was a yes. He widened his eyes and shook his head.
"Well, no. Not yet, at least. Why?" He said, making me groan internally. Was I about to overstep by doing this? Probably.
"No reason other than how absurd my words are going to sound in a second, and you're gonna do exactly as I say," I said monotonously as I stared blankly, seemingly making him uncomfortable.
"Do what, exactly?" He asked, chuckling nervously. Poor guy, he doesn't even deserve this.
"Amber's gonna come to you soon, whether that is today or tomorrow. Whatever she asks of you, you're going to say no." I said, jumping straight to the point as if I was so sure it was going to happen.
He frowned now, almost sounding confused. "Amber, what has she got to do wi-" I grabbed his collar, making him flinch. Yep, I was defitinely overstepping and crazy.
"You don't get to ask questions, Drew. All I'm saying is, reject her if she asks to be your partner, and we won't have a problem. Clear?"
He visibly cleared his throat and nodded his head vigorously. Satisfied, I let go of him as I smiled, that grin very friendly.
"That's great. I'll see you tomorrow then." I patted him on the back and walked away from there without giving him a chance to say another word. I felt a few stares at me, but I didn't care, I was just heading to the next person to have a chat with.
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Telling the girls wasn't a problem. While some of them already had partners, I just had to bribe the other girls by giving them my number, the one I barely use. Those kinds of girls truly lack basic intellect sometimes and are so easy to please.
Now, all I have to do is sit back and watch my little Pancake make an attempt at getting away from me through every possibility she can find. I'm hoping she still has my number, cause goddamn, she's one of the very few whom I gave my personal number to.
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I left for my house shortly after I talked to everyone I needed to, assuming Amber also left for home. God, it was like my life revolved around her. I shook my head and focused on the road as I pulled up to my house, dreading to go in. Was my father home? I had no clue.
I killed the ignition and headed inside my house using my spare key, and was greeted by Marianne, our Italian housekeeper, who was smiling at me warmly after leaving the kitchen.
"William, you're home." She said, coming towards me and pulling my face down to kiss me on my cheek. Marianne has been in my life for as long as I can remember. Even before I lost my mother and sister. She was there for me, playing the role of a mother, a friend, and even on occasion a father.
I smiled and chuckled, my smile clearly reaching my eyes, only for it to falter as I asked her what I had been thinking about.
"Is he-?" I didn't have to finish the question for her to know what I was talking about. She seemed resigned and shook her head.
"I'm sorry, Tesoro. He came by briefly but left not long after. He might crash at a friend's." She finished, and I sighed, a mix of disappointment and relief edged in that sigh.
"It's okay. It's nothing I'm not used to." I said, ready to freshen up before a sweet aroma filled my nose. I turned to face Marianne and raised a brow. "You made something?"
Her face broke into a smile as she nodded. "Yep, I made your favorite, pancakes, since you were asking for it in the morning, but I couldn't make it on time." My heart skipped a beat at the sound of pancakes, which was meant to be completely odd, but I knew exactly what the reason was.
"Pancakes at this time of the hour? Are you okay, Mari?" I asked, amused as my eyes twinkled.
She fake frowned, keeping her hands on her hips. "I don't care if pancakes are your stupid colazione, if you have a craving, I'll fulfill it any time of the day!" She said, making her point, as I chuckled softly.
I stood in front of her and kissed her forehead. "Thank you, zietta. I'll freshen up and come eat, yeah? We can eat together while watching your favorite Italian soap opera you're always swooning about." I said, with a grin on my face. Her face lit up even more as she started pushing me towards my room.
"Then, go! Why are you wasting time?" She complained, as I only laughed walking into my room.
Damn right, I craved pancakes. Every fucking day, in every fucking way.
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Present Day
I grabbed my phone out of my pocket and sent her a quick text. How I got her number? Eva can be proven to be useful in many circumstances. I bet Amber has no clue about it.
Just as I sent the text, an overpowering scent of perfume caught my nose from beside me. I turned to see a redhead batting her lashes at me with a huge smile on her face.
"Hi, Ace!" She said, her voice obnoxiously cheery. This is very cliché.
"Hi, Bethany," I said, assuming that was her name before turning my gaze back to Amber. I heard the girl beside me scoff.
"It's Olivia, not Bethany." She sneered, offended I got her name wrong. I didn't even remember her name to begin with. I brought a thumbs up to her face to let her know, while telling her I didn't give a shit, that I acknowledged that well.
"Anyways, I wanted to ask if you were free today." She asked casually, as if we'd been friends for years. I turned to her and raised a brow, uninterested. She only looked at me, feigning innocence as she brought her lip gloss to her lips. What's with girls and needing to touch up their lips every time?
I didn't give her the satisfaction of answering her question and instead focused on my phone, hoping Amber would text back. She saw it.
"I'm talking to you, Ace." The redhead beside me almost screamed into my eyes.
"I'm aware," I said, starting to get annoyed. I'm waiting for her to take the hint of how uninterested I am in entertaining her conversation.
The girl sighs and places a hand on my shoulder. It took me less than a second to flinch and grab her wrist and look at her with nothing not annoyance depicted on my face.
"Put your hands anywhere on me again and it won't be good, hm?" I said before harshly letting go of her hand, seeing her shaken up. I internally scoffed, she was nothing like Amber.
"Olivia, Bethany, whatever your name is, grow up. This is university, not high school. Cover yourself up if you want people to take you seriously." I continued, seeing her seem taken aback. She huffed and walked away, while I shook my head, almost feeling bad for that girl.
I looked back in front, only to see Amber leaving the library. I groaned, annoyed that I couldn't see her annoyed and agitated. I would've, had it not been for the redhead that just showed up out of nowhere.
My thoughts were interrupted by a buzz coming from my phone. I opened it and a smile broke on my face, stifling my laughter. I looked up to see Amber completely gone. I looked down at the text again.
Pancake: I know it was you, asshole.
Guess my Pancake's not so dense after all.
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Amber
Unknown: How's partner hunting going, sweetheart?
I stared at the message I received not a minute ago, anger creeping up on me. It didn't take an illiterate to know who'd sent that text. Seeing his smug face across the library and the text that sat on my phone only made me feel angrier.
I don't know what the deal with him was. He had no right to sabotage my options the way he did. How did they even listen? Was he that influential? I wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of telling him off. I looked up from my phone and saw a sight I wasn't quite expecting.
He was holding the wrist of a redhead, staring at her with.. distaste? He confuses me. His attention wasn't on me now. But oddly enough, an unfamiliar feeling set in my chest and I pushed it away and deep before I let it evolve. I began walking out of the library, not liking the feeling I was getting. As I left, I typed out a text, replying to Ace's message, satisfied with it for now.
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I stopped by the coffee machines that sat in a few random hallways and set a cup to make coffee for me and Eva. We haven't been able to properly go out together, and we were planning to do so very soon. There was so much I needed to tell her.
I held one of the filled cups and began making another one before a voice spoke up from behind me.
"Coffee?" The voice spoke. I jumped, almost completely spilling the cup in my hand. I set it down before anything got worse.
"Jesus, Ace. Do you want me to get third-degree burns or something?" I screeched, not happy with his presence. I grabbed a tissue and wiped my hand from the drops of coffee that spilled.
"I wasn't even that startling. Stop overreacting, Pancake." He said nonchalantly before I faced the coffee machine again and internally took a deep breath.
"It was wrong what you did. I get your ego is sky-high and you don't like losing a challenge because it'll hurt your pride-" I noticed he was about to speak up, interrupting me, but I placed a finger in front of his face, stopping him. "No. Shut it. No words at all. You listen to what I have to say." I scolded harshly, frowning and he shut his mouth. I continued. "You wouldn't like it if I did the same to you, would you? I know you hate me, but you stopping me from fairly finding another partner was absolutely so fucking uncalled for." Just as I placed the cup down, he grabbed my wrist and turned me around to face him, my heart jumping to my throat.
"I don't hate you, little one. You make far too many assumptions, and as I said," He said in a low tone, now bringing himself close to my ears, "it won't do you any good." He finished, now moving his face to mine. "If you're done speaking, are you finally ready to be my partner?" That seemed to break me out of my sudden shock, my heart still beating rapidly. I yanked my wrist away from his grip and frowned.
"You're intolerable."
"Sure."
"Insufferable."
"Totally."
"How do people even deal with someone like you?"
He shrugged. The fucker shrugged. I closed my eyes for a moment before opening them again, rubbing my temples, and looking at him. My grades were important to me, partner or not, and he knew that, and he also knew I was cornered. Why was he so hell-bent on this? Why won't he take the hint?
"If we're going to partner up, we do it on my terms," I spoke up sternly, my gaze burning into his eyes while my arms were crossed. If he was still going to be a little brat, I was going to lose it, and bribe my professor, if that's what it came to. I stood tall, waiting for his response.
He put both his arms up in surrender. "You're the boss, sweetheart," He smiled triumphantly, thinking he won. I rolled my eyes and grabbed the cup, ready to leave and glad that was out of the way. "Don't call me that," I said, knowing he wouldn't care. As I began walking away, I looked back once and saw him not making an effort to follow me. Good riddance.
"We'll meet on Saturday in Costa. I'm busy tomorrow. Please don't show me your face till then," I mentioned, only then did I notice his face fall a bit, his smile faltering. I walked away, not giving him a chance to object nor giving me a chance to analyze what that was for.
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"So, yeah. That's what's been 'entertaining' me these past days," I spoke, as Eva and I walked hand in hand through the Conservatory water near Central Park. It wasn't dark yet, and the weather was quite pleasant.
"Wow, I leave you for only barely a day, and you've gone behind my back and hooked up with Ace?" She quipped and I elbowed her, my eyes widening while she winced. Good.
"Say that again and it'll be worse than my elbow," I said playfully, taking a sip off the straw of the drink I held in my hand.
"Okay, okay! I was kidding. It's just bewildering to hear you both are gonna work together," she shrugged, and I shook my head.
"You forgot he left me no choice. That fucker knew I cared about my grades too much."
"It's not a big deal anyway. Just try not to kill each other and you're fine," Eva sheepishly grinned, staring at me, as if she knew that was going to hard for me. I sighed.
"Forget about that. Tell me about that cute guy you were swooning over the other day," I asked, needing a change of subject, but also interested in who she found that could make her happy. She knew who I was talking about because her eyes twinkled.
"I got his name!" She said so excitedly, I couldn't help but chuckle.
"Are you going to tell me?"
"Yep. His name's Devon," She beamed, but it made me widen my eyes.
"Devon Kennedy?" I asked, a brow raised, and she nodded her head.
"You know him?" She asked back, and I smiled.
"I ran across him on Wednesday in the library," I nudged her, "he's perfect for you. I see why you like him." I winked at her and she smiled, now blushing. I don't know how long we walked but I stopped when I felt Eva stop in her tracks, her face now in shock. I looked in front of me to see a very familiar person.
"Eva?"
My brother, Tyler, muttered, his eyes widening. I looked at both of them, staring into each other's eyes, I suddenly felt like a third wheel. For the longest time since their breakup, I tried to keep them away, in hopes of getting both of them to move on. But this reunion was NOT what I was expecting.
Well, shit.