Aaron's POV
"You may have conveniently forgotten to mention that you were dating again", Keon says in his British accent as he catches up with me after lunch, and I shrug, half dismissively, half apologetically.
Keon is my closest friend, and pretty much the only person I would trust with my life. We've known each other since we were in grade school, and we were nerds together, spending our evenings discussing chemistry problems and whatnot. He'd gone to England for six years, but we still kept in touch. Even when I joined the football team, we never grew apart, and I was even able to convince a lot of the jocks to stop bullying him. He and Quinn are like the family I never had.
He smoothed his dirty blond hair through his fingers and adjusted the thick glasses which were firmly placed on his nose. Unlike me, he actually needed his glasses to see.
"Are you angry at me?", I ask, because he looks a bit pissed.
He seems to consider the question for a while, then he shakes his head. "I know things have been hard with your parents and football and... Alicia. So I am considering your recent hardships and giving you a pass."
I give a small breath of relief, but he isn't done.
"Isn't Kayla one of the rule breakers though? I thought she and some guy on your team were dating."
"They were, but he cheated on her, and now she is with me", the lie slips easily off my tongue.
"So, technically speaking, you're more of a rebound than a potential boyfriend yeah?"
Maybe it's the way that he said it in his judgmental British accent, but I don't like his choice of words.
"I'm not a rebound ok? I'm genuinely dating this girl. Maybe I do have feelings for her"
I nearly gag as I say the words, but I can't bring myself to tell him that I am only dating her to get Alicia back. That would sound low, desperate and slightly psychotic. Also, Keon never really liked Alicia, always calling her a stuck up snob, and he would not be pleased that I'm doing all this to get her back. I know that he'll eventually adjust to her though, if only for my sake.
His voice brings me back to the present.
"Sorry, I zoned out. What did you say?"
"I was just saying that you should not allow Kayla ruin you and all that. You're not permitted to skip classes or get any of those deplorable marks of ink called detention slips. You know how your parents are."
Yeah, I do. They'd probably kick me out of the house if they heard of me skipping classes.
"Don't worry.", I say bumping his shoulder. "I don't intend to lose my star personality."
"Star personality? I beg to differ. Anyway, when do I get introduced to her?"
Good question. At the moment, I have no idea where Kayla is. As soon as lunch ended, she grabbed her bag and took off with Steph. Something about a birthday celebration.
I am about to reply when we round the corner to the classroom, we bump into a group of giggling girls. I smell familiar perfume, and I don't even need to look up before I know that Alicia is one of them.
"Excuse us ladies", I say while Keon just remains blank and unapologizing. He doesn't talk much around girls, especially the elites – they were responsible for a lot of bullying that came our way when we were still under the popularity radar and he doesn't forgive as easily as I do.
Alicia looks up at me, her soft brown eyes locking onto mine.
"Hi", she says to me.
"Hi"
The other girls start laughing, then pushing each other as they scramble away. Keon raises a blond eyebrow at me, but he too disappears.
And then it's just both of us in the hallway.
"You look nice. I guess you've been working out for the football season", she says, a faint smile on her lips.
"Thanks", I sniff.
"It's been a while."
"That's not my fault"
She stares down at the ground, the faintest red staining her cheeks. "You're right. I guess you've been busy with your new...girlfriend."
A part of me wants to run to her, scoop her into my arms and tell her that there is no girlfriend, that she is the only girl I would ever want.
And another part of me tells me that if I give in too easily, in less than a month, I'll be single again and pining for her.
So for both of her sakes, I need to play the long term game.
"So what if I do?", my tone is nonchalant
"Kayla Barnes? The girl who put earthworms in your pencil case when we were in grade school? The girl who breaks all the rules and skips every class? She is your exact opposite, and you hate her and besides she's so common and cheap."
I figure I may as well start playing the role of the protective boyfriend.
"Alicia, I will not stand here and let you insult my girlfriend. Show some respect."
She looks at me a stunned and slightly wounded expression on her face.
"I... I just didn't expect you to move on so fast"
Of course she didn't. She is the best option... heck the only option for me and she knows it. That is why she is shocked.
"Well, I have."
She looks up and down the hallway to make sure that we are alone, then sidles up to me, her arms round my neck. I am encased in the aroma of her expensive lavender perfume and the feel of her silky hair as I thread it through my fingers.
"I can tell that you still want me Aaron", she says, her tone sultry. "Why are you with another girl when you know that it is me you want?"
It takes every ounce of control not to grab her and kiss her, but I succeed. I untangle her hands from my neck and push her gently away.
"You may have a rich dad and get whatever you want, but that doesn't mean that everyone wants you Alicia."
She gasps sharply, like it she has been punched in the gut.
"I have to go to class now. I am already late."
I turn and walk away from her, intent on getting to the classroom, but I hear someone singing and I stop. The sound is coming from the arts lab. Vaguely, I wonder if Miss Peach, the arts teacher has recently started taking singing classes. I peek into the door, and I see, not Miss Peach, but Kayla. She has her headphones on (headphones are against the rules), and she is humming. But that isn't what captures my attention.
Her fingers are tightly wrapped around a paintbrush, and, in time with the beat, she adds strokes to the canvas in front of her. The painting seems to be a mix of blues, reds and greens, all forming into one cohesive image. She looks so calm, so serene, and I don't think that I've ever seen anyone look so at peace.
I walk in, expecting her not to notice me, but she instantly stops humming, taking off her headphones and dropping her paintbrush.
"You know you're not allowed to have those in school right?", I ask as she turns around to glare at me.
"Yes and?"
I fold my arms, making my face stern and strict and she rolls her eyes.
"Get used to it rulebook. I don't operate by the school rules, and you're going to learn a lot about that within the next two months"
I shake my head in frustration. "You're at school. The least you could do is obey the rules for the short period of time that you're here."
She waves her paint-stained hand dismissively. "Was there a reason you came here?"
"Yes actually. I just saw Alicia. She believes we're dating"
I examine Kayla's face for even the tiniest scrap of emotion but she just looks... bored.
"Of course she believes we're dating", she rolls here eyes. "We didn't kiss in a cupboard - the whole school probably knows all the details by now"
"You know you could do well to take this a bit more enthusiastically. I'm not happy about the situation either"
"Well you sure do know how to make a girl feel special", Kayla says mildly. "You ever considered that this might have been why your darling girlfriend broke up with you"
I frown, then shake my head. Kayla has no idea what she is talking about. I'm a perfect gentleman around ladies, it's just that some girls don't fit that description.
"I just want this to succeed okay? The faster it works, the faster I get out of your hair"
"You think I don't want this to work?", Kayla snaps, shocking me. I didn't know she would be so frustrated. She notices my shock and groans, rubbing her forehead. "Look I didn't plan to suddenly be involved in a fake dating pact okay", she mutters. "I just wanted to enjoy my birthday, not find out that my boyfriend is cheating on me and end up fake dating his worst enemy"
Wait today was her birthday?
"I'm sorry your birthday isn't going well", I shuffle awkwardly, but she shrugs.
"Better I found out about him today than any other. Sort of like a birthday gift in a way". She gives a wry smile and I return it.
For a moment, there is an uncomfortable silence between us, and I don't know what to say. I never thought I would feel sympathy for Kayla.
But then she immediately has to go and ruin it.
"I guess you aren't used to interesting stuff happening in your life", she scoffs, crossing her legs.
"Tons of interesting stuff happens in my life", I scowl. "I don't have to break rules to have a good time"
"Says the guy who admitted to translating books in his spare time", she retorts.
"At least I don't pull childish pranks", I shoot back.
"Oh please are you still mad about the earthworms? That was years ago"
"And when you snuck a skunk into the boys locker room?"
"That was last week, and besides, you have no proof that it was me. It could have been anyone"
"No one else is cunning or daring enough to play such elaborate pranks", I realize what I've said only after it has come out.
Kayla grins at me.
"So you think I'm cunning and daring huh?", Kayla asks, with a lopsided smile. "Nice to have such big words of praise from the king of rules"
"They weren't words of praise. It was a rebuke"
"Didn't sound like one to me", she fishes out some gum from her pocket and puts it in her mouth, chewing slowly before she continues speaking. "You called me cunning. That means you think I'm smart. And calling me dating means you think I'm brave. So technically, you called me a knight in shining armor."
"I did not call you a knight in shining armor." I huff out angrily.
"Whatever you say princess"
I glare at her laughing infuriating face. "Do NOT call me princess"
"You're right, rulebook fits you much better", she picks up her paintbrush and continues to decorate the paper in front of her.
"Don't you have somewhere to be?", she asks. "This fake dating thing doesn't mean you have to be glued to my hip you know"
"I just wanted to tell you that we need to take this fake dating thing to the next level". I go over the carefully concocted plan I came up with after talking with Alicia, and she listens, eyes wide.
"That sounds a bit extreme", she says.
"Scared?", I tease. I have long since ;earned that the way to get Kayla to do something is to turn it into a dare.
"Of course I'm not. When'll we do it"
"Friday", I say with certainty.
"Okay. Friday. It's a date. Now can you be a gentleman and leave me till I have to deal with you again?"
I understand her annoyance. Being with someone whose behavior is so opposite to mine is really taking its toll. She puts her headphones back on and grabs her paintbrush, and I get the meaning.
Quietly, I tiptoe away determined not to disturb her work though I should probably remind her that headphones are against the rules. She needs to understand that when I am her 'boyfriend', she isn't allowed to break any rules. I'll inform her. Later.
My mind turns back to Alicia as I enter the library for the personal study period I have with Keon. I try to focus on reading, but I cannot help the secret smile that occasionally covers me like a ray of sunlight.
In a month or two, I'll have Alicia back