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Excuse the mistakes
Picture of Triss on the side
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I felt like everyone knew about me and Parker.
Here I was, sitting in the Grouch twenty-five minutes before homeroom, and as my eyes flickered from clique to clique in the parking lot, I felt exposed. Parker and I set the terms of our fake relationship as acting like a couple in front of my parents, and yet, I felt like people at school knew.
This was ridiculous, seeing as the only person who knew, other than me and Parker, was Zephyr, who swore not to tell Vance unless I said it was okay. I’d even made her pinky swear on not telling anyone, even though she and I didn’t go to the same school.
If it wasn’t obvious, I tended to blow things out of proportion.
After another minute, I let out a deep breath and grabbed my backpack from the passenger seat. I climbed out of the car and locked it behind me, and then I started walking towards the school. I waved to Gage and Lissie, who were hanging out with some of the more theater-oriented kids.
As I neared the school, I caught sight of a blonde head that I recognized instantly. “Maya!” I called, hoping that her whole angry period about me going to the party was over. Sure enough, Maya turned around and waved at me. She had her normal smile, so I was feeling a lot better now that she didn’t seem mad at me.
However, just as we started walking towards each other, someone grabbed my arm and swung me around. Before I could do anything, someone’s lips were pressed firmly against mine. The kiss only lasted the few seconds it took for me to fully process what was going on and shove away from whoever was kissing me.
“Hey, babe,” Parker said, and he had this look in his eye that was practically begging for me to go along with this.
“Hi there,” I said slowly, returning his look with one of my own, which pretty much screamed I swear to God, you are going to explain this to me or I am going to cut off your lips and staple them to the back of your neck!
Before I could deal with Parker’s sudden crazy streak, however, I turned around to look for Maya. She was nowhere to be seen, and I frowned, since I’d just seen her. After taking a few seconds more to search for Maya, I gave up.
Now, I could focus on Parker.
I turned around slowly, since I was trying to contain my stereotypical, redhead’s temper. Parker had a boyish, innocent grin on his face, and that only made me angrier. I started to say something, but Parker quickly cut me off with yet another kiss. When I started to protest and smack at his chest, Parker pulled away.
Without a single word, Parker grabbed me by my wrist and pulled me back behind a black Escalade. He put his hands on either side of my arms, which, from the outside, looked like a conversation between a couple. However, on the inside, I was royally pissed off, and Parker had some explaining to do.
“What the hell, Parker?” I hissed, smacking him on the chest. “Why did you just kiss me? You’re only supposed to be my fake boyfriend around my mom!”
“Yeah, about that,” Parker said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, “We’re going to have to change to the terms of our agreement.”
“To what?” I asked incredulously, completely taken off guard. However, before Parker could explain what he was talking about, someone cleared her throat very loudly and very close. I looked to the side to find Triss standing next to the bumper of the Escalade.
“Can I help you?” I snapped. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with the drama between Triss and Parker, and I could just tell Triss was about to go nuts. Usually, seeing a petite girl having a tantrum was amusing, but not today.
Instead of focusing her attention on me, Triss turned her glare to Parker. “So, this is the little slut you’re going out with now?”
Oh.
Oh, no. This little slut was not in the mood for this shit.
“Excuse me?” I demanded, shoving out of Parker’s arms. “Did you really just call me a slut?”
“You have ears,” Triss replied, crossing her arms over her chest and turning her surgically altered nose up in the air, “You heard me, bitch.”
“Oh, hell no,” I growled, taking three steps towards her. I towered over Triss, and for a moment, she looked genuinely scared. “You call me a nasty name again, and I will seriously make you regret it.”
“Really?” Triss asked, and I could tell she was trying not to let the fact that I was intimidating her show on her face.
“Really.”
I didn’t say another word to her, and after a moment of locked glares, Triss blinked and took a step back. She looked over my shoulder at Parker and said, “You sure know how to pick them, Hunt. Just know, she’ll never compare to me.”
“She doesn’t need to, Triss,” said Parker, and I was a little surprised at his response. It sounded honest and genuine, and I let myself feel the compliment.
Triss’s mouth dropped open, and her eyes bulged out of her head like a fish. My guess was that nobody had ever told her that, basically, someone else was better than her. Triss started to say something back, but she was so flustered that she just turned and hurried away.
My small, victorious smile was short-lived as I realized something.
“Hang on a second,” I said slowly, turning around to face Parker, “Why does Triss think we’re dating?”
“Um,” Parker replied, taking a step back from me, “I told her we were.”
“You what?” I yelled, probably louder than I should have. “Parker, why the hell did you do that?”
“Because she won’t leave me alone,” Parker said, shrugging like this was no big deal. “Triss has been hounding me to get back together since I broke up with her, and I figured if I was going out with someone, she’d stop bothering me.”
“But what about me?” I asked, “What if I don’t want to be your girlfriend in school?”
“You scratch my back, Reed, and I’ll scratch yours,” Parker replied. Unfortunately, he made a very good point.
I sighed, and crossed my arms over my chest. “So,” I said “What are our new terms, then?”
“Well,” Parker breathed, shoving his hands into the front pockets of his jeans, “We’re going to have to act like we’re in a relationship around school and wherever we might see Triss, as well as at your house for your mom.”
“So, pretty much all the time then?” I clarified, and after a moment of thinking, Parker nodded. “Fantastic,” I muttered, running a hand through my hair in frustration, “That’s real effing fantastic.”
I wrapped my hands around the straps of my backpack and sighed. “If you kiss me again without warning, Parker, I swear to God, I will be the craziest fake girlfriend you’ve ever had.”
“It’s a deal,” Parker said, sticking out his hand. After a moment’s hesitation, I shook it, and Parker’s trademark crooked smile returned. “May I accompany my fake girlfriend to her locker?”
“Fine,” I said, but I flinched instinctively when Parker wrapped his arm around my shoulder. We walked towards the school, and I tried to seem impassive as the stares of almost every girl turned and fixed on me.
I may have mentioned this earlier, but to the girls at my high school, Parker Hunt was like Ryan Gosling. Every single girl wanted to get with him, and they hated every girl who got to be with him. Now, I was one of those girls, and I wasn’t exactly sure I liked the venomous looks I was getting.
Parker held the door open for me, like a gentleman, and we started to make our way through the crowded hallways. There were fifteen minutes before homeroom started, and the hallways were noisy and filled with people gossiping and trying to get last night’s homework done before first period.
“I can manage from here,” I said as we reached my locker. “You should probably go to homeroom now.”
“I should,” Parker replied thoughtfully, and he shrugged. “But I won’t.”
“What is the point of skipping?” I asked, leaning against my locker with my arms folded loosely across my chest. “I mean, what are you doing to do? Teachers are probably out looking for you, and you’re just going to end up getting behind in your classes. It’s really dumb!”
From the look on Parker’s face, I realized my voice had gotten louder and more intense. I felt the blood rush to my cheeks, which only made me even more embarrassed.
“Damn, Reed,” Parker said, his eyebrows arching up, “Remind me not to ever get in an argument with you.”
“Yeah, you’ll lose if that happens,” I replied, and a grin crept onto my face.
“I’m sure,” Parker replied sarcastically, and he leaned in close to me. “I’m going to kiss you now,” he whispered, but before I could reply, he’d already given me a quick peck on the lips. “See you later, Baby Mama,” Parker said, and he winked at me and started down the hallway.
After a moment of watching Parker’s receding back, I rolled my eyes and spun my combination into the lock on my locker. I heard the telltale click, and I then yanked open the door and started gathering the supplies I would need for my morning classes. I zipped up my backpack, slammed my locker shut, and let out a short, shrill scream.
Standing right behind where my locker door had just been, hidden from view until now, was Maya. Let me tell you, the girl didn’t look happy. To clarify, she looked angry enough to rip my face off and make a mask out of it.
“Hey, M,” I said carefully as I tried to figure out what I’d done. She had looked fine when I’d seen her outside the school.
“How could you not tell me that you and Parker Hunt are going out?” Maya demanded, bypassing any sort of greeting. She sounded genuinely hurt, and I felt guilt start to bubble up in my stomach.
“Maya, let me explain,” I said, and I paused as I searched for a way to accurately explain the relationship between me and Parker. “Well,” I said after a minute, "It kinda all just happened at the party Saturday night. Zephyr and I—”
“What?” Maya interrupted, her face turning red with anger, “that bitch knew before me?”
“That bitch is named Zephyr,” I replied, my eyes narrowing, “And she knows because she was there.”
“Well, maybe I would’ve gone to the party,” Maya replied, crossing her arms tightly over her chest, “I wanted to go.”
“I fucking told you that you could come!” I cried in frustration, and I threw my hands up in the air. “You just seem to have a massive issue with Zephyr that I don’t understand!”
“You know what I seem to have an issue with?” Maya replied hostilely, “I have an issue with you doing stuff that hurts me. First, you ditch me for Zephyr, and now, you’re dating Parker. I mean, what the hell, Reed? Aren’t we supposed to be best friends?”
Whoa.
Where did all of that come from?
“How does me dating Parker hurt you?” I asked curiously. Yes, I know I wasn’t actually dating him, but I wanted to know why Maya was freaking out about it.
“Because I have a crush on him, Reed!” Maya snapped, leaning towards me, “You knew that, too, which is the horrible part.”
“Maya, I can count the number of times you’ve talked to him on one hand,” I replied, suddenly sounding tired. Maya had a crush on Parker from afar, something she’d actually straight up told me. “And, when you did, it was barely a greeting. Besides, Parker and I—”
“Save it, Reed,” Maya commanded, and she actually put her hand up in my face. It honestly took all my will power not to slap it away. “You obviously aren’t as good a friend to me as I am to you. If you need a friend, go talk to that bitch, because I am closed for business.”
Without giving me a chance to speak, Maya turned on her heel, flicked her hair in my face, and stomped away, leaving me grasping for what had just happened.
“I don’t think that’s a good enough line to leave on!” I called meekly after her, but Maya didn’t even turn around. She disappeared around the nearest corner, leaving me alone and completely confused.
Was Maya seriously mad at me without even giving me a chance to explain? I mean, I was starting to tell her that Parker and I weren’t dating for real, and that no part of me actually wanted to date that him.
Suddenly, the homeroom bell rang, and I swore as I realized I was late. As I hurried through the hallway to get across the school to my homeroom, I found myself hoping that Maya wouldn’t be mad at me for long. She was my friend, and I wanted the chance to explain what was going on.
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PLEASE WATCH THE MUSIC VIDEO ON THE SIDE! It doesn't really have anything to do with this story, but the song is beautiful. I may hate debby ryan, but she doesn't sing on the song, and her acting is pretty damn good... I hate to admit it.
It's official. Parker and Reed are fake dating pretty much everywhere. Here's my question; what are your opinions on Maya? Do you think she's overreacting?
Also, this chapter is dedicated to chooseitwisely, because I love her stories :)
I'm watching Skyfall right now, and let me tell you, M is the ultimate bond girl... However, I do love Vesper a lot. Also, Javier Bardem is real fucking creepy in this movie... I LOVE IT!!! The subtle gay jokes in his first encounter with Bond is hilarious...
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