Chapter 6
The next morning of class, I sat in my usual spot- second row behind the first, far left to the window. As I waited for the late bell to ring, I couldn’t help but glance up at the door every so often. I would be deemed as a liar if I told you that I wasn’t waiting for a certain someone to show up to class, for once. Just ten seconds before Mr. Richter would close the classroom door and start his lesson, a familiar figure stepped into the classroom, eyes locking with mine. A small smile emerged on my lips as Jace tossed his book bag down on his desk, sliding into the empty seat beside me.
“Jace Wasson, finally decided to show up to class, huh?” Mr. Richter commented, sounding almost sarcastic.
Jace exhaled a deep breath, effortlessly sulking in his seat. “You know, I could just head back out now if you’d want me to.”
Mr. Richter stared down Jace momentarily before choosing the right decision and ignoring him. “Okay everybody, please take out last night’s homework and pass it up to the first person in your row.”
My folder was already out and open on my desk, so I wasted no time in flipping through my papers, taking out my calculus homework. My eyes narrowed over to my right, where Jace was seated. I watched as he pulled up a crumpled sheet of paper from his notebook, handing it to the person in front of him. Leaning over, I quickly asked, “You did your homework?”
Jace smirked, leaning closer as his lips brushed against my ear. I stiffened at the touch, feeling Jace’s lips tickle my skin as he spoke. “Don’t sound too surprised.” He whispered. “But since I’ve done everything you wanted me to, you do realize this means that you have to spend more time with me now, right?”
I instantly pulled away from Jace, shooting him a glare. “How could I forget?” I muttered, crossing my arms over my chest, trying to disguise how warm he uneasy he suddenly made me feel.
“You make it sound like spending more time with me is a bad thing, while you couldn’t stop saying how last night was the most fun you’ve had in a long time.” Jace continued to tease me.
“I only said that because you were the one who asked!” I sputtered, shooting him a glare. I let out a huff of air, crossing my arms over my chest stubbornly. “You know what? Forget it.”
Jace smirked, leaning over to brush the loose strand of hair that had fallen over my eyes behind my ears. “Don’t be upset, Everly.” There was a light tug on the corner of his lips as he spoke again. “You know, you should sit with Ryan and I at lunch today, with your blonde friend, of course.”
I turned to Jace with a frown, blinking. Everyone knew that no one ever sat with Jace and Ryan, unless they were Ryan’s fling of the week. Other than that, Jace and Ryan’s table was strictly off limits. “What?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. “Are you planning to pour a glass of milk over my head, is that why?”
Jace snorted, rolling his eyes. “You know, I’m beginning to get the impression that you don’t trust me very much.”
I gasped, clamping a hand over my mouth sarcastically. “No!” I said tauntingly. “What gave you that sick minded, twisted idea?”
Jace narrowed his eyes at me sharply, a smug look appearing on his stupid face. “Whatever, princess.” He yawned, leaning back in his seat nonchalantly. “I’ll be expecting you and your friend at lunch today, anyways.”
Later that morning, I spotted Julianne by my locker, where she met me every day before lunch. The class she had before our lunch period was a lot closer to my locker, so she was always there before I was. Julianne grinned when she saw me, holding up a brown paper bag in her left hand. “Guess who has waffles for lunch today?”
I laughed, rolling my eyes as I shoved my books into my locker. “You?”
Julianne beamed, nodding eagerly. Because Julianne’s mother owned a waffle house a town away from where we lived, Julianne frequently brought waffles to school for lunch. “Yes!” she smiled. “And, my mother made them with chocolate chips inside and added strawberries and whipped cream.”
My mouth watered at the thought as I let out a groan. “Ugh, lucky.” I muttered, closing the door of my locker. “All I have is half of a peanut butter sandwich, crammed at the bottom of my bag.”
Julianne twirled a lock of her blonde hair, grinning. “Well, Everly Winter, you’re in luck, because your best friend is willing to share!”
I bit my lower lip, walking down the school corridor towards the lunch room. Even from my locker, I could smell today’s disgusting meat loaf coming from the cafeteria. “Well, I hope you’re willing to share with two other people.” I said quietly, hoping that Julianne wouldn’t catch on.
Immediately, Julianne turned her blonde head around, facing me with a confused frown. “What?” she asked. “Everly, what are you talking about? We never sit with anyone else at lunch.”
I cleared my throat, nodding. “I know,” I paused, “but Jace might’ve asked if we wanted to sit with him and Ryan at lunch today.”
Julianne’s frown quickly morphed into a wide grin as a chuckle escaped her lips. “Oh, I see what this is about.” She teased poking my shoulder, stopping in front of the doors that led to the cafeteria. “I don’t mind you sitting with Jace Wasson today.”
“What are you talking about?” I rolled my eyes, grabbing Julianne’s arm. “If I’m going, you’re coming with me, too. He invited you, as well.”
“Highly doubtful,” Julianne started off, “but I’m warning you right now, I don’t like third wheeling.”
I elbowed her gently, making Julianne shut up. Jace and Ryan didn’t even notice our presence until we stopped at the head of their lunch table when I cleared my throat obnoxiously. Jace was the first to look up, his eyes enlightening in amusement. “You came.”
“Don’t sound too flattered.” I mocked, trying to wipe that egoistic smirk off his stupid face.
I glanced over at Julianne, noticing that she had been quiet since we’ve gotten here. When I observed closely, I noticed that she and Ryan were having a long stare off, almost as if the two of them were lost in each other’s gaze. Jace must’ve caught on, as well, because he gave Ryan a light punch, making him snap back into reality. “Dude,” Jace hissed, “stop eye fucking some girl you just met.”
Julianne’s cheeks immediately turned bright, her entire face turning red. She looked away from Ryan immediately as he sputtered. “W-What?” Ryan hesitated. This was the first time I’ve seen Ryan Leighton looking nervous. He was one of those guys who had girls falling over his feet- just like Jace. But unlike Jace, Ryan didn’t reject every girl that flirted with him. “I was not eye fucking her!” he quickly turned to Julianne, a shy smile on his face. “I wasn’t eye fucking you.”
Julianne gave him back a small smile, nodding slowly. “Right,” she said quietly, “I wouldn’t expect you to, anyways.” With those words, I saw Ryan’s face falling immediately, a look of regret flashing through his eyes. His lips parted, but before he got to say anything, Julianne broke the tension, holding her hand out. “I’m Julianne, by the way.”
Ryan seemed surprised by her profound confidence, just as I was. “I-I’m Ryan.” Ryan quickly recovered himself, giving Julianne one of his famous, toothy grins.
“Okay, since everyone here knows each other now,” I paused, taking a seat, “there’s some strawberry waffles waiting to be eaten by me.”
*
“Lunch wasn’t so bad today.” Jace mentioned later that afternoon in the library, where we met up for our daily tutoring sessions. We were an hour into studying, and I was pleasantly surprised that Jace actually cooperating today. “You and Julianne should sit with us more often.”
I laughed, correcting the problems that I’d given Jace to do. “Why?” I asked. “Are you trying to be a good friend by hooking Ryan up with Julianne?”
Jace snorted, rolling his eyes. “What are you saying?”
I lifted my head up from his paper, raising an eyebrow. “Oh please, don’t tell me that you didn’t see the unspoken chemistry between your best friend and my best friend.”
“I’m not talking about this stuff with you, Everly.” Jace chuckled. “I feel like a girl even talking about relationships in general.”
I rolled my eyes, sticking my tongue out playfully. “Oh, suck it up Jace.” I finished marking off the last problem Jace did, writing his final score on the top and circling it with my red pen. I handed his paper back to him, a smile on my face. “Not bad, eight out of ten. I see improvement here.”
Jace had a slight smirk on his face, glancing up at me from his paper. “Maybe it’s because I have a really good tutor.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, freezing all movement. I blinked, shaking my head with disbelief. I let out a bitter laugh before retorting, “You don’t mean that.”
“And what if I do?” Jace challenged.
“Then take it back.” I snapped.
Jace laughed, shaking his head as strands of his dark hair fell over his forehead. “You really do have issues accepting compliments, don’t you?” he asked. “What is this, the second time you’ve rejected a compliment from me?”
I decided to ignore him, glancing up at the clock that hung over the wall above me. There was approximately fifteen minutes to five, which is when the school library would be closing. I gathered all my stuff, shoving it in my bag. “Well, we’re done for today.” I said, getting up from my seat. “The library is closing in fifteen minutes.”
Jace nodded, getting up to leave the library with me. We waved the old librarian goodbye before heading out to the parking lot, where I would have to walk home from there. “Do you have a ride home?” Jace asked me, stopping at his car.
I shook my head, “I walk.”
Jace stared at me momentarily before gesturing towards his car with his hands. “Get in.”
“Are you sure?” I asked. “You don’t have to be nice to me all of the sudden because I’m your tutor.”
“Oh God, do you ever stop talking?” Jace asked me, already in his car, starting up the engine. “Get in, princess.”
I hesitated before sliding into the empty seat next to Jace’s, watching as he twisted his car keys, igniting the engine of his car. As we pulled out of the school’s parking lot, I couldn’t help but notice the silent tension that was built up against us two. I cleared my throat awkwardly, turning my head slightly to face him. “So, what do your parents do for a living?” I asked, watching as Jace gave me a confused stare from the corner of his eyes. “It’s just your family seems loaded, assuming from what I saw at your house. Oh, and your car isn’t too bad, either.”
Jace chuckled, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel. “If I said that my parents were loaded, would you try to get in my boxers?” My face immediately flushed, a mortified expression making its way onto my face. Using the back of my hand, I smacked Jace across the arm. Jace flinched away from me, holding back a grin. “Has anyone ever told you not to distract someone while they’re driving? It’s very dangerous, you know.”
“Y-You’re,” I paused, lost for words, “unbelievable!”
Jace laughed, obviously humored by my intense reaction to his ‘joke’. “I was just kidding, no need to get your panties in a twist.”
I gasped, again, glaring at him with such hatred in my eyes. I turned away from him, crossing my arms stubbornly as I focused on the view from my side of the window. I dug my nails into my palm, knowing that Jace Wasson will be the ultimate death of me.
“Did I make little Everly Winter mad?” Jace continued to tease.
Yes, I was going to control myself. I was going to ignore Jace Wasson until he got on his knees and begged for my apology. From my book bag, I grabbed my headphones from the side pocket, plugging it into my phone. I turned my music up- obnoxiously loud just to block out Jace’s stupid voice. After a few attempts of trying to get my attention, Jace finally gave up and left me alone.
When the car came to a sudden halt, I assumed that Jace had stopped in front of my house. But, when I peered up to look outside, I saw that we weren’t anywhere near my house. In fact, I was almost a hundred percent sure that we were in the next town over- in front of a fast food diner.
I whipped my head around, glaring at Jace as he unbuckled his seatbelt, killing off the engine. “What the hell, Jace?” I snapped. “I told you to bring me home!”
“Relax. I’ll bring you home eventually.” Jace assured, rolling his eyes at my melodramatic reaction. “Can’t we just make a pit stop for some food? I’m starving.”
Jace got out of his car as I reluctantly followed him, trailing behind him. “Couldn’t you just go to McDonald’s or something?” I groaned. “Why did you have to drag me along to another town just to get a burger and some fries?”
We walked inside the diner, a whiff of deliciousness entering my nostrils. I tried to hide the fact that I was pretty hungry myself, my stomach rumbling and all. “Wait until you try some of their fries, then ask me again why I didn’t bring you to McDonald’s.”
I shot him a look while a waitress came and offered us a seat at one of the booths near the window. “This better be worth it.” I cursed under my breath, picking up one of the two menus that were settled down for us.
“Can I start you guys off with something to drink?” The waitress asked, pulling out her notepad and pen.
“We’ll both have a cookies and cream milkshake, please.” Jace answered before I got to.
The waitress nodded, quickly jotting it down on her notepad before walking off to make out milkshakes. I turned to Jace, raising an eyebrow. “Who said I wanted a milkshake?” I snapped. “What if I wanted something else?”
“You said this better be worth it, right?” Jace asked, barely paying any attention to me as his eyes scanned the menu below him. “Drink the milkshake and it’ll be more than worth it.”
I pursed my lips, huffing. After looking over the menu at least two times, the waitress came back with two tall glasses of milkshakes in her hands, placing one each in front of Jace and I. “Are you guys ready to order now or do you need a few more minutes?”
“I’ll have an order of your cheese fries and a strawberry cheesecake.” I said, closing my menu.
The waitress nodded, turning to Jace after I finished telling her what I wanted. “I’ll take a bacon burger and cheese fries, thanks.”
“I’ll be back with your orders in ten minutes.” The waitress said, picking up our menus and heading back into the kitchen with our orders.
After she left, Jace and I sat in an uncomfortable silence for the longest time. I kept my gaze focused on the salt and pepper shakers far off to the edge of the table while Jace tapped his fingers on the table continuously. Jace must’ve gotten fed up after approximately two minutes, because he was the one who decided to break the tension and speak. “To answer your question earlier,” Jace started off, “my parents own a chain of hotels across the country. That’s why our family has never had any financial issues. But the downside is that they’re never home, especially now since they want to expand their company and go international.”
I looked up after Jace finished speaking, surprise clearly written on my face. Was he actually telling me about his personal life? For a second there, I was almost fully convinced that Jace Wasson would never let me in on his life. I thought if I even took one step closer to him, he would push me back five. “Wow,” Was the first word that escaped my mouth; pathetic, I know. I’ve never had my parents gone from the house for more than a few days, so it wasn’t like I knew the situation that Jace was in, “do you miss them?”
Jace laughed weakly, rubbing the back of his neck with his palm. “This is going to make me sound like a girl but yeah, sometimes.” He paused. “I’ve gotten used to it, though. They’ve been leaving every now and then for a few years now.”
“There’s no problem in missing your parents, you know.” I reminded him.
Jace looked up to me, staring at me for the longest time before nodding. “I know.”