"So... How was it?" Kaia wiggled her eyebrows suggestively and I threw a rag at her over the counter.
"For the millionth time, nothing happened between us," I huffed, fuming. Bronte and Kaia shared a look which said that they didn't believe me at all.
Throughout the day people had been asking if Kit and I were a thing and I denied the rumors every time. The truth was that he rejected me. It stung every time I told someone that nothing was going on.
I'd discovered by first period that the whole female teenage population of Carlisle hated me. They saw me getting in the car with Nicolas the day before, and then I showed up and Kit's car wearing crumpled clothes and tired eyes the next morning.
They thought I was the girl meddling with the boys' friendship, the one who was hooking up with the two hottest guys in school. I managed to evade cruxification because Alec was my brother and that meant he was still available to the girls.
It didn't help that Nicolas and Kit supposedly got a tad aggressive in soccer practice that day, and everyone said they were fighting over me. I raised my eyebrows when Bronte told me the gossip, laughing so hard that my belly hurt. Two boys fighting over me? Please.
The rumor mill in Carlisle was unbelievable. Soccer training hadn't even finished yet and everyone knew about the boys' alleged dispute.
There were way too many people from school at the bohemian cafè that day, and they seemed to be staring at me extra-long. Whenever I made eye contact with someone, they adverted their eyes or take a sip of coffee. Groups of friends literally stared through the windows at me and then hurried off to whisper among themselves.
"What the hell? Don't they have anything better to do? This isn't normal."
"You've got to understand that the whole town's obsessed with Kit and Nicolas, especially the girls. And the obsession runs deep with Kit," Kaia sighed.
"This is bordering on psychotic. Haven't the girls seen them dating or kissing anyone before?"
"Yeah, my brother had a girlfriend last year. As for Kit... No, they've never seen him doing anything like that."
"What do you mean?"
"Kit doesn't date, he never has. And he definitely never appeared with a girl at school before."
"But we're friends!" I threw my hands up in frustration. "I'm friends with all of you! Can't they see that?"
"I guess they're acting this way because nobody really knows anything about you yet," Kaia threw me a sympathetic look.
If I knew it would be this bad, I would have never accepted a ride from either one of the boys. Walking to school from Olympus would have to do the next time..
Selene called my attention after following my gaze towards a group of whispering girls, "Don't pay attention to those bitches. They're just jealous. When I came out as bi everyone stared at me like I'd changed skin colours. You're going to be fine."
Her blood red lips curved into a deviant smile as she flipped her hair behind her. I gave her a small smile in return and she went back to her texting.
"Selene's right. You shouldn't worry about it," Bronte smiled as I nervously wiped the counter separating us one more time.
Iris emerged from the storage room and stopped beside me with a hand on her hip, "Is it me or are people gawking at you? It's good for business, don't get me wrong, but what's going on, Lux?"
I groaned and covered my face with my hands.
"Boy drama at school," Bronte answered matter-of-factly, and I turned beet red. Even my boss knew about the asbolute mess that was my life.
"Ah," Iris said with a knowing nod, "I see. If people continue popping up like this we better make some profit and charge every look they give you."
Iris winked and wondered off again, her various bracelets tinkling as she moved.
"Okay. I don't mean to make the situation worse than it actually is but it's better to just tell you..." Kaia rambled and leaned over the glass counter, "Basically the whole school - not only the girls - have strong feelings about you now."
Selene rolled her eyes at Kaia's attempt of being polite, "They hate you."
"Jesus Christ, what now?"
"Well. The girls hate you because you're supposedly dating Nick and Kit at the same time. The Lux-and-Nick rumors have been growing since yesterday and seriously, some things I've heard that my brother apparently did to you caused permanent damage to my brain," Kaia screwed her nose in disgust and continues. "And then it got worse today because the coach took the boys out of practice after the fight, and now everyone thinks that the star players aren't going to be able to play together, or play at all."
"But it wasn't my fault! I was forced to spend the night with him and he gave me a ride to school afterwards. That's it," I massaged my temples and thought of how to act from now on. It was oficially open season for me.
My face was propped up on my arms and my fingers massaged my forehead when the bell jingled and the noise in the coffee shop decreased to a mere whisper.
You've got to be fucking kidding me.
The whole soccer team including Alec, Lucas, Nick and Kit walked inside the already too crowded space. It was like everyone's heads looked from me to them and then back again in synch, and I could do nothing but stare at them approaching us.
"Hey!" Lucas grinned as they neared the counter, and all four of us girls stayed silent.
Neither one of us knew what to say or what to act with everyone staring at us, and the mood became sour. Luke's smile vanished.
"What's going on?" Alec asked, eyeing me suspiciously. My eyes flickered to Kit and then to Nicolas, then stayed trained on the ground. "Why is it so damn crowded in here?"
Nobody spoke for a few seconds, and then Bronte sighed in exasperation, "The whole school thinks that Lux is hooking up with those two and that the fight was over her. Now they're staring at us because there's nothing better to do in this town." she rolled her eyes and then continued, "What were you two fighting about, anyway?"
I tried gauging their reactions as Bronte talked. Nick stared at the ground while he listened, avoiding eye contact with everybody, and Kit's eyes grew dark and the muscle in his jaw ticked.
"Fighting over Lux?" Alec shook his head in disbelief, "Please. It was nothing like that. Practice was boring and they wanted to blow off some steam, right?"
Both boys were quiet, and the tension could have been cut by a knife. Then, finally, Nick cleared his throat.
"Yeah, that's right," he gave us all a large smile and shrugged. "Now, are you going to show us your barista skills or what?"
I laughed nervously and turned around, messing with the gigantic coffee machine, "Sure. What do you guys want?"
Everyone placed their orders and I busied myself with the drinks, thanking God that I didn't have to look at anyone's faces. Kit looked like Bronte had hit a nerve, and the tension in his jaw told me that he wasn't happy about whatever was going on.
I allowed my mind toy with the idea for a moment. Imagine if they really were fighting over me, just like in the movies and the stories... It was a completely archaic idea and against everything I believed in, but it would be nice knowing that two boys liked me enough to get physical and fight for my honor.
It would be ironic for them to fight each other. Nicolas was the golden boy, the one who's everyone's best friend. The captain of the soccer team, the love of the town. And then there was Kit, the boy who was more like an unsolved mystery. Sometimes he might be rude and he certainly was infuriating, but whenever someone's in trouble he's the first to help and be supportive. He was a walking contradiction.
I shaked my head to get rid of the thoughts. I didn't need to have two boys fighting over me to feel worthy. Period.
I placed the beverages on the counter and tuned into the conversation.
"...Yeah she texted me today as well. Everyone's going," Selene finished her sentence and they all nod.
"What's happening?"
"Chelsea, the queen bee of Westminister Prep, is throwing a party on Saturday. She invited all of us. Her parties are these fancy, crazy get-togethers at her parents' mansion, and they're usually a good time."
"Is it okay that I come?" I glanced between all of them, waiting for awkward glances and rejection.
"Yes, it is." Kit's low voice surprised me and I looked at him questioningly. He stared back and I cocked my head to the side, trying to figure where all of this certainty is coming from.
"We should go shopping tomorrow!" Kaia clapped her hands excitedly and startling me. "We can go to the mall. You've never been, right Lux?"
"Right," I gave her a tight smile, my find still focussing on Kit sitting at the stool diagonal from me.
Things were great between us in the morning, but after spending the day apart things were ruined. It was like we came back to real life and the bubble popped. The rumors and stares broke the quasi agreement we were trying to create with each other, and everything felt tense and awkward again. Friendship is a word that couldn't describe what we were, and I settled on the next best thing: mutual respect.
But the damn attraction towards him was still there. He told me no. He said that nothing would happen between us, but I still felt fire creeping onto my stomach everytime he walked into a room.
"It's a date," Bronte agreed and Selene nodded her, the quartet of girls agreeing to the shopping tripafter I gave an absent nod of my head.