I made her wait three days. Well, barely three days. She gave me the contract Tuesday morning and started tracking me down by Thursday afternoon. And by tracking me down, I mean stalking me like a vampire hunter.
On the third day, I was late - as usual - so I didn't expect to see her until lunch. Five minutes after I parked the car and got to my locker, Suzy popped out of nowhere.
"Did you decide yet?"
My hand pulled off the lock but didn't open the locker. I looked around the halls suspiciously before looking back at her. Dark bags were under her eyes, matching her dark eyes and scowl. "Do you have a surveillance camera on me or something? How did you know I was here?"
Her fingers played with the strap of her bag, and she looked down at her feet. "I didn't. I was on my way to the office and happened to see you."
"Sure you did." I smiled at her frown and opened my locker. A few folded papers fell out, all covered with neat, girly handwriting and exclamation points. "I see you had a pretty busy morning."
Blinking quickly, Suzy snatched the papers from my hand and shoved them deep in her bag. "Momentary lapse of judgement. You weren't responding to my texts, so I figured I'd have to get your attention somehow."
"Mission accomplished." I watched her rock back and forth on her heels. How did anyone ever think she was an ice queen? The girl was like a whirlwind of emotions. "Look, I know you're anxious, but I'm pretty sure this could count as harassment. Do you need me to put a restraining order on you or something?"
I meant it as a joke, but her gaze fell down to her feet. She looked very vulnerable. "Oh my gosh, you're right. What the heck is wrong with me? It's so stupid. This whole thing is. Just - just forget it."
My smile faded. I poked her shoulder. "Look, I didn't - I mean, it is pretty stupid, but it's, uh . . ." I didn't know what I was trying to say. I just didn't want her to burst out crying or something. I hated when girls cried.
Eyes still looking down, she bit her lower lip like a little kid who was just told she'd never get dessert again. "Maybe I should just go."
I grabbed her arm before she could walk away. "I didn't mean -"
A group of girls passed us, and I automatically raised my other hand to wave. A couple of them gave me a half smile before turning to Suzy. Their smiles widened, but this time they were obviously fake.
"Do you think you'll be able to make the Honor Society meeting this weekend, Suzy?" a tall thin girl asked, blinking innocently. "I know how busy you are these days, and I'd be glad to monitor the meeting for you instead."
Suzy swallowed and straightened her shoulders. Her chin rose so it seemed like she was looking down at the other girls, even though most of them were her height. "I'll be there, but thanks for asking Seolhyun. Maybe if you paid more attention to your classes instead of my social life, then you could have been the president of the club instead of just a secretary." Tossing her hair over her shoulder, Suzy turned away like she was dismissing them.
Seolhyun gaped at her for a few seconds before stomping away with her friends.
With an admiring smile, I gave Suzy a slow clap of applause. "Nicely done."
She let out an unsteady sigh and shrugged. "I can handle a couple of girls. So don't worry. I have to get to class."
"Suzy -" I let out a loud sigh and banged my forehead against my locker after she left. Well, she just took the fun out of messing with her. Where was the sarcastic spitfire who was her seconds ago? I definitely would have preferred her pissed and hissing at me over sad and defeated any day.
A hand slammed against the locker next to me, making me jumped. "Sehun, what'd you do to your new girlfriend? Don't tell me you kicked her to the curb already."
I pulled on my ears to make them stop ringing. "No, we'd have to be something first in order for me to kick her to the curb."
Kai winced. "Ouch. So you're just going to pretend nothing happened? Damn, that's harsh. Even for you. No wonder the Ice Queen looked like she was crying when I passed her."
"Her name's -" I turned to stare at him. "Wait, was she really crying?"
He rubbed his chin. "I don't know. I mean, her head was down, so maybe? I do feel bad for her, though. A bunch of people are hating on her a bit," he said with a shrug.
"Really?" I hadn't heard anything. But then I never paid attention to what other people said. I thought back to the past couple of days. Those jerks in the cafeteria and the snotty girls just now. Maybe that was the real reason Suzy wanted to pretend to be dating. And why she was nagging me so much about it. I didn't actually understand what she meant when she said she wanted to save her "reputation," but maybe I should've asked instead of laughing at her.
"Yeah, but you know how girls can get sometimes. All emotional and bitchy. Especially each other. It's probably a good thing that you're blowing her off then, right? Just in case she goes crazy on you." His annoying laughter echoed through the hall. "Dodged a bullet there. Believe me, having a real girlfriend is hard."
I couldn't laugh with Kai. I could barely focus on him at all. All I saw was Suzy's disappointed face in my mind. Wide, sad brown eyes that glittered the sea at night and defeated shoulders that made her look small and helpless. "Did you hear anything else?"
Kai shrugged and looked uncertain. "There was also some small talk in the locker room earlier about who could get her into bed next, but you know how those idiots can be. That's why I don't want to be officially be on the team. Spending too much time with them will kill my love for soccer. And life."
My hands curled into fists at my side at the thought of those punks laughing at Suzy. "We have to go."
"Where are we going?"
I wrapped my arm around his shoulder and started dragging him down the hall. "To the locker room to have a talk with some idiots and kick their asses. You're going to tell me exactly who said what."
__Toward the Walk of Shame__
"All right, you crazy girl, I'll do it." Even though I had made my decision once Kai told me what's going on, I still couldn't believe the words that were coming out of my mouth.
Suzy stared at me and then turn around the room as though she wasn't sure this was real. That I was actually standing at her front door. Cookie crumbs on her lips, while Damon wagged his tail and walked around our feet. "Um, what?"
I pushed my way inside and pulled the stupid contract out of my back pocket. "I said I'll be your boyfriend."
Her brown eyes widened in shock. "Really? I mean, seriously? You're saying yes?"
Man, how many times was she going to make me say it? My hand scribbled a large, messy signature on the bottom line before I handed it over to her. "Yeah." I couldn't help but chuckled at the shocked look on her face and the way she clutched the papers as though I'd take them back. It almost made my idiotic decision worth it. Almost. "I thought you'd be excited that you're finally getting your way."
"I am, but . . ." Suzy stared down at the papers in her hands. "I didn't really think you'd agree to this."
To be honest, I hadn't thought I would, either. Still, I had nothing better to do - or rather, no one better to date - at the moment, so I had nothing to lose. Besides, I felt sorry for Suzy. And a fierce need to protect her. Like I told the jerks in the locker room, she wasn't someone any of them should mess with. Not if they didn't want to face consequences. It only took a couple of punches at an empty locker for them to realized I was serious. I rubbed my sore knuckles against my palm. "Who knows? Maybe it'll be fun."
"Fun?" She repeated the word slowly, like she'd never heard of it before.
"Yeah, fun." I leaned against the open doorframe, since she hadn't exactly invited me in. "It's what the dictionary describes as a way to make life enjoyable? Like if I wanted to have fun, I'd go to the beach, while your idea of fun would be to spend all weekend in the library polishing your pens and laminating your homework."
A glint appeared in her eyes, and she mimicked my stance, leaning against the wall facing the door. "But now that we're dating, that means you're going to have to come to the library with me."
I was starting to like the way she switched personalities so quickly. Maybe I'm the one going crazy. "Why?"
"It's all here in the fine print." She waved the paper in front of my face before sticking it in her back pocket. "You should have read it before signing. Didn't anyone tell you that? Let this be a lesson for you in the future."
My eyes narrowed, but her face remained calm. A bit brighter from her gloating. "You're bluffing."
"Maybe. Maybe not."
Hmm. If we were going to do this, she'd have to understand who was in charge around here.
I leaned toward her. My left left brushed the remaining crumbs off her soft lips before resting on the cool wallpaper on the other side of her waist so she'd be trapped. A flicker of panic crossed her face, but Suzy continued to stare up at me, not flinching or moving away. Not even when I bent down so my mouth would be right beside her ear. I let her take deep breath before I whispered. "Then I'm going to need a copy of that contract."
Suzy let out another rattling breath and turned her head to face me. Her eyes were downward, so all I could see were her lashes. As though pulled together by some type of invisible force, our bodies angled even closer until her lips were barely an inch from mine. She touched my chest, and I could feel her hot hand through my T-shirt, making my body tensed up. My eyes flickered to her lips for a split second before looking at her eyes again.
Right before I was about to dip my head to kiss her, Suzy smiled up at me. A victorious smile. "I'll have a copy for you this weekend when you meet me for our study date." Before I could say or do anything, she laid her other hand on my chest and pushed me away.
Even though I was still hot and bothered by her teasing, I couldn't help chuckling as I walked to the door. "You know this will probably backfire on you."
"How?"
"You might fall in love with me and won't want to let go in the end."
Suzy laughed. "Yeah, let me know when you're done dreaming."
"Guess we'll just have to wait and see. I'm just warning you. It could happen." I winked at her. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then, babe."