Chapter Soundtrack - Chapter 5: "Fiction" by The XX
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"He calls you goddess!" Gretchen exclaimed, her eyes wide as she sat on the front counter inside Robertson's.
"Shhhh!" I whispered. "Gretchen, we're not at a Sparrow High sports game. I'm working here," I chastised, walking past her to stock a new shipment of books on a shelf near the back wall.
Gretchen had raced to Robertson's from cheerleading practice, probably causing a stream of near accidents just so she could interrogate me about my lunch with Gabe. I was surprised she hadn't heard about it until her practice. Lucky for me, the secret service was slacking.
"Oh please, there aren't even any customers in the store right now. Don't think you're getting out of telling me about this, Athena. In fact, I'm a little hurt that once again, I had to hear about it from someone else instead of my own best friend. What gives?" Gretchen asked, raising her eyebrows at me as she crossed her arms.
Her question was valid, but I would have had a hard time explaining Gabe's invitation to Gretchen when I myself hadn't known what it meant. Things were clearer now and I no longer had any - or at least not many- lingering doubts about Gabe's intentions. He wanted to be in my life and I had decided I wanted the same thing as well.
I turned to face Gretchen, a stack of books in my hand. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about it before. If I had known we were going to be featured on Page Six the second we stepped out of the library, I promise I would have made sure you heard it from me first. I can't believe this is such a big deal to everyone," I said.
"Athena, Gabriel Valente is the most sought after guy in Sparrow. Not to mention he's gorgeous and he comes from a life of crime. He asking you to lunch, hell, even just talking to you, is a big deal!"
"Gee thanks, Gretchen. Should I bow down and thank him for gracing little old me with his presence?"
She sighed. "That's not what I meant. It's just that every girl at school has been going out of their way to get Gabe's attention. They've tried switching into his classes, parking next to him, running into him in the hallways. They keep fishing but he never bites. Then, all of a sudden, you and he emerge from the library today. From what I heard, you were looking very cozy," she said.
I waited, hoping she was finished. She wasn't.
"Oh, and he calls you goddess!"
"It's nothing," I explained. "He knows it irritates me and so he does it on purpose."
"Of course, a guy gives you the nickname of goddess and you find it irritating." She jumped off the counter and looked me in the eyes. "Who are you and when are you going to join me on planet Earth?"
I put down the books I was carrying and gave Gretchen my full attention. "Okay, okay, I'll admit, Gabe is not anything I expected. At first, I thought he was just talking to me for kicks. You know, a way for him to pass the time. But I was wrong about him, Gretchen. We were all wrong about him. He's not the stereotypical bad boy everyone in Sparrow was expecting. There's more to him than you think. He and I actually have some things in common."
She seemed to relax a little now that I was giving her the information she craved. But clearly I hadn't given her enough as she stood there, arms crossed, waiting for every single last detail.
"He's full of surprises. For example, I'm no longer the only student at Sparrow High who has an appreciation for these," I joked, gesturing toward a shelf of books next to me. "He's incredibly well-read, probably more than me if you can believe it."
She raised her eyebrows in mock disbelief.
I glared at her, but my mouth formed a small smile. "And he's very thoughtful. When I met him for lunch today, he had gone out of his way to get all of my favorites, everything down to a strawberry smoothie."
Her eyes suddenly widened with awe. "Are you telling me Gabriel Valente is a romantic? Is there anything about this guy that isn't attractive?"
"Well, he does have a tendency to overreact," I muttered.
"Who cares? That just means he's passionate. And believe me, Athena, it's time you had a little passion in your life."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means you've been cooped up in that library by yourself for far too long. If Gabriel Valente can speed up your return to the land of the living, I say go for it," she remarked, a mischievous smile on her face.
"Really? What about you? Weren't you interested in Gabe also?"
"Sure, I've been crushing on him just like every other girl, but that's as far as it goes with me. You, on the other hand, already have feelings for him."
"Whoa, easy there. I'm not sure what I've got, but Gabe and I agreed that for now, we're just going to get to know each other better. Anything beyond that is still unknown," I explained, reaching for some books to stock.
"Uh-huh. Well, whatever it turns out to be, it can only be a good thing."
"Let's hope so," I sighed, once again turning my back to her.
"You want to know what I really think about all of this?"
"No," I called over my shoulder.
"Okay, I'll tell you. Gabriel Valente is going to be your savior and you don't even know it," she declared.
"My savior? Let's bring the dramatics down just a notch, shall we?" I said, rolling my eyes.
"I'm being completely serious," she remarked.
I stopped and stared at her. Her arms were crossed and there was no trace of laughter in her features. "Fine, I'll bite. What exactly would he be saving me from?"
"From yourself. I think it's great Gabe's into you, and I'm pretty sure you're into him too. So give him a chance. I mean, it's not like it's gotta be anything serious. Just have some fun. You never know, you might actually like it."
"Hey, I know how to have fun," I stated, pretending to be hurt.
She came closer and placed both of her hands on my shoulders. "Athena, spending all your free time with imaginary people is not fun. It's a cry for help."
I glared at her. "Ha ha. I know this is going to be a hard concept for you to grasp, but I like reading. In fact, I can't think of anything being more fun." I shrugged her hands off my shoulders and started to walk towards the back room.
"Which just goes to show how much saving you really need, because I can promise you there are a lot of other things you can do that are more fun than reading," she said, chuckling.
"How would you know? It's not like you've ever tried it," I shot back, starting to laugh also.
"Well, well, aren't we all fired up today? See what a little passion can do for you?" she teased.
I rolled my eyes again.
"Are you having lunch together tomorrow?" Gretchen asked, the excitement practically bubbling out of her.
"I'm not sure," I said. "We didn't discuss that, but we are going to the library tomorrow night to work on some papers."
"Lunch in the school library and plans to meet again in the town library? Don't you think you two should broaden your horizons a little? I know Sparrow's a small town, but it's not that small," she chided.
"Very funny. What do you want us to do, Gretchen, formally announce we're getting to know each other at the next Sparrow Vikings game? Besides, now that everyone saw us together outside of the library, I'm sure they're going to be keeping an extra close eye on us. The more low key we can keep this, the better. Which means, Gretchen Baxter, that you will not be informing anyone, especially not the secret service, of my plans tomorrow night. Got it?"
"Got it, goddess," she said sarcastically, lightly kneeling before me and bowing her head.
"Alright, I've given you the dirt. Can I please do my job now before Mr. Robertson fires me?" I asked.
"Fine," Gretchen sighed. "I'll see you in school tomorrow, but I expect to be updated immediately if anything new happens with Gabe in the meantime."
"Scouts honor," I promised, gesturing towards the door.
"You were never in the Girl Scouts," she pointed out, narrowing her eyes.
"True, but I've eaten enough of their cookies that they made me an honorary member," I replied. "Now go!"
"I'm going," she said, grabbing her purse. "Sheesh. You're lucky I'm not a sensitive person," she joked.
"See you later, Gretchen," I called, shaking my head as I turned on my heel and headed into the back room. I picked up another box of books just as the chimes above the entrance started to ring. I hurried out to greet the customer walking in. As I dropped the box on the front counter and looked up, my breath caught. It was rare boys that gorgeous walked into this bookstore. I tried to calm the acrobatics the mere sight of him always caused inside of me. I wondered if I caused the same type of emotions to stir inside of him.
"Working hard, goddess?" Gabe asked as he approached the counter.
I gave a sorrowful sigh and gestured towards the box in front of me. "Yes, do you see the manual labor I'm forced to endure around here? I really need to look into those child slavery laws. I'm sure Mr. Robertson is violating at least one or two."
He laughed and then made a serious face, raising one eyebrow. "Who is this Mr. Robertson? I think he and I need to have a little talk. I don't want him working you to the point that you'll be falling asleep during our date tomorrow."
Yeah, like I could ever fall asleep being around him. "So, conducting research for a school paper is your definition of a date, huh? And Gretchen thinks I need to have more fun," I said, smiling at him.
"Hey, I tried to ask you out to dinner. You're the one who conveniently had a hundred excuses ready and waiting."
"They were not excuses," I cried. "I am here working," I said, lifting my hands and gesturing towards the store around me.
"I guess it's a valid reason, for now," he conceded, chuckling.
"What can I say? A girl's gotta pay the bills somehow."
"Well, I could always buy the place. Then I could give you a raise and more time off," he offered.
I stared at him, realizing that if he wanted to, he probably could buy the bookstore without giving it a second thought. Although I had told Gretchen earlier that Gabe and I had some similarities, there was no denying we still came from two very different worlds.
"I'm sure you're probably used to getting what you want, but Mr. Robertson is very attached to this place. I doubt he'd sell," I informed him.
"Maybe, but I can be extremely persuasive when I want to be," he responded, a sly grin on his face.
"I've noticed," I said in a dry voice. He started laughing and although it always took extreme effort to look away from his face, my attention was now focused on the one hand he had hiding behind his back. "What have you got back there?" I asked.
"Back where?" he said, the halos in his eyes so magnetic they were practically pulling me towards him.
"You're obviously hiding something," I observed, moving from behind the counter to where he was standing. I took a step to his left, trying to see what it was, but he moved with me, his face now only inches from mine.
"I told you, it's nothing."
"If it's nothing than let me see," I said, reaching behind him to try and grab whatever it was he was concealing.
He bobbed left and right to keep my hands at bay. "Impatient much?" he joked.
"Fine," I sighed, "I'm not that interested anyway." I turned to walk away but of course, he grabbed my arm before I could take one step.
"Okay, I give up," he laughed, bringing around his other hand to reveal a large strawberry freeze from Indigo Café. "Since you weren't able to properly enjoy the one I got you for lunch, I thought you deserved a replacement."
I stood there for a moment, once again not able to breathe. I wasn't used to someone going so out of there way for me, but for Gabe it seemed like a hobby. "Thank you," I finally mumbled, taking the cool drink from his outstretched hand.
"You're welcome," he said, giving me a heart-stopping smile. "I know how much you love these things. I lost count of how many times I saw you with one last week."
"They're kind of an addiction," I explained, taking a sip.
"Obviously, but you would think that with as many as you drink, you'd be a little more sweet," he commented, raising one eyebrow as he gave me a questioning look.
"I'm sweet," I said in a stern voice, placing one hand on my hip.
"You're definitely something," he responded, his voice suddenly low.
I wanted to ask what he defined as something but with the way he was gazing at me, I was afraid to find out.
"Let's see...books...frozen beverages...are there any other addictions I should know about?" he asked, crossing his arms. His brown leather jacket stretched across his broad shoulders which caused me to lose my train of thought for a moment.
"Um, they're the only ones I'm willing to talk about," I said, giving him a smug smile of my own.
"Really?"
"Really," I confirmed.
"What will it take to have you fill me in on these mysterious addictions?" he asked, taking a step towards me.
"Don't waste your time, city boy. I'm unbreakable," I stated matter-of-factly.
"I see. Okay. Looks like I'm going to have to let you in on a little secret," he said, taking another step in my direction. Once again there were only inches between us. He bent down so he could whisper his next words in my ear. "I have superpowers," he revealed, his voice barely audible over the ruckus my heart was making. He let his mouth linger next to my face before looking me in the eyes.
If he only knew that from the first moment I had seen him I had felt the magnitude of said powers. "What kind of superpowers?" I murmured, swallowing hard. I could feel his arms slide around my waist, pulling me closer to him.
"Well, for one, I have the ability to break down barriers."
"A regular Superman," I said, placing one hand on his arm while the other was still holding my drink.
"Mock me now, goddess, but you'll see. I have no problems using my powers until I know everything there is to know about you," he remarked, his lips moving closer to mine.
"I appreciate you coming clean."
"I figured the least I could do is give you a heads up," he stated, his lips next to mine as he said the words.
Musical chimes suddenly rang through the store, causing me to quickly step away from him. I caught a slight look of frustration on his face before glancing towards the entrance. What a surprise. A member of the secret service had just walked in. And it was Kristy Spelling's second-in-command no less, Nikki Fillmore.
"Hi, Gabe," she exclaimed, flashing him a wide smile.
I could practically see the sparkle from her perfectly straight white teeth. I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes.
"Hi, Nikki," Gabe answered, giving a quick look in her direction before returning his gaze to me.
She pretended like I wasn't even there and walked a few feet towards Gabe. "So, you're coming to the Vikings basketball game Thursday, right?" she asked, toying with a lock of her blonde hair, wrapping and unwrapping it around one finger.
"Still undecided," Gabe answered, reluctantly looking in her direction again.
"Is there anything I can do to convince you?" she asked in a suggestive voice.
Okay, now I was mad. It was one thing to ignore me. It was another to make a play for the guy I liked right in front of me. I reminded myself that I still didn't have any official ties to Gabe. I wasn't his girlfriend and therefore would have no right to claw Nikki's pretty little blue eyes out of their sockets. Before Gabe could give her a response, I heard Mr. Robertson return from his errand through the door in the back room. Seconds later, he appeared behind the front counter.
"Everything okay while I was gone, Athena?" he asked, giving Gabe and Nikki a quick glance before looking over some paperwork.
"Uh, yeah, everything is fine. I was hoping I could take a five-minute break to walk my friend Gabe out," I said.
"Of course, take all the time you need," Mr. Robertson mumbled, engrossed in his work.
"Thanks. Nikki here actually needs some help finding a book on the origins of the Egyptian pyramids. Can you help her with that while I'm gone?"
"What?" Nikki cried, clearly surprised by my request.
"Absolutely. Follow me," Mr. Robertson instructed Nikki, immediately heading to a shelf in the back of the store.
She stood there dumbfounded as I looked back at Gabe. "Coming?" I asked, already making my way towards the door.
He stared at me with an astonished expression on his face. "Right behind you," he answered, starting to follow me.
"Later, Nikki," I called out sweetly, secretly enjoying her angry wide eyes and open mouth.
Gabe nodded his head at her, snickering as we made our way outside. "Well, well," Gabe said, crossing his arms and looking me up and down.
"Well what?" I replied, shivering as I rubbed my hands against my arms, trying to keep warm.
He came closer and started to slide his hands up and down my arms as well. His fingers were like individual heaters, each stroke causing the blood beneath my skin to simmer hotter. "Who knew you had a jealous side," he remarked, his eyes filled with amusement.
"I am not jealous of Nikki Fillmore."
"No? That's too bad, goddess, because what you just did in there, it was kind of a turn on."
The halos were once again sucking me into his vortex. "I'm not sure why I did that. Those girls are just so...." I cut myself off, suddenly feeling embarrassed. He was right. I had been jealous and my little exchange with Nikki had made that quite clear.
"So fake. So artificial. So not worth talking about for one more second," he said, finishing my sentence for me.
"Agreed."
"I know having people stare at us, waiting for the next bit of gossip they can spread around makes you uncomfortable," he remarked.
"More like makes me want to dig my own grave and then lie in it," I corrected.
"Which is why I'm cool with keeping a low profile," he continued. "No hand-holding or lunches in the library until things die down and the next scandal comes along."
"You'd be okay with that?" I asked, amazed at his concern for my feelings.
"Of course. I know this may be hard to believe, but I'm not really a fan of the attention either," he revealed. He slowly removed his hands from my arms.
I started shivering again, my body quickly going into withdrawal from his touch. "And here I thought city boys liked the adoration."
"Adoration is always welcome. It just depends on who it's coming from," he explained, grinning at me.
I could feel myself blushing. "Right. Well, I better get inside. It was cruel of me to dump Nikki on Mr. Robertson. It's probably time I came to the rescue."
"Mr. Robertson does seem like a nice man, and completely undeserving of the consequences of your jealousy."
"I was not jealous!" I exclaimed again.
He started laughing and bent his head down to kiss my cheek. "Until the next chapter."
The most I could do is give him a small smile as he turned and walked across the promenade. I stumbled back into the bookstore, wondering what plot twist was coming next.