Classes drag on for what seems like years, until the lunch bell finally rings and I'm able to stuff my face with mediocre food and forget all about my fake boyfriend.
I meet up with Isaac outside of his classroom and we walk to the cafeteria together, sharing our opinions on our new teachers and their classes. He seems to despise his College Algebra class, though I don't understand why; Mr. Watson makes that class impossible to fail.
"How are things going with your experiment boyfriend?" he asks me, a combination of aggression and judgment hidden deep in his tone.
"Things are fine, I guess," I tell him, "I don't know, we just started dating."
"How long do you think it'll take Miles to notice you?"
I smile to myself. "Maybe a month."
"A month? That's kind of a long time, Mich. You really wanna be with Chase for that long?"
I don't really have a choice. "It can't be that bad."
"Hasn't he, like, not lasted in a relationship for more than a couple weeks?
I shrug. His past relationships are really not any of my business; I just need to get through this month with him to win. Even though I still don't know the prize. I can't believe I keep going through with this without knowing what I get when I win. Have I officially lost it?
"Hey! Earth to Michelle," Isaac's voice brings me back to reality. I fix my attention back on him as he asks me what I'm getting for lunch today.
We go through the line as usual, walking off in our different directions so I can get the handmade sandwich while he grabs one of the freshly cooked meals. As we meet back up again, we move through the different tables that always filled up so quickly inside. So we take our lunch outside, where we can let the winter air cool us down while we eat.
"I'm going to Vegas for my birthday," Isaac tells me after taking his first bite.
I nod in curiosity, though I can't help but feel a twinge of pain in my chest. "How long?"
"Only about a week. I'll be staying with Sonia since she lives out there now."
Sonia, his older sister. I can't remember how old she is now, but surely she's old enough to live on her own out in Vegas. She was always nice to me, so I can trust that he'll be okay for a week. I guess I'm just a little bummed that I'll be away from him for an entire week.
"Hey," I hear his voice again. I need to stop zoning out. "I'll bring something back for you, don't worry."
I roll my eyes with a smile. "Don't you dare. It's your birthday, I should be sending you something."
"You already gave me the best birthday gift I could ask for."
I blink him to death. "The party?"
"No, stupid. You gave me an amazing best friend."
"Oh, shut up," I tell him, chucking one of my waffle fries at his face. Isaac rarely gets all sappy on me, so I can't help but feel awkward with his sudden change in attitude.
"I'm serious," he tells me. "I know I give you a lot of shit but you're a good friend, Michelle."
"Stop it, you're scaring me," I joke.
"Fine, I'll stop." He takes a bite out of the giant tortilla chip from his paper bowl. I watch him in a comfortable silence, knowing I was making him happy as a friend. That feeling is kind of better than any feeling I could ask for.
"Why aren't you eating lunch with your boyfriend?" he asks, reminding me that he's not always this sweet.
I let out a heavy sigh. "I don't know. You're my best friend so I wanted to eat with you."
He just shrugs up and down as a reply. "Okay."
The rest of lunch consists of Issac and me finishing our food and talking more about our classes. As we walk back to class through the cafeteria, I spot Chase eating alone at one of the tall tables by the entrance doors and I can't help but feel a little sorry for him. I mean, I still don't like him and I still don't appreciate him throwing himself onto me like some kind of desperate loser, but he looks lonely over there.
But then he turns around to start talking to some other basketball guys and he looks totally fine. I can't believe I'm pitying him over nothing. I should've known better.
"You coming?" Isaac says from across the hall on the outside of the cafeteria doors. I almost forgot I was supposed to be getting to my next class; I didn't realize how long I've been staring at Chase, thinking he was all alone.
I shift my focus to my locker, where Isaac was idly by waiting for me.
///
When the final bell rings, everyone practically jumps out of their seats to go home, and I can't blame them. If it were up to me, I'd never go to school again. Except that's impossible for me if I want to get into a good college.
I shut my locker door after the school day ends and I make my way over to Isaac's last classroom. He exits soon after I get there, so I wait patiently as he gets his things settled in his locker this time. And as soon as he finishes up, we walk out the front entrance together, until I notice a certain head of curly brown hair awaiting my presence at the gate.
I glance over at Isaac, whose expression I can only read as annoyed.
"Sorry, I should-"
"Yeah, go," he says to me before I can even finish my sentence.
"I'll meet you at my car!" I tell him as he trails off toward the parking lot. He just nods off, opening the distance between us with every step.
I make my way over to Chase, who seems like he's been waiting for me for a while, seeing as he's all leaned up against the brick wall connected to the gate. His eyes scan over his phone as his finger swipes on the screen until I approach him.
"Hey, Michelle," he says casually, as if we've been friends forever.
"Hi." I am not having it.
"You should have a look over there," he says, pointing behind me. No.
I take my time turning around, prolonging the moment as much as I physically can. And when I'm fully rotated, much to my dismay, I fall witness to the very thing I've been hoping all day would just never happen. Perfectly stood in my direct line of sight, I notice a painfully obvious Dylan Price casually kissing an equally obvious Julia King. I feel my chest stiffen at the realization and I instantly regret making that deal with Chase. I really need to be more careful with my words from now on.
"I think you owe me a kiss," he says from behind me as if I need another reminder.
With nothing but remorse, I turn around slowly to look at him and the little voice in my head keeps repeating I'm stupid over and over again and I couldn't agree more.
Trying my best to stay calm, I sigh out of preparation.
"Okay," I finally agree, despite how much my brain wants to steer me away from it. I am not one to break my promises. And sure, technically, this stupid deal isn't really a promise. But it still feels like I would be going against my moral code if I didn't hold up my end of the bargain.
I cringe as I rest my hands on the top of his shoulders and ever so slightly pull him toward me. His wandering hand reaches up to my face and gently grasps my chin, keeping our heads aligned for the kiss. And then when our faces are only mere centimeters apart, I suddenly have a major epiphany.
I can't break my promise; I know that. But what if I... delay it?
Without a second thought, I run past him and rush to my car parked toward the front of the school. Isaac is waiting outside the passenger seat so as soon as my car comes into view, I unlock the door and hop inside. I make sure to leave myself no time to regret running before pulling out of the school and dropping Isaac off at his house without speaking a single word. And with the same urgency, I rush home like a paranoid maniac until I'm safely inside.
My parents stare at me like I'm crazy when I slam the door shut but I can't explain the situation to them. For one, it has to stay a secret. And two, why would I even want to tell them?
I take no time running to my room and closing the door immediately. How am I supposed to face Chase tomorrow after leaving like that?
Thursday, January 4th
The overwhelming dread is strong in the back of my mind as I reconsider getting out of bed. Waking up and trying to get ready for school is the last thing on my mind right now, but if Mom and Dad catch me skipping school, they'd kill me for sure.
Alas, I move to sit up on my bed, despite not wanting to do anything. I know for a fact that Chase is going to be waiting for me at the gate with a confused look on his face, and he's probably going to be expecting a real kiss from me since I owe him one.
I bet any other girl would be thrilled for an opportunity like that but Miles is truly the only one on my mind. It's hard for me to think about anyone else when he's the guy that catches my eye. His black twisted hair and gorgeous dimples definitely aren't some trivial little things I could forget so easily. Especially when Miles is much more of a gentleman than Chase seems to be.
Besides, why would I ever want to kiss Chase Matthews? Sure, he's popular and attractive, but those lips have probably kissed at least a dozen others and just the thought of mine being included... disgusting.
It is part of the game, though. I suppose it has to happen eventually; I just don't want it to be so soon. I hope the talking part of the game can hold us over for now. I don't even want to talk to him, to be honest, but I guess I have to.
It takes only a short hour for me to finish getting ready and I walk out of my house a tad earlier than usual. It's not a huge deal that I'm leaving early—usually, I'd be more up for it to study some more—but since I have no choice but to be with Chase all morning, then these extra minutes are going to be a total setback to my day. Chase likes to talk.
However, when I make it to school after ten minutes of walking, I am beyond relieved to see Isaac waiting for me at the gate instead of Chase. I think I actually happened to let out a genuine sigh of relief at the sight of my best friend in my fake boyfriend's place.
"What took you so long?" he teases with furrowed brows.
I can't help my smile in return. "Good thing it's you."
"What do you mean?" he asks, eyeing me down skeptically.
"I mean good thing it's you waiting for me and not Chase."
"Chase waits for you? You guys have been together for, what, two days?"
"Clingy, I know. You should tell him that. He's been going on about wanting to kiss me too!"
"Oh, well that part's normal," he casually remarks while we start walking to my locker.
My head forces a double-take. "It is?"
"Well, yeah. Most couples start dating after they've already kissed anyway. I'd be surprised if you guys haven't kissed yet."
I purse my lips with a nod and open my locker. "Well, thanks for talking to me. I don't know what I would've done if you were Chase."
"What about Chase?" That smug voice creeps up from behind me. Oh, great. Speak of the devil.
"Oh, nothing," I say. "We were just talking about how annoying you are."
"Oh, were you now?" he asks as he leans down just the slightest bit to peer down at me. His eyes shrink at me as he gives a faint tilt of his head.
"Yeah, we were," I taunt him through my teeth, refusing to break eye contact and let him intimidate me. "And we agreed that the bar is very high."
"That's not a very nice thing to say to your boyfriend, Michelle," he purrs just above a whisper into my ear, forcing me to roll my eyes.
"I'll just, uh, leave you two alone," Isaac says awkwardly as he starts walking off.
"No, don't leave me!" I quietly beg, but he's already too far to hear by the time I turn back to yell at him. Then, all of a sudden, I feel an arm snake around my waist and pull me into Chase's chest.
"What are you doing?" My voice muffles into his sweatshirt.
"Hugging you. Hug me back."
"What? No."
"I'm pretty sure people who are dating tend to hug each other, Michelle."
I groan at his antics but throw my arms around him nonetheless. There's no point in arguing right now; he's never going to let it go.
I can hear the people walking past us start to whisper and gossip, but I'm honestly too distracted to think about it. As much as I hate to admit it, Chase smells kind of good. It's just that generic male cologne smell, but it seems to be leaving a good effect.
And his hugs feel great, to my surprise. His arms are lean and long, yet super gentle at the same time. Him holding me like this kind of makes me feel oddly protected. I'm definitely not looking forward to all of the kissing and touching and actual relationship part of this game, but I could really get used to these hugs.