Chapter 17: Grayson Intolerant 

I hate myself. I hate myself so much. I glared at myself in the mirror before slumping down onto my bed. How could I have a crush on Grayson Carter? It doesn’t mean that I like him, right? I mean, I haven’t even known him long enough to develop a crush on him! Of course, I’ve been around him but I haven’t known him. We’ve only been working together for about a month now and I’m already crushing on him? This needs to stop and it needs to stop now.

I approached my mom as she stood in front of the stove, humming. She glanced at me and offered me a sweet smile. “Hey, honey, what’s going on?”

“Mom, why is it that we like people that we really don’t like?” I asked her curiously. She furrowed her eyebrows as she opened the oven and took out the casserole. Sliding off her oven mitts and sitting down on the stool across from me, she gave me a confused look.

“What do you mean?” she questioned.

I sighed, placing my hand on my cheek. “Why is it that we have crushes on people that we hate?”

My mother laughed. “I’m pretty sure you’re the only one experiencing that problem. Are you sure you hate the person?”

“I hate almost everything about him,” I snapped almost immediately. I gave my mom an apologetic look but she didn’t look affected by my slight outburst.

“Like what?” she asked.

“I hate how he’s perfect. I mean, he plays sports; he’s smart; and he excels in almost everything- relationships included.” I didn’t bothering telling her that her best friend’s son is considered a mini player. I don’t think that’d go over well with Emily and it’d make Grayson hate me even more. He already isn’t talking to me.

My mother sighed. “What else makes him so perfect?”

I frowned. “He sings amazingly; he dances pretty well too; he’s funny; he’s kind when he wants to be; he has pretty cool friends; he’s cute; he's popular, he’s just so perfect. I don’t like him, but then again I do.”

“You have a crush on this boy?” she asked, her eyebrows rising.

I sighed, slumping down and resting my head on my entwined arms, nodding my head. “Unfortunately, hopefully, it’ll blow over. We haven’t been talking as much anymore though, so I think some time apart will help me sort out my confused feelings.”

“May I ask who this boy is?” I internally groaned. Of course she’d want to know who this boy is.

I shook my head. “You don’t know him.”

“Well, tell me about him so you can introduce me to him,” she guided. I shook my head again.

“We’re not talking anymore, so an introduction isn’t really necessary,” I explained.

“Is it Grayson?” My lips parted slightly at her realization. When she saw my expression, she laughed. “You’ve always had a thing for that boy.”

“Yeah, it’s always been hate,” I muttered under my breath. Now seven people know.

“Don’t you remember when you came to me crying because you didn’t know why he didn’t want to talk to you? You were a mess. You said that he likes his Gameboy more than you," she laughed at me as I glared at her, cringing.

“I was, like, seven, mom," I informed her. “Besides, I didn’t know what hate was but I’m pretty sure it was there then, too.”

“Do you also remember when you told me that Grayson was so cute? As in 'cuter-than-Jesse-McCartney' cute?” She asked.

Okay, I know what you’re thinking- there’s some things you forgot to tell us while introducing yourself. Give me a break, I couldn’t start off this friendship with a whole ‘I liked him, hated him, and now I have a small crush on him.’ Do you see what I mean? You wouldn’t be able to take me seriously.

“Mom, that was years ago,” I told her.

She smirked. “Obviously, the feelings haven’t gone away; they just buried themselves under hate, or at least what you think is hate.”

“It’s going to go away, buried far under the hate. Just you watch,” I responded with a shake of my head.

“Why don’t you tell him? That you like him, I mean, what’s the worst thing that can happen?” she asked.

I gaped at her. “Uhm, I don’t know - he can embarrass me in front of the whole entire school; he can shun me worse than he is right now; he can do a lot of things.”

My mom sighed. “He’s shunning you?”

“Yeah, he’s angry at me for something really stupid,” I rolled my eyes with a sigh.

She waved her hand as if telling me to continue. I told her about Sam and about her brother Sebastian, who I’m using to get Grayson jealous because it seems as if he’s using Natalie to get me jealous. My mother listened the entire time, nodding as she sipped her coffee.

“So you’re only talking to this boy to make him jealous?” she asked, earning a nod from me. “That’s really stupid.”

I scowled. “He started it!”

“Did you ever consider that maybe he likes this Natalie girl?” she asked.

“First, you’re telling me that I should tell Grayson that I have a crush on him and now you’re telling me that he probably likes this other girl? Aren’t mothers supposed to encourage their daughter’s relationships? Because right now, you’re doing dad’s job,” I groaned. My mother just grinned at me.

“All I’m saying is that maybe he likes this girl,” she sighed. “I could be wrong but you never know. So tread lightly, and let him know that you’re not in a relationship with that boy. Tone down your jealousy, too.”

I frowned. “But I like seeing him jealous. Doesn’t that mean he cares?”

“Sure, it does, but are you sure you’re doing the right thing by pretending to be in a relationship?” she questioned me and I nodded, sighing. “And whatever you do, don’t try and ruin his relationship because you like him. I didn’t raise you to make someone else unhappy because you’re unhappy.”

Walking upstairs, I decided that I would tell my group of friends tomorrow at lunch about my new status with Sebastian. That’s the best thing I can do.

~~~

Entering the lunch room was like usual. Going to the table was like usual, all conversations stopped- aside from Grayson and Natalie’s. Natalie looked ecstatic that Grayson hadn’t broken eye contact when I sat down. I, on the other hand, frowned slightly. He’s the one I wanted to discreetly address my small speech to.

I turned to Sandra and smiled. She raised an eyebrow as a smirk slipped onto her face. “So, how are things with Sebastian?”

“I don’t like him, not like that at least. I mean, we’re friends but…nothing more.” I told her with a small smile. She nodded, glancing at Grayson out of the corner of her eye.

“That’s cool, so you’re just friends?” she questioned and I nodded.

“Who are just friends?” Lola asked as she plopped down into her seat beside Kyle.

I couldn’t help but notice their closeness. “Me and Sebastian.”

Kyle furrowed his eyebrows. “Didn’t you guys almost kiss?”

I frowned slightly. “How’d you know about that?”

Kyle looked over at Grayson, who was still talking to Natalie. “Grayson told you about that?”

Kyle nodded. “Well, Grayson didn’t get the full facts. We almost kissed, yeah, but I don’t like him. Sometimes, you almost kiss people you don’t like, you know?”

Sandra and Lola stared at me in shock. They were the only ones who had understood the last part of my sentence. “So you mean, you don’t like…?” Sandra asked and I shrugged.

“I’m trying really hard not to,” I muttered and she nodded, Lola mirroring her actions.

Carson shook his head at me and surprisingly, Kyle just rolled his eyes. I’m surprised he wasn’t shaking his head in disappointment. I looked around the table, my head tilting sideways. “Where’s Shane?”

“Working on a project with Josie,” Kyle answered and I furrowed my eyebrows. Once he saw my confusion, he smirked. “Josie’s his crush of the week.”

I nodded, rolling my eyes as I started to eat my burger. “So how were your weekends?”

I looked up to see Natalie smiling at everyone. She finally stopped talking to Grayson. “My weekend was nice, I went out.” Kyle smiled at Lola as she blushed.

“My weekend was also nice,” Lola giggled. I made a note to self to question her about her whereabouts this past weekend.

Sandra shrugged. “I stayed home, watched a new series on Netflix.”

Carson turned to her. “What series?” he asked and she shrugged.

“'Dexter', I’m still on season one but it’s pretty good, so far.” She grinned and Carson nodded.

“I love it!” They delved into a conversation while I sat there, an outcast. Shane wasn’t here to keep me from looking alone amongst the couples at the table.

Assuming the question didn’t apply to me, I sipped my juice, surprised when Natalie said my name. “What about you, Audrey?”

I shrugged, glancing at Grayson who was staring off to the side, at nothing in particular. “My weekend was okay. I worked on Saturday; I didn’t get much done because my coworker, being immature as he usually is, was and still is ignoring me but I survived.”

“Your coworker sounds like a jerk,” Natalie scoffed with a shake of her head.

I snorted. “He is and he’s sitting right beside you.”

Natalie gasped and had a horrified facial expression form on her face. “Don’t worry, because I’m in this conversation, he’s probably not listening. He gets angry over really stupid things by the way. Don’t forget to write your name on your paper or else Grayson will rage and ignore you for a year.”

Grayson turned towards me with a glare on his face. “I’m not a jerk nor do I get angry for stupid reasons. I get angry for sensible reasons. I’m only mean to certain people because they get me frustrated.”

“I smell lies; you are a jerk, I can confirm that. You get angry for really stupid reasons. In fact, I don’t even know why you’re angry at me,” I replied.

As if suddenly realizing something, his facial expression changed from angry to calm in a second, frightening not only me, but Natalie as well. “You know what? You’re right. I have been a jerk and I’ll stop. I also do get angry for stupid reasons, so I’ll stop doing that, too. In fact, I have no clue why I’m angry at you, either. I’ve been stupid. I’m sorry.”

Taking me by surprise, all I could do was stare at Grayson in shock. What is he playing at? He’s obviously up to something. I slowly nodded before turning my attention back to my food. This can’t be good.

~~~

“Can I talk to you for a minute?” This caught me by surprise. I turned to see Natalie holding my elbow between her claws, I mean, her hands.

“Sure,” I reluctantly told her as I slowed to a stop. I still had four minutes to get to class. Shaking her hand off of me, I quirked an eyebrow as if telling her to speak.

“Do you like Grayson or something?” She wrinkled her nose, placing her hand on her hip.

I furrowed my eyebrows, slowly backing away from her. “Of course I don’t. You know what? I’m not going to have this conversation with you. I have to get to class.”

Placing her iron grip back on my elbow, she forcefully turned me around. I ripped my elbow out of her hold and she narrowed her eyes at me. “I hope you don’t plan on trying to date him because I’m already on my way to becoming his girlfriend.”

I scoffed, wanting to internally cheer- not about the lie that just spewed from her chapped lips, but about how I was right; I knew there was something off about her. She's a nut.  “Have fun with that.”

“But of course you know that you never had a chance with him, yeah?” she called out. “He hates you, you know that right? He told me himself!”

Whipping around to look at her, I scoffed again. “Desperation isn’t a good look on you.”

“You act like I’m the bad guy but I’m not. I’m just doing what you don’t have the nerve to do. I can tell that you don’t like me all that much. I gave you a warning by telling you that I like him but you proceeded to continue to flirt with him," she nearly shouted, drawing attention from a few onlookers. I continued backing up until I was in front of the Forensics Science classroom.

“You really like him, don’t you? Does he like you?” I asked her.

She placed her hand on her hip. “Of course he likes me; he wouldn’t talk to me as much as he does. He tells me everything.” She smirked.

I nodded, knitting my eyebrows together. I bit my lip. Don't say it; don't say it. “So you know about our kiss? And our almost kiss that Grayson prompted? Of course you know about that, right? If Grayson tells you everything, then you ought to know. Before you go around shoving your "relationship" in everyone's face, be sure that you know all of the facts.”

Judging by the look on her face, she didn’t know. Grayson hadn’t told her and that somehow made me upset. Was he embarrassed to have people know that he kissed me? You did tell him not to tell anyone. I sighed and sat down, already urging for the bell to ring.

~~~

I was grateful that all I had to do today was organize books. Walking into work, the usual music didn’t greet me. Instead, I was alone. It gave me some time to think about how my actions could affect Grayson. What if he really did like Natalie? Although it made me a bit upset to think about, I realized that I shouldn’t have told her about it. If Grayson likes her, he could have told her when he felt ready but I had to go run my big mouth.

I was in the middle of organizing a small amount of books when Grayson walked in. He and his friends definitely made the load smaller when they organized the books the other day. He was quiet. I had my back to him but I heard him drop his bag on the table and walk over to the other cart of books.

We were silent as we worked until about ten minutes in. I was definitely on edge. What if he knew? “Is there anything you want to tell me?” he prompted.

I coughed. “No, why?”

I saw him shrug out of the corner of my eye but I couldn’t see his face. He walked into a hoard of shelves to put his books away. “It’s just that Natalie told me something very interesting.”

I felt my eyes widen as I shoveled through the books in my cart. The girl technically knew that I liked Grayson. Make that eight people that know now. She could have told him about that! She could’ve told him that she knew about our kiss thanks to me! “Yeah, and what was that?”

“You didn’t happen to tell her about how we kissed right? And then how we nearly kissed?” he questioned. I couldn’t see his face so I couldn’t tell if he was angry or not. He could run out of the shelves and round house kick me back to the hallway earlier so I could take back what I said.

Right now, I was internally screaming at the top of my lungs. I scoffed. “No?”

“Is that a question or a statement?” he muttered from his area in the array of shelves.

I coughed as I thought about whether or not I should lie to him. “A statement?”

“Are you lying to me?” he asked.

“So maybe I told her,” I prompted.

Grayson hummed in affirmation. “Mmhmm, and why did you tell her?”

It was hard to decipher what he was feeling when I couldn’t see his face. “Why didn’t you tell her?”

“I didn’t feel it was necessary,” he told me, plucking a nerve. So he didn’t think much of our kiss. At least not enough to tell the girl, who's flaunting about the fact that she's on his arm, about it.

“Well, you should always tell someone about your past encounters if you are planning on building a relationship with them; especially if you sit at the same lunch table with the person who you’ve had an encounter with," I explained as I placed an armful of children’s books back onto the shelf in which they belong.

Grayson was silent for a few seconds. “Did you tell Sebastian about it?”

I let out a sigh. “No, but that’s different. I don’t plan on starting a relationship with Sebastian.”

At least I know he heard me and, hopefully, was listening to what I was saying. “Who said I was planning on starting a relationship with Natalie?”

I scoffed at his stupid question. “She did.”

Grayson seemed surprised by this. “Well, that’s surprising, because I remember telling her that I wasn’t looking for a relationship at the moment.”

I felt my heart soar. Although he said that he wasn’t looking for a relationship, it means that even if he doesn’t date me (I wouldn’t even date him if he asked but it’s not like he would), he won’t be dating other girls. “According to her, she’s already on the path to becoming your girlfriend.”

Grayson scoffed. “Well, you don’t have to worry about me dating her.”

I froze up. “Why would I worry about that?”

“You’re my friend and it’s pretty obvious that you don’t like Natalie, so you don’t have to worry about having to deal with her if she was to become my girlfriend," he explained.

“What happened to calling her Nat?” I questioned, feeling my stomach sink at the fact that he just friendzoned me. I shrugged it off. It'd be petty of me to get angry at that, especially now that we're just patching things up. Besides, it's not his fault that he doesn't like me the way that I like him. 

“That reminds me of the small annoying fly: a gnat," he replied in a plain voice.  

“And again, what happened to calling her Nat?” I asked and Grayson laughed. I couldn’t help but smile. Maybe he wasn’t up to something. Or maybe this is all a part of his plan. “Are you up to something?”

“What do you mean?” he asked innocently and I could tell that he's plotting.

I groaned. “Can you not do whatever you’re planning to do?”

“No, sorry," he mused.

“Can you at least give me a hint?” I asked with a sigh.

He laughed before speaking. “It involves dairy products.’

~~~

I sighed the following morning as my mom asked me if I wanted cereal. “No thanks.”

“Why not?” she asked and I refused to tell her that I was scared that something would pop out of the milk carton and rip my face off, so instead I just shrugged.

“I’m not really hungry," I told her as I left the house.

I started wearing my uniform pants instead of my skirt. It’s cold and although I drive to school, it still is a long walk from the parking lot to the building. I sighed when I realized that I hadn’t asked Lola to give me a lift to school last night. I began walking to school before someone beeped behind me. I turned to see Grayson slowing down his father’s car. “Need a ride?”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “I’m not going to sit down in a puddle of milk or something, right?”

He shook his head so I walked towards the passenger’s side. I reached for the handle but the car jerked forward. I took a step in order to reach for the handle but the car jerked forward again. “Quit it!” I grumbled as he tossed his head back and laughed. I grabbed the door handle and yanked the door open, getting inside of the toasty car. “You’re such an idiot.”

He just continued chuckling as he drove us towards the school. “Why didn’t you drive yourself to school?”

“Sebastian is picking me up today,” I told him and he nodded, his eyebrows rising and dropping quickly.

“I thought you guys weren’t dating?” he inquired and I shook my head.

“Just because he’s giving me a ride home doesn’t mean we’re dating. We’re friends. Plus, he’s Sam’s brother,” I admitted.

His eyebrows furrowed. “Sam? As in the girl you sit next to in Pre-Calculus?” he asked.

“That’s the one," I nodded.

The day went by quickly and I avoided all traces of dairy products. I didn’t get milk during lunch and I surely didn’t touch the yogurt and cheese that were put out for our mini home economics project, where we were supposed to ‘make an ideal breakfast.’ I stuck with the bagel, egg, sausage, and orange juice. I received an 80% for it because I excluded a dairy product. Grayson and Carson seemed to find this funny.  

I exited the building and looked around in search of Sebastian. The same blue car drove up beside me and I got inside, buckling my seatbelt. Sebastian glanced in the mirror and groaned. “Geez, it’s like this kid has a tracking device on you.”

I snorted before rolling my eyes. I furrowed my eyebrows when I noticed a trail of about five cars following after us, packed with large guys. “There must be a party going on over here.” In broad daylight?

He just shrugged in response and I took this as my cue to speak. “Things are going a bit better with him; he’s not angry anymore. I also told him that we’re not in a relationship.”

“Then what’s the point of parading around anymore? Get out of my car,” I gaped at him as he stared at me. He let out a laugh and I exhaled a sigh of relief. We weren’t that far from the school and it’d be quite embarrassing to get kicked out of his car, especially when Grayson was right behind us. I can imagine him laughing at me.

When we slowed to a stop at my house, I went to unbuckle my seatbelt but Sebastian reached out and grabbed my arm. He caught me by surprise as he shook his head and relocked the doors. I soon noticed what he was freaking out about. The cars that were following us also halted but instead of waiting for Sebastian to drive, the people, who I soon recognized as players from the football team, began pelting the car with various items. I distinguished water balloons filled with milk and yogurt as they hit the window. I let out a squeal as one smacked the glass beside my face.

“Do you see what I get for hanging out with you?” Sebastian sighed as he leaned back in his seat and waited for the attack to be over.

I turned to him, only to see he had an amused look on his face. One thing I noticed about Sebastian is that he’s very handsome, but not in a crush type of way. “What are you going to do about this?”

“Well, I’m going to wait until it’s over and then I’m going to drive to the nearest car wash and hope that this comes off,” he shrugged. A cracking noise caused him to sit up with wide eyes.

I snickered. “It’s only eggs.”

He sighed and turned on his windshield wipers to see a large group of people smirking at the car in satisfaction. Grayson was in the front of the group and I sighed, shaking my head. I looked at the back window to see the letters ‘R.A,’ which stand for Rodencia Academy. I made eye contact with Grayson who grinned widely and waved at me.

“He’s disgusting,” Sebastian muttered under his breath.

I snorted. “Oh yeah, he is disgusting, reminder that this is coming from the one whose car is covered in various edible products,” I muttered and he turned to look out of the driver’s side window. He pointed to an unidentifiable brown liquid and wrinkled his nose.

“I don’t know about you but I wouldn’t eat this," he replied, turning to me and laughing.

“I’ll see you sometime,” I muttered.

“Even if we’re not pretending to date?” he asked and I shrugged.

“You seem pretty cool,” I  admitted, “but I’m not going to call you Bash; I’ll call you…Seb.”

“Let’s just hope the next time we hang out, they don’t pelt my car with food,” he smiled and I mirrored his actions. I opened the door of the car and allowed a slosh of yogurt and milk to pour down to the ground before stepping out. I closed the door quickly before turning to face the football players who were scattering as Seb made his way through.

Grayson walked over, followed by Carson, Kyle, and Shane. They were all grinning widely, proud of what they just did. “Who planned this?”

Although I knew the answer, I felt the need to ask the question. All of his friends pointed to Grayson and he snorted. “I know who I’m going to go rob a bank with.”

I lifted a finger and poked him in the chest, narrowing my eyes. “You, my friend, are on very thin ice.”

“And why is that?” he asked, glancing down at my index finger that was pressing into his chest.

"That was destruction of property, just so you know," I snapped. "You guys could have gotten in a lot of trouble if Seb decided to do something about it. You're lucky if you don't get the bill for his carwash in the mail."

"Seb?" Carson asked, completely disregarding my rant.

"Yes, Seb," I retorted.

"Yeah, her new friend," Grayson snorted, earning my attention once again.

“You’re intolerable; do you like embarrassing me?” I snapped, yanking my hand away from his chest.

He shrugged. “It’s a hobby of mine.”

Pressing my index and middle fingers to my temples as I closed my eyes, I let out a sigh. “I think I’m Grayson intolerant.”

~~~

I walked into the library, glancing around. I didn’t hear music so I sat down in the chair tucked into the front desk. Grayson obviously isn’t here. I began to swivel slightly as I entered the returned books back into the computer system before tossing them into the cart. “Excuse me?”

My head snapped up and greeted a familiar pair of gray eyes. “Why are you here, Natalie?”

“Last time I checked, this is a public library," she snapped. It surprised me how quickly her nice and kind façade vanished. I guess she sees me as a threat. I nearly squealed inside my head.

“Last time I checked, you can’t read,” I retorted. Actually, I haven’t checked anything. And she’s actually very smart, which just infuriates me further.

She scowled. “I’m actually here to see Grayson.”

“Do I look like a secretary?” I asked, rolling my eyes.

She let out a large breath, her red cheeks enlarging before returning back to normal. “I just want to know when Grayson is going to get here.”

“I don’t know. His car wasn’t in his driveway when I left,” I told her casually. And again, I actually hadn’t checked his driveway when I drove here. I was still upset about the stunt he pulled earlier with his football buddies.

She gaped at me. “What do you mean his car wasn’t in his driveway when you left? Were you at his house?”

“What? No!” I exclaimed, shaking my head and she let out a sigh of relief. “I live on the same street as him, silly!”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “I bet you watch him change, you creep.”

“No, that’s your job," I replied.

She scowled at me. “Control your little crush; it’s interfering with my relationship," she snapped.

“What crush? Or should I say what relationship?” I asked, smirking at her as I rolled around in my chair.

She glowered at me. “You know what I’m talking about. Just tell Grayson to call me when he gets here.”

I shrugged as she stormed away, her heels clacking with every step she took. What could she want with Grayson at his workplace? Why isn’t he here? I heard footsteps and looked up to see the walkway from the entrance to the front desk empty. Had someone entered the library with Natalie?

“Why didn’t you tell her that I was here?” Grayson asked as he casually walked into the area where I was seated. I felt my cheeks warm up. Had he heard what I just said? He could have heard me and Natalie talking about my crush on him! What if she already told him and he was just pretending to be nice when in reality, he was going to stomp on my heart like a lollipop?

“I didn’t even know you were here,” I shrugged. “I base your presence upon what I hear when I enter the library, and I heard silence.”

“I thought you didn’t like my music,” he muttered and I shook my head.

“You have good taste in music, just bad taste in volume,” I sighed. If I was being honest, I didn’t mind his music at all. It was a large library and in order to hear the music, you’d need to play it at a higher volume. I just didn’t understand why he didn’t purchase earbuds.

He snorted before holding up his phone, revealing a red pair of earbuds. Ah! He did. “I actually bought these. I was wearing them, that’s why I didn’t hear you come in. I heard her, though, because my music was paused.”

I nodded, going back to work. He didn’t mention anything about it…yet. Let’s hope he didn’t hear it. No, let’s pray he didn’t hear it. He just casually sat on the desk before getting off and walking towards the exit of the room before turning around. I quirked an eyebrow. “Try not to stalk me so hard next time, eh?” His smirk was huge.

“I wasn’t even stalking you!” I shouted to the empty room. I think he knows. I think so, too.

When the children arrived, I helped the middle school girls while Grayson helped the elementary school boys. The girls kept asking me about Grayson’s fading bruise and why I slammed the door in his face. Every time they asked, I’d change the subject.

“We’ll just ask him,” Evelyn informed me and I shrugged. I doubt he’d tell them. “Grayson! Come here.”

Grayson sent me a wary look before approaching the girls. “Yes?”

“How’d you get that bruise?” she questioned, her arms crossing over her chest. He pointed to me. “Why?”

“I said something that was rude. She hit me in the face with a door,” he summed up. When he says it like that, I seem like the hulk. She-hulk. I like that title.

“What did you say?” Evelyn quizzed.

He shrugged. “A lie, now I have to get back to work.”

The girls frowned as I sat down, a smirk on my face. “Now let’s get back to algebra, shall we?”

~~~

When they left, Grayson and I stuck around for a few more minutes, preparing to exit into the cold. “You never called Natalie.”

He snapped his fingers and bit his lip, frowning slightly. “Whoops, I forgot!”

I snorted. “You’re a terrible actor.”

“Ever since we had that argument at lunch, she’s been acting clingy. She was okay before, a bit flirtatious but now, it’s just overwhelming," he admitted as he put on his leather jacket. “I honestly don’t even know how she found out where I work.”

“She’s always been clingy,” I shrugged before I realized what I said. “Not that I took notice or anything.”

“Are you actually jealous?” he smirked.

I scoffed. “You wish. You were the jealous one.”

I zipped up my jacket and he slung his arm over my shoulder. “Yes, because nobody gives my Darling a lift home aside from me, and Lola, and Sandra…okay, anyone but Sebastian.” He pressed his lips lightly to my cheek in a teasing manner and I shoved him away.

I scowled as I slithered out from under his arm. “I’m leaving now,” I muttered as I walked to my car.

“I ship Darcie!” he called after me and I furrowed my eyebrows.

I looked at him. “What is that?”

“Darling and Gracie: Darcie; I ship it,” he told me and I scoffed, rolling my eyes.

“You're such a loser,” I snorted.

“A loser that you have a crush on!” he laughed as he got into his father’s car and started the engine. I began breathing heavily as I got into my car. He knows! He knows! Abort mission! He knows!