by Amanda Abram
The last and only male to ever enter my bedroom, besides Aaron and my father, was Jeffrey. That had been where I’d planned on, you know, doing it with him not even two weeks ago. It was amazing how drastically things could change in just a short amount of time. And if someone had informed me two weeks ago I would be leading Jase Holloway into my bedroom anytime soon, I would have considered having them institutionalized.
I could see his face light up when I opened up the door and motioned for him to enter. Most people would probably assume the walls of my bedroom would be painted black and plastered with posters of emo bands or something. But those assumptions would be wrong. When I was a little girl, I loved pink and I loved hearts. So when I was ten, my mother found a pink wallpaper with tiny little red hearts all over it and figured I would love it. And I did, when I was ten. But now that I was seventeen, I was so over pink. And as for hearts, it was like a slap in the face every time I looked at them, every single one perfectly intact, because they reminded me of just how broken mine was.
“Your room is adorable,” Jase said, glancing around. I could tell he was trying very hard not to laugh.
“Oh shut up,” I snapped, closing the door behind us.
He began to walk around, like he was a private investigator examining a crime scene. “Hey, what do we have here?” He pointed to the shopping bags on the floor.
I couldn’t help but blush. “Those are the clothes Trish forced me to buy.”
With a shake of his head, he began poking around inside the bags. “You wasted your money on this crap?”
I was offended. Some of those clothes had been picked out by me, because I’d actually sort of liked them, so he was pretty much insulting my taste.
“No.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “I spent my money on that crap. There’s a difference.”
He lifted a short, pleated skirt out of one of the bags. Trish had picked that one out, not me.
“Can this even be considered clothing? I’ve polished my car with bigger rags than this.”
I snatched the skirt away from him. “Will you please stop snooping around my stuff? We have very important matters that need to be discussed.”
“I was just giving you my honest opinion.”
That royally pissed me off. “Is that really your honest opinion, that these clothes I bought are crap? Because you certainly don’t seem to think so when Kylie’s wearing them.”
And that seemed to royally piss him off. “If I were you, I wouldn’t start making assumptions about what I think. You don't even know me anymore.”
“I don’t need to know you.” I stuffed the skirt back into the bag it came from. “It’s pretty obvious to me and anyone with half a brain that you have the hots for Kylie. Which, you know, makes perfect sense since she’s pretty much the last remaining attractive girl at school—besides your sister—that you haven’t yet pursued. I just think it’s awfully hypocritical of you to stand here and insult one of the many things that make you so hot for Kylie. That’s all.”
The tension in the air was pretty thick after that. That little speech was totally not premeditated, and I wasn’t even sure where it had come from. But I instantly wished I could take it all back, because Jase looked pretty mad.
“You know what?” he said, after a long silence. “Maybe this isn’t such a good idea after all. I mean, how are people ever going to believe we’re really dating if we can’t even get along?”
I sighed. Honestly, when I started coming up with the plan, I didn’t even consider the fact that Jase and I might not get along. It wasn't like we were enemies or anything, but we were far from being friends. Still, I needed him to be a part of this plan. So instead of furthering the argument, I decided instead to lighten the mood.
“Oh baby,” I said in a sweet, apologetic voice. I reached out and ran a finger up and down the length of his arm, glancing up at him with sad puppy dog eyes. “Please forgive me? I don’t want to break up.”
He glanced down at his arm I was currently touching and for a second a serious expression came over his face. But it only lasted for literally one second and then he grinned and grabbed my hand with his own. Deciding to play along, he yanked me forward, causing me to crash into his chest. “I forgive you baby,” he murmured. “Let’s never fight again.”
He wrapped a strong arm around my waist and pulled me closer. Swallowing hard, I glanced up and met his intense gaze with my own. For a brief moment I couldn’t breathe, and I thought maybe it was because he was holding me too tight. But he wasn’t. He was barely holding me at all. So why were my lungs suddenly incapable of retrieving air?
Quickly regaining my composure, I snorted and pushed him away. “If we can act like this around other people, I don’t think anyone will doubt the validity of our relationship.”
Jase grinned rather proudly and collapsed onto my bed. “I was a member of the drama club freshman year,” he boasted, lying flat on his back and staring up at the ceiling. “The teacher told me I’m a natural at acting.”
I chuckled. I actually remembered that little fact, because I had gone with Trish to one of his plays that year: Romeo and Juliet. Three guesses as to which role Jase had landed.
“Aren’t I the lucky one, then?” I took a seat in my computer chair and wheeled it over closer to the bed. “Okay, so, our plan.”
“Right,” he said, sitting up. “Our plan. Should we, or should we not get Trish involved?”
“As much I'd hate to, we definitely need to get her involved. I mean, first of all she would kill me if she ever found out we’d gone through with a plan like this without her. Second of all, we can’t have her believing that we’re dating for real, because I highly doubt she would approve.”
Jase cocked his head to one side. “Why do you say that?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess there’s this rule somebody made up once upon a time that states a person can never date his or her best friend’s sibling, because it would ruin their friendship or something.”
“That’s a load of crap.” Clearing his throat, he added, “I mean, it just doesn’t make any sense. And anyway, there are exceptions to every rule, and it cannot be assumed something like that would ruin every friendship, because I’m sure there are a lot of strong friendships out there that can endure something as insignificant as a friend and a sibling dating each other.”
I had a feeling he was speaking from personal experience. I was sure he had probably dated a friend’s sister at least once in his life, with all the girls he'd dated.
But I figured it would be better if I didn’t question it.
“I agree, but I know Trish pretty well to assume she would flip out if she thought you and I were actually dating.”
He nodded. “You're right, she would. Okay, so we'll tell her first thing tomorrow morning.”
“Sounds good. Now we just have to decide how we’re going to go about starting this thing.”
“Well,” he said, as though deep in thought, “The fastest and most effective way to show the school we’re together would be to just start making out by your locker tomorrow.”
I gave him a “ha-ha, funny” kind of laugh at the very same time my stomach did this weird flip-flop thing. Because the instant Jase mentioned us making out, I got a vision in my head of us making out, and let’s just say, it certainly wasn’t the worst thing I’d ever imagined.
I cleared my throat. “But seriously, though. I think we should start out slow. I mean, people might not buy it if we just start holding hands one day after we’ve never so much as been seen talking to each other before. So I was thinking maybe tomorrow, you could just approach me at a time when Jeffrey is nearby and just spark up a conversation with me. We’ll talk for a while, maybe laugh, just to see what kind of reaction it gets from him. And then we’ll go from there.”
“Works for me.”
I jumped up from my chair and glanced over at my alarm clock. “Okay, now that everything is settled, I guess you don’t ne
ed to stay for dinner.”
“Actually, there’s one more thing I'd like to discuss with you.”
He motioned for me to return to my chair, which I obediently did without even thinking about it. “What’s up?”
His nervous eyes darted from me, down to his fidgeting hands in his lap, and then back to me. “I feel I should be honest with you about why I decided to go along with this plan.”
“You already were. Remember? You said it was because you think I deserve to get revenge and because you don't want me to get hurt.”
A look of guilt washed over his face. “Yeah, well, that’s only part of the reason.”
I gulped. I couldn’t think of any other reason as to why he would help me, but obviously there was, and I had a feeling I wasn’t exactly going to like it. “Okay. So then what's the other part?”
He took a deep breath, paused for a moment, and then let it out. He stood up from my bed and began to pace the floor. “Apparently, you are aware of my interest in Kylie.”
I nodded. “Yeah, it's like crazy obvious.”
“Not to her, it isn't.” He raked a hand through his hair.
While I could appreciate the fact Jase was confiding in me, I was confused to how this had anything to do with my plan.
“See, here’s the thing,” he continued, sitting back down on my bed. “I’ve liked Kylie for a while now, but rumor has it that ever since she and her last boyfriend broke up, she's through with dating guys like...well, guys like me.”
“You mean players?” I said without even thinking. That earned a slight glare from Jase.
“Something like that,” he mumbled. “Anyway, I got to thinking after you presented me with your idea that maybe while helping you get what you want, it could help me get what I want as well.”
“You mean Kylie? How do you figure?”
“When she sees me dating someone for more than a week and sees how wonderful I am to you, she’ll also see I’m not the guy she thinks I am.”
“But you are the guy she thinks you are,” I pointed out, instantly regretting it.
He lowered his gaze back to his hands. “So I take it you have the same opinion of me as Kylie does then?”
“That you’re a player? Jase, you have had quite a few girlfriends during your high school run. I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve broken a record of some kind.”
He chuckled then, though I could tell he wasn't all that amused. “Yeah, well, maybe there’s a reason why I’ve dated so many girls.”
“I know, I know. Because you can, right?”
“Yeah,” he said dryly, “that’s it. Anyway, I just wanted you to know about this. I mean, I wanted to make sure you were okay with it.” He studied me for a moment.
“Of course I'm okay with it. Why wouldn’t I be okay with it?”
“Really? Because if you’re not—”
“Jase,” I interrupted him. “I have no problem with this. I swear.”
“Alright.” He stood up then and sighed. “You know, I’m not really feeling all that hungry. I think I'll take a raincheck on dinner. I've got stuff to do, anyway.”
I couldn’t have felt more relieved at that moment. I wasn’t sure I was quite ready for us to have our first “date”—and with my parents there, no less.
“Okay.” I sounded more cheerful than I should have. Jumping up from my chair, I led him out of my room.
“So meet me and Trish out in the parking lot tomorrow morning,” I instructed as we descended the stairs, “and we’ll go over everything with her then.”
“Sounds good,” he said from behind me.
My mother must have had abandonment radar, because she materialized out of thin air in front of us at the foot of the stairs. “Where are you two going?”
“I’m not going anywhere, Mom. Jase, on the other hand, just realized he has a prior engagement he just cannot get out of.”
“Oh.” My mom pouted, as though she was really bummed Jase was leaving. “Maybe some other time?”
“You can count on it,” he replied, winking over at me. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Lex. Bye, Mrs. Turner.”
“Oh, please! Call me Claire,” she said, but he was already halfway out the door.
As soon as he was gone, my mother furrowed her brow at me. “What did you do to drive that nice boy away?”
With a shrug, I said, “I didn’t do anything, Mom.”
At least, I was pretty sure I hadn't.
Chapter Seven
As soon as Trish and I arrived at school the next morning, I scanned the parking lot for Jase’s car. I found it in no time, because he was parked only five cars down from us. Yet Jase himself was nowhere in sight, and I began to worry. What if he had forgotten about our plans to tell Trish this morning? I was all ready to tell her everything, and I planned on doing it with or without him.
“Are you coming?” Trish asked. I hadn’t even noticed she’d started making her way toward the building. When she realized I wasn’t beside her, she stopped and turned around to face me.
“Um, actually, we’re waiting for somebody.” Just as I said it, I spotted Jase off in the distance, on the other end of the parking lot. Talking to Kylie. Not just talking, though. Laughing. Flirting. The nerve! Didn’t he remember he was supposed to be meeting me and Trish?
“Who?” Trish asked, making her way back over to me.
I didn’t respond to her inquiry. I was too busy glaring over at Jase, testing out the theory that people could sense when someone was staring at them.
The theory was correct. It wasn’t long before Jase directed his line of vision my way and nodded as if to communicate, “I’ll be right there.”
Trish, in the meantime, followed my gaze over to Jase. “Why are you staring at my brother?” she asked. And then, as Jase said his goodbyes to Kylie and began his trek over to us, she added, “And why is he walking in our direction?”
I refrained from answering either of her questions, deciding it would be best if I just waited for Jase. Less than thirty seconds later, he approached us. His eyes were on me the entire time, looking at me with what almost appeared to be disappointment, and I knew exactly why.
I had returned back to my new look. The outfit I picked out that morning was an ensemble located somewhere between casual and not-so-casual. Trish had allowed me to wear jeans, but the low-rise kind that were so tight they looked like they were painted on. The shirt I picked out had an uncomfortably low neckline, and my shoes had clunky heels that made me closer to five-foot-seven than five-foot-four when I wore them, which I actually liked.
Despite the height-enhancing shoes on my feet, however, I felt small under his gaze. I could tell right away he disapproved of my outfit. Possibly even my hair, which was wavy from sleeping in curlers the night before. And I’m sure he disapproved of my makeup as well. It made no sense to me. How could Trish think I looked so beautiful, while her brother thought I looked like I belonged under a bridge somewhere with all of the other trolls?
“Hey,” he said, nodding over to me.
“So nice of you to finally join us.” I flipped my hair over my shoulder. “Isn’t it a little too early in the morning for shameless flirting?”
Jase stared over at me with twinkling blue eyes. “It was just a friendly conversation, babe, no need to get so catty. You know I only have eyes for you.”
I responded to his sarcasm with a glare. In the meantime, Trish’s head was bobbing back and forth from me to her brother and back again, with a look of pure confusion on her face.
“What's going on here?”
“Trish,” I said, tearing my gaze away from Jase. “Your brother and I have something to tell you.”
She looked at us and blinked as Jase reached over and flung an arm around my shoulders, pulling me in close. “We’re in love,” he said with a cocky grin.
“Oh my God,” Trish breathed, “I’m having a nightmare, aren't I?” She pinched her arm and muttered desperately to herself, “Come on, Trish, wake up
before this gets any worse.”
I nudged Jase in the ribs and pushed him away. “What your dumbass brother is trying to say is that we’re pretending to be in love.”
She stared at us, wide-eyed. “What?”
I proceeded to tell her everything about the comment Aaron made, about how it had inspired me to come up the plan, and about how Jase agreed to help as a friendly favor. And when I was all done talking, she just stood there, flabbergasted.
And then, she reached out and lightly punched my arm. “You bitch. You devised a plan like this without me?”
I knew she wasn’t angry, just disappointed. After all, the whole revenge idea had been hers to begin with, and I could see where she’d be a little hurt by the fact I’d not only gone and planned something without her, but I’d gotten her brother involved first.
“Look, I’m sorry, Trish. I figured I’d make sure Jase was on board before telling you about it, because—”
“You don’t owe her an apology or an explanation,” Jase interjected. “Trish doesn’t need to be involved with every little aspect of your life. You can actually do things without always involving her, you know.”
Trish scowled at her brother. “Go to hell.” She turned back to me. “I have to admit, it’s a decent plan. Kudos.”
“Thank you,” I said, beaming. “So you’re not mad, then?”
“Of course I’m mad! But only at myself. Why didn’t I think of it first?”
By this time, the three of us had started walking, heading for the school’s entrance. Trish was in front and Jase and I were trailing behind her, side-by-side. I couldn’t help but notice a few students glancing at us as we walked by. I wasn’t sure if it was because of my outfit, because Jase was hanging out with us, or because Trish looked exceptionally beautiful today. I didn’t really care either way. Whatever got people to notice us was fine with me.
“I’ll walk you to your locker,” Jase said to me as soon as we entered the front doors. He turned to Trish. “You should probably get lost, sis.”
