Chapter 34: 33 - All the charm of a boy band


    It wasn’t the first time Ian was showing up unannounced at my school. While I wasn’t as surprised as


    the first time, I was just as irritated. Maybe even more so considering the fact that he was drawing a lot


    more curious gazes this time as he causally lounged against my car with his jacket hanging jauntily


    over his shoulder like there was a hidden film crew secretly taping the event. That and the fact that I


    hadn’t ditched my friends yet annoyed me to no end.


    He couldn’t have picked a worse day to show up. I wasn’t sure what he was thinking postst night’s


    confession but in my book, he was still a dirty secret I needed to hide. Showing up unannounced at my


    school with ire out for blood was one hundred percent uneptable.


    The girls started walking in his direction before I even took a step forward.


    I scowled and quickened my pace, getting to him just a few moments before they did.


    “I told you to wait at home!” I hissed quietly.


    “You always go directly to your job. I figured I’d better meet you here,” he whispered back just as the


    girls came to stop behind me.


    I shot him a look that made it clear I wasn’t a fan of his idea before pasting an amicable smile on my


    face. I turned to face my friends so Ian and I were standing next to each other, facing them.


    “Guys, this is Mask-- Ian.” My smile felt like more teeth than lips but with their attention firmly fixed on


    Ian, they didn’t notice. They didn’t even catch the blunder I almost made saying his name. “Ian, my


    ssmates. Mae. ire. Tony. Bailey. Cara.”


    “Hello.” ire led the coop, an angelic smile on her face.


    “Hey.” Ian nodded.


    “You’re picking Avy up?” she asked innocently.


    I managed to refrain from scowling but I didn’t buy her act one bit.


    “Uhmm,” he hinged, looking for me to help.


    Keeping my expression neutral became so much harder.


    I couldn’tmunicate to him that it was a question that required a lie. Not with ire’s hawk-like gaze


    trained on me, waiting for any slip-ups. Any tells. If I so much as nced at Ian, she would know


    something was up, that I had something to hide so, I kept my gaze on the others and prayed he would


    be smart enough -for the first time ever- toe up with an eptable response on his own.


    “Yeah, I guess.” He shrugged when no help came from me.


    It took all my willpower not to p a hand against my forehead in exasperation. His response would


    have ire panting for more.


    “Really?” She beamed, eyes narrowing imperceptibly.


    “Yeah, I need her help with something. She’s the smartest person I know,” he embellished, then threw


    in a shrug at the end like it was supposed to bemon knowledge.


    I exhaled a breath as quietly, the tension in my shoulders fading away. A smile was easy to drum up


    now.


    “Real smart.” ire smiled tightly.


    I was the only one who caught the annoyed glint in her eyes.


    “Well, we have to go. See you girls tomorrow.” I feigned disappointment, hurriedly herding Ian into the


    car.


    We couldn’t get away fast enough.


    ncing at his profile, I said, “Tammy did a good job with your makeup. What lie did you feed her?”


    He sighed, gingerly touching his expertly concealed ck eye.


    “Kick boxing. Told her my dad was in a foul mood.’


    “We might make a liar of you yet.” I shed him an approving smile.


    He shrugged self-consciously, his neck turning a light shade of red. It informed me he’d never be a


    good liar. How Tammy bought his lie was beyond me. Bodynguage was his biggest tell.


    “What was that just now, by the way?” he inquired. “That girl. It felt like she was fishing for something.”


    “ire is always fishing.” I shrugged, keeping my face nk. “You did good though.”


    “Yeah?” He shed me a boyish grin that had me rolling my eyes.


    “Don’t get ahead of yourself there, Bucky.”


    A reluctant smile tugged at my lips as I nced at him.


    “If she’s your friend, why was she acting that way?” he asked after a beat.


    I took my eyes off the road for a second, nced at him, then sighed.


    “It’splicated. We’re not friends but we are not exactly enemies. Well,” I frowned, unconsciously


    tightening my grip on the steering, “I don’t think of her as an enemy but I wouldn’t call her a friend. An


    irritation, yes. An annoyance, yes but we’re too passive for actual enemy status. It’s more that we just


    have the same group of friends and are mature enough to keep our differences to ourselves.”


    He rolled his eyes, muttering something under his breath. My eyes narrowed in irritation as I wondered


    whether or not to pursue it. Eventually, I decided to let it go. It wasn’t worth the effort.


    “We’re here,” I needlessly announced, pulling up at the library.


    He was a familiar face at the library now so hardly anyone -my co-worker or the regrs- blinked when


    he trailed in behind me. I immediately got to work updating the log. He perched gingerly at the edge of


    my desk, throwing and catching a stress ball he snagged from April’s desk.


    “I sense a story between you and her. She''s the same one from the day you fell sick. What''s up with


    you two?” he asked conversationally, sparing me a side nce. “We both know I was going to ask


    eventually.”


    “Maybe it’s none of your business,” I said tly, not taking my eyes off the desktop screen.


    “Ohe on,” he cajoled, inserting his face in the space between mine and theputer screen,


    awarding me an up-close-and-personal view of his molten brown eyes that I soon discovered contained


    flecks of golden yellow.


    I didn’t need to know that.


    Entirely irrelevant to the topic of conversation, he also had pale, soft looking lips, big eyebrows that


    somehow still worked and a barely there beard which he, no doubt, constantly shaved.


    “Fine. I’ll tell you.” I cleared my throat awkwardly, pushing his head out of my field of vision. “Don’t do


    that again.”


    He grinned with all the roguish charm of a boy band member and for a second I understood why he


    had so many Instagram followers.


    “ire,” I cleared my throat again, cowardly averting my gaze, “is smart. Really smart and she has the


    guts -and the brains- to go after what she wants. I respect that.”


    He rolled his eyes exaggeratedly.


    “Anyway,” I continued, the contents of my stomach settling down as my attention returned to the work I


    was doing. “She moved to town in middle school. Before that, she was the best at everything. She had


    always been the best student, the smartest one in ss.”


    “Until she met you,” he deduced.


    “Yeah.” I sighed. “Until she met me.”


    Several people went their whole lives without such an awakening, without realizing that no matter how


    hard they tried, they could only be second best so I sort of understood her resentment but it wasn’t my


    fault. I didn’t ask her to move here, toe to my school. She, somehow, was blind to that.


    “I think at first she told herself -and everyone else- that it was because she was new. You know,


    adjusting to the environment and the school’s style of teaching.”


    “But...” he prompted, tilting his head.


    “But by the next semester, I was still top of the ss. And the next. And the next until it became


    obvious it wasn’t going to change. So, she narrowed her sights to one subject. I think at that point, all


    she wanted was to beat me at something no matter cost.” I shrugged dismissively even though till now,


    the knowledge still made something inside me feel off. “She colluded with this guy in my ss who also


    isn’t my biggest fan. Ralph. You met him the other day. Remember?”


    He nodded affirmative.


    “They were to each focus on one subject they could beat me at. Which is dumb because I wasn’t the


    best at everything. There were a subject I was second ce at. French. Anyway, I still... I beat them


    even in the subjects they chose and I was going through a rebellious phase back then. Acting out and


    all that.”


    I shuddered, recalling all the dark themed outfits, the miscing my notes and refusing to study, the not


    turning in assignments. It all felt like that was an entirely different person now. I almost couldn’t believe


    I had ever done that.


    “I wasn’t studying at all and everyone knew it which made matters worse. I wasn’t trying but I still beat


    them. It was a hard pill to swallow, I guess.” I shrugged, sparing Ian a nce as my fingers danced


    across the keyboard.


    He wore a sympathetic expression that turned my stomach. Everyone always sympathized with ire.


    It was her superpower. She could make any wrong she got caught in seem understandable.


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    I never told my side of the story so it was easy for her to manipte everyone into believing hers. I had


    never been able to elicit and manipte sympathy like that and I hoped to God I never learn how to.


    Sympathy was just a shade away from pity. Sometimes, it was even just a prettier name for it. I’d much


    rather suck it up than have that. So that was what I did. I sucked it up and moved on. Even when she


    got everybody to start calling me names.


    I heaved a sigh, meeting Masked Idiot’s gaze.


    “Anyway, it pissed her off beyond belief. So the next semester, she somehow stole our exam questions.


    I still beat her though.” My lips curled into a vindictive smile. “She eventually realized it was never going


    to happen and dropped all the ploys. Now, we’re at an impasse of sorts. She acts like it never


    happened from her high horse. Like it’s all forgotten,” I finished, slightly surprised by the bitterness in


    my voice.


    “There was no apology?” Ian asked, staring at me intently. “Wait, you didn’t snitch?”


    “I didn’t.” My smile was ugly, vicious and dipped in self-loathing. “She ended uping out as poor


    little Cindere who was just trying to get what she wanted and oh, oops if she went about it the wrong


    way.”


    I realized I had identally typed in the wrong entry. I punched the keys a little too hard as I


    backspaced and corrected it. Then, I fisted my hands, lowering them to myp as I drew in a calming


    breath.


    Rx, I reminded myself.


    “Nobody really knew the details. I’m sure ire spun somepletely different story because,


    suddenly, I was the bad guy even though I had done nothing but have higher intellectual capacity.” I


    forced a shrug. “Anyway, it didn’t matter at the time because I was going through my rebellious phase. I


    was fighting a lot. With my parents. I had a lot on my te so I just couldn’t be bothered about a girl at


    school who was making people call me names simply because I scored higher on a test. It sucked


    but... life sucks sometimes. I never called her or Ralph out on it. I just... took it.”


    An awkward bit of silence passed and I finally looked up, meeting his gaze.


    “I hate that,” I admitted.


    He blinked and stared, not saying anything. I forced a smile, then averted my gaze, returning my


    attention to the desk unit as the most ufortable silence ever descended between us.


    He cleared his throat noisily, drawing my gaze back to him.


    “Do you know what we should do?” he asked.