"Wow. I just...I dont know, I thought you had, um, standards," Mandy says, whispering the last part so I don't hear. But I do.
Aaron turns and looks at me, probably seeing the vein that's popping on the side of my forehead from clenching my jaw too hard. Mandy's words infuriate me but I know she's not worth it. She's all talk but the minute someone tells her anything she backs down like a little bitch.
"I do," Aaron replies, "And I think my standards have been beyond met. Now why don't you go bother someone else Mandy? You're talking too much and it's making my head hurt."
Mandy opens her mouth, somewhat shocked at what he just said but instead clears her throat and nods before walking away.
"And here I thought you were a bitch but that girl takes it to a whole other level. She's so annoying."
"Annoying is her specialty," I murmur.
"But damn son, that whole thing on Lux not only meeting but being beyond your standards was good," Omar comments with a laugh. I turn and look at him, narrowing my eyes at his direction.
"Let's go sit down, I'm getting tired of just standing here," Aaron says, ignoring Omar's comment.
He takes ahold of my hand and pulls me with him.
I try pulling away but he only holds me tighter.
"That hurts," I say.
"Then stop trying to get away."
"Ugh," I groan, "let's just sit there."
I point at an empty table at the back of the room.
"There? Hell no, that's where the losers sit. Why don't we sit there."
Aaron points at an empty table at the very front beside a crowded area.
"There's too many people there."
"Exactly," he says and pull me toward the table.
We sit down and I let out a sigh as I reach for my phone in my bag, in hopes of finding a message from Nat or Maru but no such luck.
I can feel the stares burning at me from the people around us. I turn around to look at them but they quickly look down.
"I don't get why they're staring," I voice out loud.
"Get used to it. The whole point of tonight is to have everyone's eyes on us."
I look up at Aaron.
"Easy for you to say. You're used to being the center of attention."
"Well yes, but I wasn't always. Anyways, do you want something to drink? I'm getting thirsty so I'm gonna get something."
"I'm good."
Aaron nods and gets up from his chair to walk to the table with all the refreshments.
Suddenly Giana and her friends sit beside me.
"What do you want?" I ask annoyed.
"I can't believe you came with Aaron Reeves," Giana says.
"Why not?"
"Because you're not that pretty or popular. You honestly have nothing good to offer and we all know Aaron is way too good looking for you. In all honesty you two coming together is such a joke."
I can't help but feel even a little hurt by her words but I don't let her see it. Instead I raise an eyebrow at her and glare.
"And what? Do you think you're any better? Last time I checked you thought Aaron was such an awful person. But now you seem so interested in him."
Giana looks at me, taken aback. She let's out a scoff.
"I'm not interested in him!"
"So then what are you doing here? Do you think Aaron will come back and see you sitting there and notice you somehow?"
"You think you're so badass now that Aaron is talking to you don't you Lux? Well you better get off your high horse because nobody cares about Aaron anymore. Especially not me. You're a joke and everyone knows it." With that said Giana stands up and walks off angrily with her friends.
Aaron comes back, drink on his hand and sits down.
"What's with the face?" he questions.
"Get up."
"Why? I just got here."
"Because we're going to dance. Everyone here thinks we're a joke. Well we sure as hell are going to prove them wrong tonight. So get up and get ready to act."
Confused Aaron stands up. I grab his hand and pull him to the dance floor.
We dance to the upbeat songs together and from the corner of my eye I can see Giana and her friends staring.
Finally a slow song comes on and I turn to face Aaron. Without a word he grabs me and pulls me close to him, his arms around my waist. I wrap my arms around his neck and we dance together slowly, our eyes solely on each other.
"Let's end with a dip," Aaron says.
"A dip?"
"Yeah, you know. The dip they couple makes in movies when they're dancing together?"
"Its almost as if you base your life off a movie."
"If I didn't I don't think I'd be much of an interesting person," he responds.
"Why not?"
"Don't worry about it, now get ready, the song is about to end. Just follow my every move. You dance pretty good so just let me guide you. You said its time to act before you pulled me into the dance floor. Well I say let's give these people a show they won't forget."
I nod and continue dancing, letting him guide me through the song until finally he decides to twirl me and I do so before I'm back onto his hold, his hands on my waist and he pulls me close and down into a dip.
I stare into his eyes and before I have a chance to register what is going on he pulls me back up to him, presses his hand onto my cheek and slams his lips onto mine. I freeze, shocked at his actions.
He pulls away slightly and stares at me, a small smile on his face before kissing on me again. This time with more intensity.
When we pull away Aaron grabs my hand.
"I like you," he says slowly, "I like you so much Lux."
Each word come out of his mouth has a sense of sincerity. His eyes don't leave mime as he talks nor does the smile on his face falter any less. He looks as if he's about to kiss me again and this time I brace myself, my eyes closing as my hearts beats at an unusually fast pace.
"What are you doing?" I hear Aaron whisper as he squeezes my hand.
I open my eyes immidiately and see the confused look on his face.
Instead of looking at me he looks around us and forces a smile.
"Nothing," I say embarrased. I look around and notice how people are staring at us, shocked and maybe a little confused.
Aaron pulls me with his back to table. He grabs his drink and takes a sip of it.
"I'm going to the restroom," he says before he turns, leaving me alone again.
"Wow," I hear someone say.
I look toward the voice I heard and find Nat and Maru standing not too far away. They walk closer to me before finally sitting beside me.
"When did you two get here?" I question.
"Not too long ago, but we made it just in time to see the total make out session between you and Mr. Bad Boy," says Maru.
"That looked intense," adds Nat.
"Really?" I question.
"Definitely. You should've seen Giana's face though," replies Nat.
"Oh yeah," says Maru, "she got all red and looked all angry. She literally stomped out of here the moment Aaron kissed you again. Geez that looked so real."
"Yeah, I'm glad it worked."
"It was fake right?" Wonders Maru.
"Of course," I say.
"Just making sure. I mean this could all backfire or something."
I let out a laugh.
"What is this? Some sort of cliche bad boy novel? It's not gonna backfire."
"What makes you so sure?"
"I've said this before and I'll say it again. Aaron Reeves is nothing but a phony. He's no bad boy. The real bad boys are nothing like the things we see in the movies. So I am more than one hundred percent assured that this won't backfire at all."
"Would it be bad if it did?" Asks Nat.
"Of course Nat. Don't forget that voice over that was recorded. Everything Aaron said is what defines him. He's not boyfriend material. He can barely go a day without trying to make his as if he was the main protagonist of a movie. If we spend out time stuck in fictional depictions of stereotypical people then we'll only lead ourselves to the disappointment of reality."
"I guess you're right. I don't know. You two made it look so real."
"Its called acting," Aaron cuts in.
We all turn our head and find him standing before us.
"I mean I saw the videos from the winter play last semester and damn Lux was your acting shit. But today you proved you're better than what you give on stage. Anyways anybody want some fruit punch? It's really good."
I let out a scoff as I stare at Aaron. He's smiling ear to ear, probably content with himself because of the moment we shared tonight, or should I say the moment everyone else thinks we shared.
Suddenly our phones buzz simultaneously. Aaron and I give each other a look before glancing put our phone.
@queen_giana tagged you in a post.
I open up the post from Instagram. It is a picture of the homecoming tickets. It isn't the picture that catches my attention but rather the long description.
@queen_giana the funniest part of tonight was when the school's douchebag kissed the school's biggest loser. honestly what a joke. the kiss was as fake as both of them, maybe even more.
I open the comments.
@frankthetank who even is she? never seen her before
@lucyinthesky he's still really hot tho
@vickywashere total fake kiss, they both looked so uncomfortable
@ayyitseliza really? It looked pretty real to me...
@karen.west @queen_giana @ayyitseliza I second that, the kiss was more than just a kiss
@nataliejacobs why don't you mind your own business? so far the only fake one that I see is you. Quit spreading rumors of things you don't know
I look up at Nat after I read her comment.
"I'm about to kick her ass," she tells me.
"Me too," says Maru and stands up.
"Don't," adds Aaron. We all turn to look at him.
"This is good," he says, "I've got another plan. And I need all three of you, but first let's go find my friends.
A U T H O R ' S N O T E
what's up? how have you all been?
hope you all have been doing good. :)
any thoughts on today's update?
I know it seems like the kiss might have happened too early, but fear not you guys, I know what I'm doing. Aaron's plan may or may not backfire on him and Lux...and that doesn't mean they fall in love or anything. It could mean something totally different ;)
And giana...well let's just say she's gonna get what she deserves...to an extent...
Ily all, thank you so much for supporting this silly book. You guys make me so happy. ð