Chapter 11

Chloe

Chloe rushed into the classroom, ignoring the way Ms. Reed glared at her as she rushed to her seat. She plopped down on it and yanked out her notebook and pencils, ignoring the way Nash stared at her, his eyes curious. Focus. Her eyes flung up to the chalkboard Ms. Reed scribbled equations across. She began to note them down.

But a few seats ahead of her, Thomas snickered. The two girls, who Chloe learned were Carly and Erica, shot her looks and their friend, Peter, shook his head at her. Their eyes were full of judgement and Chloe pulled her eyes away.

"What's their problem?" Nash returned their glare, leaving Chloe stunned. She glanced back at Thomas who scoffed before returning his attention to the board.

Amazed, Chloe admired Nash for a moment, wishing she was more like him. Just so unabashedly himself, never afraid of what others thought. He was so fearless and Chloe wished once again, she was more like him than herself.

"You're going to make them more mad," Sophia hissed next to Chloe's seat.

Nash glanced at Sophia and rolled his eyes. "Good. Those jerks deserve to feel my wrath."

"And those jerks are going to do something you'll regret."

"I dare them to try."

Sophia huffed, returning her focus to the board and Chloe glanced at Nash. Maybe it wasn't always a good thing to be so unafraid. She bit her lip, hoping Thomas wouldn't do anything to Nash. Nash wan't perfect, but Chloe was sure his intentions were always in the right place.

"Okay class, you can work on your assignments for now," Ms. Reed said "I need to step out for a few minutes, I'll be back."

Ms. Reed left the room and Nash bolted up. He glanced at his watch and wandered off, leaving Chloe frowning, but she didn't say anything. Nash was never one to fool around in school - he valued his education, so she didn't worry.

"I don't understand what we're learning," Sophia groaned. "Double integrals. I thought regular integrals were already hard enough."

Chloe smiled at her friend. Sophia had sunk into her seat with defeat, her black hair spilling around her.

"I can help you," Chloe said. "Maybe we can have a study session in the evening."

"No, no you already have so much on your plate! I don't want to burden you."

"You could never burden me. Let me help you."

Sophia shook her head vigorously. Her shoulders dropped in the process as her eyes fell across her notebook scribbled with notes.

"I wish I was smarter. I hate that nothing comes easy to me like it does to you."

"You're an Elite. You're brilliant, Sophia."

"But I have to try so hard. If we were given an IQ test, I'm sure I'd be kicked out of the Elites tomorrow."

"Sophia, trust me, it's more important to be hardworking than naturally intelligent. You are brilliant the way you are. You should never feel bad. Instead, you should feel proud that you are the fourth Elite. You're one of the best of the bests."

Sophia said nothing, but she finally met Chloe's gaze. Chloe smiled and Sophia returned it, leaving Chloe relived.

"Thank you Chloe, you're so perfect but you never make anyone feel beneath you. You deserve to be the first Elite."

Chloe flushed, embarrassed and Sophia giggled. Chloe then pushed her desk closer to Sophia's and she helped her through her assignment.

*****

Oh no. Chloe bit her lip. She had forgotten her notes at Nash's house. She had taken her water bottle out of her bag when she refilled it in his kitchen and she'd taken some notes out with it, and somehow she had totally forgotten to put them back. They had to be lying around somewhere on the counter.

Do I go? Chloe paced next to her bike. She stayed back for a bit to help Sophia with her Calculus homework and Nash had to be home. She could just drop by to grab it - worst case Naya would be there, but Chloe felt shy. Even though they started hanging out more outside of school hours, Chloe was still unsure of her relationship with Nash. Were they friends or just rivals? She had no idea, but she needed those notes for her assignment tomorrow.

Chloe sighed. She hopped on her bike and made her way to Nash's house - a twenty minute bike ride from Sakuya university and soon she drove up into his driveway. She hopped off her bike, leaning it against his five garage doors and made her way to his front door. Taking a deep breath, she paused for a moment, running her fingers through her hair and straightening out her skirt and uniform shirt, before she rang the doorbell.

For a minute, no one opened the door. Oh no. Chloe cursed herself. She should have texted Nash, but she hadn't contacted him since the arcade. She truly didn't know what her status was with him and she bounced on her heels, feeling more and more anxious.

Then the door flew open and Nash stood there panting, his face paling at the sight of her. Chloe tried to smile, but she could hear a women giggling inside.

"What are you doing here?" Nash asked.

"I-I left my notes. Um, can I grab them?"

Nash searched her face, looking torn. He was wearing gray sweatpants and a white t-shirt, his brown eyes tired and Chloe panicked, but Nash stepped aside.

"Come in," Nash said. "I... I have to warn you though. My parents are in the kitchen. Grab your notes and run."

"Oh, your parents came back?" Stunned, Chloe followed Nash towards the kitchen, her voice a mere whisper. "That's good, isn't it?"

"Oh no, Chloe. I promise you it's not. You will understand if you don't run."

Chloe frowned. But before she could ask any more question, she entered the kitchen with Nash only to gasp, because his parents were making out against the counter.

"Please stop. We have a guest here," Nash said flatly.

Chloe rushed to grab her notes that lay across the counter while Nash's parents pulled apart. She stilled for a moment, stunned at the sight of Nash's dad. He looked exactly like Nash, but like an older version of him. With the same dark brown hair, dark eyes and tall figure, Chloe could see how Nash would look in a few decades.

However, his mom looked nothing like him. She was all blonde and petite, with piercing blue eyes. She looked like a supermodel and the same could be said for Nash's dad.

"Sorry, Nashy, but get used to it," his mom teased, leaning forward to peck Nash's dad. "That'll be you with your girlfriend in a few years." His mom's eyes landed on Chloe with a teasing glint in them. "I'm Anne. And what's your name?"

"Chloe," she squeaked out. She pulled her notes to her chest, debating on sprinting out, but Nash's parents had their entire attention on her.

"Why Nash, why didn't you tell us you had a girlfriend?" Nash's dad asked. "We would have invited her over for dinner."

"She's not my girlfriend. And you guys are making her uncomfortable." Nash stormed towards Chloe. "Come on, let's go."

"Don't be so rude," his mom scolded. "Now Chloe, how did you meet Nash?"

"School."

Chloe glanced at Nash. His hands had curled into fists and he trembled with anger. Chloe glanced between him and his parents, wondering what had occurred before she'd come over.

"Ah, you must be one of those Elites," his father said. "What spot are you?"

"Um, first."

"Oh wow, pretty and smart. Nash sure is punching above his weight." His mom laughed. "What do your parents do? We should invite them over one day."

Chloe tensed then. So much had happened, so many questions, and now her world came full stop. Nash's parents stared at her, eagerly awaiting her response and she stood there, feeling the shame wash over her, even though she had nothing to be ashamed of. But standing there in their house with the two of them dresses in Louis Vuitton, Chloe felt like nothing - nothing important at least, and she wished to disappear once more.

"Well, go on," Nash's mom said, raising an eyebrow. "We're waiting, sweetheart."

"She-" Nash began.

"Let her speak for herself, son."

Nash glared at them. He moved to grab Chloe, but Chloe didn't want to be ashamed. She didn't want to make her parents or anyone think she was ashamed of them, so she answered truthfully. "My mom passed away five years ago. And my dad doesn't work."

"Your dad doesn't work?" Nash's dad frowned. "How does he pay the bills?"

"We-" Chloe began, but Nash's mom scoffed.

"Dad's probably leaching off her mom's life insurance. Classic. Wait for someone to die and use their money so you can retire early. How pathetic."

Chloe recoiled, stunned by the words his mom lashed out. She gaped at her, but grew more stunned by the disgust on both of Nash's parents' faces. They truly thought they were leaching off her mom's life insurance, but that was far from the truth. Her mom didn't even have life insurance - she left nothing behind, and Chloe stood there speechless. Did people really think Chloe's family could do that?

"Not another word from either of you," Nash hissed. His tone was dark and low, and Chloe looked to him. He glared at his parents, sliding close to Chloe. "Don't ever speak to her or anyone like that."

"We're just speaking the truth, Nashy," his mom said. "We-"

"Enough." Nash moved to grab Chloe's arm. "Come on, let's get out of here."

But before Nash could touch Chloe, she burst forward. Without a second thought, without hesitation, Chloe bolted down the hallway towards the front door, ignoring the way Nash called out to her. She kept running, keeping her notes pressed against her chest, until she was outside.

She then ran to her bike and hopped on. Nash burst through the front doors and he called out to her, his hair wild, his eyes panicked, and Chloe ignored him. Fighting back tears, the shame, the guilt, Chloe biked away, wishing to leave Nash's life behind.

Why had she thought they could ever be friends? How could she be so naive? Nash had everything. His parents had given him that much. And they would always look down on her because she was nothing. Compared to them, she was nothing and they would think the worst of her without even knowing how much she had given up to give her and her dad a second chance at a decent life.