Chapter 18: Chapter Seventeen

Dedicated to fallzswimmer because I met her at the meetup and she's one of the nicest people ever. Plus, I still can't quite believe she's actually reading this story :-)

Thanks to EvaLynx for the banner!

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I sprint through the hallway, wildly rounding the corner whilst narrowly missing a bemused-looking freshman.

And, when I reach my destination, I don’t even bother to drag my feet to a halt. Instead, when my gaze lands on the unsuspecting blonde standing at his locker, I just launch myself at him.

“Nathan!” I cry, enclosing him in the tightest hug I’ve ever given in my life. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! You’re a genius! Have I ever told you I love you?”

A muffled response into the fabric of my shirt follows. After a couple of seconds, I feel Nathan’s hands scrambling to push me away and allow him some oxygen. Still grinning, I release my vice-like grip and take a step back. Well, I think to myself, after what this guy has done, I think he deserves some air.

Nathan looks slightly flustered as he emerges from my hug; a light pink blush is dusted across his cheeks and an adorable half-nervous smile crosses his features as he scratches the back of his head. A few moments later he clears his throat. “Any particular reason for this sudden affection?”

“I got a B!” I squeal, waving the piece of paper in front of his face. “A B in algebra!”

Relaying the information for a second time only makes my good mood increase. When Mr. Moore had stood at the front of the class just over an hour ago, announcing he was giving back last week’s graded quiz papers, I had been worried. It would be a lie to say I wasn’t mentally preparing myself for seeing the F on the front of mine. I know Nathan’s tutoring had been helping, but I just don’t fare well in tests. I can go over the material a thousand times (you know, if I could actually be bothered to do that), but once I’m plunged into silence with only the slight rustling of paper for company, anything can happen. Like an F.

But wait, hold the front page! Georgie Howard isn’t a complete failure in math.

I got a B!

“Well done!” Nathan congratulates me with a smile. “See, I told you that you could do it.”

“You, my friend, are a genius,” I tell him once more, just in case the message hasn’t quite got through. “Anyone who can get me to pass an algebra test needs to be given some kind of medal.”

“You underestimate yourself,” he says. “You can do it when you put your mind to it.”

“And when I have a tutor as great as you.”

The faintest hint of a blush tints Nathan’s cheeks for a second, before all traces of its color disappear. “So I guess now you don’t need me to tutor you anymore.”

“Wait, what?” The smile vanishes from my face almost instantly. “Of course I do! You think I can keep this up on my own? I need you!”

Nathan can’t disappear on me now – not after I’ve finally cracked algebra. This B is just the start of my journey towards a life where I don’t completely suck at the subject (a girl can dream). If he abandons me now, well… it’s a slippery slope back to square one.

And square one is not somewhere I want to be right now.

“Whoa, calm down,” Nathan responds. His joking tone is a comforting reassurance that he doesn’t actually intend on leaving me to fight this out on my own. Needless to say, it’s a huge relief. “I was kidding. I’ll still tutor you if you want.”

“Thank you!”

Deciding that a simple smile isn’t representative enough of my gratitude, I fling my arms around him and go in for another hug. This time, he returns it, pulling his arms around me until the two of us are locked in each other’s grasp.

We’re probably the only people on this planet who get this excited about a B.

But whatever. This is a big moment for me.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spot a familiar figure across the hallway. Two figures, to be precise. Charlotte has her back to me, half leaning against a locker whilst totally absorbed in a (probably pointless) story she’s telling. Knowing her, it’s probably an in depth tale about how she chipped her French manicure.

Much to my annoyance, her auburn hair looks even bouncier and shinier than usual (what I’d give to know what hair products she uses). However, despite how healthy her hair looks, the person on the receiving end seems far from interested in what she has to say.

In fact, he seems more interested in mine and Nathan’s hug.

A glimmer of amusement ignites inside me. Maybe it’s just me, but from where I’m standing, it sure looks like Connor’s... jealous. I can’t really understand why, but the flicker of annoyance in his eyes is enough of an indicator. What’s there to be jealous of, anyway? He’s the one who broke off all contact between us, and he’s the one who acted like a total jerk in the first place. Our gazes linger on each other for less than a second; he’s the first one to break it.

Then, in the space of about three seconds, his arm has snaked around Charlotte’s waist, pulling her closer and effectively silencing her by pressing their lips together.

Connor and I have officially stopped speaking to each other after the confrontation last week. Not one word has been exchanged between us since he stormed out of my bedroom, despite the difficulty of physically avoiding him. Being next door neighbors, it seems we’re forever crossing paths, but our communication is always limited to a brief glaring session before continuing on our way.

And I have to admit… things have been a lot simpler since.

I mean, sure, there’s his and Charlotte’s ridiculous PDA to deal with, but other than that, things have improved. At least we’ve managed to avoid being near each other when our moms are around, which is massively helping our case.

I’m telling you, if my mom got wind of the fact that Connor and I had a fight and were no longer on speaking terms (not that we were before), it’d be a disaster. She’d be forever pestering me, probably using her own methods to fix this.

Ugh, no. It practically makes me shudder at the thought.

His words have definitely had an effect on me though. I can’t help but find myself constantly wondering what he meant when he said I hadn’t changed at all. Surely that would be a good thing, to hold the same personality from when we were best friends? So why did he say it with such spite?

It’s not like I can even ask him; there’s no way in hell he’d speak to me.

I force myself to look away from their heavy make out session by retracting my arms from around Nathan and putting some distance in between us. Trying to push the thoughts of Connor and Charlotte pressed up against the lockers together out of my mind, I smile at Nathan.

“I really am grateful for all the help,” I say, for lack of a better conversation starter. “And I’m glad we’ve got to know each other better. You’re a good friend.”

“So,” Connor says loudly, when the pair find enough self-control to pull themselves away from each other. “I heard there’s a carnival in town this weekend. You wanna go?”

Suddenly, I’m fully tuned into their conversation. I’ve known about the carnival for a while now, but I haven’t really thought about whether I’m going to attend. I usually do, since it’s one of the only remotely interesting things that happens in this small town. But, in all honesty, lately I’ve been a little preoccupied with all the Connor drama to think of much else.

I can’t see Charlotte’s face, but her laughter rings out loudly enough.

“The carnival? Not the classiest of places but, hey. I suppose we could go.”

“Don’t worry,” he responds, a smirk settling on his face, “I’ll take care of you if you get scared on the rides. And if we get bored, my place is always an option... sound better?”

Their tones and sickly expressions are practically hitting my gag reflex. I know Connor’s doing it on purpose, but even so, it’s nauseating. Of course, the smart thing to do would be to  ignore him and pretend that I haven’t even noticed the pair standing a couple of meters away from us.

But, as you’ve probably guessed, I’m not one for doing the “smart thing”.

Definitely not.

“Hey, are you okay?” Nathan’s voice shakes me from my thoughts. When I arrive back in reality, I see him peering at me curiously. “You kinda zoned out for a minute there. Got a kind of weird look on your face.”

Gee, thanks.

“Do you want to go to the carnival together on Friday?” I ask outright, surprising even myself with my boldness. I shoot what I hope is an encouraging smile in Nathan’s direction, and pray internally he hasn’t overheard Connor too.

It’s probably a cheap shot, I know. But what could be better payback for Connor than giving him a taste of his own medicine? So the jerk wants to flaunt the fact that he’s dating someone else in front of me... well, whatever. Who says I’m not allowed to do the same thing?

Plus, it’s not like I’m going to be hurting Nathan. He’s a nice guy; we’ll have fun hanging out.

Nathan’s surprised expression is enough to tell me he’s taken aback with my proposition too. For a moment he just stands still, studying me as if worried I’m about to suddenly yell “kidding!” and laugh it off. His bright blue eyes pierce into mine curiously, like deep pools of water. Then, when he grasps the fact that I’m serious, he snaps out of his mesmerized state.

“You mean... like, a date?”

“Sure,” I say, still smiling.

“Oh, um...” His flustered expression returns immediately. I might find it cuter if I wasn’t so preoccupied with analyzing Connor from across the hall, waiting for some kind of reaction. “Yeah. That sounds fun.”

Much to my dismay, Connor hasn’t even spared so much as a glance in our direction. Is that because he’s genuinely interested in flirting shamelessly with Charlotte, or is he purposely avoiding eye contact? Maybe he has been listening, but doesn’t want to give me the satisfaction of showing it.

Yeah, I tell myself with an inward smirk, that’s probably it.

“Great!” I say, a little too enthusiastically. Then I purposely raise my voice, just to ensure it doesn’t go unheard by any eavesdroppers. “So is Friday okay? Pick me up at six?”

“Sure, yeah,” Nathan breathes, looking a little overwhelmed by the situation. “If my truck is reliable enough to get us there. One can hope.”

I laugh. “I’m sure it’ll be fine. You spend enough time working on it, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I suppose. Well... I’ll see you then. And, um, well done on your test, by the way. I knew you could do it.” The last few words come out a little too quickly, tripping over each other in their haste to get out, but I’m able to grasp what he’s saying.

“Thanks, but I honestly couldn’t have done it without you.”

Nathan smiles – the genuine expression lighting up his features completely – and for a second, I feel a pang of guilt strike my insides. I know, deep down, that it’s not fair to ask him out purely to provoke a reaction from an enemy. But I just can’t help myself, especially after how Connor has made my life a living hell these past couple of weeks. Seeing me with Nathan has obviously struck a jealous chord, and I can’t resist having a little fun with it.

Nathan’s a nice enough guy, so maybe we would’ve ended up going out at one point or another.

I’ve just made things happen a little sooner, right?

Yeah... that’s what I’ll keep telling myself.

The harsh ringing of the bell yanks me out of my daydream. Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I notice that the hallway is gradually filling with students grabbing textbooks from lockers and heading off to class. Even so, Connor has made absolutely no attempt to detach himself from Charlotte.

“I’ll see you around,” I tell Nathan, adjusting the bag on my shoulder. “Don’t forget our study sessions. Just because I’m not a failing student doesn’t mean I don’t need your help.”

He laughs. “You weren’t a failing student to begin with.”

“Are you kidding? I don’t think I ever got higher than a D in that class... and that was a good day.”

“Okay, okay,” he responds, holding his hands up, “but you’re definitely not failing now. And you know what? I don’t think it’ll be long before you get that A.”

I raise my eyebrows. “Nathan, I don’t think even a genius like you could make that happen. But if you want to aim high, then go for it. Now, we should probably get moving or we’re going to end up being late. I’ll see you in class, okay?”

Still smiling, I turn to head off down the hallway. As I pass North Shore’s most annoying couple, I can’t resist the urge to look at Connor triumphantly. The eye contact between us only lasts for less than a second, but the irritation that glazes his irises is worth it.

So worth it.

If he wants to be a jerk, then so be it. Two can play at that game.

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Ugh, back to school tomorrow :( And that also means back to exam hell. We only have 3 and a half weeks until study leave starts, so it's very hectic. I'm not sure how much my writing time's going to suffer because of it, but I'll try my best :-)

OH, I know what I was going to say. A lot of people have been asking for a chapter in Connor's POV but... yeah, it's not going to happen. I'm not a fan of POV changes in a story and also it would just give the whole thing away. Sorry to disappoint, but you'll just have to wait and find out! <3