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What could I say? P was pretty danged lucky. All I wanted was a guy who had more depth to him than a wet sock. Someone with a future, real plans for his life. Instead, I was fake-dating Hollywood’s wild child, the exact opposite of the kind of guy I’d been holding out for.
When the warning bell rang, P squeezed my arm before she backed toward the door to her classroom as she held my gaze. “It’ll be fine,” she reassured me.
I hooked my thumbs under the straps of my backpack, watching as she turned and disappeared into her classroom. With a sigh, I headed toward math class, but the moment I stepped inside, all heads turned to me, their collective gaze expectant. And then, like a dam breaking, a torrent of questions burst throughout the room while I stood there, staring back at my peers, dread gripping my bones like a vice.
THORNE
It had been a long time since I’d attended a physical school. Nearly seven years, to be exact. Throughout those years, there were many times I wished I could go back, that I could somehow merge my newfound fame and life on-screen with my old one. If only to have some semblance of normalcy. To go to pep rallies and football games and school dances. Experience for one day, one minute, or even a second of what it felt like to be a normal kid. You name it; I missed it all. But today, I got a glimpse of how that would never work. At least not at a regular school.
So far, most of the classes I attended had turned into one giant Q&A session. Either the teachers were as bad as the students, wanting to know everything, or they threw their hands up and gave up on teaching when they realized there was no way to win the student’s attention back after a celebrity bombed their class.
At this rate, I’d be lucky not to get the boot by the end of the week for being too much of a distraction. But I refused to let that happen. My presence at Lakeview, with Scarlett on my arm, would help sell my story to the press. And, okay, I’d admit it. I might enjoy getting under her skin, and this had certainly gotten a reaction out of her.
Plus, what else did I have to do?
I sat in chemistry class while the teacher did his best to continue a lecture despite the constant murmuring and the fact that ninety percent of the eyes in the room were fixed on me, rather than the dry erase board he was currently scribbling notes on. In front of me, Scarlett stared straight ahead with the focus of a neurosurgeon. After arriving at class and spotting me behind her seat, which was one hundred percent intentional, she barely said two words to me.
We’d need to have a serious talk after school about her acting skills.
Next to her sat a boy to her right with overly gelled hair and thick-framed Clark Kent style glasses, sporting a Ralph Lauren oxford buttoned to the neck and chinos. A complete tool if I ever saw one. Yet his gaze continued to flicker in her direction with a lovesick expression. And crazy or not, it stirred something inside of me—a tightening in my chest that felt familiar, one I hadn’t experienced in a long time. A feeling I vaguely recalled as jealousy, which just might indicate my level of insanity, because what did I have to be jealous of? The pleats in his perfectly pressed slacks?
Loverboy rubbed the back of his neck, risking another glance to Scarlett, who either pretended not to notice or was completely oblivious, all while the chemistry teacher droned on saying who-knew-what because I certainly wasn’t paying attention. And before I knew what was happening, the class broke up and started splitting off into pairs.
“Will you be my partner?” a voice purred beside me. A quick glance revealed a pretty blonde, one I recognized from the hallway when she’d introduced herself in a crooning, sickening sweet tone. Gabby, if I recalled correctly.
“Uh, actually—” Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed lover boy partnering with Scarlett and the words died on my tongue.
Gabby followed my gaze. “Oh, don’t worry about him.” Gabby waved away what she must’ve mistaken for concern. “They’re always partners.”
“Oh, yeah. No, of course, it’s fine,” I said, because there was no way I was having her think I was jealous of that douche.
“Great!” Her blue eyes brightened, and I turned to face her fully as she opened her lab workbook.
Thirty minutes later, my head hurt from the number of times Gabby giggled in my ear at something I said. And, no, I wasn’t trying to be funny. All I wanted was to escape, which only made me more irritated with Scarlett for putting me in this position.
She should’ve beenmypartner.
“Are you headed to lunch?” Gabby twirled a lock of hair around her finger while she chewed on her lower lip in a way I assumed she intended to be intriguing but only made her look constipated.
“Erm . . .” I glanced behind her to find a beefy dude and another girl waiting for her in the doorway.
I nodded my head in their direction. “Looks like your entourage arrived.”
She glanced their way and a grin snaked across her full lips. “Don’t worry, we have room for one more. Come on, let me introduce you.”
She grabbed my hand and yanked me forward while I shot a glance in Scarlett’s direction. Based on the flare of her nostrils and the death stare directed my way, I’d say she was none too happy with my newfound friendship, which made the spiteful part of me glad.
A couple more people joined her crew before Gabby pointed, calling out their names. “This is Mikey, JT, Xia, and Luca. Everyone,” she said, spreading her arms out toward me like I was a prize on a game show, “you know Thorne,” she said, like we were best friends.
“Bro, you should join us after school,” the tall one said. “We’re going over to JT’s place. Dude has an indoor pool.”
Bro?
“Uh . . .” Out of the corner of my eye, I recognized Scarlett’s petite frame, standing behind us, glaring while Pretty Boy tried to talk to her to no avail. “I think I’ll pass, actually. I already have plans.”
“Aw.” Gabby pouted and stuck out her lower lip. “Well, you’ll at least join us for lunch?”
“Sorry. Can’t.” I backed away—slowly, like hunted prey, because that’s exactly how I felt. “Gotta eat with my girl.”
