Ariella woke up the next morning and knew it was going to be awkward at school with Cooper. She brushed her teeth and got dressed into leggings and a baggy grey hoodie before going downstairs groggily to get a waffle. As she put the waffle in the toaster, she felt a pair of eyes on her. She turned around and her mother was smiling at her in the doorway.
"What...?" Ariella asked hesitantly and looked straight back at her mother.
"This Cooper boy..." she began but Ariella cut her off.
"Please don't talk about him I practically hate him." Ariella said and turned around to the toaster and removed the waffle and took a bite.
"I just saw you two TALKING in his car yesterday and I just couldn't help but wonder if you really hate him." she said with a wink and Ariella blushed with not only anger but knowing her mother definitely did not mean 'talking.'
"Well you can forget whatever you saw because he's just another jerk, please don't ask questions." she said and finished off her waffle before hugging her mom and dashing upstairs. Applying some concealer, powder, and mascara, Ariella quickly finished her routine and looked in the mirror before brushing her teeth again, grabbing her backpack, and putting her shoes on. She didn't even bother brushing her hair, what was the point? Who is she trying to impress? She walked out the door and saw a pickup truck in the driveway. Luke. THAT'S who she's trying to impress. She opened the door and sat down in the passenger's seat. Luke lowered the music and smiled.
"Good morning." he said and Ariella couldn't help but smile back.
"Good morning." she said and put her seatbelt on.
"I don't know if Cooper told you the game plan, but we have a set schedule." Luke began as he backed out of the driveway.
"I'll pick you up in the morning and drive you to school, I chose that job so I can be the first one to see you in the morning. At least one of us will be in each of your classes and at least two of us in your lunches. Cooper will drive you home after school and if you want to hang out with Beth then Brandon will probably come along. Michael is in charge of making sure no one is hacking into your phone or harassing you through the internet, and he's going to also make sure none of your friends ever find us suspicious. He's the game maker." Luke finished and Ariella organized the information inside her head.
"Got it. And when do I receive information about what's been going on?" she asked and stared at the ring on her left middle finger.
"We'll give you updates throughout the day if we have anything new to tell you. We'll probably have weekly meetings on Fridays." Luke added a smile at the end because he knew how much pressure was on Ariella.
"All you have to do is keep the ring on your finger at all times unless you're taking a shower or a bath or something." he said and pulled into the school parking lot.
"Seems easy enough." Ariella said and reached for her backpack as Luke hopped out and went around to open the door. Ah, the total opposite of Cooper, and the perfect match for Ariella.
"Thanks." Ariella said and the two walked into the school and to her locker. Luke trailed slightly after her, and it seemed as though all the girls were saying hi to him. She almost laughed and then saw Cooper, just like the first day of school, leaning against the wall by a freshman, so close to her face, practically kissing her. Her stomach seemed to be suddenly twisted by a large hand. Ariella held her breath and tried to look away, but couldn't before Cooper looked her way. He smiled and grabbed the freshman girl's hand and leaned even closer. With a sudden burst of anger and blind confidence, she grabbed Luke's hand and kept walking, making sure to say a stern hello to Cooper and flashing a smile towards the freshman.
After turning the corner, Ariella let go of Luke's hand.
"Sorry about that, I don't know what happened and I don't want to make it weird between us but Cooper won't quit messing with the freshman and-"
Luke grabbed Ariella's hand.
"It's cool. Seriously. It was pretty cute how you did that." he said and winked, making Ariella smile and almost forget about Cooper.
"Let's go to class." Ariella said and let go of Luke's hand.
"Hey." Luke said from behind her.
"What?" Ariella asked and looked at Luke while everything else seemed to disappear.
"Dinner tonight?" he asked and Ariella looked away.
"I don't know Luke, the contract doesn't allow it..." Ariella began and Luke smirked.
"Then I guess I can't give you your ring back." Luke said and flashed his million dollar smile.
"What?" Ariella said and noticed her ring wasn't on her finger.
"Gotta be quicker to notice next time, beautiful. You never know who's after that beautiful ring of your's." Luke said and slipped the ring back on Ariella's finger before walking away.
That was when Ariella noticed.
Anyone could take the ring from her. No one is to be trusted.
No one but Cooper.
YOU ARE READING
My Ammunition
ChickLit"You don't like me." "Yeah. And you don't like me." "Then why are we doing this?" Ariella and Cooper were practically opposites and were most definitely not meant to be. But as soon as one party ends in a drunken Ariella and a "heroic" Cooper, the t...
