A shy high school senior jock and a closed-off girl battling an immune disorder fake a relationship to win a social media contest.
Being shy isn't easy, especially when you're the new kid at school. Scotts Valley's football program is subpar compare...
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"Split up our lunch table, huh?" A sarcastic voice filled my ear with welcomed familiarity. "And who's this mystery noob the school's buzzing about? Brady? Buddy?"
Before I answered Vi, a sharp elbow bumped my shoulder. It was attached to a tall, muscular guy with bronzed skin, thick lashes, and black curls. Unlike the effortless, wind-swept look Brody made look natural, Caden's locked-in strands were coiled too tight.
"Watch it, Patches." He pushed past me, striding to the center of the outdoor cafeteria with swaggered steps.
Fresh air wasn't enough to wipe out the rumor mill and social segregation celebrated at high school lunch hour. I glared at the back of Caden's head, blurring the sun's highlights on the tops of all those curls. He plopped down next to Cassidy and slipped an arm over her shoulders.
Guess she hooked him with her claws again. Next to them, Layla was planted on Pierce's lap. After a sweep of blonde hair, her lips glued to his neck while he ate. Hopefully, he spilled crumbs into her cleavage. I choked on dry air when Nate sat across from them, followed by Espe. Despite being outside, a wall-closing in sensation sank my shoulders. Painful beats took residence in my chest, followed by a coil of pain that twisted tighter the longer I watched them. Nate. The same Nate who—
"Espe and Nate?" A low whistle sounded in my other ear, with a voice dryer than the sauna heat beating down on my scalp. "Shocker."
The skin behind my ears crawled like an invisible army of ants lived rent-free in between the layers. Invisible short, coarse hairs brushed up and down the sides of my neck. The itches always demanded to be scratched. Only years of knowing how they felt after I indulged turned me away from their temptations.
Scratching inflamed the pink spots, drawing more attention to my source of harassment: being different. Instead, I wrinkled my nose. A chill dripping down my back was a new sensation, with two invisible knives stabbing me. Nate's drove into my heart while Espe's sliced down my spine. Gutted from both sides, I didn't stand a chance. I couldn't move, and my emotions were too tumultuous for my brain to process anything other than 'How?' looped on repeat. I didn't want to see anymore, but my eyes welled with hot tears the more my heart crumpled into ash. "You knew?"
My tall, heavy-set friend wore a bored expression. Would Xavier also abandon me today? Violet stayed because there wasn't enough money in this world to bribe her into indulging Pierce's company. Spurned rejection inspired Vi's reaction, but in this case, she rejected him. Between them, they knew the reasons why, but he still hit on her whenever she was within a six-foot radius.
Xavi's brown eyes caught the sunlight as they rolled. "I do now." His biting tone mirrored Violet's scowl.
After this morning, so did I.
"Paige..." Warm hands wrapped over my shoulders. Instead of the prickles grating on my nerves, begging for a scratch, I focused on his kind, deep, blue eyes, tousled black hair, and half-cocked smile. Craning my neck, my tall, thin, hopeful boyfriend's face offered no clue why he asked me to come here.
