IGNITE

ten.

੭୧ 𝐩𝐢𝐩𝐞𝐫 ੭୧

In the days following Grey totaling my car, I had managed to avoid any situation that ended with me on the back of a motorcycle, instead having Max take me wherever I needed to go—much to her dismay.

The thought of sitting on the back of that death trap made my stomach churn and my hands shake, and so, I avoided it at all costs.

Unfortunately, this also meant I was subjected to constant lecturing from Max, who, I knew wasn't all that torn up about having to show up to my house most days, if her constant blush around Cyrus and Ryan were any indication.

"You have a crush," I pointed out, watching her reaction as she weaved through the city traffic.

"I do not," she snapped, her face turning red as she kept her gaze fixed on the road ahead. "Mind your business, Pipes."

Ignoring her, I tapped my finger against my bottom lip thoughtfully and returned my gaze to the busy intersection. "My question is: who? I mean, Ryan makes you laugh but...Cyrus...he makes you all dreamy and flustered and he doesn't even know he does it."

"I am going to hit you if you don't stop talking."

I bit back a smile, shrugging, and continued watching the world outside the car. Silence settled over us for a moment, before Max let out a defeated sigh and glanced over at me, her expression unreadable. "Why do you care who I like?"

"You're my best friend," I shrugged, meeting her gaze, "I just want to see you happy. That's all."

She stared at me for a moment, something flickering in her gaze before a wide smile split her lips. "Yeah, okay. I want you to be happy, but you don't see me asking you about Grey."

My eyes widened. "Grey?" I echoed, twisting around in my seat to narrow my eyes at my best friend. "What are you talking about? He hates me. I'm actually pretty sure he'd put me in a box and ship me to another continent if he could."

Max smirked. "That's why he can't keep his eyes off of you when you're around," she said with an exaggerated nod. "He clearly hates your guts."

I opened my mouth to argue with her but stopped, frowning. "You're delusional."

"No," she laughed, her eyes glinting mischievously, "you just don't see the way he looks at you when he thinks no one is watching. The dude has it bad for you."

"Stop," I grumbled, heat creeping into my cheeks as I stared down at my hands. "This was supposed to be about you."

"And, now it's not." Max sent me a sickeningly sweet smile as she pulled into Mr. Beaurigard's parking lot, parking the car beside the curb before turning to me. "If it makes you feel any better, I think you two would make an annoyingly adorable couple. The grumpy dickhead and the optimistic sweetheart with a little bit of sexual tension."

"Maxine," I warned, glaring at my best friend before smacking her arm. "We do not have any sexual tension."

She only shrugged in response. "We're here," she pointed out, ignoring my outburst completely as she unlocked my door, and sent me a shooing gesture, a smug smile pulling at her lips. "Now shut up and get your ass inside. I need to go back to work."

✧

Unsurprisingly, Mr. Beaurigard was not impressed with my work, his scarily unwrinkled face pulled into a tight frown as his eyes swept over the painting I had spent countless hours on throughout the last week.