Nico Vaughan, the junior class "Nice Girl" wants to be free from her abusive and obsessive ex-boyfriend.
Valen Henford, the school's resident "Rich Guy meets Bad Boy" wants to spend his senior year with the girl he's been in love with for years.
W...
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"And a woman's wrath is nothing if not immortal" (Writing with no light).
|◁ II ▷|
I toss my bag down beside Nico, gaining her attention. The library is less full today, and, usually, I would love that. I still love it, but today I can't just talk about random, light-hearted things.
"Valen?" Nico frowns adorably. "What happened? Did practice go okay today? Here, sit."
She scoots over in her beanbag and pats the open section beside her. I plop down in the open spot, still taking up most of the beanbag. Instead of scooting over more, Nico settles into my side a little bit, causing me to forget what I was gonna say for a moment.
"Oh," I remember. "Nico... I heard some bad rumors today in the locker room. My reputation is affecting yours. I think—I think some people think you've, um, gone off the deep end, or whatever. One of the guys on the team told me you've been losing friends."
She purses her lips. "Hmm. Yeah, I've heard some rumors about me doing drugs and drinking now. Actually heard one the other day about me vandalizing someone's property."
Nico's head turns to me fully, and she gives me a tiny smile. "And the 'friends' I've lost aren't really friends if they believe all those rumors about me. I've tried to settle things the best I can, and I think most people don't believe it all. At least, not the people that matter to me."
"Like the teachers?" I ask.
"Yeah," she hesitates, dragging out the last part of the affirmative. "And my friends. My close people. And you."
As much as I want to stop and ask her to elaborate on her calling me one of her close people that matter to her, I also want her to feel comfortable and secure. "Do you—I mean, would it be better for us to stop the ruse?"
"Nope," she inflects, her eyes becoming somehow lighter. I hold my breath. "I enjoy your company. I want to keep staying in your company."
She's so beautiful. The way she speaks, how her eyes are bright as she tells me she enjoysmy company...
"Hunter?" I manage, glancing back and forth between her eyes as if they will tell me the truth just in case her mouth isn't.
She shrugs nonchalantly. "This has to be keeping him away. He's not been nearly as pushy as he was before you, and even the few times he's—well, you know. He, like, doesn't—He doesn't, um, talk to me much. And when he does, it's, like, just small stuff."
She claps her hands, shocking me into a flinch. "And the galas! I am soexcited, Valen."
Valen.
"I can, um, try to help," I offer, rubbing a hand on my chest absentmindedly. "With the rumors. I can try to settle them."
"It's okay. I don't really care anymore," she chirps, fiddling with her bracelet. "But, um, why don't you try to settle any of the rumors surrounding you?"
