CLOSED!!
chérine sterling was the it girl of Maple Hill university in journalism. the only thing between her and her dream job is an article . . .
what happens when you do everything the opposite? you lose the guy.
cherine has to lose the guy in 1...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
CHAPTER THREE. . . -> " ATTENTION"
denise tapped her foot impatiently as she stood in the middle of the party, glancing around for any sign of phoebe. how long does it take to go to the bathroom? she thought, shaking her head.
the party was already in full swing, music pounding through the speakers, people laughing and talking all around her. cherine had disappeared with rowan calloway not too long ago, and now here she was, standing alone in the middle of the chaos.
guess i’ll have to fend for myself, she mused, rolling her eyes.
deciding there was no point waiting for phoebe to come back, denise turned on her heel and headed straight for the drinks table. she wasn’t really in the mood for anything too strong, but something to sip on would make it less awkward to stand around alone.
as she approached the table, she noticed a familiar figure surrounded by a group of girls. tall, brunette, with a cocky grin plastered on his face. the boy was clearly in his element, tossing out comments here and there, making the girls laugh and fawn over him.
denise snorted to herself. of course, it’s silas.
silas meadows, expert at playing the “mysterious guy” act. she’d seen him around campus plenty of times before—always with a group of admirers, always playing it cool. but the thing about guys like him was that they were all the same. they acted like they didn’t care, like they were too cool for everyone else, but deep down, they thrived on the attention.
and silas? well, he was practically basking in it right now.
typical, denise thought, grabbing a cup and filling it with some punch.
she didn’t bother acknowledging him, not even a glance his way. if there was one thing she knew for sure, it was that she wasn’t about to stroke his already inflated ego by giving him any attention.
as she stood there, sipping her drink and pretending not to notice him, she couldn’t help but overhear bits and pieces of his conversation with the girls. something about how he “doesn’t usually come to these kinds of parties” and “yeah, the band’s great, but you should hear them live.”
denise rolled her eyes. please.
she could feel his gaze flicker toward her for a brief moment, probably wondering why she hadn’t joined the crowd of girls hanging on his every word.
but she kept her cool, continuing to sip her drink and scan the room, making it very clear that she couldn’t care less about him or his little group of admirers.
but then, of course, he had to speak up. “you into the punch?” his voice cut through the noise, suddenly directed at her.
denise didn’t look at him, didn’t even flinch. “it’s fine,” she replied flatly, taking another sip. “i’ve had better.”
there was a pause, then a soft laugh from silas. “you don’t look like the type to come to parties like this often.”
finally, denise glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. “and you don’t look like the type to care.”
silas grinned, clearly entertained by her indifference. “you’re right. i don’t.”
denise couldn’t help but smirk at his response. at least he wasn’t pretending to be something he wasn’t. she glanced over at the group of girls still hovering around him, clearly confused as to why his attention had shifted. denise leaned casually against the table, still playing it cool.
“you seem to be having a great time,” she said, motioning toward the group with a tilt of her head. “must be exhausting, keeping up the mysterious act.”
silas raised an eyebrow, his grin widening. “oh, you think i’m mysterious?”
denise rolled her eyes. “not even a little. i think you want people to think you are.”
“is that so?” silas replied, crossing his arms as if challenging her. “and what do you think i’m really like then, denise?”
the way he said her name caught her attention. he knew who she was. interesting.
denise shrugged, pretending to be disinterested even though the game was becoming a lot more fun. “you probably go around charming your way through life, convincing everyone you’re deep and hard to figure out. but really? you’re just a regular guy with too much confidence and not enough substance.”
silas let out a laugh, clearly amused. “ouch. you really don’t hold back, do you?”
“why would i?” denise said, meeting his gaze head-on. “i’ve heard it all before.” silas stepped a little closer, the smirk never leaving his face. “you’ve got me all figured out, huh?”
“i didn’t say that,” denise replied coolly, setting her cup down on the table. “but i’m not going to be another one of those girls who hangs on your every word, if that’s what you’re hoping for.”
silas studied her for a moment, his expression shifting from playful to curious. “i wasn’t expecting that.”
“good,” denise said with a satisfied smile. “i like to keep people on their toes.”
silas chuckled, leaning against the table next to her. “you’re not like the other girls here, are you?”
denise couldn’t help but laugh at that. “is that supposed to be a compliment?”
“depends,” silas said, his eyes gleaming with mischief. “is it working?”
denise shot him a sideways glance, her lips quirking into a small smile. “you’ll have to try harder than that.”
the girls that had been surrounding silas had started to disperse, sensing that his attention was now fully on denise. she noticed it, of course, but didn’t comment on it. instead, she turned back to the table and poured herself another drink, maintaining her casual, indifferent demeanor.
silas, clearly intrigued, wasn’t going to let her slip away that easily. “so, what does it take to impress you then?”
denise pretended to think for a moment, swirling the punch in her cup before looking back at him. “you’ll have to figure that out on your own.”
silas grinned, leaning in just a bit closer. “challenge accepted.”
denise raised an eyebrow, amused by his persistence. this should be interesting.
as she turned to leave, she could feel his gaze still lingering on her, the challenge now fully set. denise wasn’t one to play games, but if silas wanted to try and charm her, well, she was more than ready to play along.
after all, it wasn’t often someone like silas meadows met his match.
EJONA SPEAKS!!
expect more updates, cause ive been writing a lotttt, i just need to edit the chapters mwahhhh
