The Arrangement

Chapter Three

The days stretched on, each one feeling longer than the last as we struggled to maintain the illusion of our engagement. Damien's bad-boy persona seemed to grow stronger with every passing moment, his charm masking the darkness that lurked beneath the surface.

At school, he flirted shamelessly with other girls, his attention flitting from one to the next like a bee in a field of flowers. I watched, a mixture of jealousy and frustration bubbling up inside me, as he laughed and joked with them, his devil-may-care attitude drawing them in like moths to a flame. For someone that had agreed to pretend that he was interested in me, he was doing a bad job.

But despite his flirtatious behavior, Damien's attitude towards me bordered on outright rudeness at times, his words cutting deeper than any physical blow. There were moments when I felt like I was walking on eggshells around him, never knowing when his temper would flare up or when his sarcasm would strike like a viper. 

Just earlier today we had an argument over a party we were going to on Saturday, Damien didn't believe I would be as good at acting like we were hooking up in front of everyone outside of school. Damien's tone had suddenly shifted during our conversations when it was brought up, his words laced with a sharp edge that cut through the air like a knife. "Are you sure you're up for this, Maddison?" he remarked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I mean, it's not like you're known for your stellar social skills."

I bristled at his remark, feeling a surge of indignation rise within me. "Excuse me?" I retorted, unable to hide the hurt in my voice. 

He shrugged, his expression unreadable. "Just saying. You might want to work on your people skills before you embarrass yourself in front of everyone."

I felt a knot form in the pit of my stomach, the sting of his words lingering long after he had walked away. In a way he wasn't wrong, I had a small group of friends, I had been friends with Katie for years and Damien seems to forget about our previous friendship sometimes. Despite my best efforts to brush it off, I couldn't shake the feeling of unease that settled over me. As we sat in the cafeteria later, Damien's gaze flickered over to me, a smirk playing at the corners of his lips. "What's up, princess? Enjoying your lunch?"

I rolled my eyes, refusing to rise to his bait. "It's fine, Damien. Thanks for asking."

He chuckled, leaning back in his chair. "No problem, Madds. Just looking out for you." Quickly he reaches and steals my sandwich from my plate.

"Sandwich thief!" I shot him a withering glare, but couldn't help the faint smile that tugged at the corners of my lips. Despite everything, Damien had a way of getting under my skin in the most infuriatingly charming way possible.

"Do you remember that time we got lost in the woods behind your house?" I asked, trying to lighten the mood, meanwhile I grabbed my sandwich back, taking the first chance I had at distraction.

Damien's expression softened for a moment, a flicker of nostalgia passing through his eyes. "Yeah, I remember," he said, a hint of a smile playing at the corners of his lips. "That was the day we found that hidden cave, right?"

I nodded, a rush of memories flooding back to me. "Yeah, and we swore we'd never tell anyone about it. Until we got lost for hours and had to call our parents to come rescue us."

He laughed, the sound echoing through the empty cafeteria. 

I missed that laugh.

It had been four years since Damien and I had drifted apart, the first year of high school, it started with a simple argument. It's not something I really like to think about and I wonder if Damien ever feels the same, not that I would ever ask him.