DEAD INSIDE

(18)

"Oh by the way, I almost forgot..." Niall stood up from the living room table and went to get a white envelope from his duffle bag. My heart fluttered when I guessed what it most likely was and I frowned at my reaction.

He handed it to me so I put it under my folder without a word and went back to my English homework.

"No need to take it out on me..." Niall said after I ignored him for the third time since Marla and Marvin had left.

"Didn't it occur to you that maybe I just didn't want to talk to you?!" I interjected coldly.

"You could at least tell me what I did for you to be mad at me..." He argued after running his hand through his dirty blond hair, clearly frustrated.

"Does it matter?" I snapped. "I'm exhausted and I have this assignment to finish..." I paused. "In fact, why don't you just go home now that they've left." I suggested. "I won't tell them..."

"F*ck, Ali!" He exploded, making me jump. "I'd understand if you treated Scott or Milo like that but what did I ever do to you?!"

I huffed.

"To me, nothing but leading on my best friend for years makes you a shitty person in my book." I shot back coldly and his face fell when he finally understood what was going on.

"Melody?" He questioned, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Who else?!"

He let out a long sigh.

"I was going to pick her..." He then murmured. "I almost did..." He added. "But she's a junior, Ali, and I'll be graduating in May... What kind of future would that mean for us?" He lifted his head again and looked at me straight in the eye. "I didn't even know she'd picked on my interest...Was I that obvious?" he asked sadly.

"Well, you did get her a valentine rose last year..." I reminded him, my eyebrows high on my forehead. "If that's not evidence enough..."

His frown startled me.

"I didn't get her a rose..." He interjected with a grimace, letting me know what he thought of the very idea of offering one of the valentine roses the student committee sold every year to raise money for Prom.

It was my turn to frown.

"Someone called Niall certainly did and there is no other Niall at scho..." I stopped mid-word when I realized that there was in fact another Niall, a lanky and awkward boy one year younger than Deedee and I. "Hmm..." I grimaced and he must have known the boy too because he chuckled.

"Oh man... That kid must have been way disappointed when Dee never acknowledged him..." He joked.

"She's decided to move on..." I heard myself blurt out. "And unless my telling you so acts like an electroshock to your brain and you finally open your eyes on what you're missing on, I advise you to keep on ignoring her and picking up girls in front of her..." I added, the threat in my tone hard to miss. "Otherwise you can kiss goodbye to having kids..." I finished, my eyes narrowed into slits by that point.

"I'll remember, Little Spy..." He tried but failed to hide his amusement.

I groaned.

"Whatever..." I mumbled and resumed working on my essay.

He didn't talk to me again before I finally saved and printed my finished work. I then put my books away and headed to my room, and frowned when he followed me.

"What are you doing?" I asked him.

"I'm sleeping in your room." He stated in a tone that didn't leave room for argument.