Cover (COMPLETED)

23) There's a door.

I stick my tongue out at him and shake my head. "I'm not being embarrassed, I'm simply stating the facts. I would not lie to you, I am an honest woman, I pride myself on this. I am truthfully not the love interest of Ace."

The boys look from one to another and start cracking up. "Beauty and brains, but ignorant as hell." Says the redhead to the rest of the boys between fits of laughter.

I turn to Algor. "Why do you spread rumors? Dweeb."

Algor ignores me. "I know. I tried to ask her out once and she just totally brushed me off, this girl is quite something to deal with."

"I am standing right here Algor." I say sternly, glaring at him. Glancing back at the other boys I nod to them. "And who are you?"

The African American smiles and holds out his hand. I take it and shake is quickly as he introduces himself. "Lane." I nod and turn to the redhead. "Eden."

The Italian boy stands up and advances on me. Once he is only inches away, he puts his hands on the window, caging me with my back to the window. "I'm Gino." He says.

"I'm quite uncomfortable with your proximity." I tell him nervously, trying to press myself closer to the glass behind me, hoping to fall through and escape the boy.

Gino smiles and inches even closer.

Getting really nervous, I raise my knee and make contact with his family jewels, or groin, or whatever you prefer to call his package. When he bends over in pain, I take advantage of his instability and push him backwards, away from me and into the desks, sending him sprawling across the floor.

I look up to see the rest of the boys looking from Gino to me and back again. Raising my gaze farther, I see Ace standing by the door, an amused look on his face.

"I was just about to come and be your night in shining armor, but you were always better at playing that part yourself anyway." He says as he walks closer to me, planting a kiss on my forged and laying an arm across my shoulders, unintentionally comforting me. Or maybe intentionally.

I lean into him subconsciously and stuff my hands into my hoodie pockets. "As I recal, I'm not only my own night in shining armor, but also yours."

All the boys look at Ace expectantly, waiting for him to elaborate. But Ace just smiles at them and says nothing, ignoring their looks and taking a seat on the front desk. I lean against the window again and look out.

"So what do you guys usually do when you're in here?" I ask them, not turning from the window. I imagine them all shrugging and wait silently for a reply.

Gino had pulled himself off the floor by now and was seated at a desk again. "We talk, play games on our phones, discuss the hottest girls in school." I look back at them and nod, slightly confused.

"Lately you've been the topic of the last." Eden tells me, while the other boys nod, saying that this was true.

I lift the back of my hand up to connect with my forehead, frowning when I seem to be at the normal body temperature.

Lane looks at me questioningly, with one eyebrow raised. "What are you doing?"

I shift my hand to my cheek then neck, still the same temperature. "I'm not hot. Is my face reddened?" I don't see how they could know if I was hot (and I'm not) if I myself didn't even know.

The room erupts in laughter, only adding to my confusion. When the group had calmed down and were no longer doubled over, (Lane wiped away a tear from his eye) I wait for them to tell me what was going on. Is this an inside joke?

Eden stands up from his desk and lays an arm across my shoulders, I don't really mind but I still prefer it when Ace does it. He looks down at me and smiles, chuckling again. "Hot is another word for pretty, attractive" I nod my head in understanding, but he continues. "beautiful, gorgeous-"

"Okay, I get it." I say at the same time as Ace says. "You hitting on her bro?"

I frown down at the ground and ignore Ace and Eden as they bicker back and forth about if he was hitting on me (which he was not, seeing as his hands made no contact with me whatsoever, he was but complimenting me).

"Usually a girl would swoon if Eden, this handsome idiot over here, said that they were pretty, attractive, beau-well, you get the point." Algor says with a grin.

I look up at him and tilt my head. "Oh, I don't put much stock in people's words."

Ace looks over at me with furrowed eyebrows, as do the rest of the boys. "What do you mean?" They all ask in unison.

I sigh and push off the window, strolling back and forth along them as I explain. "I don't tend to believe what people say, especially with no proof. People lie and I decided it was best to just not trust them."

It seems like each of the boys has about ten different emotions running across their eyes, yet I can't decipher a single look. "You don't think you're pretty?" Gino clarifies for the group.

I squint my eyes again, considering, then shake my head. "No. I believe there are far more attractive people. But I don't need to be attractive, for its what's inside that counts. I am very intelligent and kind, I don't need to depend on physical appearance for anything that I cannot get with my attitude and character."

Ace, Algor, Gino and Eden all have their mouths wide open, staring at me blankly. Lane just shrugs and runs a hand through his hair. "Most girls don't think their hot, but a lot are, and you don't even care what you look like, which is a first."

Ace looks at the door then down at the ground, staying like that. I look amongst the guys then return my gaze out he window. I squint at something in the distance then push myself off the window again, stepping back so that I can unlatch then open the window.

"What are you doing?" Algor almost yells as I put one leg out of the window. His words make everyone's focus zone in on me again and Ace bolts up and over to me with lightning speed, pulling me back into the room.

"What are you doing Luna?"

Every time he says that name, my heart breaks a little (metaphorically speaking). I wiggle myself out of his arms and go to the window again. "I need to talk to someone. It's only a little less than a story anyway."

The school is partially underground and this side of the building is shallowly so, giving me a shorter dropping distance to the ground.

Eden points behind himself. "There's a door."

I roll my eyes and pull my other leg out of the window so that I'm balancing on the window sill. "I know, but then I'd have to go all the way around the school to get out, this is quicker." With that, I jump out of the window, the boys cries of protest following me all the way down.