All Bets Are Off

Chapter Twelve - Ella Fordman: The Girl Who Faces Her Fears

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Dedicated to dan_mcgrathxo for the suggestion of Francisco Lachowski as Carter—he has officially been cast as our bad boy! Thanks for the votes, guys!

 

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~Chapter Twelve - Ella Fordman: The Girl Who Faces Her Fears~

I’d come to my senses by the next morning.

            I mean, sure, Phoenix was doing me a big favor by helping me out with Alessandro, and I would always be grateful for the dedication he was putting into this. But that wasn’t enough to make me want to go into the lake.

            I mean, one thing I’d never do was use Phoenix’s fears against him, and I definitely wasn’t incorporating any clowns into the dance any time soon. So, even though I owed him, why should I have to face my fears for him? Getting over my fear of water was going to be a major step, and I wasn’t sure if it was worth it. I already had enough on my mind without the added worries of lakes and drowning and imminent death.

            So that morning, I walked up to Phoenix, who was shuffling through papers in his locker, with his headphones in, paying no attention to the world. I cleared my throat to try and catch his attention, but he was still caught up in biology notes and didn’t seem to hear me. I rolled my eyes and tapped him on the shoulder.

            Immediately he yelled out a curse and swung around, eyes wide as he reached up and savagely yanked out his earphones. I jumped at his reaction, taking a step back and holding up my hands. “Whoa!” I said, eyes wide at his reaction. “You’re a bit jumpy there.”

            He sighed and leaned against the locker, his face contorting with relief as he rolled his eyes comically. “Oh, thank God it’s just you. I’ve been getting texts from Twyla all week, and I’m kinda paranoid now.”

            I raised an eyebrow. “Wow. Who knew Phoenix Adams would ever have girl troubles?”

            He rolled his eyes. “It’s ridiculous. I’ve been ignoring her calls, but she seems hell-bent on getting that second date.”

            Now I smirked happily, bouncing on my heels. “So, I got teased for having Tobey and Hayden approach me, and now you’re the one with the date problems?”

            A flush filtered onto his cheeks, and my jaw dropped at his embarrassed reaction. Phoenix never blushed. Like, ever. “Shut up.”

            “Holy crap,” I breathed, eyes widening. “You’re blushing! Phoenix Adams is actually blushing!”

            He turned away from me, his jaw clenching as he stared determinedly into the messy black abyss he called his locker. “Am not.”

            “Aw, that’s adorable!” I cooed.