Trust Me

Chapter 3

It hit me the minute I woke up.  Aidan was going to be looking for me in costume at school.  Except that I never dressed like that for school.  How was I supposed to get around this one?

Even though it would piss Persephone off, I had to call her and ask her opinion.  

“It’s 5:30 in the morning!  Why the hell are you calling me?” she demanded the instant she picked up her phone.  I already had the water running for my shower to wash the pissed emotions left from last night away.  God, Aidan!  Why were you so difficult?

“Because Aidan is going to be looking for me at school.  In case you didn’t notice, I was in costume last night, and I don’t dress like that for school!  What do I do now?” I asked.  I could practically hear Persephone’s I-told-you-so grin on the other side of the phone.

“God, Ash.  When did I become the master at this who isn’t supposed to stay the hell out of it?  What do you want me to do?” she replied.  

I took a good look at myself in the mirror.  A well-placed lie could get me out of this.  It could be the perfect explanation to why my blond hair was curled, my blue-green eyes weren’t rimmed with dark black eyeliner, and I wasn’t dressed in purple skinny jeans with a black, ripped up t-shirt.  Right?

“Persephone, I’m not in the mood for an argument at the crack of dawn.  Just help me out, please?” I said with a sigh, trying to think of a way to wake myself up enough to find a solution to my problem.  

A well placed lie.  Nothing seemed all that believable.  What about just avoiding him?  Would he even come looking for me?  I could always just go to school in costume.  I’d get strange looks from everyone, and everyone would wonder what the hell I was doing, but it could work.  At least Aidan wouldn’t suspect anything.

“Don’t go to school,” she suggested.  

“How is missing school for a day supposed to help me?” I pointed out.

“You’re right.  Get hit by a bus and miss the rest of the year.  By the time you’re back in school, he’ll have graduated,” she explained.  

“You’re so helpful,” I replied with sarcasm falling in flashing letters from my voice.  

“Wear your scene clothes to school.  No one questions a sudden appearance change.  They’ll just express their love or hate of the look, then they’ll move on.  That’s all,” she said.

Steam started clouding the mirror before me with the shower heating up the bathroom.  I took the time to put my contacts in before getting off the phone and getting in the shower, despite my eye doctor’s warning not to wear them in the shower.  They had yet to wash away or melt onto my eyes, and until that happened, I didn’t care enough to change my ways.  I liked being able to see what I was doing without having a cloud of blur constantly shielding my shampoo from my view.

“I’m not really into that idea.  As soon as I lure Aidan in, I’ll stop dressing like that.  Imagine if it only takes two days.  I’ll either look like an idiot or have to tell people my job.  It’ll make things so much harder if everyone knows that I’m an undercover actress,” I explained.  

With the bathroom becoming uncomfortably hot, I had no choice but to get off the phone and get in the shower.  The hot water woke me up slightly, so I actually possessed the ability to think.  Nothing seemed right to me.  Avoiding him wouldn’t work.  It would only kill my chances later.  There was no way I’d risk exposing myself or getting strange looks by changing my appearance at school.  But what lies could I really come up with?

Choosing the route of ignorance and continuing on my path of winging it, I got ready for school like usual.  Nothing different than curling my blond hair, light amount of makeup, green t-shirt, skinny jeans, and black Converse Chuck Taylors.  Aidan would hate me.  If I was lucky, he wouldn’t recognize me.