Rejection Hurts On Both Sides

Chapter 15: Be My Girlfriend?

Chapter 15: Be My Girlfriend?

[Recap: Agatha gains a ring from her secret admirer, but because of a suspicious Susan, she involves Evan into her little lie about where she got it from. But because of the pressure, he ‘admits’ that he has feelings for Laura, his seatmate in History Class.]

***

“What do I do?” Evans says frantically, pacing back and forth. “Agatha, what do I do?!”

I look up from my laptop and I squint at him sternly. “First off, stop panicking.” I sneak a glance behind me to see if anyone’s looking at us. “And second of all, keep your voice down. We’re in the library.”

Evan reluctantly takes the seat next to me. “Agatha, help me think of a plan!”

“Uh-huh…” I resume tapping away on my laptop, my eyes focused on my task. “And why should I help you?” I press Ctrl + S, and watch in satisfaction as my file is saved. “I’m kind of busy, if you can’t tell.”

“How are you so nonchalant about this?” Evan asks. Then he mutters, a knowing expression crossing his face, “Oh wait- because you have no sympathy for a handsome guy who is drowning in guilt.”

I raise brow at him, amused. “Wow. Conceited much?”

I get a half-hearted shrug in response.

Then someone else plops down beside us. “Is British Boy done overreacting yet?”

Evan rolls his eyes. “Shut up Jared.”

The other boy widens his eyes innocently. “What? It’s true. So stop acting guilty and full of remorse. If you didn’t want to involve Laura, you shouldn’t have used her as your scapegoat.”

Evan sends him another glare. “It was by accident. She was the first person who walked through the doors!”

“You know, you could have just said, ‘I’m sorry, Susan, but I can’t tell you who my crush is.’” Jared says in a pretty decent imitation of Evan’s voice.

The other one remains silent for a few moments.

“Hey, I was being pressured!” Evan finally finds his voice and tries to defend himself. “And to be fair, I’m not that quick when I’m being interrogated!”

“Then that goes to show how small your brain is,” Jared smiles lazily. “It’s just as small as your d-”

“Stop right there,” I cut in, irritated. I close my laptop and say, “Children, behave.”

They both grumble, but reluctantly stop their soon-to-be-escalating banter.

Guess their civility to each other was only temporary.

I check my watch. “I guess I’ve got a five minute break from encoding files.” I turn my attention to Evan. “Now, what were you saying about making a plan?”

Evan heaves out a grateful sigh. “See, this misunderstanding has to be straightened out soon. And you’re going to help me.”

This time my eyes widen, and I start to shake my head. “Why do I have a feeling that I’m not going to like this plan of yours?”

“You’re not supposed to like the plan,” Evan says matter-of-factly. “Because this dilemma is your fault.”

I put a hand to my chest, appalled. “Why would you think that?” My voice quavers, but Evan doesn’t even bat an eye. I slightly squint, hoping to squeeze out a few tears for conviction, but nothing happens.