The Price of Popularity (BoyxBoy)

{4}

He confidently walked over to the table, stopping right behind Maisy. A few of the girls mistook the action as some flirty move and they smiled at Asher, thinking that he was going to surprise her with a kiss or something. Instead, he tapped her on the shoulder.

She turned around, that all too fake smile already plastered on her features like a cheap mask. ‘Asher,' she spoke his name as a greeting and he hated the way that she spoke his name like she knew him. Maisy didn't know a thing about him, he was sure of it.

‘Can I speak to you outside for a moment, please?’ He decided to be polite, realising that anything else probably wouldn’t get him very far.

‘Yeah sure,’ Maisy replied, her smile not faltering.

Asher could feel everyone’s eyes on them as Maisy got up from the table, walking in the direction of the back door. Asher followed her, and he glanced back at the table as he walked. His friends were all looking at them, and Bethany sent him a reassuring smile. He smiled back, trying to let her know that he had everything under control.

They walked out the back door of the cafeteria which lead out onto a small pathway. If they had followed the pathway it would have lead them back to the main building, but instead Maisy turned to Asher as soon as they were out of view of everyone else.

‘What’s up?’ She asked, flipping some of her bright hair over her shoulder. She asked the question as if the answer would be something simple and casual like what sort of ice-cream do you like? not why are you trying to complicate my life with all of this BS?

‘Well, the entire school thinks that we slept together and are now dating, that’s what’s up,’ Asher told her bluntly, not hiding his disgruntled tone.

‘Oh, that,’ she said somewhat guiltily.

‘Yeah, that.’

‘Look,’ Maisy shrugged, ‘I didn’t think it would be that much of a deal.’

‘Well, it is.’

‘Why?’ she asked, ‘You have the reputation for the guy who sleeps around, and my friends have been telling me to get with you for months, and so I thought that it would alright if I just added my name to your black book.’

‘Ok,’ Asher shrugged, ‘I get what you mean,’ if anyone understood social pressure it was him, ‘but we aren’t dating, and I don’t plan on dating you. Don’t get me wrong, you are a nice girl, but I am not dating you.’

He had hoped that with that statement it would end, that Maisy would smile that fake smile and say something like well, it’s your loss, but of course, with Asher’s luck, and Maisy’s personality, it didn’t end there.

Maisy looked slightly angry, ‘Look, this would be beneficial for both of us. You get to date the cheer captain, and I get to date you. We would be prom king and queen. Perfect couple. Why are you against this?’

He was getting angry now, ‘Maybe because I didn’t ask you out?’

‘Come on Asher, we all know how this school works. Reputation is everything,’ she told him.

‘And what, you need me to distract everyone once they find out that little miss perfect is about to become little miss poor?’

There it was. His cards were on the table, and he had dealt one hell of a hand.

‘What?’ Maisy’s entire demeanour changed and her face hardened, ‘How did you find out about that?’

‘You think that you can use me to stay popular?’ Asher taunted, ‘Well, it’s not happening.’