Chpt 9: "The lovebirds and the garbage can"

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Anna's P.O.V

"For real?!" Devin asks incredulous.

"You're less likely to kill us both, since your abdomen isn't that important while driving." I reason.

"I hate your car." He whines.

"Oh come on, you're being dramatic." I comment.

"It's always so crammed, it doesn't drive as smooth and it's not an automatic." He argues.

"It's crammed because you never adjust the seat and your tall ass doesn't fit in the same seat as I do. Before you go and say it's hard, it's done in three seconds. Plus you're just spoiled."

"I still don't wanna do it." He stubbornly states.

"You'll have to, we've got to go to school. Here's what, you'll drive, I'll do the gear switching and on the way back we pick up your dearly loved car." I compromise.

"Fine." He huffs.

"Great! Let's get going then." I reply and walk out the door.

I lock the door behind Devin after sending Diesel off to the backyard. We get in the car, Devin adjusts the seat for once and we drive off with me switching the gears.

"We still need to decide on our fabulous return." I say.

"How about we walk into the school hand in hand, make them believe we're a couple." He chuckles.

I laugh. "Let's not."

"Why not?! Don't you want to be my fake girlfriend?"

"Hey I have no problem being your fake girlfriend, I've done it before and I'd do it again. It's just that rumors spread like fire here and are impossible to contain. I don't need all your secret admirers who now have intense hope after your breakup on top of the people already annoying the shit outta me." I answer.

"You think I have secret admirers?" He asks with a smirk.

"Bitch look at yourself, of course you do. I don't think your relationship with Harper held people from liking you." I deadpan.

"Oh really?" He starts. "Then why has nobody approached me yet?"

"Harper and this." I state and point towards myself.

His reply basically consists of a really-Anna,-the-fuck.-now-why-would-that-be-true look.

"What?! It's true. If I went to a different high school you, Jace, Ayla and Brad would have a very different and probably larger friend group. Befriending you or any of the others, means to some length befriending me and a lot of people don't find themselves up to the task. Approaching you because of an evident crush means kinda the same." I tell him.

"You say that like befriending you is equivalent to climbing Mount Everest." Devin exclaims incredulous.

"I say that like people think befriending me is hard as fuck."

"But it's not! As long as you're a decent person and give it a little time." He responds.

"It doesn't matter what it actually is." I state annoyed. "It's all about what people think. If they think you're an impossibly approachable person who will grab you by the throat as soon as you make on wrong move, it doesn't matter if that's not who you are."

"I'm not necessarily intimidating, but people think I am, so that's what I am to them." I huff agitated.

Devin looks at me with a look I can't quite place. "If you're not intimidating, then what are you?"

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