Pretty Girls

CHAPTER 34

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

IF APOLLO WAS a human, then I would be the plague. For the rest of the day, he made it his mission to avoid me and steer clear of my path. Since Apollo and I had every single class together, I would arrive to the next class only to see Apollo in his usual seat. Mine, however, would more often than not be taken up by a different girl each time.

Jealousy churned in my gut, making me lightheaded as I tried time after time to corner him but to no avail. In place of our usual routine back when we were on speaking terms, this became our new routine; him avoiding me and I, in turn, running after him, trying to catch him at every inch and corner of our school.

In the next few days, Jacob and I's relationship were solidified as the new 'it' couple. I, by unanimous vote, took the place and throne in which Victoria had proudly sat on months beforehand. Word spread like wildfire and if I thought Apollo avoided me back when Jacob and I's relationship first became public, I had seen nothing yet.

Whenever I entered the cafeteria with my newfound entourage that came along with the popularity, Apollo would immediately leave. Sometimes, he would purposely bang shoulders with Jacob forcefully, so much so that the latter nearly got knocked off his feet once.

Everyday after school, if I ran fast enough and managed to escape the ever-constant hands, eyes, and ears of my new 'friends', I would catch Apollo leaving the school's parking lot on the very same motorcycle that had entwined our fates in the first time. A flashy blonde would sit behind him, her long arms clasped tightly around his waist. Or, a busty brunette would be leaning her head against his back just as they race out of school.

The green-eyed monster worked harder than ever to keep me constantly irritated at myself. My mood started to dip and my temper shortened drastically. No matter what it was that Felicity and her loyal followers did, whether to gossip about the latest fashion trends or talk badly about the rest of the student population, I would snap at them. I had spotted Lana rolling her eyes at me more than once, clearly annoyed by my moodiness yet she did not dare to speak up. She was simply not in the place to.

Thankfully, Jacob was an unexpected brightness during this gloomy period of time. He had became more than a boyfriend in name and had became one of my best friends. He spent time and effort to talk to me, more so than any of my new so-called friends did. Occasionally, he would surprise me with a bouquet of flowers in school - a different type every time - and the whole cohort would gush about it for hours upon hours. In-between classes, I would still hear the muffled giggles and jealousy-filled sighs of other girls (and some boys) whenever I walked past them with Jacob's arm slung around my shoulder.

Although one might argue that it was his job as a boyfriend to keep me happy, and I in turn to make him smile, I treated him more like a friend than a romantic partner. I soon realized, although a little too late, that no matter how hard I tried, Jacob just wasn't 'the guy' for me. Yet, I never had the heart to tell him. Especially not in front of the ever-growing crowd while their attention was pinned on us like lions to their prey.

The more I was fed with this newfound popularity, the more it was clear that it would never be enough to fill up the gaping hole in my heart left by the people that I allowed to walk out of my life.

It took my weeks before I finally succeeded in cornering Apollo, leaving him nowhere to run.

"I need to speak with you."

His cold foreign blue eyes stared at me, eyeing me with borderline disdain before looking straight ahead. Apollo easily pushed past me, making me stumble in my steps. "And you did."

"Just five minutes, please." It took me much longer than I thought but I eventually caught up to him again, scuttling as quickly as I could in my heels. Even though he obviously heard me, he did not respond. He continued to walk, his strides long and without hesitation. He did not seem to be stopping anytime soon.