downpour / mileven au.

five.

CHAPTER FIVE;
ARTIFICIAL AFFECTIONS.

one pretty brunette, adorning her favorite light pink babydoll dress beneath a bulky jean jacket, was perched on the top of a picnic table in the desolate school courtyard, clutching a book in her hand. her young and unreliable spanish teacher decided not to show up for class this friday, giving her an extra free period.

unlike her classmates, she had decided to spend her 50 minutes of freedom reading.

she frowned as the scene of her book began to fade from her mind, for it to quickly be polluted with thoughts of guilt.

this was becoming quite a common (and frustrating) occurrence as of late.

as previously mentioned, el never lied. well, she never lied up until now -- seeing as her entire life is practically a lie at this point. at least, that's how she and her heavy conscious feel.

she'd been fake dating mike wheeler for only five days, and she was ready to throw in the towel already. not because mike was a bad fake boyfriend. to be honest, she'd somehow developed a tolerance for the lanky smart-ass.

based on the opinion she had formed when he was only her brother's closest friend, she was expecting a narcissistic brat. and though he was sort of a brat and had narcissistic tendencies, he was also kind and compassionate. it puzzled her what he saw in someone as superficial as brooke carters.

but with mike's newfound presence in her life, she noticed will's absence.

when their parents got married, they quickly became attached at the hip. they shared a bond she could have never had with shelly, nor did she want to. it was like a real brother and sister type of bond, and the fact that he was ignoring her hurt much more than she was allowing herself to believe.

she squeezed her eyes shut tightly, shaking away the haunting thoughts. she elicited a soft sigh, flipping back in her book to the spot where she had earlier zoned out at because she had absolutely no idea what the last four paragraphs she read said.

she slightly jumped when a voice asks, "whatcha' reading?"

her hazel eyes peek over the top of her book to see the object of her artificial affections. "brave new world," she simply responds before returning to her reading.

unbothered by her sharp tone, he takes the seat beside her on the table. knowing he had no intention of going away, she rolls her eyes and succumbs before folding the corner of her book. with the book now resting in her lap, she looks over to find a seemingly bored mike.

"did you want something?" she quips, making sure she sounded sassy rather than annoyed — though she was. he glances to her before shaking his head with a smirk. her brows furrow, "then why are you sitting with me? wait, why aren't you in class?"

"first, i'm sitting with you because you're fun to annoy," she rolls her eyes, again. "and second, this is my free period. wait, why aren't you in class? don't tell me you skipped to read a book because that's a new level of path—"

"i'm not skipping," she corrects, "but my spanish teacher is," she corrects. noticing a smirk draw at his plump lips, she quips "what?"

he shakes his head, "never mind, you wouldn't do it."

she cocks her head, offended. "i wouldn't do what?"

"skip school," he replies, almost challengingly.

she scoffs before conceding, "you're absolutely correct, i wouldn't." she reaches for her book, no longer interested in continuing this conversation.