The Lie

Chapter Ten

Hort stared at Sophie for a solid two minutes, not speaking.

She awkwardly shifted on her feet and looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Nicola?" he asked.

Sophie nodded and glared at him.

"Are you going to help me or not?" she whispered.

Hort just looked at her for a moment before nodding.

"What do I do?" she asked.

Hort took a second to consider before he responded.

"You should just tell her how you feel," Hort said.

Sophie shook her head quickly.

Hort frowned.

"Why not?"

Sophie-

Wait, was she blushing?!

Yes, Hort could see a small red tint to her cheeks.

"Because... she's an Ever."

Hort raised an eyebrow.

"And I'm a Never. She dated me."

"But..."

Sophie trailed off and blushed a deeper shade of red.

Hort stared at her until she continued.

Sophie has been trying her hardest to not admit this to herself (let alone Hort), but... she needed to admit it.

"She's out of my league, Hort," she muttered.

Hort stared at her.

"She's smart and pretty and to top it all off she's a good person. I know I'm hot and smart in a pinch but... she might have liked you, but you're not evil like me. You're the sweet, adorable kind of puppy way you are. I'm the real evil. Nobody likes that. Only person that would ever accept that except Agatha. Even Hester has Anadil practically drooling whenever she walks into the room!"

Hort almost passed out for the third time that day considering the fact that he was hearing Sophie being insecure.

That...

That had never happened.

He may have stared spluttering, but instead he caught sight of Nicola standing just a few feet down the hall from the two.