The Girl in the Boys' Dorms

Chapter Thirteen: Once a conceited jerk, always a conceited jerk.

The Girl in the Boys' Dorms - Chapter Thirteen: Once a conceited jerk, always a conceited jerk... I'm just too innocent to realize that.

You know, sometimes I wondered why I went through such trouble to get noticed. Because apparently, no matter how hard I tried to hint Evan into my feelings for him, he seemed to want to remain on his separate, incredibly platonic side of the friendship.

Like now, as he was reading a message out of the Spanish book - which had turned into one of my worst enemies, seeing as how it was always blocking Evan from me during our tutoring sessions - I scooted closer to him, extending an arm so that my fingers were brushing his wrist. He twitched slightly, and I thought I was finally getting some sort of reaction out of him... but rather than taking my hand in his, Evan pretended to have to flip the page, and removed it from the table. And as though Spanish was the most important thing in the world, he held the textbook up so that it hid his face, and began to read another paragraph.

That stupid, damn book. The kids photographed on the cover were laughing, their glossy eyes twinkling with amusement - and as I clenched my fists in irritation, I couldn't help but imagine them laughing at me. And it wasn't an irrational thought, either. There were four of them, and they were all guffawing, and high-fiving each other, and pointing up at the name of the book; Hola Espanol - which to me, at this point, had morphed into something more like; Adios, Amor Con Evan. Or something along those lines, since I never did listen to or understand his teaching... I was too preoccupied with his concentrating face. If only he would set the scheming book down once, I would tear it to shreds.

I couldn't believe I was wasting time on this again and again. After that almost romantic moment we'd had at the beginning of the week, Evan had started making special efforts to put space between us. He would walk into the classroom with a nervous smile on his face, and would perch on the edge of one of the chairs. I'd pull my desk right next to his, and attempt to lean as close as possible... Then, as if to kill the mood, Evan would stand up, move to the desk facing mine, and sit across from me. The clueless idiot even brought another textbook for me to follow along, so we wouldn't be forced to share. And at this very second - as I contemplated stabbing the face of the girl on the cover with my pencil - after four straight nights of having to deal with his shy antics, I was about ready to pounce over the table, and punch his adorable face.

"Evan," I interrupted, reaching out and snatching the heavy textbook from his protective grip. He looked astonished as I tossed it onto the desk beside mine, and made to grab it back, but I seized his arm halfway there. "Is there a reason that you're being so distant? I thought we were friends." I had to keep from groaning at the last word, and held an emotionless expression as I continued, "You don't have to act like a real teacher. You can relax."

"Yeah, I know." He sighed, rubbing a hand over his temple. Taking a deep breath, he muttered, "You're dating Chase Gold now. And that makes things between us a little... awkward. I mean, after what happened the first night of tutoring - " Evan broke off then, and bent his neck so that I could no longer see his face, which I guessed was reddening in humiliation.

I chuckled, running a hand through my jet black hair. His guilt was so sweet, I had no idea that he was upset because of Chase and I dating - I had no idea he even knew about it. But because he looked so disturbed, I grinned at him, and confessed, "That's just a fluke, Evan. We're not an actual couple. It's just propaganda."

As soon as I admitted this, though, I realized that I had made an enormous mistake. How could I just blurt out that Chase and I were a fake? Even if it was Evan - who was looking both baffled and relieved at the same time, which made me want to pinch his innocent cheeks - I should have kept it a secret. He could bust us whenever he wanted to, and if Evan was as serious about rules as I thought, he wouldn't wait longer than the night. But he was also cute, intelligent, kind-hearted Evan, who I knew I could trust with my life, if it came to that. And I didn't want to believe that he would tattle on Chase and me, but I also couldn't obliterate that thought completely.