Charlie has told Hannah that they don't need a label or a definition.
Hannah wants one though: she wants to hold his hand, steal small kisses in the hallway and the weekend day dates. To call him her boyfriend.
When they're alone, he's affectionate...
Lucy locked her phone with her index finger, she smiled slyly and tucked a strand of hair behind her hair. WTF?! What the hell is going on?
"What do you want?" I whispered, closing the door behind me.
"I want us to talk," Lucy said with a shrug.
"How did you get my number?" I frowned.
"I have my ways," Lucy raised her arched eyebrows. I tilted my head to the side.
"Your ways?"
"Okay, I found it on Facebook." I shut my eyes tightly, that was a bad idea. I must delete it. I didn't use my account anymore.
"What do you want?"
"I need a favor," she spoke before stepping closer to me. Her face was filled with worry, her eyebrows turned all the way down.
"You couldn't have asked me in the hallway?"
"I don't want any one of my friends to see me talking to you," she scoffed.
"Goodbye." I turned around, gripping the doorknob.
"Wait, wait!" She begged, rushing behind me with quick feet, "Please!"
"For what, for you to insult me some more?" I frowned.
"No," she sighed out. Puttering her lips, "I need help."
"With what?"
"My campaign."
"Your campaign," I stated.
"Yes." She pulled out a medium sized box behind her and shook the items. "I need help passing out pens and buttons. All of them have my face on it. Plus, something a little more for you: viral marketing!" She handed me the box; I took it from her hands. I looked up, skeptical.
"Viral marketing?" I raised my eyebrows.
"Yep. You can post my campaign on Instagram. Get some likes and followers. I'll send you a template to start." She smiled, it seemed genuine, but I wasn't buying it. My eyes scanned the items. They do have her face on it. She's grinning, teeth in view, on the side it said, vote for me!
"What's the catch?" I exhaled.
"Catch? Why would you say that?" She gasped, holding her hand against her chest.
"Because it's you, you always want something."
"Hannah, Hannah, Hannah," she shook her head.
"What, what, what?" I shook my head in a similar manner.
"Think of it as a peace offering."
"What's in it for you?" I squinted.
"I'll be your best friend," she said, tilting her head to the side.
"I have best friends," I responded in a dull tone.
"I'll be a better friend. Talk everyone up about you and that boyfriend of yours."
"Boyfriend?" My stomach dropped. No way. No way.
"Yeah, with the blue eyes I see you around with."
"Oh," I laughed, taking a step back from her, "Louis's not my boyfriend."
"Are you sure? I've seen the way he looks at you."
"Yeah right," I rolled my eyes, tugging on my sleeve. Sure, Louis was cute, Charlie has my heart. Does he have mine? "He's a friend, I'm showing him around the school."
"You should give him a chance."
"And you care because?"
"Because I don't want my friend to be single."
"We're not friends."
"Fine, acquaintances." She rolled her eyes.
"Lucy, you don't need me to do this. Your posse can assist you." I pushed the box forward to her.
"They are, I also need someone outside of my group to show how lovely I am." Lucy grabbed a button, gesturing the similar smile she had in the picture. I held my mouth together to stifle my laugh, clearing my throat to disguise it. The audacity to call herself lovely. This was a terrible idea, random and out of nowhere. If she wanted me to do this, I had some rules of my own.
"If I do this, will you and your friends back off me and my friends? With the pranks and insults? Calling me shitface." Let me play her games, see how serious she is. I get what I want, she gets what she wants. I held my poker face, she stared at me blankly. I crossed my arms, waiting for her to speak.
"Ugh, ok. Help me. Please." She held out the box, I'm probably making a mistake. Reluctantly I took it. "Thank you. I owe you." She squeezed my shoulder and left the room. Hell yeah, she does. What am I doing? Should I text Charlie about this? I shook the items in the box. No harm done.
During lunch I handed out the pens and buttons, surprisingly everyone took it. I had to go in the line with the box, and my schoolmates grabbed as much as they could. As I passed out the last four, Linda came to the line behind me. "What's this?" She asked, taking the last pen.
"For Lucy's campaign," I answered. I took a bite of my burger.
"Is she blackmailing you?"
"Surprisingly no. I do get something in return." I grinned when another schoolmate came and took a button.
"Like what?"
"When this is done, you'll see." I tossed the box to the nearest trash can. "Where's Edward?"
"He's coming. Talking to his chemistry teacher." I nodded, moving in the line. The menu consisted of lasagna with dinner rolls. I sighed, grabbing a tray and a plate of food.
"Seriously, what is she getting out of it?" Linda asked.
"She wants more votes." I took a pudding cup, a plate of burger and fries, and a juice pouch.
I heard Lucy say, "oh my god." looking over my shoulder, she was looking at her phone screen, wide eyes and mouth open.
"What, another TikTok trend?" I asked when we left the line and headed to a spare table.
"No, someone played paparazzi, catch these two making out." She pushed the phone in my face on her Instagram feed, I got a closer look, squinted harder. The caption read: new mystery couple. More details soon... Our school name was hashtagged, #couplealert.
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