Jaded

[32] V for Valiant

"Can we talk?" Vanessa asks, gesturing to the rickety wooden bench only a few feet away, tucked against the slate grey side of our school's hideous dolphin statue.

The last time someone asked me that I ended up fist fighting on the forest floor- an experience I'm not too keen on repeating. I take a deep breath, fighting back the sudden lump in my throat. Vanessa is not Will, there's no reason to panic.

In fact, Vanessa is the only girl I know who vehemently despised Will right from freshman year. This is cheer captain Vanessa, student council vice president Vanessa, hell she's I'll-be-a-neurosurgeon-no-matter-what Vanessa. If there's anyone I can trust, it has to be her, right?

And if there's anything I should be worried about, it's hurrying this up so Atty's lunch break doesn't run out.

"Sure thing V," I answer, adjusting the hem of my skirt. I'm about to follow her when I notice Atty rocking impatiently beside me. Looks like he has some thoughts on this turn of events. "Actually, I'll be right there. Just a minute, okay?"

She glances at Atty and nods, quickly shuffling towards the bench.

When Vanessa's out of earshot, Atty sighs. "Jade, you're going because you want to, right? Not because you feel obligated to?"

I furrow my eyebrows, hoping that's enough to thoroughly convey my confusion. "What do you mean? When do I ever do anything unless I want to?"

He smiles gently and leans against his bike. "Many times- despite what you think."

When I continue frowning, he explains, "you don't realize this, but you're soft- very soft. It's one of the many things I really like about you..."

"But?" I urge, waiting for the rest. 'Soft', is he kidding me? I've never, ever, been called anything close to 'soft' in my life. Those office fumes must have finally caught up with him.

"But..." Atty pauses and runs a hand through his hair. A few silky black strands come loose, resting against his forehead. He clicks his tongue, "I don't know, I guess someone's gotta look out for you, right?"

As insanely sweet as that is, I can't stop the smirk that immediately consumes my face. Oh boy, this'll be fun.

"Someone like you?" I ask. When I spot the tips of his ear turn that wonderful shade of red, I jokingly poke his stomach and tease, "aww, does that mean you're my knight in shining armor?"

Despite the fact that I know he's blushing, and he knows I know he's bushing, Atty doesn't back down. Instead, he tilts his head and faces me with a matching smirk of his own.

"You wish. Only princesses get knights."

I gasp, dramatically bringing a hand to my chest. "And I'm not a princess?"

Atty's smirk deepens, eyes filling with mischief by the second. "No, you're a prime trickster."

He's absolutely right about that, but I feign offence regardless. "I'll have you know, Atticus, that I've pulled no tricks-"

"You've tried to ditch me in grocery stores twice now."

Oof, someone's a little butthurt. I grin and retort, "and yet you still asked me out."

This time, he's the one that gasps. But before he can fire back, Vanessa loudly clears her throat. Oh right, I completely forgot about that. This is Atty's fault, for being so goddamn distracting.

I quickly reassure him that I'm going because I want to (so he shouldn't worry) before heading to Vanessa.

As soon as I sit down next to her, she takes a deep breath and rapidly rambles, "I'm so sorry. I caught Thea being all shifty a while ago and she wouldn't tell me what she was up to, so I got Isla to spill her guts. Apparently, they had some stupid plan to vandalize your locker? I'm really sorry about that, I had no idea beforehand. But don't worry, I kind of 'commanded' them not to, so it shouldn't be a problem anymore."