Not That Girl

Chapter 10

The next morning, Theo offered to drive me to school again. I don't bring up our conversation from last night or ask about the mysterious hickeys on his neck.

'We don't do that sort of thing'

The first part of the ride is silent, except for reports of traffic and the weather from the radio.

"Are you working today?" I ask. Already knowing he is.

He just gives a non-committal nod in response. Careful not to move the hood covering his neck.

What is he hiding?

I can't muster up the courage to ask. Even if I did, he probably wouldn't answer.

I resign myself to my phone where I'm greeted with the (still STILL unaccepted) friend request of one Brayden Erickson. I tap on his name and look through his page.

His profile picture is just him smiling in front of a lake. It's the goofy smile that takes up the entire lower part of his face. I never noticed the small crook in his nose before and he has a lot of acne that has mostly cleared up by now. He looks a lot younger in the photo, almost like a little kid, but apparently, it's only from last summer.

9 mutual friends

Went to Ridgeview High School

Single

At a brief glance, his timeline seems to be filled with just old football photos and birthday wishes from relatives. I don't get the chance to do an in-depth stalking session because Theo's already turning into the school's parking lot. I'll have to get to it later. For now I click 'accept'. I mean, it would be weird not to, considering we actually do know each other.

Theo drops me off at the front of the school 10 minutes before the bell is supposed to ring, giving me just enough time to stop by my locker before homeroom. The bus (usually) arrives at around 8:15 and judging by the excited Peyton standing by our lockers, today was no different. She has already unlocked my locker but before I can yank it open, she steps in front of it, blocking me.

"How dare you abandon me again?"

She's trying her best to look threatening with her hands on her hips. However, Peyton's only half an inch taller than me and about 90 pounds soaking wet. She's about as menacing as a hamster with a toothpick.

"I got a ride," I say.

She raises an eyebrow but doesn't budge

"In the Golden Boy's dog sled?"

"Theo dropped me off," I reply. "Now, I'm going to be late so move before I move you."

"You couldn't take me," she scoffs, stepping out of the way.

I get to my homeroom three minutes before the bell rings and slip into my usual seat next to Emily. She has headphones in so I raise my hand in a little wave which she returns.

Emily's a casual friend. The kind you're friendly enough with but would only really text if you needed help with homework or something. She eats lunch on the steps with us but sticks with her own little group. We have a few classes together and I usually sit with her when I can't be with Peyton or Warren.

"How's it going?" She pulls out her earbuds and starts wrapping the cord around her fingers.

We chat as the rest of the students file in. The conversation ends when the bell rings and Mr. Singh starts taking attendance. About 80% of the class is present, including Tommy.

I'd been so occupied with the whole 'Brayden' thing, I completely forgot to ask Peyton about it. Damnit.

What if Tommy told his friend that I didn't have a date to prom yet and he's about to ride in on a white horse in a full suit of armour and ask me?!?

No, I'm pretty sure he's dating Jenny, right?

But I haven't seen them together in a while, maybe they broke up.

But I swear Peyton said something about how obnoxious they acted together a few weeks ago.

But if that were true, why would he be asking me if I had a prom date?

I start running every possible scenario and before I know it, the bell signifying our 10 minutes of homeroom is over. I mumble a quick goodbye to Emily before any of my nightmares can become reality.

After my mad dash down the hallway, I make it to AP Calc with no one bothering me. Thankfully, Tommy barely knows his times tables and decided against differential calculus. I spot Peyton across the room, not in her usual seat. She must sense the confusion on my face because she quickly nods her head towards the whiteboard. Mr Naylor's lacklustre drawing skills are on full display with a diagram of the classroom, illustrating a new seating chart. My new spot is still on the other side of the room than Peyton, but at least I'm a bit closer to the front. Each table seats 2 and I'm sharing with Marcus.

I guess it could be worse. I mean, I've never really talked with him but from what I've observed over the years he's usually pretty quiet when he's not around his friends. He's probably the smartest in his friend group but that's not saying much considering he's friends with Tommy.

Tommy

During the fire drill when Tommy asked me if I had a prom date he said his friend Marcus was looking for one.

Marcus.

Marcus who just happens to be my new desk partner, who I have to work with for the next 50 minutes, or even the rest of the school year. But there's no way he'll ask during class, right? The seating plan is new so there's no way he could have predicted this. I just need to make it until break and then I can ask Peyton what to do.

"Alright everyone," says Mr Naylor. "Quickly take your new seats so we can get started. There's a lot of material we have to get through today."

I slip into the seat next to Marcus, who looks up from his phone to give a quick wave before slipping it into his bag. I pull out my notes and thankfully Naylor starts talking before Marcus can say anything.

---

40 minutes into a lecture on L'hopital's rule and I'm almost in the clear. Only ten more minutes until I can execute my carefully planned exit strategy: stuff everything in my bag, quickly say bye to Marcus and go hide in the bathroom until my next class.

It's a foolproof plan, that is until Naylor realizes he forgot to print today's worksheet, leaving us alone for a few minutes as he heads to the office. As soon as he's gone, the class immediately erupts into chatter. I glance back towards Peyton, hoping she can save me, but she's already pulled out her phone. Looks like I'm stuck talking to Marcus.

"So," he starts, rubbing his palms on his pants before turning towards me. He doesn't make eye contact and I feel like he's looking at my chin. "How's your day going?"

"Good."

"That's good," he says. "Are you, uh, excited for Prom?"

"Kinda," I reply. I'm not being much of a conversationalist, mostly because I'm far too nervous to actually engage. He's nervous too and I'm pretty sure he's working up to asking me to go with him. My suspicions are confirmed when he asks his next question.

"Well, if you're not planning on going with anyone then maybe we could go together?"

Despite anticipating what he was going to say, I'm still at a loss for words.

"I mean, if you don't want to it's fine!" he starts rambling. "I know we don't really know each other that well and you-"

"Someone else already asked me," I blurt out and suddenly I can feel everyone's eyes on me.

"Oh," he says, shocked. "Who?"

The room is so quiet, I can hear the fan whirring in Naylor's laptop. The entire class has ditched their conversations in favour of tuning in to Marcus and me. They're all waiting with bated breath when I say:

"Warren."