“You’re the only girl besides me not drooling over them.”
“I don’t doubt their gorgeousness. The one thing they actually have going for them is their looks, and even I can’t deny it.”
“Talking about me again, Charlie?” says a good-looking guy with inviting brown eyes who just walked into class and heard the last part of our conversation. He takes a seat in the shared desk behind us.
“Get over yourself, Chase. This is Amelia, by the way. Amelia, this humble jerk is Chase.” She introduces us, scowling at his use of her unpreferred nickname. “She’s the one who told off Aiden a couple of weeks ago.”
His eyes widen as he takes me in, then he laughs. “I so wish I was there.”
“You’re friends with them?”
“Against his better judgment,” Charlotte cuts in.
“Come on, Charlie, you know I’ll always love you more.” He ruffles her hair and shoots her an innocent smile.
“Come on! Not the hair!” She scowls at him.
After chemistry, Charlotte excitedly pulls me through the halls toward the cafeteria, talking animatedly about everything and anything. As we walk inside, we spot Aiden and his friends immediately. They’re sitting at a table with some girls.
“See that blond girl practically sitting on Aiden’s lap? That’s Kaitlyn Anderson. She’s the one I was telling you about before—the queen bitch around here because she’s gorgeous, scary, and her mom’s the principal. She can sometimes be found at their table with them,” she tells me.
“Even though none of the guys like her—they more just put up with her,” adds Chase, coming up behind us.
“Anyway,” Charlotte says, clearly annoyed at being interrupted in the middle of her explanation. “She’s desperately in love with Aiden, extremely possessive of him—”
“Even though he’s told her to eff off more times than he can remember. She just follows him around and brushes off his insults. She has it in her head that they’d make the perfect couple, and is now trying everything to make that fantasy a reality,” Chase cuts in, and Charlotte glares at him.
“What?” He winks. “I’m friends with the guy—I’m just helping put the whole explanation into perspective!”
“Right. As I was saying. She’s a bitch. Kaitlyn and her second-in-command Makayla Thomas, and their Barbie-wannabe followers are ruthless. Just try to interact with them as little as possible.”
Kaitlyn’s holding court at Aiden’s table, talking to some other girls. From what I can see, she’s the classic queen bitch cliché from every teen movie in existence. She knows she’s hot and she works it, although she’d be a lot prettier without the entitled look plastered on her face.
“I think I could take her,” I say, following Charlotte to an empty lunch table. Charlotte and Chase laugh, telling me that they don’t doubt it.
“You gonna eat with us today, Charlie?” Chase nods in the direction of Aiden and friends’ table.
Charlotte makes a face like he just asked her to eat a millipede. “Nope. You go have fun, though. And don’t call me Charlie.”
Chase hesitates but doesn’t fight her, telling us he’ll see us later before heading over to sit with his friends.
As we eat, we talk about teachers and movies and makeup and almost everything.
Suddenly, Charlotte stops midsentence and looks directly behind me. It’s Aiden. He’s walking right up to our table, looking gorgeous as usual. His T-shirt stretches across his broad chest, accenting it and slightly outlining the abs I’m positive are hidden underneath it. As he gets closer, his eyes lock on me for some reason.
He stops, looks down at me, and says, “Amelia.”
I’m slightly ashamed to admit that my heart flutters a little when he says my name. Why does he have to be so damn perfect?
“Hey, Charlotte.” Aiden glances at Charlotte and she greets him in return. Aiden looks back at me. “I need to talk to you, Amelia.”
All sets of eyes in the caf
eteria are on us. Either Aiden doesn’t feel it or he doesn’t care, because he’s just calmly standing there waiting for my reply.
“Oh, so we’re ready to be civil today?” I say it without thinking; it just comes out.
“Already starting with the attitude?”