I make my way to the courtyard, silently seething inside. How could Ren say that? How could he accuse me of being a whore, of sleeping with my own brother? Of course, Ren didn’t know Jaden was my brother. He didn’t give me the opportunity to explain myself. Wait, I thought to myself. Why should I have to explain myself to him? I owe nothing to him. Ren’s nothing to me. We’re not together. We’re not even friends.
I cross under the arch leading into the courtyard, intending to go to the library or something until school begins.
“Lovers’ spat?”
I hear the words but they don’t register until Hannah Michaelson steps into my path and repeats them.
I stop, “What did you say?”
The three other girls gather around her.
“I said, are you two having a lovers’ spat or something?” Hannah smirks.
I look at her, “Me and who?”
“You and Ren Takeshima. We just saw him come from the same direction with the same pissed-off look on his face,” Brianna answers.
“What are you two fighting about?” Sophia asks.
I take in a deep breath to quell my annoyance, “I don’t know what y’all are talking about.”
Teagan meets my eyes, “Don’t act coy, Octavia. Ren practically hard launched your relationship in Human Bio yesterday.”
“We’re not-“ I begin.
Sophia gasps and puts a hand to her mouth, “Are you two friends with benefits?”
Brianna smirks, “They must be. Do you really think someone like Ren Takeshima would be interested in her for any other reason? I mean look at her…”
“When did you two start seeing each other? You didn’t tell me anything,” Teagan says.
I look at her, “Well, it’s not exactly like we were talking that much during the summer. I was too busy with my summer job, remember?”
Teagan at least has the decency to look ashamed.
“Still, you two were best friends. You could have said something, maybe then we would have invited you over so you could tell us the details,” Hannah raises a suggestive eyebrow.
“There’s nothing to tell,” I say and try to sidestep them.
Hannah steps into my path again, “It sure doesn’t seem that way. I’ve never seen Ren look that pissed off before. To be honest, I’ve never seen him with any expression at all.”
I meet her eyes and realize that she’s right. I’ve never seen an expression besides boredom on Ren’s face either. Why had he gotten so pissed off?
I shrug, “I don’t know what’s up with him.”
“But you don’t deny that it has something to do with you, do you?” Hannah steps closer, staring deep into my eyes as if she is trying to read my mind through them.
I shrug again, “How should I know what goes through his mind?”
Hannah scoffs and rolls her eyes, “You’re still not denying it.”
Teagan steps forward, “I saw you two together in Human Bio. He had his arm around you. He took your wrist and led you to a table. You let him. There’s clearly something going on between you two.”
“Didn’t he call you his ‘puppy’?” Sophia quips.
I look at Teagan, knowing that she was the only one in our Human Bio class, “He just overheard you talking to me. He was just trying to be funny.”
“Ren has never been the funny type. He’s never been the talkative type. He’s not the type to go up to a girl and put his arm around her or lead her anywhere. Girls chase after him, not the other way around,” Hannah replies and for the first time, I see a speck of annoyance in her eyes.
I suddenly realize why the four of them are being so aggressive in their inquisition. They were jealous. How could they be jealous of me? What did I have that they didn’t? Was Ren’s attention worth more than trust funds?
“I don’t know what to tell y’all. Maybe you should ask him for yourselves?”
“If nothing is going on between you two, then how do you explain both of you having the same expression on your faces? Both of you looked angry and were coming from the same direction,” Brianna pushes.
I shrug, “Coincidence? And by the same direction, don’t you mean the parking lot? That’s not strange at all.”
“I know how you look when you lie, Octavia, and you’re lying right now. We’re going to find out what’s going on between you and Ren so you might as well just tell us now,” Teagan cuts in.
“Why? Why does it matter to y’all if there’s anything between Ren and I? It’s not like we’re friends. It’s not like he’s dating any one of you. Why are y’all so invested?” I finally snap.
“I just don’t understand why he would like someone like you,” Hannah looks down at me, both literally and figuratively. “You’re a poor little scholarship student who only gets to go here because your brother cleans up our messes. You’re not that pretty. You’re a boring little mouse of a girl. All you have going for you are your brains. I guess that’s all he wants from you. That’s all you have to offer.”
The girls flanking Hannah begin to laugh but Hannah doesn’t join in. I can tell that she is dead serious.
“Well, I guess that I do have one thing that he likes, but this isn’t really the place to talk about it,” I force myself to smirk.
Sophia bursts out into giggles.
Teagan looks at me, “So you two really are sleeping together?”
She has a strange expression on her face. It’s not anger, it’s hurt. As if she’s offended that she knows nothing about this supposed relationship between Ren and I. How could she be offended? She’s the one who made it clear that we weren’t friends anymore.
I shrug, “Ask him. I don’t kiss and tell.”
I go to walk around the girls and no one moves to step into my way. My heart is racing as I walk away from them, struggling to keep my head up and my back straight. I can’t believe that I just bluffed my way out of that encounter.
There’s nothing going on between Ren and I. I know it. He knows it. Everything I just said will fall apart if they ever question him, but for a moment I allow myself to enjoy the look on their faces. I let myself imagine a world where Ren does take a romantic interest in me, a world where he finds me pretty. A world where I have something going for me other than my brain.
I’ve been dreaming about Ren Takeshima since the first day of freshman year. I’ve thought of him approaching me, confessing his love to me. I’ve thought of him kissing me, wanting me. I know that will never happen but in just this one moment it’s kinda true, isn’t it? At least it is in the mind of the four girls who watch me as I walk away.
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