ARIA’S POV
When I see Xander by his locker the next morning, I can’t help but smile. After everything that happened last night, after how he made me feel about myself, I’m actually excited to see him.
“Hey,” I say, walking up to him with a little wave.
He looks up and sees me, then immediately looks around like he’s checking to see who might be watching. His expression changes completely – goes from relaxed to tense in half a second.
“Oh. Hey,” he says, but his voice is flat. Distant.
I raise an eyebrow. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Fine.” He shuts his locker harder than necessary. “I have to get to class.”
And just like that, he walks away. Doesn’t look back, doesn’t say goodbye, just leaves me standing there confused and hurt.
What the hell was that about?
I spend the rest of the day trying to make sense of it. Every time I see him in the hallway, he either doesn’t notice me or actively avoids eye contact. It’s like last night never happened. Like I imagined the whole thing.
By the time school ends, I’m convinced that whatever I thought was happening between us was all in my head. Maybe he regrets what happened. Maybe he realized I’m not worth the trouble after all.
I’m walking home, lost in my thoughts, when a familiar car pulls up beside me.
“Get in,” Xander says through the passenger window.
I hesitate. “I thought you were avoiding me.”
“Just get in. Please.”
Against my better judgment, I open the door and slide into the passenger seat. He immediately pulls away from the curb, driving in the direction of my house.
“So,” I say, crossing my arms. “Want to explain why you acted like you didn’t know me today?”
He’s quiet for a moment, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly.
“I’m sorry,” he finally says. “I was being stupid.”
“Stupid how?”
“I just… I wasn’t expecting to see you at school today. I didn’t know how to act.”
“How about normal? Like we’re friends?”
“Are we friends?”
The question catches me off guard. “I don’t know. What are we?”
He doesn’t answer, which is an answer in itself.
“Look,” I say, “if you regret what happened last night, just say so. I’m a big girl. I can handle it.”
“I don’t regret it.”
“Then why are you acting so weird?”
“Because it’s complicated.”
“What’s complicated about it?”
He pulls into my neighborhood and slows down as we approach my street.
“Everything,” he says. “School, my friends, your reputation, my reputation…”
“My reputation?” I laugh, but it’s not a happy sound. “What reputation? I don’t have a reputation.”
“Exactly. And I don’t want to ruin that for you.”
“Ruin what? By being seen with you?”
“By being seen with me,” he confirms.
We pull up in front of my house, and he puts the car in park but doesn’t turn off the engine.
“So what happens now?” I ask.
“I don’t know.”
“Do you want to see me again?”
“Yes.” The answer comes immediately, which surprises both of us.
“Okay. Then when?”
“Tonight? Can you come to my place again?”
I think about it. Part of me wants to say no, to make him work for it after how he treated me today. But a bigger part of me wants to see where this goes.
“Okay,” I say. “What time?”
“Eight?”
“I’ll be there.”
I’m about to get out of the car when I see movement in my peripheral vision. My mom is coming out the front door, probably to get the mail. She sees me in the car and starts walking over.
“Shit,” I mutter. “That’s my mom.”
“Should I meet her?”
“No!” I say quickly, then immediately feel bad about how panicked that sounded. “I mean, not yet. It’s too soon.”
My mom is getting closer, squinting to see who I’m with.
“I should go,” I say, my hand on the door handle.
“Ari, wait.”
I turn back to look at him.
“About today,” he starts, then stops. “About how I acted…”
“It’s fine. I get it.”
“Do you?”
I study his face, trying to read what he’s not saying.
“You don’t want anyone from school to know, right?” I ask quietly.
The look that crosses his face tells me everything I need to know. He doesn’t deny it, doesn’t argue, doesn’t tell me I’m wrong.
He just stares at me like I’ve caught him in something he wasn’t ready to admit.
“I understand,” I say, even though it hurts. “Really. I get it.”
“Ari—”
“It’s okay. I’m not exactly girlfriend material anyway, right?” I force a smile. “See you tonight.”
I get out of the car and wave goodbye, trying to look casual as my mom approaches.
“Who was that, honey?” she asks as Xander drives away.
“Just a friend from school,” I say, walking toward the house. “He gave me a ride home.”
“That was nice of him. What’s his name?”
“Xander.”
“Xander,” she repeats, like she’s testing how it sounds. “Is he in your class?”
“Some of them, yeah.”
We reach the front door and she holds it open for me.
“He seems nice,” she says.
If only she knew.
I’m about to head upstairs to my room when she stops me.
“Oh, before you go up,” she says, “someone is here to see you.”
“Who?”
She gestures toward the living room, and I turn to see who it is.
My heart drops into my stomach when I see Mile standing there with a big smile on his face like he didn’t just destroy and ridicule me a few nights ago.
“Hello, Ari,” he says with that charming smile he used to give me all the time. The one that used to make me feel special but now it makes me feel sick.
30
