Page 71 of False Idols

“Nevaeh, where are you?” he yells and I sigh as I rise from my crouch and hold out a hand to him. Dean is turned around, his back to me with his hands on his head while he searches the graveyard for me.

“I’m here!”

He jumps and turns to face me. “Nevaeh. Oh my god. You’re okay.” Dean rushes towards me. There is concern on his face but there’s something off about it. I push the thought away. I’m tired and jumpy, that’s all.

“I was so worried,” Dean tells me and sweeps me up into a hug when he’s in front of me.

“I, ah, I’m okay,” I tell him and awkwardly pat his back.

“When I heard the news I went looking for you, but I couldn't get into your dorm,” Dean said with a frown. “There were cops at every door and I forgot my ID. They wouldn’t listen that I was just trying to see my girlfriend.”

I freeze. “Girlfriend?” I ask. “What would you say that?”

Dean gives me a duh look and reaches out to ruffle my hair. “You’re cute, but you’re not that cute, Nev. You know why.”

I shake my head. “No, I don't, Dean. Why would you say that to them?”

“Because you’re my girlfriend.”

“No, I’m not. I-I’m not your girlfriend.”

Dean crosses his arms and narrows his eyes at me. “Then what have we been doing, Nevaeh?”

“W-what?” I don’t know what he’s talking about. I’ve been nice to Dean. He’s made me nervous, but until now there hasn’t been anything that he’s done that I can point to definitely as not okay.

But this?

This is definitely not okay.

“We’re friends, Dean. I don’t understand what’s going on.”

“You’ve been leading me on, is that what you’re saying?”

“No! Of course not. I haven’t led you on, Dean. What are you talking about?” Aside from classes and the texting, I’ve never spent much time with Dean alone. Last night was as much as I’ve ever done. The dancing. Oh god, the dancing and what he said.

“Nevaeh, I have to tell you. I like you. I like you a lot.”

“I told you how I felt. I know you feel the same way about me, Nevaeh. Why are you pretending that you don’t feel it?”

“I know you like me too.”

I hadn’t been paying attention to what Dean has been saying because I’ve been too wrapped up in Beau. Too dickmatized to really pay attention to what it was that he was saying to me and then I’d run off. I’d run off and told Beau I loved him. Serial killer attack notwithstanding, I wasn’t thinking about anything Dean had told me last night.

But it looks like I should have.

Dean steps towards me and I see the look that passes over his handsome face. He’s always been friendly. Open faced and smiling when it comes to me. It’s gone now, though. His eyes are hard and angry. His hands clench into fists and I feel the same dark energy The Reaper carried coming from Dean.

I’m not safe. Dean wants to hurt me.

“You think it’s okay to play with people’s feelings? That’s not how you behave when you’re in a relationship, Nevaeh!” He shouts the last sentence at me and I flinch. I’ve never been good when people yell at me. Men especially. Normally, I’d be too scared to do much, but not now.

I’m the girl The Reaper couldn’t kill and this asshole isn’t going to yell at me.

“We are not and have never been in a relationship, Dean!” I scream at him.

“You’re only saying that now because you want him.”

Him. How does he know about Beau? There’s no one else he could be talking about other than Beau.

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