Page 44 of Defend Me

“You are a wonderful creation. You know more than you think you know, just as you know less than you want to know.”

Brooks

About to stress out a beautiful man

With my feet planted on one side of the bench, I leaned my elbows on my knees and took a bite of my hashbrown. There wasn’t anything very interesting on Reddit today, but I kept scrolling anyway. I was so goddamn bored since I’d gotten here a little early.

The courtyard was busy as students rushed to get to class. It was ten, which gave me an hour until I had to be in Mr. Pritchard’s room.

McDonald’s was one of those things I shouldn’t eat, but I said, ‘Fuck it,’ and had it nearly every day, or something similar. My mom would have a heart attack if she knew, which gave me a small sense of satisfaction. I had to dutifully work it off so that she wouldn’t notice a difference when we saw each other. Fit people were shown to have better success in the business world and were liked more during an initial meeting, according to her.

Someone appeared in front of the bench, drawing my attention away from my phone. I turned to Tilian, who looked a little more spooked than usual.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

I motioned toward the bag on the bench. “Breakfast.”

He blinked a few times, then pursed his lips. “You said there was something important to deal with.”

“Yeah. Eating.”

“Oh my god.” I moved my feet and he dropped into the seat and swiped a hand down his face. “Don’t send a text like that to someone with anxiety. My brain went into crisis mode.”

“A sense of urgency gets the blood pumping.”

“Why’d you buy me food?”

“Because humans eat, so corporations like to make money off of it.”

He pinched his nose with two fingers. “Thanks for the economics lesson.”

“Any time.”

“Really, though,” he said after a minute. “Thanks for the food.

It was clear that he was still irritated, so I put my chin in my hand and angled myself to look at him. When I smiled sweetly, he rolled his eyes.

“Oh, come on,” I drawled. “I got you food. Be amicable.”

“I’m not.”

“Smile for me.

“Make me.”

“Tempting, but I don’t think you’ll approve of my methods.”

“You drive me mad.”

“A little madness never hurt anyone.”

“Tell that to Poe.”

“He was a visionary. If he wasn’t crazy, we’d miss out on a bunch of great literature.”

“Alright, I concede.”

He smiled in the fakest way I’d ever seen. With a dissatisfied grunt, I kicked my feet up again and rested my legs in his lap. He scooted a little closer to me and settled one hand on my knee while he ate.

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