Page 92 of Change
It required great focus to defeat the enemy. Every shout of his name was a strike that hammered against his nerves. How could their presence not be anything but distracting?
Perhaps this was why he was skipping his obligations. This… Must be related to the project that made him hide in his own apartment.
He was writing, I was sure of it. Lawyers did write a lot. If he was unable to focus on his proposal—probably for something groundbreaking meant to save the environment—then the world would miss out on his brightest ideas.
He had to go to class, and he had to study. Sports, also, were an important part of academic achievement for some. Not for me, perhaps, but other people who liked such things might find them fulfilling.
Surely, this was a part of his dream.
“Hey, Bianca.” His stomach pressed against my back as he leaned into me, whispering in my ear. “It’s really okay. I don’t need—”
No. I shook my head, realizing that I’d been silent a moment too long. I refused to allow anyone to stand in the way of his ambition.
Besides, no one else was allowed to blush when they looked at him.
“Do we… bother you?” Shirt-girl stepped forward, glancing at Miles. Her round eyes were innocently wide and watery. “But… I thought you belonged to everyone?”
My eyebrow twitched in annoyance. My violent daydreams were becoming more alarming. Right now, for example, I wanted to rip off this female’s head. It’d been a rather common feeling as of late.
But…
Pummeling these people to a pulp would not solve the immediate problem. I had to get them to leave Miles alone, by their own design, otherwise they’d become more determined than before. They had towantto leave him.
It was the only way to ensure long term success.
“What’s your name?” I waved my hand in front of her, forcing her to look at me.
She blinked once, then her eyes met mine. For an instant, she seemed almost defiant, but then something in her posture shifted. The tense line of her shoulders softened, and her mouth opened.
Well, that was weird, but at least it worked to get her attention.
“H-Hailey?” Her response came out as a question.
“It’s nice to meet you, Hailey.” My ears buzzed as I reached for her hand, covering her thin fingers with my own.
She was shaking, or maybe it was me. I wasn’t used to touching people outside of my small group, but I had no other choice.
“You seem to be very kind and smart,” I told her, slightly unnerved by the way her attention remained fixated on my face. But shedidbring him a shirt and offered herself to him, so I had to give her some credit.
She had good taste.
“And you’re really pretty too,” I added.
Hailey’s cheeks dusted over in a blush. “T-thank you.”
“But I don’t understand why you’re setting yourself up for heartbreak,” I continued. “Why are you chasing after someone you know you can’t have? You’re better than this. All of you are.”
“But it’s Miles,” she offered in a shaky voice, as if that was any explanation. “I thought that, maybe…”
“Miles has a great destiny.” I fought the urge to squeeze her hand. It might be too much. “You know it can’t happen between you two, but why worry? There are plenty of other fish in the sea.” The soccer game had halted entirely, and Miles’s teammates were watching in focused interest.
“That guy there.” I inclined my head toward a random, sour-faced, spiky-haired player. I wasn’t sure what possessed me to even throw this out there, especially because I was pretty sure this was the dude Miles had punched once, but I was getting a positive feeling from this match. “He seems nice.”
“Maybe,” she breathed, not even looking at the man.
Okay… I pursed my lips. So perhaps my matchmaking skills needed some brushing up. “And you…” My thoughts scrambled to find another distraction. Somewhere else for her to focus her energy. “You don’t evenneeda boyfriend, if you don’t want one.”
Her eyes widened. “I… don’t?”
