Page 59 of Muse (Fighting Fate)

“I hope it all goes well then,” Mia said, interrupting my internal ranting. “Maybe I should come and watch…”

I instantly thought of all the loud obnoxious fans we drew to our live shows and frowned. Yeah, there was no way I was having Mia anywhere near that kind of atmosphere.

Mia, who’d been watching me, blushed and bit her lip. “Unless you think I’d put you off…”

I bit back a growl. “I wasn’t thinking of my discomfort…”

Her blush deepened and she looked down at her hands. “Oh…yeah, I guess…we’ll see…”

The bell rang then, putting an end to the beginning of my countdown, and I didn’t think it could’ve gone any better if I tried.

Chapter 29

Mia

By Thursday, I felt like I was getting a lot better at talking to people at lunch, especially Jace. Aiden had been watching me like a hawk the whole time, and I could tell he was itching to say something, but whether it was to encourage me or to yell at me for talking to Jace was anyone’s guess.

I waited until Aiden left for first period before stepping around the corner and moving towards Jace. He was standing at his locker, searching for something inside, so he didn’t see me coming. I tried not to think about the other people lingering nearby, because it would only make me chicken out.

Clutching my books to my chest, I stepped up behind him. “Hi, Jace,” I said quietly.

He turned at the sound of my voice, surprise evident on his face. “Hey, what’s up?”

Good question. “Um…I was just looking for Aiden. Have you seen him?” I was impressed by my sudden ability to improvise.

He glanced down the hall then back at me. I could see the confusion there. “Ah, I think he’s already gone to class. Is everyth

ing okay?”

I scrambled for something to say. “I was just going to get him to grab something for me from the top of my locker, but it doesn’t matter...”

Jace’s eyes narrowed a fraction as he tried to work out what I was up to. “I can get it for you if you like.”

“Would you mind?” I asked, trying to sound hopeful. I already knew he’d do anything for me, but I wanted to play the part.

“Of course not.” He closed his locker door and followed me to mine.

I glanced at Kaeli as we approached, giving her a tiny grin before opening my locker up. Jace reached in, fumbling with whatever lived up there, and pulled down two old notebooks and a text book I had no use for. He showed them to me and I frowned. “Is that all that’s up there?” I asked.

He looked back in. “Yep. Nothing else there. What were you looking for?” When he looked back me, I couldn’t contain my mischievous grin. He hesitated, narrowing his eyes.

“Uh...um...I can’t remember?” I bit my lip.

Jace grinned. “Oh, I see. Maybe it was my attention.”

My eyes sparkled, letting him know he was right.

“Well...I’ll just have to give you some then, won’t I?” he murmured. “I’ll see you at lunch.”

As I watched him walk away, my gaze flickered down the hall to where Melissa stood. Glaring at me. Oh, shit.

Quickly closing my locker, I grabbed Kaeli’s arm and dragged her off to class.

“What was that about?” she asked.

“Which? Me making an idiot out of myself, or Melissa shooting laser beams from her eyes?”

She gave me a chastising look. “You didn’t make an idiot out of yourself. It was cute. I was talking about Melissa.”

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