Page 60 of Muse (Fighting Fate)

I shrugged, “I guess she considers me competition.”

Kaeli snorted. “Idiot. If she opened her eyes she’d see there was no competition because she’s not in it.”

I laughed. “Yeah, well hopefully by this time next week everyone will know that.”

***

I didn’t manage to get a seat near Jace at lunch that day, and it was obvious he wasn’t happy about it. Having boys like Lance, Ryan, and Corey talking to me didn’t help either. I could almost see the steam coming out his ears.

To try to make up for it, I hung back a bit when everyone started to make their way inside. Kaeli had to run to catch Mr. Talbot, so I went and stood near Aiden as he chatted with some girls.

Jace casually sidled up beside me and gave me a relaxed smile which I knew had to be forced. “Hey, Mia.”

I blushed. Stupid, I know, but there was just something about the way he said that when we were around other people that set it off. “Hi.”

He smiled genuinely then. He knew what he did to me.

The group started walking back to the locker hall, so we walked together, a little separate from the others.

“How was your lunch?” I asked, teasing him a little.

He scowled. “I was ready to grab you and run. I swear, if Corey touched you one more time, I was going to fucking lose my shit.”

We slowed our steps as we came up to his locker. The second warning bell had just gone and those who didn’t have a spare were already rushing off to class. I looked up at Jace’s scowling face and giggled. “Put yourself in my shoes and you’ll see you’ve got it easy bad boy.”

He smirked at me then. “Nothing about you is easy, Mia. You’re a complicated little wild cat hidden under the pretense of a blossoming flower. But I love peeling back those petals and setting your wild cat free.”

I grinned. I loved it too. “The question is…when are you going to be setting her free again?”

Excitement twinkled in his eyes. “Any time you’re ready, wild cat.”

“I’m ready any time you are, bad boy.” With that, I turned and walked away. Before I turned the corner to go to my locker, I looked back over my shoulder to see him watching me with a wicked grin on his face.

I couldn’t keep the smile off my face as I grabbed my books for study hall. I was kind of enjoying playing the game. As I slipped into the bathroom, I suddenly realized I’d been more or less flirting with Jace. I almost giggled out loud. Who would’ve thought it could be so much fun!

I quickly washed my hands, and was just grabbing some paper towels from the dispenser, when Melissa stepped out of one of the stalls and turned on me.

“I don’t know what you think you’re doing going after Jace, but just in case you don’t know, I’ll warn you now. Jace is mine. We may not be official, but we’ve been seeing each other for a while, trying to get to know each other, and I won’t have some clueless little princess come in and take what is mine. You need to back the hell off. Do you understand?”

I blinked in shock. Did she seriously just threaten me to stay away from my own boyfriend? I narrowed my eyes. This girl knew nothing about me. I was frightened of crowds, not bitchy divas who weren’t used to being told no.

I took a step closer to her. “I think you might be the one who’s actually clueless, Melissa. In case you’ve forgotten, Jace is my brother’s best friend, which means I’ve had the pleasure of being in his company almost every weekend for the last four years. I’m also completely aware of the stories you, Kacey, and Violet have made up trying to make yourselves look like you’re wanted by the hottest guy in school, but I’m sorry to tell you, you’ve only managed to make yourselves look like desperate bimbos.”

The bathroom door opened and I saw Kaeli walk in from the corner of my eye. “And just for future reference, Melissa, if a guy really likes you, you won’t have the need to threaten anyone to stay away from him because he’ll only want to be with you.” With that, I turned and walked straight out the door with Kaeli at my heels.

My adrenalin was going through the roof as I marched to the study hall. I could feel Kaeli beside me, struggling to keep up with my steps, so I forced myself to slow down and breathe.

“Are you okay?” she asked firmly.

I exhaled and nodded. My hands were shaking a bit, but I knew it was just the adrenalin. I stopped and shook them out.

“You know the whole school is going to be talking about that by the end of the day, don’t you?”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

“There were other girls in the stalls. I saw Claire and Meaghan come out as we left.”

“Shit.” I groaned. I knew neither Claire nor Meaghan were big gossipers, but that confrontation wasn’t something they’d keep to themselves. I’d be stupid to think otherwise. “Oh yay,” I said sarcastically. I looked at my best friend with pleading eyes. “Was it bad? Did I sound like a bitch?”

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