Page 65 of Muse (Fighting Fate)

I shrugged him off. “I am not a bitch. Well, not to anyone other than you anyway…”

He chuckled.

Jace was still tense though. “Aiden, you know what Melissa’s like. I can’t see her letting this drop so easily. The whole school just about knows what’s happened. She’s going to want payback.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “People like Melissa don’t frighten me.”

Jace smirked. “Okay little wild cat.”

“Shut up,” I grouched, but a grin slipped out anyway.

Aiden unlocked the car and opened the door. “Okay, let’s get you home before you turn feral.”

“HA HA.” He was a smart ass.

He jumped in behind the wheel as the guys all called out their goodbyes, leaving me and Jace just standing there.

“Can I call you later?” he asked.

I smiled. I was beginning to like not having to hide. “Sure.”

* * *

It took until the next morning for the full effect of what was happening in my life to kick in. The second Aiden pulled into the parking lot, I felt the stares. I wasn’t sure if it was because of Jace’s interest in me, or the altercation with Melissa in the bathroom, but I thought maybe it was both.

Funnily enough, the attention didn’t bother me as much as I thought it would. Melissa deserved to be put in her place. Bullying was the one thing I wouldn’t stand to put up with.

Kaeli jumped on me the second I was out of the car, her exuberance bubbling over. I raised my eyebrows at her. “Er…good morning? Did you accidently swap your morning juice for red bull or something?”

She grabbed me by the arm and dragged me away. “Very funny. I thought you’d be interested in knowing what was going down in Facebook land.”

I groaned. That was the last thing I wanted. I seriously needed to ban her from that place. “Do I have to know?” I whined.

“Oh come on, it’s not bad. Melissa was trying her best to down play it, but everyone now knows Meaghan and Claire were there, so they’re all trying to get it first hand from them.”

Unease crept into my stomach. This whole situation could turn bad for me so easily. “Do you know what Claire and Meaghan are saying? Are they telling people I was mean to Melissa?”

Kaeli’s eyes widened. “God no! They’re definitely on your side, Mia.”

I exhaled with relief. “Okay.”

We walked into the locker hall and I was instantly met with people I didn’t know, smiling and saying hello to me.

Kaeli cleared her throat beside me. “Well, this is new…”

“I’ll say,” I muttered under my breath. I didn’t actually know if I was going to be able to see the day out at this rate, and the day had only just started. At least I had Jace with me second period. That had to count for something.

Getting through first period was a lot tougher than I anticipated though. It seemed Kacey and Violet were on a mission to see who could give me the most venomous glare, not to mention the occasional snide remarks muttered under their breaths. At first I thought they were glaring at me because they were ‘Team Melissa’, but then I remembered Kacey and Melissa didn’t get along, so that left only one other explanation. They were pissed about Jace.

Second period was definitely a step up in the better day department. Walking into the classroom to see Jace saving a seat for me almost made me forget about the bitch squad altogether. I almost kissed him for it.

Having had people see us getting closer over the last week definitely had its benefits. I was surprised to find that no one really made a big deal out of us sitting together like I thought they would. And it was the same for when we walked back to the locker hall after class. Oh, people definitely looked, but it wasn’t the whole jaw dropping reaction I was envisioning.

I noticed Jace touched me a little bit more too. Just fleeting little touches that didn’t seem too obvious, but if seen, spoke a thousand words.

As we made our way out to the green, I cringed when I saw all the girls hanging around the guys’ usual table. Of course Aiden was already there with Matt, lapping it all up. I slowed my steps, looking around for Kaeli.

“What’s up?” Jace said, stopping and turning to face me.

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