Page 2 of Forbidden Match

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Levi smirk at my scolding. He lets the expression drop when I give him a hard-eyed look with my watery eyes, and to his credit, he even gives my brother a look of concern before turning back to me.

“What do you mean you can’t make any friends?” Levi asks. “Even I have friends and I’m a fucking asshole.”

I groan, letting a smile out against my will. His brow quirks when he sees it, and his lip twitches up in the closest thing to a smile I can expect from a guy like Levi. I turn back to Sam, hands planted on my hips.

“Well? Why did you act like such a jackass?”

Sam rolls his eyes. He never takes me seriously, even when I swear. “You really think you’re going todate? Inninthgrade? Not while I’m alive. That kid didn’t even look like he had hair on his chest yet.”

“You didn’t either whenyouwere a freshman,” I spit at him.

Levi cackles before giving me a fist bump. “Nice!”

I blush at the gesture, feeling all of the fight drain out of me at once. Even with the little mood boost, however, I still feel awful. I kick my locker door closed and slump against it. Sam, for all of his faults, seems to notice how unhappy I am. He hooks an arm around my shoulder and invites me to come with them to the mall where their friends all like to hang out after school when they’re free.

Am I pathetic enough to accept my big brother’s pity like this? Yes, I am. If anything, it means spending a little time with Levi. Even though I think he’s a bit of a jerk, he’s still nice to look at.

Once we’re at the mall’s food court, more people join us. Sam’s magnetic like that—people just flock to his side without him even needing to try. Even Haley and her gaggle of friends stop by our table. I have to admit that it feels good to see her play nice, because I know she’d never let other people outside of the cheer squad see her act like the witch she is. I hope it’s killing her inside. I know she’ll probably double down to make up for the niceties, but I’m trying to avoid thinking about that in the meantime.

However, the satisfaction shrivels up when I see Levi watch Haley saunter away.

Is he attracted to her? I guess it’d be hard not to be. She’s in his year, has tall and willowy figure, with hair that does what it’s supposed to do. She looks good at all times, even after hours of cheer practice. I can’t read his expression to be sure—he’s never not inscrutable—but even so, I feel jealousy churning in my gut. What do I have to do to be like her, to catch his eye like she does?

“Go get us more soda,” Sam abruptly barks at me, tugging on my always unruly ponytail.

He hands me some money and all but pushes me out of my seat. I only go along with it because I need a little break away from the people, but I am really having a good time. I guess I have him to thank for that.

As soon as I’m in line, someone taps my shoulder. I turn to see the guy from my chem class, complete with shy smile and everything.

He leans in close and asks, “Is the coast clear?”

I glance back at my table. Sam is still surrounded by his crowd of friends, though Levi is nowhere in sight. When I nod at him, his smile gets bigger as he mock-sighs with relief.

“I’m sorry for earlier,” I say to him. “My brother is kind of an overprotective jerk.”

He shrugs at me. “Can I get you a slushie?”

After only a moment of hesitation, I accept. If he really wants it, Sam can get his own drinks. I’m getting the second chance I desperately need and it doesn’t involve sibling pity, so I’m going to take it.

We get our slushies and head to a table a ways away from Sam’s watchful eyes. Chem Boy even pulls the chair out for me, as if we’re in some old movie. The more I look at him, the cuter he gets, with a dusting of freckles and that bright smile of his.

Suddenly, the smile freezes on his face as he looks at something behind me.

That’s when I hear the unmistakable giggle I’ve come to hate. As soon as I whip around, I see Haley and her herd of demons coming towards us. She nods at Chem Boy. Cold fear trickles through my veins.

It’s not nearly as cold as the frigid slushie that gets unceremoniously dumped on me.

I spring up from my seat, the icy liquid sloshing down my front and back making me shiver instantly. To my horror, I somehow manage to slip on the now sticky-slick floor and knock over the chair I was sitting on. Melting slushie splatters everywhere, as horrible laughter rings in my ears. Every set of eyes in the food court is now trained on me and the slushie dripping off my ruined clothes.

Too late, I realize I’ve been completely fooled. Of course no one would actually be interested in me. Of course this was all just some joke for me to be made punchline of.

Blood rushes through my ears as my body heats with intense embarrassment. I can’t hear a damn thing over the sound Haley and her friends laughing as they hold up their phones to take pictures of me standing there like an idiot, soaked with rapidly melting sugar liquid.

A noise cuts through the murmurs and giggles.

“What the actual fuck?” Levi bellows. He steps in front of me, glaring at the girls taking pictures of me. “Shut those off. I want to see you delete that shit for me right fucking now. I swear if I see this shit on any of your socials, I’m taking it to the school. Hell, I’ll start contacting those fancy-ass colleges you’re applying to.”

Instantly, they all put their phones down. I realize too late that Chem Boy is nowhere to be found, the coward.

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