The Deal Is Off!

Kailee Bennett

I should’ve just kept scrolling but I just couldn’t resist after liking one picture of Noah on I*******m. I swiped to his profile

God damn. 

No matter how times I stalk his I*******m and how many times see the same pictures, I still get mesmerized like I was seeing for the first time.

I keep telling myself to stop. But my fingers had a mind of their own. They just kept scrolling and scrolling 

I’d scrolled so far down Noah’s I*******m page, I was practically in 2020. Shirtless beach photos. Prom tux shots. Smirking selfies that looked like they were carved by gods and filtered by angels.

I was practically inhaling every beach picture, sports shot, and moody selfie like a love-starved teenager 

He looked good in every single one.

Like, stupid good.

Shirtless at the lake? Breathtaking 

Him smiling at a bonfire, dimples out like he invented happiness? Heavenly

Candid hallway shot with his hand running through his hair like he didn’t know he was breaking hearts? Oh my Goddd!!!

My heart did that pathetic squeeze thing.

He looked like he belonged in every photo.

Cool.

Confident.

Hot

And I… didn’t. Not in real life, and definitely not in pictures. Every photo I had of myself was carefully cropped, overly filtered, or I ended up hating it and permanently deleting it. 

I wanted him to see me.

Really see me.

Not as the girl who got pranked into playing Juliet.

Not as the girl who got humiliated infront of the whole drama club 

Not as the fat girl in the back of the class.

Just me.

But why would he ever?

Every girl he followed, took a picture with or the ones in his comments section looked like they belonged in music videos—tiny waists, glowing skin, model-level confidence.

Short skirts. Tight tops. Flawless skin and flawless confidence.

Then Ryder’s voice echoed in my head—

What if I tried wearing something different??

Would he notice me??

I stared at my closet like it had personally wronged me. My usual hoodie and leggings combo sat folded at the top, like a soft little shield.

But today, I needed a sword.

I pulled out a cropped knit sweater I bought on a dare two years ago and a high-waisted skirt that still had the tag. Slipped them on. Stared at the mirror.

Instant regret.

The sweater clung to my stomach. The skirt bunched in places I didn’t even know could bunch.

I didn’t feel confident. I felt like a bloated balloon trying to pass as cute. 

This was what all the girls Noah hung out with wore. Maybe if I wore something similar he would…. He’d see me 

I didn’t see Ryder before I left the house. Where could he be?

I don’t even care. His face isn’t one of the first things I want to be seeing early in the morning 

School was already in motion by the time I got there. My stomach did flips, and not the good kind.

I spotted Noah at his locker, surrounded by his friends.

Laughing.

God, his smile.

I took a breath and walked up.

“Hey, Noah,” I said, trying to sound breezy, casual, cool.

He blinked at me.

His friends all turned.

“Oh hey,” he said slowly.

But his eyes dropped down.

To my outfit.

To my stomach.

To everything I was suddenly hyper-aware of.

“I—I liked your post yesterday. The one with the soccer match. I just wanted to say that you looked really uhmmm focused and…. nice” I stammered 

My heart pounded in my ears. I was so scared that they could hear it. 

Silence.

Then one of his friends snorted. “Focused?”

Another laughed. “She looks like she borrowed her outfit from Barbie’s rejected cousin.”

“Nah,” someone else chimed in. “Barbie would cry.”

The laughter hit me like a slap.

Sharp.

Public.

Personal.

“Didn’t know the school dress code allowed stuffed sausages,” one of them added.

And Noah? He didn’t say anything. Just smirked.

Smirked.

Like it was funny.

I swallowed, already feeling my eyes tearing up. “Uhmm…. see you at rehearsal” I turned to leave, cheeks burning, throat closing in.

But then they moved to block me.

Circling.

His friends snorted. One elbowed him. “Yo, Romeo, is this your Juliet or your jester?”

They kept laughing, surrounding me. I couldn’t breathe. 

“Stop” I whispered, struggling to find even a small space to leave but my voice was drowned in their laughter. 

I couldn’t even force myself to push my tears back. 

Noah do something please!!

He didn’t say a word. He just stood there, laughing with the rest of them. 

Until—

“Move, you walking disappointments.”

Charlotte

She shoved past them and grabbed me, yanking me from their circle. 

She covered me up with her jacket abd turned to them. 

“You. Last I checked, the only joke here is your GPA and your crusty eyebrows.” She pointed at one of his friends 

She turned to another one “Weren’t you the one who asked me for the math homework three times last week? Keep laughing, maybe it’ll fill the void where your brain should be.”

They went quiet.

She grabbed my hand and pulled me with her, and I followed blindly, barely holding in the tears that were already threatening to explode.

We barely made it down the hallway before the tears slipped past my lashes.

“Don’t cry,” She whispered as she pulled me into the nearest bathroom. “They’re all idiots, okay? Every single one of them.”

I couldn’t respond. My throat was a fist. My eyes burned. My skin crawled with the memory of their laughter, of Noah’s stupid smirk.

Why did I think this would work? Why did I even try?

The second the door closed behind us, I burst into full sobs.

“I look ridiculous,” I choked out. “I shouldn’t have worn this. I knew it. I knew it.”

Charlotte wrapped her arms around me and held me as I cried into her shoulder. “You don’t look ridiculous,” she whispered. “You were brave. And those losers don’t deserve to breathe near you.”

The door creaked open again.

I looked up, expecting another girl. Instead—

Ryder.

Cigarette still tucked behind his ear. Eyebrows low with concern. Looking like he’d just walked in on a massacre.

“The hell happened?” he asked, voice low.

Char’s eye brows twitched. “Excuse me but you’re in the women’s bathroom” 

He ignored her, eyes on me. “Kailee?”

My fists curled, anger bubbling up through the tears like steam in a kettle.

“You,” I spat, stepping toward him. “This is your fault.”

He blinked. “What?”

“Yeah what?? Do we know him??” Char whispered to me 

But I was too mad to respond to her 

“You told me to change how I dress. You told me to pull my hair down. You told me to stop hiding. And I listened to you! Like a complete freaking idiot!”

“Hey—”

“They laughed at me,” I shouted. “They circled me like I was some kind of freak show attraction! They made fun of my weight, my clothes—everything. And Noah—he just stood there. He didn’t stop them. He didn’t say a word. And it’s all because I tried to follow your stupid advice!”

“I didn’t tell you to change for him,” Ryder snapped, stepping closer. “I told you to stop hiding from yourself.”

“You knew this would backfire didn’t you??” I shoved his hand away as he tried to wipe a tear from my cheek. “Save it. You don’t get to touch me. You don’t get to pretend to care. Admit it. You’ve always wanted to humiliate me. I knew this entire thing you started because you wanted to make your ex jealous was just a cover.”

“That’s not—” he ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. “I didn’t think you’d—God, Kailee, I didn’t mean for you to change who you are just to impress some guy.”

“Well, congratulations, because that’s exactly what I did!” I shouted, voice cracking. “And I feel stupid.”

Silence.

Charlotte stood quietly to the side, eyes flicking between us

I sniffed, wiping my eyes angrily. “I’m done. I’m done with this play. I’m done with Juliet. I’m done pretending I can be someone I’m not just so some guy maybe looks at me twice.”

Ryder’s jaw clenched.

“And I’m done with this deal,” I finished. “Whatever this was—it’s over. I can’t believe we even live under the same roof”

“Kailee—”

“Get out,” I said, stepping back. “This is the women’s bathroom. You shouldn’t be here.”

He hesitated, like he wanted to say more, but the fury on my face must’ve convinced him otherwise.

“Who was that??” Serena asked immediately he left. “You live under the same roof?”

Charlotte squeezed her brows together but her eyes popped the minute she pieces everything together. 

“Omg, is he your new step brother??!”