Ch27

NOVA

My mouth opens, whilst my eyes are moving, they finally settle on Bethany who's behind Caleb now. She winks at me, mouthing a 'Make sure you kiss him' before retreating and leaving me with Caleb.

"Um..." I glance down at my legs, breathing in a little. Sure, I like the way he's not laughing with the girl from earlier and he's with me now. But then... I don't like the way Bethany pushed me on him and now I don't have any fucking words to say.

It's more like I forgot what to say. What will I possibly say to him in this moment?

"Speechless?" Caleb tilts his head.

I let out a nervous laugh. "Oh no. I just... My brother asked me to stay away from you." I say the one rational thing I can think of.

"Did he now?" Caleb doesn't look surprised one bit.

"Yes." I nod, while I'm still racking my brain for anything to say. Bethany said to flirt. I don't know how to fucking flirt. I'm not a flirt. Never have been.

"Look, we're both adults right?" Caleb asks.

"In Highschool." I put in. That makes him feign a wounded expression.

"Ouch." He holds a hand to his chest. "That was brutal."

I can't help but laugh. The laugh does make me breathe easier and calm my nerves down. Because girl... they were over the place.

"Do you have class soon?" He changes the topic.

"Yes." I say.

"Alright. We got to talk about this." He says calmly. How can he be this calm when I just bluntly told him my brother doesn't fuck with him.

"Do we?" I press my lips together. I'm trying to give... flirty? But I don't think I sound flirty.

"Need to talk about this? Obviously. Don't you want to?"

I pause, my mind racing at a hundred miles an hour while my hands nervously tug at the hem of my shirt. "I mean..." Say something smooth, Nova. Literally anything smooth. "Maybe I do. Maybe I don't. Depends on if you're as... dangerous as my brother says."

Shit. Dangerous? Really, Nova? I watch Caleb's lips twitch. "Dangerous? Now where did that come from? Is that what he called me?"

I shake my head. "No," I say, trying for a sultry tone, but my voice cracks midway through. "He called you a... distraction."

That is a lie. Noah did not call Enzo a distraction. I'm just trying to flirt here. What's the word again?

"But I like... distractions. Sometimes. When they're not distracting."

Dear God, please be merciful and shoot me right now. Caleb lets out a low laugh, his eyes giving off how absolutely amused he is as he takes a small step closer, leaning in. "When they're not distracting? Nova, you are an absolute enigma."

"I am a woman of few words," I blurt out immediately, instantly contradicting the fact that I just stumbled through three sentences of total nonsense.

He bites his lower lip, trying... and failing... to hide his grin. "Right. A woman of few, very specific words." He glances down at his watch before looking back up at me, his gaze lingering just a second too long. "As much as I want to unpack all of this 'distraction' talk, the bell is about to ring. Walk with me?"

"I have... legs. So yes. I can walk." I bite down on the inside of my cheek so hard I can almost taste blood.

"Glad to hear your legs work," Caleb chuckles, turning to fall into step beside me as we head down the crowded hallway. "So, about this 'talking' we need to do. Are you free after last period?"

"Maybe," I say, shifting my backpack strap and trying to give him a smoldering side-eye that probably just looks like I'm having an allergic reaction. "If I'm not... busy avoiding my brother."

"I'll take my chances," Caleb says smoothly. We reach the intersection of the main hall where our paths diverge. He stops, shoving his hands into his pockets, his eyes locking onto mine. "See you after class, Nova. Try not to let any dangerous distractions get in your way."

He gives me a brief wink before turning on his heel and heading down the math wing.

I stand there completely frozen for a solid five seconds. As soon as his broad shoulders disappear into a classroom, the reality of what just transpired hits me.

'I have legs. So yes. I can walk.'

'I like distractions when they’re not distracting.'

My face burns with a heat so intense I’m convinced my skin is about to melt off my skull. I spin around and sprint into the girls' bathroom, practically throw myself into an empty stall, and lock the door behind me.

I press my back against the cold tile, sliding down until I’m sitting on the floor with my knees pulled up to my chest.

It may not sound big but I feel so embarrassed. Oh my God. I have never felt this embarrassed my entire life. I sniff, as the first roll of hot tears immediately spill over my lashes and streak down my cheeks.

I am so fucking stupid.

Bethany wanted me to flirt. I knew I couldn't flirt even if I tried. But then I still went and tried. And look the fuck how that turned out.

I started and instead, I sounded like a defective AI trying to mimic human conversation. And what did he do? He was amused. I'm a hundred percent sure that he wasn't amused because he was into me... he was amused because I made a total, complete fool of myself. He was laughing at me.

I bury my face in my arms, a quiet sob escaping my throat. This is not how I wanted my term to go down. I literally planned dates with Ava and we promised ourselves we would tick off boxes once we'd done everything on our list.

But here I was, standing in front of the bathroom mirror and rinsing my face.

I don't know. Task one seems impossible at this point. If I can't do ordinary flirting and not feel this way... Kayda's right.

I can't do this shit.

I can't.

I'm splashing some more cold water on my face when Ava walks in. From the way she looks surprised, she wasn't expecting to see me here, crying.

She ignores me, searching her purse until she pulls out something that she starts applying to her lips with the aid of the mirror.

I sniff, dabbing at my eyes again. I'm over this shit. I don't even want to be a Sigma Omega sister anymore. I don't want to talk to any of these girls. I'm not doing a mean thing to Caleb and I certainly am not framing anybody for media news leak.

"Are you... are you okay?"

I raise my head, looking confused about Ava's speaking to me. We haven't exchanged words in a while.

"Me?" I touch my chest.

"No, the girl behind you." Ava mutters.

I look behind me. "We're alone."

"Of course, silly. That's the point. I was asking you how you feel and stuff."

"Honestly? Stupid. I just fucking embarrassed myself with Caleb and I don't think he's going to talk to me again. I sounded like a fucking freak and it was low-key so bad. Ava, I... I feel so stupid. I feel so fucking stupid. And I miss talking to Noah and Enzo and I miss even you. I miss us. I hate it now. I hate the way school feels."

"I'm not supposed to be talking to you but... you do sound like you need a hug. Come here."