The Marriage Conspiracy

Sitting on the podium, Sarah kept tracking every single movement he made with the ball, her eyes quietly tracing his every step across the court.

“You fool….”

The sudden sound startled her. She turned to face the speaker, rolling her eyes the moment she realized it was Bunny, her best friend.

“You just stay here like a fool, following a man up and down when he doesn't even know you exist, Sarah. Let's get the fuck out of here.”

“I'm not coming. And hey….. he knows I exist.”

“How on earth do you manage to stay at the top of our class?”

Sarah's face contorted in sheer disbelief as she stared at her friend. Exhaling slowly, she turned her gaze back toward the playground.

“We are leaving. Right now.”

Bunny grabbed Sarah's wrist and began dragging her forcefully toward the exit of the stadium.

“Let go of me, Bunny!”

“No fucking way!” Bunny yelled, her raised voice instantly attracting attention from the players on the field. A few almost stopped dead in their tracks to look—including Blake.

Sarah's face flushed with heat instantly. Desperate to hide her embarrassment, she yanked her hand back from Bunny, who was momentarily caught off guard by all the staring eyes. Sarah immediately bolted for the door.

Bunny followed right after her, running to catch up. They both ended up breathlessly inside the cafeteria.

“I'm starving. You just made me waste all the food I ate, all for some random guy.”

“Call him random one more time, and you're doing your own assignments for the next two weeks.”

An uneasy, sheepish smile broke out on Bunny's face as she gently patted Sarah's shoulder.

“Fear not, Sarah. Fear not. I wouldn't dare.”

She nodded slowly at Sarah, who immediately averted her eyes, heading straight toward the counter to order some food. Bunny trailed right behind her.

They both grabbed their lunches and found a quiet corner to sit down and eat. Bunny raised a hand at Sarah, her mouth far too full of food to actually speak.

Sarah answered by simply raising a single eyebrow. Bunny kept chewing until at least half the food in her mouth had been swallowed.

“Sarah, you can't keep chasing after this guy forever. He's the main reason you're still a virgin, you've never dated anyone, he is……”

Sarah slammed her palm directly over Bunny's mouth, cutting off whatever explicit truth was about to spill out next.

“Can we please not do this here?”

Bunny nodded quickly, and Sarah finally removed her hand.

“All I'm trying to say is… just talk to him.”

Sarah slammed her face into her hands, groaning softly against her own palms.

“I thought you agreed we weren't going to talk about this?” she muffled against her skin.

“Yes, but I never said I wouldn't say what's on my mind.”

“Yeah, yeah. Right.”

“Sarah, I dare you. Walk right up to him, introduce yourself, and ask for his number….”

“And what do I get in return?”

“Nothing.”

“Then I'm not doing it.”

“Yeah. I completely forgot you're just a coward, chickening out every single time you should stand up for yourself…. Plain Sarah.”

The words sent a surge of heat rushing straight through Sarah. Her face twisted not just in emotional pain, but in rising anger. She stood up abruptly and walked out of the cafeteria, food still tucked inside her cheek.

She walked straight toward her classroom, but upon reaching the door, she froze. Looking further down the hallway, her eyes landed on the heavy timber doors of the library. By now, he would definitely be in there. Either sleeping or buried in a book.

She exhaled deeply, forcing her mind to make a decision. She was going to prove to Bunny that she was not a coward. She could get at least his autograph to shut her up.

Stepping through the library doors, a sudden chill ran straight through her ribs, making her heart rate spike ten times faster. Still, she kept moving forward until she finally spotted him. As usual, he was flanked by Nora.

Sarah turned on her heel, instantly wanting to make a run for the exit. Anything that required this much stress simply wasn't worth it.

“For fucking's sake, Nora, my ears are completely full of the trash you keep repeating about love. And her?," he pointed at the retreating Sarah.

"That's my girlfriend.”