13. Amelia

Amelia (Closer by The Chainsmokers, Halsey)

The moment his lips crash against mine, my brain officially stops working.

Like... completely.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing at all. Instead, a strange warmth rushes through me, leaving me too stunned to even remember why I'm standing here in the first place.

His hand is still so firm around my waist, keeping me against him, while my fingers instinctively curl into the front of his shirt.

And the worst part? I'm not pulling away.

Instead, I kiss him back, my lips moving against his as I slowly give in to the warmth of him. He seems to take that as permission, because his hold on me tightens, deepening the kiss until every sensible thought in my head disappears.

My heart is jumping right out through my mouth.

This is insane. This is insane!

This relationship is supposed to be fake!

I'm a fake girlfriend. Right? Fake relationship. Fake everything.

So why does kissing Everett Griffin feel so ridiculously real... and so damn good?

I melt further into him, my fingers tightening around his shirt as something dangerously close to need coils inside me.

Dammit.

When he finally pulls away, a soft whimper escapes me before I can stop it.

Slowly, I force my eyes open and stare up at him, completely breathless.

God, my heart is thumping so fast and hard right now.

And he...

He looks far too calm for someone who just attacked my lips without warning.

I blink.

He blinks too, his grip on my waist gradually loosening.

I clear my throat awkwardly. "I... did you just..."

"Sorry," he cuts in, his voice husky as hell.

My brows shoot up.

Sorry?

That's it?

He glances toward the rows of seats, then back at me. "I needed to prove something."

I stare at him, fisting my hand at my side. "By kissing me?"

A small smirk tugs at his lips. "Apparently."

I narrow my eyes, my irritation slowly replacing the butterflies doing Olympic gymnastics in my stomach.

"Everett Griffin, you better have a very good explanation for this."

"Oh, I do," he mutters.

He takes my hand and gently pulls me farther into the lecture hall.

The hall, I now realize, is packed. Has been this whole time. And every single person in it just watched that.

And that's when I notice the three girls sitting a few rows away, all staring at me with so much... spite.

Geez.

Oh.

Ohhh.

I slowly turn back to Everett.

"I think I'm starting to understand..."

His smirk widens.

He turns to face them. "I told you I had a girlfriend."

My mouth falls open, then closes.

This man. This freaking man.

Among those girls is Georgina.

"Hi." I smile at her, but her face is soooo stern.

Okay, then.

I glance around. Hundreds of pairs of eyes are on me, and most of them are throwing daggers. The women, anyway. The men are whistling and making all sorts of noises, apparently entertained by our little makeout session, while others watch out of sheer curiosity.

Oh, nice...

Everett Griffin, you're so dead.

Meanwhile, the guy is completely oblivious to all of it. He pulls me into his side and drapes an arm over my shoulders.

"Everyone, meet Amelia Hart, my girlfriend."

I grit my teeth.

Read the damn room, bro, will you? You're trying to get me killed!

Georgina and her friends wordlessly made their way out of the lecture hall. But as they passed, she stopped at my side, gave me a side eye, and then left.

Okayyy.

I heave a deep sigh and whirl on Everett, fury written all over my face. Then I grab him by the ear and drag him outside. We get stares in the hallway, but I don't care. What? Never seen a girl pulling the volleyball captain's ear before?

As soon as we're both settled in the truck, I unleash my wrath on him.

My fists are everywhere. His chest. His shoulder. His arm. Anywhere I can reach.

"You absolute idiot!"

Everett laughs, trying to dodge me. "Hart..."

"You couldn't have warned me?"

"Would you have agreed?"

I pause.

Wait, why am I thinking about it?

"NO!"

"Exactly."

"Then why..."

He catches both my wrists before I can land another hit.

"Because I needed them to believe me."

I glare at him, breathing hard.

He doesn't let go immediately. For a second, we're just staring at each other.

His eyes drop to my lips. Mine betray me and do the same.

For a heartbeat, neither of us breathes.

Oh, no. Absolutely not.

I yank my hands free.

"Hey," he says, his voice quieter now. "I told them I have a girlfriend. Georgina said she didn't believe it was real, because a week ago, you were merely carrying my gym bag and all. She asked me to prove we were together."

He shrugs. "I had no choice, Hart."

I scowl at him. I want to be really mad at him, but... I lick my lips subconsciously... I can't. I enjoyed the kiss a little too much.

God, I want mooore. My eyes drop to his lips for a few seconds before I tear my gaze away. Sigh.

Everett, you've officially awakened the lying beast inside me... Can you handle the consequences of your actions?

"Fine," I mutter. "Let's go home already. I'm exhausted."

The ride back to Oakswood is surprisingly quiet.

I shift in my seat, suddenly far too aware of everything that happened in that lecture hall.

Thankfully, Everett is the one who breaks the silence.

"So, have you thought about how you're going to help Rachel Lancaster with the upcoming championship?"

I huff. "Yeah."

He glances at me briefly before returning his attention to the road.

"You aren't planning on joining the women's team just to sabotage them so your favorite can win, are you?"

I whip my head toward him.

"Wait, what?! No! That's insulting."

I would smack him if he wasn't driving. And I'm not trying to meet my maker today.

"I'm applying to transfer to Pitchers on a volleyball scholarship."

The truck screeches to a stop.

My body jerks forward, and I barely catch myself before my head meets the dashboard.

"What the hell was that for?"

A chorus of angry honks erupts behind us.

Everett ignores them and pulls back onto the road, his hands tightening around the steering wheel.

"You're going to transfer?"

There's something strange in his voice. Something I can't quite place.

"Yeah." I shrug. "I'm trying to. They have an opening on the women's team, and I found out they're offering a partial scholarship to transfers."

It's definitely because of everything we overheard that day... I'm sure of it.

Everett doesn't respond.

I turn toward him. "Everett?"

His jaw is tense, his eyes fixed on the road ahead. And I don't know why, but his silence is bothering me so much.