6

"A few of us are going out on Friday-nothing special, just for pizza. You are coming with." Dallas leaned against the locker next to mine, grinning like a madman.

He wasn't asking, he was demanding with such ease, it was like second nature to him.

I shut my locker, with force. I glared at him. "I am also going whale hunting and planning a backpacking trip through Mexico."

I walked past him but it didn't come as a surprise that he followed behind me.

"Sounds fun. Room for an extra body?" He was back to his usual amusement at my lack-of-it.

"Only the ones I'm hiding in the trunk," I grumbled.

Dallas leaned closer into my side. "If we soak that in some sulfuric acid, I'll take the bodies place." He swung an arm around my shoulders.

I shoved him off me, turning my body to face him. "I will gladly diminish the air from your lungs and stuff your rotting corpse body in the trunk."

Dallas blinked, taken by surprise. He retracted, stepping back and putting his hands up in defence. "Someone is-not very happy today."

If looks could kill, my gaze would have turned him into pink-mist.

I didn't have words to properly express the hatred and immense rage I was feeling towards Dallas right now.

He wasn't worth the breath.

I turned and started walking away. If he followed me, I could kill him. He already told me how to get rid of the body-it would be his own fault.

Dallas took hold of my arm, stopping me from walking away. "Liz, wha-"

I wrenched my arm out of his grasp. I was close to fuming. "You have some serious audacity, Rolland."

Dallas blinked. Any ounce of amusement drained from his expression. "What have I done?" He looked almost afraid to speak.

I gaped at him. "You-" I laughed dryly. I could hardly fathom words. I exhaled deeply. "What do you want, Dallas?"

He cleared his throat, taking a step away from me. "Pizza. I wanted you to come."

I refrained from rolling my eyes.

Remain calm.

"You want me to come? I thought-what was it you said? I'm not the centre of the universe. I wouldn't want to hog the spotlight."

I spun away from him, turning to leave.

"Eliza, wait-"

I ignored him, continuing down the hallway and through the doors to the parking lot.

"Eliza, please. Wait!"

Dallas pulled his signature move and swerved in front of me, stopping me before I could get into my car.

"Move."

I pushed him out of the way-attempted to, but he didn't budge.

"Dallas-"

"Hear me out. I-" he clasped his mouth shut for a moment, shaking his head. He ran a hand down his face unsurely. "What I said was harsh but I didn't mean it like that."

I cocked my head to the side, laughing humourlessly. "What exactly did you mean it like, then?"

Dallas fell silent.

I shook my head, shoving past him. His arm reached out to hold my car door shut.

I glared at him. "Move out of the way before I deck you in the face."

"Eliza-"

"No," I snapped. "You don't get to do that. You don't get to decide when you want to be annoyingly charming and when you want to yell in my face about how pathetic I am."

I was-mad, maybe slightly hurt.

No, I was not hurt.

Not by someone like Dallas.

Maybe-maybe I deserved his rudeness. I don't know. My head was spinning in confusion.

Dallas's expression was unreadable. "I am sorry-okay? I was out of line. I was mad and I took it out on you."

I stared at him.

I didn't know to proceed.

Dallas pursed his lips, unsurely swaying his head side to side.

"Great. Will you move out of the way now? Or just when it's convenient for you?"

Dallas grinned sheepishly, almost looking shy. "I will step out of the way-if you agree to come get pizza with me."

I scoffed. He can't be serious.

I moved to open the car door but again, his arm didn't budge. He held the door shut.

I heaved out a slow breath, mustering any ounce of calmness I could find. "Dallas-"

"Come on," he groaned, hanging his head. "I apologized. Forgive me, sweets."

"We're going to the ball together. The buzz around the school-well, it's still buzzing. You don't need to stick with me with it's not necessary."

I was confused.

Why was he inclined to hang out with me anyways. The last time we spoke, he made it abundantly clear that I was pathetic and whatnot.

We were going to the ball together because he wanted to gain reputation points and have people talking about him-and to prove whatever point to his friends. People were already talking. There was no reason for him to continue hanging around me.

Amusement flashed in his eyes. It wasn't the same cocky, arrogant amusement he'd have when he knew he was getting under my skin. It was a different type of amusement. One I couldn't quite understand or make sense of.

"Sweets, sweets, sweets." He sighed heavily. "Have you ever considered that maybe irritating you has become a hobby of mine?"

I narrowed my eyes on him. "You find this very funny? It's not."

He grinned lightly. "What's not funny about it?"

I looked down at my shoes, pausing. What are we doing? The agreement was simply that after the ball, he would resume to his life and I would resume to mine.

I looked at him, softened eyes. "Just-leave this alone, Dallas."

His eyebrows pulled together. "Leave what alone?"

I sighed faintly. "Me. I will see you before the ball starts."

Dallas's hold on my car door had lightened enough for me to shove past him and open the car door. I nearly got in-nearly.

I had opened the door but his arm raced out, held out in front of me and stopping me from actually getting into the car.

"No, sweets. Hold on." He moved quickly, slipping his body in front of me. His entire body was stopping me from getting into my car.

I had to stop walking to my car with him following me.

"I asked you to come get pizza this Friday." He ignored my previous comment and got back to what started this conversation.

I-

I could feel his body heat radiating onto me. I was standing in front of him, so close that our bodies were touching.

He smells like the forest. Pine needles and woodsy. Cypress.

I cleared my throat, taking a step away from him. "And I am refusing the invite-though it was very considerate."

I glanced around, avoiding his gaze.

"Really, sweets? That's all I'm going to get?"

I shrugged casually. "Don't worry," I grumbled. "I'll hold the invite dearly to my heart until the day I lie on my deathbed."

"Eliza, it's not-"

Dallas stopped, watching me in confusion-as I darted around the car and got in through the passenger side door.

I hopped over the seat, into the driver's seat.

Why didn't I think of this sooner?

Dallas ducked down, staring at me from where he stood outside the driver's side door.

I smiled innocently. "I will shut the door on your hand if you don't move."

Dallas blinked, stepping back.

Pulling the door shut, I started the car and drove out of the parking lot.

-

Friday.

"Come on." Preslie started pulling me down the hall.

"Is the world ending?"

"What?" Preslie asked, her eyebrows furrowing together in confusion but yet, she didn't stop pulling me.

"You seem rushed and eager to get me down this hall. Is there a Mongolian death worm following us?" I looked behind me to exaggerate my point.

"Very funny." Preslie muttered unenthusiastically. She pulled me out of the school until we stood in front of her car.

"Woah-okay now. Where are we going?" My eyes widened madly since Preslie's ideas usually scared me.

"Out." She shrugged. "I need to run some errands and wouldn't mind some company."

"Gee, Pres. At least let me check my calendar and make sure I'm not booked to make a tux out of chicken skin." I rolled my eyes and leaned against her car, losing my will to do just about anything.

"Why chicken skin and not sheepskin?" Preslie asked looked deeply interested in my answer.

I gave her a flat look. "Good one. We should make a documentary out of it."

"Splendid idea-now can we get in the car?"

-

"Preslie."

"What are you waiting for, Liza. Let's go!"

"Preslie."

"I think I'm going to go for cheese-I don't really like pepperoni." She dramatically stroked her chin, feigning being in deep thought.

"Preslie."

"Did you know that Pab's has really good peach smoothies all year around?" Preslie grinned as she looked at herself through her phone camera and powdered her nose.

"Preslie."

Finally, Preslie sighed and looked over at me. "Yes, Eliza."

"Why are we at Pab's?" I stared out the car at Pab's Pizzeria with the most lifeless look on my face I think I've ever mustered. I knew Dallas was here because he had invited me and I rejected the invite.

"To eat some pizza?" Preslie shrugged as she placed her phone and wallet in her purse. "I figured you might be hungry."

"How considerate." I groaned, leaning back into the leather seat of the car-close to yanking my hair.

"Eliza, it's just pizza." She pouted out her bottom lip, giving me her best puppy-dog eyes.

"I'm assuming Jago invited you because Dallas and his friends will all be here?" I stared at her, blankly. Preslie knew if she had told me her plan beforehand, I would have never gotten into the car.

Preslie glanced out the window, shrugging. "I wouldn't be surprised if we ran into all of them. What a funny coincidence it would be."

"Preslie."

She huffed out a breath and leaned back in her seat, her face falling. "Dallas said you refused to come and I may have accidentally said I would manage to get you here."

"Well-now you've gotten me here so, can we leave?"

"No. Now get out of the car and come inside and eat some pizza." She unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car.

"Wait!"

"Eliza, what now?" Preslie whined.

"Do you have an extra hoodie in the back? I don't want to stay in my uniform." I smiled innocently.

Preslie gave me a look of disbelief before laughing and opening the back door to pass me an NYU sweatshirt she had laying in the back. Preslie had a closest everywhere-in her car, her locker, her backpack.

"Thank you."

I threw off my blazer and put the sweatshirt on. I got out of the car before she could yell at me further.

She wasn't going to stop. She would drag me in if she had to.

And I was a little hungry.

We walked into the pizzeria and spotted the table the rest were sitting at-Ocean with her date named Sean, Dallas, Jago, and Orion who sat with a girl named Hazel.

"Look who made it!" Dallas smirked at me as he stood up and pulled out a chair for me. Preslie smiled sheepishly before walking over to take the seat beside Jago.

"You know Hazel, right Eliza?" Ocean tilted her head towards the gorgeous raven-haired girl that sat beside Orion.

I nodded my head with my eyebrows raised. "Yeah, we have Spanish class together." I looked at Hazel who smiled at me.

I took my seat and glared at Dallas as he sat down beside me.

"What convinced you to come?" Dallas turned to me, still smirking. It never left. It was aggravating.

"I have a stomach infection and was too scared to go home because my mother would force me to drink ipecac." I scanned the pizzeria to see if I could find the smallest excuse to get up.

"That doesn-" Dallas stopped before hardly starting his thoughts, shaking his head. "It's just strange how you manage to say all these bizarre things so nonchalantly."

"One of my many hidden talents."

God, please give me an excuse to leave.

"Not very hidden since it's shown very often." Dallas retorted, his voice smug because he must've thought I'd be impressed from the comeback.

"Just rain on my parade, why don't you?" I turned and looked at him, plastering on an insincere smile to exaggerate my sarcasm.

"How will it ever rain when you bring sunshine as soon as you walk into a room?" He sighed in exasperation, mimicking my amount of sarcasm.

God, why did he have to meet my jabs so well?

"Hey. Did you finish the biology homework?" Orion turned to me, cutting into the conversation as he didn't realize we were in one. The others were in conversations among themselves as well.

I turned to him, going a bit serious as my conversations with Orion were a lot less stupid than the ones I had with Dallas. "I finished that last night."

Orion muttered something under his breath that I didn't quite catch. "I lost track of time last night so I never got to it."

"Busy night?" A waiter started to bring over the pizza and drinks that the others had already ordered before Preslie and I got to the restaurant.

"Nothing too-crucial."

"Really?" Dallas cut into the conversation causing me to turn and glare at him. I wasn't even surprised he had been eavesdropping. "It was crucial enough to make you forget about the biology of all things! What must have it been?"

"What is wrong with you?" I smacked his arm, frowning at him.

"it's fine, Liza." Orion chuckled. "He's just messing around."

Orion said it very surely but part of me felt as if Dallas was trying more to get under my skin than just mess around.

"So, what was it?" Dallas leaned over me to ask Orion. He seemed uninterested, shoving pizza into his mouth.

I blew air out in my cheeks, annoyed. I grabbed myself a glass of Coca-Cola.

"I was with Hazel." He shrugged nonchalantly, grabbing a slice of pizza. Hazel didn't notice he mentioned her because she was in a seemingly important conversation about Mark Twain with the others.

"Very crucial, indeed." Dallas quirked an eyebrow at Orion, smirking. He glanced at me, analyzing me.

The funny thing is that Dallas thought I was clueless but I knew he was looking at me to see if I would get jealous when Orion said he was with a girl.

"That's cute." I smiled. "We had science together last year-she was always very nice."

"Yeah, I'm sure she could also help out with that ketchup you have on your lip." Dallas winked at Orion.

Orion shook his head, wiping the corner of his mouth.

I cleared my throat. "I have some things to do-so I should get going." I pushed my glass away from me.

"What do you have going on?" Orion inquired curiously but not pryingly. "You're leaving so soon."

I shrugged. "Nothing too... crucial."

Orion laughed lightly and just nodded, brushing it off.

"Not too crucial-so then what?" Dallas asked feigning as much nonchalance as he could manage, subtly sipping on his Sprite.

I licked my lips and chose to answer so he would know that I didn't find these little things important. I figured if I didn't answer the simple question, Dallas would find some freakish alternative meaning behind why I wasn't answering-it simply made it easier on my part to just answer.

"I'm going to have Jurassic Park movie marathon night with Dom."

"Why Jurassic Park?" Orion asked, his eyebrows coming together in thought.

"Because we already watched the Harry Potter series." I shrugged unsurely. There was no drastic reason.

"With Dom, huh?" Dallas mumbled in thought.

"Yes, with Dom." I answered flatly, looking at him with a straight face. "So, goodbye Dallas. I enjoyed your company more than I enjoyed watching Nick Viall become the next bachelor." I smiled like a fool to magnify my mockery.

"Wait-" He stopped me just as I pushed my chair out and was about to get up. "You didn't even eat anything."

"I'm not hungry." I gave him a look of disbelief, confused. Why he was so weird? Why did he care how much I ate?

"You haven't eaten anything all day." He noted.

"How would you know that?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

"You were studying at lunch."

"How do you know that?"

Stalker-ish. What do I make of that?

"Because I talk to Ocean." He told me bluntly, not seeing this as weirdly as I was.

"Good to know." I nodded before standing up and turning to everyone else at the table except Dallas. "Hey guys, I'm going to head out now. I'll see you all at school next week."

That was a well enough farewell. I was hardly friends with these people.

A couple of 'goodbyes' murmured around the table as I headed out of the pizzeria.

I was in the parking lot pulling my phone out of my pocket when I heard the pizzeria's door open behind me, followed by none other than Dallas's voice following.

"Wait up, sweets!"

"What do you want now?" I whined, shutting my eyes as I turned around to face Dallas.

"Don't you need a ride home?" Dallas zipped up his coat, rubbing his hands together to generate heat.

I quirked an eyebrow. "Uh-no. I believe if I did I would have asked any other person in that pizzeria."

"How are you planning on getting home?" He sniffled from the cool winter air.

"I'm not going home."

"Where are you going?"

"Christ sake, do you ever stop prying?" I groaned, giving him a look of despair.

"I'm just curious." He shrugged nonchalantly-but I didn't buy it.

"I'm going to Al's to buy food-for the movie marathon. Would you like my banking details so you can track my transactions?" I raised my eyebrows, looking at him intently.

"I'll consider it." He winked, playing along with my sarcastic comments. "But-come on. I'll give you a ride back to school so you can get your car."

"I don't need you to babysit me, Dallas." I shook my head.

"I'm not trying to babysit you." He retorted, his tone more serious and less playful. He shrugged lightly. "I'm just saying-it's cold out. You don't even have a coat and I'm already here -so why hassle someone else to come pick you up?"

"Dalla-"

"Just shut up and let me drive you to the school." He snapped but not rudely, just impatiently. "It's five minutes away."

"If sixty seconds is long enough for Oprah to make $600-a lot can happen within times five of that."

Dallas took a moment to take in what I said before laughing. He shook his head, pulling his car keys out of his pocket.

"Let's go, sweets."