SWNOVELS Forever Golden: Chapter 33
BLUE
Turns out being exposed in Pandora’s last post—although completely unplanned—worked in our favor.
Most commenters are convinced there’s some shady reason behind Ricky being at my house, so West thinks we should use that to our advantage for day one of what Joss has officially dubbed Operation: Heartbreak.
I guess naming these missions is kind of her thing.
To start, I’m supposed to seem disinterested when West shows up at my locker to walk me to first hour. So, spotting him coming down the hall, I put on my game face.
“Hey,” he says sweetly.
To which I respond with a very unimpressed, “Hey.”
I look away and close my locker before we start toward my first class. He puts his arm around me, and I keep my gaze on the ground, not saying another word. When we make it to the door, I barely wave before ditching him to head inside. He lingers there a moment, even after I’ve taken my seat, and this is already killing me. Even though we’re pretending, this is going to hurt us both.
The walk to second-hour is a repeat of the walk to first. I hardly pay him any attention and he plays the role of the doting boyfriend. At the door, I turn with an eye roll, then leave him hanging like before.
Gut-wrenching. This whole thing.
We wash, rinse, and repeat all the way up until lunch, when the real fun is supposed to begin.
West starts out walking with me, but then I make it a point to stay two steps ahead, looking like I’d rather be anyplace but here. Then, when we sit, I say nothing as he and the others carry on as usual. Eventually, his gaze shifts toward me while I pick over my food.
“Fuck it. What the hell is your problem?” he asks, just loud enough for those at the next table to hear and pretend they aren’t ear hustling.
I snap a look toward him and play along, just like we planned. “Nothing, just… I don’t want to talk about it.”
He breathes deep, shaking his head. “You’ve been acting like a bitch all day and I haven’t done shit to you. If anything, I should be the one who’s pissed.”
“Really, you just called me a bitch in front of everyone and you should be pissed?”
I glance around just long enough to confirm that people’s interest in what’s happening at our table is growing.
“You two need a minute?” Sterling asks, looking uncomfortable as West and I start going at it, but we ignore him. After all, he’s playing along right with us.
“I never called you a bitch. I said you’ve been acting like one. There’s a difference.”
“Whatever, West,” I grumble, pushing my food away to fold both arms over my chest like a brat.
“You wouldn’t be mad if you saw some shit about me having Parker over? Just asking. Because if it’s cool for us to hang out alone with exes, I’ve got some calls to make.”
I peer up at him then, feeling water pool in my eyes.
Oh, God. Why are you about to cry? This isn’t part of the plan. And it isn’t even real. Pull it together, woman!
I see it. The moment West starts feeling concerned that he’s taken things too far, hurt my feelings. This isn’t on him, though. Apparently, just the idea of us being at each other’s throats like this rips me apart inside.
I blink a couple times, hoping he gets the hint that I’m okay to keep going.
“Fuck you, West.”
“Oh, fuck me? Sure you wouldn’t rather fuck Ricky?” he snaps back. “Unless, of course, you two already got that out your systems last night.”
I peer up at him again and I swear it’s gotten ten times quieter than a moment ago. Everyone’s tuning in for the spectacle, which is exactly what we need. Someone will get this out to Pandora and she’ll take things from there. By then, Vin will think there’s trouble in paradise and we’ll be that much closer to the last phase of this fiasco—step four, the end.
“I don’t need this shit.” With that, I stand, grab only my bottle of water, and then head for the door.
I’m in knots on the inside and burst through the lunchroom doors, unable to pull my phone from my pocket fast enough. I type as quickly as I can, needing to get rid of all the negative energy, but a text comes through before I’m even able to hit send on my own.
West: I feel like shit. I’m so fucking sorry.
Despite how disgusted I am with having put on that performance, I manage to smile—while hiding around a corner, of course.
Blue: You beat me to the punch. I was just about to apologize.
West: Let’s agree to never do this in real life.
Blue: Deal.
West: Good. Where you headed?
Blue: To sit in my car and pout until lunch ends. Figured it’d be good for optics.
West: You’re probably right. We should start seeing posts soon. I’m off to go punch a locker and look all broody and unstable. People are eating this shit up.
I face away from a small circle of kids who pass by when he draws a laugh out of me.
Blue: Take it from me, punching things is a bad¸BAD idea.
West: Noted. Love you.
Blue: Love you, too. Always.
@QweenPandora: It was the argument heard round the world. Today, lunch came with a bit of entertainment.
A hush fell over the crowd as people witnessed with their own eyes, direct fallout from last night’s drama—a love triangle I believe we all saw coming from a mile away.
A KingMidas, NewGirl, SeXyBeAsT sandwich.
Word on the street is that NewGirl’s been giving KingMidas the cold shoulder since morning. Like he’s the one who got caught sneaking an ex into his place last night. But it doesn’t end there. The tension came to a head today and the pair got caught in a public explosion you had to have been deaf and blind to miss.
After that disaster, I think we’re all wondering the same thing…
What on Earth will happen next?
Stay tuned.
Later, Peeps.
—P