Chapter 4

"I think I need a new pack of earbuds or maybe even a hearing aid. My hearing seems to be in a defect." Simone muttered, rubbing both her ears.

I rolled my eyes, slapping her shoulder. "There's nothing wrong with your ears. You heard right."

"So you are dating Colton Hastings? Wow! Never thought I'd see this day." She muttered, lifting her eyebrows in surprise.

"I never thought that too." I grumbled, looking at my new fake boyfriend as he strolled into the school with his two best friends hanging on both his sides like they were his very own sexy minions.

"And how did this even happen?" Simone inquired, licking her finger that was smeared with Nutella.

I wrinkled my nose in disgust. "How did you even get that on your finger? And stop licking it, you're giving the guys a signal."

She rolled her eyes, wiping off the finger on her hanky. "I have started to carry a small jar of Nutella. Helps to control my mood swings you know?"

"You don't get many mood swings." I reminded her, looking in her skirt pocket, and found a plastic bag half full of Nutella. "Just hope it doesn't get a hole. Everyone will have fun watching you explain why brown liquid stuff is coming from under the skirt."

"Eww, that won't happen. Don't get your hopes up." She assured, putting her arm over my shoulders. "So about this boyfriend thingy? I want the details and by details, I mean each and everyone, even the distance between you two when he asked you out. Oh and when I am talking on the phone don't you leave me on hold. Don't ever do that again Racheal Amy Smith. I hate it."

I exhaled heavily looking upwards. "Don't call my full name again. I have heard enough of it yesterday."

"Why? Never mind. So I stayed on the line." She continued, sauntering through the hallways to our next class, occasionally looking back at familiar faces who smiled at me and making me smile too. Ugh, socialization! "And then I hear you curse and I want to know why but my mother-"

"Is it just I or everyone is actually staring at me?" I gulped, looking as students passed by us, staring and pointing fingers and speaking in not-so-hushed tones.

"Don't cut me off like that." She complained, looking around with me. "You're dating Colton Hastings what else do you expect? He's like the Channing Tatum of our school, hot, loved by all, and always on the 'I-want-to-fuck-him' list. Now that he's taken. I'm surprised why they haven't tried to kill you yet."

I stared at my best friend incredulously. "Whose side are you on? Mine or theirs?"

"I pick no sides. Amen." She whispered with innocent eyes, doing the cross sign.

I scowled at her, slapping her arm off me. "Backstabber. Get away from me."

She laughed, putting her arm back on my shoulder. "I love you too. Now don't interrupt."

I nodded, giving her a thumbs up.

"Okay so mom called me to do the laundry, I swear I am starting to regret changing clothes so often, I am the one who has to wash them now. But that is why I had to cut the call. Then I expected you to call back and you didn't so I thought 'gah, leave it, her loss' and I slept. The next morning I enter school and hear, Racheal Smith, my best friend is dating Colton Hastings, my um no-one." She shrugged. "You know how embarrassing it was to tell them it was all a lie only to know it wasn't."

I sighed, patting her hip. "Sorry, Simone. It happened so suddenly."

"Half a day? I don't think suddenly is enough. More like in a blink of an eye." She countered, glaring at me. "I don't talk to you for half a day and this is what happens? You go and date the next Harry Styles. And you have never even talked to the guy."

I stopped her outside the classroom door. "I'll tell you everything after school okay? Ice cream, your treat." Winking at her as I entered the almost full classroom.

"Why should I pay?" she moaned, sitting on our regular bench.

I put my bag next to hers. "Because you want to know the story." I grinned at her making her frown and narrow her eyes.

Just then the teacher entered and all conversations died. After 15 minutes of listening to electromagnetic force and some horny attracted particles that cause it, I heard Simone grumble softly.

"One scoop."

"Two."

"One."

"Fine." I huffed. "But with toppings."

"I hate you."

I threw my rubber at her. "I love you too."

~!~

"Are you not going to sit with your boyfriend?" Simone asked in a hushed tone as I walked with her to our usual lunch table.

I scowled at her, sitting on the chair and smiling politely at the two other friends sitting in front. Turning to Simone I whispered back. "I am not his iPhone to be with him all the time. If he wants he can come but I sincerely doubt that-"

"He's coming here." She completed.

I smiled, picking up the sandwich. "Exactly but improve your grammar. It should be 'he'll come here.'"

She slapped my hand, making the bread slip back on the plate. "What?" I hissed, picking it back.

"He's coming here!" She exclaimed hyperventilating.

I furrowed my eyes and followed her gaze. Four guys with over-filled plates in one hand and a pack of juice in the other walked towards us. Unfortunately one of them was my 'fake' boyfriend.

My eyes couldn't leave them until they were right in front of us. All four with huge big grins and mischievous glints in their eyes. My jaw couldn't have gone lower.

"Hey, girlfriend." Colton Hastings greeted, circling the table and sitting half on my lap, making me scoot over and stick to Simone as he got comfortable in the newly available space.

Finally getting over my shock I snapped. "What are you doing here Hastings?"

He raised his eyes from his plate towards me innocently. "Just sitting with my girlfriend."

I smiled sweetly suddenly noticing the gargantuan amount of eyes on us. "Honey how sweet of you to join us." I rubbed his shoulders, sending him a 'you-are-so-dead' sign with my eyes. He winked and I promptly kicked his shin, making him groan.

"Hey, I am Drew Roy." A black-haired guy with brown eyes smiled at us. Colton's best friend.

"Hey." I smiled back. I am Racheal Smith but you already know that." I pointed to Simone. "This is Simone Maxwell, my best friend." I turned to the twins, gaping at us. "The one with purple streaks is Eva and the one with blue streaks is Ira."

Drew stared at them with wide eyes. "Aren't you two Indians?"

They both nodded simultaneously.

"Your parents allowed you to do that?"

They scowled giving him a stink eye. "Why would you care?" Both asking together.

Drew leaned back with a freaked-out expression. "Creepy." He muttered.

"Do they always speak together?" Nathan asked. He had dirty blonde hair and black eyes and was sitting next to Eva staring at her purple streaked hair.

She turned to him. "Yes." They both answered.

"Woah!" Adrian exclaimed, chuckling a bit. He had golden brown hair and black eyes and was supposedly dating a cheerleader from another school. "Must be freaking you out."

I shrugged. "Not really. Just don't mess with them. They are karate champs."

Drew raised his hands in surrender. "You never even knew me."

"Our pleasure." Ira muttered under her breath but made sure all of us heard it.

All laughed. "Shot manh! Shot." Nathan teased, doing a hi-fi with Colton and Adrian.

"So which two bikes were there that day?" I suddenly asked, dying to know the answer.

"Drew and Nathan. I was at gran's pace. Fortunately." Adrian replied, chuckling softly.

Just as I was going to taunt. Colton whispered really close to my ear. "They don't know it's fake."

It took a while for the sudden sparks to go and let the words register in my mind. "You didn't? Why not?" I frowned, looking up at him.

He shrugged not breaking the gaze. "Didn't want to."

"They are going to think this is real."

"Let them."

I stared into those eyes for any source of enlightenment on the situation but they only stared back at me with I-don't-know what. Finally breaking the eye contact I rolled my eyes.

"Fine but I am telling Simone everything. Everything."

He nodded, turning back to his apple juice. "Gotcha."

"Oh my God! Drew you are so irritating." Ira abruptly yelled, stamping hard on his foot and walking away. We stared at her in confusion and Eva instantly got up. "I'll check up on her." She smiled shyly and ran after her twin.

All eyes on the table turned to Drew's guilty face.

"What did you do now?" Colton asked, slapping his back.

Drew sighed. "I wanted to touch those blue hair, she wouldn't let me."

"What did you expect? Blueberries to come out from them?" I snorted angrily. "They are just normal hair."

"Then why wouldn't she let me touch them?" Drew whined.

Simone sighed. "Goodness Drew, you really are irritating."

Drew flipped her off. "Learnt from your mother."

She flipped him back. "Good thing your father taught me something else."

"Why did they color them?" Nathan quizzed, stopping any more family-related insults.

"They are pretty similar." I replied. "Black hair and black eyes with same face structure so to help others distinguish them, they color their hair. It actually looks cool on them."

Nathan nodded slowly, looking at the direction Eva just disappeared in. "Yeah, it does. Purple suits Eva."

Simone and I smiled at each other secretly. Looks like someone just got a crush.

Just then the bell rang and we got up with our almost empty plates, disposing them in the bin.

"Can I borrow a kiss? I promise I'll return it later." Colton whispered, winking at me.

"Nope, I have decided to stop making any more bad decisions." I retorted, smiling sweetly at him.

Colton raised his eyebrows, trying to act unimpressed. "Now that would be a bad decision."

I rolled my eyes. "Just go."

"I'll call you later." Colton replied, winking at me. "Maybe I can make your bad decision the best one." And then walked away with his friends as they nodded at us, smiling lightly in amusement.

"No kiss?" Simone teased, wiggling her brows after they were out of sight.

I rolled my eyes. "I'll answer that as I eat my ice cream."

"Bitch."

"Jennet."

"Am not a donkey."

"Could have fooled me."

We both chuckled, entering our next class.

"You know Kevin will ask you about this right?"

I groaned, slumping down on a chair. "Simone can we not talk about him?"

She sighed nodding slowly. "Okay but he's actually nice."

"Yeah but not for me." I repeated what I had been saying for two months.

"Fine. Colton's hotter anyways."

"Yeah and cooler." I told.

"But not smarter. Kevin gets A in all subjects, even Chemistry."

I gave her a blank face. "We are never ever ever ever getting back together." I quoted Taylor Swift.

She rested her forehead on the desk in resignation. "You know I love you. And I know you still like Kevin and-"

"Of course I like Kevin. He was my first everything but things are over between us now. Dead and buried."

"Ghosts of past always haunt."

"Do you need a motivational drink?" I asked sarcastically.

"Sorry but Colton is just going to hurt you more than Kevin did."

Oh don't I know it!

Fortunately, Math sir choose that moment to enter and asked us to open page 106.

"We'll talk about this at the ice cream parlour." She promised, starting to solve the sum.

I leaned back on the chair, sighing. Another long day because yesterday wasn't enough.

The Math sir turned to us and started speaking, "The derivative of a constant multiplied by a function is the constant multiplied by the derivative of the original function."

And so the horror lecture started.

--

"So it's just a deal." I finally concluded.

"Just a deal." Simone repeated, still in a trance.

I nodded. "Yeah, just a deal."

"Just a deal?" her voice rose an octave.

I frowned at her. "If I say yes just a deal, will you repeat it again?"

She ignored me gritting her teeth. "JUST A DEAL!?"

I rolled my eyes. "Are we going to keep this up? I'm not dating him just pretending."

"So you're actually not dating Colton Hastings but pretending like you're dating?" Simone repeated.

A scowl formed on my face. "Why are you just repeating my words today?"

"That's probably because they sound so bizarre!" She exclaimed, dropping her spoon in the litchi ice cream cup.

I luxuriously took a bite of my two scooped chocolate and hazelnut ice cream, silently nodding at her.

She scowled at me. "How can you be calm about this? And aren't you grounded?"

I spat the ice cream out. "Holy shit! I completely forgot about that." I stood up, grabbing my bag and the ice cream cup. "Come on slow coach, take me home before mom knows I was out."

"I swear I doubt your sanity and memory at times." She grumbled, running after me and starting her car.

"Thank God mom has a case today. Now I have to bribe Josh somehow."

"Looks like you won't be getting much Nutella." Simone chuckled, I slapped her thigh. "Don't say that."

"So whose case has your mother taken?"

I shrugged. "Some rich guy who is charged with his colleague's murder." Leaning into the headrest, I sighed. "I hate that mom became a criminal defense attorney. Why couldn't she become a civil or family lawyer?"

"She likes it. It's okay." Simone consoled, patting my knee in affection.

"It's not. Last month some guy with Dumbledore beard came and threatened to kill us if she continued to fight the case against him. You know what my darling mother did?" I turned to look at Simone who shook her head. "What?"

"She smiled sweetly, told him to wait, and went inside, coming back with her pistol in one hand and a paper in one. She opened the door and pointed the gun straight at his forehead and showed him the paper." I shivered at the horrifying yet funny incident.

Simone blinked and gulped, clearly shocked. "What was written on the paper?"

"'Fcuk off' in bold black letters with my mom's signature under. And still smiling she asked the Dumbledore copy." I cleared my throat to imitate mom's menacing lawyer voice. "You choose one of these. The gun, I shoot you and make it look like self-defense or the paper and I never want to see your face outside court. Now hurry up."

Simone laughed out loudly, slamming on the brakes as we reached my house. "She actually said that?"

I nodded vigorously. "Exact words they are. That guy gulped, grabbed the paper and I've never seen him again since."

"Your mom's a prodigy man!"

I grinned, getting out of her car. "I know. But it's scary too. He wasn't the first guy to threaten and I have a bad feeling he won't be the last."

She winked at me. "I'll protect you."

I snorted, opening my front door. "Eva and Ira would do a better job than you. You even hate walking."

She shrugged. "I have a car, can't let it go waste now. Plus who the hell likes to exercise? Anyways you have a boyfriend now. He'll protect you with his heart and life. Make your sadness is his and will give his happiness to you. Make you feel so special that the moons and stars in this universe will-"

I promptly slammed the door shut stopping her rant and making her laugh. I heard her engine start and car speed off, shouting parting words. "Love is in the air."

Sighing to myself I leaned on the wall. Somewhere deep deep deep deep down in my heart where there existed no sense it hoped all her words would come true.