"Are you unwell? You seemed okay last night?" He questioned, peering into my eyes.
At 'last night' the whispers turned to full-blown talking.
I nodded to show him I was okay. Aaron smiled in response, holding my hand.
"I have something to ask you." He said quietly yet loud enough for our fellow classmates to hear and I think that's what he was aiming for.
My eyes flitted across the room, all eyes were on me; especially the glaring from Britney and her bimbos from across the room.
Gosh, they'd kill to be in this position.
But it wasn't them. It was me and I had no idea what to say. I mean, this takes 'faking' to a whole new level.
"Erm, Aaron, I-"
My incoherent stuttering was interrupted by Aaron shushing me. He moved closer, leaning his forehead against mine.
"It's a promise ring, gorgeous." He muttered, stroking my cheek with his knuckles and I had to hand it to him he was one hell of a good actor.
The fact that it was a promise ring calmed me a little.
Just a little.
The effect he had on my stomach was actually the opposite of calming. Not to mention, the people who were staring and glaring, making me very anxious.
Aaron, who was still as close as before, looked around the room.
"It's working. They're buying it" He whispered, so that only I could hear.
I rolled my eyes.
"I can see that." I stated, pointing over to Britney subtlety.
Aaron looked over to where I was pointing.
"Are you familiar with the way an eagle looks at a mouse?" He questioned out-of-the-blue.
I shook my head.
"No?" I said, giving him strange looks.
Aaron's eyes remained fixated on Britney.
"Me neither, but I'm sure the look that Britney is giving you is pretty much it."
I laughed softly before remembering the topic at hand. I looked around and, sure enough, everyone was still staring at us; probably wanting to know the contents of the quiet conversation we just had.
I turned back to Aaron.
"A promise ring?" I questioned, the hinting of hesitance evident in my voice.
Aaron nodded.
"I mean, I don't want to pressure you. It's okay if you don't accept it."
I smiled at this.
"I don't mind doing it, Aaron. If it proves you're not a player who likes to fool around with girls, then I'm all for it."
Aaron nodded his head in gratitude.
"Thanks."
I smiled, looking around.
"Well, lets get this show on the road." I muttered to which Aaron laughed. I cleared my throat, preparing myself for my part of the act.
With my eyes on the case, I put my hand to my mouth in a pretence of shock.
"Aaron, is that- I mean- did you-"
I was cut off by Aaron shushing me again. He smiled slightly, opening the case and all 22 pair of eyes were on us.
I gasped when I saw the content. Inside was, by far, the prettiest ring I had ever seen. Well, I haven't seen a lot of rings, but this topped everything.
It was simple yet it didn't look cheaply made. It was made of a thin silver band with a small white diamond sitting in the middle. It looked more like a wedding ring than a promise ring.
Everyone else must have been thinking the same thing as the whole class was in silence, staring in awe at the beauty of the ring.
They then, suddenly, turned to me awaiting my response.
Would I say yes? Would I say no?
I didn't know myself. Even if it was fake, it was difficult. If I said yes, no doubt all Britney and her drones would be after my life and that's not really what I needed in my life.
Even more, I've heard enough comments about how 'he's too good for me' or how 'he's out of my league'.
I guess, that's what influenced my answer.
"Yes." I breathed out.
Wait? Did I just say yes?
"Yes. I'll accept the promise ring." I said, but louder so I could be heard.
Did I just say yes again?
Aaron smiled at this, feigning a look of both relief and immense joy. Wow, this boy was a hell of an actor.
He pulled me in tightly, his warmth embracing my 'was-cold-before' body. I relaxed into the hug, putting my arms around his smooth neck and stroked the back of his hair.
I'm glad I was facing away from Britney because, if I wasn't, then I'd probably be receiving glares that could send me to hells-fire and back.
I stepped out of his embrace, feigning happiness.
"Aaron, this is.... It's amazing." I said, affection clear in my voice.
Aaron grinned.
"Good." He said.
He then pointed to my hand.
"May I?" He questioned.
I smiled, giving my hand to him.
"You may." I consented, feeling the firmness of his hands caused butterflies to erupt within me.
Aaron held my hand, sliding the ring on slowly. It was the perfect size. Aaron leaned his forehead against me again.
"Good acting, Lexi. I'm thoroughly impressed."
I smiled smugly, loving the feeling I got from getting praise from Aaron.
"Well, what can I say? I always know how to put on a show." I boasted, putting my nose high.
Aaron breathed a laugh.
"Well, it's not over yet, get ready for the grand finale." He stated, licking his lips.
"And what's that?" I questioned curiously.
This made Aaron smirk and he leaned back, so everyone could get a full view of the two people in this conversation.
He squeezed my hand tightly before letting go of it.
"Kiss me." He ordered.
6- The Party Connoisseur
“This was not part of the plan!” I whispered to Aaron, so that no-one else could hear.
Aaron smirked, still holding my hand.
“Yeah, it wasn’t. I just get a kick out of annoying you.” He said, his smirk widening.
I’ll give you a kick
Everyone, when hearing the words ‘kiss me’ from Aaron’s lips had fallen into a deathly silence....For about a tenth of a second. This ‘silence’ was then followed by the ‘ooohs’ and ‘aaahs’ you can only expect from a group of students. I rolled my eyes..
Teenagers.
I focused back on Aaron, glaring. Wasn’t he aware that this kind of attention would both annoy me and make me anxious? Of course he did! That’s the exact reason why he said it. Aaron noticed the cross of anger and anxiety on my face and he smugly smiled.
“You don’t have to do it, Lexi. I mean, frankly, I know that you don’t have the courage.” He said, looking up to the skies and sighing deeply, a faint smile etched onto his lips.
I felt myself fume at me. He was doing this to get to me and I knew it, but couldn’t help fall for it. I did have the courage, if I didn’t I wouldn’t have been a part of this pretence, in the first place. So, how dare he say that to me?
Oh, I’ll show him courage!
I practically launched for Aaron- a sight that could quickly be compared to a Hyena attacking a Giselle. Grabbing him by the collars, I forcefully attached his lips to mine.
Now, how’s that for courage?
As soon as our lips touched, the room filled with yet another symphony of ‘oohs’. It started with just a couple of students, cascading into a whole choir of noise. It was kinda like the verbal equivalent of the Mexican wave.
Aaron was quick to respond to the kiss, his soft lips devouring mine. His arms wrapped tightly around my waist and lifted me slightly, putting me within reaching distance to bury my hands into his luscious locks. He moved one arm from my waist to my face, his hand resting on my cheek as he deepened the kiss.
We pulled back from each other slightly, our breaths fanning each others faces as we inhaled some well-needed oxygen, but the need for breath was significantly weaker than our want for one another and our lips met again in a fiery mesh of
heat and passion.
His lips moulded against mine perfectly, making me practically melt into the kiss. I would have fallen over from the immense sensations I was feeling, if Aaron wasn’t holding me up by my waist.
“No PDA in the classroom.” Mr. Parkers’ voice spoke as he entered the classroom and interrupted the euphoria that I was lost in. I abruptly moved back from Aaron, our bodies still entwined.
And that’s when I decided to look around.
All eyes and I mean ALL eyes were on us. Some shocked and some infuriated. I guess, it’s kinda obvious that the infuriated faces were the entire female population of the class. I avoided all contact from them as they shot glares into my back.
I squirmed at the attention I was getting and looked up at Aaron who was smirking.
“I feel this lesson is going to go just great.” He teased.
*************
“Now, unlike integration, differentiation is used to find the gradient of a line at a certain point on a graph...” Mr. Parker’s voice boomed through the classroom.
Our exams were coming up in the next few months, but I couldn’t concentrate on what he was saying. I was too concentrated on how numb my lips felt. I touched them again and I could still sense how Aaron’s lips felt against mine.
I grimaced discreetly to myself. Someone as bad for me as Aaron shouldn’t have made me feel that way. I shook my head to clear such thoughts.
“I guess I made a mistake.” Aaron interrupted my thoughts and draped his arm across my shoulder, giving off a picture of a loving couple. I turned my head to him slightly, keeping my eyes directed to Mr. Parker.
“About what?” I questioned. Even if I wasn’t looking at him, I could still sense Aaron smirking. He moved closer to me.
“About you not having courage. I made a mistake in thinking that.” His breath hit my cheek as he spoke.
I smiled smugly, turning fully towards him.
“So, what you’re trying to say is ‘The Great Aaron Walker’ was wrong?” I teased, raising both eyebrows.
Aaron rolled his eyes.
“No. What I’m trying to say is ‘The Great Aaron Walker’ was not right.”
My eyebrows furrowed at this.
“Is there really a difference?” I questioned, folding my arms.
Aaron smiled, tapping my nose with an index finger.
“Yes, cupcake. Yes, there is.”
I snorted, turning away.
“Okay. Sure.”
It was then that I realised that we weren’t the only ones who weren’t concentrating to what Mr. Parker was saying. Some of the students gazes in the classroom were on us. It was as if no-one was used to the sight of the two very different people acting so smitten.
“Do you like it?” Aaron took hold of my hand, examining the ring with a smile.
I responded with a grin.
“It’s beautiful, Aaron.” I said, nodding appreciatively to my hand.
Aaron chuckled before looking at me.
“Like you.” He said sincerely.
Before I could answer, the bell ring and Aaron rose to his feet.
“You coming?” He questioned, heading towards the door. He stuck his hand out towards me.
I smiled, nodding to the male who had called me beautiful.
**************
“Okay. Stop eating my food now, it’s getting old really fast.” I whined to Aaron who had just stolen a third chicken piece from my plate.
Aaron raised an eyebrow.
“Geez, isn’t that what girlfriends are for?” He questioned, sounding absolutely serious.
My eyebrow raised in response.
“To provide you with food?” I asked, my voice full with genuine curiosity.
Aaron shook his head, a grin on his face.
“Not only providing, but also the feeding. They’re in charge of that too.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Oh really? And, pray tell, what do the men do?” I asked, drumming my fingers on the table.
He smiled, dragging a hand through his hair.
“Just stand there and look gorgeous while doing it.” He said, biting his lip. I glared pointedly at him, making him put his hands up in mock surrender.
“Come on, Lexi. You think I’m so sexist. Well, I mean, I just gave you the male breadwinner role and me the female role. The least you could do is smile.” He said, demonstrating a smile to me as if I hadn’t stretched my lips in that manner before.
I nodded, smiling.
“And, usually, the female role it to stand there and look gorgeous?” I queried.
Aaron nodded.
“Yep.” He said cheekily.
“Hey, new girl!” A voice boomed from behind, interrupting our conversation. I didn’t have to look who it was. The nickname gave it away.
I turned around to see Danny strutting towards us. He exuded confidence as he walked, his presence alerting boys to grab onto their girls. Heck, they’d have to grab onto themselves to keep from running into his arms. His brown eyes twinkled as he shot ‘hand-guns’ with a click of his tongue in every single direction, looking every bit as dim as he was.
Justin stood by his side, his attention on the phone in his hands. I had concluded a while back that the scowl on his face was unconscious and he was born with it. Nevertheless, with no hesitation, he too gained the attention of the waning female pupils. For the first time since I’ve seen him, he took his gaze off his phone, his beautiful eyes flitting across the room. His gaze finally settled on me and Aaron and they came to a stop in front of us.
“Hey, new girl, haven’t seen you at many of the parties! What’s been keeping you busy?” Danny asked, putting his arm around Aaron.
Seriously, did this guy have a party for every day of the year?
I shrugged.
“I’m not much of a party person.”
Danny gasped loudly and dramatically, putting a hand to his chest.
“What kind of an inhumane creature are you?” He sneered, looking at me in disgust.
Aaron laughed loudly.
“Leave her alone, Danny. You’re scaring her.”
Danny looked at Aaron, a painful look on his face.
“Scaring her? She’s scaring me!” He said.
Justin then chose to look up from his phone, sighing deeply at the pointless conversation.
“What he means to say is, we’re having a party, do you want to come or not?” He drawled in a tired voice. His vacant eyes looked at me, awaiting my response.
I hesitated.
“Er, I don’t know.”
I felt a hand touch my arm and turned to see Aaron smiling at me.
“You should come. It’ll be fun.” He said, taking yet another chicken piece from my plate.
I rolled my eyes.
“Okay. I guess, I can come, but not for too late. My parents won’t allow it again.” I finalised.
Aaron smiled and turned to Justin as they two became engrossed in conversation. I felt a heated presence behind me and quickly turned around to see Danny staring hardly at me. I squirmed under his stare.
“May I help you?” I questioned, clearing my throat nervously.
Danny shook his head slowly.
“Nuh uh.” He said. I bit my lip, choosing to look anywhere, but at him. However, this didn’t stop his stares and, finally, I gave in to the question pressing in my mind.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Danny’s eyebrows furrowed.
“I’m thinking.” He said, scrunching his nose tightly.
I rolled my eyes.
“Well, don’t hurt yourself too much.” I said, taking a bite out of my chicken.
Danny shook his, dismissing my words.
“Your face is so familiar.” He said, hitting his palm against his forehead repeatedly.
I smiled widely.
“Gee, let me help you out there! I’m the girl who’s sat next to you in physics for, I don’t know, like 3 years now.” I sa
id, rubbing my eyes. A conversation with this guy was like running a 2-day-non-stop marathon.
Danny shook his head again.
“No, that’s not it.” He muttered, his face contorted in pain. I tutted, rolling my eyes.
I was about to turn away when Danny’s eyes lit up and he clicked his finger as if he was having a ‘Eureka!’ moment.
“I’ve got it! I’ve got it!” He shouted turning towards me. He pointed at me, his eyes alit with a fierce and excited fire.
“You’re... You’re Aaron’s girlfriend!” He shouted in revelation. He looked around as if he would be congratulated with cheers and a trophy.
God, help me now.
“So, how come you’re not much of a party person, new girl?” Danny interrupted my plea, slurping a drink and I blinked at the rapid change in his demeanour.
I shrugged heavily, ignoring the incessant slurping noise.
“What’s so fun about them? They’re so rubbish” I said, pushing my empty plate to the side. The majority of chicken pieces in there had been eaten by Aaron.
Danny raised his eyebrows, his eyes going wide.
“Well, what’s so ‘rubbish’ about them?” He questioned, folding his arms.
I turned to him full on. The list I had for this question was just too long, I wouldn’t even know where to begin.
“Loud music and sloppy dancing.” I stated, a scoff escaping my mouth. I was pretty sure that Danny accounted for one of those sloppy dancers,
Danny smirked. An action that was quick to remind me of Aaron.
“Sloppy dancing is dancing at its best. No need to impress anyone; just letting the music take control of your body. It feels so.. free.” He explained, rendering me speechless for a couple of seconds. I mean, it wasn’t as if he had regurgitated Stephen Hawking’s brain, but forming a complex sentence was probably a task for this dude.
I raised a slender eyebrow, turning my full attention to him.
“Well, yeah, point taken, but you can’t say the same for the alcohol-induced people, the sex-crazed morons and the vomiting psychos. Face it. A party is just a rubbish excuse for fun; full of rowdy men and women acting like pre-pubescent teens who got let out after curfew for the first time.” I argued against my point. I was not one to change my opinion, certainly not if the opposing side of argument held a view that included positive thoughts on sex and alcohol- both of which I held a displeasure towards.
Faker Boy (Alexis Secret Book 2) Page 4