by Casey Elliot
“Evan, about the problem you solved in the paper airplane–”
“You’re not still angry I poked you with it, are you? Because I can’t control where the air current takes it once I get it to fly,” Evan teased.
Chloe scowled at him. “Not about that! I meant how you helped me out with my math homework. The number I was having a hard time answering?” she reminded him.
It was only for a split second, but Chloe could swear she saw Evan’s face turn stone cold before he covered it up with a good-natured smile.
“I think you overworked yourself with that assignment, Chloe. How could I have solved something you, one of the smartest students in school, can’t answer?” he asked. He turned to look at the board, and Chloe didn’t get to ask anything else as the professor began discussing their next laboratory activity.
It was a disaster.
Evan had single-handedly ruined their entire lab experiment and successfully got Chloe the first ‘F’ of her life. He messed up the calculations, the mixing of the chemicals – basically, everything he could do to sabotage their grade. Chloe was outraged. She told him to stop ruining their experiment on purpose, even going so far as to beg him to stop, but Evan feigned stupidity once more. Unfortunately for Chloe, the professor believed his act.
The horrified devastation on Chloe’s face as she saw the red mark on their paper made Evan rethink his actions. Wincing that he had probably overdone it, he opened his mouth to apologize, but Chloe glared at him, her gaze filled with so much hate that Evan felt his heart drop.
“That crossed the line,” she said quietly.
He shrugged, trying to maintain his bravado. “This is me. This is my life. If you can’t accept it, it’s not my problem,” he said coldly. Chloe looked like he had splashed cold water on her face with his answer.
She gathered her things swiftly and ran away from him. He cursed, thinking of how he was going to make it up to her.
Chapter Four
“Hey, man. Did you check out how the captain was totally screwing up his passes earlier?” the male student asked, as he held out his tray and moved slightly ahead of the line.
“Oh yeah. Coach was livid. He said he was going to tell captain’s father about him slacking off. Can you believe that?” the student beside him said. The two students stopped and laughed boisterously at the memory.
“Excuse me,” a voice asked behind them.
The males shrieked and looked behind them, seeing Chloe standing there, holding her tray and gazing dolefully at them. They immediately associated her with those witches in the movies that sucked your soul.
“I need to buy food,” she whispered, and the two men immediately scattered, running away from her. Chloe shrugged and scooped up some baked potatoes in her bowl, already used to that kind of response.
She wasn’t supposed to hang around here in the cafeteria during dinner time, to be honest. She made it a point to come to the cafeteria an hour earlier because she despised the noise. The students were too rowdy, and girls like her all too often became a target for the popular students’ amusement.
She had spent her time since the lab earlier in the day begging her professor to give her another chance or, at least, to let her make up for the bad grade by submitting an additional report or two. He wouldn’t give her that chance, and Chloe had been sulking ever since.
Her growling stomach was the only reason she went down and risked eating in the cafeteria at this time of the night. She had hoped that, if she ate her food fast enough, she’d be long gone before Vanessa, Ethan, or any of their groups arrived.
But being the unlucky girl she was, they were here, and they immediately spotted her.
“Well, look who’s finally decided to join the land of the living,” Vanessa snidely remarked, her cheerleading lackeys all laughing at her. She was practically seated on Evan’s lap, his hands wrapped around her waist, causing Chloe’s heart to twinge in pain a little. Chloe rolled her eyes, but kept on walking, searching for an empty seat. “Oh come on, Casper. We’re roommates, aren’t we? Why don’t you be a nice ghost and haunt somewhere else?”
Chloe didn’t get to hear Evan tell Vanessa off as she saw a group leave their table, and she immediately walked over and claimed it. She focused on her food, steeling herself each time she heard someone laugh around her. All the laughing was making her paranoid that she was the object of the ridicule, but she wasn’t about to give them the satisfaction of looking around her to check. Doing so would mean Vanessa’s taunts were getting to her and that Vanessa was winning. Chloe wasn’t going to let her win.
She saw the chair beside her move, and she looked up to see Evan pull it out and sit down, looking at her solemnly. She turned her head away, not willing to hear whatever he came to say to her.
“I’m sorry,” he said, and she ignored him. He sighed and tried again. “I’m sorry I messed up our grade earlier. I’m sorry I was such an asshole. I’m just really sorry,” he bowed his head and Chloe sighed, giving in.
“I don’t get it, Evan,” she said, turning around to look at him. “Why did you have to do that? Why did you have to ruin me when all I did was call you out for pretending to be something you’re not?” she asked.
It was Evan’s turn to sigh. He bit his lip, mulling over the idea of telling her before he nodded. “My dad, he’s uh… he’s a professional football player. He practically had my future planned out for me before I even came out of my mother’s womb. You see, he wants me to concentrate on one thing, and one thing only: getting drafted into the pros. He’s not interested in academic standing at all, so in order for me to do what he wants, I pretend I’m a big dumbass and make sure that I do only the bare minimum to graduate, so the professors don’t expect anything from me,” Evan admitted, and Chloe bowed her head as she finally understood. “As long as I go the way I am, my dad will stay off my back enough to let me be in peace here.”
“But don’t you want to be something else other than what your dad wants you to be?” she asked softly.
Evan shook his head. He kept silent, and she knew that that was all he was going to reveal to her now.
She decided to change the topic and nodded her head toward the jock and cheerleaders’ table where Vanessa was currently seething. “Thank you for explaining yourself, but I think you should get back to your girlfriend. I’m pretty sure she’s trying to shoot lasers at me with her eyes right now.”
Evan laughed, shaking his head. “No, I think I’m the one she’s trying to burn a hole through right now. I broke up with her just a few minutes ago.”
Chloe raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Why? I thought you really liked her,” she said, and Evan smiled wryly.
“It’s about my dad too. He’s fine with me sleeping around and all, but he doesn’t want me to get too serious with any girl, because I might lose focus. So, as soon as I feel that they’re wanting something more from me, I cut them loose,” he answered, and she wrinkled her nose in slight disgust. He shrugged it off, ignoring her reaction. “Besides, Vanessa was becoming too dramatic and overly-clingy for my taste. I don’t like girls like that,” he winked at her and Chloe scoffed, making Evan look at her hopefully. “So, am I forgiven?”
Chloe hummed and pretended to think it over before nodding. “Yeah, I guess I forgive you. I just,” she sighed, and Evan looked at her in concern. “I just wish the professor would let me make up for that grade. I can’t afford to have a red mark. It might have a huge impact on my scholarship,” she explained.
“Oh hey, I almost forgot. I talked to the professor earlier. I told him that it was mostly my fault and that you were trying to stop me from goofing around, and I begged him for another chance at that experiment. He gave me the keys to the lab,” he held up his hand where the key was dangling on his finger, and Chloe’s eyes widened. Evan smiled, his eyes sparkling as he watched Chloe’s sadness slowly dissipate. “What do you say? Want to give it another go tonight?” he asked.
Chloe smiled bri
ghtly before throwing her arms around his neck, surprising him. She squeezed tighter until she opened her eyes and realized what she was doing and abruptly let go, jumping back to her seat. They looked at each other for a few moments before Chloe stood up, making the table shake as she slammed her hands down on top of it.
“Uh, I’ll meet you at the chemistry lab then. Bye!” she said hurriedly, running away from him. He sat there trying to process what happened, and when he remembered the smile Chloe gave him before she hugged him tightly, he smiled to himself, pleased to have made her happy again.
Vanessa, however, did not like what she had just witnessed… not at all.
Chapter Five
Chloe wasn’t sure about anything anymore.
She was so excited to meet Evan at the chemistry lab that she ran the whole way to the dorm from the cafeteria. She then spent a long time looking at all of the clothes she had, checking if they looked good before her eyes widened, her brain having caught up with how she was acting.
She was acting like a silly school girl about to go out on her first date.
She dropped the clothes she was holding and looked at herself in the mirror, her face betraying how scared she felt. Her heart was betraying her, doing exactly what she had prevented herself from doing for so long. She was falling into that trap her parents always told her to watch out for, or she’d never succeed in her goals.
She was falling in love. She was falling in love with Evan Cross of all people.
She looked at herself in the mirror, scrutinizing every detail of her heart-shaped face, her violet eyes that always remained obscured by her square-cut glasses, and red hair that was long, flat, and had never been styled a day in her life.
She was just as Evan described: simple, which was another term for ‘boring.’
And, despite knowing that she didn’t have a chance in hell compared to the rest of the girls vying for his attention in this university, her stupid heart still went and fell for the quarterback.
“Screw it,” she mumbled to herself, picking out what she deemed was the best outfit in her closet and laying it out gently on her bed before getting in the bathroom for a quick shower. She put on some lip gloss and left her hair down, another first for her, before grabbing her things and leaving the room.
So what if I’m falling in love with exactly the kind of man I’ve trained myself to hate? It’s about time I do something I’ll be happy about for a change, she thought to herself, feeling a burst of determination course through her.
Tonight, she was going to do another thing that she’s never done before: take a risk.
Chapter Six
Evan tapped his foot impatiently, looking at his watch, then up at the ceiling as he waited for Chloe to arrive. He remembered how much he had grovelled to their professor over this, promising to perform better in his class and all that jazz. If it were just him that was getting an ‘F’, he wouldn’t have bothered at all. It would only add to his pretense of being a stereotypical jock.
But Chloe looked so crushed over it that it hurt him to see her that way. So he threw his pride out the window just so he could secure this chance for her to redo her grade. Well, their grade, but it was mostly for her benefit.
He shook his head as he remembered the look on her face earlier. Every day, she showed him a new side of herself that he knew she didn’t show anyone else or, at least, never got the chance to because they never tried to get closer. Each time a new mystery was unveiled, he found himself looking forward to seeing her in class. Sometimes, he went to her dorm whenever he knew his ex-girlfriend wasn’t there just so he could see her… just the two of them.
Sure, it was technically unfair for Vanessa, but he’s seen her tongue go down other guys’ throats so many times at parties while they were together. She really didn’t have anything to pin him down for. Also, he wasn’t lying when he told Chloe that he was tired of all of Vanessa’s drama. A guy could only go so far, half-listening to a girl who only talks about shopping and complimenting herself.
Sometimes, he’d wonder why he never saw Chloe before, and he’d instantly feel ashamed. It was probably because he didn’t bother socializing with anyone that wasn’t a part of their group. Popularity often came with tunnel vision, and people like Chloe were almost always thrown in the sidelines, out of sight and out of mind.
He wondered what would happen if he asked Chloe out – whether she’d bite his head off for it or actually entertain the idea. She was so unlike the girls he dated. He began to list down all her characteristics in his head: she was studious, funny, didn’t care what other people thought about her—
“I’m sorry I’m late!” a voice cried out, and Evan turned around.
His eyes widened, and his mouth fell open. He thinks his brain might’ve short-circuited as soon as he saw her.
She was simple, alright – simply fucking beautiful, Evan thought.
“Evan?” she called, looking at him worriedly. “Are you alright? Aren’t you going to open the door?” she asked.
He snapped himself out of his trance and unlocked the door, Chloe rewarding him with a small smile before she entered the lab, and once again, Evan found himself staring at her.
Chapter Seven
Their second attempt at the experiment was a success, and it was a lot more fun because of Evan’s antics.
Chloe had resolved to let go of her inhibitions and let loose for once in her life. She welcomed his energy and messing around, laughing heartily at his digs at her.
Evan smiled softly as he watched her enjoying herself. “You look different like this,” he remarked, and she blushed, immediately growing self-conscious. Evan quickly amended his statement. “I didn’t mean it in a bad way! I just mean that I… I’ve never seen you laugh this hard before. I’ve never seen you have fun, to be honest. It kind of makes you look… cuter.” He mumbled the last part as he scratched his head in embarrassment, feeling his own cheeks heat up.
Chloe bowed her head, biting her lip as she struggled to control the butterflies fluttering in her stomach at the compliment. He was right about her not often being this way, because she never let herself be this happy and free.
“You kind of look different tonight, too. You’re a whole lot prettier with your hair down,” Evan continued. Since he sort of shot himself in the foot already with calling her ‘cute’ and all, he figured he might as well just go for broke. He raised his hand and took a strand of her hair, making Chloe’s breath catch. He tucked it behind her ear, letting his knuckles brush on her skin, smiling as she grew a brighter shade of red from his action. “You are really beautiful, Chloe. Why are you hiding yourself away?” he whispered.
She looked straight into his eyes, his chocolate orbs seducing and coaxing the truth out of her. “My parents are obsessed with being the best, and they expect nothing less from me. Anything lower than a 4.0 is considered a failure, and they don’t tolerate such failure. I have to be the perfect student who gets straight A’s to earn the title of a perfect daughter. I’ve been struggling under the pressure of just trying to keep up with their expectations of me, and I’m so afraid–” she bit her lip to stop herself from tearing up.
Evan shook his head and held her face with both hands, gently tilting her head up to look at him again. Chloe gulped and admitted her secret.
“I’m scared, Evan. I work so hard to keep my grades up because I don’t want to lose the only people who care about me,” she confessed.
Evan’s heart plummeted at her revelation, and suddenly, all he wanted to do was take her pain away. So he did the one thing he could do – the one thing he’s been thinking about doing for some time now – he closed his eyes and kissed her.
Chloe’s eyes widened as Evan’s lips moved over hers, his lips and tongue coaxing her to open up to him. She closed her eyes and surrendered herself to the feeling, putting her hands on his chest and clutching desperately at his shirt. She opened her mouth and let out a gasp as his tongue entered her mouth and b
rushed at her tongue, swirling against each other in a type of dance. His hands moved down to her breast, cupping them in his hands as he pulled his mouth off, a string of saliva connecting them. Their eyelashes were lowered and their gazes heavy with heat. Evan moved to plant soft, wet kisses on her neck as he squeezed her breasts gently, making Chloe moan with each stroke.
She didn’t know where to concentrate her attention anymore, and she was slowly starting to not care. Her hands clutched at his shirt tighter, bunching it in her hands to where a sliver of his skin – the taut and defined muscles underneath – were showing. Her feet gave out and she was falling, but Evan held her by her lower back and lowered her gently to the floor, laying himself on top of her. He lifted his shirt up and off of him, then grabbed Chloe’s hands and placed them on his chest, letting her hands explore his skin. Her hands were soft and curious, exploring every inch of his body and making him sigh with need. Feeling determined, Chloe raised herself up and started to unbutton her blouse, Evan’s eyes growing even darker as he watched button after button come undone.
He helped push her blouse off of her shoulders and he stared, letting himself have his fill of her. Losing a little of her self-confidence, she moved to cover her chest with her arms, but Evan held her by the wrists and stopped her, pinning her back down to the floor.
“Don’t,” he said, his breath caressing her face. “You are so beautiful,” he said softly. He moved one hand to her back, raising her up as she tried to remove the clasp of her bra, her hands shaking at the effort. He snuck his forefingers to her bra straps and pulled it off of her, slowly revealing her breasts. He lowered his head and circled the areola with his tongue, making Chloe cry out and raise her chest up and closer to his mouth.