Resisting the Rebel

by Lisa Brown Roberts

  She gave him the sweetest, fakest smile she could muster, adding an eyelash flutter for emphasis. “My real boyfriend would support me and help me out if I asked him.”

  J.T. appeared next to them. “Yo Torrs, Mandy. How’s the new power couple?” He grinned like a kid on Christmas morning.

  Caleb shot him an annoyed glance, then focused back on Mandy. “What the hell am I going to do on the spirit committee?”

  “Lots of things,” Mandy said, a bolt of mischievous excitement streaking through her. Having Caleb on the spirit committee might be entertaining, as long as he didn’t mess things up. She squinted a warning look at him, grinning wickedly. “You have to promise not to ruin things, though.”

  He glared at her, but she wasn’t deterred. They had a deal, and she intended to make him work for it.

  “See you at the meeting!” She fluttered her fingers in a wave and shot him what she hoped was a smirk cocky enough to match his own. “Don’t be late!”

  …

  Caleb stewed through calc, which sucked because he really needed to pay better attention in that class. But he couldn’t stop thinking about Mandy and the crazy scene that had gone down.

  Now the whole freaking school knew about their fake relationship. It was Elle’s fault, since she wouldn’t leave him the hell alone, and Mandy had only followed through on their deal by playing along with him. She’d impressed him, throwing babe back in his face.

  Maybe now Elle would leave him alone, if he could convince her that his feelings for Mandy were real. Which they weren’t, of course, but nobody needed to know that.

  He pushed away the memory of Elle insulting Mandy, when he’d told Elle to shut up. That part had felt…very real.

  J.T. slid a folded piece of paper on his desk. Caleb stared at it, then glared at J.T. What the hell? Since when did J.T. and he communicate? They hadn’t really talked since the second grade, when Caleb’s dad had moved him to a private school and he’d lost touch with J.T. until high school.

  Before that, J.T. had been a permanent fixture at his house, the two of them sharing a little kid bromance based on a mutual love of the Power Rangers TV show and brownies. But those days were over, and Caleb liked to pretend it never happened.

  J.T. tilted his head, gesturing for Caleb to open the note. Caleb expelled an annoyed breath. This fake relationship thing had gone live twenty minutes ago and already he regretted it. He made sure their teacher wasn’t looking, then unfolded the note.

  If you hurt her, I will kill you, Red Ranger.

  Caleb’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. He hadn’t expected that. J.T. wasn’t the type to threaten. Then again, if he didn’t know J.T. was gay, he’d think J.T. and Mandy were a couple; they were tight.

  The Red Ranger part was funny, almost making him smile. Caleb had always been the Red Ranger when they’d played Power Rangers, because the Red Ranger was in charge. J.T. had always been the Blue Ranger, the geeky hacker.

  He scrawled a reply.

  I won’t hurt her. You can’t kill me because the Red Ranger always kicks the Blue Ranger’s ass.

  He made sure their teacher was distracted, then tossed the note onto J.T.’s desk.

  He shifted in his chair. What the hell was he doing passing notes like a ten-year-old girl? He’d just discovered an unanticipated flaw in his fake girlfriend plot: Mandy came with a posse. A very annoying one. And she was the queen of school participation, so of course she’d forced him to come to a stupid spirit committee meeting. Why hadn’t he taken those factors into account when he’d proposed his scheme?

  The note plopped back on his desk. The blond cheerleader sitting next to him watched the whole exchange with way too much interest. He scowled at her, and she turned away. He turned his scowl on J.T., who just rolled his eyes and pointed to the note.

  I’ve got my eye on you, Torrs. Blue Rangers are always ready for the call to action. I’ll power up if I have to.

  Caleb snorted a laugh, and their teacher spun around, pinning him with a warning glare. “Sorry,” Caleb muttered, then he shot another glare at J.T., who was trying not to laugh.

  He sighed in frustration. Maybe he’d be better off getting shanked by a psycho than dealing with Mandy’s crazy friends.

  …

  Mandy sucked on a straw, relishing the cold chocolate sliding down her throat. Everyone was there for the spirit committee meeting. Correction: everyone but Caleb. So much for being a supportive fake boyfriend. Whatever. Not like she thought he’d really show up. She reached into her backpack and passed around the bright pink papers with the Spirit Week schedule.

  Monday was their monthly bake sale, then the rest of the week they’d finish prepping for Spirit Week, which was the following week. Everything was geared around a seventies theme, to go along with the dance. The trivia contest, the scavenger hunt, the dress-like-a-hippie day…which wasn’t a big deal for her, but would be for everyone else.

  My committee is supportive and motivated, Mandy thought as she squeezed her eyes shut. This will be the best Spirit Week ever. She kept her eyes closed, visualizing all of the events going off without a hitch. Visualizing herself at the dance in her awesome green dress. With Gus.

  “Closing your eyes isn’t going to make me disappear.”

  She willed her eyes to remain closed as the chair next to her scraped the floor and a body settled into it, a body that smelled really good. Frickety frack. Where had J.T. gone? He’d been sitting in that chair just a minute ago.

  The voice chuckled softly. “Okay, keep pretending I’m not here, Disco. I’ll ask someone else what’s going on.”

  Mandy’s eyes flew open, meeting Caleb’s dark gaze head-on. His self-satisfied smirk made her want to lob a hard serve in his court.

  “You’re late,” she snapped.

  He shrugged, reaching for her cup with his free hand. He took a long drink from her straw, keeping his eyes on hers. She was dimly aware that the voices around her quieted as people watched them. Well, watched him. It was hard not to watch those lips sucking on her straw like…like…

  Mandy snatched the cup from his hand. “Apparently they don’t teach manners in hell.”

  He licked a few drops of chocolate from his lips, keeping his dangerous eyes on hers. “Oh, they do. Just not the kind you’d approve of.” His lips curved into a wicked grin that sent her body temp into the stratosphere. “They teach us demons all kinds of bad things.” He leaned in close, lowering his voice. “Very bad things, babe.”

  Mandy didn’t know where to focus. She could barely put two thoughts together, and the thoughts she did have were totally inappropriate.

  Gus, she told herself. Gus. Gus. Gus. She pictured his sweet face, grinning at her. All those years by each other’s side, that was what she should be focusing on.

  Caleb was fake. This act he was putting on was totally fake, and she needed to remember that.

  He grabbed a paper from the stack of pink fliers. “A scavenger hunt?” Caleb laughed. It might sound sexy if he weren’t mocking, which she knew he was. “Trivia bowl?”

  “They’re fun events, Caleb.” She narrowed her eyes. “You just don’t realize it because demons don’t know how to have fun.”

  He turned his body toward her, his knees pressing against her thigh. “Don’t we?” The gleam in his eye made her press her knees together. “I disagree.” Several girls ogled him like they’d happily trade places with her.

  J.T shot across the coffee shop to hover next to Caleb. “Is your boyfriend hassling you, Mandy? I can have security throw him out.”

  Caleb tilted his head back to look at J.T. “Starbucks has security. Right.”

  “Blue Rangers are everywhere, just waiting for the call to action,” J.T. said. Caleb rolled his eyes, and Mandy wondered what the heck they were talking about.

  “I believe you took my seat,” J.T. said, glaring at Caleb.

  Caleb turned to Mandy. “Would you like me to move?”

  “Uh,” Mandy said, ha
ting her brain for freezing up. If only he’d been a jerk about it instead of asking nicely like a normal person.

  “J.T.,” Cammie called from the other end of the table. “Come here. I need your help with something.”

  J.T. shifted his glare to Cammie.

  “One point to the Red Ranger,” Caleb said as J.T. sighed in disgust.

  “What are you talking about?” Mandy asked, looking back and forth between them.

  Caleb ignored her question and reached for her drink again. He picked it up, hesitating with the tip of the straw just millimeters from his lush mouth. Since when did she think words like “lush” and “Caleb” in the same sentence?

  He cocked an eyebrow. “Mind if I have another drink? Demons get thirsty.”

  She shrugged. “Go ahead and finish it. I don’t want any.”

  He sucked from the straw, watching her, then paused to whisper, “My girlfriend wouldn’t be afraid of my germs.” He held the cup toward her and spoke loudly. “Finish it, babe.”

  Mandy tore her gaze away from his mouth. He was right; she needed to play along. She took the cup and put her lips on the straw. He watched her as she sucked out the last few drops. His jaw clenched, and he dropped his gaze, swallowing. She set the cup down quickly, like it had burned her hand.

  “Spirit Week is going to be awesome.” She picked up the flier he’d been reading. “We’ve put a lot of work into it.”

  “I’m sure you have.” His voice sounded strangled. He shifted next to her, moving his legs underneath the table instead of pressing into her. She was relieved and disappointed all at once, which annoyed her. Relief was okay. Disappointment? That was bad.

  Fake boyfriend, she told herself. Fake. Fake. Fake. She stood up, determined to ignore Caleb’s stare. “Okay, everyone, we all know the agenda for Spirit Week.”

  Everyone stopped talking to listen. “We need to put up fliers and really talk up the events, especially the trivia bowl. Encourage people to form teams and make sure they know about the prize.”

  “What’s the prize?” Caleb asked.

  “The first season of That ’70s Show on DVD. Plus the chance to pick the first song played at the dance.” Mandy answered while looking around the table at everyone but Caleb. She felt him, though, watching her, his gaze traveling up and down her body as she stood.

  “Who shows up to a dance in time for the first song?” Caleb snorted, then fell silent as he looked around table.

  These were exactly the people who showed up to a dance in time for the first song. Mandy glared at him, taking a deep breath and reminding herself that he was only around temporarily.

  My committee is supportive and motivated. My fake boyfriend is not undressing me with his eyes.

  …

  Caleb wasn’t sure what was happening, because for a second there, he’d had the crazy idea to pull Mandy onto his lap and kiss her until she begged for mercy. Or begged for more. Apparently his hormones were confused about whom to focus on and whom to ignore.

  Very carefully, he turned his body away from her, pretending to study the pink flier listing the Spirit Week events. All of them pathetic. Hopelessly silly, not at all cool. Just like her.

  Shit.

  He didn’t even like her, let alone want her. Not like that. He sneaked a glance at her, his eyes exactly level with her ass as she turned slightly to answer a question from someone on the other side of the table.

  Shit.

  This was not supposed to happen. Not to him. His body betrayed him just because of this stupid fake relationship game they were playing. He glanced around the table. There were plenty of hot girls here; why was he reacting to Mandy instead of them? He willed his body to cool down.

  “So Sunday is baking day, okay?” Mandy said, her voice annoyingly high and breathy. He rubbed the back of his neck, wishing he could mute her.

  “Um, Mandy. There’s kind of a problem with that.” Amber, one of the cheerleaders who looked like all the others to Caleb, leaned forward in her seat. “We can’t bake at my house after all. We’re getting our floors refinished and my mom said no way will she let a bunch of us in there spilling icing and stuff.”

  Caleb rolled his eyes. If only he had his pocketknife, he could stab himself and put himself out of his misery. Save Elle the trouble.

  “Uhh…wow…we, um,” Mandy stammered. “I guess we could do it at my house, but it’s really small—”

  “Who else has a giant kitchen we can use?” J.T. interrupted.

  Caleb noticed people glancing at him surreptitiously. Oh, hell no. He settled his face into a stony glare, but J.T. fixed his intense stare right on him. “Caleb, how about your house? You could fit a freaking army in your kitchen.”

  Mandy’s head whipped toward J.T., clearly shocked.

  He had to hand it to J.T.—the guy didn’t seem at all intimidated by him, unlike the rest of the spirit junkies who watched him like he might suddenly zap them all with a lightning bolt.

  Mandy tugged at her weird necklace—was that a crab?—her gaze darting around the table, obviously desperate for someone else to volunteer their house.

  What would a real boyfriend do? He sighed, then said the only thing that made sense. “We can do it at my house, babe.”

  She blinked in surprise. “We can?”

  “Sure. It’ll be fun.” He almost choked on the f-word. He didn’t do fun.

  J.T. grinned victoriously. “Excellent. We’ll show up at one o’clock.”

  Caleb kept a fake grin plastered on his face. “Can’t wait.”

  “Okay then, I guess we’ll meet Sunday at Caleb’s house,” Mandy said. “For the baking bonanza.”

  Across the table, J.T. locked eyes with him.

  Fucking Blue Rangers. They missed nothing.

  …

  “Oh my God, J.T. I’m going to kill you!” Mandy angry-whispered as everyone else filed out of Starbucks. Caleb had been the first to leave, which was completely unboyfriend-like behavior, but whatever. She was too freaked out about the impending baking event at his house to worry about that.

  “Why? I solved the problem.” J.T. looked proud of himself, like he’d just conquered a warring army.

  Mandy felt herself flush with anger. “I’d rather everyone try to fit in my tiny house than go to Caleb’s!” She swallowed. “We’re going straight into the devil’s lair.”

  J.T. laughed. “Yeah, right. I’ve been in his house. No demons, I promise.” He tilted his head. “And technically, it’s your boyfriend’s house so you shouldn’t be freaking out.” He cocked his eyebrows meaningfully toward the few committee members still hanging out.

  She took a breath and spoke softly so no one would overhear. “When were you in Caleb’s house?”

  “Once upon a time, he and I were friends.”

  Mandy gaped at him. “In what alternate dimension did this happen?”

  J.T. shoved his notebook in his backpack and headed for the door, waiting for Mandy to follow him. “The kindergarten T-ball dimension.”

  Mandy hurried to catch up to him. “Seriously? You two were actually friends?” She could hardly believe it.

  J.T. snorted. “I guess. We used to be into the same stuff.”

  Mandy’s thoughts fired like pinballs, fast and crazy. Why hadn’t he told her this before?

  “But you guys haven’t been friends since I’ve known you,” Mandy protested, focusing in on the pinball thought she was most curious about.

  “We were up through second grade. Then he moved to a private school and we, uh, lost touch.”

  Mandy remembered meeting J.T. freshman year, when they’d bonded over movies and old music. “But when we started high school, why didn’t you guys reconnect?”

  J.T. stopped walking to stare down at her. “Seriously? Can you picture him and me hanging out?” He snorted. “I tried to talk to him a few times but he totally blew me off.”

  Mandy considered this new data as they crossed the parking lot. She imagined a pint-sized J.T.
and Caleb, in a kid-sized leather jacket, playing with Legos and scarfing snacks. The idea made her giggle.

  J.T. shot her an annoyed look. “I know what you’re thinking.” He paused, then sighed. “He wasn’t always an asshole. I don’t know when that happened.” He shrugged as he unlocked his car. “Maybe after his mom bailed. She just up and left one day, when we were in the second grade…right before he moved to a private school.”

  Mandy settled into the passenger seat. That was awful, but it didn’t give Caleb the right to be a perma-jerk. “If everyone who lost a parent to divorce or…or”—her voice hitched but she continued—“whatever…turned into a jerk, half the school would be full of people like Caleb.”

  J.T. reached over to squeeze her knee. “Exactly. I mean, after all you’ve been through you’re the nicest person I know.” He shot her a grin. “Crazy as they come, but your heart’s in the right place.”

  She glanced at his stubborn profile. He’d been with her through the worst of it, when her mom died and her life fell apart. J.T. didn’t give many compliments, so when he did she knew it was genuine. The universe sends me the people I need.

  “Thanks,” she said. “But none of this solves our problem. Can you picture it? All of us piling into Caleb’s house?” She chewed her bottom lip nervously. “I even made a baking playlist.”

  J.T. laughed. “Bring it. Maybe it’ll send him right over the edge.”

  Mandy smiled, remembering how he’d yanked his aux cable out of her phone when she’d been listening to disco in his car. “Yeah,” she said. “I’d like to see that.”

  She couldn’t let Caleb intimidate her. Besides, she should be the one in control of this whole situation. He had to do what she said; he was her fake boyfriend now. Plus, it was a chance to practice her compassion outreach, to see if maybe being kind to arrogant jerks really did have the potential to change them.

  “I keep picturing you guys as little kids. Playing pirates or whatever.” She giggled.

  “Power Rangers,” J.T. corrected.

  “Power what?”

  “It was a kids’ TV show we used to watch together. Teenage superheroes battling aliens.”