“But,” he continued, “getting her to show up as your girlfriend… You could totally fake that, and I’m not giving up my Deadpool comics that easily.”
I cleared my throat and tried to appear nonchalant. “Okay, what do you have in mind?”
“I’m thinking three things. First, prove that you two are hooking up. A picture will work. Nothing graphic, ’cause I don’t want to see all of that. Second, there needs to be some kind of public display of affection. I need to witness it, or it doesn’t count. Otherwise, how will I know you’re really going through with everything? Three, she needs to show up at the game as your girlfriend. As in, wearing your letterman jacket, the whole nine yards.”
I gulped. I was totally going to lose this bet. I said a silent prayer that the consequence wouldn’t be something I couldn’t handle.
“If, or should I say, when you lose, you’ll have to wear Ryan’s Halloween costume from last year to school for picture day or until you get sent to Principal Davis’s office.” Marc grinned. “Sound good?”
Shit, shit, shit! It’s not too late. Fall on your sword! I repeat, fall on your sword! Coach will get over you spilling the beans.
“Unless you’re the one chickening out?” He arched an eyebrow.
“The mesh wrestling singlet?” I asked, mentally recalling the costume. “That thing is made for a ten-year-old.” That singlet left nothing to the imagination. I was confident, but was I that confident? Wren would totally freak out if she saw me wearing it.
Hmmm… That might actually work in my favor.
Before I could get lost down that rabbit hole, Marc cleared his throat. “Do we have a deal or are you ready to admit you’re full of it?” Marc grinned, holding out his hand.
Before I could stop myself, I grabbed his hand and shook it. “It’s a deal.”
Chapter Three
Wren
Fuller sat across the table from me. He’d emptied out his backpack and surprise, surprise, he didn’t have his copy of The Hate U Give. All he had was his laptop and a notebook. He literally didn’t even have a pen or pencil. “Where’s your book?”
He shrugged and grinned. “I must have left it at home. Hey, how did you know all of those statistics off the top of your head?”
“I’m good with numbers, and I really like basketball.” My admission was simple, but Fuller still looked at me like I’d just solved one of the Navier-Stokes Equations.
The library was quiet. Besides us, the only other person in there was Mrs. Parsons, the librarian. She’d won some kind of grant and was unloading a huge box of new books. I’d even helped her select some of them. She knew how much I loved reading and asked for my input on new material from time to time.
“Anyway,” I said, “do you want to go grab an extra book from Mrs. Brewster’s classroom?”
“Nah, let’s share yours.” He didn’t wait for an objection; instead, he got up from the table and made his way to my side.
I flinched as his leg bumped into mine. “Can you watch what you’re doing?”
“My bad.” Fuller pushed his dark hair off his face. His deep blue eyes locked with mine and refused to budge. “You really don’t like me, huh?” He offered a lopsided smile, but it faltered.
“Not particularly.” I wanted to say so much more, but the words refused to come out. Fuller James was literally the last person I’d ever choose to spend time with. He all but ruined my life five years ago, he walked around the halls of Magnolia Valley High like he was untouchable, and he never had to face any real consequences for acting like an arrogant jerk. He was always getting a free pass from one of our teachers or even the principal. Today was probably the only time he’d ever been forced to do something he didn’t want to while in the halls of our school.
“Ouch.” He held his hands to his chest and grimaced. “That hurt.” But instead of being serious, he laughed it off. Everything was a joke to him and his dumb friends. “Now, what do I need to do to get you to write my paper?”
“I knew this was a stupid idea. I’d rather take the suspension and lose my spot at STEM camp.” I picked up my backpack and slung it over my shoulder.
Fuller’s cheeks turned dark red and his mouth opened, but nothing came out. For the first time since getting beat by our rivals last year, he actually looked shocked. “I was just kidding, Wren. Hold up.”
Mrs. Parsons looked over at us and held a finger to her lips. “This is the library, not the playground.”
I expected Fuller to burst out laughing at the notion that we were behaving like we were at a playground, but he immediately stopped talking. It didn’t matter though; I’d had enough.
Fuller caught up to me and held out his hands. “Wait, Wren,” he whispered. “Don’t go. Please.” His voice had a slight quaver.
Crossing my arms over my chest, I shook my head. “Why not? You’re just going to treat this like a joke. Why should I waste my time working with you?”
“I’m sorry. I was just joking around.” Fuller dropped his gaze, his eyes actually looking remorseful. “I didn’t think,” Fuller said, his dark lashes sweeping up. “Please stay.”
I stood with my feet planted but remained silent. I really didn’t want a suspension or detention on my permanent record. More importantly, I really wanted to go to STEM camp. I’d won a spot there due to my grades and a heartfelt essay. There was no way my parents could afford the hefty seven-hundred-dollar price tag otherwise. Plus, everyone who got into the camp was awarded a certificate for four free science textbooks at college next year. That was worth at least four hundred dollars.
“Wren?”
“Fine.” The hesitation in my voice was unmistakable. “But only if you take this seriously.”
“I promise.” His tone had completely transformed. He sounded sincere.
“If that changes, I’m out.” I sat back down at the table. “For real.” I didn’t need to waste my time on a dumb jock, but I’d seen a different side of him in the library. Maybe there was more than met the eye when it came to Fuller James?
He nodded. “Understood.”
I pulled out my laptop and binder. “All right. First question…have you read the book?”
Fuller winced.
Surprise, surprise. “I’ll take that as a no. Break it up into chunks. Take nine chapters tonight and tomorrow, and eight on Thursday. You’ll obviously need to turn in your topic before then, but if you get the majority of the reading done, I’ll help you. Deal?”