Between the Lines | ✓

Cliche 29: Everything Happens on the Night of a School Dance

Our planning went very much like a military discussion; Aubrey and I were the troops, Amber to become our ally, Elias was the power we wanted to forge an alliance with. However, despite our enthusiasm, our plan took a while to form, mainly because an ex-protagonist and a noob-protagonist seemed to share a single brain cell.

Aubrey had brought up the idea of just running to Elias's house and bashing down his door with a bunch of flowers, somehow channeling her stupidity from the original online novel. I immediately threw that thought into the mental rubbish bin. Aubrey running barefoot in her formal dress to Xander's house in 'Say No to Bad Boys' may have worked as some weird grand romantic (and horny) gesture, but I wanted to woo Elias, not give him a reason to send me to a mental asylum.

Instead of running barefoot like a maniac, I instead put forward a plan that wasn't so much a horny blitz attack, but more an ambush of romance. Considering Elias was hell-bent on avoiding me, the only way to get him to even look my way was to invite him to Aubrey's house under the guise of picking her up to go to formal, but instead he'll be getting one sack of abs harder than bricks in a tux.

God, maybe I'm regretting this a little, this plan is so... cliche. But... If it lets me explain my feelings to Elias, then...

Well, let's just say I'd happily suffer being more than a little cliche if it means I can see Elias.

"Alrighty, so I'm on Elias duty and you can organise everything else?" Aubrey said, checking the time on her phone and patting me on the back when I hummed in agreement. "Cool. Good luck, I'll make sure to get him to my place, even if I have to kidnap him."

"And I'll sort out the decorations, flowers, and all things romance," I said, Aubrey giggling before jumping up with a squeal and giving me a big hug. If I were the original Xander Hart, having the ex-protagonist pressed up against me would have, and I quote, 'awakened the ravenous beast within', but Aubrey's hug just made me let out a little laugh, glad that I had such a supportive friend by my side.

While we talked about our plan for me to confess my feelings bluntly enough for Elias to understand my feelings - who was still apparently under the assumption that I didn't feel the same way towards him - Aubrey had been so vibrant and happy, truly finding joy in my (hopefully future) happiness.

She was far happier and carefree in this iteration of the novel world, and this happiness of hers seemed so pure and beautiful it almost brought a tear to my eye. In 'Say No to Bad Boys', all of her happiness came with conditions or strings. Strings that happened to always be tied to Xander's monster cum cannon.

It would've been an apt description to say that book-Aubrey was just a marionette being manipulated by those strings, Xander's dick making her jump and all she'd say in response is 'how high?'. Or, 'bounce how high', really, considering the author of 'Say No to Bad Boys' liked to describe the way Aubrey bounced up and down on Xander's vertical trampoline anywhere and everywhere.

"Do you need a lift back to school?" I asked, Aubrey shaking her head with a blossoming smile.

"No need, we're just around the corner from school. Plus, I think you have some preparation to do yourself," Aubrey said, giving me a wink before whirling around to head off and meet up with Elias.

I waved after her, smiling a little proudly at the way she carried herself with confidence and a never-ending pep in her step. I much preferred this Aubrey compared to the girl from the original trashy book. The wonders cutting out a toxic relationship can do for your skin, huh.

When I got back to my car, I immediately called my sister, who picked up after the first ring with a slightly sleepy, "'Sup, Lex. I was napping, so if this isn't urgent, I'm gonna go back to sleep."