Shatter (arlo x OC) UnOrdinary fanfic

Facade

"So then why do you have homework for math classes you don't take?"
-

Arlo's pov

Her eyes widened as she recognized the papers I was holding.

She faltered for a second and her hesitation was then followed by her putting herself back together.

She tilted her head in false confusion.

"hm? what do you mean?"

One of my brows quirked up in interest.

alright
I'll play along

"You don't recognize these? You left them back in the library."

Her facade broke for the slightest fraction of a moment but she quickly masked it with a small shrug of her shoulders and the shake of her head to signify her "confusion".

All this did was fuel my amusement.

"You don't know?

Really?
You left them behind after you ran out.
Remember? When you cursed and yelled at me in front of everyone."

Well "everyone" being the five or so people in the library.

But the exaggeration seemed to be enough to shake her up. Her breath slightly hitched as she desperately scoured her mind for a response.

"no, I-"

All I needed was one final blow and she'd crack.

"You and I are probably the talks of the school by the way. I mean I like being talked about but not when I'm the center of cheap gossip."

She averted her gaze and broke our eye contact. As she flickered her eyes away from mine, she also subconsciously toyed with the end of her ribbon.

...

did I go too far?

She abandoned her ribbon and fidgeted with her fingers instead.
"I'm sorry."

Her voice was significantly quieter.

"Do you..
um do you think the rumors would-"

"I was joking Leah." I cut her off.

She looked back at me with genuine confusion this time.

"Actually no
it's not a joke but it's not a big deal either. It'll blow over in a matter of days."

...

There was a missed beat in our conversation but I spoke up before it could be called a pause.

...and we were talking about this"

Grabbing her hand, I placed the papers in her grasp before she could further panic about the blow to my reputation she had caused.

Catching the flush of her cheeks as my hand touched her's for the second time today, I deliberately lingered my hand for an extra second.

Watching her face slowly betray her efforts to hide that she's beyond flustered is strangely addicting.

"I'm the type that can't go to sleep when I'm curious about something so mind explaining?"

She bit her lip in hesitation. Heightened hesitation than usual.

"I really don't know what you're talking about." It would be obvious to anyone at this point that she was lying.

But I was still a bit taken aback.