New Romantics

Chapter 3

In the span of a few days, the person who I'd only known through the muffled music that poured from his room—conveniently right above mine—into mine—usually the Foo Fighters—had fallen into my life twice.

The first time, he fell on my balcony.

The second time, I did the falling. And Leo sort of did too. Except his was to catch me when I took a step forward—mouth ajar as I struggled to comprehend the situation—and tripped on a stray copy of Fifty Shades of Grey, stumbled like a baby deer on a frozen lake, and nearly collided with Magda's sorted collection on the banister.

Magda thought the whole ordeal was hilarious.

We spent our first few hours as trainers and trainees reviewing Paperbound's vast collection. Magda's sons, despite her protests, created an excellent game plan to sort, inventory, and digitize each and every copy, from the collector's editions to the overstock to the how-in-the-world-did-we-end-up-with-these copies.

"If we work diligently," Madga explained at the tail end of the small training, leaning against the counter in a buff of vanilla-scented dust. "We'll be done in a month." Her mouth twisted in a smile and she waggled her fingers at Leo. "You'll need to keep that one on track," she said, referring to me. My mouth dropped open, offended. "She'll have her nose in one of those smutty contemporaries all day if you let her."

Leo's eyebrows shot to the top of his forehead, and as I sputtered a response, Madga giggled, and we closed up shop, ready for whatever adventure tomorrow brought.

Instead of walking back to the apartment complex, Leo and I parted ways with gracious nods, Leo disappearing behind a few buildings to frat row, where strobe lights pulsed from Delta Theta Eplison's mega mansion, and me making a b-line for the bus.

Somewhere along the way, my mind floated back to Ochem, and then to how strangely quiet Leo had been the entire afternoon at Paperbound, and I walked through my apartment door to the sounds of sobbing. Sitting on the living room floor in pastel pink pajamas, Jules Wilkinson sobbed into her wine glass.

"How could he do this to me?" she asked Dani Hansen. "I thought we had something!"

"Shh, Jules, it's okay," Dani said softly. Her tone was meant to soothe; the exhaustion in her voice said this had been going on for a while. "Leo is a dick."

Leo?

I stumbled. Dani's head shot up, and she jumped to her feet a bit too enthusiastically. "Aria!"

Before I could ask what was going on, my roommate quickly pushed me through the kitchen door.

Jabbing a finger toward the living room, I asked, "Is Jules okay?" The poor girl's cries were muffled by the sound of wine being poured into a very big glass. Bracing her hands on her knees, Dani took a few deep breaths.

Obviously, Jules was not okay.

"I don't know how much more of her crying I can handle," Dani groaned. Jules was Dani's sorority little sister and spent more time in our apartment than she did in her own dorm. Standing to her full height, Dani scrubbed her hands over her face, staining her deep brown skin with—ketchup?

I wiped the ketchup off Dani's cheek with the sleeve of my red sweater. "Is she talking about Leo from upstairs?"

"Dani!" Julie shrieked from the other room.

The President of Delta Phi bristled, motioning me to follow her before Julie made a mess of our expensive apartment. Crossing her arms over her chest, Dani sighed. "Yes. Apparently, they've been hooking up since the start of the semester. I guess she thought they were exclusive."

My stomach sank as my suspicions from earlier this morning were confirmed.

Leo Aldridge was a player.

I didn't know why I was disappointed.

No, that was a lie.

I knew why; I just couldn't think about it yet.

Pacing the plush white carpet, Jules swirled the red wine in her glass. "You know what he said to me? Sorry, you caught feelings. I—I just—I can't—How could he—" She sank into the carpet again, a little fallen angel in the middle of our living room, pierced with a cruel cupid's arrow. I wanted to wrap her up in a blanket.

Dani wrapped her friend in a hug. "You deserve better."

"Why do I keep doing this to myself?" Jules sniffled.

My heart ached from the devastation in her voice, and I settled down beside her with another bottle of wine at the ready. "Because you want love. Don't let a douchey guy get you down, Jules."

Jules wiped her mascara away. "Do you think I'll ever find someone special?"

Twisting the top off of the pink Moscato, I nodded. "I know it."

"How can you be so sure?"

Something inside of me twisted. Because I need to believe or I don't know what I'll do. I didn't let my smile falter. "Because I'm sure. Trust me, Jules. Now, who is up for more wine and a revenge movie?"

Dani and Jules squealed with excitement.

And just as we settled on the couch, under a mountain of pillows and cozy blankets, John Tucker Must Die queued up on the screen, there was a knock on the door.

"The pizza is here!" I sang.

Swinging the door open, my stomach dropped when I saw who stood there, perfectly tousled and perfectly pissed off. It wasn't pizza.

No.

It was Leo.

♡ ♡ ♡

John Tucker Must Die is definitely in the Top 10 2000s Defining Teen movies of all time. It's so camp, I love it. What is your favorite cheesy teen romance movie?

Let me know your thoughts! And if you're so inclined, and if you enjoyed the chapter, please make sure to vote for this chapter! It would mean so much. :)