Secrets and Stolen Kisses

11

m a d e l y n

"No, 'cause I was talking to Cassie earlier, and she said the exact same thing."

I sat down at my usual seat in the Student Council room. It was five minutes before the meeting was going to start, and I couldn't help but overhear the conversation to my left.

"Right? I'm pretty sure it's that Marc Jacobs perfume, I forget what it's called," Viv commented. "I was talking to Trav the other day, and he was close by, and I could smell it."

Who were they talking about?

"Hey, Maddie," Jillian called me.

"Yeah?" I turned to the two, pretending like I only tuned in when my name came up.

"Are we going crazy or is Nathan dating someone?" Viv asked as the two leaned forward. "We know you and him are like best friends, so you're probably our safest bet."

Oh, God. I knew warning bells should've rung when I heard them talking about Marc Jacobs perfumes and my perfume was from Marc Jacobs.

Mental note, find a new perfume. It was a good thing I decided to try something new today or they might've caught on.

"As far as I know, he isn't seeing anyone," I shrugged, trying my hardest not to make it obvious that I was lying. "What made you ask?"

"Well, for one, a few people have noticed that he smells like that one Marc Jacobs perfume," Jillian pointed out. "Haven't you noticed?"

"Hmm," I feigned confusion. "I didn't notice. But you know what? It was his mom's birthday last month, and my mom gave her some perfume, and she said she's been loving it. Maybe the scent gets on his clothes because she's always using it."

That was a big fat lie. Everyone who knew Quinn knew she liked her Chloé perfume and her Chloé perfume only. But these two didn't know that. My mom got her a spa day for her birthday.

"Okay, but what about the fact that he stopped flirting with literally everyone?" Viv continued. "It's a little weird, no?"

I nodded. I had to agree to things like that or else it would be a little too obvious I was covering for him. "That is a little weird."

"Exactly!" Viv exclaimed. "Honestly, I feel so bad for Andrea. He just dropped her last month and moved on like that."

"I bet whoever he's dating is just a rebound," Jillian concluded. "Did you see how into Andrea he was? Like, it's practically impossible that he moved on that fast."

Ouch. I was 99% sure I wasn't just a rebound to him, he loved me, after all. But fuck, that 1% was killing me.

"Or maybe he isn't dating anyone," I reasoned. "Just because he isn't flirting with anyone doesn't mean he's with someone, maybe it's just a part of the moving on process. Also, he and Andrea dated for like two weeks, and it's been over a month since they broke up, I doubt there's a need for a rebound."

Right? ...Was I just trying to convince myself at this point?

"Maybe," Viv nodded. "Anyway, are you gonna watch the basketball tryouts after the meeting? I'm sure your brother and Nathan are gonna be there, and if he's dating someone, she'll probably be watching."

"You two wanna go there and try to figure out who he might be dating?" I clarified. I wasn't sure if I was picking up what she was putting down.

Jillian nodded. "We were talking about it earlier. Wanna watch with us?"

"I guess," I shrugged. "I was gonna watch anyway. Are you staying the whole time?"

The two nodded.

"Okay, the agenda for today is just making sure all the plans are set for Homecoming on Saturday. We shouldn't take longer than an hour. Everyone sit," our Student Council President, Aaliyah, announced. "Yanko will be recording the minutes as usual."