It's A Deal

0.9 | The Bitch Is Irritating

Sapphire

The breakup between Ian and Julissa is still the top story going around school. Except, now they're just talking about how Julissa won't leave Ian alone ever since he got back. He missed an entire week of school, and the only reason I convinced him to come back is because he was risking his position as football captain. His dad convinced the coach to give him another chance. Honestly, that's probably the only reason he came back. The scholarship is important to him, since his parents don't plan on giving him any money for college.

I listen as people around me whisper within themselves, a little too obsessed about the relationship that didn't work out. Ian's eyes meet mine through the crowd and I offer a sympathetic smile. He offers an exhausted one in return. Beside me, Julissa suddenly appears and his face instantly drops into a scowl.

She starts to near him through the sea of students. But before she can reach him, he hurries off in the opposite direction. The tardy bell rings at that moment and everyone hurries off to their class. I follow the direction they went to, since Ian and I share second period. Pushing past Julissa at the entrance, I take my usual seat next to Ian. Her eyes practically bore holes at the side of my head, but I choose to ignore her.

"Do you need something Julissa? You're not in my classroom until my last lesson." The teacher points out.

Julissa's head snaps towards her and she lets out a nervous laugh, "Sorry, Ms. Avila, I was just trying to talk to Ian."

"Is it an important matter?"

"No." Ian replies almost immediately, not leaving any room for Julissa to try it. "It's not important at all."

"Very well, then." Ms. Avila nods. "Head off to class, young lady."

Begrudgingly, she does as told. And I turn towards him as he breathes out a sigh of relief. "You okay?" I wonder, watching him rub his temples.

"I don't know how to answer that without sounding like a depressed imbecile."

I frown, "It's not gonna be easy to move on, you know? It takes time."

"It's not even that," he groans, rolling his head back to stare at the ceiling. "The bitch is irritating."

"I take it, that's the nice way of putting it?"

He actually laughs, turning his attention over to me. "Honestly, yeah."

"I've seen her approach you more times than I can count with my fingers and my toes. And that's only from today. I mean, seriously? It's barely the second hour of school!"

"Quiet down, you two." Ms. Avila scolds, peering at us through her thick-framed glasses. "I don't mind you talking, just use your inside voices."

"Yes, sorry." We both mumble our apologies.

She nods and focuses her attention back on her laptop. Ms. Avila is one of the nicest teachers I've had. She's really only ever strict when her students don't pay attention during her lessons. Other than that, we're allowed to talk to each other as long as we don't raise our voices. Today, it seems to be a free period.

"Hey, Sapphire?" Ian calls out to me again. I hum for him to continue. "What was your ex like?"

My eyebrows furrow in confusion. "Is there a reason you ask?"

He shrugs, distracting himself by playing with a piece of eraser. "I guess I just want to know why you chose to give up. You did say you broke it off mutually, right? Due to long distance?"

"Yeah," comes my casual response. "He was a great boyfriend . . . In fact, he was a lot like you. In the sense that he treated me amazing and wanted nothing but to see me happy." I pause to think about why we decided it was best to end it. "I guess we just decided long distance would ruin what we had, because our relationship relied on how much time we spent together."

He nods and silently registers my response. When his eyes meet mine again, he asks a question that catches me off guard. "Do you still love him?"

I look out of the window as I feel a bunch of emotions flow through me. Do I still love Zach? We dated for two years and we broke up before he left for college. That was two years ago.

"I'm not sure," I finally speak up. "It's been so long since I last saw him."

"The reason I ask is because, if you're able to move on from someone who treated you well, I'm sure I can move on quickly from someone who cheated on me . . . Right?"

I shift my attention back to him, "Everyone's different when it comes to moving on. But I guess it all really depends on if you want to move on."

"Oh, trust me, I do. More than anything."

"Then you shouldn't worry." I assure. "Even her trying to annoy you every single day may help."

He grumbles beside me, slouching in his seat. "I rather get trampled by a herd of elephants, than to have to deal with her everyday."

"Seems like you're out of luck, because the latter is the reality." I chuckle, looking over to see if the teacher is still busy. "There's not a single elephant nearby."

"I wish there was a way for her to back off."

"Based on how desperate she is, I don't even think you getting into a relationship will help."

It's as if a lightbulb goes off in his head as he beams over at me. And I give him a weird look when he takes my hands in his. "You're brilliant!"

I raise a brow skyward. "I am?"

"Hell yes!"

"Mr. Hawthorn, I don't like repeating myself. Quiet down."

The tips of his ears redden as he clears his throat, "Right, sorry." And with a hushed tone, he leans closer towards me, his eyes sparkling. "I need a fake girlfriend, just so that she can back off."

"Like I said, I doubt that would work."

"Hey, it's worth a shot." He shrugs, grinning so hard I'm afraid his face might be sore for a week straight. "So, what do you say?"

"What am I supposed to say?" I question. "That's totally up to you."

My gaze goes back over to the window and I watch an airplane fly above us. A soft smile tugs at my lips. My birthday is in a couple of weeks. It's only been two weeks without my dad, but I can't wait to see him again.

"Well, it only makes sense if you're the one who becomes my girlfriend." His voice catches my attention again, and I snap my head over to watch him. "You know, since you're my housemate and all. We already have a natural connection. Don't you think?"

"Yeah, as friends." I deadpan, unable to believe what he's suggesting. Julissa will make sure I'm six feet under if she even thinks about me dating Ian. Now, if she actually sees us acting like a couple? She'd torture me until I wish I was dead.

"Okay," Ms. Avila sounds irritated. "Since you guys can't seem to keep a low voice, open your books to page 157 and read the short story. Then, answer the questions on page 158. It's due at the end of class."

The entire class grumbles in annoyance as she goes back to her laptop. To be fair, we were being way too loud. She just had one rule for us and we didn't obey it.

"We can talk about this later," Ian whispers over to me. "And hey, can I copy?"

"Nice try, but no."