The Class Reject: A Pariah in Purgatory (Book II)

CHRISTMAS

Chapter 25

"Aww! Look at the adorable couple!"

Jeno was the first to stir, and when he opened his eyes he noticed Jemma standing at the foot of the bed with her usual smug smile on her lips. He jolted upward, but felt restricted. It was then that he noticed that Miren was practically spooning him—her head was nestled against his neck, and one of her arms were draped over his torso.

"The fuck?" he hissed, shaking Miren off of him. "Miles, get up."

"Why?" She answered groggily, opening one eye. When she realized she wasn't cuddling a pillow, she was the first to her feet. Her eyes were wide with alarm as she glared at Jeno.

Fuck. She didn't even move the other night. How did she get so comfortable with this arrangement—with him—in just a few days?

"Chill out. I put Miles in that position." Jemma wove her phone with the picture before tossing it at Jeno. "But in the spirit of Christmas, I'll let you delete it."

"How kind of you?" he replied, pinching the device in his hand. "Knowing you, it's probably already up on iCloud."

She shrugged before turning toward the bathroom with a yawn. "I'm the nice one, remember?"

"Nice one, my ass."

"I do have a nice ass." She smirked at Miren. "Wouldn't you agree?"

Her mouth parted as her gaze found Jeno's. Maybe the idea of his sister coming onto the girl he liked was amusing, because he was genuinely smiling. And it was creepy.

Jemma wrinkled her nose. "How are small children not afraid of you?"

"How did you even get in here?" Jeno offered instead, before rising to his feet. "Whatever. You two keep each other company. I'm taking a shower."

Jemma stuck her tongue at him as he disappeared into the other room. "I thought he'd never leave us alone."

Miren rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, watched snow blanket the outside from the window. "Merry Christmas to you too," was her peace offering. Jemma rolled her eyes, folding her arms over her obnoxious Christmas sweater dress.

"Tell me what you're hiding," Jemma said this so passively that Miren was sure that she misheard her. Her eyebrow rose as she hid her shock and mental screaming.

With a small sigh, she turned her attention to the sly girl. "My feelings for you, obviously," she said sarcastically. Jemma laughed.

"What about Penelope?" She played with her hem. "I heard you have a crush on her."

"And who told you that?" It was really, really, really, really—like trying to push a boulder up a mountain, hard—not to show disgust in her voice, let alone her face. She shook her head. "She's a pretty girl. But I hardly know her."

"Roger implied that you liked her when I asked why he had your cellphone." She shrugged. "He wants dirt on you. He's been using me and Levi to see if we can come up with something."

Miren's brain officially died with this announcement, and she could only shake her head. "Then why the hell are you telling me this? You could be using this quality family time to get more dirt on me, couldn't you?"

"I could," she considered, playing with her phone now, "But then I realized I could just hack his email to send out Klondike's letter of recommendation. He has nothing substantial to offer me. But he does for Levi, so I'd watch out for him."

Miren nodded. That had to be why he had her phone. Why Parker had confronted her. And as much as Jemma's information made her want to trust her, she knew she couldn't do that either. Not now, at least. She nodded again, realizing that's all she really could do.

"Well, thank you," Miren offered, scratching her head. She heard the shower turn off in the other room and watched Jemma rise to her feet.

"No problem." She brushed her dress clear of wrinkles. "We all have secrets. Doesn't mean everyone's required to know yours. Or Jeno's."

The look she gave Miren wasn't particularly coy or cunning, but she could tell there was something else behind it. She was probably just implying that Miles and Jeno had gay love for each other. Then again, there was always something  behind Jemma's actions, wasn't there?