Shoplifting Hearts | ✓

9. flashing eyes

the next day, as darwin and i walked to school with our fingers intertwined, riley came up to us.

"what you did for kyra yesterday was really cute," she says, looking at darwin with a smile. key word: says. i'm not so sure that's what she thinks based on the way her hand is fisting up the hem of her shirt.

to my surprise, he doesn't blush or look flustered like he usually does. he just grins at her and turns to me, his eyes sparkling with pride.

i break the stare, looking over at riley, who's watching us closely. her emerald irises flash with an indecipherable emotion and, pretty soon, darwin averts his gaze with me to glance at her.

after a moment, she clears her throat, her eyes widening a fraction as she looks between us with a normal glow back on her face. "i gotta go," she murmurs, pulling her backpack higher on her shoulder and passing one fleeting look to darwin. "i'll see you in class, yeah?

"totally!" i exclaim over-enthusiastically once she's out of earshot. darwin tries to suppress a laugh, but one look at my grin and he's chuckling to himself

"you...you shouldn't joke about that," he says, his snickers beginning to dissolve.

i arch a brow. "why not?"

"don't you ever..." he trails off, shrugging one of his shoulders.

"ever..." i press.

"don't you ever wish you still attended class? that you hadn't dropped out — that school was still an important part of your life?"

i heave a long, heavy sigh. "you're going to ask for the real reason i did it, aren't you?"

he doesn't answer the question, instead frowning as he asks me one. "why the hell can't you tell me?"

"i just can't, okay? can't you respect my decisions?" i say, annoyance creeping into my tone. i think he notices because our conversation nearly ends there.

after a long silence, he speaks up again. "do you think riley's jealous?" he's staring down at me with pure hopefulness and confidence, as if he knows that she just had to have felt something when she saw us together.

i only nod and start to walk again, my mind elsewhere. all i can think about is the look in her eye, and how it didn't seem to be jealousy in them — she didn't look like she wanted darwin. she looked envious at the fact that he was in a relationship that looked as affectionate as ours...little does she know, it's all a facade.

i guess i really should pursue a career in acting.