Who Are You

13

CHAPTER THIRTEEN:
Me Before You

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"Angel, it's almost five," Grim said, controlling her voice so it wouldn't sound like she was whining. "I need to go back to school."

"To pick Lauren up?" Angel asked absentmindedly, pulling a vampire costume and holding it in front of Grim's body as she tried to see if it fitted. "We don't have anything for you yet. I told you earlier to come up with what you want to be so we can just find for alternatives if we can't find an exact costume for it."

"I don't want to be anything," Grim argued. "I don't even like celebrating Halloween. It's fucking boring."

Angel gasped. "You did not."

Grim rolled her eyes and grabbed the vampire costume before shoving it back to where Angel got it. "Come on. We're paying for your costume. I'll just find something at home."

"You won't find anything there but your usual clothes."

"That's the point. I'll be my usual self."

Angel stopped in her tracks and glared at Grim. "Why are you even such in a hurry?"

"Lauren's class is almost over."

"So?"

"Tristan will be waiting for her."

"So what?"

"If Lauren falls for Tristan's stupid ways, this will be all over," Grim said, motioning to the space around them. "Don't you get that? I have to have Lauren close to me."

"Why don't you just give it up?" Angel suggested, and although her voice was soft, Grim figured she was aching to prove her point. "Jude said he'll do something about it if you can't. All you have to do is to tell him."

Grim shut her mouth closed, looking around the store. The cashier was busy with something on her phone and the entire place contained a few customers including them. No one was paying attention to the pair though.

"Jude's got a backup if you can't do this," Angel said, sliding her hand to hold Grim's and squeezing it reassuringly. "He's only testing you—"

"Yes, I know, this is only a test, that's why I want to get it over with instead of just telling him that I'm quitting," Grim snapped, causing Angel to retract her hand from hers. "I'm going to prove him that I can do it—that Lauren won't be the one to destroy me."

"Is that really it?"

Knowing what she was getting at, Grim shook her head. "Here we go again. Yes, Angel. That's just fucking all of it. You think I'm going to catch feelings for her? You really think I'm still capable of that?"

"Your actions are telling me otherwise," Angel said, trying not to sound hurt.

"What do you want me to do? I have to make her believe that I'm into her. I can't be convincing if I don't put some feelings into it, can I?"

Angel sighed, defeated. "Fine."

She walked to the counter and paid for the fake blood and her costume since they got nothing for Grim and the latter insisted that she'd just improvise. When they got out of the store, Angel didn't take the helmet from Grim.

"I'll just walk from here," she said coldly. "I need help from DJ with my costume."

Grim eyed her suspiciously as she mounted her bike. "You're mad at me so you're going to sleep there. Yeah. Have fun and go tell them how much of an asshole I am."