The Class Reject: A Martyr in Maelstrom (Book III)

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Miren had found a friend in Jemma, which was more confusing than reassuring, naturally.

So when she stepped in front of Wallace's door (which was now her new room--Wallace had also conveniently deactivated her key to the one she shared with Jeno), she felt no ease. What had been the most stable alliance in her life had turned fickle. She hissed before knocking. She should have been surprised when Parker opened it, but it was hard to feel feelings anymore.

Their eyes, almost in a trance, landed on each other. It wasn't until she heard some footsteps in the hallway that snapped out of it.

"What are you doing here?" she finally said.

"Avoiding my parents." As if on cue, a catchy ringtone filled the air. Parker rolled his eyes as he fished in his pocket, silencing the device. "Wallace is with them at another interview with the local news."

"Are you supposed to be there?"

"I don't know." He shook his head. "I think they just call me whenever they find another reason to blame for what happened to him." His gaze hardened on Miren's as he closed the door behind them. "Did you tell him to do that for you?"

"Of course not." She sighed before rubbing her temple. "He thought it was the best way to make everything go away. On the bright side, all this publicity isn't entirely wasted on him. He could actually use it to promote one of his new apps from Yale or something--"

"Are you kidding me?" Seeing Parker angry was sort of like seeing a rainbow--rare and sort of discomforting, despite how beautiful it was. She gritted her teeth in response, turning toward the troubled genius' side of the room. "Is that really your response to all of this?"

"Considering the fact I had no say in this matter?"

"You've always had a say." There was anger behind his eyes and she fought the urge to meet his gaze. "But instead you carried on with a useless charade. Why?"

"And you were so ignorant that you couldn't even see that I was right in front of you." She shook her head. "But you know what, Artemis and Penelope still haven't figured it out, so I guess you're not the dumbest person I know."

"Don't insult me."

"Don't give me ammunition." She clenched her hands into fists, grinding her teeth even harder as she started for the door. "Fuck this. I'm out."

"Headed to see Jeno? He's the reason you stayed, right? Hell, I basically pushed you into his arms."

"You were never going to leave Penelope for me." She scoffed. "Besides, I never wanted you as much as you claimed you wanted me. "

"How humble of you?" Parker scoffed. "Then what was The Incident really about then? Because you probably broke Penelope's heart when you made it clear that you'd never be interested in her--not like how you felt about me."

"Maybe I just lied about liking you." Her eyes, harsh but tired, latched onto his. "Maybe you were the scapegoat--not me."

They stood there, glaring at each other--their eyes saying all of the foul things their mouths couldn't.

"I'm done talking about this." She sighed, shifting toward the door again. "I'm leaving."

"No, I'll go." He shifted past her, before turning toward her, his lidding as they landed on her face. "You know you're breathtakingly beautiful. Even when you're mad."

"Who said I was mad?" She was fuming. "And there are plenty of pretty girls here for you to choose from."

"Is the idea of someone being into you really that hard for you to believe?" His gaze softened. "You're never going to be happy if you keep pushing people away."