Truth or Deal.

My grade in calculus was dropping tremendously, yet I still didn’t want to date or pretend to date Zack Baker. I had to do something though, if I failed another assignment I would be put on the ineligibility list and wouldn’t be able to cheer. The bell rang, and I left my art classroom and headed to my locker to grab the book for my next subject. I placed my sketch book in my locker and grabbed my history book when Matt walked up.

“I thought I told you to…” I started but he gave me a funny look. “What is your problem?”

“Are you going to do that deal that we discussed or not?” Matt asked me impatiently.

“I…I don’t know” I admitted looking away.

Matt groaned, “Why not, Evelyn?”

“Because, Matthew, I can’t make up my mind.”

Matt began to get more impatient, “How hard is it to make this decisions Would you rather people think that you’re a lying piece of shit or that your perfect ass is dating Zack?”

“Okay, you do realize me dating your friend is also a big ass lie right? I wouldn’t actually be dating him; he would just think we were. Why does it matter to you anyway?” I asked him, annoyed.

“Because Zack is my best friend, and he really likes you Evelyn. I can’t imagine why but it’s the truth, he really fucking likes you. You’re just too much of a stuck up bitch to notice him because you think you’re better than us or something.” Matt confessed.

“You’re trying to make me sound like the fucking bad guy but I’m pretty positive Zack didn’t ask you to do my homework and in return he gets to fuck me.” I say grabbing my history book, slamming my locker shut and storming down the nearly deserted hallway. Has the bell for class to begin already rung?

For his size, Matt was able to catch up with me quick but then again his legs were probably twice the length of mine so it made sense. He grabbed my arm and swung me around to face him, “Okay, first of all, we’re both the bad guys here. And for two, Zack isn’t like the past guys you’ve dated. I mean, yeah I’m sure he would love to have sex with you, but he would never force you into something you didn’t want to do, or pressure you into it.”

“You don’t know anything about any of the guys I’ve dated!” I shot.

“I know girls like you, I know who they date and I know that Zack is better than every single one of those jackasses!” Matt said.

“Oh, yeah and have you thought about Zack’s best interest in all of this?” I asked in a harsh whisper, class had definitely already started. “He’s going to get hurt in all of this, you know that right?”

Matt shook his head. “Zack is a great guy; I guarantee you’ll see that.”

“It’s not like we’re going to get married or anything. There’s going to be a break up and it’s probably going to be sooner than later.” I crossed my arms.

“I’m not saying that, Evelyn. Shit, dramatic much?” Matt rolled his eyes, “I’m just saying he’s one of the best guys I know. I guarantee you once you get to know him you’ll develop real feelings for him.”

I laughed, that definitely wasn’t going to happen. I stared at Matt for a few minutes, I knew he wasn’t going to take no for an answer, I also needed to get to class and I needed to pass calculus. “Alright, fine.” I gave in.

Matt raised a brow; I’m assuming he wasn’t expecting me to cave. “What’s that?” I slight smirk played on his lips.

“Fine, I’ll do it.” I told him. My stomach turned at the thought, I felt bad because I knew Zack was going to get his feeling hurt but I also knew I had to get my calculus grade up. I also wanted to prove my cousin wrong, I knew there was no way in Hell I would fall for Zack Baker.

“Awesome. Once you guys go on your first official date, you can start bringing me your calculus homework.” Matt smiled victoriously.

“But I refuse to kiss him, I say sharply. The thought of his pierced lips touching mine made me wince.

“You have to kiss him,” Matt rolled his eyes, “who doesn’t kiss the person they’re dating?”

I sighed, I didn’t want to admit it but he was right. “Fine, but no sex.”

“Fine.” Matt smiled at me.

After school I went straight home. I was relieved that I no longer had to worry about my calculus grade but the thought of going out with Zack Baker made me uneasy. If I was being totally honest with myself, in my own head where no one could witness my confession, Zack wasn’t completely horrible looking. He wasn’t my type in any way, shape or form but he wasn’t as ugly as the some of the guys that have approached me. I really was just worried about what my friends were going to think, because I knew there was no way I was going to be able to keep this relationship under wraps until the school year was over. My friends were not going to just accept the fact that I broke up with my star football player boyfriend, skipped over the handful of guys wanting to date me (including Aaron, another star football player) and chose the guy who really had no chance to be with me in the first place. I mean, I don’t even really know Zack, how was I supposed to date him? What was my reasoning behind this supposed to be?

I grabbed my cellphone and was about to call Matt and tell him the deal was off when the doorbell rang. I hopped off the couch and answered the door; my heart fell into my stomach when I recognized the mess of jet black hair and green eyes in front of me.

“Hey, Evelyn,” Zack smiled at me, I tried to smile back but couldn’t. “Um, Matt told me Ryan wanted to hang out after school, has he made it home yet?”

“No.” I stated shortly, my eyes narrowed. Matt knew that Ryan had errands to run today after school, I heard them talking about it before school this morning. I knew exactly what this was. This was Matt’s way of getting Zack and I alone without it looking suspicious. He was smart, I’d give him that.

“Oh,” Zack looked around confused, “well, okay. Maybe I misunderstood. I’ll just go over to Matt’s house until he gets home.” Zack smiled at me again and turned to leave.

The circled, red failing mark on my calculus homework flashed in my mind, followed by the disapproved looks from my teachers when they learned that I was a liar, a cheat; then Toni’s face popped up, she would be so disappointed when she found out that she had to find another replacement for the cheer squad.

It was now or never.

“Wait!” I called; I hated how desperate it came out. Zack turned around, surprised by my sudden outburst. “You can,” I paused, not believing the words that were about to escape my lips. I licked my lips, hoping it would help the words come out easier. “You can wait inside if you want.”

A look of shock swept across Zack’s face, followed by panic and then slight relief and excitement. “Okay, I mean, if you’re sure. I don’t want to bother you.”

I gave a weak smile, “I was thinking about ordering some pizza, come on in.” I opened the door wider so he could get through and gave a reassuring nod. Zack walked in and looked around like it was his first time entering. “Is pepperoni and mushroom okay?” I asked him, picking up my phone and unlocking it, Matts number was still on the screen from when I was going to call him not even five minutes ago.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever sounds good.” He smiled and sat on the couch. I dialed the pizza place and ordered the pizza, trying to ignore the fact that Zack kept staring at me.

After I got off the phone, I sat next to Zack on the couch. A blanket of awkwardness covered the room, and suddenly I was regretting inviting him in. Zack kept fiddling with his thumbs and I pretended to watch the gameshow that was playing on the television. I was so wrapped up in my thoughts I jumped when the doorbell rang, Zack snorted with laughter but quickly turned it into a fit of fake coughs.

I stood up and walked over to my purse to get the money for the pizza but Zack stood up and dug his hand into his pocket to retrieve his wallet. “I’ll get it.” He offered walking to the door.

“Oh you don’t have to.” I said feeling guilty. He merely smiled at me, and opened up the door and greeted the pizza delivery guy.

After paying for the pizza, Zack grabbed it from the man’s hands and turned to me, closing the door behind him. “Kitchen?” he asked. I nodded and walked in front of him to hold the door opened, he walked through and I followed.

I grabbed the parmesan cheese out of the refrigerator and began to toss it on the pizza. “Hope you like lots of parmesan cheese!” I laughed as I realized I opened the wrong side of the container and a mountain of cheese landed across the pizza.

Zack laughed too, “I do!” He opened the cabinet doors and reached to grab a bottle, “With a little bit of sriracha sauce too!”

I looked up, slightly stunned. “You like sriracha on you pizza. I thought I was the only one who liked that!”

Zack laughed, “Well, I guess not!”

“Well, look at that. We do have something in common!” I said.

We continued to eat our parmesan and sriracha covered pizza, and the blanket of awkwardness that once covered the room disappeared easily. I felt myself getting more comfortable with Zack and wasn’t sure how I felt about it. He was a real funny guy, and he was really laid back. I found myself laughing without thinking, and he seemed to like making me laugh.

“Did we really just eat all of that pizza?” I asked Zack.

“Well, I mean…I think you ate like ten pieces by yourself.” Zack teased, “I think you threw me a piece of crust at one point.”

I laughed and hit him on the arm with the back of my hand, “shut up! I did not!” He shrugged and I got up to start cleaning up.

“Hey, Evelyn, can I ask you a personal question?” Zack asked. I looked up and his eyes were glued to the table.

“Sure,” I smiled reassuringly even though he wasn’t looking at me and then joked, “Unless it’s about the size of my boobs or how many guys I’ve slept with.”

He laughed softly and looked up at me, his emerald green eyes pierced into mine and I felt my face getting hot so I looked away, “I was just wondering why you and your boyfriend broke up. I mean, Ryan said it was because he cheated on you but you guys don’t seem to get along, and I can’t imagine anyone cheating on you, I mean you’re so beautiful and…” Zack trailed off realizing what he had said and looked back down at the table.

I smiled and felt my cheeks warming back up. I was always being called a hottie or something of the like, but it was so nice to be called something a little more sincere. “Thank you.” I said softly, and then spoke up, “and you’re right. Ryan and I don’t get a long, but he didn’t lie to you this time. Marcus and a friend of mine back home decided that since I was gone they would sneak around behind my back.”

“I’m sorry,” said Zack, his eyes found their way back to mine.

“It’s okay; it’s not your fault.”

“Can I ask you another question?”

“Sure.”

Zack didn’t say anything immediately. It looked like he was tossing the words in his head trying to figure out the best way to word it. I hoped he wasn’t about to ask me out because though I knew what I had to say, I didn’t want to. “Why are you being so nice to me?”

I exhaled, relieved. I didn’t realize I was holding my breath until the words escaped his lips. I opened my mouth to respond and then closed it, aware of the fact that I didn’t really know the answer. At first it was because of the deal I had with Matt and my calculus grade, that’s why I invited him in. The conversation after that just kind of happened, though it was still fueled by my calculus grade, but how was I supposed to tell that to Zack without giving away my little secret? I opened my mouth to respond again, “Well…”

I was interrupted by my brother walking into the kitchen, and he stopped abruptly when he saw Zack and me sitting on the bar stools at the island in the middle of the kitchen, an empty pizza box in front of us. “Uh,” he paused, taking the scene in. “Hey, Zack, what’s up man?”

“Hey, Ryan, I was just, uh, Matt told me you…” Zack couldn’t seem to find the words to explain why he was having and early dinner with his best friend’s sister and I couldn’t blame him. If I had walked in on this scene I don’t think I’d be able to explain myself to myself either. “Matt said you wanted to hang out, but I guess I misunderstood the time, your sister ordered pizza and said I could have some.”

“Uh, huh,” Ryan said looking at me, then back to Zack, then back at me. “Well, I was just about to head to Matt’s if you want to come?” He grabbed a bottle of water out of the refrigerator and turned back to leave.

“Yeah, I’ll be there in a second.” Zack called after him and then turned to me. “Thanks for hanging out with me while I waited on Ryan, Evelyn.”

“Yeah, it’s not a problem.” I smiled, “I had fun.”

“Really?” Zack asked, “So, maybe you’d want to hang out again sometime?”

I bit my lip; again I didn’t know how I wanted to respond, “Maybe.” I told him, knowing that gave me an out if I decided I wanted one.

“Awesome.” He smiled and went to pick up our plates but I stopped him.

“I can clean up, I’m sure the guys are waiting on you.” I laughed.

Zack smiled, “Okay. Thanks again, Evelyn, for everything.” And without another word, he left the kitchen and a few seconds later I heard the front door open and close.

Notes

Okay, 10 chapters left. The next ten chapters will only be posted on Fridays or Saturdays. I updated the characters tab, so take a look at that if you want.
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