Finally, the girl I was dancing with emerged from the crowd with two overflowing glasses.
“Look, I don’t want to talk about Ari,” snarled Will. When he did talk about Ari, Will almost became more aggressive than Brian Hood. “And then?”
“And then, instead of bugging White like you have up until now, show her she can count on you. That you’re there when she needs you.”
Now I really hoped that William would quit asking me questions about how to regain the trust of that stupid princess who wasn’t even aware of the effect that she had on guys.
“Like? How can I make her understand?” he pressed, showing all his tenacity, or maybe insanity.
“You show her you’re always ready to protect her. That she’s your only priority.” I let my eyes wander undisturbed over the portion of her skin that that the dress left uncovered. First the breathtaking cleavage then the solid thighs.
Will stared at me.
“Oh, I see that you have a clear head, unlike me.” His tone oozed with suspicion.
“I’m just talking hypothetically,” I rushed to explain, before taking a gulp of my drink.
“So do I have to ask someone to bother her to then come to her rescue?”
“What? No. I didn’t say that. Besides, it doesn’t seem like she needs that, look at how they circle around her.” There were in fact different guys around her; some of them probably wanted to talk to her but she didn’t even realize it. She was such a dolt.
“And then?”
“The best part.” I sneered at her then him.
“What?”
The music was playing too loudly again, and Will didn’t seem to hear what I said.
“Nothing. Forget it,” I said.
James, tell me how you do it, Tiffany often asked me.Why does everyone end up loving you in the end? Tell me your secret.
The secret is that there is none, I’d answered, making her grimace.
But there was in fact a secret. It worked with the mild-mannered principal’s son, and with the biggest bitch in school. The truth was I knew why they all wanted me around. Not because they all loved me. I went from making them love me to making them hate me in a short amount of time, creating a whirlwind of extreme emotions in them. They couldn’t do without me anymore, and that ended up being more necessary for me than drugs. I didn’t learn to be this way; it came naturally to me. Sometimes the spell broke, and some actually hated me past the point of no return. So deep down it wasn’t a big advantage to be adored by everyone, just like it’d never been an advantage to change guys or girls every night. My objective had always been one and the same: to rid myself of every frustration, fear, and insecurity. Using people to feel less had become a habit. But the thing nobody knew was that I preferred to do it with people I loved. Because Tiffany and my classmates were my friends. They’d talk to me afterward. They’d ask how I was, and we’d watch movies together or cuddle quietly.
“Will, instead of thinking about this bullshit why don’t you tell her to take a self-defense class?”
The alcohol was making my thoughts increasingly boring and unreasonable.
“You’re obsessed with self-defense, James,” he teased. “But she doesn’t need them. She has us.” He sounded convinced.
“Oh no? Do you really think the Austins would let up so easily?” I demanded. Will never took anything seriously, ever. He barely moved his shoulders, indicating that he really didn’t understand who we were dealing with.
“Look, do you think it’s a coincidence that he’s here?”
I pointed at Tom Austin, who’d just come in with some of his friends. I’d already noticed him a few minutes before, but I hadn’t realized who he was talking with.
Fuck, Tiffany.
The naïveté of that girl sometimes got on my nerves. How could she not have recognized him?
“Where are you going?” Will stared at me, confused at seeing me go up to Tiffany. She jumped.
“Jamie! What’s going on?”
“You said you were driving back. Why the fuck are you drinking?”
