Page 30 of Caged in Flames

Chapter Fourteen

Sophomore Year:

I wait for Diana outside of her class. Fucking Charlie. I hate how much I love my friend. He is serious about getting this girl to leave. He's had everyone in school calling her trash and making sure she knows that no one wants her here. It's fucking harsh, but if he needs her gone then what the fuck am I supposed to do?

None of the typical tricks are working though and we've had to move on to a new plan. Sawyer and I are supposed to get her to fall for one, or both of us, then he wants us to break her heart. It seems like a stupid plot line from a 90s movie, but here I am, doing it anyways.

When she steps out of the room, I take a minute to watch her. She's not hideous, but I don't see anything special about her. She's cute, sure, but I've never been into outer layers. I'm a fucking artist. I need to see what's inside everything and everyone. I follow her to her locker and lean up against it until she has no choice to notice.

"Hi, Diana."

"Hi, Jude." She still doesn't look at me. Since it's obvious that we were behind the order to treat her like shit, I don't blame her.

"I was wondering if I could take you out this weekend." This gets her attention.

She stops what she's doing and looks at me. "Why would I go out with one of the people trying to make my life here hell?"

It takes me a minute to realize she responded to me. It's the first time I've seen her eyes. They are a magnificent shade of baby blue. The color of a clear sky on a perfect day. "I don't want it to be hell. Look, I know we have all been awful to you, but I don't want to keep up with the teenage drama bullshit."

"No." There's not even a hesitation to her response.

"No?" I'm shocked. Part of me thought she would be too excited that someone was being nice to her for once to turn me down.

"I said no. You're one of Charlie's best friends. Even if you are trying to be mature, which I doubt, there is no way I want to be anywhere close to him." Her shoulders are set in her refusal.

"Perfect. Just you and me this Saturday. It'll be great. We can walk into town and go to Paint Your Own." Normally I wouldn't be so direct, I prefer a gentle approach, but I need her to say yes. I need to play my part.

Those beautiful eyes light up just a bit and she bites down on her lip in thought. "I have been wanting to go there…."

"See you Saturday at 6, Blue. I'll meet you at the main gate." I walk away before she can turn me down again.

When Saturday comes, I am pleasantly surprised that she shows up. Obviously, this plan only works if she participates, but I thought she would be a little more skeptical.

Except the shy little creature I was expecting isn’t who showed up today. Diana gives me hell throughout our entire date.

She accidentally spills paint on me instead of her canvas.

When we go for ice cream, she pretends to clumsily knock mine out of my hand, and the line is so long I don't go back to get another.

Now she has me watching her as she thoroughly enjoys her ice cream cone. Which she got nuts on, just because I mentioned being allergic to them. It was like she wanted to ensure I had to keep my distance from her.

She finishes up and tosses away her trash in the nearby bin. "Well, Jude, it was a lovely evening. Best we don't do it again, I think there have been enough signs to prove that it'd be a terrible idea."

There's no emotion behind her words, she just puts them out there. As if she isn’t the cause of all the signs she just mentioned.

I give her a hard look that says I'm not buying her bullshit. "You mean all the accidents that you caused in an attempt to sabotage our date?"

"I would never do all those things on purpose as a form of revenge, Jude. That would be silly... childish." Her mouth falls into a tight-lipped smile, like she’s struggling to get the words out with a straight face, but her hand shakes as she runs it through her hair.

I guess it's taken quite a bit of nerve to play pretend all night.

Giving it one last chance, I ask, “How about we just sit here on this park bench, with enough space between us to make a nun happy, and talk?"

Those blue eyes narrow on mine, and I know then that the task ahead of us will be so much harder than we thought. "What could you possibly want to chit chat about?" The fire in her gaze makes me feel like I'd enjoy being burned.

The plan might be to break her heart, but I start to worry that she might not be the only thing we wreck along the way.

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